Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Some people just don't get it

Over and over, liberals cry, 'Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11!' Another article I read (it is not worth a link) said that Fox said it over and over until people believed that Saddam was specifically involved in 9-11. I have watched a lot of Fox and no one has ever argued that.

What is inarguable is that Iraq was involved with al-Qaida. (Interesting, isn't it, how liberals who love 'nuance' can't distinguish between 'Iraq helped on 9-11' and 'Iraq was involved in al-Qaida.') Iraq had no specific role in 9-11, but they were a country proven to have gassed thousands and they would have loved to create some 9-11-like event.

Despite the 'Bush lied' garbage, Saddam did TRY to get uranium. He may not have gotten it, but he TRIED to. Had Saddam been successful, we would have two crazies on the verge of nukes by now. Saddam and Mammoud.

Monday, August 28, 2006

The world could always be more dangerous

I had never even thought of this potential problem. Mark Levin said:
I know from my days at the Justice Department that our prisons would become more difficult to manage if they were sprinkled with terrorists, including the problem of recruitment.
Were terrorists in normal jails, we would have some very scary people on the streets in no time. Jihadists would recurit already crazy people to becoming new terrorists.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

My Email to The Corner at NRO

I sent this in response to this article at National Review Online. I doubt they will publish it so I will here.
Philosophers have argued about evil since time immemorial. If God is good, and God is all powerful, how can He allow evil to happen? Also, from the Judeo-Christian perspective, God created all things. Therefore, some conclude, God created evil. Some deny the existence of evil. Others question the existence of God. Others still, wonder if God could really be all powerful.

The Mormon perspective is that creation was not ex nihilo. Things you see were made of something. Even all of humanity existed as spirit children of God before birth on this planet. Good parents sometimes raise bad children. Children bring something with them from their previous life. This is not some funky version of reincarnation. Actually it is a belief that birth on earth is a step forward in eternal progression.

Mormon theology teaches that one thing we had before birth and we bring with us is our moral agency. There was a war in heaven where one third of His children chose not to follow God and thus were denied the opportunity for mortal birth. They remain disembodied spirits for eternity because of their choices. This moral agency is something so precious to God that he will not interfere with it, even if it means suffering in this life. Without our agency and choice, we would be automatons to be acted upon, not Children who knowingly choose to become more like God by choosing good.

The Mormon question is not 'Why evil?', but 'Why agency?' Clearly there is some purpose which is higher for God than preventing suffering. The Mormon answer is found in God's statement in Moses 1:39: "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Something about this mortal experience prepares us to become more like God and to return - not for the first time - to His presence.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Today on Mitt Romney

I laughed right out loud at this one.
The First Wives' Club [Kate O'Beirne]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Governor Mitt Romney's great-grandfather had multiple wives and two great-great grandfathers had 10 wives each. The article allows that Romney "is a confirmed monogamist of nearly four decades and polygamy has been absent from his family going back two generations." While some might note the upside of generously sharing those handsome Romney genes in the past, current history is noteworthy. Should Mitt Romney join a 2008 race that included John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and George Allen, the only guy in the GOP field with only one wife would be the Mormon.