Recent Personalities Commentaries

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The Ethics of Fun
Ethics is often dry, serious, and yes, even depressing with the amount and frequency of individuals and organizations that we admire, trust, depend on, or root for caught up in all manner of conduct unbecoming. So, here are some questions to consider: Is it ethical to have fun? Can you have too much fun; not enough fun; is there an...
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June 1, 2015
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Kennedy – A Study in Crisis Decision Making
The style, the affairs, to be sure, but President John F. Kennedy also got much more right than some give him credit for. Looking through the lens of those who were there at the time, one inconsistency was brought to light by journalist David Talbot for a TIME magazine cover story from 2007. This remarkably perceptive story discusses Kennedy in...
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May 29, 2015
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What is Ethical Leadership?
In light of all the recent ethics scandals, what’s needed most today is authentic leadership – individuals who demonstrate, by example, how to make a difference for the betterment of all. U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore represents one such leader. In 1965, then-Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his vastly outnumbered troops in the first major battle of the war...
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May 26, 2015
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Alert and Available
Charlie Rose is perhaps the best in-depth inquisitor in media today. The Emmy award winning journalist is not only the host of his own nightly PBS program where he interviews America’s best writers, business leaders, politicians, athletes, entertainers, innovators and thinkers, he is my go-to newsman/anchor at CBS This Morning. Rose likes to observe or ask, “What does it mean,”...
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May 22, 2015
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Ooohhhhh, Tom!
“I have never used steroids. Period.” – Rafael Palmeiro “As long as I live, I will deny it.” – Lance Armstrong “Never knowingly did I take performance enhancing drugs.” – Marion Jones “I would never do anything to break the rules.” – Tom Brady, Jan. 22, 2015 “I don’t have, really any reaction [to a report finding: ‘it is more...
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May 8, 2015
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Character Counts
Character Counts! is the name of the character education program established by The Josephson Institute of Ethics utilized by schools and communities nationwide. While character in professional athletes can appear to be lacking, more organizations are waking up to the reality that reputation matters, and if a player has behavior issues it reflects directly on the organization for which they...
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May 6, 2015
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Brian Williams
What’s to become of Brian Williams, the stalwart and – up until his abrupt six month suspension in February – trusted news anchor for NBC? The good news is that NBC News is taking the time to conduct a thorough internal investigation into the fabrications Williams has told the media, particularly about war-related incidents he was supposedly involved in. According...
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April 27, 2015
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McStupid
Nothing is uglier than someone who feels she’s special and others aren’t. Following a one week suspension for verbally abusing a towing company employee, ESPN Sports reporter Brittany “Britt” McHenry has returned to work. In a video that’s been widely circulated, the 28-year-old can be heard heartlessly disparaging a female clerk, clearly pointing out the “class” distinction between the two,...
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April 24, 2015
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James Comey’s Search for Meaning
Speaking at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual National Tribute Dinner held each year on April 15th, FBI Director James Comey took time to make clear why he requires agents to visit the Holocaust Museum. Director Comey is a special breed of law enforcement official who not only sees and understands the big picture, but encourages his agents to...
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April 20, 2015
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The Angelina Effect Revived
Most actors achieve press attention promoting a book, film, TV, play, cause or, in rare instances a public mea culpa for some infidelity, (e.g. Hugh Grant). While Angelina Jolie-Pitt has addressed causes in the past, she took the unusual step in talking about her personal decision-making regarding a medical choice she began two years ago, and the reasons behind her...
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March 25, 2015

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...