I wanted to call this one “party edition” — as an attempt at ironic commentary on how weird some of this “10 year anniversary of 9/11” media moment is. But then I thought perhaps that would be poor taste as well, so I went with “questionable taste”. That said, a…
Link bomb #11
Originally published at the USU SHAFT site. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman details the Republican war against science. Several groups, notably the National Academy of Sciences, are encouraging scientists to be more vocal politically and even run for office. Scientists have a lot to contribute to our political discourse,…
Soliciting Essays for a Critical Collection on the BOM Musical
The official reaction of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to The Book of Mormon, the musical from Matt Stone and Trey Parker of South Park and Robert Lopez of Avenue Q, consists of a single sentence: “The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but…
Protecting the Word of Wisdom
Jason Chaffetz, Utah Congressman, is sponsoring the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act. The proposed legislation will allow states to prohibit consumers from ordering wine from out of state wineries. In this article, the author and the respondents discuss local versus interstate commerce and to what extent whether Chaffetzs legislation is…
Mitch Mayne and the Church’s PR machine
I wanted to get my two cents in on this topic, including the way the topic is being handled. Thanks to chanson for bringing together the links. A quick summary: Last month, Mitch Mayne, an openly gay man in a San Fransisco ward was called to be ward executive secretary,…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Other People’s Beliefs Edition!
This week’s theme was people commenting on other people’s beliefs, such as conservative Christians’ views on pagans or Buddhists. Some people find others’ beliefs stupid, ignorant, or hurtful. And how believable are people’s claimed beliefs? Some are analyzing why others claim to be “spiritual but not religious”. It’s easier to…
“Do Mormons eat hot dogs?”
Did you know asking a Mormon this question is “religiously antagonistic” and can lead Mormons to take a “defensive posture”? So declares John Enslen, a Mormon lawyer in Alabama in a recent article in the Deseret News. The context for the question is that Mr. Enslen is talking about ways…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: More Relationships Edition!
It seems like we talked about this just last week! But I guess it’s only natural that finding ways to support and strengthen mixed-faith families is one of the central concerns of our community. (Not that shared faith makes marriage easy or anything.) Sometimes you have the joy of discovering…
How you know it’s “the Mormon Moment”
There have been a lot of news stories lately claiming it is the “Mormon Moment.” This claim is based on things like the Broadway play, The Book of Mormon, Glenn Beck’s rise (and fall), and the two candidates for the Republican nomination for President, Romney and Huntsman, getting lots of…
hot sauce mom – convicted
FYI, Jessica Beagley, the LDS mother who, well, abused her adopted son, has been convicted of abusing her adopted son. Misdemeanor child abuse conviction. Sentencing hasn’t taken place yet.