I spent the Thanksgiving weekend in the home of a relative who became, in the course of his four years as a medical student at the University of Michigan, a Michigan football fan. Michigan’s series with Ohio State goes back to 1897, has been played annually since 1918, and it has been played in November as the teams’ last regular season game since 1935.

This year’s game was a great one. The Wolverines arrived in Columbus with a 10-1 record and ranked #3 in national playoff standings. The Buckeyes were also 10-1 and ranked #2. Attendance was a stadium record 110,045, and it was this season’s most-watched college football game on television. Ohio State won in double overtime 30-27. What a great weekend to enjoy being a Buckeye!

Then, two mornings later . . . eleven people “including at least one faculty member, one staff member and seven students” were sent to hospitals for treatment of injuries inflicted upon them by a student who was shot dead by a policeman to stop the student’s attack. Celebrate while you may, for it may not fit tomorrow’s mood.

Kris Bryant, the 2016 National League MVP, is a native son of Las Vegas, born in 1992. As is the 2015 NL MVP, Bryce Harper. I am not aware of a third 24-year-old Las Vegan playing in major league baseball.

My muse has updated the parable of the Good Samaritan.  (more…)

I was inspired by Bruce C.’s recent post on poverty and Steve Reed’s comment on the scriptures yielding multiple interpretations.  Specifically, I was inspired to think about the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I do not reject the standard interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which the point is that everyone is our “neighbor.”  I accept the authority of both tradition and the prophets.

But there is another interpretation, which actually fits the story better. (more…)

For the last eight years, any disagreement with policies of the current administration were viewed as signs of racism by those inclined to view matters that way. Had the other major presidential candidate prevailed earlier this month, there would have been more of the same, with sexism taking the place of racism as the secret sin motivating any disagreement with the next president. However, with the president-elect we have the script has a little tweak: any agreement with any policy of the next president will be because he is a fascist, and those agreeing with him (about anything) are OK with that. For example (link):

“The Obama administration turned a deaf ear to us and frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction,” Matthew LeBretton, New Balance’s vice president of public affairs, told the Wall Street Journal.

The answer was in response to a question about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, an initiative led by President Obama and staunchly opposed by Trump. Boston-based New Balance, the only major company that still makes athletic shoes in the United States, has said the trade policy would hinder its business and help competitors who operate overseas.

Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also opposed the deal.

But that didn’t stop opponents of Trump from turning on New Balance altogether and accusing the company of formally endorsing not just his stance on TPP, but entire platform.

A beautiful woman, ice cream, little kids — the experience always exceeds your memory.

But if you have the experience often enough for your memory to be equal to it, the quality of the memory itself declines.

There is a way out of the dilemma. It is time and eternity.

[Mafalda is an Argentine comic strip that ran in newspapers from 1964 to 1973.]

God expresses Himself differently to some of us.  Whether because we can take more of Him than others, or whether because He has to condescend even further to our particular level, I cannot say.

Until Sunday, my latest example was in the temple, where laughing at myself brought me into harmony with the Spirit, who was also laughing at me. (more…)