Recent Respect Commentaries

Featured image for “It Has to Get Bad Before There’s Change?”
It Has to Get Bad Before There’s Change?
“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998.” That’s film director Peter Jackson talking about the blacklist producer Harvey Weinstein created for actresses Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd who refused his sexual overtures. “I realize,” Jackson said, “that this was very likely the...
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December 18, 2017
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No Longer Silent
The list grows longer every week. This week’s announcement has celebrity chef Mario Batali stepping down from his businesses after four women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations. Last week saw the resignations of U.S. representative, John Conyers and freshman Senator Al Franken after allegations from multiple women. Fittingly, TIME magazine has chosen 61 individuals – 57 women and 4...
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December 13, 2017
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The Work-Around
work-around: a plan or method to circumvent a problem. After watching Senator Al Franken’s resignation speech yesterday, my cynical self reminded me that too many men in powerful positions appear genetically incapable of taking full, unconditional responsibility for their actions. As this is likely the last speech he’ll make on the Senate floor, Franken sounds both serious and deliberate. He...
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December 8, 2017
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“Reeling”
That’s how CBS This Morning host Gayle King described her reaction to the news that co-host, and PBS correspondent Charlie Rose is the latest to be called out and admit to sexual misconduct charges leveled at him. Sitting alone at their morning table, and looking into the camera with sober faces, Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King discussed their reactions to...
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November 22, 2017
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Of Hypocrites and Predators
Last night, 60 Minutes offered a powerful story by Aly Raisman about how the U.S. Olympic gymnast was sexually abused years ago by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. One question that continually comes up during stories like this is, why now? Why didn’t you report this earlier? Raisman’s answer, “Why are we looking at why didn’t the girls speak...
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November 13, 2017
Featured image for “The $320,855 Moment and a New Code”
The $320,855 Moment and a New Code
With all the incredible high-drama during one of the most exciting World Series ever, one unexpected scene played out in the Astro’s dugout. It only lasted a moment, but for first baseman Yuli Gurriel that moment will cost him in reputation and money. During last Friday night’s game, Gurriel had just scored a homerun off Dodger pitcher Yu Darvish, who...
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November 3, 2017
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An Unheeded Warning
“Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide, and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership in either the legislative branch or the executive...
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October 27, 2017
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If I Only Had a Brain
One day – (hopefully), many, many millennia in the future – some grad student will be green-lighted for a doctoral dissertation on President Trump’s tweets to examine, and perhaps shed light on the current “dark age” of American politics, starting here: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please...
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October 23, 2017
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Alone with Her
“The film starts with Doug seeking out his next prey. He becomes obsessed with a woman named Amy… he’s able to learn details of her life… He meets her at a coffee shop… strikes up conversations with her. The two become friends, but it seems as though Amy isn’t interested in continuing the relationship further.” That bit of opening plot...
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October 16, 2017
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Responsibility and Respect
Two things happened last week that received little attention, but are vital to our progress toward a more perfect union. Last Thursday (Sept. 28), Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch spoke to The Fund for American Studies, a conservative, non-profit educational organization that teaches “the principles of limited government, free-market economics and honorable leadership.” “In his remarks,” The New York...
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October 2, 2017

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
He Just Does His Job
I’ve been listening to and watching Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia for more than a year now: his speeches, his questions in Senate hearings,...
Why Donald Trump Has Pulled Me Back In—Again
Last August, I wrote that I was “stepping back from the chaos” of Donald Trump. I meant to write about his presidency only when his...
Scott Pelley Responds
During a contentious staff meeting at 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley spoke out sharply, criticizing the judgment and decision-making of CBS News editor in chief Bari...
The Clock is Still Ticking. But Now It’s Ticking for CBS
I began watching 60 Minutes when it premiered on September 24, 1968, when Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace introduced a new kind of television journalism:...
God Has Chosen Donald Trump
At a Trump-backed Christian prayer rally on the National Mall in Washington on May 17, officially called Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise...
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...