Recent Fairness Commentaries

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What Biden, Congress and Journalists Should Do
“It’s good to be the King!”  – Mel Brooks, “History of the World Part I” It’s fifty days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. While the Covid-19 virus remains the top priority for both the incoming president and Congress, there are steps that both can take to begin to restore trust in government, protect the interests of Americans, and...
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November 30, 2020
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How Can We Restore Our Faith in Democracy?
“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried.…” – Winston Churchill We think of America as exceptional, the leader of the free world, an example of doing the right thing. However, we’ve made our share of...
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November 23, 2020
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Final Pitch
Dear Undecided Voter, I’m hoping to aid your decision-making and help clarify what’s at stake in tomorrow’s election. Here’s what we know: According to Washington Post fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, since his time in office, Donald Trump as made a total of 22,247 false or misleading statements since assuming office. FactCheck.org and Politifact.com offer similar lists. Absent any evidence,  » Read more...
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November 2, 2020
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This is Not Normal
In 1976, the Senate named an office building for Michigan Senator Philip Hart. Above the entrance to that building are words written by his colleagues who praised Hart for being… “A man of incorruptible integrity and personal courage strengthened by inner grace and outer gentleness. …He advanced the cause of human justice, promoted the welfare of the common man and...
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October 13, 2020
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Lindsey Graham’s “Defining Moment”
“… And you could use my words against me and you’d be absolutely right.” – Sen. Lindsey Graham, in remarks to Senate colleagues shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Here’s what the “principled” Senator repeated to The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, at the magazine’s sponsored conference just two years ago: “If an opening comes in the last year...
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September 23, 2020
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Lesson for Our Times
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice who was a fierce advocate for gender equality, died last Friday. In a statement released by the nation’s highest court, read, “Our nation has lost a justice of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations...
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September 21, 2020
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The Message
Three exemplary Americans died in less than a year. Three Americans taught us the importance of commonality: Congressman Elijah Cummings; Congressman John Lewis; and Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian. All three were stalwart civil rights leaders. All three advocated the message of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” All three, and thousands...
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July 20, 2020
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From Conflict to Kindness
“To meet the challenge of our times… we must first defeat the enemy within.” —Robert F. Kennedy While Kennedy was addressing corruption in labor unions, he could have spoken those words today, given the multiple challenges we face: — A massive virus; unemployment; a struggling economy; companies struggling with new protections for workers and protocols for conducting business; attacks against...
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July 9, 2020
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This is How Change Begins
Apologies. I’m working on a special project that has taken up yesterday and today. “What We Need to Be,” is scheduled for Monday.   “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941 As protests against racial and police injustice surge...
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June 17, 2020
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The Deeper Darkness
“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence…” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Growing up in a Los Angeles suburb, I led a life safe from many of the troubles that took place only miles from where I lived. During the summer of ’65, those troubles exploded during a hot August night. Marquette Frye, a black, twenty-one-year old, was pulled over by...
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May 29, 2020