Recent Fairness Commentaries

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You’ve got to be Kidding!
Hands down, my wife’s favorite movie – the one she watches till the end, no matter when it started – is Overboard; that over-the-top, can-see-the-ending-a-mile-away romantic comedy starring Goldie Hawn and real-life partner Kurt Russell. Joanna Stayton (Hawn), is a wealthy, stuck-up, supremely bored heiress traveling the world, apparently, on one of the largest private yachts imaginable, because her husband...
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December 26, 2016
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Now, More than Ever
With all the noise in the world – much of it negative – it seems pretty clear that change is necessary and it begins with each of us. When religious historian Karen Armstrong discussed a long desired wish for a better world at a TED talk she gave in 2008, the organization decided to help fulfill that wish. On November...
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December 23, 2016
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Conflicts and Double Standards
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...
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December 16, 2016
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The Real Problem with Fake News
Last Sunday on the CBS News program 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley spoke with House Speaker Paul Ryan. One exchange caught my attention. Pelley: Trump tweeted, in the last week or so, that he had actually “…won the popular vote, if you deduct the millions who voted illegally.” Do you believe that? Ryan tried to dismiss this with a smile and...
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December 7, 2016
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Observations on an Election
While the results of Tuesday night’s stunning upset – by a man who has never served an elected office – will be analyzed and parsed for months and years to come, here are some observations, both general and ethical. – The vast majority of pollsters and media, armed with the latest technology, did not come close to getting it right....
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November 10, 2016
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How/Why/What is the Appeal of Donald Trump?
These are, without a doubt, the Holy Grail of cultural and political questions of the moment: How does Trump appeal to his supporters? Why do supporters continue to stand by him when he lies – even when confronted with the facts – more than any candidate in modern history? What is it about this man that continues to attract both...
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October 21, 2016
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Willful Blindness? There’s a Reason
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.                   – John Adams, in his defense of British soldiers wrongly accused of the so-called “Boston Massacre.” In my 2011 e-book, Shameless, I wrote that supporters of political critics Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Glenn...
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September 12, 2016
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Summer Recess
Ahhhhhh… the cool mountain air, a calm… ripple… of water peacefully moving over the lake. Oh… it’s you! While on summer break, I thought I’d offer a few links to commentaries that garnered the most attention by readers over the past seven months. First place, with the most views thus far, was my three-part series from April, Trust and Confidence,...
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August 1, 2016
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That was Then, This is Now
It’s remarkable how many Republicans have come down from the mountaintop of conservative values and demonstrated a complete turn-around in their opinion of Donald Trump. One year ago this month, former Texas Governor Rick Perry had this to say of Trump: “…A toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued....
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July 20, 2016
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Rigged?
While Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has been mathematically eliminated from the 2016 election, for weeks he has complained that the election process is rigged. While many brushed his remarks aside as a non-story, many, including Sanders own campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, stated that Nevada Democratic officials “hijacked the process…” Are they right? On May 16, The New York Times writes,...
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June 10, 2016