Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 384
September 27, 2013
The casino-government complex
More and more states are not only legalizing gambling, they are cashing in on it, raking in lots of revenue through mutually cushy deals with big casinos. Michael Gerson discusses the problems with what he calls “the casino-government complex.”From Michael Gerson: Our casino-government complex – The Washington Post: A number of states — 23 at [Read More...]
What time is it?
In a story about how the rotation of the earth has slowed 2/1000 of a second over the last century, science writer Ivan Amato explains how dependent our technology is on extremely accurate time-keeping. For example, if the clocks in your GPS device and the satellite it connects to are out of synch by as [Read More...]
September 26, 2013
Mega-Ashrams & Tele-Gurus
An article about the arrest in India of the guru Asaram Bapu–worshipped as the “godman”–for sexually assaulting a 16 year old girl includes some background information which suggests that what has happened in America with Christianity is happening in India with Hinduism. From Famous Indian guru’s arrest on sex charges divides nation amid rise in [Read More...]
How Germany does elections
Germany’s conservative Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was re-elected, as voters gave her party an overwhelming victory in seats in parliament. Political campaigns in Germany, though, are rather different from the way they are in the United States. From Ruth Marcus: Germany’s throwback campaign – The Washington Post: On the most technical level is the fact that [Read More...]
Abandoning the mentally ill
Before Charles Krauthammer became an influential conservative pundit, he was a medical doctor; specifically, a psychiatrist who worked the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital. So what he says about Aaron Alexis, who killed 12 people at Washington’s Navy Yard, carries some weight. From Charles Krauthammer: The real Navy Yard scandal – The Washington Post: [Read More...]
September 25, 2013
Pastors as Unjust Stewards
Our Scripture reading last Sunday included the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-15), which is probably one of the toughest parables to make sense of. A household manager gets sacked because of his corruption, so before he cleans out his desk he discounts the debts of everyone in debt to his master as a [Read More...]
How exceptional is America?
Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has been scolding Americans for thinking our country is exceptional. Robert Samuelson takes up the question of American exceptionalism and, without being triumphalist about it, highlights some distinctive qualities of the American mind. From Robert J. Samuelson: Is America so exceptional? – The Washington Post: Is American exceptionalism just a self-congratulatory [Read More...]
What to do with the site of a mass murder?
The house in Milwaukee where Jeffrey Dahmer committed his grisly acts of murder and cannibalism was just torn down. Who would want to live in a place where such evil happened? The Amish community tore down the schoolhouse where a killer murdered five little girls. Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, where all those [Read More...]
September 24, 2013
The Crown of the Aged
I am the grateful recipient of the Biblical blessing: “May you see your children’s children!” (Psalm 128:6). I can also relate to this text: “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged” (Proverbs 17:6). I now have eight of those crowns, with the birth of Michael Gustavus Moerbe. I will spare you the usual grandparents’ [Read More...]
Nuking North Carolina and other close calls
In 1961, a B-52 came apart in the air over North Carolina. The hydrogen bomb it was carrying fell towards the earth, its systems acting like it had been dropped intentionally. Its parachute and its trigger mechanism deployed. There were four safeguards to prevent the bomb from exploding unintentionally. Three of them failed. One electrical [Read More...]
