The passing of Justice Antonin Scalia is very bad news for America and horrible news, I think, for conservatism and the cause of limited government — which, in the age of Clinton Inc., Comrade Bernie, and Trumpism, scarcely need more bad news.   It’s extremely unlikely that President Obama will hold off, or be blocked, from nominating yet another left-leaning justice during the nearly twelve months that remain in his unfortunate presidency.  And this newly-minted Obama nominee will replace one... Read more

    I was already aware of W. Paul Reeve’s very interesting book Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness, but I’m grateful to Kevin Taylor for alerting me to this specific article:   http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/02/12/3748945/when-mormons-werent-white/   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    An interesting piece on slang, underground dialects, argots, jargon — whatever term you prefer; how about, say, “Diet Dr. Pepper”? — brought to my attention by Nathaniel Hancock:   http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160211-the-secret-anti-languages-youre-not-supposed-to-know   Be warned:  There is some slight raunchiness here, as you might expect.  But it’s very, very slight.   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    Here’s one perspective:   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mette-ivie-harrison/do-mormons-believe-in-hell_b_9140202.html   How would you answer the question?   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    In today’s reading, 2 Nephi 25, the prophet Nephi returns to speaking in his own voice — and it’s a voice very distinct from Isaiah’s.   Four brief observations:   1.   In verses 1-7, Nephi explicitly contrasts his own approach with that of Isaiah, indicating that there was an Old World Jewish method of understanding prophecy — a typological approach, perhaps, or a particular style of poetic analysis? — that he had intentionally decided not to pass on... Read more

    “When you seek truth, you seek God whether you know it or not.” Edith Stein Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    This is a nice bit of overdue but well deserved recognition:   https://news.byu.edu/news/byu’s-first-physics-grad-earns-posthumous-grammy-award   Posted from Salt Lake City, Utah     Read more

    Mona Charen’s interesting take on the results of the most recent New Hampshire primary:   http://townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/2016/02/11/day-of-the-demagogues-n2117706     Read more

    In this reading, 2 Nephi 24 (= Isaiah 14), Isaiah prophesies the eventual fall of the Babylonian Empire.   Israel, Isaiah says, will be returned to its homeland, and they will take captive those who had held them captive.   This is the chapter that contains the famous reference to the fall of Lucifer from heaven.  But we make the chapter much more difficult and obscure than it needs to be if we choose to interpret verses 12-14 as referring, in... Read more

    Thanks to Chrystine Heward Reynolds for bringing these absolutely wonderful — and stunningly impressive — sixteen minutes to my attention:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-j_pvidq4   When The Donald and Bolshie Bernie and Clinton Inc. begin to bring me down, it’s nice to remember that there are whole worlds out there beyond politics.   And may they ever remain so.   But this particular case also reminds me that far too many human lives and far too many remarkable talents have been,... Read more