Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 308

Authorizing military action against ISIS?

President Obama is considering asking Congress to authorize military action against the Islamic State/ISIS. From A ‘range of options’ under discussion to combat Islamic State – The Washington Post: The Obama administration is considering seeking congressional authorization for military action against the Islamic State under a revamped counter­terrorism strategy President Obama announced last year. A [Read More...]

Black Mass update

Here is the latest about the Black Mass in Oklahoma City that we blogged about:   The Catholic Archdiocese of the city sued to stop the ritual on the grounds that the Host was stolen.  So the organizers returned the communion wafer to the Archdiocese, which then dropped the suit.  But we learned more:  The Host [Read More...]

Missionaries putting their lives on the line

In many places in the world, the only modern medical care available is provided by Christian missionaries.  Thus, the main people fighting the Ebola epidemic in Africa are missionaries and the hospitals they operate.  Some of these missionaries are themselves getting Ebola.  And yet  they don’t stop serving. Of course, we shouldn’t forget the service [Read More...]

Would you trade the income tax for a value added tax?

A former Treasury official in the Bush administration has put forward a new tax reform proposal.  It would eliminate the income tax for households that earn less than $100,000, cutting the rates for those above that threshold to 16% or 25.5%.  Instead, everyone would pay a Value Added Tax (basically a national sales tax) of [Read More...]

Abortions for men

A Texas pro-abortion organization, Fund Texas Women, has announced that it is changing its name to Fund Texas Choice.  This is because the reference to “women” excludes trans-sexual individuals who now identify as “men” but who still have female reproductive organs and who may thus get pregnant and “need” an abortion.  This is from the [Read More...]

Death of a Lutheran saint. . .

. . .and sinner too of course, but Norwegian Bishop Børre Knudsen lived a life of faith and of love and service to his neighbor that even his enemies have come to respect.  He was the foremost pro-life activist in Norway.  He also battled the state church positions on homosexuality and women’s ordination and was [Read More...]

“Stop treating abortion like a moral issue”!

Pro-abortion folks typically go on about how abortion is a “difficult decision” that is only taken reluctantly.  But now a pro-choicer is waxing indignant about pro-choicers who do that.  She says that if women talk that way, it makes it sound as if abortion is a moral issue. From Janet Harris, Stop calling abortion a [Read More...]

Globalist economics don’t give us world peace

Another utopian project bites the dust.  It turns out, economics isn’t everything.  Global prosperity–based on free trade, interdependency, and globalism–does NOT, as expected, give us world peace. From Robert Samuelson, Global prosperity is no panacea The post-euphoric world – The Washington Post: What we are witnessing in the spreading turmoil around the world — in [Read More...]

The Third Form of Atheism

In responding to a Contemporary Christian musician who came out as gay, saying that she is convinced that God accepts her just as she is, Robert George draws on Plato, who said that there are  three forms of atheism: (1) Not believing that God or the gods exist. (2) Believing there is a God, but [Read More...]

Our progress in the War on Terrorism

We felt good that we killed Osama bin Laden and seemed to have defeated al-Qaeda.  But they were nothing compared to the resurgent jihadist army of the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS, most recently calling themselves ISIL, for “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”).  They are armed to the teeth with American weapons [Read More...]