Latest Posts

January 29, 2007

A government-enforced monopoly

Let’s engage in a little thought experiment. How would you feel about the following scenario? 1) The government bans all activities associated with Industry X because it judges that this industry damages the common good. Continue Reading...
January 26, 2007

The global warming trough

Kim Strasell in OpinionJournal today: CEOs are quick learners, and even those who would get smacked by a carbon cap are now devising ways to make warming work to their political advantage. Continue Reading...
January 26, 2007

The long, slow march of freedom

With respect to the extension of political, economic, and religious freedom, East Asia contains some of the more challenging spots on the globe. I’ve commented in the past on Korea and China. Continue Reading...
January 26, 2007

Rangel at the helm

“No committee, arguably, has more power or attracts more lobbyists than the Committee on Ways and Means,” writes the NYT’s Robin Toner. “Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, joined the committee in 1975, and now, at the age of 76, has finally arrived at the very top.” Continue Reading...
January 25, 2007

Porn drives tech? Maybe not…

They say that technology drives culture (HT: Zondervan>To The Point). But what drives technology? Many believe that pornography is the driving force behind adoption of particular technologies. Thus, says Slate television critic Troy Patterson, “Watching YouTube is far closer to consuming Internet pornography than staring at the television. Continue Reading...
January 24, 2007

Jewish theology and economic theory

Pick up the new monograph, Judaism, Markets, and Capitalism: Separating Myth from Reality, from the all-new Acton Bookshoppe today! How does one account for the widespread distaste among Jews for a free market political agenda? Continue Reading...
January 24, 2007

Negotiating entitlements

Last night the President spoke of “the challenge of entitlements” and said that “Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience — and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound.” Continue Reading...
January 23, 2007

Religion, recidivism, and reform

The Detroit News ran my commentary from the end of last year on the role of religion and prisoner reform today, “Don’t prevent religion from helping to reform prisoners.” The version that ran today omits the references to Jeremy Bentham, which you can get from the original and this related blog post. Continue Reading...
January 23, 2007

Even Big Bird knows better

You may have seen this story a few weeks back toward the end of last year: “Some faith groups say bottled water immoral,” by Rebecca U. Cho of the Religion News Service. Continue Reading...