Scott Alexander on how the New Atheism became Social Justice: it was because it was a failed religion, and SJ is just a “better” replacement. Bonus points for comments linking this to the next Great Awakening. There is certainly enough fodder here for its own post.

Rod Dreher on the Pachamama incident. I am genuinely flummoxed here, and at a loss for words. But to my faithful Catholic brethren and sisters, I am sorry to hear it.

Colleges getting rid of SAT & related exams. Madness.

Polyamory is rearing its scaly heads. I could not finish the article, because it was becoming such a sermon.

We drifted off topic there, so let’s move the conversation here.

I arrived at church early.  Our ward has the third time slot on Sundays. The first ward was just getting out. I saw that ward’s sister missionaries whom I had spoken with just prior to last week’s N.A.N.E. Area devotional broadcast. I had pitched to them the idea of getting a manicure at a nail salon in hopes of placing a Vietnamese or Korean Book of Mormon. They had liked the idea, so today I gave them two copies in each language, some money to subsidize the cost of the manicures, along with a recap of my suggested modus operandi. They seemed enthusiastic about the idea. (more…)

Death Star, Inc., insists on random drug testing of its employees.

I was randomly selected this morning. Now, you may be wondering how a person encased from head to toe in a Class C medical device is supposed to pee in the cup. Regardless, I dutifully trooped off to the testing trailer at the appointed time.

Stepping into the trailer, I found myself looking down at a floor mat: A lion, and the words “Born Free.”

‘Nuf said.

Louise Fletcher, … (more…)

(“KK” being the daughter of OJ’s now-deceased lawyer. Forgive me, I don’t even want to say their names.)

Both are fashionistas, with very heavy make-up. Both say inane things, but have legions of folks who hang on every word and act.  Both have undue and near constant media attention paid to them. (Therefore, they both must be saying/doing what the media wants us to hear/see.) Both have become media wh-res.  Both lead their followers on the path to aytch-ee-double-hockey-sticks.  They both say the stupidest things, yet they are consumate masters at controlling the media.

Why in blue blazes is a 29 year-old Democrat freshman congress-critter getting so much non-critical media attention, above so many more experienced and well-established Democrat congress-critters, who are just as wacky and left-wing?  Answers: she must be saying what the media wants to promulgate, and glamour sells.  

She is cute. Oh so wide-eyed cute. So communist-chic in that Daniel-Ortega-with-his-designer-glasses way.  She’s getting more media attention than even the crease in Obama’s trousers.

From what I remember of high-school English, an objective correlative is like a symbol, only it’s a real/physical object, not a sign that can be merely written or spoken.

The subject of this objective-correlative thing came up as the class studied “The Scarlet Letter.” Hester Prine’s “A” on her garment eventually became the objective correlative for her love-child, more so than the liaison. (more…)

Normative text is displayed in black. Rationale is displayed in red. Rationale is non-normative, but is provided to call out differences from release 1.27, better define terms of art, offer the reasoning behind the normative text, and offer other clarifications.

(more…)

When we depart from the original meaning of the Constitution and hand it over to judges, we weaken our habit of self-government and we atrophy a muscle that Madison wanted us to exercise. It used to be that we had an amendment every ten or so years. We haven’t had an amendment since 1992. The amendments have dropped off in number since about the same time as the rise of ‘living constitutionalism.’ I don’t know if one can say that’s purely an accident or coincidence.

–Thus Justice Gorsuch, in a recent inverview.

(more…)

Behold, I say unto you that all old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing; and this is a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.

-thus the Lord, D&C 22:1.

I don’t fully grasp this verse.  For one, there is the intriguing hint that old covenants may have had some lingering validity despite their apostasies.  The way the Jewish high priest gets treated in the gospels and Acts.

Even more, what about the reference to a new covenant, which is also an everlasting covenant that has already been around.  “This brand new car isn’t a billion years old.  Its older than that.”  Continuity is a theme around here.  I suppose that sometimes continuity requires ending a failed effort and starting over again back at the basics.  One might say that continual repentance is the true principle of continuity.

 It’s not a problem to make emotional decisions, as long as you are taking all your emotions, now and later, into account. Integrating those later emotions with the current ones is a big purpose in life.

-thus Friend of the JG Lucinda.

It’s also a big purpose of the gospel. Decisions made like that are what we call wisdom.

Some time back, Bookslinger asked me if I was doing okay. I hadn’t had much presence at the club in a while.

(more…)

I like this book for how Earl Woods (Tiger’s father) lays out ways to think outside the box for coming up with service activities, and uplifting youth activities. (more…)

Marxists are trash, who in a just world would be treated like Nazis, their moral equivalents. Indulging and coddling them on campus has been one of the signal failures of the West.

–Thus Glenn Reynolds