November 2015 Archives

November 12, 2015

Corruption and lack of transparency in Rome

The recent “Vatileaks” scandal is almost entirely an Italian problem, according to Kishore Jayabalan, director of Istituto Acton. In a recent article for The Stream, Jayabalan describes his own experience moving to Italy and dealing with some of the corruption and problems he immediately faced, and how this culture ultimately caused the Vatileaks controversy: When I first moved [to Italy] to work for the Vatican, my boss told me the hardest part of the transfer would be finding a place to live. Continue Reading...

November 12, 2015

Greens Go After ExxonMobil for Expressing Opinions on Climate Change

Environmental activists representing some 50 seemingly disparate groups are calling on U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a criminal investigation of ExxonMobil for allegedly misleading the public on climate change. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

Gertrude Himmelfarb ‘Threads the Needle’ on Lord Acton Biography

Biographers suffer from a myriad of temptations. Gertrude Himmelfarb, in her bibliography to the newly republished Lord Acton: A Study in Conscience and Politics, recalls how Acton’s first biographer, Ulrich Noack struggled mightily to reconcile contradictions and tensions in Acton’s thought and in doing so lost much of the man himself. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

Video: Kishore Jayabalan on Reforming the Roman Curia

The Roman Curia faces more scrutiny after the release of two new books in Italy based on leaked documents from the Vatican that appear to reveal inappropriate use of church funds. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

How to Solve the ‘Welders vs. Philosophers’ Debate, the Crisis in Underemployment, and the Student Loan Debt Problem of Liberal Arts Majors

A most unlikely debate has erupted over Marco Rubio’s comment in last night’s debate that welders earn more money that philosophers. It’s a strange controversy since, as Steven Wedgeworth said on Twitter, “There can’t really be this many philosophy majors.” Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

Ben Carson is Right: Minimum Wage Laws Hurt Black Workers

In last night’s GOP presidential candidate debate, Dr. Ben Carson was asked if he would raise the federal minimum wage. Carson said that he would not do so because the minimum wage hurts workers, especially those in the black community: People need to be educated on the minimum wage. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

Religion & Liberty: Kitchen Redemption

Early in October, I took a trip to Cleveland to learn about Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute and its founder, Brandon Chrostowski. Edwins is the “teaching hospital” of restaurants. It teaches people with zero hospitality experience the basics of restaurant business through a free six month course. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

Rubio Has A Point: Philosophy Majors Don’t Work In Philosophy

Correction: An earlier version of this post did not examine PayScale’s methodology. The three paragraphs that address it were added, and the text has been lightly edited in other places as a result. Continue Reading...

November 11, 2015

Radio Free Acton: Bradley Birzer on Russell Kirk and the Genesis of American Conservatism (With Bonus Kirk Video)

This week on Radio Free Acton, we’re joined by Bradley J. Birzer, the Russell Amos Kirk Chair of American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College, and the author of a new biography of the founding father of the American conservative movement, Russell Kirk. Continue Reading...

November 10, 2015

Even the Federal Government Doesn’t Know If Their Regulations Are Effective

Of all the executive orders issued by President Obama, one of the most important is one most people never knew existed: Executive Order 13563 – Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review . Continue Reading...