Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 222
September 8, 2015
A better outsider
If you want a political outsider for president, instead of supporting a character, why not support one who has character? That is to say, Ben Carson. Rich Lowry makes the case for Carson–who has been gaining on and in some cases has surpassed Donald trump in the polls, even as he leaves behind the more [Read More...]
September 7, 2015
Labor & Leisure
Labor Day heralds the end of summer vocations. Now the Fall begins and it’s back to work. For students and teachers like me, it has always meant getting serious again and going back to the classrooms for another school year. This year, for me, the holiday is hitting me in a completely different way since [Read More...]
Non-politicians for president
Two of the leading presidency candidates in the polls right now are Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Another increasingly popular candidate is Carly Fiorina. The presidency would be the first elected office for each of them. Clearly, the public is sick of politicians, so these political outsiders have great appeal. But isn’t some experience in [Read More...]
Woody Guthrie’s chili recipe
There is a big new museum in Tulsa, the Woody Guthrie Center, honoring the great Oklahoma folk singer. The Tulsa World Magazine gave, as one of its treasures, the family chili recipe. For your culinary pleasure and enlightenment, I give it after the break.Woody Guthrie’s Chili Recipe 1 can chili 1 can red beans 1 [Read More...]
September 4, 2015
Clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to gays is jailed
Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, was found to be in contempt of court and put in jail. I can see her losing her job if she won’t do what the state requires. Actually, if she can’t do that job in good conscience, she should [Read More...]
Why football?
A reporter transplanted from Chicago to work on the Daily Oklahoman who cares nothing for football was given the assignment to find out why Oklahomans care so much about the sport. This turned into an interesting article, which I excerpt and link to after the jump, whereupon I then raise questions for my fellow football [Read More...]
Support for Rubio surges among evangelical leaders
World Magazine has been surveying the candidate preferences of over 100 evangelical leaders. As we blogged about a month ago, their pick was Marco Rubio. Today that support is even greater, with 53% of the churchmen saying he is their #1 or #2 choice. The support for Jeff Bush, though, has plummeted. And Donald Trump [Read More...]
September 3, 2015
One of the heroes on that French train is a Lutheran
You know those three unarmed Americans who took out the armed-to-the-teeth terrorist on that French train? One of them was a Missouri Synod Lutheran. What difference does that make? Not much on one level. But surely when you heard about this, if you are from the USA, you felt a surge of connectedness that these [Read More...]
Government speech, individual speech, & public religion
A came across an unusually lucid discussion of the legal issues that loom behind some of the religion-in-the-public square cases. As Noah Feldman explains, the courts have made a distinction between individual speech, in which pretty much anything goes, and government speech. The government also can say pretty much what it wants to, which explains [Read More...]
World War II ended 70 years ago yesterday
Yesterday was the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Not many of those who fought in that bloody epic conflict are still around. We should salute those who are. Do you think a world war on that scale could happen again? Would we be capable of the same sacrifices, both on the [Read More...]
