The long, slow march of freedom

With respect to the extension of political, economic, and religious freedom, East Asia contains some of the more challenging spots on the globe. I’ve commented in the past on Korea and China. Continue Reading...

Rangel at the helm

“No committee, arguably, has more power or attracts more lobbyists than the Committee on Ways and Means,” writes the NYT’s Robin Toner. “Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, joined the committee in 1975, and now, at the age of 76, has finally arrived at the very top.” Continue Reading...

Porn drives tech? Maybe not…

They say that technology drives culture (HT: Zondervan>To The Point). But what drives technology? Many believe that pornography is the driving force behind adoption of particular technologies. Thus, says Slate television critic Troy Patterson, “Watching YouTube is far closer to consuming Internet pornography than staring at the television. Continue Reading...

Jewish theology and economic theory

Pick up the new monograph, Judaism, Markets, and Capitalism: Separating Myth from Reality, from the all-new Acton Bookshoppe today! How does one account for the widespread distaste among Jews for a free market political agenda? Continue Reading...

Negotiating entitlements

Last night the President spoke of “the challenge of entitlements” and said that “Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience — and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound.” Continue Reading...

Religion, recidivism, and reform

The Detroit News ran my commentary from the end of last year on the role of religion and prisoner reform today, “Don’t prevent religion from helping to reform prisoners.” The version that ran today omits the references to Jeremy Bentham, which you can get from the original and this related blog post. Continue Reading...

Even Big Bird knows better

You may have seen this story a few weeks back toward the end of last year: “Some faith groups say bottled water immoral,” by Rebecca U. Cho of the Religion News Service. Continue Reading...

Faith-based weather broadcasting

Via Drudge, the Weather Channel “Climate Expert” is taking serious flack (check the comments) for her call to pull the credentials of any media meteorologist who doesn’t endorse the theory of human-caused global warming. Continue Reading...

Child labor is too expensive

Child labor is too expensive, at least for the Grand Rapids Press. As part of “cost-cutting measures,” The Press will no longer be delivered by paperboys and papergirls under the age of 18. Continue Reading...