…You might be a Member of Congress: Members of Congress want to establish a new government-backed venture capital program… OK, but what’s the catch? …to replace one that’s being phased out because of sizable losses. I wonder if they’ve considered whether the Government should even be involved in the venture capital business in the first place? Hat Tip: Don Luskin ...

In an interview with The Space Review Richard Garriott, vice-chairman of Space Adventures discusses the possibilities of space tourism and the potential market in the United States. Garriott describes Space Adventures as currently an [travel] agent, and we have millions of dollars in cash paid reservations for sub orbital flights. But with few or no suborbital space lines to book today, we are working to ensure they exist and that may mean SA invests in that eventuality. Garriott looks forward...

There’s yet more evidence that supports my claim, “Besieged by the media and public opinion, quick-service restaurants have got the reputation for being unhealthy. But the truth of the matter is plex. Franchises that have put an emphasis on providing healthy foods have done well…. And as usual, the service industry has responded quickly and efficiently to customer demands.” The AP reports, “Inspired by the documentary ‘Super Size Me,’ Merab Morgan decided to give a fast-food-only diet a try. The...

Given the discussion that’s been going on around the Acton site over the last week or so,I’m pointing out this timely piece (now archived) in yesterday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press, co-written by Todd Flanders, an Acton adjunct scholar and headmaster of Providence Academy. Flanders’ co-author is Dr. Yvonne Boldt, chair of the science department at the academy. In “The origin of the biology debate Intelligent design movement says the science isn’t settled on how life is shaped,” (now archived) Flanders...

Check out this piece at Christianity Today about churches in Zimbabwe providing shelter to the poor who have been dispossessed by Pres. Mugabe’s “drive out trash” campaign: “One Christian worker who requested anonymity said, ‘In some parts of Harare, people have gone to spend the nights in their local churches. People are squeezed into just about every space available. Churches have been openly warned not to help the ‘refugees,’ but how can you turn down someone who is hungry and...

This mentary by David Michael Phelps cites a University of Chicago study showing “that seventy-six percent of physicians believe in God, and fifty-five percent say their faith influences their medical practice.” Another new study by Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund “surveyed 1,646 faculty members at elite research universities, asking 36 questions about belief and spiritual practices.” Ecklund’s survey covers a variety of scientific disciplines, and as the LiveScience report puts it, “Those in the social sciences are more likely...

What Amrith Lal calls patriotism in this piece from the Times of India is probably more accurately called nationalism, but the point is well-taken nonetheless. The brief essay begins: As practised in our times, it is religion at its worst. The canons of morality and logic are lost on it. All that is expected of the patriot is blind devotion to an abstract entity called the state or whatever that symbolises the state. Needless to say, the state can never...

A promising brief recognizing the critical role of civil society in Nigeria, and especially that the Christian church, from Ecumenical News International: Nigerian president urges African churches: Play part in governance Abuja (ENI). Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has urged African church leaders to e key players in the process of achieving good governance in the continent. “The Church must be a critical partner in the on-going efforts at strengthening the structures of democratic governance, and bringing about sustained development in...

An article from Nature examines how even human activity as inherently destructive as military exercises can actually boost biodiversity. In “Military exercises ‘good for endangered species,'” Michael Hopkin writes of the results of a study conducted following US military exercises in Germany. Ecologist Steven Warren of Colorado State University says that “military land can host more species than agricultural land.” And “What’s more, its biodiversity can also exceed that of natural parks, where species that need disturbance cannot get a...

A wide ranging piece in Policy Review by Robert W. Han and Paul C. Tetlock examines current aid practices, suggests the implementation of “information markets,” and looks at how such markets might impact current policy analyses like the Copenhagen Consensus and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The MDG are the nearly exclusive focus of the ONE Campaign, and the failings of the MDG as such e closely tied to the failings of the ONE Campaign. The authors write of...