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April 20, 2007

Assumptions chosen for frightening conclusions

John Baird, Canada’s Minister of the Environment, says that following the requirements of the Kyoto protocol would lead to a deep recession in his nation’s economy. Mr. Baird claims that the 6 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions required by Kyoto would lead to a 25 percent increase in Canada’s unemployment rate by 2009. Continue Reading...
April 20, 2007

Honolulu premiere confirmed

The Call of the Entrepreneur will premiere in Hawaii on May 23 and May 24, 2007. The premiere will be sponsored by the Grassroots Institute of Hawaii in cooperation with the State Policy Network and the Acton Institute. Continue Reading...
April 20, 2007

Follow-up on Couturier on Franciscans

Some time ago I posted an entry on remarks made by Fr. David Couturier that I deemed to be wrongheaded. Recently Fr. Couturier contacted me via e-mail offering a courteous and thorough clarification of his statements. Continue Reading...
April 20, 2007

Freedom Writers

The feature film “Freedom Writers” appeared on DVD this week. It stars two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank as a very young Long Beach (CA) high school teacher assigned to a freshman English class made up of students all destined to fail. Continue Reading...
April 19, 2007

Virginia Tech, Islam, and ‘Ismail Ax’

A number of theories are buzzing around the Internet, related to the Virginia Tech killer’s choice of identification on the package he sent to NBC, “Ismail Ax.” According to published reports, “One popular theory comes from a story in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, about Ibrahim and his son, Ismail. Continue Reading...
April 19, 2007

Lotteries and merit

One of my favorite industries to criticize is the state-run lottery business. Philosopher William F. Vallicella writes the following: “Your chances of a significant win are next-to-nil. But suppose you win, and suppose you manage to not have your life destroyed by your ‘good fortune.’ Continue Reading...
April 18, 2007

Two new PowerBlog contributors

I’m pleased to announce that the Acton Institute PowerBlog has added two new contributors to our cast of cutting-edge commentators. Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, national spokesman for the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, associate professor of historical theology and social ethics at Knox Theological Seminary, and adjunct scholar at the Acton Institute, will be posting some of the annotated comments and links from his periodic Interfaith Stewardship Alliance Newsletter. Continue Reading...