Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 18: Crisis Intervention

This is the eighteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.

This topic is arguably more important than any other, as far as the next President is concerned. Especially considering the recent economic crisis on Wall Street. (Feel free to comment on what each candidate had to say about this at the recent debate.)

Which candidate will do the best at handling these kinds of crises?

We can certainly look to events of recent months to compare the way the candidates handled things: Wall Street, energy concerns, the Russia-Georgia conflict, and Hurricane Ike. (There are separate forums for discussing Iraq; the economy; oil, energy, and the environment; and terrorism and diplomacy.)

What do you think?

Next week: Illegal Immigration

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Instrumental Reasoning (or Why Prayer Works)

How often have you heard someone testify from the pulpit that prayer works, that priesthood blessings work, that the gospel works? Well, I heard one of those again today and (as always) it made me cringe. By now I’ve probably proved myself someone who gets a little too caught up in the way people say things and I plead guilty here. I really believe that the sister in my ward who said that the gospel works meant to say much more than her words alone conveyed. But, since this is a blog and not sacrament meeting, I think I might indulge myself in a bit of nitpicking.

The Kingdom of God Is Among Us

Whenever I hear people talk about the kingdom of God, it seems like it’s always referred to in the future tense. Lately, I’ve begun to wonder if the kingdom of God isn’t already all around us.

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 17: Urban Concerns

This is the seventeenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.

Urban concerns. Something that has not been talked about all that much for the general election. And something that I know little about, as far as McCain and Obama are concerned (especially McCain).

Possible topics: Homelessness, poverty, gang violence, drug abuse, welfare, teen pregnancy, AIDS, health care, and educational equality.

Discuss.

Reminder: The first presidential debate is this Friday (Sept. 26).

Next week: Crisis Intervention

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The Restoration of All Things

Many of us compartmentalize our lives in a way that would seem strange to scholars of past centuries. We talk about our religious lives and our academic lives as though they were two separate things, divided in a way that protects one from the effects of an error in the other, as a bulkhead on a ship may protect other compartments from being flooded by water. However, this modern separation of our academic and spiritual life is a very recent development. I believe that the division between spiritual and secular knowledge is a false distinction, and, as Richard Williams has pointed out, found nowhere in scripture.¹

Playing the “Democrat Card”: Utah County Politics

We’ve heard a lot this campaign season about playing the gender card or race card. But there’s another kind of card-playing that is unique to highly conservative areas, such as Utah County, Utah: playing the “Democrat card.” This is the story of a Utah County Republican who is playing the Democrat card in order to distract voters from the real issues surrounding his campaign for reelection.

Republican Stephen D. Clark, a four-term representative for Utah House District 63 (East Provo), has never had a challenger printed next to his name on a November ballot.

Until now.

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 16: Cindy McCain vs. Michelle Obama

This is the sixteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.

The topic of this week’s forum regards the two potential First Ladies: Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. I’ll leave this fairly open, but I want to keep it focused on what is most important (e.g., who will be a better First Lady, who will be a good role model, etc.). Degrading comments are inappropriate and will be deleted.

Substantive comments concerning possible roles of the First Lady are welcome.

Next week: Urban Concerns

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Why I Love the Theory of Evolution

If I exposed my ignorance the last time I discussed evolution, I am sure to do no better with this post. Since writing (not very well) about why I hate evolution, I’ve thought a lot about the reasons why I love evolution. I hope to adequately articulate one reason here.

Obama and Truth

If you wish to know the real truth about Obama, click here:

The Truth.

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Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 15: Political Corruption

This is the fifteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.

This week’s forum topic is timely considering the recent makeover of McCain-Palin as the mavericks who will take on political corruption.

What do you think? Which candidate is best suited to fight political corruption in Washington?

Next week: Cindy McCain vs. Michelle Obama

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Jon Stewart Takes on GOP Hypocrites Concerning Sarah Palin’s Experience, Pregnant Daughter, and Gender

Wow, you’ve got to see this clip. This is fantastic.

Be sure to watch it clear until the end; it’s only about 5 minutes long. (The first few seconds of video are kind of messed up.)

VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED: Sorry, but it looks like the video I uploaded from YouTube was pulled for copyright reasons. I didn’t realize there was a copyright issue. Here’s the link to the clip from Comedy Central.

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 14: Education

This is the fourteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.

In keeping with the start of a new school year, the topic of this week’s post is on education (I apologize the post is a day late, due to Labor Day).

The key similarities and differences, as far as I can tell, between McCain and Obama (source is CNN’s Election Center):