An interesting result of social science research (perhaps especially interesting in connection with the piece that I just posted a few minutes ago):   http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-church-attendance-suicide-20160629-snap-story.html   I dunno.  Dare I say it?  The late Christopher Hitchens’s dictum that “religion poisons everything” is coming to seem . . . well, perhaps not entirely accurate.   Such results don’t prove that religious claims are true, of course.  But they do suggest, in my view, that — to borrow a phrase from... Read more

    Over the weekend, both the liberal Mormon blogger Jana Riess and a guest opinion column in the Salt Lake Tribune lamented the rise in suicides among gay Mormon teenagers caused by the Church’s stance on homosexual behavior.   There may well have been other such articles.  These are merely two that I happen to have seen.  The claim of such a rise has been quite common in news coverage, national and international, for a number of months.   Now,... Read more

    According to the notes of Dr. James McHenry, who was a delegate from Maryland, a lady approached Ben Franklin when he was leaving Independence Hall after the final day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.   “Well, Doctor,” she asked him, “what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”   “A Republic,” he replied, “if you can keep it.”   Words to ponder, as we move past the celebrations of Independence Day 2016.   Posted from Park City,... Read more

    Mr. Donald Trump now seems to have tweeted a message with anti-Semitic associations:   “Donald Trump’s ‘Star of David’ tweet controversy, explained”   Big deal, right?   Did you really expect that this “loutish, unstable man-child”  would really transform himself and become “presidential”?   “The Man’s Not for Changing”   Moreover, his long-standing interest in silencing criticism, offensive enough already in a hyper-litigious private citizen, is still on abundant public display as he seeks to gain control of the executive... Read more

    I’m very pleased to learn that my long-time friend Gary Gillum, who published an article in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture in 2013, has been appointed to the board of Oxford Biblical Studies Online.   We’re all frauds and pseudoscholars at the Interpreter Foundation, of course, and we rely, in lieu of actual evidence and logical analysis, entirely on irrational appeals to faith mingled with vicious ad hominem attacks.  (I’ve been assured of that more times than I can count.)... Read more

    If, after the pancake breakfasts and the family activities and the grilling and the fireworks, you would like to think for just a few moments about what this country means, these two pieces might help:   Charles C. W. Cooke, an Oxford-educated political thinker who came to the United States in 2011, holds that   “America’s Founding Changed Human History Forever”   Kevin D. Williamson writes about   “General Washington’s Standard”   And, while we’re at it, here’s an... Read more

    A nice summary by Jenet Jacob Ericsson:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865657379/How-religious-involvement-influences-life-and-well-being-in-America.html?pg=all   The late Christopher Hitchens’s iron law that “religion poisons everything” is beginning to look . . .  Well, it’s beginning to look slightly dubious.   Posted from Park City, Utah     Read more

    I love it:   http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/07/02/woman-sings-national-anthem-lincoln-memorial-video-goes-viral   Posted from Park City, Utah     Read more

    I grew up an avid Dodgers fan.  (As I think I’ve mentioned, I was there when Sandy Koufax threw his first no-hitter.)   There were and are few things more pleasant than a summer evening at Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine.   So I would have thoroughly enjoyed this.  And, if I still lived in the Los Angeles area, I might well have been there:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865657416/Elder-Neil-L-Andersen-throws-out-first-pitch-at-Dodger-Stadium.html   Posted from Park City, Utah   Read more

    A piece that was published nearly six years ago, but that seems to me even more relevant now than it was then:   http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/11/12/mohamed-elibiary-homeland-security-advisory-council-muslim-patriot-islam.html   Posted from Park City, Utah     Read more