Recent Honesty Commentaries

Featured image for “Finding Common Ground, and Why It Matters”
Finding Common Ground, and Why It Matters
A national media organization has recognized the seriousness of our political division and offered something we’ve been missing… A REAL beginning toward ending the death spiral the country has been living in. With the launch of NBC’s initiative, “Finding Common Ground,” the organization is making a deliberate investment in something we’ve been losing: civic dialogue grounded in respect, clarity, and...
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December 15, 2025
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The Steady Endurance of Leadership
I recently read about a group of explorers who located a ship deep beneath the dark, cold waters off Antarctica: a vessel whose very name says a great deal about the man who once led her. Ernest Shackleton’s greatness didn’t come from a great feat. It came from the humility to set aside his own ambition the moment his men...
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December 1, 2025
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“What Is Essential Is Invisible to The Eye.”
That line from The Little Prince by French aviator and author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the essence of the story and the essence of what we too often forget: that the most meaningful truths, character and love, can’t be photographed or seen. They have to be felt. You might not think that what many consider a children’s story has anything...
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November 17, 2025
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Rules of The Game
Well, boys and girls, it’s my favorite time of year: Baseball Postseason. It’s that magical time of year when my heart follows the teams and the onion dip. While the government is officially shut down, baseball charges on, and I’ve got the best seat in the house: front row at home. The competition is fierce, the talent exceptional: the steals,...
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October 6, 2025
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Make America Breathe Again
“If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.”— Abraham Lincoln The absence of truth at the microphone tells us just how far we’ve fallen. And every day, we feel that distance grow—each news cycle thick with chaos, each headline steeped in grievance or fear. We are exhausted—not just politically, but spiritually. For years, we’ve been...
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August 8, 2025
Featured image for “The Man Who Helped America Believe in Itself Again”
The Man Who Helped America Believe in Itself Again
The Great Depression didn’t begin with the crash of ’29. It started earlier—quietly, steadily—beneath the surface of a country convinced the good times would never end. By the start of that year, the warning signs were there. Farmers had been struggling for years, drowning in debt and falling prices. Coal miners were out of work or watching their wages shrink....
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July 28, 2025
Featured image for “The Moral Voice in a Cardigan”
The Moral Voice in a Cardigan
Though I was much older than the audience for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, I did watch his testimony before a congressional subcommittee. I came away inspired by his plainspoken common sense, quiet reason, and the values he passed on—kindness, honesty, respect, and the importance of becoming a person of character. In a time when volume often substitutes for values, Fred Rogers...
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June 23, 2025
Featured image for “Two Men. Two Visions.”
Two Men. Two Visions.
With the constant churn of headlines—political strife, cultural division, and an unrelenting news cycle—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, even numb. So when this week’s TIME magazine arrived, I felt an unexpected sense of peace and gratitude. The cover was simple, yet powerful: a full-page portrait of Pope Leo XIV, dressed in royal vestments, hands folded calmly in front of him....
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May 22, 2025
Featured image for “What’s the Cost of Integrity? Why 60 Minutes Matters Now More Than Ever”
What’s the Cost of Integrity? Why 60 Minutes Matters Now More Than Ever
Week after week, CBS’s 60 Minutes has done what journalism is supposed to do: hold those in power accountable, no matter the cost. The current cost: The Trump administration has responded with threats, lawsuits, and efforts to silence dissent through sheer intimidation. The most recent episode took viewers to Ukraine, where correspondent Scott Pelley interviewed President Zelenskyy at a bombed...
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May 21, 2025
Featured image for “The Cost of Doing the Right Thing”
The Cost of Doing the Right Thing
I met President Gerald Ford while working at KMIR-TV in Palm Springs. The event was held at the home of a wealthy supporter in Thunderbird Heights, high above Rancho Mirage. It was one of those orchestrated press gatherings, but Ford made it feel different. As he made his way down a line of reporters—and this lowly cameraman—he didn’t just shake...
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May 16, 2025