This excerpt comes from the chapter on Glenn Beck, from a new e-Book entitled, Shameless: The Ethical Case Against Three Out-of-Control Critics and the Need for Civility Now, More than Ever.

In a 2009 Harris poll among 2,276 adults surveyed online, when asked, "Who is your favorite TV personality?" Fox...

Between a rock and hard place.

That's how I felt regarding the Sheen-a-thon - "news" coverage of actor Charlie Sheen's meltdown over five days last week.

Recently, I was asked "What's the difference between news, analysis, opinion, and entertainment?" My response:

News: Last night a ship sank in the...

Strange. Erratic. Irresponsible.

No, I'm not talking about the obvious behavior by Muammar Gaddafi and Charlie Sheen, I'm talking about Good Morning, America's extensive, up-close-and-personal celebrity train wreck of an interview called Charlie Sheen.

Cut to:

Sheen: "I am on a drug. It's called 'Charlie Sheen.' It's not available because...

January 20, 1961, I sat in my seventh grade homeroom class while the teacher rolled in a big, black & white television and announced that we would all be watching history today.

What I was unprepared for was how quiet and engaged everyone in class would...

"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...

Yesterday, a House panel found New York Democratic Representative Charles Rangel guilty of 11 ethics violations stemming from improper solicitation of fund-raising and failure to accurately report his personal income.

After reaching a verdict, the subcommittee now sends the case to the full House ethics committee to determine how...

There's a very old fable of unknown origin that goes something like this...

A scorpion comes upon a river and asks a friendly frog for a ride to the other side. The frog laughs and says something like, "Are you nuts? You're a scorpion. You'll sting me!"

The scorpion...

Once upon a time, in a country wide and beautiful, there was a very audacious and flamboyant financier who liked to wear very nice clothes. (Here he is in his gold tie and pinstripe finery.)

One day, this very daring man saw a need...

On October 7, 2010, I posted a commentary regarding Snyder v. Phelps, a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the key question, as outlined by the court, is "Does the First Amendment protect protesters at a funeral from liability for intentionally inflicting emotional distress on...

Last Friday (Oct. 8) I published a commentary discussing the case Snyder v. Phelps currently before the U.S. Supreme Court; a case that, at first glance, would seem to fall under the free speech aspect of the First Amendment.

Quoting from the Court's own website: "Does the First...

At its best, religion can offer hope and comfort in time of need. At its worst... well, that brings us to Snyder v. Phelps -- a matter before the U.S. Supreme Court which is sure to raise reaction on both sides.

In plain English, the issue is "Does the First...

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the current process used to elect public officials.

Local, state, national, it makes no difference. The process is far too long, uses questionable "facts," relies on negative campaigning and wastes too damn much money.

How much? According...

All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. - Paul Simon, The Boxer

When it comes to the political talking heads crowding the media platform, who, if any, do we trust the most and the least? Are the facts important...

Ann Coulter never met an incongruity or contradiction she didn't embrace.

In her 2002 book Slander, the conservative commentator rails against the New York Times for its misinformation and wanton liberal bias on 198 of the book's 261 pages.

"The Times regularly interprets standard Republican positions as fanatical, religiously...

Okay, time for the other side of the pundit coin.

Alan Colmes, Arianna Huffington, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews or Keith Olbermann.

Whom, if any, do you trust the most, the least or not at all?

Answers to be compared to those of the conservative side in an upcoming...

Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly.

Okay, we've all heard of these folks, but whom, if any, do you trust the most, the least or not at all?

The answers to these and more will be revealed in an upcoming report later this year.

To...

It began with words that insult and incite, then quickly escalated to rapid-fire judgments so full of agendas, and self-interest that is was doomed to collapse under the weight of its own hypocrisy. And what was revealed in the end was a lie.

"All drama is about lies. When the...

The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan had an interesting take this weekend (July 17) on President Obama's poll numbers and problems with the economy and other issues.

"...you know what I think people miss when they look at Washington and our political leadership," Noonan asks. "They miss...

Q: How many egos does it take to screw things up?

A: In the case LeBron James' recent decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and play for the Miami Heat, exactly three: James, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and Reverend Jesse Jackson.

After The Decision, it didn't take long for...

I don't know if it was the heat or humidity covering much of the East Coast, but last week the media continued its pursuit of stories that have little or no meaningful substance.

Last Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge sentenced Lindsay Lohan to 90 days in jail after the actress...