Now that the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery is safely back on terra firma (along with the entire shuttle fleet, which has once again been grounded over safety concerns), arguments over the future viability of the Shuttle program have resumed in earnest. By far, my favorite swipe at NASA to date has to be today’s Wall Street Journal opinion column (subscription required) by Homer Hickam, a former NASA engineer. Mr Hickam argues that many NASA engineers would like to see...

Greg Gutfield’s rather humorous item at The Huffington Post makes me wonder about this question: What would Jesus fly? (Not to be confused with mon slogan: “Jesus is my copilot.”) While I’m pretty sure that it would be some sort of cumulus-based transport (read “clouds”; see Acts 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and Revelation 1:7; 14:14-16), we can be certain that it would not be a private jet. Look, he ing with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even...

In this week’s Acton Commentary, Dave Phelps looks at the case of Susan Torres, a woman who gave birth while reported to be brain dead. The case was considered by some to be a miracle. Others with a more material bent looked at her as merely a corpse, kept alive by advanced medical technology to incubate the child. mentary points out that a great many physicians, schooled in the sciences, retain a belief in God. A “surprising” poll indicates that...

Reading this story about a man who played video games to death, I find it likely that an already existing addiction will be newly documented: Vidiocy. My mom used to call me a “little vidiot” when I was a kid because I liked watching TV so much, but I submit this as a possible term for video game “addictions.” According to other reports, the man named Lee really was dedicated to the god of technology, as he “recently quit his...

As I have mentioned before, we must be extremely careful about our language when we debate one another on any issue. So often, an argument is won, lost, or irredeemably confused because of a definition. If truths can be unlocked in careful definition, so can lies be reified in careless ones. A case in point: what we mean by ‘poverty.’ The BBC has a story exploring how the definition of this word has changed as social conditions improved in England....

The difference in perspective from the ONE Campaign and directly responsible charitable efforts is summed up in the first two sentences from this article in Christianity Today: “Eighteen-year-old Lauren Tomasik had a vision. This Wheaton Academy senior wanted to see her Christian high school raise $75,000 to build a medical clinic in Zambia bat HIV/AIDS. And she wanted the money e from the pockets of her 575 fellow students.” The “We don’t want your money, we just want your voice,”...

In John Stossel’s article yesterday, he recounts a story that illustrates the dangers of artificial wage controls. (Davis Bacon is a federal law that requires construction workers be paid an amount determined by a bureaucratic formula instead of wages determined by market forces.) When Chicago decided to repair the Cabrini Green housing project, people who lived in the project assumed such a big job would provide work for the unemployed young men who grew up there. But because of Davis...

While post-tsunami aid pledges totalled $2 billion for Sri Lanka, “Politics and bureaucracy though have kept that money from those most in need,” reports APM’s Marketplace. The report goes on to describe the importance of micro capital loans for rebuilding the economic marketplace, since it’s essential not to create an aid-dependent society. Nevertheless, the key to revival for many shopkeepers ends up being the need for foreign tourism…the same kind that many talking heads decried as the causes for the...

Two not-so-obviously related news items from today’s Marketplace midday update: #1) pany Pfizer says it’ll change the way it markets drugs to people. pany announced this morning it will educate doctors for at least 6 months about new medicines before running television or print ads. Pfizer also says it won’t advertise male impotence drugs during the Super Bowl. #2) Rafael Palmeiro is heading back to work after serving a 10-day suspension for using steroids. Business of sports analyst David Carter...

The nomination process has begun for this year’s Novak Award. Named after theologian Michael Novak, this $10,000 prize rewards new outstanding research into the relationship between religion and economic liberty. We encourage professors, university faculty members, and other scholars to nominate those who pleting exceptional research into themes relevant to the mission and vision of the Acton Institute. Suitable nominees will have received their doctorate in the past five years or be a doctoral candidate working closely with themes relevant...