This year, we are offering something new at Acton University: our “Lunch and Learn” series. While registered participants can enjoy these more informal talks at no additional cost, these events are also open to the public. On Wednesday, June 18, Judge Andrew Napolitano will be speaking on “Do We Still Have a Constitution?” and on Friday, June 20, Christian author and musician Andy Crouch will offer“The Common Good in Seven Words.” Renowned artist and teacher Mako Fujimura will be showing...

Army and Navy have met for battle on the football field 114 times. The two service academies have played big time college football for well over a century. Navy leads the series by nine games and holds the current and longest winning streak at 12 games. Army hasn’t won since quarterback Chad Jenkins led the Black Knights to a 26-17 victory in 2001. That game was played just a few months after 9/11 and many of those on the field...

As noted here on the Acton PowerBlog earlier this week, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of war on poverty. Economist Nicholas Eberstadt, in an interview with the American Enterprise Institute, discusses what he calls the “brave new welfare state” we now have due to over-grown public assistance and unintended consequences of government programs. Asked if we need to spend more money on anti-poverty initiatives, Eberstadt answers: Let me suggest this is not the right way...

A couple of interviews to bring you up to speed on from that last couple of days: First of all, here’s Acton Director of Research Samuel Gregg on the GRN Alive morning show on the Guadalupe Radio Network this morning to discuss current efforts to raise the federal minimum wage, giving his analysis on the likely impact of such a move on the economy and the job market. And from yesterday, here’s Acton co-founder and President Rev. Robert A. Sirico...

[Note: This month hundreds of thousands of young people will be graduating from high schools and colleges across America. Because I’ve had an unusual vocational path, I thought I’d offer them some unsolicited career advice. Admittedly, its not ground-breaking guidance. But I figure someone might benefit from hearing that they don’t have to have their career path already planned out in order to be successful.] “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that people...

[Note: “Argument Outline” is a new occasional series that provides summaries of religious, economic, and public policy arguments presented in the public square.] The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) states that government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in certain conflicts with pelling governmental interest. That seems straightforward enough, but what does this law mean when it refers to a “person”? For instance, can a...

There are two intriguing articles at The Federalist today. They deal with different topics (mass murder and institutional racism), but they share insights into the same topic: victimization. It seems our culture wants to take whatever is happening and make it all about “me.” First, Heather Wilhelm writes about the tragic news from California on Friday, where it seems that Elliott Rodger killed 8 (including himself) and injured 13. Rodger was known to have mental health issues, and his family...

Over at the Kern Pastors Network, Owen Strachan uses the example of Quaker Oats founder Henry Parsons Crowell to demonstrate the level of stewardship Christians are called to. Bringing his ingenuity and a variety of innovations to pany and the market at large, Crowell delivered value to his shareholders, employees, and customers. “But he didn’t stop there,” as Strachan notes, using the wealth he created not just to re-invest in material prosperity, but continuing to tithe around 70 percent of...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” Nicholas Eberstadt, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, has published a monograph entitled, The Great Society: The Triumph and The Tragedy at Fifty. Eberstadt calls Johnson’s vision for the war on poverty “the most ambitious call to date” in American political history. At the time of Johnson’s speech unveiling this “Great Society,” the United States had only one nation-wide social program, Social Security. Johnson wanted more:...

Much has been said about Pope Francis’ views on economics (in fact, you can read Acton’s Special Feature on this here.) In The Wall Street Journal,Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, discusses how the media has skewed Francis’ remarks as endorsing redistribution and denouncing capitalism. Cardinal Dolan says this is unfortunate, given what the pope has actually said. While the pope is clear that we must be generous in all our social activity, he is not denouncing capitalism. The church...