“While president, Calvin Coolidge warned Americans that if it was thefederalgovernment that came to their mind when they thought of ‘the government,’ it would prove costly,” writes Ray Nothstine in this week’s Acton Commentary. But as Nothstine points out,everywhere we turn the federal government is increasingly visible and intrusive.The full text of his essay follows. Subscribe to the free, weekly Acton News & Commentary and other publicationshere. Is America the Federal Government? byRay Nothstine Writing about his observations of America...

My friend John Teevan of Grace College sends out a monthly newsletter, “Economic Prospect.” He passes along this in the current edition: I found this note from a newly retired accountant (age 66) who has not gone on social security yet. His e as a part-time accountant in his town was $60,000. “My e is $60,000 and my IRS taxes are 10,000, my FICA deduction is $8,000, my state e tax is $2500, and my property tax is $6000. So...

Being made in the image of God, says Art Lindsley, is a powerful concept for finding our vocations and living a purposeful life. While the image of God remains after the Fall, it is certainly marred and defaced. As we are redeemed, what will we look like when the process pleted? As God restores us, our unique design in the image of God will shine even more brightly, and our gifts will reach their full potential. We will also look...

The latest Radio Free Acton Podcast is part 2 of “Reflecting on the Legacy of Pope Benedict.” Director of Research Samuel Gregg and Research Fellow Michael Matheson Miller discuss the ing papal conclave. They explain the process that will be used to choose Benedict XVI’s successor and what should be on the cardinals minds as they go about this process. Click the play button below to enjoy the podcast: ...

While most Catholics are likely to already be familiar with the process, my fellow Protestants will likely find this video on how the pope is selected to be helpful and informative. ...

King Louis XIV censored Moliere’s 1664 play Tartuffe after determining audience members might too easily confuse the titular priest’s hypocritical nature with every priest in real life. According to the king, some priests’ “true devotion leads on the path to heaven,” while others’ “vain ostentation of some good works does not prevent mitting some bad ones.” The king’s judgment in many ways also describes individuals who pursue their religious vocations while simultaneously championing secular causes such as proxy shareholder resolutions....

Brittney C. Cooper, Assistant professor of Women’s and Gender studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University, writes at Ebony that President Obama is being unfair to the munity by pointing out that many of the violence-related pathologies in inner cities are a result of fatherlessness. Cooper objects saying, Instead when the president began by suggesting that we need to “do more to promote marriage and encourage fatherhood,” I started shaking my head. Rather than empathizing with those Black families that...

According to Daly, Soviet government sought to dictate every aspect of life in the name of mon good, including the indexing of Soviet publications by libraries. He writes, “[I]f Soviet publications failed to end up in libraries, then, as Lenin railed, ‘we have to know precisely whom to imprison.'”In the Winter-Fall 2012 issue of Modern Age (54, nos. 1-4), Jonathan Daly contributes a helpful exploration of what happens when desire for mon good goes bad. His article, “Bolshevik Power and...

When most folks (Catholic and non-Catholic alike) hear “papal infallibility”, they often think “Catholics have to believe everything the pope says. They have to believe he’s never wrong.” Except that sometimes he is wrong, and that idea is too. In light of all mentary we are going to hear in ing weeks as the Church prepares to elect a new pope, it’s a good time to take a look at this particular Church teaching. First, Catholics believe that Christ himself...

During an interview in support of his new book, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, Tim Keller recently noted the importance of submitting our work as service to God rather than worshipping it as an idol. “Work is a great thing when it is a servant instead of a lord,” Keller said. When thinking about work as an “idol,” we may begin to conjure up images of the workaholic who spends above-average time and energy in all...