That's because his neighborhood university, Brigham Young, only made honorable mention in a recent list of the most conservative schools in America.

Anderson, you might recall, was the concerned Utah County citizen who offered to pay the Utah Valley State College student council to cancel liberal filmmaker Michael Moore's speaking engagement in 2004. Anderson feared such a liberal voice might permanently alter the brainwave flow of Utah County youth.

According to a list compiled by Young America's Foundation, based in Herndon, Va., Hillsdale (Mich.) College is the most conservative school in the country, followed by Grove City (Pa.) College; Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio; Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.; Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif.; Harding University in Searcy, Ark.; College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.; Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.; Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va.; and Christendom College in Front Royal, Va.

The also-rans, along with BYU, were St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.; Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky.; Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.; and King's College in New York.

Speaking of liberal: Brigham Young University's law school is offering lawyers the opportunity to earn up to 12 continuing legal education credits - a requirement of the Utah State Bar - for going on a Caribbean cruise.

Mary Hoagland, assistant dean of BYU's law school, says in her letter to attorneys that the trip will include lectures (in between the virgin pi a coladas?) by professor Susan Easton Black on Mayan history and culture.

"Bring your many talents," she wrote. "We welcome you as a CLE presenter, will cheer for your karaoke number (we have a reputation to uphold, since one of our gang won the ship-wide karaoke contest on our last cruise), or will try to keep up with you on the dance floor or hiking through the ruins."

And she ended the letter with a "Happy Holidays" to all.

Friendly competition? When KTVX, Channel 4, showed its viewers dramatic video of the fatal train-truck accident near Cisco in southeastern Utah on Wednesday night, the station failed to mention that the video was shot by its competitor, KUTV, Channel 2.

KTVX's David Dantuonio said a technician used a feed from a Denver station through a network news exchange service and didn't realize it was the KUTV video. "We never want to use a competitor's material," he said. "It was just an unfortunate mistake."

prolly@sltrib.com