To die. (more…)

Just one of a number of wrinkles in the health care bill. (more…)

Now that Magnus Carlsen is known to be training with Kasparov, he has appeared not his customary teenager habit of hooded sweatshirt, but in an ascot.  This form of dress has been favored by Kasparov.  We approve.

"Does this look okay?"

"No."

"Better?"

[Chessbase on the Tal Memorial.]

In a sane world, this would end the debate. (more…)

A commodity easily squandered. (more…)

A friend sent me a link about how Utah has the highest use of anti-depressants along with a note that said: “What’s wrong with you guys out there?” Not long afterwards, Andrew Ainsworth did an excellent series of articles about Utah, Mormonism, and Depresssion. (more…)

This does not make cheery reading.

DavidH made an excellent comment that I think should be discussed further. This was in response to a concern he had over my suggestion that people that don’t believe in the LDS Church (i.e. do not accept any of the unique truth claims of the LDS Church) should not be Bishops or ecclesiastical leaders in the Church.

DavidH objected and went on to explain:

And I think if a person has enough faith to honestly hold a temple recommend but has doubts or reservations about some of the Church’s other teachings (even those on your list), and if a stake president feels inspired to call that person as bishop, I would be perfectly fine with it.

I actually think this is an excellent point and we should discuss several aspects of it further. (more…)

And still only claiming five jobs saved from over half a million dollars spent. (more…)

How did they know? (more…)

The Law of the Excluded Middle of Religion – An Argument that Religious Categories Actually Do Exist

As a comment to my post on “What is a Religion?” Mark Brown made a (somewhat snarky) comment that is worthy of some consideration:

In the past 24 months, some of the ostentatiously conservative participants in the bloggernacle have expressed their public disagreement with official church statements on three different issues: stem cell research, illegal immigration, and now housing and employment rights for homosexual people.

I am very happy to see the denunciation of these cultural Mormons, ark steadiers, and faithless phonies on this here blog.

Vader did a good job of pointing out the misrepresentations in the comment, but I want to concentrate on the part that really does deserve further discussion. (more…)

His deep bow to Akihito embarrasses the Japanese. (more…)

I was reading Vader’s excellent post about the Catholic Bishop’s response to Congressman Kennedy.

Vader connects the Bishop’s response to his belief in Catholic authority. While this is undoubtedly true, it’s actually unnecessary to realize the moral authority that Bishop Tobin has in this situation. (more…)

[The following is taken from pages 12-15 of Lighter-Than-Air Flight edited by Lt. Col. C.V. Glines, USAF, published by Franklin Watts, Inc., 1965.]

The preliminary flights in a captive balloon were preludes to the next logical step in the Montgolfier experiments—free flight. But it was not a matter of simply cutting a rope and letting the intrepid aeronauts go with the wind. The King of France, Louis XVI, would not permit any such manned flight to take place. The Marquis François-Laurent d’Arlendes,an influential friend of de Rozier, interceded and gained an audience with the King. Pointing out that the first manned tethered flights had been successful and that the animals used in the free flight had all survived, d’Arlendes pleaded that two men should now be allowed to ascend for the glory of France.

(more…)

Oxford has gone online with a collection of WWI poetry here.