Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 393

When the president does it, it’s not illegal

Those who oppose Obamacare may well be glad that the President keeps delaying the implementation of parts of the law (namely, the employer mandate and the limits on out-of-pocket expenses).  But there is a deeper issue:  The law says that these measures are to go into effect in 2014.  But now the President says, “no [Read More...]

Letting churches endorse candidates?

A commission is recommending to Congress that churches and other  501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations be allowed to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-extemptions.  Here is the report.  Details after the jump. I decry the politicization of churches.  And yet I also decry the federal government using the tax code to squelch political speech, which seems [Read More...]

City vs. Suburbs

Retiring baby-boomers are increasingly moving away from their houses in the suburbs to condos in the city.  This makes sense.  Single and just-married adults living in small apartments when just starting out, then moving to larger homes, more space, and better schools in the suburbs when their family grows.  Then, when the nest is empty, [Read More...]

Taxation without representation

Just what school children need:  more internet!  President Obama has a new signature program in the works.  “ConnectEd” will provide high-speed internet access to schools, with its multi-billion dollar cost funded by new fees on cell phones.  And the beauty of it, according to the administration, is that it can all be done–including the funding–apart [Read More...]

The Six Types of Atheists

Christians have their different theologies.  Conservatism comprises a number of different ideologies.  Now studies are showing that there are different kinds of atheists.  Sociologist George Yancey discusses recent research that classifies atheists into six different types. From George Yancey,  What the ‘Six Types of Atheists’ Mean for Christian Outreach | Christianity Today: 1. The Intellectual [Read More...]

From tech to farming

Remember Stewart Lundy, my former student who helped me with the technical side of my blog?  He has now embraced farming.  But what a farm!  He is doing cutting-edge local, sustainable, organic farming.  He is raising heirloom vegetables, chickens, ducks, rabbits, bees, and “rare pigs.”  People are driving an hour and a half just to [Read More...]

Another consequence of China’s one-child policy

China may be reconsidering its one-child policy, with its forced abortions and vast array of unintended consequences.  William Wan writes in the Washington Post about the impact of the policy on parents whose one child has died. From In China, growth policy compounds the toll on parents who lose a child – The Washington Post: [Read More...]

And now, the worship DJ

Trying to be “contemporary,” as in contemporary worship, requires hitting a moving target, since, by definition, what is up to the minute changes every minute.  This is especially true when it comes to pop culture, which depends for its commercial success on spinning out fashions that rapidly go in and out of style.  And what [Read More...]

News costs money

I like to read newspapers.  Those big floppy papery things.*  (*Who can catch that allusion?)  I am aware, though, that fewer and fewer people share my affection.  Among the young adults I know, including those who are very interested in current events, hardly any of them read a newspaper.  They have become technologically obsolete, so [Read More...]

Religious hospitals may have to accept abortionists

One pro-life strategy on the state level is to require abortion clinics to meet the standards of legitimate medical facilities and to require abortionists to have admitting privileges in area hospitals.  This exposes the medically shoddy standards of the abortion industry, forcing many abortuaries out of business.  But some of them are trying to comply. [Read More...]