Recent Personalities Commentaries

Stop Sleepwalking and Start Fighting!
Embed from Getty Images Alarm bells go off on every page of former Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s book, “Oath and Honor,” . . . every page. At New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College last Friday, Cheney continued to press her message to primary voters. “Tell the world who we are with your vote. Tell them that we are a good and a great...
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January 9, 2024
Words Matter
Embed from Getty Images It begins like this: Bit by little bit, misleading words grow in shadows where they are picked up and spread. Bit by bit, false conspiracies are created and multiplied. Lies spread, becoming a wildfire of hate from those who feel isolated, threatened, fearful. According to a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll,  » Read more about: Words Matter...
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January 5, 2024
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What Do Donald Trump and Ken Starr Have in Common?
Both willfully compromised the US Secret Service. Among the egregious behaviors former President Donald Trump inflicted on democracy was utilizing, to his own ends, a federal agency whose mandate was the nonpartisan protective mission of the Secret Service. During his time in office, it was axiomatic that anyone in Trump’s orbit faced a Hobson’s choice: loyalty to Trump or the...
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December 12, 2023
It Doesn’t Change the Truth
“What a triumph for our enemies . . . to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves.”—George Washington Embed from Getty Images What or who are these people pledging their allegiance to? Amendment V — “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury...
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December 8, 2023
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A Matter of Conscience
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...
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December 1, 2023
The Knight of Knaves
“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...
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November 17, 2023
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What Would Thurgood Marshall Do?
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 must face the same trials and travails as the rest of us have, right? When ethical decisions get difficult, how do you make the tough calls?” Well, I’ll let you in on a...
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November 14, 2023
Say It Ain’t So, Mickey!
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...
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November 7, 2023
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All That Is Strong and Good
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,...
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October 10, 2023
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The Clint Hill Segment
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...
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October 6, 2023