As the new school year begins, Anthony Bradley reflects on the role of the parent in creating educational success. “Overall, children in loving, stable two-parent homes have an academic and social advantage over those who do not,” he writes. Read the full text here. ...

Given the discussion last week about the ONE campaign and it’s position as a “first step” in fighting poverty in the developing world, I thought I’d pass along this story about evangelical pastor and best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren. He clearly doesn’t view his participation in the ONE campaign as the last word on the matter. John Coleman blogs about Warren’s work “with his global network to turn genocide-ravaged Rwanda into the world’s first ‘Purpose-Driven Nation.'”...

This feature from yesterday’s Marketplace looks at the “endless variations of designer hybrid dogs.” These new breeds crossing more traditional lines of dogs mand a large price tag. The “cute name” attraction, the possibilities of allergen free dogs, and the idea of getting the best of both breeds have put these designer dogs in high demand. My wife and I are currently considering getting a Cockapoo, a Cocker Spaniel and Poodle mix. I’m bringing up these new breeds, though, as...

Not in Michigan, after a recent Court of Appeals decision that overturned a decision of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, which had ruled that Brother Rice Catholic High School outside of Detroit must be allowed to organize. Dr. Samuel Gregg, Director of Acton’s Center for Academic mented on this story on Family News In Focus. You can listen to the program below (520 KB mp3 file). More: Acton filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals in support...

Once again, my alma mater, Michigan State University, has been snubbed by the Princeton Review. While the list of the “Top Party Schools” does feature four Big 10 campuses, MSU, which hosted at least 3 major alcohol-induced riots in the past decade, fail to crack the top twenty. HT: The Daily Eudemon ...

Food aid destined for Zimbabwe is still stuck in South Africa Harare (ENI). At least 37 tonnes of food aid sent by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) to benefit victims of Zimbabwe’s internationally condemned “clean-up” operation are still in South Africa due to Zimbabwe government red tape that has held up the shipment for more than two weeks. The aid includes staples such as white maize, sugar beans and cooking oil. “All the paperwork has been submitted. We...

In an interview on NBC’s Today Show with Matt Lauer, a Newsweek representative discussed the cover story for this week’s issue, “In Search of the Spiritual.” The feature is based on a Newsweek/Beliefnet poll focusing on spirituality and religious practice in America. The Newsweek guy (sorry, I didn’t catch his name) discussed the results of various questions, making passing reference to the importance for most spiritual people of viewing the “central myth” as real. Since 85% of those polled self-identified...

On behalf of all thoughtful Christians, I would like to apologize for the suggestion of Pat Robertson to ‘take out’ Hugo Chavez. ments below do not represent any popular opinion or reasoned argument that would be supported by those evangelicals embracing prudence. Robertson had this to say on Monday’s 700 Club, “If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war....

Last Thursday, Acton research fellow Anthony Bradley appeared on the Kyal2K Show on KTalk in Salt Lake City to discuss his article Productivity and the Ice Man: Understanding Outsourcing. You can listen to the interview below via mp4. ...

I was wondering how long it would take for this to happen. The acceptability of Google’s politics and public persona could only insulate it from the requisite corporate suspicion for only so long. In today’s New York Times, Gary Rivlin writes of growing distrust of Google: “instead of embracing Google as one of their own, many in Silicon Valley are skittish about its size and power. They fret that the very strengths that made Google a search-engine phenomenon are distancing...