Barbara Bush died last week. The 92-year old former first lady had been struggling for the last few years with health issues, and when the family recently announced that she would not seek further medical treatment, the disclosure of her death did not come as a surprise. Peggy Noonan, former speech writer to Ronald Reagan, wrote (Apr. 21), that “Barbara...

“I’m embarrassed, ashamed. I think what occurred was reprehensible at every single level. I think I take it very personally as everyone in our company does and we’re committed to making it right.” That’s Starbucks company founder and Executive Chairman Howard Schultz talking to CBS This Morning host Gayle King about his reaction to two black men who were arrested...

In the world of ethics, you don’t fight fire with fire. You sue. As reported by Reuters (Apr. 17), “The parents of two children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre have sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation, accusing him and his website InfoWars of engaging in a campaign of ‘false, cruel, and dangerous assertions.’ … “The parents...

What’s going on? I’m gone for only three weeks and… alright, let’s get into it. Mr. Zuckerberg Goes to Washington – And it doesn’t exactly go well for the great Stone Face. After the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal – in which Cambridge created a personality application, posted it on Facebook, then scooped up and used the personal data of approximately 87...

One of the most unforgettable and tragic news stories of the last 60 years took place on November 22, 1963. I never saw it until years later because I was sitting in my High School Homeroom class in New Rochelle, New York. It began with a sober voice over announcement by Walter Cronkite. “In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired...

Baseball season begins in just 10 days, and what better way to begin than with a great baseball story. Football may be America’s most popular game, but baseball is forever. Actually, that’s the title of a new book by former Washington Post columnist and peace studies teacher Colman McCarthy. Baseball Forever is a collection of stories McCarthy has written over...

It sounded like a good idea. (Strike that.) It sounded like a great idea: one simple blood test that required a single finger prick would give “everyday Americans unlimited control over their health,” The New York Times writes (Mar. 15). The key promise Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes made to investors and potential clients: “that drawing a tiny amount of blood...

There’s a moment during the first act of Orson Welles’s classic film, The Magnificent Ambersons – a period story about the rise and fall of a local family – where Welles, as narrator, points out what a terror young, self-centered George Amberson Minafer is to all the local citizens. “Someday,” a neighbor angrily remarks, “that boy is going to get...

What have I learned after 1,418 commentaries? I’ve learned that ethics scandals are not isolated to any age, party, gender, or ethnicity; that Democrats have been just as shameless as Republicans; that women are not as innocent as they may appear and old age, in many cases, does not confirm ethical wisdom. Nonetheless, I remain inspired by those individuals who...

Ten years ago, March 8, I launched this website with two goals: “First, I hope to generate a greater awareness of the importance of ethics in our lives; second, I want to foster a dialog with others about the affect ethical principles, or lack thereof, have on our decision making. It’s a dialog that will include politics, sports, entertainment, immigration,...