The publication of Colin Powell’s private opinions of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – obtained from hacked e-mails from the former secretary of state’s private e-mail account – is only the latest example of the thorny ethical issues that journalists and media organizations must navigate. In this new universe, everything that’s been hacked appears to be fair game after...

Ahhhhhh… the cool mountain air, a calm… ripple… of water peacefully moving over the lake. Oh… it’s you! While on summer break, I thought I’d offer a few links to commentaries that garnered the most attention by readers over the past seven months. First place, with the most views thus far, was my three-part series from April, Trust and Confidence,...

Before leaving on summer recess at the end of the month, here is an assortment to read and ponder. Ginsburg Guff – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had the temerity to exercise her First Amendment right of free speech by calling out Donald Trump as a “Faker.” As The New York Times reported (July 10), “I can’t imagine what this place...

It’s remarkable how many Republicans have come down from the mountaintop of conservative values and demonstrated a complete turn-around in their opinion of Donald Trump. One year ago this month, former Texas Governor Rick Perry had this to say of Trump: “…A toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued....

I began writing this while watching thousands gather for the interfaith memorial service held for the five Dallas police officers who were ambushed and gunned down by a lost and damaged army veteran. The shooter, Micah Johnson, said that he “…specifically set out to kill as many white officers as he could,” following the deaths of two black men by...

In a televised oral report on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server, F.B.I. Director James B. Comey summed up his department’s findings this way: While the F.B.I. could find no “clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence...

No, this is NOT a joke – Rick Tyler, an independent candidate running for Congress from Tennessee, received a much deserved flood of criticism after putting up a campaign billboard along Highway 411 in Polk County which reads, “Make America White Again.” According to WTVC-TV, Tyler explained his reasons this way: “ ‘The Make America White Again billboard advertisement will...

“My hand was writing out the words: There’s a lady who’s sure, all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven… “I just sat there and looked at them and almost leapt out of my seat. “Plant’s own explanation of the lyrics was that it ‘was some cynical aside about a woman getting everything she wanted all...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s e-mails have been the subject of criticism, speculation and more ever since it was discovered that she used a private server located in her home to handle her e-mail account during the period she served as secretary of state. From an ethical standpoint, here are the questions that concern me most: 1) Was Secretary...

On June 2, a California judge ordered Stanford University student Brock Turner to serve six months in jail for sexually assaulting a female student. In a statement to the judge, Turner blamed the “party culture and risk-taking behavior” for his actions. On June 15, Congress will hold a special one hour presentation where congressional members, both men and women, will...