Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 388

Pathological generosity

In Brazil a man  suffered a stroke, whereupon he started giving away his money, giving food to street children, and being so kind to everyone that he has been diagnosed as having “pathological generosity.”  Interestingly, his condition made him lose his job as a manager for a large corporation. From Brazilian stroke victim cannot stop [Read More...]

What our soldiers are saying about Syria

Retired Major General Robert H. Scales, former commandant of the U. S. Army War College, gives the word on the streets from those who would actually have to do the fighting: By no means do I profess to speak on behalf of all of our men and women in uniform. But I can justifiably share [Read More...]

Olympics choose Tokyo & wrestling

Tokyo won the 2020 Olympics, beating out Istanbul and Madrid.  I’d say that was a good choice.  Also, the International Olympics committee voted to re-instate wrestling as an Olympics sport, beating out baseball, softball, and squash. Wrestling definitely belongs, being a staple of the Olympics as practiced by the ancient Greeks.  I don’t understand why [Read More...]

Let’s apply Just War Theory

As Congress and the nation as a whole decide on whether to attack Syria, let us take up the exercise of applying the guidelines for starting a “Just War,” according to Christian ethicists going back to St. Augustine. The criteria are listed after the jump.  How would they apply to the current proposal to use [Read More...]

Boy Scout dissidents form alternative organization

Now that the Boy Scouts of America have accepted homosexuality, veterans of the scouting movement have announced the forming of an alternative organization:  Trail Life USA.  From Cheryl Wetzstein,  Boy Scout alternative, Trail Life USA, launches ‘premier’ Christian group for boys – Washington Times. The newly announced Trail Life USA expects to become a “premier” [Read More...]

“Pontification, Prevarication and Postponement”

Foreign affairs columnist Anne Applebaum (who is not a conservative) on our current international relations debacle: The central problem of the Obama administration’s Syria policy is not that the president has failed to use military force but that both the president and his top officials have implied that they might use force, then backed away, [Read More...]

“So what’s your name and preferred gender pronoun?”

According to a new code of etiquette, it’s not enough to ask someone’s name.  You also need to ask, “what’s your PGP?”  That is, your “preferred gender pronoun.”  The choices may be “he” or “she” or “they” or the newly-coined “ze.” From Ruth Tam,  Use of preferred gender pronouns indicates expanding acceptance of transgender people

So how do contraceptives work?

Pro-lifers are told not to worry about the morning after pill, as mandated by Obamacare.  It doesn’t work by preventing the fertilized egg from being implanted in the womb, though that was how it used to be described.  It simply prevents ovulation, just like a regular birth control pill.  (Though how it prevents pregnancy the [Read More...]

It’s looking bad for Obama’s war vote

Pretty much what I predicted is unfolding in Congress.  The growing consensus among both conservatives and liberals that attacking Syria is a bad idea should be celebrated as an instance of bi-partisanship, of once polarized factions coming together over foreign policy, a sign of national unity.  Too bad the President and the Democratic and Republican [Read More...]

The contemporary theologian we need?

Oswald Bayer,  emeritus professor of theology at the University of Tübingen, is a widely-respected thinker who engages with contemporary thought on a very sophisticated level.  As we’ve blogged, he is sometimes associated with the Radical Orthodox movement and he is considered a rather cutting-edged theologian.  But his emphasis is the Gospel and the Word of [Read More...]