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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Voice of the Day: Kenneth Boulding
“Can I, imprisoned, body-bounded, touch / The starry robe of God, and from my soul, / My tiny Part, reach forth to [God’s] great Whole, / And spread my Little to the infinite Much, / When Truth forever slips out of my clutch / And what I take indeed, I do but dole, / In cupfuls from a rimless ocean-bowl / That holds a million million million such?” - Kenneth Boulding
Afternoon News Bytes: March 14, 2012
Mississippi, Alabama Primaries: Evangelicals, Evangelicals Everywhere; The Middle Class Really Is In A Three-Decade Slump; Linking Extreme Poverty And Global Terrorism (OPINION); Syria’s Devastated Economy; Sudan And South Sudan Leaders Agree Basic Freedoms; In SXSW ‘Homeless Hotspots,’ Have We Lost Our Humanity?; Rising Sea Levels Seen As Threat To Coastal U.S.; Rooftop Revolution: How To Get Solar To 100 Million Americans; Obama, Cameron Affirm Commitment To Afghan Mission; Iran Nuclear Talks: Country Welcomes Negotiations With Six World Powers, Iranian Media Reports.
George Clooney Witnesses War Crimes in Sudan
George Clooney testifies at Senate's Sudan and South Sudan: Independence and Insecurity hearing. Photo by Paul Morigi/WireImage
George Clooney has been making the morning-show rounds today, bringing to light the humanitarian crisis happening in Sudan. On a recent trip to Sudan's Nuba Mountains, Clooney witnessed rocket attacks against the Nuban people and the effects of the ongoing violence.
WARNING: This video contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.
Blame the Comedians: Playing the Humor Card
"First of all, comedians don't wear helmets...Comedy is not a helmet-wearing art form."...
We'll let Jonny Stew explain inside the blog.
Voice of the Day: Anaïs Nin
"There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic." - Anaïs Nin
Prayer of the Day: Daily Bread
Sustaining God, thank you for our daily bread. Thank you for all of our brothers and sisters who contribute to the supply chain so that we have food for today. We thank you for the farmers, harversters, mill workers, truck drivers, bakers, cashiers, and others. Bless them and their families so that at all times they may be filled. Amen.
Verse of the Day: Hold to Love and Justice
"But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God." - Hosea 12:6
Contraception Debate Overlooks the Obvious
Birth control photo, Melissa King, Shutterstock.com
Since Rush Limbaugh’s tirade, calling Sandra Fluke a “slut” for testifying for free access to birth control, the actual subject of debate seems like a distant memory. What were we talking about again? Paying for sex? Wait …
As religion journalist Nicole Neroulias points out in a recent piece, “I Was a Virgin on Birth Control,” and as others have attempted to testify, doctors prescribe birth control to remedy a number of real, physical ailments. These include ovarian cysts (think kidney stone-style pain, guys), endometriosis(which can lead to infertility) and a variety of other conditions that we know all-male panels probably don’t want to hear details about.
Afternoon News Bytes: March 13, 2012
The Psychological Toll Of War (OPINION); Mike Huckabee: 2012 GOP Candidates Must Stop Trying To 'Shred Each Other'; Obama And Cameron Must Strike A Balance Over Afghanistan Withdrawal; Syria Laying Landmines Along Border: Human Rights Watch; Have We Gone From A Mancession To A Shecovery? Not Quite. The Spectacular Triumph Of Working Women Around The World; The Reproduction Of Privilege; Obama Warns Opponents Against 'Using Religion As A Bludgeon In Politics'; Can Progressives Ride The Occupy Train To Congress?; Defining The Occupy Movement: It's Not Just About The Money (OPINION); Where Have You Gone, Mister Rogers?
NFL Salary Increase Ten Times the Poverty Line
Two things to consider:
1) On Sunday, the NFL announced that it had increased the salary cap for athletes by $225,000. Last year, players could make $120.375 million dollars per year; this year they can make $120.6 million.
2) The income requirements for an American family of four to be above the poverty limit is $23,050 – a figure nearly one tenth the amount of the .2 percent increase awarded to athletes.
Jonny Stew on 'You Might Be A Romney If...' and 'My Little Kony'
"Mainly it seems the media is just annoyed that it took this guy to get people to listen...'I mean, we're handsome, we're on TV. Why won't Rhianna retweet our stories on Kony?'"
Verse of the Day: Mysterious Food
"Meanwhile the disciples were urging [Jesus], ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’" - John 4:31-32
Voice of the Day: Martin Buber
"That you need God more than anything, you know at all times in your heart. But don’t you know also that God needs you — in the fullness of [God's] eternity, you?" - Martin Buber
Prayer of the Day: Afghan civilians
God of love, we pray for the citizens of Afghanistan today. Comfort those who mourn the loss of loved ones and give peace of mind to those angered by senseless violence. Lord, we need your help as the struggle to which you call us is not against flesh and blood. Forgive us of our violent ways and lead us in the way of peace and love. Amen.
Afternoon News Bytes: March 12, 2012
The Nuclear ‘Implementation Study’; The Unpersuaded; Latinos See Rise In Poverty & Unemployment; When Will The Christian Right Return To The Teachings Of Their Gospel? (OPINION); What Does the Kony Viral Video Say About Us?; Why It's OK To Let Apps Make You A Better Person; Annan Leaves Syria Without A Deal; Do Atheists Need Religion? (OPINION); Obama's Religion Still A Campaign Issue: Many Alabama, Mississippi Voters Believe President Is Muslim.
Voice of the Day: Walker Percy
"The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be on to something. Not to be on to something is to be in despair." - Walker Percy
Prayer of the Day: Tornado Victims
God, we pray for the victims of the tornadoes that hit the Midwest last week. Nourish and sustain them; give them patience to be still and know that you are God. Give strength to those working to restore what was destroyed, and give comfort to all who mourn. Amen.
Verse of the Day: Cry of the Prisoners
"Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die." - Psalm 79:11
Bono Chimes in on 'Kony 2012'
Bono in London, Oct. 25 2012. (Photo by Niki Nikolova/FilmMagic)
Amidst controversy over the viral 'Kony 2012' video produced by Invisible Children, Bono lent his words of support in Ireland's Sunday Times edition. Below are his comments:
“Having just been in Gulu with Edun and Jolly, this is particularly pertinent for me … Spreading like wildfire, and sparking a heated, fascinating, much needed debate, this is brilliant campaigning. Not only does the public now know about Kony and his most despicable atrocities, they also know what a huge range of experts think about it, even if they all don’t agree. I salute a strategy that generates this much interest if it¹s targeted towards lasting meaningful solutions owned and directed by the people of the region on their journey from the trauma of these atrocities towards stability and development. Is there an Oscar for this kind of direction? Jason Russell deserves it.”
We Take Requests: Bono's Address to the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast
Yes, it's odd, having a rock star here—but maybe it's odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was… well, a little blurry, and hard to see.
I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God.
For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land… and in this country, seeing God's second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash… in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment…
I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.
Even though I was a believer.
Perhaps because I was a believer.
~ Bono of U2, in his 2006 National Prayer Breakfast keynote address