I’ve written about Edward Snowden twice before, (Citizen Who?, Mar. 5, 2015; and Revisiting Snowden, Jan. 3, 2014). A former NSA contractor, Snowden was responsible for leaking thousands of classified documents to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Ewen MacAskill. In Revisiting Snowden, I wrote, “Both The New York Times and Britain’s Guardian newspapers offered editorials in support of clemency...

While President-elect Donald Trump announced that his sons will run his company but make no new foreign deals, problems already exist. “At the Wednesday press conference where Mr. Trump described the company’s new structure,” The Wall Street Journal writes (Jan. 14), “he also said he had turned down $2 billion in property deals in Dubai to avoid any possible ethics...

No one in modern American politics has used social media to influence an audience better than Donald Trump. His tool of choice: Twitter – the technological equivalent of a 1770 broadside. Long before he ran for president, Trump would use social media to preen before a television appearance. “Be sure to tune in and watch Donald Trump on Late Night...

Like millions of voters, I awoke Tuesday to news that – absent public debate or even advance notice – Republican Congressman Robert Goodlatte and others decided that they were going to gut the power of The Congressional Office of Ethics. Front page of The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 3): “House Republicans, meeting as a group Monday night, approved an amendment...

With all the chaos in 2016, I thought I’d end on a positive note. Believe it or not, there were some bright spots. Here are a few standouts that I’ve been collecting. MBA – that’s Masters in Business Administration, online – offers a list of those CEOs who demonstrated an extraordinary level of concern for others. Among them: Sally Osberg,...

“Journalists should accept moral responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of actions and inactions, including the example set for others and when in error, they should make full, fair, prominent and prompt corrections.”   – Michael Josephson, Ethical Principles of Journalism The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other news organizations offer readers the opportunity to “correct the record” regarding errors...

The day after the election – after Donald Trump was confirmed the winner – I sent a quick e-mail to a colleague: “Fear and prejudice just won last night.” His reaction was immediate and I’m paraphrasing, “Don’t say that! You’re using standard liberal stereotypes.” Was I? Since March 2008, this site has been devoted to writing about the good, the...

While the election is behind us and Donald Trump is scheduled to be the 45th President of the United States, I’m trying to be hopeful that he will be a positive force for the country and do the right thing. But it’s getting difficult. On Monday, (Dec. 12), Trump announced he would delay a press conference scheduled for December 15...

The passing of actor and political activist Robert Vaughn reminded me that we should never forget the lessons of history. It also reminded me of a time in college. In 1972 I had one more required class to take, American Jurisprudence. From the moment I sat down, I was lost, completely over my head. The students in the class were...

It didn’t take long for President-elect Trump to show us the difference between what he said during his campaign and what he says now. During the campaign, Trump called President Obama “incompetent.” In last week’s Oval Office meeting, Trump now calls Obama, “a very good man.” During the campaign, Trump said that Obama is “very stupid,” and “the founder of...