Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 239
June 26, 2015
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Obamacare, saying that the language of a passage in the Affordable Care Act that limited subsidies to states that established insurance exchanges should not be allowed to undermine the larger purpose of the bill. “In this instance,” wrote Chief Justice Roberts, “the context and structure of the act [Read More...]
June 25, 2015
If you embrace nature, embrace natural law
The Pope’s encyclical “Laudato Si” is winning fulsome praise from the left for its embrace of environmentalism. But, as the editors of The Stream point out, those folks aren’t saying anything about 11 other teachings in that document that don’t accord so well with the spirit of the times. These include the condemnation of abortion, [Read More...]
A top doctor discusses transgenderism
Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Dr. Paul McHugh discusses the transgender phenomenon and why sex change surgery does not solve “gender dysphoria.” From Dr. Paul McHugh, MercatorNet: Transgenderism: a pathogenic meme: For forty years as the University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School—twenty-six of which were also spent as Psychiatrist in Chief of [Read More...]
Bobby Jindal joins the presidential race
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. He makes lucky 13. Gov. Jindal is counting on his braininess and appeal conservative Christians to make him a contender. I’m not sure either of those qualities will go very far this election. Still, he has many good qualities. What do you [Read More...]
‘Free range’ parents beat the rap
In a story we have been following, those parents who were prosecuted for letting their children walk home from the park by themselves have been cleared of child neglect charges. From ‘Free range’ parents cleared in second neglect case after kids walked alone – The Washington Post: Maryland’s “free-range” parents have been cleared in the [Read More...]
June 24, 2015
Vipers in Diapers?
An online discussion has been going on about whether Christian parents should view their children as unbelievers. Principles are emerging such as the way you know your child has faith is to see “fruit they have never produced before.” After the jump, a Lutheran pastor, Rev. Jordan Cooper, responds. Read the whole thing, including the [Read More...]
Liberals vs. Leftists on political correctness
Both liberals and leftists share the goal of social and economic equality and other progressive ideals. But liberals believe those can be attained in terms of the Enlightenment ideals of liberty, human rights, and democracy. On the other hand, Leftists (think Soviet Union, Maoists, other Communists, etc.) believe that liberty, human rights, and democracy must [Read More...]
Sister Earth is trying to kill us
From Lutheran Satire‘s Hans Fiene: The pope thinks we should view the earth as our sister. I don’t, mainly because I have a sister. While my sister and I have had our disagreements over the years, I haven’t spent my entire life trying to stop her from killing me. In the opening words of “Laudato [Read More...]
Why flies are so hard to swat
Scientists have figured out why flies are so hard to swat. It has to do with the “quick-fire intelligence and good planning” of the fly, “the speed and complexity of the fly’s brain,” which processes information so fast that within 100 milliseconds it “plans” the direction it needs to go and launches its body accordingly. [Read More...]
June 23, 2015
The pope’s “seismic shift” in theology
Jay Michaelson says that the most important aspect of the Pope’s encyclical on the environment is that it represents a “seismic shift” in Christian theology and Western thought: It says that human beings have a relationship with the earth, on a par with their relationship with God and with their neighbors; It says that the [Read More...]
