Recent Personalities Commentaries

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The Ethical Take: Ides of March Edition
Lots to get to, so let’s get to it. Breaking News: “The Republican Party is Shattering” – So says Republican Soothsayer-In-Chief Peggy Noonan. Noonan may be a late-comer to the implosion of her party, but after Trump’s decisive win in 7 states last Tuesday, she now admits that Trump is indeed, “a divider of the Republican Party… [and] unpredictable.” However,...
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March 7, 2016
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Trump Supporters to Electorate: DROP DEAD!
Just when you thought the Republican race for the presidential nomination could not possibly get embarrassingly worse, it does. Last night, billionaire huckster Donald Trump had already won 7 of 12 state primaries and looked to increase his lead before the night was over. Forty-eight hours earlier he was interviewed on CNN’s State of the Union (Feb. 28), by Jake...
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March 2, 2016
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The Truthies Are Still Out There
“Scully?” “Mulder?” “Where are you, Scully?” “I’m at the lab finishing tests, Mulder. Where are you?” “I’m in his room. This is strange, Scully.” “What’s strange, Mulder?” “His clothes are all hanging neatly in the closet; stack of books by his bedside. I can’t find anything…” “Mulder, you better get over here. I found something.” [Insert commercial break] [Back in...
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February 26, 2016
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Privacy v. Security: The Debate
Late Friday, CNN Tech reported (Feb. 19) that The House Energy and Commerce Committee has invited Apple CEO Tim Cook and F.B.I. Director James Comey “to explain to Congress and the American people the issues at play and how they plan to move forward.” This came about after Apple refused the F.B.I.’s request to create a program to unlock a...
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February 22, 2016
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Lincoln and Compassion
While Thomas Jefferson has been revered as perhaps the greatest literary force of all American presidents, by virtue of  having written the Declaration of Independence, I connect more closely with the words and thoughts of Abraham Lincoln owing to his singular range: his address at Cooper Union, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address, as well as his second inaugural address. Lincoln’s clarity...
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February 17, 2016
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I’m Abraham Lincoln and I Approved This Message
Okay, I missed Lincoln’s birthday on Friday, but this is good. In light of the fiery attacks GOP candidates have thrown at each other, it’s interesting to consider a question presented by FlackCheck.org, the political literacy site: Could Lincoln be elected today if his opponents used today’s political tactics? The concept was developed into a 2012 social studies lesson plan...
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February 15, 2016
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Dear Cam, What Happened on Sunday?
What does it take to get to the Super Bowl, Cam? A lot of hard work, time, sacrifice and… something else. However, during the post-game media interview following last Sunday’s Super Bowl, you were beyond stoic. You sat, for all of 7 minutes, with a hoodie pulled tight around your head, no eye contact, head down at times, barely answering...
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February 10, 2016
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The Ethical Take
The Take had quite a range of recent stories to choose from. The Weasel – Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager and head of Turing Pharmaceuticals, smiled and smirked his way through his testimony before Congress last week regarding questions related to securities fraud. To watch Shkreli’s testimony is to watch a ludicrous stream of redundant answers to questions...
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February 8, 2016
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Fact-Checking: Fact v. Friction
Fact-checking isn’t a perfect discipline, but it has become a somewhat reliable tool for individuals who wish to separate the absurd from the reasonable in political rhetoric. On January 27 (Why do People Ignore Facts?), regarding presidential candidate Donald Trump I wrote, “If 77 percent of what comes out of Trump’s mouth on the stump is patently false, why do...
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February 3, 2016
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Fact-Checking a Reader
(Note: This commentary was written and posted in January, 2016. It was based on then-candidate Trump’s statement of December 7, 2015, calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” as pointed out in the 12th paragraph, below. Comments to this post are now closed.)...
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January 20, 2016

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...