I’m well-conditioned to expect occasion thuggery in college and pro sports. Forty years of watching football, basketball, soccer, baseball and hockey has shown me plenty of horrid examples.

What I never expected to see? Over-the-top vicious shots in a MountainWest Conference women’s soccer game. This video shows at least one player who might need some anger management classes.

When I walk into church with my family, lately I’ve thought of the quote from Atticus Finch in the classic novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”: I got started late, the middle-aged Atticus told his still-young kids who marveled at his advanced age.

Atticus also liked to sit by himself in church. Was that because his still-young kids spent most of “preaching” scarfing down snacks, fighting over toys and flexing their elbows to find enough pew room to draw pictures.

I’m 46 years old; got married at 35. I started late. My wife Kati is 39 now; a bit younger. We have three kids parading the pews during sacrament meeting; an almost teenager, a just-baptized and a toddler who also likes to explore under the pew as well. Sometimes I’d like to sit only with my wife at church. Of course, I’d like to spend one day a week only with her as well; and maybe one day a month by myself. (I say that without fear because I know she shares that wish, too)

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So what to make of Republican Bob McDonnell’s very easy win over Democrat Creigh Deeds in Virginia or GOPer Chris Christie’s close upset in New Jersey over Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who outspent Christie 3 to 1 and practically lived with President Obama the final week of the campaign? The White House wrote off Deeds a long time ago but Obama expended a lot of political capital in a failed effort to boost Corzine. Here’s a few observations:

1) Independents, who mostly supported Democrats in 2006 and 2008, are swinging back to the GOP. McDonnell scored 63 percent of the independent vote; Christie nabbed 58 percent. These numbers reflect independents’ concerns over the White House spending plans. There are dozens of Democrats in House districts that John McCain carried or Obama carried very narrowly in 2008. I can’t imagine these pols committing political suicide by supporting measures in 2010 that include a cap & trade energy bill or a Democratic-sponsored  immigration reform bill. Frankly, I think chances to pass health care insurance reform have dipped. Certainly, the Pelosi bill will have to cede ground to the Baucus Senate bill.

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In a survey I’m sure most readers haven’t seen reported, Republicans were more knowledgeable on more political issues than Democrats. The Pew Political IQ Test can be found at http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/ If you follow politics, it’s not too difficult a test.

In early October, Pew sampled respondents from both parties and independents, who scored highest in four categories and tied in one. Compared only to Democrats, Republicans scored significantly higher on: what issue cap & trade is related to; who the new Supreme Court justice is; which is the majority party in the U.S. Congress; what the current unemployment rate is; who the Federal Reserve chairman is; and where the Dow Jones Industrial Average is. There were small GOP pluralities on who the chair of the Senate Finance Committee is, do Iran and Israel share a border, and how many U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. The numbers are even on what issue the public option relates to and Democrats have a five-percent margin over the GOP on U.S. versus Europe health care costs. Oh yes, far more Republicans than Democrats also know who Glenn Beck is! For The Weekly Standard’s report on the numbers, go here: Read

Yesterday, November 1, was the 65th birthday of the formalization and naming of “Veganism.”

The Vegan Society was founded in 1944 by a man named Donald Watson, a very ordinary man who lived a very ordinary life. I think that his ordinary-ness (is that a word?) is what makes him so inspiring… because most of us can relate to his life and story, and see that even common people can change the world.

Watson founded a far-reaching and profound social movement, whose wisdom is becoming more and more evident as we see the detrimental effects of our use of animals — on animals themselves, humans, and the environment.

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Weber State didn’t look like the typical Wildcats in Saturday’s 31-10 loss at Montana.’

The No. 14-ranked Wildcats got beat in every aspect of the game and now No. 2-ranked Montana is the only team in control of the Big Sky Conference.

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Greetings from Missoula, Mont., where everyone I’ve seen has either been wearing purple or maroon.

It’s just less than 90 minutes before kickoff of the much-anticipated game between No. 14. Weber State (purple) and No. 2 Montana (maroon). The winner will likely earn the Big Sky Conference’s automatic spot in the FCS playoffs, although Northern Arizona and Montana State may have some say in the whole thing.

A quick injury update:

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House Democrats deserve credit for finally coming up with a health care insurance reform bill. Of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was really shoveling the old you-know-what when she said, “Today we are about to deliver on the promise of making quality, affordable health care available for all Americans.” The House bill manages to be “deficit neutral” by promising $500 billion in as of yet unspecified Medicare cuts. If this bill passes, we might see some dark comedy watching Congress try to muster the courage to trim Medicare by half a trillion dollars over the next decade by dunning younger Americans via higher taxes and premiums.

But what’s interesting is that it may be the political left that dooms the House health care bill. Although the Pelosi bill includes a government-run public option, it does not use the same rates as Medicare. Instead, it allows the health and human services secretary to negotiate rates with those dastardly insurance companies. This has angered the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which wants rates set to Medicare. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., and co-chair of the CPC, was notably noncommittal when asked if the entire caucus, which has 83 members, would accept the House deal. And what happens with the CPC down the road if a public option is stripped out of a final bill by the U.S. Senate.

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