I was told by White House Press Secretary John G. Nicolay, that “Mr. Lincoln needed a little respite after recent news of a loss in our great civil war.” “John, I’ve been waiting months for this interview.” “He’s at Murphy’s Bar next door to the theater.” It was a bleak and rainy night when I walked through the front door...

17 Dead after a shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” one student shouted in a cell phone video. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel: “This is catastrophic!” Action Congress has taken since the Sandy Hook School shooting five years ago: Zero. I was already working on a commentary regarding gun...

At a recent concert with friends, I’m enjoying the anticipation of hearing Loggins and Messina in a rare, benefit concert. Just before the house lights dim, an announcement reminds the audience to be aware of the exits and that “recordings and photography are not permitted.” No sooner had the band begun playing then three people sitting directly in front of...

A short series of stories about ethical minefields that have finally met their fate, maybe. Chief Wahoo Retires – Finally, the Cleveland Indians have announced that they will “retire” their “big-toothed, red-faced caricature” mascot “Chief Wahoo” used on uniforms, caps and other items. “The Indians have used the Chief Wahoo logo since 1947,” The Los Angeles Times reports (Jan. 29),...

Two commentaries regarding two possible wars demonstrate the vital need for statesmanship over salesmanship. Lawrence Wilkerson served as chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell during the George W. Bush administration at the time the U.S. was ramping up for war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. “Fifteen years ago,” Wilkerson writes in an opinion for The New York Times...

Those aren’t my words. Those words come from the Justice Department in a letter before the release of a Republican memo critical of judgment and investigative practices of both Justice and the FBI concerning their investigation of Trump associate Carter Page. (What follows is a condensed version of this story. To fully understand the memo’s context, you many want to...

Woody Allen is a gifted writer and filmmaker with a unique style and voice who has, throughout decades, held up the mirror to our own shortcomings and pretensions. He is also an alleged child molester. Whether or not you believe Dylan Farrow — Allen’s adopted daughter at the time with his live-in partner, Mia Farrow — the issue was supposedly...

In an Opinion piece in The New York Times (Jan. 28), Rachel Denhollander – the first woman to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar – writes, movingly, about her transition from whistleblower to courtroom witness. “When I took on Larry Nassar,” Denhollander says, “I had no idea what I would lose. …I lost my...

Friday’s revelations that President Trump called for the firing of Special Counsel Robert Muller III last June, and would have, had it not been for the threatened resignation by White House counsel, Donald McGahn II, is yet another piece of a growing mosaic that may lead to the conclusion that the president obstructed justice. Writing in The New York Times...

Last Wednesday, I shared excerpts from two papers written by New Hampshire students on the topic of Ethics and Social Media. Christofer (pictured above in his final presentation) utilizes insight from another class to help inform his ethical reasoning. “…during my Communicating Mindfully class with Professor Del-Bonis Platt,” Christofer writes, “we explored the effects such devices had on social interactions....