Recent Honesty Commentaries

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“…to make ourselves better”
“Individual faults and fragilities are no excuse to give in, and no exemption from the common obligation to give of ourselves. Today, more than ever before, I believe that each of us as individuals must not only struggle to make a better world, but to make ourselves better, too….” – Senator Edward M. Kennedy, speech at JFK School of Government,...
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December 28, 2018
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Just in Time for Christmas!
No, it’s not the latest Hallmark Christmas movie. It’s a new game from Parker Brothers that you and the whole family can be engaged and enraged in this holiday season. You know there’s a culture shift in the zeitgeist when toy company Hasbro — through it’s Parker Brothers division — announces a new version of the venerable Monopoly board game,...
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December 17, 2018
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The Ethical Take: Big Kahuna Edition
In the olden days (of 2017), I used to say, “every week”; ridiculous! Every DAY, Trump and/or his administration face some new potential legal or ethical issue. Here’s the latest rundown: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke – According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), “…Zinke has racked up 17 federal investigations into his behavior since becoming Secretary.” “…the...
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November 14, 2018
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Credibility
“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.” ~ Edward R. Murrow, 20th century journalist in testimony before a Congressional Committee, May 1963 Let’s face it, credibility is not that simple anymore. It has less to do with facts and more...
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October 22, 2018
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I Stand with This Man
Eighteenth century French philosopher Voltaire once observed, “Common sense is not so common.” In Washington, it’s virtually extinct. But if you travel Northwest to Columbus, Ohio, you will find one man who reflects the kind of practical intelligence we need right now. In case anyone forgot, among the hodgepodge of hopefuls trying to overtake The Trump Reality show in 2016,...
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October 10, 2018
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The Reckoning
Alex Jones – the radio/internet hate host and false conspiracy theorist – has been banned from most social media platforms… finally! “iTunes, Facebook, Spotify and YouTube all removed his audio and video material from their platforms, saying Jones violated their policies on hate speech,” NPR reported. He’s also been removed from MailChimp,  » Read more about: The Reckoning  »...
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October 3, 2018
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“Is This the Country that American Women Must Live In?”
At the 1991 confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, law professor and former co-worker of Thomas, Anita Hill, gave graphic testimony regarding allegations of sexual harassment. As reported by CBS News (Sept.19), here’s some of what Hill had to sit through. Republican Senator Arlen Specter: “You testified this morning that the most embarrassing question involved — this is...
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September 21, 2018
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Kavanaugh v. Blasey Ford
Who to believe? The sexual assault allegations leveled against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are yet another stunning shock to an administration that is already shell-shocked from revelations in the last 10 days: Bob Woodward’s book, “Fear” which details an out-of-control president; an anonymous insider who confirms an out-of-control president; and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s unexpected “flip” to...
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September 19, 2018
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Updates
In Friday’s commentary (Right Message, Wrong Moment), I sided with Serena Williams’s point about a double standard that women are held more accountable for their bad behavior than men. I was wrong. Near the end of this year’s women’s U.S. Open final, Williams was fined $17,000 for three code violations in the finals against Japan’s Naomi Osaka, her first Grand...
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September 17, 2018
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Dear Speaker Ryan
When President Trump addressed a group of evangelical leaders at the White House recently, he offered this stark warning: “This November 6 election is very much a referendum on not only me, it’s a referendum on your religion, it’s a referendum on free speech and the First Amendment. … “It’s not a question of like or dislike, it’s a question...
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September 10, 2018