London-based Amnesty International has succumbed to the pressures of Hong Kong’s wide-sweeping National Security Law (NSL), announcing on Oct. 25 its decisions to withdraw operations from the city.
The human rights organization will close its two Hong Kong branches, citing fear of “restrictions of freedoms of expression.” Continue Reading...
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October 26, 2021
Beyond material prosperity, economic freedom fosters virtue and relationship
In defending the cause of economic freedom, it can be easy to focus only on the material fruits, whether it be new innovations and efficiencies or the ongoing expansion of opportunity and abundance. Continue Reading...
October 20, 2021
We are a fractured nation, but there is still hope
It’s become a commonplace observation that while we are indeed a divided nation, we have been divided before and, some claim, in much worse ways.
The first part is undoubtedly true, while the second seems more debatable, and this particularly in light of a recent poll coming from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) at the University of Virginia that shows roughly half of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum seriously indulging fantasies of secession. Continue Reading...
October 19, 2021
The political murder of Sir David Amess shines a light on the virtues of public service
The name of Sir David Amess, a Conservative member of the British Parliament for 39 years, was little known in the U.K., and almost certainly not at all known in the United States. Continue Reading...
October 16, 2021
Constitution protects nonprofits despite political activism
A healthy state protects life, secures liberty, and defends property. A totalitarian state does the opposite: it arbitrarily kills, compels, and seizes property.
J. D. Vance recently appeared on Fox News with Tucker Carlson to discuss a verbal altercation between Arizona State University students, one of whom was the recipient of a Ford Foundation fellowship. Continue Reading...
October 15, 2021
Czechs vote communists out of parliament
Since 1925, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia has had a seat at the table in Czech parliaments. While momentarily sidelined by the Nazi occupation during World War II, the party managed to centralize power rather quickly thereafter, working with Moscow to crush dissent and impose totalitarian control from 1948 until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Continue Reading...
October 15, 2021
Jimmy Lai coming up on one year in prison as new court date is set in pro-democracy activist’s case
Jimmy Lai, a 73-year-old Hong Kong media mogul, outspoken critic of China, pro-democracy activist, and recipient of the Acton Institute’s 2020 Faith and Freedom Award, will approach a year behind bars as his national security case is transferred to Hong Kong’s High Court and postponed to Dec. Continue Reading...
October 15, 2021
Privilege and price controls make USPS too big to fail
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has come under criticism for extending first-class delivery times as part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to revitalize the agency. According to Tyler Powell and David Wessel at Brookings, “The USPS has operated at a loss since 2007.” Continue Reading...
October 13, 2021
We need a ‘Forbes 400 Poorest Americans’ list
In the 1936 film My Man Godfrey, an oddly well-spoken “forgotten man” whose temporary lodgings are a city dump, finds himself the object of a game played by a pair of rich sisters, one of whom takes a fancy to him. Continue Reading...
October 12, 2021
The current labor crisis started before the pandemic and has much to teach us
The United States is facing a labor shortage of epic proportions. With over 10 million jobs currently available and almost 9 million available workers waiting on the sidelines, “the U.S. now has more job openings than any time in history,” according to NBC News. Continue Reading...