Amish and the Government

Do the Amish vote?  And if so, what party are they more likely to support? With a week to go before the 2010 mid-term elections, this question may have crossed minds, especially in tighter congressional races in places with an Amish population. During the last two presidential elecations, a number of media stories were done […]

Continue Reading The Amish vote

A few links I thought you might enjoy below: An Amish reading list from someone who would know! A view on politics and the Amish in one community, by someone else who would know. “Amish doctors”, home birth, genetic issues.  An insightful overview of Amish society and health care , written for health care providers […]

Continue Reading Links you might like

Most Amish and some Mennonite farmers use steel wheels on their tractors, an aspect of church rules that encourages slower and less driving.  It’s hard to get a fast (or at least a comfortable) ride when you feel every pebble in the road thanks to the unforgiving metal.  Thus steel wheels deter unnecessary trips (in […]

Continue Reading Wheels of steel (and destruction), and an Amish burglary video

An Amish businessman in Lancaster County has turned the camera in the other direction in an attempt to catch a thief. Apparently the culprit in question, likely assuming the Amish-owned businesses would be lightly protected, was brazen enough to break into the same four shops multiple times over a period of a few months. One […]

Continue Reading Packing celluloid: Amishman uses camera tech to (hopefully) catch a thief

The Amish potential-exemption-from-health-insurance-requirement story has shot around the net and become something of a hot sub-story to the health care issue.  Frankly I thought it would get some attention but the amount of media coverage surprised me a bit. A scan of commentary reveals some upset at what’s been called a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card for the […]

Continue Reading Another look at the Amish and health insurance

The health plan which passed the Senate on Christmas Eve provides for substantial fines for individuals who do not purchase health insurance. A recent Daily Item article examines how the Amish, who do not use insurance outside of some forms of church coverage, may negotiate an eventual purchase requirement. A religious exemption exists, and Donald Kraybill […]

Continue Reading Amish to avoid health insurance purchase requirement?

I recently came across a transcript from George Bush senior’s 1989 meeting with Mennonite and Amish leaders in Lancaster County.  It’s interesting to read not only for those seeking late 80s era nostalgia but for the interesting dynamic between the President and the typically spotlight-shunning Amish and Mennonites as they take the stage in a […]

Continue Reading Bush 41, Amish, Mennonites, and drugs

Just read an interesting article in the Mount Vernon News about the relationship between law enforcement and Amish in a few Ohio communities. One of the two sheriffs interviewed–hailing from Knox County, an area with a relatively small Amish population–says that law enforcement tries to be sensitive to Amish customs and in particular the Amish […]

Continue Reading Amish and the law

In this second part of an interview with an anonymous Lancaster County Amishman, we look at the phenomenon of outsiders joining the Amish, using the Amish name to market and sell products to the public, Amish participation in the recent presidential election, and the meaning and purpose of shunning. (And if you missed the first […]

Continue Reading Part Two: An Amish America Q-and-A with a Lancaster County Amishman

In (hopefully) the last politically-related posting I’ll be doing for awhile, I just wanted to draw attention to an article in a WVA paper concerning local Amish and the voting issue. The piece does a nice job of explaining some of the deterrments to voting the Amish encounter as a society that considers itself ‘in […]

Continue Reading Why the Amish don’t vote; an Amish Obama supporter