Two-year-old reciting Gettysburg address

Subject: Two-year-old reciting Gettysburg address

Dr. P_____,

If you have two and a half minutes, you will get a kick out of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvlsco7ux4g&feature=related

-Max

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Rock Is Dead. Long Live Scissors!

"The presentation or 'gift' of the Holy Ghost simply confers upon a man the right to receive at any time, when he is worthy of it and desires it, the power and light of truth of the Holy Ghost, although he may often be left to his own spirit and judgment." --Joseph F. Smith (manual, p. 69)

Archaeology

[From Chaos Manor. May be of indirect interest to amateur Book of Mormon archaelogical enthusiasts. -Max]

'A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear.'

The supposedly unreliable Herodotus is vindicated yet again:

<http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/
cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html>

-- Roland Dobbins

--
Rock Is Dead. Long Live Scissors!

"The presentation or 'gift' of the Holy Ghost simply confers upon a man the right to receive at any time, when he is worthy of it and desires it, the power and light of truth of the Holy Ghost, although he may often be left to his own spirit and judgment." --Joseph F. Smith (manual, p. 69)

Religion from a functional perspective

"Stealth religions": interesting essay on objectivism, atheism, and other non-standard "religions" from a well-defined functional perspective.

http://scienceblogs.com/evolution/2009/10/atheism_as_a_stealth_religion.php

The main purpose of a religion or a stealth religion, however, is not to describe the real world but to motivate a given suite of behaviors. One way to do this is by creating a stylized world without tradeoffs, in which the prescribed behaviors are portrayed as good, good, good for everyone and the prohibited behaviors are portrayed as bad, bad, bad for everyone. Behaviors with mixed effects are absent from the stylized world because they do not clearly tell the believer what to do.

This might be a good working definition for the work of a "false prophet" (see Matthew 24:11).

-Max

--
Rock Is Dead. Long Live Scissors!

"The presentation or 'gift' of the Holy Ghost simply confers upon a man the right to receive at any time, when he is worthy of it and desires it, the power and light of truth of the Holy Ghost, although he may often be left to his own spirit and judgment." --Joseph F. Smith (manual, p. 69)

Cleanshaven Lincoln: true story

Hey you three,

 

Did you know Lincoln was cleanshaven most of his life? He grew out his beard only in 1860, on the advice of an eleven-year-old girl who said she could get her two brothers to vote for him if he would grow out some "whiskers."

 

 

 

Full story at http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln50.html.

 

-Max

 

--

Rock Is Dead. Long Live Scissors!

 

"The presentation or 'gift' of the Holy Ghost simply confers upon a man the right to receive at any time, when he is worthy of it and desires it, the power and light of truth of the Holy Ghost, although he may often be left to his own spirit and judgment." --Joseph F. Smith (manual, p. 69)

 

High Taxes: a California vs. Texas case study

California ranks 4th in terms of total revenues (including federal subsidies) and Texas ranks 44th. What does California get for all this money? Comparison of public spending in Texas vs. California here:

 

http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_4_california.html

 

-Max

 

--

Rock Is Dead. Long Live Scissors!

 

"The presentation or 'gift' of the Holy Ghost simply confers upon a man the right to receive at any time, when he is worthy of it and desires it, the power and light of truth of the Holy Ghost, although he may often be left to his own spirit and judgment." --Joseph F. Smith (manual, p. 69)