UPDATE: SANTOS EXPELLED BY HOUSE . . . Finally! After months of disturbing reports regarding Representative George Santos’s lies, fraud, money laundering and other offenses, the New York Republican has been removed from office. What’s next? New York Governor Kathy Hochul will now begin the process of a special election to replace the missing seat in the House. The Senate...

“I’m trying to help them be the best they can be. I have enough of an ego to think I know better than anyone what’s best for them.”—Bobby Knight Embed from Getty Images For legendary Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight, what was “best” for his students was to be a legendary jerk. Knight died on November 1st.  » Read more...

Many people ask me, “Hey Jim, how do you do it? How do you write and speak on, (and once a year, teach) ethics? After all, you’re just like us, aren’t you? You must face the same trials and travails as the rest of us have, right? When things are tough, how do you make the tough calls?” Well, I’ll...

Embed from Getty Images With the end of the 2023 World Series, I became a little nostalgic for the baseball heroes I grew up with.  Most of them were Dodgers: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Duke Snyder. All great but didn’t come close to the charismatic hitting power of Mickey Mantle. So, when I read a story by former Detroit Tigers...

Dysfunction is no longer an adequate descriptor of Washington leadership these days. We’re all aware of the key players in this madness. The media recites them in a 24/7 loop of chaotic images and infotainment. Nonetheless, the strong and the good eventually overcame the darker forces in our nation’s past. Before we continue our march toward the abyss of cynicism,...

While Trust and Confidence is now available through several online sources (Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Apple), I thought I’d revisit an excerpt from the book when Secret Service director Lewis Merletti was preparing a presentation for Ken Starr. First some Cliff’s Notes. During the 1998 investigation of President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Kenneth Starr compelled Secret Service agents...

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana, American writer, and philosopher Embed from Getty Images After watching much of today’s House committee hearing where the extreme right focused with reality show appeal, on attacking America’s well-respected Attorney General, I recalled a series I wrote in January 2022. Sadly, things have only gotten worse....

During the 1998 investigation of President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Ken Starr compelled Secret Service agents to testify about what they may have seen or heard regarding Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. With the support of the Department of Justice, Director Lewis Merletti argued that if agents were allowed to testify about anything other than criminal acts,...

Embed from Getty Images It’s been 60 years since Dr. King spoke to 250,000 supporters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a warm August afternoon in 1963. King’s stirring words about character, however, were improvised not written. Standing close to the civil rights leader, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson whispered, “Tell ‘em about ‘the dream,’ Martin.” I have a...

While Donald Trump’s death march on American democracy continues, the media has dutifully followed the former president’s every twitch. Despite four indictments, and irrefutable evidence from Trump himself where he is alleged to have willfully retained top secret documents and allegedly attempted to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election, Trump’s messianic hold over the Republican Party is alarming. In a CBS News/YouGov...