A news story in the Washington Post follows the Democratic party line in complaining that the rich don’t pay their fair share of taxes. But notice how the facts get in the way of the thesis! As millions of procrastinators scramble to meet Monday’s tax-filing deadline, ponder this: The super-rich pay a lot less in taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all. The Internal Revenue Service… Read more
Protestant as one who confesses
April 20, 2011 By Gene Veith 12 Comments
Fred Sanders sheds some light on what “Protestant” means on the anniversary of the Protestation of Speyer, which was yesterday: Today (April 19) is the anniversary of the 1529 Protestation of Speyer, which is generally regarded as the first time that the word “Protestant” was used to refer to a religious position distinct from Roman Catholicism. A coalition of German princes and leaders refused to abide by the imperial ban on Luther’s teachings, and called instead for the free spread… Read more
Full faith and credit
April 19, 2011 By Gene Veith 40 Comments
Remember how government bonds have been considered a sure investment because they are backed by “the full faith and credit” of the United States of America? Well, the Standard & Poor bond rating agency is having its doubts about what our government’s “full faith and credit” is worth: S&P changed its outlook on the United States from “stable” to “negative” and said the federal government could lose its AAA rating if officials fail to bring spending in line with revenues…. Read more
Tiger Mothers vs. Vocation
April 19, 2011 By Gene Veith 12 Comments
One of the best things I’ve read on the Tiger Mother controversy is this column by Pam Nielsen in the Lutheran Witness: If you are a parent, your children are your vocation and your most important calling. God sets the standard for you: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). To raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord is to raise… Read more
Democracy rules, except when my guy doesn’t win
April 19, 2011 By Gene Veith 134 Comments
Nigeria elected a president, the incumbent, who received twice the votes of the other candidate. But the president is a Christian, so Nigerian Muslims are rioting, setting fires, and protesting the election: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has won a presidential election with results being reported in all 36 states, as riots broke out in the mainly Muslim north to protest the outcome. Election officials announced Monday that Mr. Jonathan received million 22,495,187 votes in Saturday’s polls, nearly twice the number… Read more
The Bible readings for Holy Week
April 18, 2011 By Gene Veith 8 Comments
Pastor William Weedon explains about the appointed readings for Holy Week: Why did we read about BOTH the triumphal entry and the Passion and death of our Lord in the Palm Sunday liturgy. First, remember that the observance of “this happening” on “the same day” is a rather late convention in the Church’s liturgical life. The foundational mystery is celebrated each and every Lord’s Day: Christ crucified is raised from the dead. Even on Palm Sunday that remains the focus…. Read more
Liberals are just too darn virtuous
April 18, 2011 By Gene Veith 244 Comments
If there is a Pulitzer Prize for most sanctimonious piece of journalism, this piece by Sally Kohn in the Washington Post should win and the prize should thereafter be retired. She starts off with how liberals–actually, President Obama–have been pushed around by conservatives lately. She concludes that the problem is that liberals are just basically good tolerant people, while conservatives are mean. Liberals, she argues, need to stop being tolerant of conservatives. The real problem isn’t a liberal weakness. It’s… Read more
The health benefits of fidgeting
April 18, 2011 By Gene Veith 14 Comments
Some good new words here: Inactivity Studies; Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (a.k.a. NEAT). Also, I daresay, some good advice: James Levine, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has an intense interest in how much people move — and how much they don’t. He is a leader of an emerging field that some call inactivity studies, which has challenged long-held beliefs about human health and obesity. . . . His initial question — which he first posed in a… Read more
Spillionaires
April 15, 2011 By Gene Veith 32 Comments
A new word for people who got rich from British Petroleum from the oil spill in the Gulf: The oil spill that was once expected to bring economic ruin to the Gulf Coast appears to have delivered something entirely different: a gusher of money. So many people cashed in that they earned nicknames: “spillionaires” or “BP rich.” Others hurt by the spill wound up getting comparatively little. Many people who got money deserved it. But in the end, BP’s attempt… Read more
Academic bias
April 15, 2011 By Gene Veith 10 Comments
A new study demonstrates what might seem perfectly obvious but which still needs to be demonstrated: That there is a distinct and measurable bias in academia against political conservatives and (especially) conservative Christians. See Preferred Colleagues – Innovations – The Chronicle of Higher Education. HT: Jackie Read more
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