Monday, April 29, 2019

In the news, Wednesday, April 17, 2019


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APR 16      INDEX      APR 18
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from Big Think

19th-century medicine: Milk was used as a blood substitute for transfusions
For the bulk of human history, medical science has been a grim affair. Modern innovations in the scientific process and medical techniques mean that we can determine with a good deal of accuracy what's going to work and what won't, and we can test those theories in a relatively safe and scientifically sound way. Not true for the past. Take blood transfusions, for instance. Prior to the discovery of blood types by Karl Landsteiner in 1901 and effective methods of avoiding coagulation when transfusing blood, human beings who had lost significant amounts of blood were pretty screwed, and not just because of the loss of blood, but also because of what we used to replace it with. For a brief and bizarre time in the late 19th century, scientists were convinced that milk was the perfect substitute for lost blood.

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from Church Times
Newspaper in London, United Kingdom

But, as I listened, I realised that Notre-Dame had lived up to its destiny: it reminded a people of its past, and of the hope of new life found at the foot of the cross. France has tried very hard to push God away, and forget the faith of centuries. But, when the people fell silent, the very stones cried out.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

New Study: The Case against Antitrust Law
Antitrust regulation is a complex, multifaceted issue. It brings together insights from law, economics, political science, history, philosophy, and other disciplines. Right now both political parties are ramping up their antitrust rhetoric, and it will likely be a live issue throughout the 2020 election cycle. A working understanding of how antitrust regulation works is important for understanding why it works so poorly, and should ultimately be abolished.

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from Conciliar Post

THEOLOGY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
What’s a good way to think about the study of theology in relation to the life of the church? There are Christian circles that hold the study of theology with great suspicion. Too many, in their estimation, strike out on the path of academic theology only to find at the end of the path a gate with a large exit sign above it; passing through, they leave their faith far behind. And anyways, even amongst those who manage to keep their faith, most become more or less useless to ‘everyday’ Christians what with their big terms and constant readiness to point everyone else’s ‘heretical’ formulations. Quite frankly, who needs them? And then there are those (I confess, I long took up my position in this camp) who think that proficiency in theology (or rather, ‘theological terminology’ – what Augustine would call ‘signs’ rather than ‘things’) is really the goal of the Christian life. What else, pray tell, is Christian maturity if not the ability to rattle off a few Latin transliterations, to explain the theological significance of the enclitic conjunction, and to offer a short disquisition on the significance of the iota (Gibben’s remarks notwithstanding). Of course, neither of these two positions will do. I want to suggest that learning theology for the Christian is like learning a second (dead) language.

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from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS,  MIXED  American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.

A Promising Proposal to Stop Wrongful Seizure of Assets
The RESPECT Act passed the House unanimously in the last Congress, only to stall in the Senate. But its reforms are so commonsense and broadly supported, it ought to be a no-brainer for lawmakers to advance. If they do, Congress would ensure that individuals and small business owners facing unjust IRS seizures have the permanent legal protections they deserve. That would be the first significant federal civil forfeiture reform in years—and hopefully not the last.

Housing Finance Reform Has Never Really Been About Affordable Housing
A full decade has passed since the mortgage meltdown, yet virtually the same system remains in place. The administration can now reverse these dangerous trends, protecting taxpayers and making housing more affordable. Americans would be best served by a vibrant, competitive housing finance market – the polar opposite of what the U.S. government has created.

Is America Turning Into a Nation of Dunces?
Today, 60% of college graduates cannot name a single step necessary to ratify a constitutional amendment. Ten percent of the college graduates surveyed thought that Judge Judy is currently serving on the Supreme Court. For the sake of our nation and our own personal freedom, it is essential that we get back to teaching the basics of American civics. We are failing the founders.

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from Mises Institute
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED

The Making of Modern Civilization: Savings, Investment, and Economic Calculation
Institutionalism1 is used to ridicule the classical economists because they started with “Crusoe economics.” In the beginning a fisherman got the idea that he could catch more fish one day than he needed and then he could have some leisure time to manufacture fishing nets. These nets and saved fish are “capital goods”; I don’t call them “capital.”

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from Orthodox Christianity – orthochristian.com
Religious Organization in Moscow, Russia

ABBOT TRYPHON PHYSICALLY ATTACKED
Abbot Tryphon of the All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island, Washington was attacked while pumping gas at a Burien, WA gas station just less than an hour ago. A random man came over, and sucker punched Abbot Tryphon in the face, knocking him to the ground. They had to wait for paramedics, and a sheriff came and took his report. Fr. Tryphon was with Fr. Martin of the monastery, and they were out running errands. Fr. Martin was in the vehicle when the attack occurred. They are both shaken up by the incident, and at this time, Fr. Tryphon’s hearing has been affected.

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from Prospect Magazine

“No one would meet my eyes”: meet the Rwandan genocide survivor who returned home to forgive her neighbours
When Denise Uwimana made the decision to forgive her Hutu neighbours, some of the other survivors called her a traitor. But 25 years after the Rwandan genocide, she says the act of forgiveness can heal—and has now written a book to tell her story

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from Psephizo  Blog

Should Notre Dame be rebuilt, or the money spent on the poor? Why does it matter? Isabelle Hamley writes: Growing up in France, I never really thought of Notre-Dame de Paris as the best French cathedral. Or the best example of early gothic architecture. Or even a place of deep spiritual meaning for me. It was – well, that’s it, it just, was. And so I wasn’t really prepared for the tidal wave of emotion I felt as I watched it burn against the backdrop of the city. Within an hour or so of the news hitting the headlines, I read a grumpy Facebook post complaining that this seems to be such big news, compared to the many parts of the world devastated by suffering that we so often ignore. And more this morning – blogs and posts sharing their righteous outrage that so much money would be used to rebuild, when it could be used for the poor. For good causes. For much more valuable human lives. Let the ruins stand, and turn the ground into a park. And of course, at one level, this is absolutely right. There is so much need in the world, so much misery, that we should do everything we can to combat it. The question is, are these things mutually exclusive?

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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington

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from Sputnik
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED, Broadcasting & Media Production Company out of Moscow, Russia

US-Turkey Deadlock Over Ankara’s S-400 Deal Shows No Sign of Resolution – Report
On Tuesday, Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said after his talks with Donald Trump in Washington that the US President has demonstrated “a reasonable approach” toward Ankara’s purchases of Russian S-400 air defence systems. The US and Turkey have failed to resolve an impasse in talks over Ankara’s plans to deploy Russian-made S-400 missile systems, which “the Pentagon says could jeopardize US fighter aircraft in the region”, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted an unnamed sources as saying. The newspaper also referred to the Turkish President’s spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin, who expressed hope that Washington will not slap sanctions on Ankara in connection with its purchasing the S-400s.

Trump Predicts Biden, Sanders to Be Democratic Finalists in Presidential Race
US President Donald Trump suggested that he would either face Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. "I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!" Trump said on Twitter. According to the recent 2020 Democratic Primary poll conducted by the Morning Consult and based on 12,550 interviews with registered voters, collected from April 8-14, Biden was leading in the Democratic presidential field with 31 percent support, followed by Sanders at 23 percent.

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from USA Today

Notre Dame fire powerful warning that we must protect America's precious heritage
The flames that engulfed the 856-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral are a shocking reminder that the world’s most enduring cultural and religious monuments are fragile despite their bedrock appearance. This tragedy has devastated those of us who preserve architecture, history, and cultural and religious heritage. Our thoughts are with the citizens of France, the Catholic community, and everyone who reveres and appreciates our global historical legacy. Like the fire that ravaged the National Museum of Brazil in September, the Notre Dame blaze threatened irreplaceable cultural heritage, including the cathedral’s rose windows, Saint Louis’ tunic, and the Crown of Thorns. Fires like these are more common than we think. According to the National Fire Protection Association, in the United States there are 70 museum fires on average each year.

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from US National Archives

Go Take a Hike! The Appalachian Trail Turns 96 Years Old
March 2019 marked the 96th anniversary of the opening of the first section of the Appalachian Trail which ran from Bear Mountain, New York, to Harriman State Park in Arden, New York. The brainchild of forester Benton MacKaye, the Appalachian Trail, or the “A.T.” as it is widely known, started out as an idea for a regional planning project in which a series of trails would connect to make one long, spectacular trail.  Shortly after that original section of the trail opened, MacKaye proposed a two-day conference to be held in Washington, D.C., out of which the Appalachian Trail Conservancy was born.

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