Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 211
October 20, 2015
Sexual freedom for state control
In a discussion of Playboy Magazine’s new policy of not publishing nude pictures, Mollie Hemingway and colleague Rich Cromwell talk about the magazine’s political liberalism. She refers to a book that argues that the seemingly opposite ideologies have libertarianism and socialism have come together in a trade-off of sexual freedom in exchange for state control [Read More...]
Democrats are raising more money than Republicans
The Democratic presidential candidates are raising much more money than the Republican candidates. From In campaign money race, Democrats vastly outpacing Republicans – The Washington Post: The Democratic presidential contenders dramatically outpaced their Republican counterparts in the race for campaign cash last quarter, spotlighting how the parties are taking divergent paths in their pursuit of [Read More...]
October 19, 2015
Free market in a welfare state
In the Democratic debate, Bernie Sanders said that what he meant by Democratic Socialism is a system like Denmark’s. I had to laugh, having just come from Denmark and learning that the system over there is more complicated than either Bernie Sanders or I had realized. Despite the stereotype of the melancholy Dane, Denmark has [Read More...]
From “God is dead” to “too many gods”
Peter Berger, a Lutheran in the ELCA, is an important sociologist of religion. Back in the 1970s, he was one of the scholars who advocated the “secularization” thesis, that as societies grew more modern, they grew less religious. But now he says that he was wrong. Today, as societies in Asia, Latin America, and Africa [Read More...]
U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan
Reversing his earlier plans, President Obama has decided to keep 5,500 American troops in Afghanistan through 2017. From In Reversal, Obama Says U.S. Soldiers Will Stay in Afghanistan to 2017 – The New York Times: President Obama halted the withdrawal of American military forces from Afghanistan on Thursday, announcing that the United States will keep [Read More...]
October 16, 2015
Conservatives in liberal churches
The state churches in Scandinavia are theologically liberal, sometimes to an extreme. For example, in the Church of Sweden the world’s first lesbian bishop called on a congregation to remove its crosses to encourage Muslims to pray there. Read this. Notice, though, the opposition to her remarks and how the bishop has no authority over [Read More...]
Jim Webb killed his enemy
At the Democratic debate, the candidates were asked “what enemy are you most proud of?” O’Malley said, the NRA; Chafee said, the coal industry; Saunders said, pharmaceutical companies; Clinton said, Republicans. Jim Webb said, “the enemy soldier who threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to.” I’d say. [Read More...]
How they got the Planned Parenthood videos
The Washington Post has a fascinating profile of David Daleiden, who insinuated himself into abortionist circles to secretly record those Planned Parenthood videos showing officials joking about abortion and fetal tissue trafficking. The story tells how he did it. From Meet the millennial who infiltrated the guarded world of abortion providers – The Washington Post: [Read More...]
October 15, 2015
Why do so few Europeans go to church?
The distinguished sociologist of religion Peter Berger once promoted “the secularization thesis,” arguing that as societies become more modern, they become less religious. But he has since said that thesis has been falsified, that the world is getting more religious than ever (and that modernity actually has contributed to the growth of religion). The more [Read More...]
Do Republicans really want to kick women out of the country?
The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, claims that all of the Republican presidential candidates are so anti-woman that they want to kick women out of the country. There are many jokes to be made here. Go ahead and make them if you want. Seriously, though, I realize that political rhetoric today [Read More...]
