Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 178
March 3, 2016
Oklahoma gets Bob Dylan archives
Bob Dylan’s archives will be housed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, near the Woody Guthrie museum. An Oklahoma foundation that was also involved in building the Guthrie museum put up $15-20 million to buy the treasure trove of manuscripts, recordings, and memorabilia. I moved back here and now Oklahoma has become a happening place. I can’t, however, find [Read More...]
March 2, 2016
Super Tuesday results
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were big winners on Super Tuesday. In the Republican race, Trump won seven states; Cruz took Texas, Alaska, and Oklahoma; Rubio took Minnesota. In the Democratic race, Clinton also won seven states; Sanders took Vermont, Minnesota, Colorado, and Oklahoma. (I’m proud of my state for bucking the trends.) Trump now has 285 [Read More...]
Voting for authoritarianism
Free and democratic societies, historically, come to an end when the people freely and democratically vote for an authoritarian leader to end freedom and democracy. (Think Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, Lenin. . . .) Now Donald Trump is saying that he wants to limit the First Amendment by changing the libel laws so that journalists and [Read More...]
How is “Risen”?
Have you seen “Risen,” the movie about the Resurrection of Christ? It reportedly has strong production values, unlike many low-budget “faith-based” films, and Hollywood street-cred. It stars Joseph Fiennes (who also starred in “Luther”) as a Roman soldier trying to solve the mystery of the empty tomb. I haven’t seen it. Should I? See the [Read More...]
March 1, 2016
Super Tuesday
This is a critical day for the presidential candidates of both parties. Today nearly half of the delegates needed to nominate will be allocated. We will learn whether Donald Trump can be stopped or whether he is unstoppable. We will learn the same about Hillary Clinton. Details about the primary, including the states involved, after the [Read More...]
Who should I vote for?
Today I cast my vote in one of the Super Tuesday primaries, along with lots of you. Quite a few voters are undecided. Here is your chance to influence the election. If someone asked you, “Who[m] should I vote for?,” what would you say? I’d like to hear from someone who can make a case for [Read More...]
Supreme Court to hear big abortion case–without Scalia
One of the most successful tactics of the pro-life movement has been to pass state laws requiring that abortion clinics measure up to the standards required of hospitals and other surgical centers. Since most of abortion mills are unsanitary hell-holes, few can comply and they have to shut down. Texas passed such a law, and [Read More...]
The NBA game of the year?
If you are playing football, say, and the opposing team has Superman as a player, it is going to be difficult and probably impossible to win. The Golden State Warriors have a player, Steph Curry, with a super power. He can sink three-point shots from virtually any place on the court, far beyond the three-point [Read More...]
February 29, 2016
Leap Year
The earth takes 365 1/4 days to go around the sun. So for our calendars to reflect the seasons of the year, we account for that quarter day by adding a day to the calendar every four years. And since we stick it on to the shortest month of the year, that day is today! You [Read More...]
Reforming the Calendar
Do we need to reform the calendar to eliminate anomalies like Leap Year? Two Johns Hopkins professors, Steve Hanke (an economist and fellow of the libertarian Cato Institute) and Dick Henry (a physicist and astronomer), have been proposing the Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar. It has the virtue of making every date fall on the same day each year. Christmas, [Read More...]
