Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 206
November 10, 2015
Blow by blow debate commentary
This is the place for your color commentary on tonight’s Republican debate. Use the “comments” to comment on what’s going on. I’ll be doing that, but I don’t want to do it by myself, so join in.
Three branches of Catholicism?
There are three branches of Judaism: Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. A similar breakdown is evident in other religious traditions: a liberal version, a conservative version, and an arch-conservative version.* Thus, among Lutherans, we have the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (liberal), the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (conservative), and the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod (arch-conservative).** Presbyterians have [Read More...]
Storylines for tonight’s debate
Tonight will be the fourth Republican presidential candidate debate. It will be in my old stomping grounds of Milwaukee and will be televised on the Fox Business Network, which is hosting the event, along with the Wall Street Journal. (If you have cut your cables, you can see it streamed for free here.) The show [Read More...]
Are Liberals Losing the Culture Wars?
It seems as if cultural conservatives are losing battle after battle, with the American public embracing gay marriage, sexual permissiveness, drug legalization, and on and on. But an article in the usually liberal Atlantic, looking at last week’s election results and other indicators, argues that liberals may be overplaying their hands and that Americans are [Read More...]
November 9, 2015
Less religion, but more commitment?
The latest Religious Landscape study from Pew Research, last conducted in 2007, shows a drop off in the religious affiliation of Americans, from 83% to 77%. And yet, among those who are affiliated with a church or its equivalent, more read the Bible, share their faith, go to prayer groups or Bible studies, draw on [Read More...]
Why the left doesn’t believe in free speech
Michael Barone has a fascinating column, excerpted after the jump, about how leftists, on campuses and elsewhere, are trying to silence anyone who disagrees with them. But this should not be surprising. The hard left, whether of the Marxist variety or the post-Marxist variety (which substitutes oppression of women, races, or other groups for the [Read More...]
The best idea for the debates
Tomorrow is another debate between the Repubican presidential candidates. The last debate, on CNBC, made even the liberal media criticize the liberal media, leaving the Republican debaters looking good. So why have the Republican national committee and the candidates been whining about it and trying to come up with formats so that what happened that [Read More...]
November 6, 2015
A sense of place
Paul Greenberg is an acclaimed nationally-syndicated columnist who has spent most of his life and career in small town Arkansas. A recent column deals with a quality we have been hearing more about lately from the localist movement (see, for example, the Front Porch Republic); namely, “a sense of place.” He says of those who [Read More...]
“Fundamental” vs. “nonfundamental” rights
In a column on the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a case involving a California law requiring that political donor lists be made public, George Will describes a curious legal distinction between “fundamental” rights that cannot be abridged and lesser “nonfundamental” rights that can be abridged if there is a “rational basis.” This current case, [Read More...]
Polls show Sanders would beat Trump
According to four recent polls, in a battle of party insurgents in the presidential race, Bernie Sanders would beat Donald Trump. Americans would apparently prefer the socialist to the capitalist. From Brent Budowsky: Sanders trouncing Trump, media ignores | TheHill: In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leads Donald Trump [Read More...]
