Poll of Democrats reveals Gore could still steal the show

Poll of Democrats reveals Gore could still steal the show Guardian Unlimited

If Mr Gore were to seek the Democratic nomination, 29% of Ms Clinton's backers would switch their support to him, the poll found. When defections from other candidates are factored in, the man who controversially lost to Mr Bush in the 2000 election takes command of the field, with 32% support.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

LDS.org - Ensign Article - The Mountain Meadows Massacre

The church will be publishing an article in the September Ensign about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I think this is an absolutely incredible move by the church to not just pass by uncomfortable moments in church history. I also think such an article will also be inspirational because it helps us as church members recognize that while the members and leaders of the church are not perfect, the doctrine is.

The church has actually posted the article on the website already and you can follow the link above to get to it.

Bloomberg stokes rumours of 2008 presidential bid

Bloomberg stokes rumours of 2008 presidential bid | Guardian Unlimited

Yesterday he insisted he had no plans to stand down as mayor before the end of his term in 2009. "I am not a candidate. I have said that my intention is to be mayor for the next 929 days," he said. But that failed to quell the debate. "If he didn't think that he had some political future there would be no motive for ending his relationship with the Republicans," David King, lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, said.

Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Bill

Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Bill - New York Times

“I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line,” Mr. Bush said, exercising the third veto of his presidency.

This is the second time Bush has vetoed Stem Cell Research. The thing that frustrates me about Stem Cell Research is that most Americans support stem cell research. Bush's veto is undemocratic. He represents the religious right and frankly I can't wait till he's out of office.

And honestly, let's say if stem cell research found a cure to cancer, I seriously, seriously doubt that the religious right will take a firm stance against the treatment.

I truly believe that stem cell research should be treated as a completely different case than abortion, not that I have similar feelings as the religious right have on this matter (abortion) either.

Highlights from the 2007 Quality of Living Survey

Highlights from the 2007 Quality of Living Survey

Fantastic! It looks like Canada isn't such a bad place to live after all. I knew it!

Romney Steps Up Advertising Push

Romney Steps Up Advertising Push - New York Times

Romney’s campaign advisers say their early airtime is necessary because relatively few people across the country know who he is compared with his chief competitors, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, Senator John McCain and even Fred D. Thompson, the actor and former senator from Tennessee who is considering entering the race.

Romney’s Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny - New York Times

Romney’s Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny - New York Times

Great article on Romney! Hopefully I'll get to commenting on this article more another time.

Is there a God? | To believe or not to believe | Economist.com

Is there a God? | To believe or not to believe | Economist.com

"Francis Collins is a scientist and a Christian. He confronts Darwin daily in his work as head of the human genome project. He writes well about how, as the code on which DNA is written began to reveal itself, his faith and sense of wonder increased. He stood by Bill Clinton (and worked with his speechwriters) when the then American president talked about DNA as “the language in which God wrote creation”. Mr Collins has no time for intelligent design but conceives God to be of the non-interfering sort, a kind of divine CCTV camera. Yet he believes that Jesus was His son and he prays regularly."

This is a quote from the article. It contrasts two recent books about the existence of God. I find their take on Mr. Collin's beliefs fascinating.

'You have nothing to fear, Vladimir' | Russia | Guardian Unlimited

'You have nothing to fear, Vladimir' | Russia | Guardian Unlimited

George W. Bush's diplomacy is severely lacking. Possibly someone can help me out with this, but for some reason there has been a lot of media attention towards China and Russia in making them out to be enemies of the U.S.

I sincerely believe there is no good reason for this. China is slowly becoming more liberal, with few signs that would indicate any reverse trend.

Although Putin is consolidating an enormous amount of power within the presidential office, the Russian people ACTUALLY want him there.

I hope the American media will not be so quick in the future to just point fingers and create fear.

Intelligent design has place in science lessons

Intelligent design has place in science lessons, says CofE | News crumb | EducationGuardian.co.uk

I would love to hear what any readers of this think about intelligent design. Personally, I don't like the idea at all IF treated as a science. I argue my opinion based on two ideas. First, I think it is ignorance to just treat the unexplainable in science as something we'll NEVER understand. Secondly, I believe there are dogmatic beliefs within intelligent design that are against my religious beliefs and others.

I definitely believe God created this world, but as some of you know I am very convinced of evolutionary mechanism. Natural selection, genetic drift, and and gene flow are all ideas that are very agreeable to me. I don't think the fossil record is a result of gathering materials from other worlds. I see nothing insulting about thinking that humans evolved from a lesser form (see human vestigial organs). Basically I believe God is the master scientist.