Interesting tidbit: “In my consulting experiences in the past, I found that estimated attendance was inflated by a factor of over 30 percent.” Also, counting people on a mission trip seems odd to me (a suggestion that comes near the end).

How Churches Count Attendance

Many church leaders and members cringe when they hear or read about numbers and statistics in churches. Such a reaction is understandable. For many years in many churches, numbers were an obsession.….. 

Awesome comment at the end (although I do not know if it is true or not): “Do note that death insurance didn’t sell well until it was given the less accurate but more affable name, life insurance.”

Road Fare>Congestion Pricing?

Congestion pricing sounds like something to avoid since neither term is something you want. Eric Jaffe held a contest for replacement terms. Decongestion pricing is one possibility since it at least h… 

I am never sure how much to trust the details in these stories, but one section really leaped out at me: “He told Kim he would have to drop a case. A 9/11 case. “I hate to say it,” he said, “but being a Christian is gonna trump being an American.”

‘Imagine the Worst Possible Scenario’: Why a Guantanamo Prosecutor Withdrew From the Case

Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch truly believed Mohamedou Ould Slahi was guilty. He also believed that Slahi’s interrogators had broken the law — tormenting him physically and sexually, and threatening… 

The second quote is the one to focus on. If you are squeamish, be cautious when ordering calimari. For the record, I don’t think this would affect my willingness to eat artificial calimari.

Fred Armisen hosts This American Life as Ira Glass

This week’s episode of This American Life is about doppelgangers, so they decided to have SNL’s Fred Armisen come on the show and 

This is the best summary of the issue I’ve seen yet.

Pastor Disinvited from Giving Inaugural Prayer Because of Sermon on Homosexuality

The message of religious intolerance being delivered by President Obama, his staff, and many of his supporters is unmistakable: If you do not affirm homosexuality then you cannot be fair-minded. The m…