Recent Integrity Commentaries

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It’s Time.
In 1940, journalist Edward R. Murrow stood in a church in England while the country endured German bombers night after night. Inside the church was a crudely written sign which read, “If your knees knock, kneel on them.” It’s time for Americans to get up off their knees and fight. Like a hamster on a wheel, we’ve become stuck going...
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May 16, 2023
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The Thomas/Crow Affair
Starring Clarence Thomas as the Supreme Court’s oldest serving justice, and . . . Harlan Crow as the Republican Megadonor. The latest saga in Justice Thomas’s lifestyle has just been reported by ProPublica, a non-profit group of investigative journalists. To recap: “The Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas Caper.” Despite a complete lack of evidence, Mrs. Thomas held the opinion that the 2020...
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May 5, 2023
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What America Needs Most
In the face of near-impossible odds, George Washington–tasked with leading his relatively untrained, beaten-down, militiamen demoralized by the deaths of 2,000 from disease–ultimately turned the tide with his victory over the British at the battle of Princeton. How did he succeed in his greatest test of character and courage? Washington’s unequivocal moral integrity earned him the trust of his men...
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April 11, 2023
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Lessons From Ukraine
Think about this. Because of Putin’s war against Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children are enduring the harshest conditions imaginable: nightly bombing; an absence of light, heat and water. Ukraine’s health system cannot keep up with the sick and injured. Schools have closed in much of the country. Despite help from European and Western allies, life in Ukraine...
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February 24, 2023
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Supremely Compromised
Let’s cut to the chase: Americans expect a higher standard from the US Supreme Court than the other two branches of government . . .  much higher and we’re not getting it. Let’s start with Justice Alito. “A former leader of the anti-abortion movement wrote to the chief justice to report an alleged earlier breach, of a 2014 contraception decision,...
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January 27, 2023
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Mr. Smith is Back!
Sorry, fans. I’m on assignment. Hope to return next Tuesday. Here’s what I like about politicians. Every once in a while, we get heroes—people who stand up for what’s right and good and best not just for the people back home, but the entire country. Margret Chase Smith, the Republican Senator from Maine, was such a hero when she stood...
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January 17, 2023
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Integrity Matters
In a TIME magazine essay, Michelle Obama talks about a question she is frequently asked: “What do you mean when you say, ‘When they go low, we go high?’” Mrs. Obama explained that she and the former president are “committed and recommitted to the idea of going high many times . . . Hate crimes, trans rights, gay rights, voting...
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December 16, 2022
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The Supreme Court: “Ethics, What’s That?”
The Supreme Court has dealt with serious issues this past session: Immigration; Climate Change (the court rolled back the EPA’s ability to reduce the country’s carbon footprint; big mistake); in a rarely seen Second Amendment ruling, the court has allowed law-abiding citizens to carry handguns outside the home for self-protection, (Bigger mistake); overturning Roe v. Wade (HUGE MISTAKE). Then there’s...
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December 2, 2022
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Stand for What’s Right!
Integrity: firm adherence to a code of moral values—uprightness. A rap star spouts antisemitic and anti-Black remarks and refuses to apologize. A basketball star apologizes for antisemitic remarks only after he was suspended for his actions. A Supreme Court Justice will not step aside from legal decision-making on any issue brought before the court regarding the 2020 election involving the...
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November 7, 2022
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Justice Thomas Has a Big Problem and So Do We
My wife is the president of a local non-profit organization. As such I attend many of the functions she takes part in. Frequently, I am privy to conversations by board members and others regarding a variety of matters, and sometimes I give my wife unsolicited advice. Several years ago, a potential donor was being courted by the organization. However, this...
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October 4, 2022