There is a horrific evil loose in the world, and it’s metastasizing rapidly:   64 soldiers killed in ISIS attack on Egyptian Army’s Sinai checkpoints   I fear that we may be growing accustomed to such reports, but we shouldn’t be:   74 children executed for ‘crimes’ that include failure to fast   There is also unusual concern — apparently grounded in actual data — about a possible terror attack of some sort on American soil in connection... Read more

      Professor Jenkins may now actually have retired from the competition, as he earlier said that he was doing.  Or not.  I have no idea.  Anyway, Professor Hamblin continues to post on behalf of truth and light:   Hamblin 20:  Centrality of Hermeneutics   Hamblin 21:  Maya King-Lists   Hamblin 22:  Comments from Gee    Posted from Newport Beach, California     Read more

    Luke 11:33 Compare Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16   “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light.”   There is a tension here.  The Lord repeatedly tells us not to do good works in order to be “seen of men,” but we’re also told to “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good... Read more

    A fascinating little piece on the essential biology of stinky beaches:   http://www.wired.com/2015/06/gives-beach-smell-sulfur-making-algae/   Posted from Newport Beach, California     Read more

    Malice, in its false witness, promotes its tale with so cunning a confusion; so mingles truths with falsehoods, surmises with certainties, causes of no moment with matters capital, that the accused can absolutely neither grant nor deny, plead innocence nor confess guilt. Sir Philip Sidney     Read more

    What does the scientific data say?   http://www.popsci.com/does-sugar-make-kids-hyper   Posted from Newport Beach, California     Read more

    In post-Obergefell America, I can’t really think of a principled reason why these three shouldn’t be permitted to be married.  After all, there’s a heck of a lot more precedent in world history for polygyny than there is for same-sex weddings:   http://www.cbsnews.com/news/polygamous-montana-trio-applies-for-wedding-license/   Legalize love!   Posted from Newport Beach, California     Read more

    As the years pass, he seems to me more and more obviously prophetic:   https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-maxwell_meeting-challenges-today/   I’ve already commented on his prescience at several places, including here and here.   I miss him very much.   Posted from Newport Beach, California     Read more

    For those who care about American and international security, this short statement is well worth a quick read:   http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/public-statement-on-u.s.-policy-toward-the-iran-nuclear-negotiations   I heard a prediction this morning that is potentially worrisome:   Suppose that we reach an accord with Iran.  (We’ve already conceded a great many items that we had previously said were non-negotiable.  Mr. Obama is — there’s lots and lots of evidence for this — not a very effective  negotiator, to put it mildly.)  The Grand... Read more

    A reader who thinks that redefining marriage is altogether peachy-keen and risk-free offers this proof that I’m wrong to be concerned:   Make a list of all of the countries that support gay rights including marriage. Make a list of all of the countries that do not support gay rights and marriage. Correlate that list with a host of quality of life indicators. I would bet that countries that support gay rights and marriage have a far higher... Read more