It is our pleasure to e guest ramblings on the PowerBlog, and we are happy to feature this contribution from Jonathan Petersen, former Sr. Dir. of Corporate & Internet Communications at Zondervan. His 22 years at the international book and Bible publisher included directing public relations, munications, and marketing strategy for general retail stores, direct mail, and the Internet. Prior to Zondervan, he was founding religion news editor and anchor for United Press International Radio Network. A member of the...

“Power permits people to do enormous good,” Lord Acton once said, “and absolute power enables them to do even more.” This wisdom from the nineteenth-century’s champion of state prerogative applies as well today. Politicians are crippled by the lack of the one thing they need to yank our hobbled economy out of the mire of recession: adequate power. It is our duty to grant it to them. Yes, from time to time mentary space has been critical of government meddling...

In the midst of declining revenues, petition from digital sources of information, and new costs associated with distribution, a number of print magazines have launched in recent months. This is noteworthy, in part because it attests to a disruption in the narrative of digital progress that sees print as an obsolete medium. The New York Post reported that magazine advertising revenues were down 21.5% in the first quarter of 2009 (compared with Q12008). Here’s a rundown of some notable publications...

We as Americans are very proud of our history. We admire our forefathers who took a stand for liberty to found this great nation, but it would be unwise, as her former colonists, for Americans to overlook the British contribution to human freedom following the events of 1776. Doing so will allow us to understand more fully the role of religion and freedom in our own society. The beginning of the 19th century was a tumultuous time for those who...

The Philadelphia Society’s New Orleans meeting has concluded. This was my first time to be invited. I have some impressions to report about both the society and the town. For this post, I’ll focus on New Orleans. If I can judge from the French Quarter and the rush hour traffic, New Orleans is back. The downtown area was absolutely hopping and it wasn’t Mardi Gras time. I’ve never seen an American city other than NYC with so much night life....

Last night I watched the latest episode of The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition. I have been pulled into the series this year largely because of pelling finishes where The Donald lectures celebrities about their work habits and managerial ineptness. Dennis Rodman has been a draw because of his incredibly bad behavior. This was Dennis’ week. His teammates chose him to be the project manager because they hoped he would rise to the challenge if he was running things. It worked, for...

This year’s national meeting of the Philadelphia Society was my first. William Campbell of LSU invited me (a young-ish faculty member of Houston Baptist University) after reading a piece I wrote on libertarians and conservatives for the Acton Institute. I am very thankful for the opportunity and enjoyed the event very much. The list of attendees was really quite impressive and people were generally interested in and open to others. At each meal I sat with a different group of...

Fr. Kevin’s talk raised a number of questions about the status of sports in our society. Here are some of them: Have we lost a healthy sense of leisure and play, to the point where sport and entertainment have e similar to a religious ritual or duty?Is the desire to win at all costs inherent to sports? What’s the point of playing a game if not to win?Why don’t religious leaders criticize athletes who cheat, such as flopping Italian soccer...

I’ve posted a reflection on the future of higher education, with a particular emphasis on the Christian universities, over at the Touchstone Magazine Mere Comments blog. Catch it here. Here’s a clip: The economic downturn has had a substantial impact on colleges and universities. The first shoe dropped when endowments everywhere took big hits from a rapidly falling market. When endowments go underwater, they produce no e and generally can’t be touched. The other shoe will drop when we see...

From the question of performance-enhancing drugs to antitrust issues in the BCS, government involvement in professional sports is mon occurrence nowadays. Then-President-elect Obama said that he would favor a playoff system for Division I college football and that he would “throw” his weight around a little bit in pursuit of that agenda. Congress recently announced plans to take up the question of antitrust issues with the BCS. The powerful influence of professional sports on today’s culture plex questions about the...