How should we think about personal responsibility in light of the financial bailout currently being debated in Washington, D.C.?
Category: News and Politics
Politics – Current Events – Media
Morality, Legality and Alcohol
The church issued a statement about alcohol laws in Utah. The last paragraph reads: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that Utahns, including those who work in the hospitality industry, can come together as citizens, regardless of religion or politics, to support laws and regulations that allow individual freedom of choice while preserving Utah’s proven positive health and safety record on limiting the tragic consequences of overconsumption of alcohol.â€
BYU in the Memory of the AAUP
Among the other academic spam that I get are regular emails from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which is always eager to remind me of their fights for academic freedom, higher salaries for professors, and various trendy and hip progressive causes. Today, the AAUP sent out an email commemorating the ten year anniversary of its censure of BYU. I thought that readers might enjoy a trip down memory lane to the bad-old-days of Mormon intellectual life in the 1990s and a view of events through outside eyes:
Stewardship and Politics
With elections coming up and my time as a guest blogger running out, I like to take up the topic of Mormonism and voting. First, what should we make of the many Mormons who seem completely disengaged in politics?
First Things Articles
First Things has published two articles about the Church; one by Bruce D. Porter and the other by Gerald R. McDermott.
Mormons, Politics, and Morality
Some of the thoughts of a commenter on my last post, got me thinking about Mormons, politics, and morality. My observation is that the issues that set off moral alarm bells for most Mormons are those that deal with issues relating to what I would consider “freedom to sin†or “prohibitions of obvious sins.â€
Changing Conceptions of Zion
The Mormon conception of Zion has changed dramatically over the past century. Today’s members of the church are likely to define “Zion” as wherever the members of the church are: LDS homes, congregations, and stakes. While the conception of Zion in the 19th century may have included these elements, these Saints were determined to literally be Zion communities
Special Feelings (more on Mormon Language)
This morning I heard a member of Utah’s delegation to the Republican National Convention tell a radio talk show host that “there is a really special feeling among the Republican delegation.†Could you run that by me again?
Hot Mormon Gossip
Has the Church really made an unsolicited offer to buy Facebook (see here which spun off to here)?
The Bridge from Theological to Political
Yes! Another SSM post!
The Race-Orientation Comparison
It comes up often enough, doesn’t it: People compare race to sexual orientation, when discussing questions of marriage, medical access, and so on. Is this comparison legitimate?
Notes from all over.
The week in notes, belatedly.
Global Warming, Redefining Marriage, and Risk Aversion
I think we can all agree that, from a risk analysis perspective, global warming and gay marriage share a lot of characteristics.
A Bad Reason for A Good Policy
Let me remind everyone that I support the Church’s position opposing same sex marriage.
Notes from all over.
Comment on the week in sidebar links.
Vampires
You are probably too erudite to discuss this, but I’m bringing it up anyway: vampire books. You know what I’m talking about.
Interesting P.R. Approach
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve encountered an interesting banner link in my gmail account:
Notes from all over.
The week in sidebar links.
Notes from all over.
It Begins
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 From: [redacted] Subject: MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MONSON
When The Prophet Speaks
Dave’s Mormon Inquiry has a post up about a new article in Meridian Magazine today that likens the brewing battle over gay marriage in California to the War in Heaven. The comments of the post link to an editorial from the Daily Universe editorial board this week that I found pretty shocking. The money quote: Consequently, “active Mormons†know that when the prophet speaks, the debate is over. No matter how diligently someone reads their scriptures, attends church or pays a full tithe, unless they sustain President Monson, his counselors and the other 12 apostles, [by supporting the proposed amendment to legally define marriage as a union between a man and a woman] they are not “active Mormons.â€
McCain and the Revelatory Economist
Bloomberg reports the following from McCain about economists who criticized his (lunatic) summer gas plan:
“We lived after the manner of happinessâ€
The other day somebody sent me a YouTube link for a comedian I’ll call Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones was a chubby gramdma with hot flashes – not the kind of person you usually see doing stand-up. Most of the “funny†email forwarded to me makes me sigh and hit the delete button. Mrs. Jones made me laugh out loud. It felt sort of weird. Which made me realize that I don’t laugh nearly enough
A modest, sensible, reasonable proposal that is certain to fail
Utah’s NBA team needs to change its name, period. The name is silly. There is no jazz in the state of Utah. They should give the Jazz name back to the good folks of New Orleans, for whom the moniker actually makes sense, and pick a new one that actually makes sense for Utah. Which new monikers might work?
Revisiting the Church’s Stance on Immigration
Just over a month ago, Kaimi posed a question asking how exactly our Latter-day Saint beliefs should translate into specific ideas on the issue of immigration. His blog post was provoked by press accounts of meetings that Elder M. Russell Ballard and other Church officials had just had with members of the Utah legislature from both parties. These sorts of meetings are nothing unusual; they’ve actually become a matter of tradition. Before each general session, party leaders in both the House and Senate meet separately with Church officials to discuss any issues of importance. What set these particular meetings apart, however, was the increasingly hardline immigration measures the legislature was set to consider during the upcoming legislative session.
Mitt Romney’s Speech “Faith In America”: Your Reaction
Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind introduction.
Graduate Student Conference at Claremont: Call for Papers — CHANGE!
“May These Principles Be Establishedâ€: Mormonism in the Political Arena
Grad Student Conference: Mormonism in Politics
Graduate Student Conference at Claremont: Call for Papers “May These Principles Be Establishedâ€: Mormonism in the Political Arena
Help out Harry Reid
When Harry Reid spoke at BYU last week, he brought up a topic he was uniquely suited to address. To paraphrase, how can you be a Mormon and a Democrat? Reid’s response was, well, deeply predictable in the outset but wildly unpredictable after that.
Evans Political Bull-Bear Indicator: August 2007
The people who bet money on their ability to predict political events are bullish on Mitt Romney.