Random Links and Questions

Clark reflects on 9/11 here.

Quick stat:

• Fatalities in 2001 due to 9/11 attacks: 3000+
• Fatalities in 2001 due to alcohol-related traffic accidents: 17,000+

Question:  If God 'should' have prevented 9/11 (assuming He existed), shouldn't He also be preventing people from drinking alcohol?  If not, why not?

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Interesting thread here, which takes an odd tangent into a discussion of Dungeons & Dragons.  If anyone is going to start worrying about the effects of RPG-playing on today's youth, D&D is certainly not the problem, this is (from an email I received recently):

My 24 yr. old son seems to be developing a mild obsession ( oxymoron?) with the game World of Warcraft.  I can't think of any other interests of late but Warcraft. He spends from 4-6 hrs a day on it.

My response: 4-6 hours is, in fact, fairly 'mild' compared to others out there...

Fantasy roleplaying (in moderation) is harmless.  Most 'serious' D&D players play maybe a three hour session once a week.  Online RPGs are completely different--this is where the obsessive behavior can easily start.  Question: how many more General Conferences will there be, before someone (like this mother above) writes to a General Authority and we hear a conference talk which mentions online RPG addiction by name?  I think it will be within a year...

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Question: Is a "For-profit charity" a contradiction in terms?  (via MR)  Is it just normal business activities with better window-dressing?

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You've all heard tithing stories before and you're probably tired of them, but here's a good one.   Question: how badly do we need a post-baptismal 'church orientation' class for new members, to explain all the little things that aren't in the missionary discussions:  what's home/visiting teaching, how and where to pay tithing, how do we sign up for a bishop's interview, what do we need a bishop's interview for, anyway?  Etc...