Recent Ethics Commentaries

Featured image for “Why We Should All See the Mueller Report”
Why We Should All See the Mueller Report
Due to the release of the Mueller Report to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, I am re-posting this commentary which originally appeared on March 6. After almost two years of investigative work examining “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and any matters that arose or may arise directly...
Read More
March 23, 2019
Featured image for “The Haves v. The Have-Nots”
The Haves v. The Have-Nots
When federal prosecutors charged more than two dozen wealthy parents with bribery, and fraud for using substitute test-takers and false athletic records to gain their kids’ admissions to top colleges, many in the media were not surprised. “This large-scale grift,” Willa Paskin writes in Slate (Mar. 12), “is a window into the ethical and moral rot of our supposedly meritocratic...
Read More
March 20, 2019
Featured image for “The “Magnificent” Trumps”
The “Magnificent” Trumps
(With apologies to Booth Tarkington) The ‘magnificence’ of the Trumps began with Frederick Christ ‘Fred’ Trump, who acquired his wealth by building and selling housing to soldiers who returned from World War II and their families. Their gilded splendor lasted throughout all the years that son Donald took over his father’s company, later renamed The Trump Organization. The younger Trump...
Read More
January 4, 2019
Featured image for “Remembering Who We Are”
Remembering Who We Are
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy Today marks the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy. Perhaps the most vivid memory of Kennedy I have comes from January 20, 1961 when my seventh-grade teacher wheeled a big,...
Read More
November 22, 2018
Featured image for “The Ethical Take: Big Kahuna Edition”
The Ethical Take: Big Kahuna Edition
In the olden days (of 2017), I used to say, “every week”; ridiculous! Every DAY, Trump and/or his administration face some new potential legal or ethical issue. Here’s the latest rundown: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke – According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), “…Zinke has racked up 17 federal investigations into his behavior since becoming Secretary.” “…the...
Read More
November 14, 2018
Featured image for “Last Man Standing”
Last Man Standing
“Tomorrow the migrants… are more than two months away — if any of them actually come here, but tomorrow is one week before the midterm election, which is what all of this is about.” – Shepard Smith, FOX News anchor, Monday, Oct. 29, 2018 Shepard Smith, the informed, straightforward newsman at FOX News (Yes, you heard me correctly, FOX News),...
Read More
November 2, 2018
Featured image for “I Stand with This Man”
I Stand with This Man
Eighteenth century French philosopher Voltaire once observed, “Common sense is not so common.” In Washington, it’s virtually extinct. But if you travel Northwest to Columbus, Ohio, you will find one man who reflects the kind of practical intelligence we need right now. In case anyone forgot, among the hodgepodge of hopefuls trying to overtake The Trump Reality show in 2016,...
Read More
October 10, 2018
Featured image for “In Treatment”
In Treatment
As Mr. Lichtman’s recovery specialist, he asked if I would I apprise his readers as to his health and welfare. As many of you who have followed Jim’s commentaries over the past eighteen months know, he has spent an ungodly amount of time examining and writing about President Trump. It became obvious, to both Jim and treatment specialists at The...
Read More
July 30, 2018
Featured image for “The Ethical Take: <em>The Truth is Out There</em> Edition”
The Ethical Take: The Truth is Out There Edition
The words and actions of this unprecedented president, and his cronies continue to chip away at our most fundamental values. Carter Page – After the release of a 400-page FBI document, Page, a “campaign advisor” to the Trump campaign, declared that he was not an “informal advisor” to the Kremlin. According to the document, the FBI believed Page was “the...
Read More
July 27, 2018
Featured image for “Impeachment: Bluff or Worse?”
Impeachment: Bluff or Worse?
In an unprecedented move against the second-highest-ranking official at The Department of Justice, two House conservatives, Representatives Mark Meadows (N.C.) and Jim Jordan (OH), have filed articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. I wrote about the incivility demonstrated by Mr. Jordan in his relentless questioning of Mr. Rosenstein last month, (This is Not Who We Are –...
Read More
July 26, 2018

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
Who Watches the Algorithm?
We are building machines that may soon judge, persuade, police, diagnose, hire, fire, and even help governments decide whom to trust. Yet we still have...
He Just Does His Job
I’ve been listening to and watching Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia for more than a year now: his speeches, his questions in Senate hearings,...
Why Donald Trump Has Pulled Me Back In—Again
Last August, I wrote that I was “stepping back from the chaos” of Donald Trump. I meant to write about his presidency only when his...
Scott Pelley Responds
During a contentious staff meeting at 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley spoke out sharply, criticizing the judgment and decision-making of CBS News editor in chief Bari...
The Clock is Still Ticking. But Now It’s Ticking for CBS
I began watching 60 Minutes when it premiered on September 24, 1968, when Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace introduced a new kind of television journalism:...
God Has Chosen Donald Trump
At a Trump-backed Christian prayer rally on the National Mall in Washington on May 17, officially called Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise...