John Couretas

is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Posts by John Couretas

Prison for Paul Jacob?

For those of you following the case of Paul Jacob, here’s a link to John Powers’ column in the Chicago Daily Observer. For those of you catching up: Jacob, the Senior Advisor at the Sam Adams Foundation, has been indicted on charges related to his work leading a petition drive in Oklahoma. Continue Reading...

‘Call of the Philanthropist’

The new issue of Philanthropy Magazine features a cover story on Frank Hanna, vice chairman of the Acton Institute board of directors, and winner of the 2007 William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership. Continue Reading...

Islam, Democracy and Turkey

Bilal Sambur, Ph.D., is assistant professor on the faculty of divinity at Suleyman Demirel University in Isparta, Turkey. He is a guest scholar this summer at the Acton Institute. Islam, Democracy and Turkey By Bilal Sambur The inauguration of Abdullah Gul as Turkey’s new president has provoked a great deal of discussion — and anxiety — about the rise to power of a man who is an observant Muslim with a background in Islamic politics. Continue Reading...

The Call of the Entrepreneur at First Things

Ryan T. Anderson over at the First Things blog, takes a look at the Acton documentary The Call of the Entrepreneur and wonders: Countless movies and sitcoms portray businessmen as greedy, conniving, self-serving agents of exploitation who sully the air, melt the ice caps, and abuse the poor. Continue Reading...

STAND on ‘Wristband Activism’

STAND, the Student Anti Genocide Coalition, is discussing Kaylin Wainwright’s Acton commentary about Darfur and campus activism on its blog. STAND, which says it has founded 700 chapters, answers Kaylin’s criticisms about campus “slacktivism” by pointing to its effective engagement on the Darfur issue. Continue Reading...

The New Martyrs

People light candles below a wooden cross at a site south of Moscow where at the height of Josef Stalin’s political purges 70 years ago firing squads executed thousands of people perceived as enemies of communism. Continue Reading...

‘Capitalist Calling’

The Washington Times reviews Acton’s Call of the Entrepreneur today in an article titled “Capitalist Calling”: The Acton Institute hopes the documentary will crush the popular myth of business as a “zero-sum game.” Continue Reading...

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Mt. Tabor In much of the Christian world today, the great feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord is commemorated (Matt. 17:1-9). In the Eastern Church, as Fr. Seraphim Rose observed, it is customary to “offer fruits to be blessed at this feast; and this offering of thanksgiving to God contains a spiritual sign, too. Continue Reading...