Are religious prisoners specially entitled to conjugal visits?

Are religious prisoners specially entitled to conjugal visits?: "Thomas avers that his religion requires him to marry and, in fact, to have multiple wives. Thomas avers that DOC’s policy concerning visits from spouses precludes him from enjoying conjugal visits with his wives. Thomas avers that this policy has a detrimental effect on the status of his marriages, because his wives are threatening to divorce him under Islamic religious rules if they are unable to have intercourse with him."



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I think a Mormon would have a pretty good claim for conjugal visits under RLUIPA. Mormons are known for having big families and are commanded to "multiply and replenish the earth." Mormon leaders considered prophets have taught that sex is a sacrament.



I think I just came up with a brilliant new proselytizing strategy.

The Corner | National Review Online

The Corner | National Review Online: "“I got to say that it is such an embarrassment to our profession that CNN has gone in the toilet the way it has,” Klein said, pointing to the incessant coverage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 as the latest evidence.

Such is the abject state of CNN that he recommended a surprising source: “I miss being able to turn on a straight newscast, and it turns out the only place you can go to get one at 6 o’clock at night is Fox,” he said, referring to Special Report with Bret Baier, drawing some laughter and disapproving murmurs from the Manhattan crowd.

But former CBS, ABC, and CNN commentator Jeff Greenfield, who joined Klein onstage, agreed. Klein said he would rather watch Baier’s show at that hour than the competitors, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer or MSNBC’s Al Sharpton, the latter ofwhom he says he “still consider[s] to be a major criminal.”

“The guy can have a job on network TV, on NBC cable network, and he still hasn’t apologize for Tawana Brawley — give me a break,” Klein said."



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I find it very comforting that at least one liberal msm journalist feels this way.

President Obama: Alleged Donald Sterling remarks 'incredibly offensive' - Dan Berman - POLITICO.com

President Obama: Alleged Donald Sterling remarks 'incredibly offensive' - Dan Berman - POLITICO.com: "“The owner is reported to have said some incredibly offensive racist statements that were published. I don’t think I have to interpret those statements for you; they kind of speak for themselves,” Obama said at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday.

“When people — when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t really have to do anything, you just let them talk. And that’s what happened here.”"



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Sam Alito: A Civil Man | The American Spectator

Sam Alito: A Civil Man | The American Spectator: "“It was an utterly bogus ethics issue,” he says. He explains that after the case was decided he received, from a law professor representing the man who had brought the suit, a letter suggesting that because of the structure of the fund he ought to have recused himself and thus the case should be reheard. “So I went back and I did recuse myself,” Alito tells me. “The appeal was done over without my participation, and it was decided the same way. Later it turned out I was not under any obligation to recuse in the first place. I had around 300 cases a year on the Third Circuit, so you do the math and see how many cases that is altogether. But I was bedeviled by Senator Kennedy and a member of his staff about this one case. It was very disturbing.”"



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Sam Alito: A Civil Man | The American Spectator

Sam Alito: A Civil Man | The American Spectator: " A throat-clearing unsigned editorial in the New York Times spoke of a “lengthy and often troubling record he will have to explain away” and excoriated President Bush for not having chosen “a pragmatic, mainstream conservative.” A band of reporters tracked down Alito’s ninety-year-old mother at her home and began pressing her for her son’s views on abortion. (A chance phone call from Alito sent them packing.)"



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Sam Alito: A Civil Man | The American Spectator

Sam Alito: A Civil Man | The American Spectator: "“I was a kind of secret conservative,” he tells me. His political views remained more or less unknown to his superiors until he ran into Charles Fried, Lee’s successor as solicitor general, at a meeting of the Federalist Society: “They used to have these lunches at a Chinese restaurant. Charles was there and he came up to me and said, ‘Oh, what a surprise to see you here. This is like meeting a friend at a bordello.’” "



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Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece | Magazine | WIRED

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece | Magazine | WIRED: "Murphy: There was one submission called Demon Rugsuckers From Mars, or maybe just Rugsuckers From Mars. [Ed. note: It’s actually titled Over-Sexed Rugsuckers From Mars.] It’s about vacuum cleaners. And there was a scene with this dorky bearded fellow making graphic love to a vacuum cleaner. That was the one time I thought, what the hell am I doing with my life?"



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Fullscreen | Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Fullscreen | Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship: "First of all, the evidence strongly supports the traditional account in saying that the original manuscript was orally dictated. The kinds of errors that occur in the manuscript are clearly those that occur from a scribe mishearing, rather than from visually misreading while copying from another manuscript. (The printer's manuscript, by contrast, shows precisely the types of anomalies that one would expect from a copyist's errors.) Skousen's meticulous analysis even suggests that Joseph was working with up to thirty words at a time.8

It is apparent, too, that Joseph could see the spelling of names on whatever it was that he was reading from.9 When the scribe had written the text, he or she would evidently read it back to Joseph for correction.10 So the Prophet seemingly had something with him from which he was dictating and against which he could check what his scribes had written. But what was it? The witnesses are unanimous that he did not have any books, manuscripts, or papers with him during the translation process, a process that involved lengthy periods of dictation."



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Soviet Shadows, Ukraine Ghosts - NYTimes.com

Soviet Shadows, Ukraine Ghosts - NYTimes.com: "So my heart pulses with competing emotions as I stand in front of the Kristof family home here (actually, it's the Krzysztofowicz family home, for my father shortened the name after arrival in the U.S.). I can't help admiring, even coveting, its long-lost grandeur, but it's also decrepit and sad, uglified in that Communist combination of peeling paint, sagging roofs and gardens gone wild.

The home had plumbing when it was built in 1908, but the pipes have been removed. Now it serves as a village office and as a home for several families, but it has neither a toilet nor an outhouse — people just disappear into the wooded grounds."



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JOHN KENNEY - Photos and Stories — FamilySearch.org

JOHN KENNEY - Photos and Stories — FamilySearch.org: "John Kenney son of Daniel and Bridget Riley Kenney was born April 2, 1836, at Youghal, Cork County, Ireland. John's father used to buy and sell sheep and cattle, while his mother had charge of a large diary farm. She milked the cows, made the butter and attended to the marketing of it. She was
a twin and incidentally, she had a pair of twins which died in infancy"



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Roswell Sr. and Sybil Spencer Stevens - Photos and Stories — FamilySearch.org

Roswell Sr. and Sybil Spencer Stevens - Photos and Stories — FamilySearch.org: "Little is known of the conversion of Roswell Stevens Sr., born February 17, 1772, at either Plainfield[68] or Litchfield,[69] Connecticut, and of the conversions of his wife, Sybil, born April 4, 1778, at Washington, Massachusetts. He owned a large tract of land in Mount Pleasant.[70] They remained faithful to the end of their lives along with their sons Roswell Jr. and William, their daughters Sarah and Harriet, and their families. Roswell Sr. and Sybil were endowed in the Nauvoo Temple on December 24, 1845. Roswell Sr. and Harriet died July 3, 1847, at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Sybil came West and died November 18, 1862, and was buried in Fillmore, Utah. Sarah, born in 1816, lived to be ninety-eight years old and died in Spanish Fork, Utah."

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These are more great, great, great, great grandparents. if you're keeping track, that's 8 (so far) of my 64 grandparents that were baptized during Joseph Smith's lifetime.

Ironically, the only piece of family history I thought I knew--that I am somehow related to Martin Harris --turns out not to be true. As best I can tell, Moses Harris, one of my great, great, great, great grandparents, was not related to Martin Harris in any immediate fashion.  But in the process of trying to figure that out, I learned I am related to all of these other interesting and colorful Mormon pioneers. I feel slightly guilty that I have never really cared beyond a connection to Martin Harris.

Moses Harris: Utah Pioneer and Man of God - LDS Blogs : LDS Blogs

Moses Harris: Utah Pioneer and Man of God - LDS Blogs : LDS Blogs: " In the spring of 1859 he moved to Harrisburg, which place was named after him by President Brigham Young, he being the only settler there at that time."



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Executive Quits Fast Track To Spend More Time With Possessions | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Executive Quits Fast Track To Spend More Time With Possessions | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: ""I took a long, hard look at my Mercedes CL500 Coupe and realized it wasn't getting any newer," said Randle, a 51-year-old husband and father of three. "After spending most of my life putting my career before everything else, it suddenly dawned on me that I was missing out on what really matters: my luxury goods."
"



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Battle of Crooked River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Crooked River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "During his charge, however, Patten was shot and mortally wounded. Ebenezer Robinson recalled that Patten had been "brave to a fault, so much so that he was styled and called 'Captain Fearnought'".[7] Although it was not immediately realized, Gideon Carter had also been killed, making a total of three Mormon fatalities and one militiaman fatality. The Mormons collected their wounded as well as the baggage Bogart's unit had left in the camp and made their way back to Far West."



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Doctrine and Covenants 75:34

Doctrine and Covenants 75:34 : "



29 Let every man be adiligent in all things. And the bidler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways.





30 Wherefore, let my servant Simeon Carter and my servant Emer Harris be united in the ministry;

 31 And also my servant Ezra Thayre and my servant aThomas B. Marsh;





32 Also my servant Hyrum Smith and my servant Reynolds Cahoon;





33 And also my servant Daniel Stanton and my servant Seymour Brunson;





34 And also my servant Sylvester Smith and my servant Gideon Carter;"



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Turns out another one of my great, great, great, great Grandparents is Gideon Carter, who is mentioned (albeit just this once) in D&C.

Althouse: John Edwards comes full circle: He's a medical malpractice lawyer representing a little child.

Althouse: John Edwards comes full circle: He's a medical malpractice lawyer representing a little child.:

"Referring to an hour-by-hour record of a fetal heartbeat monitor, Mr. Edwards told the jury: ''She said at 3, 'I'm fine.' She said at 4, 'I'm having a little trouble, but I'm doing O.K.' Five, she said, 'I'm having problems.' At 5:30, she said, 'I need out.' ''...

''She speaks to you through me,'' the lawyer went on in his closing argument. ''And I have to tell you right now -- I didn't plan to talk about this -- right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She's inside me, and she's talking to you.''

Those were the days, when John Edwards was in his depth. It was 1985, and he was fine. By October 2007, he was saying I'm having a little trouble. In 2011, he was saying I need out. He speaks to you through me. I didn't plan to blog about this, but right now I feel him. I feel him inside me... Ugh! Get out of me, you creepy old man. Back to your malpractice practice, speaking in the voice of brain-damaged children, springing open the hearts of fully brained, but mushy jurors in some cloistered little courtroom in a southern state."

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Fullscreen | Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Fullscreen | Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship: "An angel showed the Book of Mormon plates to the Three Witnesses, who heard God's voice declare the translation correct.* But the Eight Witnesses report handling the plates under natural circumstances, describing color, substantial weight, individual leaves with engraved writings, and careful craftsmanship throughout. Critics have reacted variously to such physical language.Some see the Eight Witnesses as participants in a fraud. But their lives do not fit that mold, since all suffered in the severe persecutions of early Mormonism and not one reversed his written testimony. Other critics acknowledge sincerity and suppose Joseph Smith constructed an imitation. But the Eight Witnesses were tradesmen and farmers who worked with materials and would recognize a clumsy counterfeit. More recent skeptics advance a double theory: (1) that at various times Joseph Smith allowed the eight men to lift but not see a heavy covered object; (2) that these men testified of seeing plates because of a vision induced by enthusiasm or mind control. This theory is showcased by arbitrary interpretation of very few documents. This article discusses sources that have been misused in attempts to reverse the Eight Witnesses' statement about their physical contact with the ancient record. "



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The slow death of free speech » The Spectator

The slow death of free speech » The Spectator: "The examples above are ever-shrinking Dantean circles of Tolerance: At Galway, the dissenting opinion was silenced by grunting thugs screaming four-letter words. At Mozilla, the chairwoman is far more housetrained: she issued a nice press release all about (per Miss Alcorn) striking a balance between freedom of speech and ‘equality’, and how the best way to ‘support’ a ‘culture’ of ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusiveness’ is by firing anyone who dissents from the mandatory groupthink. At the House of Commons they’re moving to the next stage: in an ‘inclusive culture’ ever more comfortable with narrower bounds of public discourse, it seems entirely natural that the next step should be for dissenting voices to require state permission to speak."



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The slow death of free speech » The Spectator

The slow death of free speech » The Spectator: "I heard a lot of that kind of talk during my battles with the Canadian ‘human rights’ commissions a few years ago: of course, we all believe in free speech, but it’s a question of how you ‘strike the balance’, where you ‘draw the line’… which all sounds terribly reasonable and Canadian, and apparently Australian, too. But in reality the point of free speech is for the stuff that’s over the line, and strikingly unbalanced. If free speech is only for polite persons of mild temperament within government-policed parameters, it isn’t free at all. So screw that."



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Tax Rumination «

Tax Rumination «: "No reason to go on. I’ll just leave with my annual takeaway point. I think my family is upper middle class at best, and we pay $63,000 every year in taxes. My bet is half of this is totally wasted and funneled to politically favored interests. My bet is that half the remaining funds are used to supply services that we take advantage of (this is not to say they couldn’t otherwise be provided” and the remaining quarter maybe goes to do things we otherwise couldn’t do on our own. But the larger point I will beat on until I am in the grave … at all levels of government we spend DIRECTLY over $6 trillion. That government spending is equivalent to the second or third largest country on Earth if we relate that to GDP. And people are still screaming that we can’t get basic infrastructure provided. We can’t get adequate schooling provided. We can’t get enough funds for basic scientific research. Our military is squeezed. Our state budgets are squeezed."



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Tax Rumination «

Tax Rumination «: "(1) I like to believe I am not the dumbest person on the planet. I also happen to be a professional economist. And I have absolutely NO IDEA going into the year how much in tax obligations I owe to the government at all levels. If I get within 10% I would be incredibly impressed with myself. I find that to be “problematic.”"



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Why You Should Be Sympathetic Toward Cliven Bundy | Power Line

Why You Should Be Sympathetic Toward Cliven Bundy | Power Line: "So let’s have some sympathy for Cliven Bundy and his family. They don’t have a chance on the law, because under the Endangered Species Act and many other federal statutes, the agencies are always in the right. And their way of life is one that, frankly, is on the outs. They don’t develop apps. They don’t ask for food stamps. It probably has never occurred to them to bribe a politician. They don’t subsist by virtue of government subsidies or regulations that hamstring competitors. They aren’t illegal immigrants. They have never even gone to law school. So what possible place is there for the Bundys in the Age of Obama?"



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Everything I've heard about Bundy makes me think he's slightly crazy. But this articles makes me think that what is happening to him is morally wrong--even if not legally wrong.

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Sometimes it's better to split the baby

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Sometimes it's better to split the baby: "This story about the Census Bureau is amazing to me: The Census is changing its annual survey about health insurance.  As a result, the new data will not be comparable to the old, making it much harder to gauge the effects of the Affordable Care Act.

 Is this a White House conspiracy to hide the effects of the law, as some have suggested?  Maybe, but probably not. I have a lot of respect for the government data producers, so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt."

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Maybe I'm too conspiracy minded, but I'm not giving this White House the benefit of the doubt, mostly because it seems like we've been hoodwinked twice already.

Remember the sudden drop in unemployment rate from 8.2 to 7.8 in the run up to the 2012 presidential election? The timing seemed suspicious. I remember talking with as friend (Brett) about this on a visit. I told him I did not think the drop reflected a real decrease in unemployment, but I did think that the numbers were honestly complied, and that drop was just a sampling error or statistical anomaly of some kind. But then this report came out indicating that, in fact, the numbers were manipulated.

Similar things have happened with Obamacare enrollment. For months we could get no data on how many people had enrolled, how many had paid, how many of the enrollee had insurance plans that were cancelled. Then, on the day after the deadline, presumably because they eked out their goal of 7 million, we were told there were 7.1 million enrollees. I still don't think we have numbers about how many of those were previously insured.

So, again, maybe I'm too conspiracy minded, but I don't see any reason to give this administration the benefit of the doubt now.

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Next time you hear someone advocate for single-payer healthcare, remember this

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Next time you hear someone advocate for single-payer healthcare, remember this: "Two Florida doctors who received the nation’s highest Medicare reimbursements in 2012 are both major contributors to Democratic Party causes, and they have turned to the political system in recent years to defend themselves against suspicions that they may have submitted fraudulent or excessive charges to the federal government.... 
Topping the list is Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, 59, an ophthalmologist from North Palm Beach, Fla., who received $21 million in Medicare reimbursements in 2012 alone....  
Dr. Melgen’s firm donated more than $700,000 to Majority PAC, a super PAC run by former aides to the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada. The super PAC then spent $600,000 to help re-elect Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, who is a close friend of Dr. Melgen’s. Last year, Mr. Menendez himself became a target of investigation after the senator intervened on behalf of Dr. Melgen with federal officials and took flights on his private jet."



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Instapundit

Instapundit: "REMEMBER, IF YOU SAY “CREEPY” NOW, YOU’LL BE AN UNEMPLOYABLE “ROBOPHOBE BIGOT” IN A DECADE: Robots and sex: creepy or cool?"



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BREAKING: White House Admits Democrats Will Lose the Senate | RedState

BREAKING: White House Admits Democrats Will Lose the Senate | RedState: "Their internal polling must be terrible and they want her gone and the issue treated as “old news” before the GOP takes the Senate in November.

Sebelius leaving now is a pretty direct admission against interest that the Democrats expect to lose the Senate and do not see any events on the horizon to change that momentum. Now, they’re just trying to slow the momentum down."



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The Shame of Brandeis | National Review Online

The Shame of Brandeis | National Review Online: "The progression is becoming miserably familiar: first, an invitation is proffered to someone of heterodox views; next, the forces of conformity congeal and solidify, circulating petitions, banging drums, and rambling about justice and what you will; then the would-be host begins to worry, announcing meekly that it is reviewing its options; and finally, the invitation is shamefully revoked, usually under the paradoxical auspices of broadmindedness and inclusion. “We’re sorry,” the typical explanation runs, “but we’re too permissive to allow your sort.”"



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The April Fools «

The April Fools «: "Taking the very simplified information from above, on a salary of $50,000, she ends up walking home with $28,950. But that salary of $50,000 actually captures the net payment to her from the employer, which should be $65,500 (the employer share of payroll taxes and contributions to health premiums included now but which do not have state and federal income taxes deducted from). Putting this all together, each year my wife’s “supposed” compensation should be $65,500. And each year she walks home with $28,950.  This is an effective marginal tax rate on her annual work effort of 56%."



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Neocons and Rand Paul: What libertarians don’t understand about American military power.

Neocons and Rand Paul: What libertarians don’t understand about American military power.: "Though we can’t know what the world would have looked like had the Bush administration not chosen to wage war in Iraq, and though it is at least possible that the region and the world might have looked even worse with Saddam Hussein still in power, I find it hard to imagine that the benefits outweighed the enormous costs. Most Americans would surely agree. At a bare minimum, those of us who favored the war might have hoped for a democratic Iraq in which the rights of ethnic and religious minorities were respected and that was more closely aligned with the United States than Iran. The new Iraq fails on both of these counts."



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When Does Intolerance Work? | National Review Online

When Does Intolerance Work? | National Review Online: "In the wake of the Mozilla controversy, the Duck Dynasty controversy, the Chick-fil-A boycott/buycott, and the countless examples of intolerance and intimidation against conservatives on campuses across the country, it seems rather clear that — as Michelle Goldberg notes in The Nation – there is a “growing left-wing tendency towards censoriousness and and hair-trigger offense.”"



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The Faithful Young Family: The Parents, Brothers and Sisters of Brigham - Ensign Aug. 1980 - ensign

The Faithful Young Family: The Parents, Brothers and Sisters of Brigham - Ensign Aug. 1980 - ensign: "Lorenzo further recalled that his mother, “a praying, fervent woman” and an invalid until she died when he was seven, “frequently called me to her bedside and counseled me to be a good man that the Lord might bless my life.” He added, “On one occasion she told me that if I would not neglect to pray to my Heavenly Father, he would send a guardian angel to protect me in the dangers to which I might be exposed.”"



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The Faithful Young Family: The Parents, Brothers and Sisters of Brigham - Ensign Aug. 1980 - ensign

The Faithful Young Family: The Parents, Brothers and Sisters of Brigham - Ensign Aug. 1980 - ensign: "It was perhaps the youngest son, Lorenzo, who saw earliest that he and members of his immediate family would play a significant part in the unfolding drama of God’s latter-day kingdom. In 1816, barely nine years old, he had a startlingly prophetic dream:“I thought I stood in an open space or ground and saw a good, well defined road leading, at an angle of forty-five degrees, into the air as far as I could see. I heard a noise similar to that of a carriage in rapid motion, at what seemed the upper end of the road. In a moment it came into sight, drawn by a pair of beautiful white horses. The carriage and harness appeared brilliant with gold, and the horses traveled with the speed of the wind. It was manifested to me that the Savior was in the carriage, and that it was driven by his servant. It stopped near me and the Savior inquired ‘Where is your brother Brigham?’ After answering his question he inquired about my other brothers, and concerning my father. His queries being answered satisfactorily, he stated that he wanted us all, but especially my brother Brigham. The team then [turned] about and returned the way it came. … Subsequent events proved that it foreshadowed our future. It was evidently fulfilled when my father and all of his family entered into the new and everlasting Covenant.”"



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Turns out that Lorenzo Young is my great, great, great, great grandfather. Who knew?

The Faithful Young Family: The Parents, Brothers and Sisters of Brigham - Ensign Aug. 1980 - ensign

The Faithful Young Family: The Parents, Brothers and Sisters of Brigham - Ensign Aug. 1980 - ensign: "Once when Phinehas visited a young woman dying of consumption, he was prompted to “lay hands on the sufferer and rebuke the disease.” He did so, and the woman was healed. He wrote, “I had never seen anything of the kind in my life, but had always believed the people were living far beneath their privileges.”"



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Conservative media is unintentionally protecting Obama | New York Post

Conservative media is unintentionally protecting Obama | New York Post: "Amazing to think it was only 11 months ago that the Internal Revenue Service admitted — on its own! — that it had outright targeted conservative groups for special (i.e., hostile) scrutiny in considering their applications for tax-exempt status. The matter seemed so serious that the president himself said he was outraged by it: “It’s inexcusable and Americans have a right to be angry about it and I am angry about it.”
Though he promised to hold the guilty parties accountable, and though several people resigned and/or retired, what has gone on since looks very much like stonewalling."



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Conservative media is unintentionally protecting Obama | New York Post

Conservative media is unintentionally protecting Obama | New York Post: "Well, did you know that the Attorney General of the United States was held in contempt back in June 2012 by the House of Representatives for refusing to provide documents to oversight committees regarding the demented Justice Department program that peddled guns to drug dealers later used to kill a federal agent?



That was no small thing — in fact, never before has such a sanction against a sitting cabinet member been declared by Congress. An unprecedented event is the very definition of news, and yet it went all but unacknowledged when it happened — dismissed as an election year stunt to harm the presidential candidacy of a man 90% of those who work in the media voted for."



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After 3 Decades, Letterman Says He Will Sign Off - NYTimes.com

After 3 Decades, Letterman Says He Will Sign Off - NYTimes.com: "Speculation about Mr. Letterman’s successor will now become a popular parlor game for countless television executives, entertainment writers and late-night fans. Two choices mentioned frequently on Thursday by people at CBS and other networks: Stephen Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s late-night show, “The Colbert Report,” and Neil Patrick Harris, the star of the recently concluded CBS comedy hit “How I Met Your Mother,” who has scored as host of awards shows on CBS.

Craig Ferguson, who hosts the 12:35 a.m. show on CBS, has also been mentioned as a contender. One executive who has been involved in discussions of CBS’s future in late night said the network would like to move relatively quickly to name a successor."



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What about Conan?

Defending the Faith: A witness for the Book of Mormon witnesses | Deseret News

Defending the Faith: A witness for the Book of Mormon witnesses | Deseret News: "A significant source of McLellin’s confidence in the Book of Mormon was his direct personal familiarity with its witnesses.



“When I first joined the church in 1831,” he told Cobb, “soon I became acquainted with all the Smith family and the Whitmer family, and I heard all their testimonies, which agreed in the main points; and I believed them then and I believe them yet. But I don’t believe the many stories (contradictory) got up since, for I individually know many of them are false.”"



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Vanderbilt Chancellor Gee and wife agree on divorce | nashvillepost.com

Vanderbilt Chancellor Gee and wife agree on divorce | nashvillepost.com: "Constance Gee, however, is not a member of the LDS Church. Studies have shown that divorce rates in marriages between Mormons and non-Mormons are comparable to those of the general U.S. population."



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A Perfect, All-powerful (Libertarian) God Who Creates or Allows Natural Disasters

Returning to my series on this debate, I am going to address the arguments Professor Korcz made against God's existence. Professor Korcz started out saying that arguing against God is like trying to hit a moving target. I'd have to say, he mostly missed.

Many of his arguments draw on tensions that arise when believers assert that God is both  (1) perfect and (2) all powerful. 

Some of these argument are really just word games. For example, Korcz asks, can an all-powerful God create a rock he cannot lift? If he can't do both, he's not all powerful. But logically he can't do both. So he doesn't exist. Of course, that doesn't actually follow. This is just an argument against a certain understanding of all-powerful.

Similarly, Korcz asks, can an all-powerful, perfect God do something that is not perfect? If not, he's not all powerful. If so, he's not perfect! Gotcha! Again, this just begs the question, what do believers mean  by "all-powerful." Korcz admits as much, saying if you qualify all-powerful, the contradiction disappears. 

Believers have always recognized there are some limitations on God's power. Virtually all Christians believe life's purpose is to prove themselves worthy to return to god in heaven. Thus, the very purpose of life shows that God's powers are limited in some respect--either he cannot save everyone who is unworthy, or he cannot discern worthiness without performing a test.

These arguments are particularly unpersuasive to me because Mormons explicitly acknowledge limitations on God's power. Mormons recognize that God "cannot save [his people] in their sins" and that he is bound to keep his word when we [his people] do what he says. 

The better arguments Korcz makes is the existence of evil. The argument from moral evils are pretty easily dismissed as God allowing his children to make moral (or immoral) choices. Since the purpose of life is to prove worthiness, it follows some of God's children will choose evil and impose costs on others. (Thus, the invocation of "libertarian" in the title to this post--although God does internalize externalities to the sinner in the afterlife).

The argument against God from natural evils is a hard one to answer, mostly because there are only possible answers. Kreeft's answer is that God allows these evils for reasons we either don't know or can't currently understand. 

One possible answer is that, since our lives on earth are merely temporary and meant to provide us opportunities to learn and prove ourselves, natural evils are a necessary part of the test. It's a somewhat unsatisfactory answer, because we can't fully see the purpose of suffering natural evils or understand the ostensibly unjust distribution of the effects of natural evils. Still, it seems to me the best answer.

Another possibility is that God simply doesn't have control over some natural phenomenon, although I think conceding that probably limits the power of an all-powerful God too much. 

Kreeft offers another interesting answer that natural evils were introduced by original sin--thus natural evils are linked to moral evils. An interesting argument, but one which makes me very uncomfortable, mostly because of loose-cannon preachers who blame victims of natural disasters for bringing the disasters upon themselves. I reject that particular invocation of the linkage, and so am tempted to reject the link all together.

So, in summary, I find most the arguments unconvincing, but concede natural evils do present a difficulty. 

The Corner | National Review Online

The Corner | National Review Online: "“The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay,” Obama said."



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Bwahahahah!



But why is president Obama trying to stop the dialogue?

Please Advocate Your Special Interest Rather than Sticking up for Taxpayers, David Henderson | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

Please Advocate Your Special Interest Rather than Sticking up for Taxpayers, David Henderson | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: "Here's what I find interesting. It seems clear to me that had I advocated government-subsidized schools, Mr. Giordano would not have written that letter. So his upset is that I, although a member of a special interest benefiting from government subsidies, have not become an advocate of those subsidies.



So his message is: Please advocate the government subsidies that benefit your special interest."



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Government Knew about GM Ignition Issue - News - Road & Track

Government Knew about GM Ignition Issue - News - Road & Track: "In these situations, even the staunchest libertarian has to admit an uncomfortable truth: When all else fails, we ultimately rely on government regulators to ensure our safety on the road. Unfortunately, the still-unfolding GM scandal reveals that motorists can hardly rely on this last line of defense. "



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LOL! This guy needs to get out more!

Government Knew about GM Ignition Issue - News - Road & Track

Government Knew about GM Ignition Issue - News - Road & Track: "GM's recent wave of recalls reveals the ugly truth: The brutal competition for car sales can lead automakers to cut corners, including in crucial safety gear like airbags, steering, and brakes. The bottom line is that some automakers can't be relied on to always put customer safety first."



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I think automakers could be relied upon, if when discovered the automaker felt the full financial repercussions of their decision, instead of getting a bailout from government.

The media hate Republicans: Column

The media hate Republicans: Column: "CNN, home (also until last week) of Piers Morgan, whom Yee had praised for his anti-gun activism, didn't report the story at all. When prodded by viewers, the network snarked that it doesn't do state senators. Which is odd, because searching the name of my own state senator, Stacey Campfield, turns up a page of results, involving criticisms of him for saying something "extreme". Meanwhile, CNN found time to bash Wisconsin state senator and supporter of Gov. Scott Walker, Randy Hopper over marital problems.



But there's a difference. They're Republicans. When Republicans do things that embarrass their party, the national media are happy to take note, even if they're mere state senators. But when Democrats like Yee get busted for actual felonies, and pretty dramatic ones at that, the press suddenly isn't interested."



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