We are standing on a precipice of an Alt-Reality where self-serving falsehoods are driving out truth and objectivity. Goodbye Walter Cronkite; hello Alt-Deceivers. Fake news stories have quickly taken on a life of their own. Part of this is due to the hyperpartisanship of the recent election cycle. Another part is due to Donald Trump shamelessly pushing false information at...

Last Sunday on the CBS News program 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley spoke with House Speaker Paul Ryan. One exchange caught my attention. Pelley: Trump tweeted, in the last week or so, that he had actually “…won the popular vote, if you deduct the millions who voted illegally.” Do you believe that? Ryan tried to dismiss this with a smile and...

The passing of actor and political activist Robert Vaughn reminded me that we should never forget the lessons of history. It also reminded me of a time in college. In 1972 I had one more required class to take, American Jurisprudence. From the moment I sat down, I was lost, completely over my head. The students in the class were...

“Democracy is the only system capable of reflecting the humanist premise of equilibrium or balance. The key to its secret is the involvement of the citizen.”         – John Ralston Saul “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” – Ronald Reagan “Nuclear weapons have posed an existential threat to humanity for decades. They undermine democracy by putting...

It didn’t take long for President-elect Trump to show us the difference between what he said during his campaign and what he says now. During the campaign, Trump called President Obama “incompetent.” In last week’s Oval Office meeting, Trump now calls Obama, “a very good man.” During the campaign, Trump said that Obama is “very stupid,” and “the founder of...

While the results of Tuesday night’s stunning upset – by a man who has never served an elected office – will be analyzed and parsed for months and years to come, here are some observations, both general and ethical. – The vast majority of pollsters and media, armed with the latest technology, did not come close to getting it right....

For the past sixteen months there has been a lot of talk that America has lost its way; that we are weak; that we have somehow, lost our greatness. If that is true, then why do so many want to come to this country, attend schools, build businesses, become citizens, grow and prosper? Nineteenth century French diplomat and historian Alexis...

In the waning days of the his campaign, Donald Trump has been setting the table to spur supporters’ anger after November 8th. “Jon A. Husted,” The New York Times reports (Oct. 16), “the secretary of state of Ohio, said it was ‘wrong and engaging in irresponsible rhetoric’ for any candidate to question the integrity of elections without evidence. Mr. Husted,...

Based on newly discovered emails, FBI Director James Comey is re-opening the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s email server. In a letter to Congress, Director Comey could not spell out exactly what is contained in the new documents without further investigation. However, in a statement to FBI employees, the director explained his reasoning in releasing news to the public via Congress....

These are, without a doubt, the Holy Grail of cultural and political questions of the moment: How does Trump appeal to his supporters? Why do supporters continue to stand by him when he lies – even when confronted with the facts – more than any candidate in modern history? What is it about this man that continues to attract both...