Most people wait
/Most people wait until everything is just right before they do anything. They refuse to go out on a limb because they don’t understand that the fruit is always out on the limb – Zig Ziglar
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Becoming
/It's not about “being.” It’s about “becoming.” –Stephen Goforth (born April 24, 1961)
Teaching people to hate
/When you teach people to hate you teach people to wound themselves. -Alice Walker
Articles of interest about religion - April 22
/***COVID-19
Moderna hopes to have Covid booster shot for its vaccine ready by the fall, CEO says
People who get Covid between vaccine shots can get second dose soon after recovery
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Polls find vaccine hesitancy in White Evangelical community
Are there any drugs I shouldn't mix with my COVID-19 vaccine?
Study: White evangelicals biggest group planning to skip vaccine
***RELIGION
It’s Not Just Young White Liberals Who Are Leaving Religion
New study links evangelical Christianity to phallic insecurity in the United States
Brazil is building a new statue of Jesus -- and it's going to be bigger than Rio's
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Can America's 'Civil Religion' Still Unite The Country? (opinion)
***RELIGION & THE LAW
Minnesota churches caught in standoffs between protesters and police
Sex discrimination suit against Florida church tests ‘ministerial exception’ rulings
North Dakota governor signs Ten Commandments school bill
***THE BIBLE
Bibles Get American Pastor Tangled Up in Turkish Politics
Home Share Religion A $300 designer Bible aims to make the holy book more hip
***DENOMINATIONS
Evangelical Christian denomination behind proposed $200 million development in Columbus suburb
America’s largest Protestant denomination considers changing direction ($)
United Methodist Church anticipates split of denomination over gay rights, other issues
***SEMINARIES
Black Gateway Seminary board member protests ‘racial insensitivity’ of SBC’s seminary leaders
How Baptists hold differing views on the resurrection of Christ and why this matters
***CATHOLIC
Passionists order, Catholic dioceses didn’t reveal predator deacon in their midst
***MEGACHURCHES
Megachurch Pastor’s son becomes famous on TikTok for his criticism of religion ($)
***RELIGION & WOMEN'S ISSUES
'The Making Of Biblical Womanhood' Tackles Contradictions In Religious Practice
***ISLAM
Muslim civil rights group sues Facebook
Ramadan 2021 brings decisions for Muslims
***SIKHS
U.S. Sikh group demands probe of possible hate bias in deadly Indianapolis FedEx rampage
***PASSING
Ole Anthony, Dallas pastor known for relentless investigations into TV preachers, dies at age 82
A stranger with an unusual hobby saves a lost hiker
/#GOODNEWS
An amateur radio operator who Tweets public alerts about natural disasters helped authorities to find a hiker lost in the wilderness. ABC-7 in Los Angeles has a video report (below) or read the story here.
Two things fill the mind
/Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily reflection is occupied with them: the starry heaven above me and the moral law within me. Neither of them need I seek and merely suspect as if shrouded in obscurity or rapture beyond my own horizon; I see them before me and connect them immediately with my existence. -Immanuel Kant (born April 22, 1724)
Budgets
/Budgets are moral documents.
Being in Power
/Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. –Margaret Thatcher
A growth mindset
/A growth mindset suggests that you can grow, expand, evolve, and change. Intelligence and capability are not fixed points but instead traits you cultivate. A growth mindset releases you from the expectation of being perfect. Failures and mistakes are not indicative of the limits of your intellect but rather tools that inform how you develop. A growth mindset is liberating, allowing you to find value, joy, and success in the process, regardless of the outcome.
Cultivating a growth mindset can begin with shifting your inner dialogue from beliefs about your ability (a fixed mindset) to beliefs about your opportunities and needs (a growth mindset)—for example, from “I’m terrible at giving presentations” to “I need more practice presenting in front of others.”
Similarly, “I’m not good enough to be promoted to supervisor” might become “I need some additional experience before I’ll be ready for promotion.” Simple restatements have a dramatic impact on what you believe about your own abilities. A fixed mindset often runs deep; it may take constant practice to reframe your default thoughts.
The Cost
/It costs God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things; but to convert rebellious wills cost Him crucifixion. -C.S. Lewis
Articles of interest about higher education - April 17
/***COVID-19
How Pfizer Became the Status Vax
Some People’s Bodies Aren’t Set Up for Vaccines
Vaccines Won’t Protect Millions of Patients With Weakened Immune Systems ($)
***HIGHER ED & COVID
Maine college will fine students $50 for failing to mask
What former foster children went through when the COVID-19 pandemic closed college campuses
4 Historically Black Medical Schools Receive $6 Million for Vaccination ($)
Texas and Utah Bar Public Colleges From Requiring Covid-19 Vaccines ($)
A vaccine study in college students will help determine when it’s safe to take masks off
Hampton University requires all staff get vaccinated by May 31
***HIGHER ED & POLITICS
***LAYOFFS & CUTS
Laurentian University cuts 69 programs
City College San Francisco to lay off nearly 163 full-time faculty
***HIGHER ED IN COURT
American University hit with pay discrimination lawsuit from female Kogod professor
Parent involved in college admissions scandal sues Netflix over documentary
***CHEATING
University of Michigan Dearborn decides to reject remote proctoring
Report: Plagiarism Rates Changed When Instruction Moved Online
Dartmouth medical students accused of cheating
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Caught up in false accusations, professors found themselves fighting to clear their names
Scottsdale Professor Who Offended Muslims Gets Hefty Settlement From College District
SDSU defends professor's use of controversial language about race and stereotypes
Why Disability Studies Scholars Are Protesting a Prominent Textbook
'Tiger Mom' Amy Chua says Yale punishing her over false student allegations
***ADMINISTRATORS
University of South Alabama board appoints acting president
Shippensburg University gets interim president
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Students protest Seattle Pacific University policies after discrimination lawsuit
Liberty University Sues Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 Million ($)
College of the Ozarks sues Biden Administration over anti-sex discrimination order
Falwell’s son out as VP at Liberty University
Colleges Seek to Intervene in Title IX Religious Exemption Suit
Pacific Lutheran University to cut 36 positions, eliminate programs to fit budget
Why Belmont University is making more space for Jewish perspectives
Notre Dame, First Christian University to Require Mandatory Vaccination for All Students
***RESEARCH
Why don’t researchers correct their own errors in the scientific record?
Why researchers created a database of half a million journal editors
Has the pandemic changed research culture – and is it for the better?
Are You Confused by Scientific Jargon? So Are Scientists
Want other scientists to cite you? Drop the jargon
Why I Won't Review or Write for Elsevier and Other Commercial Scientific Journals
Leading Chinese universities axe publication requirement for PhDs ($)
***STUDENT LIFE
Bowling Green State University expels fraternity for hazing in wake of student's death
Florida poised to pass bill allowing students to record classes
After Anti-Asian Incidents, Colleges Seek to Reassure Fearful International Students ($)
***FREE SPEECH
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Ohio University Board Says Professor Accused Of Sexual Harassment Should Be Fired
Three rapes reported on Stanford University campus
Eastern Michigan rape suspect: Title IX director said assault didn't sound like him
***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS
Cornell faculty approves resolution removing race from crime alerts
Nazi salutes at the University of Kentucky
After Anti-Asian Incidents, Colleges Seek to Reassure Fearful International Students ($)
***CAMPUS CYBERATTACKS
Beautiful people
/Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art. – Eleanor Roosevelt
Safe Solutions
/If your state of mind is coming from a place of fear and risk avoidance, then you will always settle for the safe solutions—the solutions already applied many times before. Sometimes, the path already taken is the best solution. But you should not follow the path automatically without first seeing it for what it really is. When you are open to possibilities, you may find that the common way is the best way for your particular case. However, this will be a choice you made not by habit, but by reflection and in the spirit of a fresh beginner with fresh eyes and a new perspective.
Garr Reynolds, Presentation Zen
Articles of interest about journalism, social media, security & more - April 15
/***COVID-19
Study shows vaccines carry much lower risk of blood clots than COVID-19
Why The COVID-19 Vaccines Take Two Weeks To Be Fully Effective
Health experts weigh in on whether 'herd immunity' is possible
CDC reports 5,800 Covid infections in fully vaccinated people
A New Study Suggests Empty Middle Seats On Planes Reduce COVID Exposure By A Third
Study: Moderna immunity wanes 6 months in but still protective
Erectile dysfunction risk is 6 times higher for men with COVID-19
***JOURNALISM
Using FOIA logs to develop news stories
How Instagram became the place to find Asian American news
Bad news for journalists: The public doesn’t share our values. But there’s hope.
News deserts and weak ethics laws allow corruption to run rampant in SC
What Pew’s Defense of Polling Accuracy Tells Us (opinion)
Why journalists shouldn’t parrot police language
Nebraska lawmakers kill student journalist protection bill after filibuster
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Kim Godwin makes history by taking over as ABC News president
The rise of news products They look like journalism, but they're not
How newsrooms learn from other industries
Top Bidder for Tribune Newspapers Is an Influential Liberal Donor ($)
An eleventh-hour bid might keep Tribune Publishing out of a hedge fund’s hands
Hearst Invests More Resources Into Data Journalism
***WRITING & READING
The Books That Made Me: 8 Writers on Their Literary Inspirations ($)
The best — and newest — science fiction and fantasy story collections
TikTok Is Changing The Way Publishers Market New Books
Parts of Alberta's draft school curriculum plagiarized, academic finds
***FAKES, FRAUDS & SCAMS
Anti-Vax Activists Are Quietly Bending State Politics To Their Will
Mick Jagger Takes Shots at Conspiracy Theorists & Anti-Vaxxers in a New Song, “Eazy Sleazy”
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook urged to scrap Instagram for children plans
Instagram’s new test lets you choose if you want to hide ‘Likes,’ Facebook test to follow
Review Your Social Media Etiquette ($)
Muslim Advocates Has Filed A Lawsuit Against Facebook
Partisan differences in social media use show up for some platforms, but not Facebook
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Lawsuit Filed After Facial Recognition Tech Leads to Wrongful Arrest
Please stop doing this when you create a new password
‘Dark Patterns’ in Consumer Data Privacy Garner Policy Attention
Huge Zoom flaw lets hackers completely take over your Mac or PC
Data from half a billion LinkedIn users has been scraped and put online
New Phishing Campaign Sends Malware-Laced Job Offers Through LinkedIn
Law enforcement agencies across the US ran thousands of AI facial recognition searches
High numbers of schools hit by phishing, account compromise and ransomware attacks
Houston Rockets works with FBI after being hit by major cyberattack
***LANGUAGE
How Did a Self-Taught Linguist Come to Own an Indigenous Language?
It takes a leader
/Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. -John Maxwell
Diminishing our Pain
/People say to me, "Things in my life are pretty hard right now, but I have no right to complain—it’s not Auschwitz." This kind of comparison can lead us to minimize or diminish our own suffering. If we discount our pain, or punish ourselves for feeling lost or isolated or scared about the challenges in our lives, however insignificant these challenges may seem to someone else, then we’re still choosing to be victims. We’re judging ourselves. I don’t want you to hear my story and say, "My own suffering is less significant. " I want you to hear my story and say, "If she can do it, then so can I."
Auschwitz survivor Edith Eva Eger in her book The Choice
Matters of Style & Principle
/In matters of style. swim with the current; In matters of principle. stand like a rock. -Thomas Jefferson (born April 13, 1743)
Self-Renewal & Motivation
/The self-renewing man is highly motivated and respects the sources of his own energy and motivation. He has the priceless quality of enthusiasm. He knows how important it is to believe in what he is doing.
He knows how important it is to pursue the things about which he has a deep conviction. Enthusiasm for the task to be accomplished lifts him out of the ruts of habit and customary procedure. Drive and conviction give him the courage to risk failure. (One of the reasons mature persons stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.) And not only does he respond to challenge, but he also sees the challenge where others fail to see it . . .
John Gardner, Self-Renewal
Articles of interest about religion - April 11
/***COVID-19
Why It's Not a Bad Thing If You Don't Experience COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects
Why you should still wear a mask even if you've been vaccinated
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Why the key to ending the pandemic runs through the evangelical church
How White Evangelicals’ Vaccine Refusal Could Prolong the Pandemic ($)
***RELIGION
'Allergic reaction to US religious right' fueling decline of religion, experts say
Church takes away fishing trip prize from woman-- because she is a woman
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Alabama removes religious oath requirement from voter registration
Survey: Most Americans know Biden is Catholic, far fewer know Harris’ religion
***RELIGION & THE LAW
EEOC Issues New Guidance on Religious Discrimination and Accommodation of Religious Beliefs
***RELIGION & RACIAL ISSUES
Proud Boys and other far-right groups raise millions via Christian funding site
***CATHOLIC
Hans Kueng, dissident Catholic theologian, dies at 93
***MEGACHURCHES
Megachurch Pastor Greg Laurie still can’t smell after COVID-19
Former Hillsong Megachurch pastor who faked cancer to hide porn problem starts charity
Hillsong shuts down Dallas operations after pastors used church donations to fund their lifestyle
***RELIGION & BUSINESS
Religion is a driving force behind the gender wage gap, study finds
Dave Ramsey’s company dropped from ‘Best Workplaces’ list by Inc. magazine
***ISLAM
Civil rights group sues Facebook over anti-Muslim posts
***SATANISM
Why Satanic Panic never really ended
Nike reaches agreement with Satan Shoes manufacturer
***RELIGION & WOMEN’S ISSUES
Baylor professor argues 'biblical womanhood' more cultural than biblical
Beth Moore apologizes for her role in elevating ‘complementarian’ theology that limits women leaders
***CHRISTIAN CELEBRITIES
Former Moody Bible Institute professor Paul Maxwell leaves the Christian faith
Elizabeth Elliot & the Language of Mission
Profit-preaching televangelist who stole millions is headed to prison