Articles of interest about religion - Nov 7

***RELIGION BY THE NUMBERS 

Spiritualism In 'The In-Betweens' https://www.npr.org/2019/10/27/773817425/spiritualism-in-the-in-betweens

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

***RELIGION 

In World War II, spreading the Gospel while spying for the US http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/in-world-war-ii-serving-jesus-while-spying-for-the-united-states/2019/10/24/c12f787e-bde7-11e9-a5c6-1e74f7ec4a93_story.html 

Familiarity with religious groups is linked to warmer feelings toward them https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/31/in-u-s-familiarity-with-religious-groups-is-associated-with-warmer-feelings-toward-them/

American Academy of Religion releases new guidelines on what undergraduates should understand about all religions prior to getting their degrees https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/29/american-academy-religion-offers-new-guidelines-teaching-religion

Scammer poses as pastor of Fort Myers Presbyterian church https://www.nbc-2.com/story/41284364/scammer-poses-as-pastor-of-fort-myers-presbyterian-church

Beijing Changes Bible Characters to Ancient Chinese in Church Magazine https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/beijing-changes-bible-characters-to-ancient-chinese-in-church-magazine.html

***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Evangelicals have been reshaped into the image of Trump himself (opinion) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/evangelicals-have-been-reshaped-into-the-image-of-trump-himself/2019/10/28/f37f5154-f9c0-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html 

Trump wanted to build a megachurch with prosperity gospel grifter Paula White https://www.rawstory.com/2019/11/trump-wanted-to-build-a-megachurch-with-prosperity-gospel-grifter-paula-white-report/

President Donald Trump taps pastor Paula White for White House job https://nypost.com/2019/11/02/trump-taps-pastor-paula-white-for-white-house-job/ 

Trump administration proposes rule that allows faith-based child welfare groups to exclude LGBTQ families https://www.10news.com/news/national/trump-administration-proposes-rule-that-allows-faith-based-child-welfare-groups-to-exclude-lgbtq-families

How Mike Pence’s Office Meddled in Foreign Aid to Reroute Money to Favored Christian Groups https://www.propublica.org/article/how-mike-pences-office-meddled-in-foreign-aid-to-reroute-money-to-favored-christian-groups

***PARACHURCH ORGANIZATIONS 

Sanford residents fight to keep large Christian Evangelical ministry out of their historic neighborhood  https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole-county/os-ne-sanford-downtown-christ-nations-residents-20191101-b6mzmd3hinfl5j5uw27v3noi7e-story.html

World Vision tinkers with its 70-year-old child sponsorship model https://theconversation.com/world-vision-tinkers-with-its-70-year-old-child-sponsorship-model-124383

***RELIGION & THE ENVIRONMENT

Why There's A Divide Between Environmentalists And Evangelicals https://www.npr.org/2019/11/04/776173312/why-theres-a-divide-between-environmentalists-and-evangelicals

Evangelicals in Brazil see abuse of God's earth as a sin – but will they fight to save the Amazon? https://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-evangelicals-in-brazil-see-abuse-of-gods-earth-as-a-sin-but-will-they-fight-to-save-the-amazon-126098-20191106-story.html

***DENOMINATIONS

Mohler, prominent Southern Baptist, will be nominated to lead denomination https://religionnews.com/2019/11/04/mohler-prominent-southern-baptist-will-be-nominated-to-lead-denomination/

UMC’s Western Jurisdiction announces ‘safe harbor’ for LGBTQ clergy https://religionnews.com/2019/11/06/united-methodists-western-jurisdiction-announces-safe-harbor-for-lgbtq-clergy/

***MEGACHURCHES

Only months after sexual assault allegations & resignation, Megachurch pastor looks to launch new church https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/10/28/andy-savage-looks-launch-new-church-after-sexual-assault-allegations/2485740001/

Flags wave, people protest at Dallas megachurch‘s ‘America is a Christian Nation‘ sermon https://valliantnews.com/2019/11/03/flags-wave-people-protest-at-dallas-megachurchs-america-is-a-christian-nation-sermon/

Josh Harris, fallen evangelical mega-pastor: "I excommunicated myself" https://www.axios.com/josh-harris-evangelical-pastor-excommunicated-64674ffd-4e09-458a-8697-3d207100e11e.html

***RELIGION & SEXUAL MISCONDUCT 

Christian Comedian John Crist Admits to 'Addiction Struggles' as He's Accused of Sexual Misconduct https://people.com/tv/christian-youtuber-comedian-john-crist-apologizes-sexual-misconduct-allegations/ 

Sex abuse lawsuit against Southern Baptist leader headed to appeals court https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Sex-abuse-lawsuit-against-Southern-Baptist-leader-14815626.php

***MILLENNIALS & RELIGION

What are millennials killing now? Churches (opinion) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-millennials-are-skipping-church-and-not-going-back/2019/10/27/0d35b972-f777-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html

Why millennials are skipping church and not going back https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-millennials-are-skipping-church-and-not-going-back/2019/10/27/0d35b972-f777-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html

***RELIGION & MUSIC 

Kirk Franklin's reflections on police violence were cut from TBN’s broadcast of his Dove Awards acceptance speech https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5db848f1e4b036b6a1672803/amp?guccounter=1

Kayne West's Jesus Is King Hits No. 1 on Top Christian Albums Chart, Billboard 200 Chart https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/mikaela-matthews/kayne-west-s-jesus-is-king-becomes-no-1-on-top-christian-albums-chart-billboard-200-chart.html

Saying no

Many of us seem to have great difficulty in simply saying “No” to requests made of us or even invitations to us. Somehow we assume – whether we are aware of it or not – that either the other person is too weak to cope with our refusal and will be offended or a relationship is impossible to maintain without 100 percent mutual agreement.

Daily examples of the results of this nonassertive belief can be seen when other people invite you out to join them in some social activity. How comfortable do you feel in assertively revealing your true state by saying simply and openly: “No, I just don’t feel like it this weekend. Let’s try it another time?” Instead you invent “good” reasons that will not allow the other person to get irritated, feel rebuffed and possibly dislike you. Most of us follow this inane behavior pattern because of our childish belief that we cannot function properly if we do things that cause other people to remove their good will toward us, even a little bit.

Although generalizations are suspect and typically useless, our behavior in this area is sufficiently childish to prompt me to make this observation: one cannot live in terror of hurting other people’s feelings. Sometimes one offends. That’s life in the big city!

Manuel Smith, When I Say No, I Feel Guilty

Learning From History

When the generation that survived the war is no longer here, we’ll find out whether we have learned from history.  -Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel (on Nov. 5, 1945, Germany surrendered to Allied forces)

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages – Nov 4

***JOURNALISM

Here are the 34 news projects Google is funding in North America https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/10/audio-archiving-public-meeting-tracking-and-more-local-boosts-here-are-the-34-news-projects-google-is-funding-in-north-america/

These watchdogs track secret online censorship across the globe https://www.cnet.com/features/the-watchdogs-tracking-secret-online-censorship-across-the-globe-ooni/

Local news is more trusted than national news — but that could change https://www.knightfoundation.org/articles/local-news-is-more-trusted-than-national-news-but-that-could-change

***FAKE NEWS

'It's a fine target': Census bureau to fight misinformation https://www.apnews.com/7d310c83acc648cd8762d0fb05f49afb

“Data voids” on the web have opened a door to manipulators and other disinformation pushers https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/11/watch-your-language-data-voids-on-the-web-have-opened-a-door-to-manipulators-and-other-disinformation-merchants/

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

The Most Frequent Emoji https://home.unicode.org/emoji/emoji-frequency/

Facebook’s removal of false ad shows a double standard for policing content https://wapo.st/2CdZ6tb

Instagram May Be Causing an Increase in Yoga Injuries https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/instagram-cause-yoga-injuries-increase.html

***LANGUAGE 

What 26,000 books reveal when it comes to learning a language https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191025110311.htm

Do our reading lists determine how we process language?https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326891.php#1

From vocabulary to grammar, long-dead elements of the language still haunt our everyday speech (podcast) https://slate.com/podcasts/lexicon-valley/2019/10/zombie-elements-of-the-english-language

***WRITING & READING

An expedition reveals the perils of reading Dostoyevsky in Antarctica https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2019/10/10/an-expedition-reveals-the-perils-of-reading-dostoyevsky-in-antarctica

Scientific evidence on how to teach writing is slim https://hechingerreport.org/scientific-evidence-on-how-to-teach-writing-is-slim/

***LITERATURE

An 18th-century guide to hunting vampires inspired the first works of vampire fiction https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2019/09-10/vampire-mania-in-eastern-europe/ 

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Novel Adaptation

www.openculture.com/2019/11/anne-franks-diary-the-graphic-novel-adaptation.html

***POETRY 

'Love Poems (For People With Children)' https://www.npr.org/2019/10/26/773030262/sleep-loss-sunscreen-and-very-little-sex-in-these-love-poems-for-parents

One language dies every two weeks. How can poetry help? (podcast) https://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2019/oct/29/one-language-dies-every-two-weeks-how-can-poetry-help-books-podcast  

When poetry can help to ease the pain https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/28/when-poetry-can-help-to-ease-the-pain

New ‘Divining Poets’ Poetry Decks Spotlight Quotes By Rumi And Emily Dickinson https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelkramerbussel/2019/10/28/new-divinging-poets-poetry-decks-spotlight-quotes-by-rumi-and-emily-dickinson/#59dbc69763a0

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 
Adobe left millions of Creative Cloud user records exposed online https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/adobe-left-millions-of-creative-cloud-user-records-exposed-online /

Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/22/school-student-surveillance-bark-gaggle

ACLU sues feds to get information about facial-recognition programs https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/10/aclu-sues-feds-to-get-information-about-facial-recognition-programs/

China touts dubious emotion recognition AI tech to find criminals http://bit.ly/2qmsVFe

***INTERNET

50 years ago, I helped invent the internet. How did it go so wrong? (opinion) https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-10-29/internet-50th-anniversary-ucla-kleinrock

The Internet Archive is adding digital previews of book sources to Wikipedia articles https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/4/20947403/wikipedia-internet-archive-book-citations-digitizing-online

Expecting Initiative

Holding people to the responsible course is not demeaning; it is affirming. Proactivity is part of human nature, and although the proactive muscles may be dormant, they are there. By respective the proactive nature of other people, we provide them with at least one clear, undistorted reflection from the social mirror.

Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

loneliness & solitude

Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self. -Mary Sarton

Maintaining

It’s the maintenance of life, the plumbing of life that we sometimes slip into and forget the prose and poetry. It’s easier to make lists, it’s easier to call the plumber, its easier to wonder why the car doesn’t work, and spend our life, worrying about the plumbing. And one day at 50 we wake up and say, “Why is there no juice? Why is there no joy? Why is there no pleasure?”

Roger Fransecky 

Articles of Interest about Higher Ed - Nov 1

***HIGHER ED

East Carolina University Interim Chancellor Resigns Over Boozy Night With Students https://www.thedailybeast.com/east-carolina-university-interim-chancellor-dan-gerlach-resigns-over-boozy-night-with-students?via=rss

The University of Arizona is changing the way it refers to itself https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/university-of-arizona-is-changing-the-way-it-refers-to-itself/75-21e834f8-a0f9-477d-abfb-519a08ff6151

Do trustees have full freedom of speech? https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/01/do-trustees-have-full-freedom-speech   

***HIGHER ED & FINANCES

Ashford University restructuring contributes to hundreds of layoffs https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/10/31/ashford-university-restructuring-contributes-hundreds-layoffs

***HIGHER ED IN COURT

Southwestern College Withheld Investigation Docs From Shooting Involving Former Police Chief: Lawsuit https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Southwestern-College-Accused-of-Withholding-Investigation-Into-Accidental-Shooting-by-Former-Police-Chief-564129871.html

***FREE SPEECH 

University of Michigan settles free-speech lawsuit https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/extra/news/university-of-michigan-settles-free-speech-lawsuit/article_3e189a51-8889-5f99-a8cc-a212294cb091.html

***TEACHING

A teacher says he was fired for refusing to use male pronouns for a transgender student https://www.10news.com/news/national/a-teacher-says-he-was-fired-for-refusing-to-use-male-pronouns-for-a-transgender-student

Dueling Brain Waves Anchor or Erase Learning During Sleep https://www.quantamagazine.org/dueling-brain-waves-anchor-or-erase-learning-during-sleep-20191024/

Faculty support for online learning builds slowly, steadily -- but not enthusiastically https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/faculty-support-online-learning-builds-slowly-steadily-not-enthusiastically

***ACADEMIC LIFE

Oxford professor ‘failed to properly acknowledge’ Chinese colleagues https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/oxford-professor-failed-properly-acknowledge-chinese-colleagues

Catchy findings have propelled this young ecologist to fame—and enraged his critics https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/10/catchy-findings-have-propelled-young-ecologist-fame-and-enraged-his-critics

Professor Pleads Guilty to A Scheme to Defraud the National Science Foundation  https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndin/pr/professor-pleads-guilty-scheme-defraud-national-science-foundation

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS

Generational Divide Among Evangelicals Shakes Prominent Seminary (sub req’ed) https://www.wsj.com/articles/generational-divide-among-evangelicals-shakes-prominent-seminary-11572354000

People want to know: Who gave Gordon College all that money? (sub req'ed) https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/28/the-world-wants-know-who-gave-gordon-college-all-that-money/26cc4ZGp345s5x1UAknwiP/story.html

Why attend a Christian university? Here’s an answer you weren’t expecting. https://christianchronicle.org/why-attend-a-christian-university-heres-an-answer-you-werent-expecting/

Student on Cincinnati Christian University's decision to close: 'l feel like I’ve been lied to' https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/student-on-cincinnati-christian-universitys-decision-to-close-l-feel-like-ive-been-lied-to

Liberty University: A Cautionary Tale https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2019/10/liberty-university-a-cautionary-tale/

Northwest Christian University sees record enrollment https://nbc16.com/news/local/northwest-christian-university-sees-record-enrollment

Mid-America Christian University offers state’s first bachelor’s degree in data analytics 

https://oklahoman.com/article/5645628/mid-america-christian-university-offers-states-first-bachelors-degree-in-data-analytics

Hundreds to attend conference at Wheaton College to advance evangelical-Muslim dialogue  

https://www.christianpost.com/news/hundreds-to-attend-conference-wheaton-college-advance-evangelical-muslim-dialogue.html

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS & DISCRIMINATION

How Christian Colleges Are Responding to LGBTQ Regulations https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/no-obvious-answer-christian-colleges-responding-lgbtq-regulations /

Some Christian Colleges in SC exempt from anti-discrimination law https://www.postandcourier.com/news/some-sc-colleges-exempt-from-anti-discrimination-law-leaving-lgbtq/article_ed967c90-c04f-11e9-980e-ef21a5b3da55.html

***RESEARCH 

Is Science working well as it did in the 40s? (Podcast)  http://www.theblackgoatpodcast.com/posts/everybody-act-normal/

China publishes “new standards defining plagiarism, fabrication” etc. http://www.ecns.cn/m/news/society/2019-10-23/detail-ifzpzfnq8046778.shtml

Ghostwriting Peer Reviews https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/01/ghostwriting-peer-reviews-advisers-more-common-you-might-think

***STUDENT LIFE 

A doctoral student wore a skirt made of rejection letters to defend her dissertation.  https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/dissertation-phd-doctor-rejection-letter-skirt-caitlin-kirby-a9166866.html

Working while in college might hurt students more than it helps https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/24/working-in-college-can-hurt-low-income-students-more-than-help.html

Major In Esports At Ohio State https://www.npr.org/2019/10/27/773817348/major-in-esports-at-ohio-state

Survey: Number of kids watching online videos soars  https://apnews.com/6d2694d32a7d44bf9619172d26c674da

College athletes permitted to be paid for name, image, likeness https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/30/college-athletes-permitted-be-paid-name-image-likeness 

New data on the 36 million Americans who left college without a credential https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/31/new-data-36-million-americans-who-left-college-without-credential

The millennials taking on France's funeral business https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191028-the-high-tech-start-ups-taking-on-frances-funeral-providers 

Listening is

Listening is not thinking about what you are going to say when the other person has stopped talking. – H Norman Wright

The March of Technology

The designs built into modern technology comes from savvy, white-coated engineers working tirelessly in their laboratories to create the most effective devices. Right? Kevin Kelly offers this example of how decisions made by generations past stay with us in unexpected ways:

Ordinary Roman carts were constructed to match the width of Imperial Roman war chariots because it was easier to follow the ruts in the road left by the war chariots. The chariots were sized to accommodate the width of two large war horses, which translates into our English measurement as a width of 4' 8.5". Roads throughout the vast Roman empire were built to this spec. When the legions of Rome marched into Britain, they constructed long distance imperial roads 4' 8.5" wide. When the English started building tramways, they used the same width so the same horse carriages could be used. And when they started building railways with horseless carriages, naturally the rails were 4' 8.5" wide. Imported laborers from the British Isles built the first railways in the Americas using the same tools and jigs they were used to. Fast forward to the US Space shuttle, which is built in parts around the country and assembled in Florida. Because the two large solid fuel rocket engines on the side of the launch Shuttle were sent by railroad from Utah, and that line traversed a tunnel not much wider than the standard track, the rockets themselves could not be much wider than 4' 8.5."

As one wag concluded: "So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of two horses' arse."

Kevin Kelly

too short!

Life is too short for drama and petty things.  So KISS slowly;  LAUGH insanely;  LOVE truly; And FORGIVE quickly!  

Choosing Prison

Our capacity to choose changes constantly with our practice of life. The longer we continue to make the wrong decisions, the more our heart hardens; the more often we make the right decision, the more our heart softens – or better perhaps, comes alive.

Each step in life which increases my self-confidence, my integrity, my courage, my conviction also increases my capacity to choose the desirable alternative, until eventually it becomes more difficult for me to choose the undesirable rather than the desirable action. On the other hand, each act of surrender and cowardice weakens me, opens the path for more acts of surrender, and eventually freedom is lost. 

Erich Fromm, The Heart of Man

Articles of Interest about Religion - Oct 27

***RELIGION 

How Westboro Church Founder’s Granddaughter Is Working to ‘Dismantle’ Family’s Legacy of Hate https://people.com/human-interest/westboro-church-founder-granddaughter-dismantle-legacy-of-hate/

Religion is fueling a new wave of immigration activism https://www.axios.com/religion-is-fueling-a-new-wave-of-immigration-activism-6443e1a9-9c2d-4670-a3c4-4b0d219e766e.html

The making of world's first 'Scientology city' in Clearwater https://projects.tampabay.com/projects/2019/investigations/scientology-clearwater-real-estate/

Tennessee pastor, Freedom From Religion Foundation spar over ad, book https://fox17.com/news/local/tennessee-pastor-freedom-from-religion-foundation-spar-over-ad-book

Founding principal of Christian colleges in Australia charged with historic sex abuse https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/founding-principal-of-christian-colleges-charged-with-historic-sex-abuse-20191025-p5348z.html

***RELIGION AND POLITICS

Teaching Democrats to Speak Evangelical https://www.newyorker.com/news/on-religion/teaching-democrats-to-speak-evangelical

New polling suggests that Trump’s base is totally unified behind the president, no matter what investigations might reveal https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/10/trump-white-evangelical-impeachment/600376/

ICE drops $300,000 fine for an immigrant in church sanctuary https://religionnews.com/2019/10/25/ice-drops-300000-fine-for-an-immigrant-in-church-sanctuary/

***RELIGION & MONEY

Chicago Churches Help To Pay Off Cook County Residents' Medical Debt  https://n.pr/367iTZ2

Here's how much money these megachurches bring in across the US https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apos-much-money-megachurches-bring-145031393.html

***MEGACHURCHES

Megachurch pastor tells Beth Moore to get out of the Pulpit and Go Home https://religionnews.com/2019/10/19/accusing-sbc-of-caving-john-macarthur-says-beth-moore-should-go-home/

One of the first of many sexual abuse lawsuits expected under a new California law targets Modesto megachurch https://baptistnews.com/article/one-of-the-first-of-many-sexual-abuse-lawsuits-expected-under-a-new-california-law-targets-modesto-megachurch/#.Xa-q7y2ZPNI

Joel Osteen reportedly invites Kanye West to megachurch service  https://www.wthr.com/article/joel-osteen-reportedly-invites-kanye-west-megachurch-service

***CONVERSION THERAPY

My own bouts with ‘conversion therapy’ https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/kirby/2019/10/21/robert-kirby-my-own-bouts/

Conversion Therapy leads to LGBT scholarship https://www.king5.com/article/syndication/heartthreads/seth-owen-georgetown-gofundme-gay-student/507-6f7dca7e-5507-41a9-9104-7a5da75afd60

***CHRISTIAN MUSIC

TobyMac's oldest child, 21-year-old aspiring rapper Truett Foster McKeehan, dies https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/10/24/truett-foster-mckeehan-tobymacs-son-rapper-dies-suddenly/4080913002/

We Asked Religious Experts About Kanye West's 'Jesus Is King' https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5ynv3/we-asked-religious-experts-about-kanye-wests-new-church-album-jesus-is-king

***RELIGION AND THE ARTS

A visual history of Soviet anti-religious artwork  https://boingboing.net/2019/10/23/antitheology.html

Author and ex-nun Karen Armstrong on scripture: 'Religion ... is an art form' www.startribune.com/scripture-should-be-viewed-as-art-not-the-final-word-says-british-author-karen-armstrong/563842812/

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages – Oct 26

***WRITING & READING

Machine learning beats humans on advanced reading-comprehension tests—but in doing so reveals how AI has to go 

http://bit.ly/2MJPmNt

"Everybody Is Freaking Out": Freelance Writers Scramble to Make Sense of New California Law

 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/everybody-is-freaking-freelance-writers-scramble-make-sense-new-california-law-1248195

***JOURNALISM

Donald Trump Letter to CNN Promises Legal Action for "Highly Biased" News 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/donald-trump-letter-cnn-promises-legal-action-highly-biased-news-1248699

How Reporters Figured Out The Identities Of The Men Who Vandalized The Emmett Till Memorial

 https://digg.com/2019/how-reporters-figured-out-the-identities-of-the-men-who-vandalized-the-emmett-till-memorial

Five tips for journalism students from ONA President Mandy Jenkins

https://journalism.uoregon.edu/news/five-tips-journalism-students-ona-president-mandy-jenkins

The Hong Kong Protests are Also a Fight for a Free Press 

https://niemanreports.org/articles/18-weeks-and-counting-how-hong-kong-media-is-covering-the-mammoth-protests-and-fighting-for-its-own-survival/

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM

One-in-five U.S. newsroom employees live in New York, Los Angeles or D.C. 

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/24/one-in-five-u-s-newsroom-employees-live-in-new-york-los-angeles-or-d-c/

First Draft launches nationwide project to help prepare US newsrooms for online threats ahead of 2020 election 

https://firstdraftnews.org/first-draft-launches-nationwide-project-to-help-prepare-us-newsrooms-for-online-threats-ahead-of-2020-election/

SmartNews is paying publishers to be on its platform 

https://digiday.com/media/theres-clarity-around-youll-make-smartnews-paying-publishers-platform/

Five takeaways from a new study of local digital news publishers

https://www.rjionline.org/stories/five-takeaways-from-a-new-study-of-local-digital-news-publishers

***FACEBOOK “NEWS”

Watch Mark Zuckerberg duck a question about including Breitbart in Facebook's News tab 

https://mashable.com/article/mark-zuckerberg-breitbart-news-tab/

Facebook will pay some publishers for ‘News’ tab items

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/23/facebook-offer-news-tab-users-pay-some-publishers-their-work/

***STUDENT MEDIA 

When the Student Newspaper Is the Only Daily Paper in Town

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/19/us/news-desert-ann-arbor-michigan.html

Student Newspaper Adviser Punished for Critical Coverage 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/22/college-newspaper-adviser-loses-job-students-claim-retaliation

Harvard Crimson, university's student newspaper, defends contacting ICE for comment 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harvard-crimson-responds-criticism-contacting-ice-comment-n1070501

Chapman University president right to apologize for censoring student newspaper 

https://www.thefire.org/chapman-president-right-to-apologize-for-censoring-student-newspaper/

***FAKE NEWS 

Trademarking "fake news"

https://www.fakenewstm.com

How fake news conquered the world

https://www.vox.com/world/2019/10/24/20908223/trump-russia-fake-news-propaganda-peter-pomerantsev

To Predict the Role of Fake News in 2020, Look to Canada 

https://daily.jstor.org/to-predict-the-role-of-fake-news-in-2020-look-to-canada/

Fake News Trivia Quiz

https://factcheckingday.com/articles/35/want-more-fake-news-trivia-take-our-2019-fact-checking-quiz

My Journalism Organization Is Trying to Trademark "Fake News" to Stop Donald Trump From Using It 

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/trademark-fake-news-stop-donald-trump-from-using-it

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

Senators Call for TikTok Investigation Over Chinese Espionage Concerns

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/tech/8540471/tiktok-senators-investigation-chinese-espionage

The power of social media influencers is shrinking 

https://www.axios.com/social-media-influencer-marketing-1b7875c5-89f9-4fe1-938e-060ca4c8fb3c.html

***LITERATURE

Dublin Wants to Reclaim James Joyce’s Body Before the Centenary of ‘Ulysses’ 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dublin-wants-reclaim-james-joyces-body-centenary-ulysses-180973376/

The US Release Of Naomi Wolf’s ‘Outrages’ Just Got Canceled Months After An Awkward Interview Revealed An Error In The Book

https://digg.com/2019/naomi-wolf-realizes-thesis-is-wrong

In Venezuela, Victor Hugo's 'Les Misérables' Resonates With Caracas Residents 

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/23/772775834/in-venezuela-victor-hugos-les-mis-rables-resonates-with-caracas-residents

Found: A Long Lost Chapter from the World’s Oldest Novel, the 11th-Century Japanese Classic, The Tale of Genji

www.openculture.com/2019/10/found-a-long-lost-chapter-from-the-worlds-oldest-novel.html

Flannery O’Connor knows you can't handle the truth 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/flannery-oconnor-knows-you-cant-handle-the-truth

***POETRY 

Why poetry matters 

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2019/10/why-poetry-matters

5 Reasons Why You Should Habitually Read Poetry in College https://studybreaks.com/culture/reads/reasons-to-read-poetry/

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

You Got a Brain Scan at the Hospital. Someday a Computer May Use It to Identify You.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/health/brain-scans-personal-identity.html

Research participants' privacy threat 

https://www.axios.com/medical-data-privacy-artificial-intelligence-65d34310-2a69-45a9-a3ca-e54c5c3e7a40.html

***INTERNET

The FTC fosters fake reviews, its own commissioners say 

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/10/the-ftc-fosters-fake-reviews-its-own-commissioners-say/

Google Is Making A Big Change To The Way It Serves Search Results 

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/google-search-bert-natural-language-processing

Learning to Dance

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Articles of Interest about Higher Ed - Oct 25

***HIGHER ED

Colleges and universities track web activity of potential applicants 

https://www.businessinsider.com/colleges-universities-websites-track-web-activity-of-potential-applicants-report-2019-10

Why Do We Have Business Or Education Schools In Universities? 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardvedder/2019/10/16/why-do-we-have-business-or-education-schools-in-universities/

The largest community college in Pennsylvania is eliminating mental health services on campus—more struggling two-year institutions may follow suit 

www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/18/mental-health-low-priority-community-colleges

Are Liberal Arts Colleges Doomed? 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2019/10/21/downfall-hampshire-college-broken-business-model-american-higher-education/?arc404=true

Bill would require accreditors to flag failing colleges sooner 

https://www.educationdive.com/news/bill-would-require-accreditors-to-flag-failing-colleges-sooner/564312/

NCAA comes down on Cal Poly for books violation 

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/26554592/ncaa-comes-cal-poly-books-violation

***HIGHER ED & FINANCES

College costs have increased in all 50 states over the past 10 years

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/24/college-costs-have-increased-in-all-50-states-over-the-past-10-years.html

DeVos, Ed Dept get $100K fine over for-profit student loan collection 

https://www.educationdive.com/news/devos-ed-dept-get-100k-fine-over-for-profit-student-loan-collection/565833/

***FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS 

Why the Supreme Court’s Davis standard is necessary to restore free speech to America’s college campuses  (opinion) 

https://www.thefire.org/why-the-supreme-courts-davis-standard-is-necessary-to-restore-free-speech-to-americas-college-campuses-part-i/

SDSU launches Free Speech site, Inclusivity portal to raise awareness of student rights 

https://thedailyaztec.com/96354/news/sdsu-launches-free-speech-site-inclusivity-portal-to-raise-awareness-of-rights/

***TEACHING 

A teacher says he was fired for refusing to use male pronouns for a transgender student 

https://www.10news.com/news/national/a-teacher-says-he-was-fired-for-refusing-to-use-male-pronouns-for-a-transgender-student

My Classroom Is Not a Safe Space 

https://humanparts.medium.com/my-classroom-is-not-a-safe-space-406927bfeab6

How can you get students to put down their cellphones and engage in class?  

www.insidehighered.com/advice/2017/04/04/how-professors-can-get-students-put-down-their-cellphones-class-essay

***ACADEMIC LIFE 

19 Professors And Students Who — For Better Or Worse — Hit "Send" On These Emails 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jonmichaelpoff/students-professors-emails-college

Professor says she was fired for refusing to disclose a victim's name 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/22/professor-says-she-was-fired-refusing-disclose-victims-name

Professor apologizes for controversial survey 

https://www.wilx.com/content/news/Professor-apologizes-for-racist-survey-563655381.html

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 

In Tennessee, One Christian College Breaks Enrollment Records, While Another Fights Declines 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/october/christian-colleges-enrollment-bryan-trevecca-nazarene.html

Why We Still Need Christian Colleges

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/october/kapic-we-need-christian-liberal-arts-colleges.html

Chapman University accused of lying to student newspaper

https://dynamicsofwriting.com/2019/10/21/ethics-versus-access-an-interview-with-the-chapman-panther-editor-who-said-no-thanks-to-covering-george-w-bushs-private-event-on-the-campus/

How these Christian schools use campus policy to cultivate Christian sexual virtues 

https://www.thecollegefix.com/how-these-christian-schools-use-campus-policy-to-cultivate-christian-sexual-virtues/

Locker room videos of Christian College female athletes posted to porn site 

https://www.wspa.com/news/videos-of-womens-teams-inside-locker-room-at-limestone-college-from-2012-13-posted-to-porn-site-under-investigation/

***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

The Cautionary Tale of Jerry Falwell Jr. (opinion) 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/november/jerry-falwell-jr-biblical-leadership.html

Longtime Liberty prof to become the first research professor and one of the only female faculty members at the Southern Baptist college 

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/october/karen-swallow-prior-sebts-southeastern-liberty-university.html

***RESEARCH 

A Python code glitch that causes computations to vary depending on the operating system used may have caused errors in more than 100 published studies 

http://bit.ly/2Bpq54D

Not reporting a retraction leaves people unaware of how retractions can sometimes actually advance our scientific understanding

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/a-tale-of-two-retractions/

***STUDENT LIFE

Teen suicide rates are rising, despite efforts at prevention

https://www.axios.com/why-were-failing-to-stop-teen-suicide-0b1b4e63-a4c0-48d2-b76a-ec55651bd050.html

Millennials sleep and work more than previous generations
https://www.axios.com/millennials-lifestyle-work-social-bureau-labor-statistics-7fbabcc6-d5cb-4066-8ca1-f9724019905b.html

Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/22/school-student-surveillance-bark-gaggle

Life360 and other ‘tracking apps’ allow parents to keep close watch over their adult kids 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/22/dont-leave-campus-parents-are-now-using-tracking-apps-watch-their-kids-college/

The Student Vote Is Surging. So Are Efforts to Suppress It.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/voting-college-suppression.html

UConn satisfies no one with punishments of students who used racial slurs 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/25/uconn-satisfies-no-one-punishments-students-who-used-racial-slurs

***STUDENTS IN COURT 

College students are taking their schools to court over campus marijuana use 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/college-students-are-taking-their-schools-to-court-over-campus-marijuana-use-2019-10-24

***CRIME ON CAMPUS 

The Fake School-Shooting Threats Getting Kids Arrested 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/10/fake-school-shooting-threats-getting-kids-arrested/600238/

Utah universities vary in Lauren’s Law implementation 

https://www.ksl.com/article/46660845/utah-universities-vary-in-laurens-law-implementation

Univ. of Utah Students Walk Out

https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/clery/univ-of-utah-students-walk-out/

Student says that even after professor who abused her left campus, fellow students continued to harass her 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/25/student-says-even-after-professor-who-abused-her-left-campus-fellow-students

A Tale of Two Artists

The first of two artists said, "I have traveled the world over and I have seen a lot. But I have not found one person worth painting. I have found flaws in everyone and just can't bring myself to paint them."

The second artist disagreed, "I may not be a great artist; I have never been to Paris - or even New York. But among my unimportant friends living in my small rural town, I have not found anyone too insignificant to paint. There is always a better side. I may not be a great artist, but I enjoy my art."

Which is one is the true artist? The one who finds nothing worth painting? Or the one who brings a certain something to his craft enabling him to see a world of beauty others are blind to? In the same way, some people find no one worthy of their love, while others find everyone worthy.

Should I search for attractive people to paint, to love? Or should I look for the attractiveness of the soul within?

The Sunshine

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.

A Steadfast Man

When a man is faithful to one woman, he looks on other women in quite another way, a way unknown to the world of Eros; other women turn into persons instead of being reflections or means. This ‘spiritual exercise’ develops new powers of judgment, self-possession, and respect.* The opposite in this of an erotic man, a steadfast man no longer strives to see a woman as merely an attractive or desirable body... he feels, as soon as tempted, he has been desiring only an illusory or fleeting aspect of what is actually a complete life. Thus temptation recedes disconnected instead of making itself into an obsession; and fidelity is made secure by the clear-sightedness it induces.

(*‘Respect’, as I use the word here, means that we recognize in a being the fullness of a person. A person, according to Kant’s famous definition, is what cannot be used by man as an instrument or thing.)

Denis de Rougemont, Love in the Western World

Clint on Fear

It’s what people know about themselves inside is what makes them afraid.– Clint Eastwood in “High Plains Drifter”