“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.” – Atticus Finch, “To Kill a Mockingbird” There’s a moment in the film, To Kill a Mockingbird that’s particularly compelling. Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman in a small...

After learning of the death of Jo Ann Harris yesterday, I felt a great sense of loss at someone who was the definition of integrity. A former assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division under then-Attorney General Janet Reno, Harris was not only the first woman to head that post, she was also an uncompromising fighter to...

In 1938, the United States House of Representatives authorized the formation of a Special House Committee on Un-American Activities, (HUAC). The committee was charged with investigating whether there existed communists in positions of power and/or influence, not only in the government, but in American society. The long-term consequences of what has been described as a “witch hunt” have sharply divided...

In my book, What Do You Stand For?, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Assistant Secretary of Defense Dick Capen puts forth his own code which he calls his “Higher Ground Check List.” I asked my New Hampshire students to compose their own higher ground check list. Here’s a composite: – First, forgive yourself; you can’t start with too much baggage. –...

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one pointing out the lack of a clearly defined ethical code followed by justices on the Supreme Court. “Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.,” the NEW YORK TIMES writes in an editorial (Judicial Ethics and the Supreme Court, Jan. 5) “skirted the heart of the problem: the justices are the only American...

A few years ago, I was called for jury duty. After being selected as a finalist, the judge explained that the case we would be deciding had to do with spousal abuse. He asked if we, as potential jurors, had anything in our personal lives that might cause us not to be impartial in this case, to speak up. I...

When the Oracle of Omaha speaks not enough people…correction… not enough of the right people in Washington listen. By now, Mr. Buffett’s Op-Ed has circled the political and financial globe enough that most are aware of the basics. “Our leaders have asked for ‘shared sacrifice,’ Mr. Buffett said in the New York Times last month. “But when they did the asking,  » Read more about: Buffett on...

No sooner had the White House released the long-form birth record of President Obama than speculation began anew by “birthers.” Is it real or fake? Why did it take so long to produce? “It raises far more questions than it answers,” said Joseph Farah, editor-in-chief of WorldNetDaily and grand-high-exalted poobah of “birthers.” (Where’s the Birth Certificate? by Harvard Ph.D. Jerome Corsi...

MSNBC opinionate Keith Olbermann was suspended last week for having violated the political donation provision in the company’s standards by contributing donations totaling $7,200 to three Democratic politicians he had supported on his show. Olbermann returned to his regular Tuesday night slot withoutapologizing to the network. He did, however, offer a written apology to his fans for “having precipitated such anxiety and...

I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of the current process used to elect public officials. Local, state, national, it makes no difference. The process is far too long, uses questionable “facts,” relies on negative campaigning and wastes too damn much money. How much?  According to the U.K.s Guardian, the Obama presidential campaign, including the transition and...