This is a sentence I never could have predicted I’ve ever write: George Clooney has offered a wiser assessment of a political problem than many of my fellow conservatives. A group of cyber-terrorist behind a recent high-profile hacking incident of Sony Pictures have threatened a 9/11 type attack on movie theaters that screen the ing film, ‘The Interview.’ In response, many of the country’s largest movie chains (AMC, Regal, Cinemark, and Cineplex) issued a statement saying the film would not...

As the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world, Christmas is a time of produces many things — joy, happiness, gratitude, reverence. And numbers. Lots of peculiar, often large, numbers. Here are a few to contemplate this season: $35.03– Average amount U.S. consumers spent on real Christmas trees in 2013. $81.30– Average amount U.S. consumers spent on fake Christmas trees in 2013. 33,000,000 – Number of real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. each year. 9,500,000 – Number of...

Parents spend a lot of time and money trying to get their children what they want for Christmas. The list written for Santa is poured over, gifts are wrapped, stockings are stuffed. But are you giving your child what she really wants? IKEA Spain wants us to think about our children’s wish lists a bit differently. ...

In the latest video blog from For the Life of the World, Evan Koons offers Christmas greetings and a few timely reminders with his usual dose of humor. “He made himself nothing to be with us.” Indeed, by entering the Earth in human form, nay, in infant human form, born to the house of a carpenter, Jesus provides a striking example of the order of Christian service — of the truth and the life, yes, but also of the way....

At RealClearReligion, Rev. Robert A. Sirico offers an analysis of President Obama’s move to thaw relations with Cuba, a diplomatic opening that was supported by the Vatican. Citing Pope Francis’ appeals for “an economy of inclusion,” Rev. Sirico asks: “What, indeed, could be more inclusive than trade and travel?” More: Free trade is not the solution to all economic, social and political problems. Nor does anyone expect it to be. That said, on my visits to Cuba and China, I...

Grocery shopping is not a chore I enjoy. It’s a mundane task, and everything you buy you will have to soon replace. Then, when you finally get to the end of the chore, you look at the register and think, “HOW much??” It gets worse. You and I (American taxpayers) managed to “misspend” $2.4 billion this year on food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP.) How did we manage this? According to the USDA’s audit for...

Frank Capra’s ‘It’s Wonderful Life’ is one of the greatest movies of all time. It’s a Christmas classic and also—as I’ve always thought—a conservative classic, a film whose themes align closely with traditional conservatism. But not everyone agrees on the politics of Bedford Falls. Keith Miller and Chris Schaefer debate whether themes of the movie lean more liberal or more conservative. Naturally, I agree with Miller’s small government assessment: The movie exults in the way the Bailey Building & Loan...

We know how God approached mankind: the surprising incarnation as a baby at Christmas.But how ought we to approach Him? Here is a wide range of 14 ways we often try, along with abenefit for each: Love the right things and you will find your way home to GodThink the right things and you will know the sovereign GodBelieve the right thingsand you will live at peaceObey, obey, obey and you will not go to hellWithdraw from the world and...

I heard Fr. Robert Sirico say once that most of us now carry more technology in our pockets than it took to put a man on the moon in 1969. If you remember that, you’ll also remember when a radio was a substantial piece of furniture and having a color television made you a very popular kid in the neighborhood. In the 1964 Sears Christmas catalog (if you don’t know what that is, ask your mother. Or your grandmother.), you...

James K. A. Smith reviews Cass Sunstein’sValuing Life over at theComment magazine site. It’s a worthwhile read for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it should moveSunstein’s latest up in the queue. It seems self-evident that everyone should favor “good” regulation, but the trick is getting some consensus on what defines “good” vs. “bad” regulation. A “people” or “person” centered regulation is a good starting place, perhaps. Or as Smith puts it nicely: “Regulation is made...