Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

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...

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...

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...

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...

Adventures in cognitive dissonance

This is one of the images I see on days I drive home from school: Yes, that’s a shared storefront for a health spa featuring “rub downs” and “American” girls, along with an adult “super store.” Continue Reading...

ABC’s Nannies & Mommies

One of ABC’s new dramas, Brothers & Sisters, features Calista Flockhart as a hard-hitting conservative pundit named Kitty Walker. Despite its title, the show is not all that family friendly (although it has not yet been rated by the Parents Television Council). Continue Reading...

The pornification of technology

A part of the pornification of culture is the pornification of technology. G4TV, a cable network owned by Comcast Corp., has been covering the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from Las Vegas this week and kicks off prime time special coverage tonight at 9pm ET. Continue Reading...

St. Hugo of Rhetorica

Sorry, gang, I just can’t seem to get away from Hugo Chavez. I must be drawn to idiocy. As I posted yesterday, Hugo Chavez continues his zany antics, saying no one can stop Venezuela’s movement toward socialism. Continue Reading...

Red rising: High Marx for Venezuela

Where have I seen that salute before? A new possible episode for my proposed sitcom: Chavez continues his power grasp in Latin America. My favorite quote: “We are in an existential moment of Venezuelan life … We’re heading toward socialism, and nothing and no-one can prevent it.” Continue Reading...

Speaking of lawsuits…

On the same theme as a couple of recent posts (on the inanity of warning labels and signature file disclosure messages), Fast Company links to what they are calling the “Egregiously Legalistic Sig File of the Month.” Continue Reading...