Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been convicted for his involvement in a vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
On Dec. 9, Lai, along with two other prominent Hong Kong activists, Gwyneth Ho and Chow Hang Tung, were found guilty of incitement and taking part in unlawful assembly. Continue Reading...
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December 11, 2021
What the Kyle Rittenhouse trial taught America about assumptions, keeping peace
On Nov. 19, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges related to the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of another on the third day of widespread rioting and civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August last year. Continue Reading...
December 09, 2021
When bookshops were miraculous, romantic places
I began a series of essays on Christmas movies last week with The Bishop’s Wife (1947), a story about church, the community of the faithful, and spiritual responsibility. This week, I’m writing about a less lofty subject, the community of the workplace and the life of commerce, but a much better movie, The Shop Around the Corner (1940), one of the classics of old Hollywood, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan as shopkeepers who fall in love over Christmas. Continue Reading...
December 08, 2021
Christmas 1991: The birth of freedom in the death of the evil empire
“You can have a very quiet Christmas evening,” wished Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to American President George H. W. Bush. “I am saying good-bye and shaking your hand.”
It was a long-distance handshake, done via telephone. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2021
The problem of the atheist economist
There is much in the classical liberal economist that I find attractive. By classical liberal, I do not mean the sort of political liberalism that defaults to certain presumptions of big government. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2021
Imprisoned human rights activist Jimmy Lai receives Golden Pen of Freedom award
Hong Kong media mogul and fierce human rights advocate Jimmy Lai and the staff of the now-liquidated pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily were awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom, the World Association of News Publishers’ annual press freedom award. Continue Reading...
December 06, 2021
Religion in the public square strengthens public discourse
Religious expression in the public square is currently challenged by two competing concerns. On the left, some worry that religion is an anti-rational monolith, quietly subverting legitimate expressions of democracy. Others, on the right, worry that religious diversity destroys cultural cohesion, which they see as necessary to democracy. Continue Reading...
December 06, 2021
Practicing prudence and gratitude in the age of COVID
When COVID hit Italy so badly back in the winter of 2020, I recall praying hard that a vaccine could be developed, as quickly as possible, so that the kind of devastation that a worldwide pandemic can induce would be avoided. Continue Reading...
December 03, 2021
Finding a community of faith in The Bishop’s Wife
I try to write every year on old Christmas movies, and this year I’m doing an entire series on ’40s movies remade in the ’90s, which suggests we can bring back some of those heartwarming stories. Continue Reading...
December 02, 2021
Give thanks for economic efficiency
I have never been to an event or cocktail party where raising the issue of economic efficiency engendered a particularly emotional discussion or any level of enthusiasm. I have never been to a Thanksgiving dinner table where someone gave thanks for GDP growth. Continue Reading...