D. Eric Schansberg, an Acton adjunct scholar, takes a look at the Social Security system, and concludes that “policymakers should address the oppressive taxes that Social Security imposes on the working poor, its pathetic rate of return, and inequities in its payouts.” Read the full text here. ...

“But not only did God make Sunday, He made Monday, too, and Tuesday, Wednesday…. So if God made all those days, he’s in all our days, not just the one you want to put him in.” Words of wisdom from Rev. Al Green. HT: GetReligion ...

Can the new Batman movie provide moral lessons on business ethics and philanthropy? Ben Sikma writes that the film affirms “the value of traditional institutions more generally, such as the family, rule of law, and private ownership of the means of production.” Read the full text here. ...

There’s an interesting discussion going on over at Mirror of Justice about Catholic Social Teaching and the Preferential Option for the Poor: here, and here. ...

Harvey Silverglate on the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) blog, The Torch, passes on one explanation for why college tuition costs have been increasing at double digit rates for years on end. He writes in part: Alan Charles Kors and I posited one answer to the seeming puzzle in our book The Shadow University. We noted the extraordinary increase in administrative staff on the student life side of colleges and universities. We attributed this in large measure to...

During last week’s Symposium, munication staff had the opportunity to interview two African religious leaders on a variety of issues facing their continent, including the $40 billion in debt relief proposed to the G8 nations. The Rt. Rev. Bernard Njoroge is bishop of the diocese of Nairobi in the Episcopal Church of Africa, and also a member of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. Chanshi Chanda is chairman of the Institute of Freedom for the Study of Human Dignity in...

From the press release: A new Web-based resource providing detailed information and evaluation of more than 200 nonprofit organizations in the United States is now available for use by charity managers, philanthropists and the public. The Samaritan Guide, developed by the Acton Institute’s Center for Effective Compassion, is a searchable posed of applicants for the annual Samaritan Award and has organized the directory according to location and area of service. The guide focuses exclusively on U.S. charities that accept little...

Courtesy the Evangelical Ecologist, “A group called ‘Operation Noah’ has re-written parts of Scripture to fit their climate change message,” and goes on pare two “versions” of Psalm 24. I suppose this is just the next logical progression; if Scripture can’t be twisted by some perverse hermeneutic to fit your agenda, just change the text! Author Ruth Jarman writes, “I hope it doesn’t look sacrilegious to re-write the word of God according to Ruth.” No matter if it actually is...

This EducatioNation blog post contains the text of an incisive WSJ editorial, along with a sample curriculum that illustrates the idiocy outlined in the editorial. In “Ethnomathematics,” Diane Ravitch writes, “In the early 1990s, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics issued standards that disparaged basic skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, since all of these could be easily performed on a calculator.” She goes on to outline some characteristics of the “new, new math,” including “using mathematics as...

Having been tagged by Kathryn at Suitable for Mixed Company, I duly submit my list within the guidelines of the following (and pledge not to repeat any placed on my initial list): Imagine that a local philanthropist is hosting an event for local high school students and has asked you to pick out five to ten books to hand out as door prizes. At least one book should be funny and at least one book should provide some history of...