Headlines

Congress averts shutdown, postpones fight over Trump's wall

Mortgage rates hit a 2 month low -- an unexpected holiday gift to housing

[Golden Globes:] Hanniity, Zucker, Drudge named most influential ...

California: More than 7-in-10 non-citizen households use welfare

Pelosi casts doubt on passage of Trump's new NAFTA without changes

New Democrat law would block lawmakers from buying and selling individual stocks while in office

Former U.S. attorney general Barr may return to job ...

Obama granted Soros-tied group $310M to help migrants avoid deportation

Assange can leave embassy, says Ecuador's president

Trump could be first president since Carter to face recession while running for reelection

Pro athletes say they will lose fortune under Trump tax 'cuts' ...

Italy cuts illegal migrants sea landings by 80 percent

Give and Take

In life we both give and take. However, most of us can be judged, on balance, as either givers or takers. And, to me, this is a pretty fair measure of the man or woman. We tend to like givers and distance ourselves from takers.

Can I therefore give you my take on a few notables who, on balance, seem to belong in each category ... past, present and fictional?

Givers: restaurant chefs, 12/25 Ebenezer Scrooge, the UK, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Carter (possibly too much giving), capitalists, Billy Graham, Walt Disney, Jesus Christ, Oprah, Pope John, Fred (Mr.) Rogers, the enlightened Grinch, my wife

Takers: restaurant diners, 12/24 Ebenezer Scrooge, the EU, Hillary Clinton, Fidel Castro, socialists, Al Gore, Whitey Bulger, the Kennedy clan, Mark Zickerberg, George Soros, Pope Francis, Nicolas Maduro, the early Grinch, Alec Baldwin, me