Month: January 2009

January 16, 2009

Religious Freedom Day — 2009

The Acton Institute released a new short video to mark Religious Freedom Day. The proclamation from President George W. Bush points to religious freedom as a fundamental right of Americans and, indeed, people of faith all over the world. Continue Reading...
January 15, 2009

Population Economics

It’s usually good to steer clear of apocalyptic predictions of any sort, but as temperatures struggle to break the 10 degrees fahrenheit mark under full sun here in the Great Lakes region, talk of a “demographic winter” feels more compelling than warnings of global warming. Continue Reading...
January 14, 2009

Book Review: Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale has long been enshrined as a patriotic American icon for his last words before his hanging by the British, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Continue Reading...
January 14, 2009

Acton Commentary: Cosmos and Taxis

In this weeks’ Acton Commentary, Acton Adjunct Scholar William R. Luckey adopts Hayek’s use of the Greek terms “cosmos” and “taxis” to explain why economic life is not something that can be controlled with ever more laws, regulations and quick fixes. Continue Reading...
January 14, 2009

The Shack

A friend persisted in asking me to read The Shack. Although it has been a “#1 New York Times Bestseller”, it came on the radar when I was in a busy season, so I’m not sure I would have read it or even noticed it– without his encouragement. Continue Reading...
January 13, 2009

Newspapers Worth the Paper They’re Printed On

I’ve been meaning to do an in-depth post examining the various troubles facing the recycling industry. One day I’ll get to it. For now, though, I’ll settle for the rather snarky observation that some newspapers are finally worth the paper they’re printed on. Continue Reading...
January 12, 2009

National unemployment nearly HALF as bad as 1982

Unemployment hit 7.2% in December, the highest since January 1993– as the economy was recovering from the pseudo-recession of 1991-1992. In November 1982, the unemployment rate was 10.8%. Since the “natural rate of unemployment”– the part of unemployment you can’t get rid of (at least without severe long-term consequences)– is generally thought to be 4.0-4.5%. Continue Reading...
January 12, 2009

G.K. Chesterton: The Flying Inn

After finals, I cranked through some books! Among those, one of G.K. Chesterton’s fictional works, The Flying Inn. Chesterton was a prolific author. He’s well-known in some circles for his fictional work, particularly his “Father Brown” mystery series. Continue Reading...