The Irony of Courage — Memorial Day Address 2012
May 27, 2012 No Comments ›› John Eidsmoe6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not ...
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A Toast to Doolittle’s Raiders
Apr 26, 2012 No Comments ›› Site AdministratorLast night, as Trinity Presbyterian Church held a special patriotic program to dedicate five military flags (Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force), I was asked to represent the Air Force and present the story of Doolittle's Raid over Japan. The text of my speech is below. My thanks to Justin Rojek for the ...
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Lutherans for Life on HHS: “Here We Stand!”
Feb 20, 2012 1 Comment ›› John EidsmoeLast Saturday 18 Feb 2012, during our Lutherans for Life Board of Directors meeting at Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO, the Executive Director asked me to prepare a statement concerning the recent Health & Human Services directive requiring religious organizations to provide contraception for their employees. I drafted the statement, and with a ...
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Wendell Mitchell, RIP
Feb 15, 2012 No Comments ›› John EidsmoeThe first time I met Wendell Mitchell was about 22 years ago. As the Dean of the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, he was interviewing me for a professorship, and he asked me, "Could you fit into the South?" I assured him that would be no problem, because I was born in the South ...
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Response to “The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers” — Who Were They Hiding It From?
Jan 6, 2012 12 Comments ›› John EidsmoeChristian Pinto and Adullum Films have produced a DVD titled The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers in which they argue that America was not founded as a Christian nation. Rather, Pinto says, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were the products of Enlightenment thinking and the influence of Freemasonry, the Illuminati, and other ...
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The Angel of Hadley and Judges Cave: A Robust Thanksgiving Tale
Nov 23, 2011 No Comments ›› John EidsmoeLast weekend I made my annual “pilgrimage” to Plymouth, Massachusetts, for a Board meeting of the Plymouth Rock Foundation. The hallowed landmarks continue to inspire: the statue of William Bradford, the statue of Chief Massassoit, the vault containing the bones of many of the pilgrims who died during the first winter, the Church of the ...
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Emory Folmar, RIP
Nov 16, 2011 1 Comment ›› John EidsmoeAround December 1984, the Air Force sent me to Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama for a week of reserve duty. I brought my wife and children with me, as they had never been to Alabama. One night that week, we attended a community Christmas carol fest in Crampton Bowl. Emory Folmar, the Mayor of Montgomery, opened ...
Continue ReadingOtto von Hapsburg: The Prince, the Professor, and the Sinner
Jul 19, 2011 4 Comments ›› John EidsmoeOtto von Hapsburg (Habsburg) (1912-2011), the last Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, died at the age of 98 on 4 July 2011. After a 13-day period of mourning, he was entombed in the Imperial Crypt under the Capuchin Church in Vienna. The funeral embodied the dignity and regal splendor that befitted the heir of the ...
Continue ReadingSnyder v. Phelps — A Judicial Travesty?
Mar 14, 2011 6 Comments ›› John EidsmoeLast Saturday, after speaking for a Kansas Lutherans for Life Issues Conference in Topeka, my host drove me by the Westboro Baptist Church, the home base for Fred (I refuse to call him Reverend) Phelps and his band of deranged followers as they spew forth their hatred against practically everyone and everything. The building is quite ...
Continue ReadingCan Ronald Reagan’s “Bright, Shining City” Still Survive?
Feb 7, 2011 3 Comments ›› John EidsmoeTwo memories of Ronald Reagan stand out for me. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="151" caption="RONALD REAGAN, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR, 1967-71 (Courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library)"][/caption] The first was my meeting with him at age 21 when, as a College Republican leader, I had my picture taken with the California Governor at the 1967 Young Republican National Convention in ...
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