The Christmas edition of “The Take” is noteworthy, to say the least. From ‘Affluenza’ to ‘Secret Santas,’ it’s a mixed bag. The New Normal – We can now add Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado to the growing list of school shootings. Since Sandy Hook, where a gunman took the lives of 26, there have been 22 school shootings in...

Last Month (Nov. 15), I wrote how Corbett Middle School football Coach Randy Burbach (pictured), over the objections from school officials, took his team to a local Hooters restaurant and bar for an end-of-season celebration. After learning of the location in advance, Corbett School District Athletic Director Jean-Paul Soulagnet asked Burbach to change the location. When he refused, Soulagnet sent a letter to...

Last week a decision was made that could lead to important changes in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The first-step in A Joint Plan of Action on Iran’s Nuclear Program appears to have been agreed to. As stated in the preamble to that agreement: “The goal for these negotiations is to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran’s nuclear...

You are the athletic director of a middle school whose football team just finished a winning season. You just learned that the coach wants to celebrate by taking the entire team to… the local Hooters restaurant to celebrate. What do you do? Well, if you’re Corbett School District Athletic Director Jean-Paul Soulagnet, you send a letter to parents informing them that...

The president earns 4 Pinocchios; Thank you, Michael Bloomberg; Incognito no longer and a Pope for the ages! Obama’s Drama – The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler is persnickety about facts. His weekly column, The Fact Checker checks the reality behind the spin of most politicians. President Obama gained notoriety recently (Oct. 30) by receiving a full, 4 Pinocchios for this oft repeated promise from June...

Drug maker Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $2.2 billion and plead guilty to a misdemeanor in marketing the antipsychotic drug Risperdal and other drugs. “The agreement,” The New York Times writes (Nov. 4), “is the third-largest pharmaceutical settlement in United States history and the largest in a string of recent cases involving the marketing of antipsychotic and anti-seizure drugs to older...

At the height of the government shutdown last month, during all the fuss and furry, three Republican Senators – Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Kelly Ayotte brokered a deal that returned common sense, civility and bipartisanship to Washington. Along with 17 other female Democrat and Republican colleagues, Ayotte, Murkowski and Collins put service ahead of agenda to reopen the government....

On Wednesday I asked if it was ethical to force-feed prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who, by their own volition, refused to take any nourishment. The question was featured in a Room for Debate forum on The New York Times website. I was looking for responses based solely on the ethics of such an action. I pointed out that both the American...

At a White House news conference last month, President Obama said, “It’s not sustainable. The notion that we’re going to keep 100 individuals in no man’s land in perpetuity. All of us should reflect on why exactly are we doing this? Why are we doing this?” Obama was talking about the on-going imprisonment of, as of August, 164 individuals at...

Just short of this Friday’s deadline, set by Judge Jeffrey Oing, the suit brought against J.C. Penney and Martha Stewart by Macy’s has settled. Macy’s charged that both had breached an exclusivity agreement that Macy’s had with Stewart that covered a variety of bed, bath and kitchen products. See if you can tell which way the settlement went based on...