While Thomas Jefferson has been revered as perhaps the greatest literary force of all American presidents, by virtue of  having written the Declaration of Independence, I connect more closely with the words and thoughts of Abraham Lincoln owing to his singular range: his address at Cooper Union, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address, as well as his second inaugural address. Lincoln’s clarity...

Entering the downtown Washington D.C. headquarters, two plaques are visible: the first tells individuals where they are; the second lays out its mission – a mission that has, over decades, lost much of its trustworthiness. “In 2013,” CBS reports, “Vietnam veteran Zion Yisrael was told he had five years to live. He has stage 4 liver disease, caused by hepatitis...

Last Friday, on a New York subway, a simple act of compassion was captured on a phone which has been viewed by millions. A young man is seen literally taking the shirt off his back and helping a shirtless and shivering homeless man. Joey Resto is the 23-year-old man on the left. Interviewed by a Fox News affiliate in New...

To whom do you turn in the midst of crisis? Who has the requisite wisdom to lessen your doubts, your fears and anxieties? Of all the speeches given in 2015, none comes close to that of Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. During the five days that Francis visited the United States, he was welcomed with warmth...

The streets of Milwaukee can be tough. Fortunately, Mama’s on patrol. Martha Freeman is a 77-year old retired corrections officer who, by day tends to household chores like passing out donated bread to those in need. By night, however, she cruises her neighborhood looking for kids who might be getting into trouble. And she’s packin’… wisdom and kindness. In a...

In a political season that has seen far too much prejudice, fear and hate, David Swan, a U.S. Army soldier, reminds us all just what is important and why in an open letter he writes to Muslims. In response to a reporter asking why he wrote it, Swan said, “There is so much divisive rhetoric being shouted on social and...

When Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez took the mound for the first game of the World Series between the Royals and the New York Mets on Tuesday, serious discussions were underway at FOX Sports. While the team of announcers went through line-ups and backgrounds on starting pitchers, what appeared to be known throughout Twitter and other social media...

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”  – St. Augustine Before his elevation to the head of the Catholic Church, Jorge Bergoglio began as a Jesuit priest from Argentina. Since his investiture as Pope in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis — in honor of Francis of...

This month, The Take examines the Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly. The Good – It’s gone! What has stood for decades flying on the grounds of South Carolina’s state house, the Confederate battle flag, long seen as a symbol by many of hate and oppression was officially removed last Friday. In less than a month, after the deaths...

As I write this, the jury is in the process of rendering its verdict in the penalty phase of the Boston Marathon bombing case. Last month, a jury of seven women and five men convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of all thirty charges against him – 17 carry the death penalty. While awaiting the jury’s response, I read a surprising appeal by...