Seventy-nine years ago, on Halloween eve, director Orson Wells pulled off one of the great media hoaxes of all time with a radio broadcast that scared the beejesus out of millions of listeners who believed that Martians had invaded New Jersey. (New Jersey?) A front-page story in The New York Times read: “Radio Listeners in Panic, Taking War Drama as...

On Tuesday, (Oct. 24), two House committees – oversight and intelligence –announced plans to “launch a joint investigation” into the Uranium One deal during the Obama administration. The genesis of this story goes back to the 2016 presidential campaign when then-candidate Trump stated a number of times: “Remember that Hillary Clinton gave Russia 20 percent of American uranium and, you...

“Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide, and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership in either the legislative branch or the executive...

The Take has been MIA for a while. So, let’s get to it. Spin Out – Yesterday, the junior senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, announced he would not be running for re-election. In a surprise announcement from the floor of the Senate, most of Flake’s comments were pointed at the current occupant of the White House whose behavior grows more...

One day – (hopefully), many, many millennia in the future – some grad student will be green-lighted for a doctoral dissertation on President Trump’s tweets to examine, and perhaps shed light on the current “dark age” of American politics, starting here: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please...

In his latest book, The American Spirit, historian David McCullough had the rare privilege of addressing a joint session of Congress in 1989. McCullough has observed much in his 84 years, and written much more about the past in books, and the present in speeches, and what he observes, he relates in stories that make the past come alive. On...

Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz is my kind of leader. He’s responsible to the bottom line, sure, but he’s also cognizant of the many issues facing the country. In 2013, at the company’s annual meeting, a shareholder stood up to criticize Starbucks support of marriage equality, declaring, “In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our...

“The film starts with Doug seeking out his next prey. He becomes obsessed with a woman named Amy… he’s able to learn details of her life… He meets her at a coffee shop… strikes up conversations with her. The two become friends, but it seems as though Amy isn’t interested in continuing the relationship further.” That bit of opening plot...

2007, Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, VA = 32 dead; 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, CT = 27 dead; 2016, Orlando, FL = 49 dead; Las Vegas, NV = 58 dead, more than 500 injured. According to The Wall Street Journal (Oct., 2015), The United States “leads the world in mass shootings.” Survivors of mass shootings frequently suffer post-traumatic stress. Think...

Last week, I wrote about the mass shooting in Las Vegas, (Why? When? What?). After the deaths of 58 individuals at an outdoor concert, my commentary was another plea for commonsense gun legislation. In a separate e-mail, a regular reader to this site wrote to ask me a good question: What would you do? Hey Jim: …Please write 5 suggestions...