HOYT PURVIS: Blind allegience?
The Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination dominated much of public and media attention in recent days. We saw a brutal confirmation fight laced with holier-than-thou hypocrisy and strict partisanship.
Ho...
October 10, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Anonymity and credibility
Responsible journalistic practice requires journalists to identify sources,
But responsible journalistic practice also requires journalists to inform the public about matters of importance.
In some ca...
September 19, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: The root of corruption
Long ago, when I was an undergraduate student, one of my professors, in a class on ethics, opened one day's class in a way I have never forgotten.
A tall, rail-thin, older man, the professor stood sil...
August 29, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Politics in a polar vortex
A polar vortex is an upper-level, low-pressure area near Earth's poles. There are two polar vortices in Earth's atmosphere, overlying the North and South poles. Beneath that lies a large mass of cold,...
August 8, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: By the numbers
Numbers can tell many stories: interesting, informative, important and sometimes inconsequential or misleading.
Numbers can point to significant trends locally and around the world. For example, India...
June 6, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Could 2018 rival 'year that rocked world?'
This is proving to be a chaotic and tumultuous year. We're not yet to the half-way mark of 2018, but each day brings compounding of the confounding.
It has even drawn comparison to 1968 -- 50 years ag...
May 16, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Foreign policy must recognize global connections
A successful foreign policy cannot be formulated or implemented in a vacuum -- domestically or internationally.
National interests are deemed to be the guiding principle of a nation's policies, and na...
April 25, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Truth or consequences
Truth, it has been said with considerable justification, is the first casualty of war.
It could also be said that truth is a casualty of current-day politics or that today's politics is characterized ...
April 4, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: What leadership can do
Forty years ago at this time, the U.S. Senate was engaged in a lengthy and heated debate.
At issue were the highly contentious Panama Canal Treaties.
Today, the Panama Canal barely registers as a poli...
March 14, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Olympics try, but there's no avoiding world politics
Many of us have spent time in recent days viewing coverage of the winter Olympics from South Korea.
Many of us have spent time in recent days viewing coverage of the horrendous school shooting in Flor...
February 21, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Historic 'papers'
If you haven't seen The Post, it is a film I recommend.
It revolves around the Washington Post and its publication of the "top-secret" Pentagon Papers in 1971, one of the most significant conflicts be...
January 31, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Trapped in Congress
A few weeks ago I was on Capitol Hill in Washington, visiting congressional offices to urge continued support for a program I believe is highly important and worthwhile. In almost every office I visit...
January 10, 2018
HOYT PURVIS: Books from last year worthy of readers' time
For many years around this time, I have written about books -- notable, interesting, subjects of special significance, usually recent publications.
This year's column is stained with sadness as a resu...
December 20, 2017
HOYT PURVIS: Concentrating power
The Trump administration and the Republican congressional majority have had very limited legislative success. However, there are actions engendered by government agencies and Trump appointees within t...
November 29, 2017
HOYT PURVIS: Change not always meaningful
One year ago, America woke to the dawn of a new era in national politics.
A year later, we're not at all sure where we're going in this new era, which is bringing us chaos and contentiousness and yes,...
November 8, 2017