• An LDS Commander-in-Chief: Hawk or Dove?

    An LDS Commander-in-Chief: Hawk or Dove?

    My dad is a soldier currently serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Although he is a logistics officer, and doesn’t occupy a “combat role,” he regularly awakens to sirens announcing incoming Taliban rockets (most of which fall far short of their targets). Recently, he and I have had a running correspondence about [...]

  • Collision Course? Mormon Liberals and a Romney White House

    Collision Course? Mormon Liberals and a Romney White House

    What would a Mormon president mean for Mormon Democrats? If asked this question during Joseph Smith’s 1844 campaign for the presidency I would be tempted to respond “everything.” Joseph Smith’s optimistic view of human nature, his own charitable nature, and the more naturally Democratic constituency that was the membership of [...]

  • Mormon Presidency: This Time for Africa

    Mormon Presidency: This Time for Africa

    On the right lapel of my coat I sport a campaign pin in favor of a man poised to become the world’s first LDS president. No, it isn’t a perfectly coifed Romney I carry around with me, nor is it a memento of my grief for Jon Huntsman’s loss. I [...]

  • Joseph, the Politico

    Joseph, the Politico

    As the nation gears up (or down) once again to select the next president of the United States, it would do us all good to turn our thoughts back to the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith concerning the Constitution, which he called a “glorious standard.” His admiration is perhaps [...]

  • Pulpit Politics

    Pulpit Politics

    From the Browning gun family to Jimmer Fredette, Mormons are usually pleased by successful fellow believers. But in the political world famous Mormons don’t always enjoy the same adoration from other church members. 51% of Mormons have an unfavorable view of Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, even though he is [...]

  • It’s Not You, It’s Me: Why Southern Europe Has to Divorce the Euro

    It’s Not You, It’s Me: Why Southern Europe Has to Divorce the Euro

    The euro was the economic unicorn of its generation. It was the dream that economists, capitalists, and politicians had been chasing for years: a common currency that would unify Europe, create peaceful cooperation through unrestricted trade and interdependency, and end war. A continental economy would be unstoppable. Europeans were promised [...]

  • Rock the Casbah: Social Commentary in Arab Rap

    Rock the Casbah: Social Commentary in Arab Rap

    Like what you read? Listen too. Check out Kurt’s playlist at the bottom of the article. Ongoing political issues in the Middle East have called attention to the importance of technology and media in bringing about social change. But cellphones and social networking sites aren’t the only instruments being used [...]

  • Ms. Understanding: BYU’s Women’s Services

    Ms. Understanding: BYU’s Women’s Services

    Once, I had a female teacher complain to her co-ed class that seeing her male student’s bodies offended her—that they were “a personal affront,” in her words.  This let her male students know that they were not considered just students, like their female peers, but were in fact, to their [...]

  • Civil Pacts in France: A Pro-Family Argument for Gay Marriage?

    Civil Pacts in France: A Pro-Family Argument for Gay Marriage?

    In the culture war over same-sex marriage, American political spectators have witnessed a death match of gladiator proportions. For every would-be coup de grâce delivered by one side, an equally crushing thrust from the other has forestalled a political ceasefire. Most recently, following the triumphal march of the “Yes on [...]