Why can’t politicians just admit when their wrong? One answer is that such an admission is perceived as a sign of weakness that the other side will exploit. Growing up in Catholic schools on the east coast, the brothers were tough, but the nuns were tougher. If you even whispered the wrong thing, the penalty was immediate. It’s sad to...

Under a cloud of simmering fear, Senator Joseph McCarthy, absent any real evidence, announced to the American public that communists were working inside the federal government. During 1954’s Senate hearings investigating the Wisconsin Senator’s blatant character assassinations, one exchange was particularly noteworthy. Following McCarthy’s accusation that counsel for the committee, Joseph Welch, placed a member and communist from his own...

As the Senate trial of President Trump comes to its predicable conclusion, Senators are taking time to address their colleagues (really constituents) on the Senate floor to explain their reasoning behind their upcoming vote on Wednesday. Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of three Republicans who were considering a call for both witnesses and White House documents (both were refused by...

“Common sense is not so common.” – Voltaire “I think we’ve made our case,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone said. “All you need in this case is the Constitution and your common sense.” The case before the Senate is about Principle vs. Loyalty; the principles of honesty and responsibility, and the necessary moral courage to stand up for those principles...

After all the denials and a White House dream team of TV star lawyers who have stated in their opening arguments on Saturday that President Trump’s purpose in withholding aid to Ukraine had not been conditioned on an investigation into former Vice-President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and other Democrats, The New York Times reports (Jan. 26) that the president...

I beg your indulgence. Due to my watching the opening impeachment arguments in the Senate — to be used in a future commentary — I am postponing my interview with a U.S. congressman until Thursday. Discussing sign stealing in college football, Miami University coach Chuck Martin said, “ ‘I don’t like stealing signals being part of the game, but it...

As a New York Times editorial (Jan. 3), cogently puts it: “The real question to ask about the American drone attack that killed Major General Qassim Suleimani was not whether it was justified, but whether it was wise.” Several years ago at Christmas time, I gave some money to a homeless man sitting in front of the local post office....

In my 2005 book, What Do You Stand for? – Stories About Principles That Matter, I began tobacco insider Jeffrey Wigand’s story with these words: What do you do when you discover something wrong? What do you do with what you know? Do you remain silent or come forward? Do you remain loyal to the company or expose the truth?...

While attending a conference last week, I found myself in an elevator with two other attendees. While my name tag appeared to suggest I was speaking at the conference, I explained that I do write and speak on ethics. One attendee smiled and asked, “Does ethics exist anymore?” While our nation’s capital endures numerous ethical lapses, it’s important to recognize...

The whistleblower was not in on the call. It was hearsay. “Everything Trump says was in the best interests of the country.” No due process. Secret basement meetings (with Republicans in attendance). “The Ukrainian president didn’t do the investigation… No quid pro quo.” “Was there a quid pro quo?” E.U. Ambassador Gordon Sondland asked rhetorically, testifying before the House committee....