As the jobless levels across the nation continues to decline, Michigan continues to lag behind. The nationwide unemployment rate decreased to 5.0% in June, to the lowest levels since September, 2001 according to reports. Meanwhile, Michigan remains at the bottom of the list with the worst unemployment levels, upwards of 7%. But the key to understanding why these improving numbers have not translated into job gains in Michigan appears in the same report: “Factory payrolls shrank for the fourth straight...

Today is the UN-sponsored World Population Day, which most of us have never heard of, I’m sure. From the name, I cynically (and rightly) assumed that rather than celebrating human life, this day would instead address many of the spurious “crowded planet” concerns put forth most popularly in Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb (first edition 1968). Equality empowers…to do what exactly? You won’t see Ehrlich’s name plastered all over World Population Day materials, but I’m convinced that his thesis is...

In a mentary criticizing the fast food tax, I wrote, the fast food industry is really too easy a target for the government. Besieged by the media and public opinion (consider the popularity of the film Super Size Me), quickservice restaurants have gotten the reputation for being extremely unhealthy. But the truth of the matter is plex. The National Restaurant Association reports that two-thirds of quickservice restaurants have added low-carb options to their menus. As usual, the service industry responds...

Over at OpinionJournal, Robert Bork examines the effects of “radical personal autonomy” on American jurisprudence in “Their Will Be Done: How the Supreme Court Sows Moral Anarchy.” Says Bork: Once the justices depart, as most of them have, from the original understanding of the principles of the Constitution, they lack any guidance other than their own attempts at moral philosophy, a task for which they have not even minimal skills. Yet when it rules in the name of the Constitution,...

Following last month’s Supreme Court decision in No. 04-277, National Cable & munications Assn. v. Brand X Internet Services, which denied the use of established cable lines to high-speed petitors, there might be a new addition to the broadband internet market. High-speed internet access is now available in three main ways: via a cable modem, a DSL line, or satellite (this being by far the mon). There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but the Brand X decision solidified a...

In this interview for , Acton Institute senior fellow Marvin Olasky talks about his book, The Religions Next Door. Olasky says, in part, on the importance for Christians to learn about other religions, Number one, as part of general knowledge, we should know about other religions if we want to understand something about American history, world history, and different cultures of the world. For the purpose of understanding the world and people, then sure we want to do that. Number...

Jason Battista, 28, is citing stress from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in a bid for less prison time, the second time the argument has been used by a bank robber. Battista is expected to be sentenced for robbing 15 banks in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. He was “impacted deeply” by the terror attacks, said his attorney, Stephen Seeger. “He was unable to function properly because of what he saw,” Seeger said. “The drug use seemed to...

Nearly 1,000 people were on three trains that collided in southern Pakistan Wednesday morning, killing at least 107 people and injuring 800 more. Police now say the death toll is at least 150. One train, the Karachi Express, rammed into the back of another, the stationary Quetta Express, after missing a signal causing several cars to derail. The derailed carriages were then hit almost simultaneously by a third train, the ing Tezgam Express, which was taking passengers from Karachi north...

A morning blend of stories ranging from the strange to the maddening: Car-pool no-no: “a group of French cleaning ladies who organised a car-sharing scheme to get to work are being taken to court by a pany which accuses them of ‘an act of unfair and petition’.” HT: Confessing Evangelical Corporate raiding: “The European Commission said it had raided offices of Intel Corp puter makers and sellers across Europe…. Intel is under investigation by petition department for alleged unfair trade...

The Melbourne Herald Sun reports, “Fast food could be subject to a new tax of up to 50 per cent under a plan to fight Australia’s worsening obesity epidemic. The proposed fat tax would, hopefully, steer consumers away from calorie and sugar-laden foods and force them to choose cheaper, healthier options.” ...

Some caricatures of Puritans depict them as strict, severe, and stolid. H.L. Mencken’s famous definition of a Puritan is an example of this: “A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.” This stereotype carries over into various areas of life that are often considered “fun,” including the drinking of alcoholic beverages. Indeed, Christians have historically been at the forefront of efforts at prohibition of various drugs, most notably perhaps in the...

As public policy debate about the extent of government regulation over charities, Karen Woods argues in favor of a mon sense approach” that “would look to transparency and accountability measures that are already on the books, rather than fashioning yet more regulation and mandated enforcement from public agencies.” Read the full text here. ...