Looking at two recent films, I was struck not only by the similarities in deception but how the underlying aspect of fear transports individuals to act in unethical ways. Frost-Nixon is about the final disintegration of a man’s character. (For some, that would be assuming Nixon had any character to begin with.) But what the film shows us is how easy it is...

An economy in crisis, rising unemployment, mounting foreclosures, once trusted financial institutions and respected individuals involved in fraud and malfeasance by elected officials. In such perilous and unprincipled times, it can be difficult to find gratitude much less express gratitude in our daily lives.  And yet, a recent e-mail from a colleague who works at the crossroads of media, business...

Digging deeper into the write-in responses from the Capps/Zogby Poll entitled, What Americans Expect from the Next President and Congress, I was struck by the direct, sometimes blunt language and emotion from Americans. In response to what qualities the country needs most from the next president, most offered a list of traits, many more took the time to put forth their own...

The slide began in September. Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, A.I.G., Fannie and Freddie, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Representatives Tim Mahoney and Charles Rangel, Senator Ted Stevens. Early yesterday we learned of the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges stemming from trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacated senate seat to the highest bidder.  » Read more about: The Winter of Our Discontent  »...

In 2007, author Richard Rosen had a Hollywood dream job – to write an authorized biography of Cheeta, the chimp used by MGM in the Tarzan movies of the ’30s and ’40s. According to Rosen’s own account in the Washington Post (Dec. 7), “When the agent for Cheeta and his owner, Dan Westfall, had first approached me about writing the biography, I...

On November 13, a 17-year-old grocery bagger, found a brown, canvas money bag in the bathroom of the supermarket where he works.  When he opened it, he found $10,000 in cash. According to McClatchy Newspapers, the bag was “Stuffed with 50- and hundred-dollar bills… the life savings of a Vancouver, Washington man who accidentally left it in the men’s bathroom at...

The Gallup organization’s annual Honesty and Ethics poll gave nurses the highest ranking out of twenty-one professions for the seventh straight year! “Eighty-four percent of Americans,” Gallup reported, “call their honesty and ethical standards either ‘high’ or ‘very high.’…” This speaks directly to the issue of trust.  Clearly patients, doctors, administrators and others believe that nurses have the highest level...

Dear Mr. President-elect, An economy in crisis, rising unemployment, needed reform in healthcare and energy, housing foreclosures, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global reputation as unilateral bullies, and a Congress immobilized by special interests and partisan gridlock. The American people are not just fearful of the current state of our union, Mr. President-elect, they’re angry. They’re not only resentful...

On Tuesday I noted that in spite of being convicted on all seven counts of corruption, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens said that he would not step down from office. One of the questions I asked was, “Whose interests is [Stevens] really serving?” Answer:  Clearly his own. Now comes word that the Alaska G.O.P. is urging state voters to stand behind...

“The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve some time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that…. I don’t think we have done anything wrong.” So said Alaska Senator Ted Stevens in a...