Further evidence that, as many bitter critics of Mormonism seem to believe, Utah — or “Utard,” as some like to call it — is a kind of uncultured, semiliterate, retrograde Hell on Earth:   http://www.sltrib.com/entertainment/4295155-155/utah-tops-the-nation-in-attending     Read more

    If you think that abortion is an occasion for rejoicing, your day is coming up soon:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439392/abortion-concerts-culture-death   Unfortunately, the name is already taken:  But Dia de los Muertos would be a perfect description for the day.   Read more

    “College official tells praying man to leave because it’s not a ‘free speech area’”   At a meeting held on the campus of Harvard University:   “Scholars Ask Why Religious Repression Is Rising Despite International Pressure”   In the photo accompanying the piece, by the way, you’ll see two taller men in the center on the back row.  The one on the left is my friend and BYU colleague Cole Durham.   A French writer weighs in on... Read more

    http://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/islam-in-western-cinema-part-4–the-journey-through-american-islam     Read more

    My Thursday Deseret News column for this week:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865661455/Are-the-New-Testament-documents-reliable.html     Read more

    This is intriguing:   http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/news/a22646/oldest-fossils-ever-discovered/   Life seems to have appeared on Earth as soon as there was even the slightest possibility for it to do so.  That’s remarkable.  And it has a number of potential implications.   It should be obvious, moreover, that scientists are extremely unlikely to have happened upon the fossil remains of the very first living organisms.  Presumably, there was life on Earth that preceded these things.     Read more

    From the invaluable Ralph Hancock:   http://ldsmag.com/balancing-freedom-fairness-and-love-in-the-public-square/       Read more

    “Instead of trying to prove your opponent wrong, try to see in what sense he might be right.” Robert Nozick (1938-2002)     Of course, it’s really helpful to have high-quality opponents.  Some people are lucky that way.  Others aren’t.     Read more

    I’m two days late with this:   http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/439496/fifty-years-ago-today-last-beatles-concert   But I don’t want to let such a culturally significant date go completely unmentioned.   It’s always saddened me that I never saw the Beatles in concert.  I did see B. B. King; the Rolling Stones; the Byrds; Cream; Iron Butterfly; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; and a lot of others.  “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven!”   Still,... Read more

    If you have the time, here’s a cool, objective, and methodical analysis of Mr. Trump’s prospects in the Electoral College:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439466/donald-trump-electoral-map-paths-270-impossibly-narrow   Bottom line:  They’re not good.   Whether you love him or loathe him, Mr. Trump will almost certainly lose in November.   In the meanwhile, if you want to read something that wasn’t quite as predictable as a Donald Trump loss, here’s a piece about the apparent anti-Semitism of the anti-Mormon CEO of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, the seemingly rather unpleasant Stephen Bannon.  ... Read more