After closely following these commentaries and reading the results of the survey, Discordant Voices, I’m sure you’re all asking… “So, where’s the promised book, Jim?” While I was hoping the e-book– an ethical examination of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter – would be ready this past fall, I’m now looking at a March release date. Besides making sure that all...

“There is something about too much prosperity that ruins the fiber of the people.”      – Diplomat Dwight Morrow In 1933, the president awoke to the news that the United States banking system had collapsed. Unemployment had reached 25 percent. Hourly wages nose-dived 60 percent. Distraught dairy farmers blockaded highways in order to dump hundreds of gallons of milk in...

This idea of self-restraint and the press is a debate that often comes up. The last several weeks has seen hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents made public by founder Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. To Assange “all transactions between nations and leaders should be transparent,” Time magazine wrote in a recent profile. It’s interesting to note that contrary to...

In 1994, while doing research on the creation of the Lone Ranger for my first book, I spent four days with Fran Striker, Jr., the son of the creator. It still surprises me how few people know that an unassuming, imaginative writer from Buffalo, New York created, developed, and wrote the Lone Ranger,Green Hornet, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, and many others.  » Read more about:...

How do you balance living up to the expectations of others with being true to yourself? How do you find the strength to stand up for what you believe is your own path? These are just some of the themes that drive the Disney animated feature, Mulan. Based on Chinese legend, Mulan tells the story of a young girl determined to save her...

“An organization has obtained secret documents. They are newsworthy, but they could be damaging as well, to national interests and individuals. “Do you publish?” That was the opening to a Wall Street Journal article (Nov. 29) discussing the question placed before several major news organizations, including the Journal, last week when WikiLeaks, an organization devoted to publishing via the Internet and a...

When should secrets be exposed?  When should they be kept secret and who decides? Those are the ethical questions involved in the recent disclosure of 251,287 confidential U.S. embassy cables – daily reports – intended for senior officials at the State Department by the self-styled, whistle-blowing authority, WikiLeaks. In the case of the break in at the Watergate office complex...

In light of my excess last week regarding political pundit Keith OIbermann, I’ve been spending a little more time reading up on civility. According to an excellent little volume, Choosing Civility, by P.M. Forni, “Civility’s defining characteristic is its ties to city and society. “The word derives from the Latin civitas, which means ‘city,’ especially in the sense of civic community. Civitas is the...

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated. Nearly every American who is old enough can remember where he was when he heard the news of Kennedy’s death. In my case, I was on a train platform in Japan when I was told of the assassination. A Japanese man came up to...

Our crack Ethics Stupid field reporter, Jon K, (he’s the one holding the “Impeach Nixon” sign on the far, far right) had his boots on the ground, as well as several sweaters and a big coat, at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C. last month and filed this report. “I got to the Rally at 5:20am and there were probably...