Recent Respect Commentaries

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Last Man Standing
“Tomorrow the migrants… are more than two months away — if any of them actually come here, but tomorrow is one week before the midterm election, which is what all of this is about.” – Shepard Smith, FOX News anchor, Monday, Oct. 29, 2018 Shepard Smith, the informed, straightforward newsman at FOX News (Yes, you heard me correctly, FOX News),...
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November 2, 2018
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“We Can Be Better Than This”
Times of crisis call forth a leader among us who, through their compassion and wisdom, can help both comfort and unite. Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers is doing just that by not only tending to the needs of his own community but offering a broader message to us all. CNN’s Alisyn Camerota spoke to Rabbi Myers on Monday morning...
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November 1, 2018
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#This I Pledge
The political poison that has infected the electorate can no longer be ignored. Each incident – from the shooting of congressional Republicans on a baseball field last year, to the venomous Senate hearings last month – raises the threat toward greater violence. Given the most recent act of terror involving multiple pipe bombs sent to former and current politicians, an...
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October 25, 2018
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Epilogue
After two weeks of turmoil and rage, what more could possibly happen? We’ve given up the common ground for my ground. We’ve gone from dissent to disrespect; from disrespect to hatred. Before we face the next bitter Division Du Jour, perhaps it’s time for us to consider what we stand for? I believe Judge Brett Kavanaugh is, fundamentally, a good...
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October 8, 2018
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She Said, He Said, They Said
At the end of this commentary, I will ask a question of Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members. After watching several moments of the committee’s hearing with sexual assault victim Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, followed by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, several things stood out. The Obvious – After several weeks of only reading about Dr. Blasey Ford’s allegations, the committee...
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October 1, 2018
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Updates
In Friday’s commentary (Right Message, Wrong Moment), I sided with Serena Williams’s point about a double standard that women are held more accountable for their bad behavior than men. I was wrong. Near the end of this year’s women’s U.S. Open final, Williams was fined $17,000 for three code violations in the finals against Japan’s Naomi Osaka, her first Grand...
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September 17, 2018
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Right Message, Wrong Moment
Last Saturday’s U.S. Open Women’s final should have been an incredible moment for Japan’s Naomi Osaka. It wasn’t, thanks to some excessive anger by a professional who should know better. The 20-year old Osaka, soft-spoken and shy, was in tears after winning the match on what Williams and others have labeled a double-standard by chair umpire Carlos Ramos when he...
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September 14, 2018
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No Place for Haters
“We must never remain silent in the face of bigotry. We must condemn those who seek to divide us. In all quarters and at all times, we must teach tolerance and denounce racism, anti-Semitism, and all ethnic or religious bigotry wherever they exist as unacceptable evils. We have no place for haters in America — none, whatsoever.” – Ronald Reagan,...
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July 25, 2018
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Truth, Justice and the American Way
“Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird.”  “It’s a plane.”  “It’s Superman!”  “Yes, it’s Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman,  » Read more about: Truth, Justice...
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July 4, 2018
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This is Not Who We Are – Part 2
This is what passes for civil discourse in the current House Judiciary Committee. Ohio representative and House Freedom Caucus founder, Jim Jordan (R), accused Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein of hiding information and documents requested by the committee regarding the FBI’s Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation. Rosenstein politely but firmly responded, “I’m not trying to hide anything.” Rosenstein and FBI Director...
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June 29, 2018

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The White House as Profit Center
There was a time—not very long ago—when public service required sacrifice. In 2006, when President George W. Bush nominated Hank Paulson, then C.E.O. of Goldman...