Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 268
February 16, 2015
Presidents’ Day blues
So is it healthy in a democratic republic to have a Presidents’ Day but not a Congress Day or a Supreme Court Day? Is our preoccupation with chief executives as heads of state–as well as the assumption of many that if we just get a good one, he or she will solve our problems–an atavistic [Read More...]
“Fifty Shades” to revive sex in movies?
Fifty Shades of Grey is a huge hit, despite terrible reviews, thanks to hordes of women who flocked to the sadomasochistic romance fantasy. Now observers are saying that its success will inspire Hollywood to churn out more sex movies, after several decades of overly-explicit movies being box office poison. From ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Leads Weekend [Read More...]
More martyrs for faith & freedom
ISIS now has a presence in Libya, and the group has beheaded 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt, a dramatic modern-day example of Christians dying for their faith reminiscent of early church martyrdom. Also, a Danish discussion of the free speech controversy–including one of the Danish cartoonists whose life was threatened a few years ago for [Read More...]
February 13, 2015
The Crusades, the Inquisition, and Protestants
President Obama told the National Prayer Breakfast that Christianity, like Islam today, has been used to justify violence, mentioning particularly the Crusades and the Inquisition, historical episodes that are always being brought up against Christians. It’s kind of strange, though, for us heirs of the Reformation to be blamed for those particular incidents.Luther opposed the [Read More...]
50 Shades of Black & White
Opening on St. Valentine’s Day and hyped as the big date movie for the night is 50 Shades of Grey, based on a series of novels that have sold some 100 million copies, the vast majority of which have been bought by women. It’s a romance novel about a woman whose handsome and rich lover [Read More...]
“Oppressive chocolate capitalists” from “the romantic industrial complex”
Japanese protesters will hold a march in Tokyo against St. Valentine’s Day, contending that it is a plot by “oppressive chocolate capitalists” from “the romantic industrial complex.” The organizers are a group that calls itself the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women Find Unattractive. The contention is that, following Marxist analysis, romantic attractiveness is a [Read More...]
February 12, 2015
If religious liberty is THE political issue for Christians. . .
My post on Russell Moore’s contention that religious liberty needs to be THE political issue for Christians in the upcoming elections is approaching 500 comments, and the discussion–despite a few fights that broke out–has been quite good. But there are some misconceptions I want to address and some implications that I want us to think [Read More...]
You may now eat cholesterol-heavy foods
Have you been told to “watch your cholesterol,” so you’ve gone on a diet that cut out eggs, meats, and some of your favorite foods, making yourself miserable? Well, it was all for NOTHING. The official Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, recognizing that cholesterol comes from the liver and not the food we eat and that [Read More...]
The Fallacy of Composition
Bill and Elizabeth Kelly apply an economics principle to President Obama’s plan to give free community college to everyone. According to the Fallacy of Composition, what is good for one person may not be good if lots of people do it. In this case, if the supply of community college degrees goes up, their value [Read More...]
Bob Dylan opens up
Bob Dylan won the “person of the year” award from MusiCares, a charity that helps down and out musicians. He gave a remarkable 30-minute acceptance speech that talked about his career, his influences, and his thoughts about music. People are fixating on whom he praises (Johnny Cash, Buck Owens) and whom he disses (“what does [Read More...]
