Friday miscellaneous (8/17)

The Olympics are over, but have you ever wondered why India doesn’t win more medals? And why does the US win so many?

But that means we can turn our attention back to politics. And wow, it’s been quite the week for Vice Presidents.

Saturday Romney announced that his running mate was Congressman Paul Ryan. Commentators are going crazy. Some see it as a declaration of war. Others contrast him with Sarah Palin. And, of course, the inevitable examination into how his suits are different than Romney’s. It says Romney is serious about conservative economic theory. And others have compared the Romney/Ryan ticket to the successful Snyder/Calley ticket in Michigan. Even Democrats have had nice things to say about him. Of course, that doesn’t keep some liberals from going hysterical.

Larry Kudlow even called Romney “the most fiscally conservative Republican standard-bearer since Ronald Reagan.”

Not to be outdone, Vice President Biden seized the spotlight back.

Tuesday he told a mostly African-American audience that Romney “gonna put y’all back in chains.” And forgot what state he was campaigning in. And guaranteed that Social Security was not in trouble.

Wednesday a Virginia bakery declined the opportunity to be used as a photo-op visit because the owner disagree with his policies (although I like this businessman’s response to the job of catering an Obama event: he did it in a Romney T-shirt). And Biden forgot what century it was. And called Congressman Ryan “Governor Ryan.”

Any chance President Obama will replace him? Or is this just increasing signs of falling apart. Maybe, just maybe, we’re seeing the early signs of Tony Blair’ description of the Tories in Labour’s 1997 victory: “[T]he Tories fell apart. Every time [John] Major tried to get the on the front foot, someone in his ranks resigned, said something stupid, got caught in a scandal and frequently all three at once and occasionally the same person.” Oh well, at least one can always hope, right?

Maybe we’re not that far away. In addition to Biden’s comments, we have politically motivated national security leaks, increasing disregard for the separation of powers, and squandered funding. ($2 million and 1 intern to show for it? Seriously? I just finished an internship with the federal government, and am pretty sure they didn’t spend that much on me. If they did, I certainly didn’t see any of it.)

Turning to social issues, Christianity Today points out that the conservative Christian abstinence and courtship movements seems to be neglecting...marriage. Early marriage, that is. And coincidentally, the liberal magazine Salon also had an article on early marriage this week.

Pastor Kevin DeYoung has the Three R’s of the culture wars: no retreat, no reversal, and no reviling.

And just when you thought the David Barton story was over, it develops further. Glen Beck’s website (Beck wrote the foreword for the book in question) addresses the substance of several of the claims. While it doesn’t come to a definitive conclusion, it does reveal that Barton’s critics have correctly pointed out omissions in his use of historical sources. And Dr. Alan Snyder wrote a second part to his thoughts on the matter.

And finally, there is this field of law known as “administrative law.” It’s the law of agencies (of bureaucracy). I’ve taken a class in it. So I can say that this is the best description I’ve ever heard.