The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.
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QUIRK: Geez Goes 'Overboard' on a Christian Singles' Cruise
Those cheeky Canadian Christians are at it again!
In its summer issue, Geez Magazine sends a reporter under cover on a Caribbean cruise for "Christian singles." Hilarity (and outrage) ensues.
Earlier this year, Geez — with its tagline "holy mischief in an age of fast faith" — dipsatched their reporter to take a five-day luxury cruise in the Caribbean, the "Christian Singles Valentine's Day Cruise," promoted by AllChristianCruises.com.
With tape recorder in hand and cameraman in tow, Lyndon Froese, a 26-year-old single guy from Manitoba with "Mennonite roots" (who considers himself only quasi-Christian these days), drove from Canada to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and hopped aboard the Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas in search of a story about "the underbelly of the Christian leisure industry."
Verse of the Day: 'Your Labor is Not in Vain'
"Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58
Voice of the Day: Sikh Blessing
This earth is a garden, the Lord its gardener, cherishing all, none neglected. - Sikh blessing
Prayer of the Day: Israel & Palestine
"Temporary" Recession-Era Cuts Not So Temporary
From investigative-journalism nonprofit Remapping Debate:
"When the recession hit, state revenues — made up primarily of sales and income taxes — declined dramatically, prompting deep cuts to state services. In at least 30 states, funding for K-12 education was lower in fiscal year 2012 than in 2008, despite growing student populations. States have also made deep cuts in health care programs and in higher education funding. State aid to local governments has declined, and state and local governments have shed more than 500,000 jobs since the beginning of 2009.
In state after state, politicians justified the large budget cuts on the grounds that the condition of the state budget made it temporarily necessary to reduce services. ..."
Now income and sales taxes are bouncing back, and at least 25 states are likely to be running a surplus for the fiscal year ending in June. But
"... instead of either restoring cuts in state services or increasing aid to local governments and school districts, several state legislatures are choosing to use their surpluses to cut taxes. Besides Kansas, at least seven other states have passed bills that cut taxes and reduce revenue in future years, and several more are still considering doing so."
Read the full investigative article here.
Electric Burma and Amnesty International's Musical "Toast to Freedom"
Nobel laureate and Burmese opposition leader, Ang San Suu Kyi.
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Amnesty International has released a new song, "Toast to Freedom," recorded by nearly 50 artists from around the world.
The original tracks for the song were recorded in Levon Helm's famed studio in Woodstock, N.Y., known as "The Barn," where acclaimed artists like the Black Crowes and My Morning Jacket have made recordings and where Helm, a four-time Grammy winner, for years stages his intimate, multi-artist concert performances known as the “Midnight Ramble.” (Helm passed away in April after a long battle with cancer.)
Artists who sing and/or play on the recording includ Kris Kristofferson, Roseanne Cash, Keb Mo, Carly Simon, Marianne Faithful, Donald Fagen (of Steeley Dan), Sunny Landreth, Shawn Mullens, Ewan McGregor (who knew he could sing so nicely?) and the late Mr. Helm himself.
Have a listen to the song and read about the "Electric Burma" concert later this month in Ireland honoring Burmese justice champion Aung San Suu Kyi, where some of the "Toast to Freedom" artists will perform the song live, inside the blog ...
QUIRK: Mister Rogers Remix
If you grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, then this video may give your day a little extra cheer. In this new remix, engineered by Symphony of Science’s John Boswell for PBS Digital Studios, the many wonderful sayings and happenings of one Fred Rogers are mashed together in a tune they’re calling, “The Garden of Your Mind.” Take a listen to the remix song below. [via USA Today]
Voice of the Day: Ralph J. Bunche
"There will be no security in our world, no release from agonizing tension, no genuine progress, no enduring peace, until, in Shelley’s fine words, 'reason’s voice, loud as the voice of nature, shall have waked the nations.'" - Ralph J. Bunche
Prayer of the Day: When Life Gets Hectic
Lord, when life gets hectic or feels unbearable, help me in these moments to see you in nature and the world around me. Amen.
Verse of the Day: 'For the Hurt of My Poor People I Am Hurt'
"For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?" - Jeremiah 8:21-22
Verse of the Day: Bread of Life
"Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" - John 6:35
Prayer of the Day: Azeri-Armenia Border
Merciful God, we pray for peace along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, that leaders would have the courage and wisdom to wage peace. Lord, help us to fiercy reject violence and destruction as means of solving conflict. Amen.
Voice of the Day: Sri Sathya sai Baba
"If there is righteousness in the heart / There will be beauty in character / If there is beauty in character / There will be harmony in the home / When there is harmony in the home / There will be order in the nation / When there is order in the nation / There will be peace in the world." - Sri Sathya sai Baba
QUIRK: President Obama sings "Call Me Maybe"
In this clever mashup, the POTUS gives a new take on Carly Rae Jespen's radio hit "Call Me Maybe." While it may not be as endearing as his rendition of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," it still gives us something to smile at until the next musical tribute.
Voice of the Day: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
"The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life flow no longer in our souls." - Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in a speech to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1890
Prayer of the Day: Children of God
Lord, help us assemble ourselves before you today through our acts of peace and reconciliation with neighbors near and far. Help us to teach the children in our communities what it means to be children of a God who loves us like a mother. Amen. From Common Prayer
Verse of the Day: 'Seek Good Not Evil'
"Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph." - Amos 5:14-15
Voice of the Day: Henry James
“We work in the dark — we do what we can — we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art." - Henry James from The Middle Years
Prayer of the Day: Nigerian Plane Crash
God, we pray for peace, comfort, and wholeness, especially for the families and friends of the victims in the Nigerian plane crash this weekend. We mourn with our Nigerian brothers and sisters and all those who are missing loved ones. Amen.
Verse of the Day: Forgive as God Has Forgiven You
"As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive." - Colossians 3:14-15