Recent Responsibility Commentaries

Words Matter
Embed from Getty Images It begins like this: Bit by little bit, misleading words grow in shadows where they are picked up and spread. Bit by bit, false conspiracies are created and multiplied. Lies spread, becoming a wildfire of hate from those who feel isolated, threatened, fearful. According to a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll,  » Read more about: Words Matter...
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January 5, 2024
It Doesn’t Change the Truth
“What a triumph for our enemies . . . to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves.”—George Washington Embed from Getty Images What or who are these people pledging their allegiance to? Amendment V — “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury...
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December 8, 2023
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A Matter of Conscience
UPDATE: SANTOS EXPELLED BY HOUSE . . . Finally! After months of disturbing reports regarding Representative George Santos’s lies, fraud, money laundering and other offenses, the New York Republican has been removed from office. What’s next? New York Governor Kathy Hochul will now begin the process of a special election to replace the missing seat in the House. The Senate...
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December 1, 2023
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What Would Thurgood Marshall Do?
Many people ask me, “Hey Jim, how do you do it? How do you write and speak on, (and once a year, teach) ethics? After all, you must face the same trials and travails as the rest of us have, right? When ethical decisions get difficult, how do you make the tough calls?” Well, I’ll let you in on a...
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November 14, 2023
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Climate Change
We are losing the battle against climate change. You don’t have to be a scientist to see that the planet is experiencing more intense weather than ever before. Fire, floods, unremitting storms—all are having an unprecedented impact on the planet. A report by the United States Geological Survey says it all. “With increasing global surface temperatures, the possibility of more...
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September 29, 2023
We’ve Seen This Movie Before. We Didn’t Like It Then.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana, American writer, and philosopher Embed from Getty Images After watching much of today’s House committee hearing where the extreme right focused with reality show appeal, on attacking America’s well-respected Attorney General, I recalled a series I wrote in January 2022. Sadly, things have only gotten worse....
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September 21, 2023
Are We Living Up to the Dream?
Embed from Getty Images It’s been 60 years since Dr. King spoke to 250,000 supporters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a warm August afternoon in 1963. King’s stirring words about character, however, were improvised not written. Standing close to the civil rights leader, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson whispered, “Tell ‘em about ‘the dream,’ Martin.” I have a...
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September 1, 2023
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Partisanship Trumps Leadership
While Donald Trump’s death march on American democracy continues, the media has dutifully followed the former president’s every twitch. Despite four indictments, and irrefutable evidence from Trump himself where he is alleged to have willfully retained top secret documents and allegedly attempted to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election, Trump’s messianic hold over the Republican Party is alarming. In a CBS News/YouGov...
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August 22, 2023
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It’s Called Citizenship, Mr. Trump
Even as former President Donald Trump finds himself facing 4 criminal indictments, his hardcore supporters continue to parrot his false accusations that the charges against him are politically motivated. However, in his never ending bluster and blame marathon, Trump and his base overlook one crucial detail in the decision-making behind all those charges. Prosecutors don’t indict; grand juries do. That’s...
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August 17, 2023
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Fantasy Island
Wasn’t that the fantasy/drama show from the 70s? Welcome to Fantasy Island, the reality show in Washington, DC. On the South side of the island, we have the octos (octogenarians). Democrat Dianne Feinstein, at 90 years old is clearly frail and recently fell in her San Francisco home. Retiring? Not a chance. Republican Mitch McConnell, 81, stopped in mid-sentence during...
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August 11, 2023