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June 30, 2005

Go and Sin (Tax) No More

Last year, when I was still a Legislative Assistant in the Michigan House of Representatives, I had a front-row seat for the debate over House Bill 5632, the legislation that raised cigarette taxes by 75 cents and placed Michigan at #2 on the list for highest cigarette taxes in the country. Continue Reading...
June 30, 2005

Watch Your Language

In reading Is the Market Moral? (Brookings Institution Press, 2003), I have come across a passage containing what I suspect is a common misconception about markets. "Unlike the market, which values people according to their resources and the productivity they bring to the market, Christian teachings on poverty ascribe value to a group that has no resources." The problematic premise implicit in this statement is that ‘the market’ somehow bestows value and that the value it bestows is somehow absolute. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2005

Our Slap-Happy Slide into Techno-Violence

Recent high-profile examples of the combination of violence and technology, such as “happy-slapping,” bring into sharp focus the need for moral judgment in the marketplace. The social nature of violence and sin mean that “no government, economy, family, or society can survive if a critical mass of citizens do not exercise a particular level of self-government and restraint.” Read the full text here. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2005

A Homiletical Emergency

Here’s a valuable article highlighting the author’s experience with Augustine during “a homiletical emergency.” David Neff writes in “Preaching Augustine” that the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) “is heavily used by college and university teachers who want to assign classic spiritual reading without adding to their students’ already hefty textbook bills. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2005

Rap Artists As Role Models

Rapper and actor Will Smith urged rappers to serve as role models for black communities at the annual BET Awards. "The kids that are making these trends, making these songs, don’t understand the level of effect that black Americans have around the world," Smith said in an interview. Continue Reading...
June 28, 2005

Beware the Generosity of Government

In my years of observing and participating in the legislative process both as a voter and as a legislative aide, I have noted a number of tendencies common to politicians of all political persuasions. Continue Reading...
June 28, 2005

Sue the Competition

AMD is suing Intel, claiming "freedom of choice and the benefits of innovation…are being stolen away in the microprocessor market," says Hector Ruiz, AMD chairman, president and chief executive. This case raises concerns over at Fast Company Now, as Kevin Ohannessian writes, I worry that this could start a new trend. Continue Reading...
June 28, 2005

No ‘Magic Number’ on Foreign Aid

USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios set the record straight at a U.N. conference when he told the gathering that the United States has "no intention" of committing to a goal for foreign aid pegged to a percentage of gross domestic product. Continue Reading...