Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 282

We’re recognizing Cuba

In another use of executive power to implement his legacy apart from Congress, President Obama has announced that he is going to extend diplomatic recognition to Cuba.  We will be re-opening our embassy in Havana, ease travel restrictions, and eliminate economic sanctions against the still-Communist regime.   Good idea?  Bad idea?  What does it mean? From [Read More...]

North Korean hackers win

We blogged about  the hack of Sony pictures, apparently by North Koreans angry about “The Interview,” a comedy about an attempt to assassinate that country’s dear leader, Kim Jong-un.  The organization that broke into the company’s data released vast amounts of embarrassing information online, including racially charged remarks about President Obama from chief executives, insulting [Read More...]

Cranach’s “Christ Blessing the Children”

One of my favorite Cranach paintings is “Christ Blessing the Children.”  See a discussion after the break.   HT:  Rev. Anthony R. Voltattorni, Young Children Saying The Same Thing As Christ | Alien Righteousness.  (Read this post for a modern-day application.) This is “Christ Blessing the Children.”  The crowd of babies and their moms all [Read More...]

The faults of No-Fault divorce

Re-building the institution of marriage requires changing the no-fault divorce laws, argue Thomas Farr and Hilary Towers.  Another product of the 1960s, these laws have had unintended social consequences, to the point that “the only contract that is utterly unenforceable in law is marriage.” From Thomas F. Farr and Hilary Towers,  Time to Challenge No-Fault [Read More...]

The Progressive, big business alliance

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that big business is conservative, big business actually loves big government.  So argues new urbanist Joel Kotkin (a Democrat) in his new book about the actual American elites:  The New Class Conflict.  George Will reviews the book after the jump. From George Will, Government for the strongest – The Washington [Read More...]

What a Shakespeare folio does not prove

A copy of the 1623 folio of Shakespeare’s collected plays has been discovered as part of a former Jesuit library in France.  This has re-ingnited speculation that Shakespeare was a Roman Catholic.  But, as Shakespeare scholar David Scott Kastan points out, that a Jesuit would own a copy of a Shakespeare book published after his [Read More...]

Elephant mothers vs. Tiger mothers

Is it better to be a Tiger mother or an Elephant mother?  That is, a parent who believes family life is preparation for the adult world and so should be a school of hard knocks, harsh consequences, and tough love.   Or a parent who believes family life should be a haven from the outside world, [Read More...]

Terrorism in Australia

An Islamic terrorist took over a coffee house in Sydney, holding 17 hostages for 16 hours until police moved in.  Two hostages and the gunman were killed.  The terrorist was an Australian of Iranian heritage, though he was reportedly a Sunni activist.  Authorities believe he acted alone and was not part of a larger plot.  [Read More...]

Pope says animals can go to heaven

Pope Francis, comforting a boy whose dog had died, said that “One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ.  Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures.” From Arden Dier,  Pope Francis says dogs can go to heaven: Pope Francis continues to show he’s anything but traditional. During a recent [Read More...]

Marijuana is going the way of Big Tobacco

Now that marijuana is being legalized, the nascent industry is following the pattern of Big Tobacco in making the product more potent, lobbying, and commercializing the product.  So says Yale med school professor Samuel T. Wilkinson. From Samuel T. Wilkinson, The marijuana industry is following the trail blazed by Big Tobacco – The Washington Post. [Read More...]