Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 295
October 23, 2014
What if England seceded from the UK?
Scotland voted to stay in the United Kingdom. But now some of the English are thinking maybe they should secede. The other members–Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales–have their own parliaments and can vote on their own local issues. England, though, just has the one centralized UK Parliament in London. That means the Scots, the Irish, [Read More...]
Terrorists attack Canada
Days after Islamic terrorists used a car to kill a soldier in Ottawa–Canada’s capital–a terrorist killed another soldier at the National War Memorial and rushed inside the Canadian Parliament building. After some 30 shots were fired, a Sergeant-of-arms killed the attacker. Mounties reportedly were searching for other gunmen throughout the city. From Shots fired at [Read More...]
October 22, 2014
Must wedding chapel ministers perform gay weddings?
A wedding chapel is not a church, though ordained ministers often preside at the marriages. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is insisting that two ministers who work for a wedding chapel must perform gay marriages. If they don’t, they will be in violation of the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, which means a penalty of up to 180 days [Read More...]
The urination constant
I am a squeamish person, and I dislike talking about bodily functions. But I stumbled upon a finding that is so interesting that I had to share it with you. Did you know that virtually all animals, from a dog to an elephant–including human beings–take about the same amount of time to urinate? That would [Read More...]
What Denmark does to its jihadists
Denmark has more of its citizens per capita joining ISIL and al-Qaeda as foreign fighters than just about anywhere. Most countries prosecute such jihadists as terrorists when they come back home. But Denmark gives them jobs, spots in universities, and other perks. From Anthony Faiola and Souad Mekhennet O Denmark tries a soft-handed approach to [Read More...]
October 21, 2014
Why a millennial Christian loves the liturgy
Rev. Erik Parker, who blogs at The Millennial Pastor, has written a thoughtful piece on why he and others of this millennial generation prizes liturgical worship. He does not attack contemporary worship, and he writes in an irenic tone, summarizing the various attempts the church has made over the years to attract “the younger generation” [Read More...]
Standing with the Houston Five
Rev. Dr. Scott Murray is the 4th Vice President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the pastor of Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston, a good guy whom I know personally. You’ve got to read his statement on the mayor’s law firm that is subpoening the sermons of five pastors who criticized a gay rights [Read More...]
When is an Ebola outbreak over?
Forty-three people who had been in contact with Ebola victim Thomas Duncan have been cleared, proving not to have the disease. That’s a big relief for health officials, though 120 people are still being monitored. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says that the outbreaks in Senegal and Nigeria are over. How do they know that? [Read More...]
October 20, 2014
Liberty and Equality
In the times of the Greek democracy, the Roman republic, the American founding, and most of American history, liberty and equality were thought to go together. That changed, says Danielle Allen, author of a book on the Declaration of Independence First, Karl Marx taught that individual liberty must be sacrificed for the greater goal of [Read More...]
Two wild cards in the World Series
The Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants will meet in the World Series starting tomorrow. That will be only the second time that the two wild-card teams played each other in the World Series. Since the wild card–not the division champions but the teams with the next best record–was instituted in 1995, a [Read More...]
