Sure to be a significant issue in the presidential campaign going forward, the question of immigration reform continues to divide otherwise like-minded religious folks. Mirror of Justice sage Michael Scaperlanda penned an article on the subject for First Things in February. A raft of letters upset with what the writers deemed Scaperlanda’s unreasonably lenient view toward illegal immigrants followed in the May issue (not accessible to non-subscribers), along with an article-length exchange between Scaperlanda and attorney William Chip. Scaperlanda’s initial...

Next Monday will be the sixtieth anniversary of Luigi Einaudi’s inauguration as Italian President. Einaudi (1874-1961) was a distinguished economist and defender of classical liberalism. In the immediate period following World War II, he was governor of the Bank of Italy and finance minister. Many credit his policy of low taxes and dismantling tariffs with having laid the foundation for Italy’s “miracolo economico” of the 1950s and 1960s. However, while his role as president between 1948-55 is still remembered, his...

Michael Franc has an interesting piece on NRO about the demographics of campaign contributions. The gravamen is that Democratic presidential candidates in the current election have exhibited a whopping advantage among all kinds of elite groups, identified by professional, financial, or educational status. Meanwhile, Republicans garnered more support from plumbers, truckers, and janitors. Franc doesn’t make much of an effort to explain the phenomenon, other than to note that Democrats have enjoyed a $200 million advantage in general, which may...

The story of the Deutsche Bank building following the NYC 9/11 attacks is a study in bureaucratic petence…but more importantly it’s an ongoing experience in human tragedy and loss. There’s a great deal to sort out. This piece, “The tombstone at Ground Zero,” does a good job introducing the issues. The article begins with an introduction into the fire at the building site in August of last year: …Thick black smoke was pouring out of the shell of what used...

How is the 80’s song “The Final Countdown” by the band Europe tied to sound Catholic secondary education? Surprisingly, it’s through Acton’s Catholic High school Honor Roll. After a short prayer, the below video shows the pep band for Xavier High School in Appleton, Wisconsin pumping up the crowd for its Honor Roll announcement this past Fall. After applying for the Honor Roll last year, the school earned a place among the Top 50 Catholic high schools in the United...

Continuing with my posts highlighting just how wonderful things will be here in the United States when the government finally does its job and takes over the healthcare sector of the economy, I’d like to bring your attention once again to the fabulous success story that is the Canadian health care system: Last year, the Canadian government issued a series of reports to address the outcry over long wait times for critical tests, procedures and surgeries. Over a two year...

Daily Times of Pakistan: LAHORE: Electricity shortage has exceeded 3,500 megawatts and load shedding is likely to increase across the country, Geo TV reported on Sunday. The water in both Tarbela and Mangla dams has dropped to dead levels, causing the shortfall, the channel quoted PEPCO officials as saying. The electricity demand had shot up after an increase in the use of air conditioners… Ah, load shedding. We lived in Guam for a couple of years in the early 90’s....

The recent dramatic rise of food prices reflects the worst agricultural crisis of the last 30 years, especially for developing countries whose citizens inevitably spend a larger portion of their es for basic needs. The list of countries facing social unrest as a result is long and growing: Cameroon, Egypt, Niger, Somalia, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina, and the Philippines. Consequences of these price increases are also affecting the United States, where rice is beginning to...

Last Friday the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 2008 report, noting eleven nations as “countries of particular concern,” being “those that are are most restrictive of religious freedom”: Burma, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. (HT: The God & Culture Blog) Howard Friedman relates, “The Commission is postponing its mendations as to Iraq pending a Commission visit to the country later this month. promise was approved after a sharp party-line...

Acton Senior Fellow in Economics Jennifer Roback Morse made an appearance last night on The Glenn Beck Show on Headline News Network. The topic of conversation was “hookup culture” and the degraded sexual ethics of our culture. Dr. Morse is the author of Smart Sex: Finding Life-Long Love in a Hook-Up World. If you missed the show, the clip is below: ...