Okay, I’ve trotted out this story before. However, it is the universal message in everyday stories like this that informs my own life and that is why this story speaks to me. To begin with, it actually happened at Christmastime. Second, our smiling protagonist IS just that genuine in her intentions and her actions. That is not to say that she’s a...

Last week a decision was made that could lead to important changes in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The first-step in A Joint Plan of Action on Iran’s Nuclear Program appears to have been agreed to. As stated in the preamble to that agreement: “The goal for these negotiations is to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran’s nuclear...

You are the athletic director of a middle school whose football team just finished a winning season. You just learned that the coach wants to celebrate by taking the entire team to… the local Hooters restaurant to celebrate. What do you do? Well, if you’re Corbett School District Athletic Director Jean-Paul Soulagnet, you send a letter to parents informing them that...

Two stories returned to the news recently. Both surprised me in different ways. Richie Incognito, the Miami Dolphins football player accused of bullying fellow player Jonathan Martin, broke his silence recently to talk about a series of incidents that Martin deemed offensive and harassing. David Cornwell, Martin’s attorney, said in a statement, that his client “endured a malicious physical attack...

Just short of this Friday’s deadline, set by Judge Jeffrey Oing, the suit brought against J.C. Penney and Martha Stewart by Macy’s has settled. Macy’s charged that both had breached an exclusivity agreement that Macy’s had with Stewart that covered a variety of bed, bath and kitchen products. See if you can tell which way the settlement went based on...

In 1898, an exchange took place between Frederic Remington and his boss, William Randolph Hearst. Hearst had sent the artist to Havana to sketch pictures of hostilities purportedly taking place in Cuba. Remington wired, “Everything is quiet. No trouble here. There will be no war. I wish to return.” Hearst responded, “You furnish the pictures… I’ll furnish the war.” While...

Okay, boys and girls, it’s ethical dilemma time! Last week, two politicians were caught, on an open mic, sharing strategy points. Moments before Senate Minority Leader McConnell was due to be interviewed on MSNBC, this brief conversation occurred with Senator Paul: McConnell (as Paul walks up): I’m all wired-up, here. Paul: I just did CNN, and I just go over and over again,...

Early in All the President’s Men – a film that follows Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein track down and piece together the 1972 Watergate scandal – there’s a moment where editor Harry Rosenfeld is listening to Woodward read through a list of the five men caught in the break-in at the Watergate complex. When Woodward mentions that one of the...

Who was Michael Hastings and why would anyone want to assassinate him? Author-Journalist Michael Hastings was a reporter for the Internet based website, BuzzFeed and contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine. Hastings profile rose after an interview he conducted with General Stanley McChrystal in which the four-star general was both candid and critical of individuals in the Obama administration. Hastings himself spoke...

“Evidence Indicates Michael Hastings Was Assassinated” “Hastings Sent Chilling E-mail to Colleagues Before Death” “Did the Pentagon Murder Journalist Michael Hastings?” Those are just a few of the story links that stood at the top of a Google search I conducted into the death of Michael Hastings. I’m not in the habit of running down conspiracy theories that are suggested...