“Mission accomplished: We have him.” No sooner had Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted that message to Mexico’s citizens announcing the recapture of Joaquin Guzmán Loera, than the other shoe dropped… Rolling Stone magazine published an interview with “El Chapo,” The El Chapo, the notorious drug kingpin of the Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. Getting an interview like this is akin...

In 1925 and ’26, Adolf Hitler published (in two parts, no less) an autobiography of sorts. While the title translates as “My Struggle,” the real substance behind the work has more to do with Hitler’s political ideology than anything else. His central thesis being “the Jewish peril,” Hitler believed in a Jewish conspiracy to expand global leadership. While the question...

In this first month of a new year, The Take examines a few stories from the sane… to the inane. Where’s Colin!? — Former Joint Chiefs Chairman and Secretary of State Colin Powell has been conspicuously absent from all the activities surrounding the GOP presidential candidates. I kept wondering, what’s his take on all this. Wonder no more. According to...

Before President Obama held a press conference Tuesday to announce that he was signing executive orders to help reduce gun violence, two Brooklyn New York legislators, Senator Roxanne Persaud and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, were threatened by America’s 1st Freedom, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association. Why? In a story reported by The New York Daily News (Jan. 5),...

If a year can be summarized with one word it might be entitlement: entitled to ignore the facts; entitled to change the law in order to suit your own religious beliefs; entitled to own assault weapon(s) and high-capacity magazines; entitled to ban all individuals of a particular religion from entry into the U.S. Let’s dispense with the easy ones first....

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...

Author/businessman Chuck Williams’ recent death reminded me of a conversation I had with him in February 1999. I thought it fitting to honor his work by reprinting his contribution to my book, “What Do You Stand For?” After enjoying good food and friends for years, Chuck Williams went to France to experience the food and culture, returning with the idea...

Since the attacks in Paris more than a week ago, so much of the political talk has centered on radical Muslims. (Although some leave the word “radical” out of the discussion). Before a packed crowd on Saturday (Nov. 21) in Birmingham, Alabama, GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said, “I want surveillance of certain mosques, O.K.?” Earlier in the week, in...

Since the attacks in Paris last Friday, like many, I have been struggling to understand why some people are so consumed by hate that it leads them to commit monstrous acts. I remembered a book I’ve had since college, Man’s Search for Meaning, by psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. In the book’s preface, psychologist Gordon Allport writes, “As a longtime prisoner in...

“One of the worst and most boring political pundits on television is @krauthammer. A totally overrated clown who speaks without knowing the facts.” – Donald Trump, tweet, June 4, 2015 Okay, boys and girls, it’s time for America’s number one ignored show, Checking the Candidates’ Facts!; the show where you don’t have to participate, and are completely free to disregard...