I really hope to see it next Monday night, 14 November:   http://www.realclearlife.com/2016/11/09/november-supermoon-will-be-the-biggest-since-1948/     Read more

    There are, I think, legitimate grounds for criticizing the FBI’s recent performance in the matter of the Clinton emails.   But this operation, from a month ago, plainly deserves praise:   http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/10/15/feds-3-suspects-kansas-anti-somali-plot-sought-bloodbath/92139212/     Read more

    Thanks to Nicol Sorenson-Legakis for calling my attention to this soothing bedtime story:     I apologize for its one mild allusion to the actual language used by our president-elect.     Read more

    Perhaps largely lost in the frenzy over yesterday’s presidential election was the publication of this striking article by the attorney general of the state of New York:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865666702/NY-attorney-general-Time-to-stand-up-for-Latter-day-Saints-and-the-religious-freedom-of-all.html?clear_cache=1   At first glance, it may seem less timely or urgent now that the election is over.  But, in my judgment, it addresses a still-troubling issue.  And, candidly, my preliminary impression is that some of Mr. Trump’s more radical supporters are showing very little magnanimity in victory.  (For example,... Read more

    “But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition [instruction] or restraint.” Edmund Burke   Read more

    My friend and colleague Mark Wright posted this comment on his Facebook page, and I reproduce it here with his kind permission:   So Utah went Trump, despite my vocal efforts against him since the primaries. The votes for McMullin were not merely “protest votes”; there was no way it would turn blue, and McMullin seemed the best chance at preventing Trump from taking it, and I proudly voted for McMullin as he loudly decried the racism, sexism,... Read more

    I actually had a feeling, over the past few days, that Mr. Trump was about to acquire the presidency.  But today would have been a sober day for me either way the election went, as I objected to both major-party nominees.   I’m trying to see positives in the results of yesterday’s election.  The apparent end of the slimy Clinton political machine is definitely among them.  The possibility that President Trump will nominate conservative Supreme Court justices is, as well.... Read more

    Just a reminder of the lecture today by Margaret Barker on “Theosis/Divinization.”  It will be followed by responses from David Larsen, Andrew Skinner, and Daniel Peterson.   Details can be found here:   Margaret Barker Upcoming Lecture on “Theosis/Divinization”   A map of the BYU campus can be found here.  Note the public parking area directly north of the Wilkinson Student Center (building 89 on the map), in which the Varsity Theater is located.  Parking may also be... Read more

    I was a pre-teen in 1964, but, although my parents voted for Lyndon Johnson, I was an ardent supporter of Sen. Barry Goldwater.  So was my brother.  And when my brother went into the voting booth to cast his ballot, he took me with him and actually permitted me to pull the lever for the senator.  I’ve been a conservative (with libertarian economic leanings) all of my life.  I grew up on the writings of William F. Buckley Jr.,... Read more

    There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you. Will Rogers   I’ve had enough of politics, and I don’t want to spend the entire evening switching between news stations and biting my nails.  So my wife and I are going out to a movie.  In the spirit of the day, it’s likely to be either Jack Reacher: Never Go Back or Doctor Strange.     Read more