Acton Unwind

This week, Eric and Dan are joined by Emily Zanotti, a new contributing editor at the Acton Institute, as they tackle the latest indictment of former president Donald Trump. Again we ask: Does the act of indicting a former president and current candidate for president alone render America a banana republic? What’s the difference between this case and cases of other prominent politicians—such as Joe Biden, Mike Pence, and Hillary Clinton—mishandling classified information? If there is a double standard at play, how do we rectify that situation to make it a single standard going forward? Next, the group examines comments by Bishop Athanasius Schneider that Catholics can’t suffer from depression. How should we think about the power of faith in the context of mental illness? How much of this is an overreaction to the seeming obsession with mental health problems in the modern world? And finally, we take a look at the lives of two very different people who passed away this week: Christian TV broadcaster and founder of Regent University Pat Robertson and the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.

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Indictment of former president Donald Trump

Trump Indicted Over Documents | The Morning Dispatch

Catholics cannot be depressed | Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Twitter

Died: Pat Robertson, Broadcast Pioneer Who Brought Christian TV to the Mainstream | Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today

Ted Kaczynski, ‘Unabomber’ Who Attacked Modern Life, Dies at 81 | New York Times

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan talk conservative boycott culture: Bud Light, Target, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and more. If the social responsibility of business is to increase profits, as Milton Friedman said, is there a way we can return to that understanding? Or are we going to be stuck in a political tug-of-war where people on the left and the right want the oars of every institution pulling in the same direction—their direction? Next, they examine the newly passed debt ceiling deal. Will we ever find a way out of government-by-crisis so we can have a real conversation about the utterly irresponsible debt load the country is carrying? And finally, have you heard of the Marvin Heemeyer “Killdozer” story from 2004? If anyone tries to tell you he’s some kind of a hero, just a regular guy pushed to the limit by a capricious city government, don’t believe it. Eric lays out the real facts.

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The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits | Milton Friedman, New York Times Magazine

The social responsibility of Chick-fil-A is to make delicious sandwiches | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute

The Good That Business Does | Robert G. Kennedy

To boycott or not to boycott Disney, that is the question | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute

The Rise and Fall of the Spokestroll | Abe Greenwald, Commentary

What’s in the US debt ceiling deal and who won? | BBC

Marvin Heemeyer & The Killdozer | Wikipedia

Tread (2019) Documentary

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan rummage around a grab bag of topics for this potpourri episode of the podcast. First up: The expiration of Title 42, the pandemic-era border-security measure. Will its going away create new problems at the border? Almost certainly. But the policy can’t stay if the pandemic is, according to the federal government, over. If Congress could find a way to do its job, it could reinstitute a similar policy. Next, a communist coffee shop in Toronto closes. Might it have been a good idea to be open before 9 a.m., when most people want coffee? The laws of economics and the marketplace will get you every time. Then, is it appropriate for women to wear yoga pants in public? Is it even appropriate to wear yoga pants for yoga? Penultimately, the guys marvel at the tale of La Sombrita, a piece of metal that’s supposed to provide light and shade at bus stops in Los Angeles that does neither and came at the low, low cost of $200,000 and three years in development. And finally, Pastor Tim Keller is remembered a few days after he passed away at the age of 72.

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What Is Title 42? What Its End Means for Immigration and U.S.-Mexico Border | Wall Street Journal

What Part of Legal Immigration Don’t You Understand? | Reason

The Anarchist: Toronto's anti-capitalist cafe is permanently closing | Daily Hive

DieWorkwear Twitter Thread on Yoga Pats and Menswear

La Sombrita, or, How to Fail at Infrastructure | Cato Institute

Engaging the Culture for Christ | Stephen O. Presley, Acton Institute

Died: Tim Keller, New York City Pastor Who Modeled Winsome Witness | Christianity Today

Photo Credit: @LADOTofficial Twitter

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This week on Acton Unwind, special guest panelist Farah Adeed along with Dan and Dylan discuss two major stories in the majority-Muslim world: the arrest and subsequent release of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and Sunday’s election in Turkey. 

Farah is an incoming Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at Boston University and studies the role of religion in the nation-building process and democratization in Muslim-majority countries. He is also a former Emerging Leader at Acton. 

The panel begins with an examination of Imran Khan’s place in Pakistani public life, then move on to the larger political landscape of Pakistan, the place of the military establishment, and the role of Islam in public life. 

Next the panel turns to Sunday’s election in Turkey: What is the state of Turkish politics today in the wake of the election? Why was it both so close and so contentious? And what does the election suggest about the state of Turkey’s democratic institutions? 

Lastly, the panel examines how Islam can play a constructive role in the development of free and democratic institutions in the Muslim-majority world and what historical resources can inspire such reform and renewal.

Arrest of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was illegal, top court rules | CNN

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan released on bail | CNN

Turkey’s Election Scenarios: The Good, the Bad, and the Scary | National Review

Turkey’s Erdogan faces second round in fevered race for presidency | BBC

Is Indonesia’s “Civil Islam” a model for the Muslim world? | Religion & Liberty Online

Abolishing blasphemy laws in Pakistan will lead to more violence | Religion & Liberty Online

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the suspension of the Acton Institute’s TikTok account after it shared promotional content for our award-winning documentary feature film, The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom. Is it just a weird coincidence that these kinds of suspensions keep happening to accounts that share content that the Chinese Communist Party would disapprove of? How should we think about attempts by Congress to address the risks presented by the TikTok app, which funnels a ton of personal information back to its parent company, ByteDance, in China? Would banning the app even be effective at reducing such a threat to privacy? Next, the guys turn their attention to CPAC Hungary, the Conservative Political Action Conference’s latest international summit. What are the lessons we’re supposed to learn from Hungary that could actually apply to the United States, which is a vastly different country in almost every conceivable way?

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TikTok Suspends a Film on Jimmy Lai | Wall Street Journal

Banned by TikTok: The CCP Doesn’t Want You to See The Hong Konger | Isaac Willour, Acton Institute

TikTok Claims ‘Technical Error’ Led to Suspension of Think Tank that Posted about Hong Kong | National Review

Acton Institute on TikTok

Stream The Hong Konger On Demand

CPAC Hungary Speakers List

The GOP-Hungary connection shaping the ’24 campaign | Axios

I Was Banned From Entering CPAC Hungary’s ‘Woke Free Zone’ | Politico

The Words TikTok Parent ByteDance May Be Watching You Say | Forbes

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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This week, Dan, Dylan, and Stephen discuss recent housing policy proposals in Texas. What market-based reforms could lower housing costs? What should policymakers keep in mind when seeking to lower housing costs? What are the biggest political obstacles they face and how might moral arguments help in overcoming them? The panel’s ears then turn to the AI song stylings of “Fake Drake.” Is the music industry poised to be disrupted by AI? What sort of property rights are likely to emerge in the wake of AI disruption? Is all music just copying already? Are music and Muzak that different? Finally, our panel turns to a discussion of “Everything-Bagel Liberalism.” Why do progressives feel the need to satisfy all constituencies in every policy all at once? How can economics help translate policies from mere good intentions into real-world change?

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Apply Now for Acton University 2023

Texas Looks To The Free Market To Tackle Housing Costs | Forbes

An A.I. Hit of Fake ‘Drake’ and ‘The Weeknd’ Rattles the Music World | NY Times

I Cloned Myself With AI. She Fooled My Bank and My Family. | Wall Street Journal

Did Ed Sheeran ACTUALLY Plagiarize Marvin Gaye? | Adam Neely

The Grotesque Legacy of Music as Property | Adam Neely

The Problem With Everything-Bagel Liberalism | NY Times

Every policy objective, all the time, all at once | Slow Boring

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss Dan’s essay in the Spring 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY magazine, “National Conservatism One Year Later,” revisiting the National Conservatism movement one year after his essay on his visit to the NatCon2 conference. What, if anything, do we now understand better about the NatCon movement? Does it stand apart from traditional American conservatism, or is it slowly being subsumed by the mainstream right? And where do the post-liberals and Catholic integralists figure into this movement, if at all? Then the guys turn their attention to the expulsion of two Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee from the State House. Was this move by Tennessee Republicans wise, prudent, or even necessary? Is it in keeping with a very NatCon mentality to turn all political fights up to 11? And finally, they take a look at the ProPublica story about the hospitality benefits billionaire Harlan Crow has provided over the years to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Is there any there-there to this story? Or is the simple appearance of impropriety bad enough to warrant concern?

National Conservatism One Year Later | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty

What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty

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The hundred-year war for American conservatism | Acton Line

Tennessee House Ousts 2 Democratic Lawmakers: What You Need to Know | New York Times

Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire | ProPublica

Lawmakers Revive SCOTUS Ethics Debate | The Dispatch

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss what we know (and there’s still much we don’t know) about the indictment of former President Donald Trump by New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Was it a wise move to indict Trump? Does indicting a former president for the first time in American history presage the “end of the republic”? Next, the guys discuss the horrible school shooting in Nashville and the quick descent into collectivist thinking on the part of both the political left and the political right. And finally, Dylan shares a horrifying AI-created video of Will Smith eating spaghetti that highlights just how far some AI technology has to go, while Eric uses it to make a point about what AI creators won’t allow to be created, like political satire of China’s president, Xi Jinping.

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What We Know About the Indictment and Surrender of Donald Trump | New York Times

6 Killed in Nashville School Shooting, Including 3 Children | New York Times

The Lonely Man with a Gun | Russ Roberts

AI-Generated Video of Will Smith Eating Spaghetti

Midjourney CEO Says ‘Political Satire in China Is Pretty Not Okay,’ but Apparently Silencing Satire About Xi Jinping Is Pretty Okay | Techdirt 

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the new legislation in Utah restricting social media access for minors. Will it work? Is it a good idea? Will it even have a chance to take effect, as social media companies are certain to sue over it? Then, continuing on the same theme, the guys take a look at last week’s congressional hearings on TikTok. Did anyone come out of this looking good? Is a ban on TikTok inevitable now? Does Congress’s reason for banning TikTok even matter? And finally, Xi and Putin meet for a summit. What does that mean for the future of the war in Ukraine and for U.S.-China relations?

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Kids in Utah will need parents’ OK to access social media | Associated Press

Brad Wilcox on Twitter

Utah's Governor Should Veto “Social Media Regulations” Bill S.B. 152 | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Social Media Data from Jonathan Haidt

Lawmakers’ Drive to Rein In TikTok Intensifies After CEO’s Testimony | Wall Street Journal

Xi and Putin’s Burgeoning Bromance | The Morning Dispatch

Republican or Not? | Saturday Night Live

Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the protests in France over the move by French president Emmanuel Macron to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. How does France, and other countries facing the realities of math when it comes to their pension programs, navigate the reality that these kinds of reforms are simultaneously necessary and very unpopular? Next, the guys consider the alleged difficulty people are having defining “wokeness” in the wake of author Bethany Mandel’s going blank when asked to define the term on The Hill’s morning show, “Rising.” Is this just a rhetorical game? And finally, in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the usual suspects have been calling for new financial regulations to address the allegedly risky behavior of SBV. But would any of these proposals have done anything to prevent the kind of incident that just occurred?

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French Protests, Turning Violent, Aim to Override Macron’s Pension Overhaul | Wall Street Journal

Bethany Mandel on “Rising”

Bethany Mandel defines “wokeness”

Of Course You Know What "Woke” Means | Freddie deBoer

PC Art Class | The Kids in the Hall

SVB Is DOA | Acton Unwind

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