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The Thought Provoker:

The previous discussion leads into Sam’s topic for the week. Is healthcare a right or a privilege? I found an interesting link in this story that shows that US healthcare system is not the envy of the world. In 2007, the US spent $7,290 per capita on health care but ranks last among seven countries. The Netherlands, which spent $3,837 per capita on health care that year, ranks first. US News ranks the US healthcare system as 23 in the world. 

 Next up, Matt. The WSJ just came out with college rankings. They give high scores to colleges that prepare students for careers. BYU is ranked 20th, and BYU-Idaho ranks higher than many state colleges and universities. This is quite different from how others like US News rank universities. This is because places like BYU-Idaho have low tuition and are specifically trying to train students for careers. In the past, that has been a role filled by vocational schools and community colleges. What is the proper role of a University education? Do places like BYU have an obligation to prepare students for a career, or should they be focused on teaching higher educational skills?

 Finally, Shawn: On the 179th anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the final print volume of the “The Joseph Smith Papers,” was published. The project took 20 years and 10s of millions of dollars.  It contains Principal documents produced by, under the direction , or written to Joseph Smith directly and features 27 volumes including 1,306 journal entries, 643 letters and 155 revelations. “Every document that we know of that was produced by or under the direction of Joseph Smith, or written to him directly, has been published with annotations,”  “When you read these documents, … it’s not novel style. It’s not a narration. It’s document after document after document. And you kind of put the narration together. “The Church didn’t want to hide anything about Joseph Smith,” said Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a Pulitzer Prize winner in history and the 300th Anniversary University Professor, Emerita, at Harvard University. “They felt confident that if the actual records, the primary sources, were available, responsible scholars would consult them.” Additionally, the scholarly approach in these volumes was endorsed by the National Archives as meeting the most rigorous criteria for documentary editing. Why is this a big deal? What is the intended outcome of the project?

Big Question:

I was watching a high school football game last week. At one point, one of the kids running with the ball fumbled, but the referees didn't have a good angle to see when the ball came out. TV cameras showed that the ball clearly came out well before the kid hit the ground. The refs ruled that there was no fumble on the play. Do players have a moral obligation to inform the refs that they got the call wrong? If not, what impact does this have on society? Wouldn't we have far fewer laws/rules if