When I was four years old—and for many years later—my favorite pastime was frog hunting. There was no swamp pond or quagmire I was unwilling to traverse in the name of a robust, amphibious catch. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
You Can’t Erase the Past by Changing a Name
Early in January, the U.S. Department of Defense began a massive undertaking to change the names of nine military bases, two ships, and over 1,000 other items, including signs and roads, all of which are currently linked to Confederate figures. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Blessed Are the Well-Armed Peacemakers
Of all the writers in the limited universe of Reagan biographers (myself included), William Inboden is one I have never met. His Amazon page shows only one previous book. I was surprised by the release of his major work on Reagan, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, covering nearly 600 pages, augmented by many endnotes referencing numerous primary sources. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Indian Democracy Falters on Dark Path of Hindu Nationalism
When Americans think of religious persecution, they typically think of communist and Islamist regimes—China and Saudi Arabia, for instance. However, one of the most intolerant societies is India, hailed as the world’s most populous democracy and promoted as a bulwark against Beijing. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Jimmy Lai Fights the CCP for Access to Human Rights Lawyer
Sitting in a prison cell, stripped of both legal counsel and liberty, 75-year-old entrepreneur and publisher Jimmy Lai has likely been tempted to give up the fight against the Beijing and its years-long effort to curtail civil and human rights in Hong Kong. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Lessons from Ukraine and an important China update
UKRAINE UPDATE: ONE YEAR ON, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? As we near the grim one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Harvard University Professor Stephen M. Walt provides his list of The Top Five Lessons From Year One of Ukraine’s War (foreign policy.com, 9 February 2023). All five lessons are instructive: It is Visit the Rideau Institute for the complete article
Derry Girls and the Need to Get Past
At the beginning of the final episode of Derry Girls, the British Channel 4 TV series that ran for three seasons and that was also carried by Netflix in the U.S., Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Washington Fiddles, Texas Burns
While Washingtonians in 1995 fought welfare battles on Capitol Hill, a struggle initially below press radar began in San Antonio. The July 5 afternoon temperature was 90 degrees as James Heurich, with sleeves rolled up and tie loosened, sat at his scarred desk in the office of a Christian anti-addiction program, Teen Challenge of South Texas. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Women Talking Will Definitely Have You Talking
The film Women Talking opens with what amounts to a warning: “This is an act of female imagination.” That’s because it’s not actually a telling of the events on which it is based, the horrific story of rape and abuse of more than 130 people in a small Bolivian Mennonite community called Manitoba between 2005 and 2009. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
Canadian mediation, China co-existence, Nordstream revelations and arms export hypocrisy
CANADA AND THE CAMEROON PEACE PROCESS We start with a bit of good news about Canadian mediation efforts in Cameroon. The prestigious International Crisis Group issued a statement on 9 February entitled Canada Initiative Offers Opportunity for Cameroon Peace Process. They summarize Canadian efforts as follows: Pre-talks between Cameroon’s government and Anglophone separatists, facilitated Visit the Rideau Institute for the complete article
Why the British Evangelical Revival Still Matters
In the middle decades of the 18th century, a powerful spiritual movement swept through much of North America and Great Britain, as well as some parts of northern Europe. This evangelical revival (or, in North America, the Great Awakening) transformed not only individual believers but culture and society as well, and produced some extraordinary personalities, people used mightily by God. Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
A NY Times Journalist vs. Freedom of Religious Conscience
Earlier this week, Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist Linda Greenhouse came out of retirement on the opinion page of her former paper to warn Americans that their nation is now on the cusp of seeing religion “elevate[d] … over all other elements of civil society.” Continue Reading… Read more at The Acton Institute
