“I’m expecting a baby,” writes a future mother. “I’ve discovered he has Down syndrome. I’m scared: what kind of life will my child have?” In response, CoorDown, an Italian organization that supports those with the disability, created the following video, answering the mother through the voices of 15 children with Down syndrome: “Your child can be happy,” they conclude, “and you’ll be happy, too.” Or, as Katrina Trinko summarizes: “Don’t be scared. Be excited.” That goes for the rest of...

Note: This is an updateand addition to two previous posts, “Explainer: What’s Going on in Ukraine?” and “What Just Happened with Russia and Ukraine?.” So what just happened in Crimea? On Sunday, Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia. Today Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia (it was a former satellite state of the Soviet Union). Putin says he does not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. Why would...

When decrying instances of do-gooder activism gone wrong, it’s e rather routine for critics to respond by saying,“good intentions aren’t enough” —and to a great extent, rightly so. Yet, as I’ve argued before, in addition to critiquing the es of our actions, we should also pause and ask whether our “good intentions” are all that good to begin with. If we are responding to some blurry impulse to “do something,” and that certain something ends up harming the very people...

The 1990 movie “Pretty Woman” is still wildly popular; it relies on the Hollywood canard of the “hooker with a heart of gold.” In the movie, a prostitute is paid to spend the weekend with a wealthy handsome gentleman. The two fall in love, and she is swept off her feet by the courtly man who initially wished only to utilize her. Cue the hankies, sigh for the romance, and fade to black. Now, the movie is being made into...

Last week, Acton ed Lawrence Reed to the podium of the Mark Murray Auditorium for his Acton Lecture Series address, entitled American Presidents: The Best and the Worst. Reed, the President of the Foundation for Economic Education, tackled the subject with his usual grace and an evident (and praiseworthy) passion for the protection of the individual liberties of average citizens from the ever-expanding power of central government. Reed’s address is now available in full on YouTube, and is posted below....

There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In fact, there are more slaves in the world today than at any other point in human history, with anestimated 21 million in bondageacross the globe. In an effort to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking across the world by 2020, Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby have personally given their backing to the newly-formed Global Freedom Network. The Global...

Edwin Edwards once declared that the only thing that could keep him from Louisiana’s governor’s mansion was getting caught in bed with a “dead girl or a live boy.” He’s been called “The Luca Brasi of the Bayou,” “The Silver Zipper,” and “The Pirate Kingfish.” When Edwards ran against and trounced former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in the 1988 governor’s race, he had bumper stickers printed up that read, “Vote for the Crook. It’s Important.” He then declared...

When was the concept of freedom of religion first mentioned by secular governments? Robert Louis Wilken, professor emeritus at the University of Virginia and the author ofThe First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity,provides the answer: (Via: Justin Taylor) ...

I am looking forward to presenting a paper at an ing colloquium in Berekely on July 16-20: “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem: Dialogue between Philosophy and Theology in the 21st Century.” From the colloquium press release: The Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Western U.S.A.) and its center of studies, the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, will host a colloquium to discuss the intersection of philosophy and theology, titled: “What has Athens to do with...

“What would God’s March Madness look like?” asks David Mitchell in this week’s Acton Commentary. petition focus churches and church members the same way a college tournament focuses people on basketball?” What counts as service to others? If you prayed about it and decided that it was service that’s good enough. The intent is that service to friends and family might not count because that is something you are supposedly already doing. You’re already coaching your kids and mowing your...