In our last episode, Mitch McConnell, (you remember him, he’s the one in the pinstriped suit and the clueless look playing the part of the Senate Majority Leader), was bringing two bills to the floor of the U.S. Senate (that’s the chamber of Congress where serious reflection and decision-making takes place), to reflect and decide on two very different plans....

Every week, shameful actions in our nation’s capital seem to surpass those of the previous week. Thursday (Jan. 17), House representatives – individuals who are supposed to act responsibly and represent the best interests of the country – almost came to physical blows. “Republicans accused Democrats of trying to steal a vote,” The Washington Post reported (Jan. 19), “Democrats accused...

Day 28 of a partial government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Politifact reports (Jan. 16), “…shuttered federal departments and agencies employ more than 800,000 people, or roughly 40 percent of the federal workforce. … About 380,000 of the have been furloughed, meaning they cannot come to work and are not being paid. Another 420,000 aren’t being paid but are...

No sooner had I written that I could not find any evidence of a single furloughed federal worker who supports the president in shutting down the government in favor of a southern border wall, (Faces from the Crisis, Jan. 14), then The New York Times reported late Monday (Jan. 14), that there are some federal workers – in Parkersburg, West...

“ ‘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,...

“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...

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,...

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....

Words of tribute for our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, continue to lead the news. Generous. Humble. Caring – a president who favored consensus over partisanship; “His kindness and civility cloaked a competitiveness,” son Jeb Bush and close friend James A. Baker III write in The Washington Post (Dec. 4). “The two of us never met a man as remarkable...

“America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle.”      – George H.W. Bush, 41st U.S. President There are people in our lives who, despite not personally knowing, cause you to feel connected to them. It comes through their words and their character. President George H.W. Bush was that kind of man and president. And you can...