People don’t vote for ideologies. Regular people, I mean. Voting for something just because it’s the most accurate reflection of some “-ism” is something you’d expect from either a college sophomore or some dead-ender who has political newsletters instead of friends and always ends up in line behind me at Starbucks. Normal people vote based on … Read more
(Spoiler alert: Yes.) Smart guys Andrew Klavan and Bill Whittle discuss:
Here’s National Review’s David French on Sony’s decision to pull The Interview from theaters in the face of a temper tantrum from the gout-ridden junior despot of North Korea: …the irony is that we’re talking about an industry that routinely applauds itself for “speaking truth to power” or for it’s own “courage” when it makes films that their … Read more
David Platt, the Doogie Howser of evangelical Christianity (just listen to him pull all those Bible verses from memory; incredible), speaks on the value of religious freedom and the perils of not having it (via Yellowhammer): I’m especially glad that he addressed the idea of Christians finding acceptance from the world. There does seem to be … Read more
Sheldon Richman explains, with lots of big words and references to Plato and whatnot, why the practical case for freedom and the moral case for freedom are inextricably intertwined (See? I can use big words too. So there.): Success is nice, but the ethical test has priority. Some libertarians often say they would favor freedom … Read more
In his response the the Duck Dynasty hoo-ha, Mark Steyn is putting the “F U” in “furious”: In the early days of my free-speech battles in Canada, my friend Ezra Levant used a particular word to me: “de-normalize”. Our enemies didn’t particularly care whether they won in court. Whatever the verdict, they’d succeed in “de-normalizing” … Read more
Conan O’Brien steps out of line ever so slightly and gets a taste of the political correctness enforcement buzz saw. From Business Insider: Friday evening, O’Brien posted a joke about Marvel’s new Muslim female superhero — Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Muslim girl from New Jersey who transforms into Ms. Marvel after she’s suddenly bestowed with … Read more
On the Corner, Kevin D. Williamson lays out some principles of free markets and some arguments against smothering them under a welfare state: For instance, one may believe that drugs should be legal, and that people should not use them. One may believe that pornography should be legal, and that it is morally repugnant. Likewise, … Read more
John Fund covers my soul brother on The Corner: The British Observer newspaper interviewed the singer while on a trip to West Africa last week and grilled him on his tax decisions: “Was it not hypocrisy for you to try to hold the Irish government to account for its spending while going through fairly exhaustive … Read more
Kathryn Jean Lopez on the details of the Catholic church’s fight against Obamacare, and the fights to come: We need to wake up, the brother bishops emphasize, at a time when they have demonstrated an unprecedented unanimity about the critical importance of opposition the federal government’s encroachment on religious liberty. The HHS mandate is, indeed, … Read more
Via the Corner, here’s a video from the American Enterprise Institute that demonstrates how free markets, private investment, and innovation (aka, capitalism) overcome poverty:
I don’t know how much of an expert Rupert Murdoch is on morality, but he’s right about this: the free market is the most moral system:
I mentioned in a previous post that for gay marriage to exist, religious freedom will have to be abandoned at the altar. At RedState, Erick Erickson expounds on the same theme, with gusto: Once the world decides that real marriage is something other than natural or Godly, those who would point it out must be … Read more
Has anybody else noticed that the word “freedom” is being slowly redefined to mean “sexual freedom and only sexual freedom”? All those other freedoms that make up “freedom” are being swept to the side or just smothered to death in their sleep like Hugh Hefner in the daydreams of every woman who’s been involved with … Read more
In honor of the Giglio-free inauguration today, here’s the Anchoress with some big-picture thoughts on what the pastor’s exclusion means: An ancillary concern, but one that must be mentioned: Almost immediately following Giglio’s withdrawal, social media discussions erupted, even among thoughtful people, about which “gay friendly presumed” preacher should replace him. Some of the names … Read more
How you noticed how lately we’re having a lot of special days to show appreciation for people who are just trying to mind their own business? It’s so rare that people feel like they should make a big deal about it. So, of course we’re having Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day this Saturday. Somehow, you knew … Read more
Do you want the people of the world to be happy and healthy? Give them free markets: When Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” it was a revolutionary cry for freedom from British rule. Little did he know at the time that his words were prophetic because there is a strong … Read more
Via Prager University, national treasure Walter Williams explains the inherent morality of the free market: This 5-minute video is more economics education than most students get in four years at a typical liberal arts college.
If Obamacare doesn’t infringe on anyone’s religious liberties, then why are so many religious organizations suing over it? Some possible reasons: Way too much money lying around offices of charities and hospitals; need to blow some of it on legal fees. ACLU seemed to enjoy it so much, wanted to see what it was like … Read more
Funnyman Rowan Atkinson is calling for the repeal of a British law that makes insults illegal: He criticised the “new intolerance” as he called for part of it the Public Order Act to be repealed, saying it was having a “chilling effect on free expression and free protest”. Mr Atkinson said: “The clear problem of … Read more