{"id":6516,"date":"2021-03-05T17:17:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T01:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6516"},"modified":"2021-03-05T17:17:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T01:17:36","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-291","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2021\/03\/05\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-291","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 291"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>     On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is volume 291, which is not a very interesting number. It\u2019s 3 \u00b7 97, which I guess is something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/a-reporter-at-large\/china-xinjiang-prison-state-uighur-detention-camps-prisoner-testimony\">Inside Xinjiang\u2019s Prison State<\/a> (Ben Mauk, New Yorker): \u201cOn his second day of detention, a member of the camp administration came to see him. Kokteubai asked when he would learn what he was accused of doing. He was surprised to learn that he wouldn\u2019t be questioned at all. \u2018If you hadn\u2019t committed a crime, you wouldn\u2019t have ended up here,\u2019 the administrator told him. \u2018So there is something you are here for.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d The graphics interfere with the reading experience, but it\u2019s worthwhile.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/residentcontrarian.substack.com\/p\/on-the-experience-of-being-poor-ish\">On The Experience of Being Poor-ish, For People Who Aren\u2019t<\/a> (Anonymous, Substack): \u201cWhen someone is telling me they are or have been poor and I\u2019m trying to determine <em>how poor exactly<\/em> they were, there\u2019s one evergreen question I ask that has never failed to give me a good idea of what kind of situation I\u2019m dealing with. That question is: \u2018How many times have they turned off your water?\u2019.\u201d Follow up: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/residentcontrarian.substack.com\/p\/being-poor-ish-revisited-reader-questions\">Being Poor-ish Revisited: Reader Questions<\/a> These are both really good.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/intelligencer\/2021\/03\/david-shor-2020-democrats-autopsy-hispanic-vote-midterms-trump-gop.html\">David Shor on Why Trump Was Good for the GOP and How Dems Can Win in 2022<\/a> (Eric Levitz, New York Magazine): \u201cBut when I look at the 2020 election, I see that we ran against the most unpopular Republican ever to run for president \u2014 and we ran literally the most popular figure in our party whose last name is not Obama \u2014 and we only narrowly won the Electoral College. If Biden had done 0.3 percent worse, then Donald Trump would have won reelection\u2026\u201d This is extraordinarily fascinating in a very nonpartisan way (although the interviewee is extremely partisan).<\/li><li>In pandemic news:<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2021\/02\/how-public-health-messaging-backfired\/618147\/\">5 Pandemic Mistakes We Keep Repeating<\/a> (Zeynep Tufekci, The Atlantic): \u201cOne of the most important problems undermining the pandemic response has been the mistrust and paternalism that some public-health agencies and experts have exhibited toward the public.\u2026 And yet, from the beginning, a good chunk of the public-facing messaging and news articles implied or claimed that vaccines won\u2019t protect you against infecting other people or that we didn\u2019t know if they would, when both were false.\u201d Watching people reject accurate information about the pandemic because high-status people rail against it has been like watching my skeptical friends reject the gospel because of peer pressure. IT\u2019S GOOD NEWS \u2014 BELIEVE IT! The author is a sociologist at&nbsp;UNC.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/02\/18\/968921902\/pandemic-approaches-the-differences-between-florida-california#\">Pandemic Approaches: The Differences Between Florida, California<\/a> (Noel King, Greg Allen, &amp; Eric Westervelt, NPR): \u201cIn December, California had a spike, and Governor Gavin Newsom reimposed a stay-at-home order and a business lockdown order that was recently lifted. At the same time, cases were spiking in Florida. But everything stayed open, including schools. So which approach works?\u201d Spoiler: Florida is looking pretty good.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2021\/03\/04\/stop-saying-we-cant-go-back-to-normal-after-vaccines\/\">Stop Saying We Can\u2019t Go Back to Normal After Vaccines<\/a> (Bonnie Kristian, Reason): \u201cNormalcy is the whole point of vaccination, and these vaccines can get us there. So when public health advice says \u201cno\u201d to normalcy even after vaccination, it misleads the public and wildly undersells the vaccines. A year into this, that\u2019s cruel and dispiriting.\u2026 there must be a firm end date to those public measures for everyone. I can\u2019t say exactly when it should be, nor do I think a single national date would make sense. I\u2019m envisioning something like six weeks after vaccines have become available (as in, you can easily get an appointment) to all who want them in a given city, county, or&nbsp;state.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.9marks.org\/article\/not-gathering-with-the-church-hurts-you-spiritually\/\">Not Gathering with the Church Hurts You Spiritually<\/a> (Jonathan Leeman, 9 Marks): \u201cJesus designed Christianity and the progress of our discipleship to center around gatherings. The math is therefore simple: Gathering with the church is spiritually good for you. Not physically gathering with the church spiritually hurts&nbsp;you.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/26\/opinion\/sunday\/coronavirus-alive-dead.html\">The Secret Life of a Coronavirus<\/a> (Carl Zimmer, New York Times): \u201cWith scientists adrift in an ocean of definitions, philosophers have rowed out to offer lifelines.\u201d&nbsp;What a glorious sentence. Also, I began the article sympathetic to the idea that viruses are alive and we draw our boundaries too tightly, which is what the author wants me to believe. But his arguments were so weak that I\u2019ve flipped to: \u201cnot alive, merely interactive.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/inequality.stanford.edu\/covid\/noxious-contract\">The rise of the noxious contract<\/a> (David B. Grusky et al, Stanford Center On Poverty and Inequality): \u201cWe observed that many people \u2018compare downward\u2019 by emphasizing their privilege relative to those less fortunate, that others \u2018look outward\u2019 in recognition that times of crisis require banding together, and that yet others \u2018look inward\u2019 as they cope with unusually stressful challenges. Although many ways of coping are therefore in play, none of them entail invidious comparisons that then lead to resentment or conflict.\u201d An analysis of whether people who have to work in-person are resentful of those who telecommute. Spoiler: not so much. Recommended by a student.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>On Ryan Anderson\u2019s book being dropped by Amazon:&nbsp;<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/dreher\/ryan-t-anderson-ethics-and-public-policy-center-made-for-this-moment\/\">Ryan T. Anderson Was Made For This Moment<\/a> (Rod Dreher interviewing Ryan T. Anderson, The American Conservative): \u201c\u2026most everyone agrees that a hospital shouldn\u2019t refuse to treat someone for Covid because they identify as LGBT. But, thank God, that doesn\u2019t seem to have actually ever happened. Still when people hear about a law that bans LGBT discrimination, that\u2019s what they have in mind. They don\u2019t realize what it means for sex-reassignment procedures in general, let alone what it means for children with gender dysphoria in particular. So activists pull on people\u2019s heartstrings by saying we need a law banning truly unjust discrimination (which is virtually non-existent) and then that law isn\u2019t nuanced and measured, but a radical bill imposing a radical ideology. A law that is sold as a shield protecting vulnerable minorities ends up being a sword to persecute people who don\u2019t embrace a new sexual orthodoxy.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abigailshrier.substack.com\/p\/book-banning-in-an-age-of-amazon?utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;utm_source=twitter(\">Book Banning in an Age of Amazon<\/a> (Abigail Shrier, Substack): \u201cRemember where you were in February of 2021. Congress fought over a second impeachment of an ex-president. The states debated whether forced truancy would make life easier for America\u2019s teachers. And earth\u2019s largest bookseller\u2014(Internal motto: <em>\u2018Work Hard. Have Fun. Make history.<\/em>\u2019)\u2014began quietly deleting books.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/andrewsullivan.substack.com\/p\/killing-the-sat-means-hurting-minorities-fad?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzIyMjQyLCJwb3N0X2lkIjozMzE5NDkxNCwiXyI6IkRVdFFQIiwiaWF0IjoxNjE0OTc3MDIzLCJleHAiOjE2MTQ5ODA2MjMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi02MTM3MSIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.g0aAw-SvsYI4ypU2XEu6fmqIRljxcuKQR6_MQWN0OGU\" target=\"_blank\">Killing The SAT Means Hurting Minorities<\/a> (Andrew Sullivan, Substack): \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why white Hollywood celebs cheat the system. It\u2019s the only way their less gifted kids can win out over the disadvantaged. Want to maximize privilege? Make admissions dependent solely on teacher recommendations, school grades, and personal essays. Want to minimize it? Abolish legacy admissions, and use the SAT.\u201d I genuinely do not understand how this is controversial. The data is clear and overwhelming.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgespan.org\/insights\/library\/philanthropy\/role-of-faith-inspired-impact-in-the-social-sector?utm_campaign=philanthropy&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=linkedin&amp;utm_content=knowledge#e\">Elevating the Role of Faith-Inspired Impact in the Social Sector<\/a> (Jeri Eckhart Queenan, Peter Grunert, and Devin Murphy, The Bridgespan Group): \u201cGiving to religiously affiliated organizations (which includes donations to congregations) represents nearly one-third of all giving in the United States. Roughly a third of the 50 largest nonprofits in the country have a faith orientation. And, 40 percent of international nongovernmental organizations are faith-inspired.\u201d Recommended by a student.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1LHNDWO0YHg\">Jeremiah Zuo<\/a> (Penn &amp; Teller Fool Us, YouTube): nine minutes. The magician is a pastor and a linguist.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/christian-movies-are-way-too-preachy-says-man-whos-clearly-never-watched-a-woke-netflix-show\/\">\u2018Christian Movies Are Way Too Preachy!\u2019 Says Man Who Clearly Hasn\u2019t Watched A Netflix Show Recently<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/oaklandside.org\/2021\/02\/25\/meet-the-13-year-old-guerrilla-swing-builder-making-oakland-parks-more-fun\/?campaign_id=49&amp;emc=edit_ca_20210301&amp;instance_id=27602&amp;nl=california-today&amp;regi_id=59635643&amp;segment_id=52551&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=82bd71d01fd70886e97df691aa12c777\">Meet the 13-year-old guerrilla swing-builder making Oakland parks more fun<\/a> (Natalie Orenstein, The Oaklandside): \u201cFinally, said Carlisle, the neighborhood you place it in shouldn\u2019t be too swank. \u2018If people have more money, they have more time to worry about stupid things like swings\u2019\u2014and removing them\u2014he explained.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/in-an-effort-to-scare-all-the-californians-back-texas-removes-mask-mandate\/\">Texas Removes Mask Mandate To Scare All The Californians Away<\/a> (Babylon Bee) (related: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/texas-governor-for-ending-unconstitional-mandates-he-implemented\/\">Texas Governor Hailed As Conservative Hero For Ending Unconstitutional Mandates He Implemented<\/a>)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yNboXReJ1Pg\">Unity Song<\/a> (Saturday Night Live, YouTube): three minutes<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hXvOQoeNkQQ\">The Trouble With Air Travel<\/a> (Landry, YouTube): six minutes<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/study-finds-book-burners-always-stop-with-just-a-few-fringe-books-so-theres-nothing-to-worry-about\/\">Study Finds Book Burners Always Stop With Just A Few Fringe Books, So There\u2019s Nothing To Worry About<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting A While&nbsp;Ago<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Every week I\u2019ll highlight an older link still worth your consideration. This week we have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/weekly-standard\/the-spiritual-shape-of-political-ideas\">The Spiritual Shape of Political Ideas (Joseph Bottum, The Weekly Standard)<\/a>: many modern political ideas are derived from Christian theological concepts. (first shared in <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2015\/05\/29\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-1\">volume 1<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I\u2019ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.\n\nAlso, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about it.\n\nIf this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>fascinating links from a variety of perspectives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Another roundup of fascinating links from a variety of perspectives","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[131,288,125,211,160,113,275,117,173],"class_list":["post-6516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-academia","tag-amazon","tag-china","tag-generosity","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-lgbtq","tag-pandemic","tag-politics","tag-poverty"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1H6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6516"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6520,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6516\/revisions\/6520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}