Recent Ethics Commentaries

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Really, Sarah, Really?
Last Friday, CNN retracted a story that had appeared on its website incorrectly linking Trump confident and hedge-fund manager Anthony Scaramucci to a Russian investment fund supposedly under investigation by the Senate. On Tuesday, (June 27), White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wasted no time in calling this to the attention of all media at the (sometimes) daily...
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June 30, 2017
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Keeping CNN Honest
CNN’s Anderson Cooper has a semi-regular segment on his evening show called, Keeping Them Honest, where he reports about absurd or just plain wrong information. Now, the cable news channel is on the hook for posting on its website (not broadcasting) an inaccurate story of their own. On Monday, three CNN reporters resigned after the network retracted a story about...
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June 28, 2017
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Ethics 101
Earlier this month, Eric Trump, the president’s son, was interviewed on Fox News by Sean Hannity. “Morality’s just gone,” Trump said, “morals have flown out the window and we deserve so much better than this as a country.” Trump was specifically referring to Democrats criticisms of his father the president, even going so far as to say, “To me, they’re...
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June 23, 2017
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When the Media Goes Too Far
Last Memorial Day, in the early hours of the morning, an adult male unsuccessfully attempted to pull his car off the side the road. With the car partially sticking into the right lane, the brake light on as well as the right turn signal blinking, the car remained stopped. No other individuals or vehicles were involved. According to a police...
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June 21, 2017
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Comey v. Trump – Part 2
On May 9, President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. “…it’s a story,” National Public Radio (NPR) reports (May 15), “that has now continued past his termination, with a winding narrative that has seen the president make veiled threats and contradict his own staff as well as the vice president.” On May 18, President Trump tweeted: “This is the single...
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June 16, 2017
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Just Two Baseball Managers
Yesterday’s shooting incident during baseball practice between Republicans and Democrats in Alexandria, Virginia sobered up a lot of people. Most notable, Democratic Congressman Mike Doyle from Pennsylvania, and Republican Congressman Joe Barton from Texas, who together gave a lengthy press conference to discuss the morning’s incident. Republican House Whip Steve Scalise and four others were shot during the episode in...
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June 15, 2017
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The Witch Doctor of Truth
President Trump must’ve missed CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360  the other night when Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz recommended that the president get a personal lawyer and “zip it! …stop tweeting… stop talking…” On Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – an oasis of rationality – announced the appointment of Robert Muller as special counsel to investigate the possibility of complicity...
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May 19, 2017
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A Bridge Too Far?
Gen. Field Marshall Model’s aide: Field Marshall, pardon me for interrupting, but… British paratroops have apparently landed … three kilometers from here! Gen. Model: Why should they do that? There is nothing valuable here. … Me! I am valuable. They have all come just to capture me. Get my driver and car. Evacuate my headquarters. …And don’t forget my cigars!...
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May 17, 2017
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How Many More Shoes?
Look, let’s get serious here; the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Trump while the director is in the midst of an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia is not normal. Senator John McCain called Trump’s actions “unprecedented,” The Washington Post reports (May 10). “Probably the most respected individual in all of the American...
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May 12, 2017
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All Lies Matter
Since June 2015, when he first announced his candidacy, Donald Trump has proven himself to be the most dismissive, divisive, defensive, histrionic, ill-tempered, sexist, Islamaphobic, bigoted, blame-laying, responsibility-evading, transparency-avoiding, media-needy, media-hating (except for stories about him that he likes), contradictory, federal judge-denouncing, Fake News-claiming, science-denying, historically illiterate, constitutionally ignorant, conspiracy-promoting, demagogic, fear-mongering, ally-alienating, NATO-naïve, authoritarian-leaning, Putin-praising, murderous-dictators-admiring (Korea’s Kim Jung...
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May 5, 2017