Ticking Giants (2017) tells how an edian found a way to fight against and call out abusive leaders with creative non-violence. This new documentary directed and produced by Sara Taksler follows Dr. Bassem Youssef, the “Jon Stewart of Egypt,” a heart surgeon turned edian who took on Egyptian authority. It opens on Tahrir Square in Cairo where protests have broken out against military control of the government. Youssef and a camera crew walk around talking to the fed up masses....

Note: Last week I asked why conservative Christian outlets areincreasingly promoting socialist ideas and policies. My friend Jake Meador weighed in to help provide some perspective on this trend. Jake himself is the editor of an online Christian magazine—Mere Orthodoxy—that would be described as traditionalist conservative. While he is not a socialist, he admits he is somewhat sympathetic to the “emerging leftism” of young Christians, especially those within Catholic and evangelical circles. There’s a lot to say in response to...

There are still five months left in 2017, but it looks like we already have our list of contenders for the Cronies of the Year Award. Last night President Trump, Speaker Ryan, and Gov. Scott Walker announced Foxconn Technology Group would be building a display panel plant in Wisconsin. Gov. Walker said the deal is “the single largest economic development project in the history of Wisconsin.” It will also be the biggest crony deal in Wisconsin history. The Daily Tribune...

Christians seeking to be good stewards of God’s creation sometimes find themselves torn. The environmentalist movement tells them that the most destructive force ever unleashed upon Mother Nature is rapacious “neoliberal” capitalism, which they also know has has been thegreatest producer of wealthin history. If this teaching, which is mon among church leaders, is true, how should a person of faith view free markets? Thankfully, many of the environmental concerns about free trade are misguided, according to a new essay...

Images of persecuted Christians have not inflicted less emotional pain for the fact that they have e altogether monplace. Their fellow believers, and benevolent people of all backgrounds, have asked what they can do about it. A new book delves deeply into the topic ing to a surprising conclusion: The first step to aiding the tortured Body of Christ is for the West to mit itself to, and to reassert,Western values. The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle...

Earlier this week I asked why conservative Christian outlets are increasingly promoting socialist ideas and policies. Yesterday, my friend Jake Meador weighed in to help provide some perspective on this trend. Jake himself is the editor of an online Christian magazine—Mere Orthodoxy—that would be described as traditionalist conservative. While he is not a socialist, he admits he is somewhat sympathetic to the “emerging leftism” of young Christians, especially those within Catholic and evangelical circles. I appreciate how Jake has extended...

How popular is populism in Europe? A new study reveals that populist parties have displaced traditional advocates of liberty among European voters. It also reveals the nations where populism attracts the greatest support. The information is found in the 2017 “Authoritarian Populism Index,” released by the Swedish libertarian think tank Timbro, along with the European Policy Information Center. The report refers to the philosophy of limited government, free markets, and respect for individual rights as “Liberalism,” in the European sense....

In assessing solutions to global poverty, it can be easy to counter the failures of foreign aid by focusing only on the problems with viewing handouts as a path to economic development (there are many). If only we’d “teach a man to fish,” as the saying goes, he’d eat for a lifetime. But what if most of the world’s poor already know how to fish? What if the problem has more to do with a lack of “access to the...