Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 208
November 2, 2015
China replaces one-child policy with two-child policy
The Chinese Communist party announced that it is lifting its one-child policy, which led to the forced abortion of millions of children. Not that the party is becoming pro-life: The policy led to a demographic mess, with an imbalance of more men than women (girls being most frequently aborted) and a shortage of new workers [Read More...]
Obama sends (a few) boots on the ground to fight ISIS
President Obama has authorized American troops to go to Syria to help with the fight against ISIS. But there will only be 50 of them. The Special Forces unit will help with the Kurdish troops already there. So we have a new military commitment to Syria, but in such small numbers that the troops (good [Read More...]
October 30, 2015
The Reformation of the church
Tomorrow is Reformation Day, the anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences. I keep reading online about how tragic the Reformation was, how unneeded it is now, and how it’s wrong to celebrate the breaking up of the church. But does anyone think that the medieval church did [Read More...]
Is Bernie Sanders creating a true leftist movement?
Left-leaning columnist Harold Meyerson is excited at the prospect of Bernie Sanders, the socialist presidential candidate, creating in his growing cadre of followers, a genuinely leftist, revolutionary movement. Do you think America is ready for that? From Harold Meyerson, Can Bernie Sanders’s followers create a true leftist movement? – The Washington Post: Bernie Sanders’s presidential [Read More...]
CNBC moderators lost the debate
Pretty much everybody agrees with the conclusions on our liveblog that the CNBC moderators of the Republican debate did an embarrassingly horrible job. Even usually liberal observers–such as Time, NPR, and Politico–are saying so. For a colorful account, see the British take in the London Daily Mail. It wasn’t just that the questions were hard, [Read More...]
October 29, 2015
Rebuilding the Lutheran Church of Our Lady in Dresden
Johann Sebastian Bach played the organ at the Lutheran Church of Our Lady in Dresden, which was destroyed in the allied bombing of that city during World War II. Later, the ruins of that building became a center of protest against East German Communism. Now the church has been rebuilt, using the rubble as well [Read More...]
Republicans pick Paul Ryan as House Speaker
House Republicans nominated Paul Ryan to be Speaker of the House, pretty much assuring his election, scheduled for today. Some conservatives insist that the party’s last Vice Presidential candidate is not conservative enough, despite Ryan’s reputation as an innovative conservative policy wonk. But most members of the Freedom Caucus–the home of hardline House conservatives who [Read More...]
Debate post-mortem
So, where do you think we stand after Republican debate #3? Who won? Who lost? Any game-changers?
October 28, 2015
Liveblogging the debate, the World Series, and the Thunder game
OK, friends, here we go. As I said, I would be multi-tasking, so I’ll depend on you for your commentary on the Republican debate. I plan to watch that, but also the World Series, and also (good Oklahoma citizen that I am becoming) the Thunder game. I might even comment on all three, if I [Read More...]
Carson takes lead from Trump, who attacks his faith
A new national poll has Ben Carson passing Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race. The African-American pediatric surgeon leading the real estate tycoon 26% to 22%. Multiple polls also show Carson with a big lead–as much as 14%–over Trump in Iowa, the nation’s first caucus state. So Trump is now attacking Carson over his [Read More...]
