Recent Personalities Commentaries

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Faces from the Crisis (Hint: It’s Not at the Southern Border)
“ ‘Right now, I can go get a bunch of loans, but if I’m not going to get paid, when am I going to pay those back?’ said Kerri Woodridge, a furloughed Office of Personnel Management employee.” WBAL-TV reported. “Freda McDonald, who’s furloughed from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, brought up health care costs. She has an incurable neuromuscular disease,...
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January 14, 2019
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Wanted: Profiles in Character and Courage
“To be courageous… requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula… whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces, if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he...
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January 9, 2019
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Another Word About Dorothy Day
Colman McCarthy is always a supportive friend but he’s much more. The former Washington Post columnist retired to start The Center for Teaching Peace, a radical little group that has the audacity to believe that “unless we teach our children peace, someone else will teach them violence.” Among his advisory board: former Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Hatfield, Arun Gandhi...
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January 7, 2019
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The “Magnificent” Trumps
(With apologies to Booth Tarkington) The ‘magnificence’ of the Trumps began with Frederick Christ ‘Fred’ Trump, who acquired his wealth by building and selling housing to soldiers who returned from World War II and their families. Their gilded splendor lasted throughout all the years that son Donald took over his father’s company, later renamed The Trump Organization. The younger Trump...
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January 4, 2019
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Show Some Integrity
As the partial shutdown of the federal government grinds on, we have learned that employees who have been furloughed will eventually be paid. That’s little consolation to those who literally live paycheck to paycheck with housing and other costs. “The shutdown is affecting parts of nine cabinet-level departments,” The New York Times writes (Jan. 1), “and as it drags on,...
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January 2, 2019
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$2 Million, $100 at a Time
Repeated every year by CBS News’ reporter Steve Hartman, this is one story of character and compassion I never get tired of. One very wealthy and very grateful gentleman travels the country and hands out $100 to individuals in need. CBS News cameras capture the reaction on the recipients year after year. However, Hartman explains how it all began. “The...
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December 19, 2018
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On the Side of Hope
In 2017, the United Nations convened a conference which resulted in The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In 2017, the Nobel committee awarded The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons – better known as ICAN – its coveted Peace prize for their work leading to the U.N.’s goal. Who is ICAN? ICAN is a coalition of more than...
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December 14, 2018
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Is This A Good Time to Talk About Civility?
P.M. Forni, the early Italian Literature professor who asked all of us to choose civility, died earlier this month at his Maryland home. As a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University, Forni help found The Civility Project whose aim was to examine the importance of civility in society, and promote its practice on college campuses and communities around the country....
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December 12, 2018
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The Alarm is Sounding
In 1982, Dr. David Krieger founded The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation to be a driving force in abolishing all nuclear weapons from the planet. When it comes to peace and disarmament, Krieger says, “the people must lead their leaders.” Recently, Krieger wrote a ten-point message aimed at the next caretakers of the planet. “Our generation has caused and witnessed a...
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December 10, 2018
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7 Lessons from the Life of George H.W. Bush
Looking back on his life and presidency, George H. W. Bush made decisions consistent with specific ethical values. Here are seven illustrations. 1: Nice Guys Don’t Finish Last (Respect, Compassion) – Bush was always respectful. Even in the political fray, he never ridiculed or berated opponents. He also understood how others felt and went above and beyond to support them....
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December 7, 2018

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
When Political Identity Replaces Ethical Judgment
The political and cultural landscape has become a minefield of conflicting beliefs, many now rooted less in public policy than in personal identity. One of...
Principles Matter.
A few nights ago, I was watching The Way We Were, a film I’ve seen more times than I can count. This time, a single...
All the President’s Men 2.0
“Politics had infiltrated every corner of government—a strong-arm takeover of the agencies by the Nixon White House.” —Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, All the President’s...
The Threat to November Is Already Here
“Cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.”—George Washington’s...
Jon Ossoff and the Conscience of Atticus Finch
I’ve written about Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff before, but after watching his questioning of Jay Clayton, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI),...
Hearts and Minds
There’s a moment in Cool Hand Luke when Luke, played by Paul Newman, is returned to a prison camp after escaping. Determined to break his...