Ripsi’s confession

February 19, 2007 • by Jordan J. Ballor

Ripsi’s confession

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February 16, 2007

Change on farm subsidies?

I’m not quite sure what to make of this story from Catholic News Service. Its quotations concerning agricultural subsidies from Fr. Andrew Small, a “policy adviser for the U.S. bishops,” while not all perfectly clear without their context, seem to indicate a shift in direction compared to earlier statements from the USCCB. Continue Reading...
February 16, 2007

Response to DN letter

Today’s Detroit News ran a brief letter to the editor in response to my Jan. 23 op-ed, “Don’t prevent religion from helping to reform prisoners.” (Joe Knippenberg engaged a previous response on his blog here). Continue Reading...
February 15, 2007

Managing manure

One of the stories told in the Acton’s forthcoming documentary, “The Call of the Entrepreneur,” (trailer available here) is that of Brad Morgan, a Michigan dairy farmer, who bucked the odds and the naysayers and turned the problem posed by the disposal of his herd’s manure into a profitable business venture. Continue Reading...
February 14, 2007

A lottery sell-off is a sell-out

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I examine the most recent buzz-worthy trend in the lottery industry: privatization. While most critics of these moves have pointed to the foolhardiness of selling off a long-term income stream for a lump sum jackpot, I argue that privatization by itself does nothing to address the underlying problems afflicting the lottery business. Continue Reading...
February 14, 2007

Friends in low places

PARADE Magazine has published its annual list of “The World’s Worst Dictators.” Topping the list is the man overseeing the genocide in Darfur, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir. At least three of the top twenty are important friends and allies of the United States in the war on terror: #5 King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia; #9 Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya; #15 Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan. Continue Reading...
February 13, 2007

The business and politics of spiritual journeys

Over the weekend the Grand Rapids Press published an article by Mary Radigan that examines one booming trend in the travel industry, “Spiritual journeys take off in travel industry.” “The market for religious travel has grown into an $18 billion industry worldwide,” writes Radigan. Continue Reading...