We’ve all heard the expression, “Let the punishment fit the crime”?  Well, for one Colorado judge it couldn’t be more apt! “After seeing so many people return for repeat noise offending,” Reuters news service reported, “Paul Sacco, a judge at Fort Lipton Municipal Court, will punish them by playing music they can’t stand for a full hour.” Who did judge...

Yesterday, three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Democratic Congressman William Jefferson’s argument to dismiss a 16-count indictment stemming from bribery and conspiracy charges. (JimsNotes:  Jefferson is the Louisiana congressman who was videotaped by the FBI receiving $100,000 in cash as part of an investigation in which, according to an FBI statement, “Jefferson sought things of value in...

“The most important thing to understand about nuclear weapons is this:  these weapons do not and cannot provide physical protection to their possessors.” These are the opening words from a written appeal by David Krieger addressed to the next president of the United States. Last May, I chose Krieger as my ethical hero of the month due to his tireless...

Dear Mr. President-elect, An economy in crisis, rising unemployment, needed reform in healthcare and energy, housing foreclosures, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global reputation as unilateral bullies, and a Congress immobilized by special interests and partisan gridlock. The American people are not just fearful of the current state of our union, Mr. President-elect, they’re angry. They’re not only resentful...

I’ve been bothered lately, not just by the recklessness by certain members of Congress, but by the blatancy of it all. Florida Representative Tim Mahoney defiantly telling reporters that the issue of extramarital affairs he had while in office is a “private matter.” Louisiana Representative William Jefferson indicted on 16 corruption-related charges, unashamedly telling constituents that, in spite of $90,000...

“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief.” So said a somber-faced (but he always looks that way) Alan Greenspan as he testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Remind you of anyone? Now I’m not suggesting that the former Fed...

I have serious doubts about Sarah Palin’s ability to serve as vice-president. Here’s Palin’s response to CBS News anchor Katie Couric’s question regarding Palin’s foreign-policy experience. Palin: “It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go?...

Visiting the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston I was struck by the wisdom and relevance to today’s issues some of our 35th president’s words carry. After announcing his candidacy for the presidency on January 2, 1960, in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Kennedy laid out the role of the president in his time. “…the...

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” At a time when the country’s spirit had been all but crushed by fear and despair; when “our affairs were at their lowest ebb and things in the most gloomy state,” British writer and American patriot, Thomas Paine rehabilitated America’s spirit through an essay entitled, “The American Crisis.” Strapped with a war...

No, not that Mr. Smith, the other one, Gregory W. Smith, the former program director of the “royalty-in-kind program” at the Interior Department.   Gregory Smith is one of 19 officials (about one-third of the program’s staff) who accepted gratuities from oil companies including Chevron and Shell, while conducting official business. As the New York Times reported (Sept. 11), the Interior “…department’s...