In 1968, Margaret Thatcher, then a member of the Shadow Cabinet as a junior minister of Great Britain, gave a speech entitled, What’s Wrong With Politics? Despite that fact that the speech is now 45 years old, it is as relevant today as then – in some unfortunate ways. Here are some excerpts. [T]he extensive and all-pervading development of the welfare state is paratively new, not only here but in other countries as well. You will recollect that one of...

1. “Pennies don’t fall from heaven, they have to be earned here on earth.” (Speech at Lord Mayor’s Banquet, 11/12/79) 2. “If a Tory does not believe that private property is one of the main bulwarks of individual freedom, then he had better e a socialist and have done with it.” (Article for Daily Telegraph, “My Kind of Tory Party,” 01/30/1975) 3. “I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society...

Brian Burrough has a mostly enjoyable New York Times review of a book that’s mostly positive about my native state’s mostly small-government formula for economic growth. Some excerpts: Ms. Grieder, a onetime correspondent for The Economist who now works at Texas Monthly, and a Texan herself, has written a smart little book that … explains why the Texas economy is thriving. It’s called “Big, Hot, Cheap and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas”…. What might...

Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) provided the West with many morally courageous moments. The moniker, “The Iron Lady” was bestowed upon her by the Soviet Army newspaper Red Star in 1976 because of her piercing denouncement munism. Thatcher, of course, adored the unofficial title. She toasted President Ronald Reagan after his then controversial Westminster speech in 1982, declaring, “We are so grateful to you for putting freedom on the offensive.” It is often forgotten today that 195 of the 225 Labour MP’s...

More interesting archival video and quotes here, including: “No one would have remembered the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions. He had money as well” — Television interview, 1980. ...

Christian’s Library Press has released Rooted & Grounded by Abraham Kuyper. This short volume includes first-ever translated sermons by Kuyper showing his passion to the church. While he’s well known forhis writings on theology mon grace, this book demonstrates Kuyper’s enthusiasm for the church as well.In his seminal sermon, included in this volume, Kuyper outlines the basic distinction and connection between his conception of the church as institution and the church as organism, a view which became formative for neo-Calvinist...

Lady Margaret Thatcher has passed away from an apparent stroke at the age of 87. Here are nine things you should know about the former British Prime Minister. 1. Thatcher was not only the first—and only—woman to e British prime minister, she was the first to win three elections in a row. When she retired as a Prime Minister she was given the title of Baroness and joined the House of Lords. 2. Thatcher graduated from Oxford University in 1947...

On October 5, 2011, Acton ed John Blundell, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, to deliver a lecture as part of the 2011 Acton Lecture Series. His address was entitled “Lessons from Margaret Thatcher,” and provided insight into the Iron Lady from a man who had known Thatcher well before she became the Prime Minister of Great Britain. You can watch his lecture below. ...

As has been mentioned today on the PowerBlog, Margaret Thatcher was a recipient of Acton’s Faith and Freedom Award in 2011. Due to her declining health, she was unable to accept the award in person. Accepting the award in her place was John O’Sullivan, the Executive Editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertyand former senior aide in the Thatcher government. ments of O’Sullivan on Margaret Thatcher, her government and her character are below. ...

The best show on TV over the past five years has, in my not-so-humble-opinion, been AMC’s Breaking Bad. This is one over-hyped show that lives up to all of it (and more). While the on-air sage of Walter White concludes this summer, Breaking Bad‘s pop-culture legacy may take a back-seat to it’s legislative and fiscal ones. From The Hollywood Reporter: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez signed into law Thursday the state’s “Breaking Bad” bill, which will increase subsidies on film...