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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.
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from Anglican Journal
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse – the official independent inquiry in Australia – has recommended that the failure to report child sexual abuse in institutions should be made a criminal offence. And it said that there should be “no exemption, excuse, protection or privilege from the offence granted to clergy for failing to report information disclosed in connection with a religious confession.”
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It's likely that the American news media will continue to run stories that try to understand "rural resentment" and the rural voters who voted for Trump. For the average journalist, these people must seem exotic, unknowable, and possibly worthy of study like animals in a zoo. But if the media class is looking for a more convenient way to take a look at "the other side," it often need look no further than the suburban county next door.
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'Musicians' church' now linked to HTB in row after closing its doors to non-religious choirs and orchestras
A church in central London that has become part of a network led by the evangelical Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) is facing criticism from a leading composer and others after closing its doors to choirs and orchestras whose music is non-religious. St. Sepulchre Without Newgate Church in Holborn, which is known as 'the musicians' church' and is where the Proms founder Sir Henry Wood is buried, has become embroiled in a row after stopping taking bookings from classical musicians who have relied on it as a rehearsal and concert venue for many years, the Daily Telegraph reported. John Rutter, who is known for composing, arranging and conducting choral music, said the decision meant the church had 'betrayed' musicians. He added: 'The Church of England needs all the friends it can get. It shouldn't be making enemies - it's un-Christian. Churches are and should be busy places where all can walk through the door and all are welcome.'
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from Christian Today
'Musicians' church' now linked to HTB in row after closing its doors to non-religious choirs and orchestras
A church in central London that has become part of a network led by the evangelical Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) is facing criticism from a leading composer and others after closing its doors to choirs and orchestras whose music is non-religious. St. Sepulchre Without Newgate Church in Holborn, which is known as 'the musicians' church' and is where the Proms founder Sir Henry Wood is buried, has become embroiled in a row after stopping taking bookings from classical musicians who have relied on it as a rehearsal and concert venue for many years, the Daily Telegraph reported. John Rutter, who is known for composing, arranging and conducting choral music, said the decision meant the church had 'betrayed' musicians. He added: 'The Church of England needs all the friends it can get. It shouldn't be making enemies - it's un-Christian. Churches are and should be busy places where all can walk through the door and all are welcome.'
from Coeur d'Alene Press
CHURCH PLANS $9M PROJECT WITH FIELDHOUSE AND MORE
Real Life Ministries wants to align needs in the community with the gospel. The nondenominational Christian church, one of the largest churches in the region, soon plans to construct an estimated $9 million worth of improvements, including a 41,000-square-foot fieldhouse with three basketball courts, an outdoor artificial turf sports complex that will be a first in the area, a 25,000-square-foot children's addition and more.
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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Why Do So Many Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?
I think a major reason why intellectuals tend to move towards collectivism is that the collectivist answer is a simple one. If there's something wrong pass a law and do something about it. If there's something wrong it's because of some no-good bum, some devil, evil and wicked – that's a very simple story to tell. You don't have to be very smart to write it and you don't have to be very smart to accept it.
Why Economic Education Is Essential for Young Americans
An economic education is not a cure-all for our social ills. However, economics taught at the secondary school level is lacking or non-existent. It’s time to re-think how this discipline is presented to kids.
How High Bail Costs Contribute to Systemic Poverty
When low-income Americans can’t pay their bail, they go to jail. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, of the 646,000 people in local jails, 70% have not yet been convicted of a crime. Most are awaiting their trial. Many inmates are there due to low-level crimes, like not paying a traffic ticket or driving without a license.
Government, Not Automation, Destroys Jobs
For the past few years, newspapers have frequently published articles arguing that automation is to blame for job losses. Even seemingly intelligent people like Bill Gates have made outlandish suggestions such as taxing robots , to compensate workers who might lose their jobs as a result. But what many fail to realize is that government regulations are the greatest job destroyers.
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from The Heritage Foundation
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]
Tax Reform for Investment and Jobs
Fixing a quirk in the U.S. tax code would let businesses add new jobs and increase economic growth immediately. The remedy, known to economists as “expensing,” lets businesses deduct from their taxable income the full value of all capital expenses incurred that year.
The EPA’s Gold King Mine Cover-Up
Two years ago the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dumped 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage and over a million pounds of metal contaminates into Colorado’s Animas River, turning it psychedelic orange. Commendably, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is now taking a second look at previously rejected claims for damages. But it’s also time to hold bureaucrats accountable for hiding the truth of what happened at the Gold King Mine.
Initiated Under Obama, A Plan for Cleaning Voter Rolls Is Now “Radical”
Can a state ensure that its voter rolls aren’t filled with non-residents and dead people who shouldn’t be registered to vote? The Left doesn’t think so, but the U.S. Department of Justice answered yes recently when it filed an amicus brief in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case when it starts its new term this fall. The Department of Justice is supporting Ohio in its attempts to keep its voter rolls accurate and up to date. Federal law requires states to do so under the National Voter Registration
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The clock is ticking for GOP to figure out debt, tax reform and healthcare
August recess has arrived, and that’s a big relief for many members and staff on Capitol Hill (and local commuters!). Some had called for Congress to skip this year’s recess and make greater progress on the big promises of their agenda. After all, the future of ObamaCare repeal is uncertain, as is next year’s budget and spending. On the bright side, the Senate confirmed a relatively large tranche of President Trump’s nominees before recessing, and negotiations are full steam ahead on tax reform.
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Tax Reform for Investment and Jobs
Fixing a quirk in the U.S. tax code would let businesses add new jobs and increase economic growth immediately. The remedy, known to economists as “expensing,” lets businesses deduct from their taxable income the full value of all capital expenses incurred that year.
The EPA’s Gold King Mine Cover-Up
Two years ago the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dumped 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage and over a million pounds of metal contaminates into Colorado’s Animas River, turning it psychedelic orange. Commendably, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is now taking a second look at previously rejected claims for damages. But it’s also time to hold bureaucrats accountable for hiding the truth of what happened at the Gold King Mine.
Initiated Under Obama, A Plan for Cleaning Voter Rolls Is Now “Radical”
Can a state ensure that its voter rolls aren’t filled with non-residents and dead people who shouldn’t be registered to vote? The Left doesn’t think so, but the U.S. Department of Justice answered yes recently when it filed an amicus brief in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case when it starts its new term this fall. The Department of Justice is supporting Ohio in its attempts to keep its voter rolls accurate and up to date. Federal law requires states to do so under the National Voter Registration
from The Hill
The clock is ticking for GOP to figure out debt, tax reform and healthcare
August recess has arrived, and that’s a big relief for many members and staff on Capitol Hill (and local commuters!). Some had called for Congress to skip this year’s recess and make greater progress on the big promises of their agenda. After all, the future of ObamaCare repeal is uncertain, as is next year’s budget and spending. On the bright side, the Senate confirmed a relatively large tranche of President Trump’s nominees before recessing, and negotiations are full steam ahead on tax reform.
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from Independent Journal Review
RIGHT BIAS
Here’s One Statue in Seattle That No One on the Left Is Talking About Tearing Down
On Monday, a mob of people tore down a Confederate soldier statue in Durham, North Carolina, protesting the symbol of slavery and the Civil War. But here’s one statue that no one in leftist Antifa groups is clamoring to have taken down. That’s the statue of Vladimir Lenin, the leftist revolutionary and acolyte of Karl Marx, who led the Bolshevik Revolution, changing the formerly “Holy Russia” into the Soviet Union.
from The Living Church
Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)
Taylor: St. James Sale to Proceed
Members of St. James the Great Church in Newport Beach learned Aug. 14 that what they thought might be a tentative agreement to sell the property is in fact a binding contract, and the developer plans to complete the purchase. In June, both Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and a disciplinary hearing panel ordered the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, not to sell the property, after learning of his intention to do so. But it was already too late, as Bruno had committed the diocese to the sale. The congregation has been locked out of the 40,000-square-foot building, which sits empty, since June 2015.
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Korea and Venezuela: Flip Sides of the Same Coin
By suggesting that he might order a US regime-change invasion of Venezuela, President Trump has inadvertently shown why North Korea has been desperately trying to develop nuclear weapons — to serve as a deterrent or defense against one of the US national-security state storied regime-change operations. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Venezuela and, for that matter, other Third World countries who stand up to the US Empire, also seeking to put their hands on nuclear weapons. What better way to deter a US regime-change operation against them?
Before "Fake News," America Invented "Pseudo Events"
In the wake of the Chalottesville riot, it's been interesting how quickly the focus has shifted away from the actual events in Charlottesville and toward the public pundits and intellectuals expressing opinions about the events. Already, the media has lost interest in analyzing the details of the event itself, and are instead primarily reporting on what Donald Trump, his allies, and his enemies have to say about it. This is an important distinction in coverage. Rather than attempt to supply a detailed look at who was at the event, what was done, and what the participants — from both sides — have to say about it, we are instead exposed primarily to what people in Washington, DC, and the political class in general, think about the events in which they were not directly involved.
How Central Banking Increased Inequality
Although today high levels of inequality in the United States remain a pressing concern for a large swath of the population, monetary policy and credit expansion are rarely mentioned as a likely source of rising wealth and income inequality. Focusing almost exclusively on consumer price inflation, many economists have overlooked the redistributive effects of money creation through other channels. One of these channels is asset price inflation and the growth of the financial sector.
Britain's commemoration of Partition is colonial white-washing in disguise
The overwhelming focus on the grisly details of Partition by the British press is deeply problematic. It’s much easier to focus on the indigenous perpetrators of religious violence than on the imperialist policies that facilitated it. The British press - and certain politicians - may continue to harbour sepia-tinted ideas of the British Raj and the "special relationship" between the two countries, but India has moved on. After 70 years, perhaps the UK will finally realise that India is no longer "the jewel in its crown".
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Voyage to the Otherworld: A New Eulogy for Ray Bradbury
“What accounts for Bradbury’s scope, his influence?” Margaret Atwood remembers the late Ray Bradbury, who saw his writing as a way of living on after his death.
Violence adds momentum to removal of Confederate statues
Cities and states accelerated their plans to remove Confederate monuments from public property Tuesday as the violence over a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, moved leaders across the country to plan to wipe away much of the remaining Old South imagery.
The Nation is reviewing a story casting doubt on Russian hack of DNC
There is some discontent in the Nation. Staffers and contributors at the storied lefty magazine have raised concerns about an Aug. 9 piece by contributing writer Patrick Lawrence under the headline, “A New Report Raises Big Questions About Last Year’s DNC Hack.” Based on technical evaluations, the article called into question the consensus view of U.S. intelligence agencies that the email disclosures last year from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — which assisted the campaign of Donald Trump — were the work of Russian actors. The whole thing could have been the work of an internal leaker, notes the article.
NYT Shocking Report: US "Ally" Ukraine Is Source Of North Korean Missile Engines
When the US State Department supported Ukraine domestic forces and nationalist elements to stage a successful and deadly coup against then pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, the outcome was supposed to be a nation that is a undisputed US ally and persistent threat, distraction and non-NATO opponent to bordering Russia. Instead, it now appears that it has been Ukraine which was, as the NYT writes, the secret behind the success of North Korea's allegedly nuclear-capable ballistic missile program. Specifically, in a blockbuster report this morning, the NYT alleges that North Korea has been making black-market purchases of powerful rocket engines from a Ukrainian factory citing "expert analysis being published Monday and classified assessments by American intelligence agencies."
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RIGHT BIAS
Here’s One Statue in Seattle That No One on the Left Is Talking About Tearing Down
On Monday, a mob of people tore down a Confederate soldier statue in Durham, North Carolina, protesting the symbol of slavery and the Civil War. But here’s one statue that no one in leftist Antifa groups is clamoring to have taken down. That’s the statue of Vladimir Lenin, the leftist revolutionary and acolyte of Karl Marx, who led the Bolshevik Revolution, changing the formerly “Holy Russia” into the Soviet Union.
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from Intellectual Takeout
Nonprofit Organization in Bloomington, Minnesota
Christianity and Social Justice: What C.S. Lewis Said on the Subject
Few would disagree with the assertion that politics increasingly pervades our culture. Much of the politicization stems from the ideology of social justice, the idea that the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges in our society (and the world) is unequal and needs to be rectified. Christians increasingly are called to join this fight. To what degree are Christians called to be in the world and shaping it? It’s an ancient question, and a thorny one. But social justice, and the means we are to employ to pursue it, is a particularly tricky question for Christians grounded in the Lockean philosophy, which holds property, life, and liberty as natural rights. One person who did have thoughts on the matter was C.S. Lewis, who touched on the issue in The Screwtape Letters.
Christianity and Social Justice: What C.S. Lewis Said on the Subject
Few would disagree with the assertion that politics increasingly pervades our culture. Much of the politicization stems from the ideology of social justice, the idea that the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges in our society (and the world) is unequal and needs to be rectified. Christians increasingly are called to join this fight. To what degree are Christians called to be in the world and shaping it? It’s an ancient question, and a thorny one. But social justice, and the means we are to employ to pursue it, is a particularly tricky question for Christians grounded in the Lockean philosophy, which holds property, life, and liberty as natural rights. One person who did have thoughts on the matter was C.S. Lewis, who touched on the issue in The Screwtape Letters.
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Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)
Taylor: St. James Sale to Proceed
Members of St. James the Great Church in Newport Beach learned Aug. 14 that what they thought might be a tentative agreement to sell the property is in fact a binding contract, and the developer plans to complete the purchase. In June, both Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and a disciplinary hearing panel ordered the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, not to sell the property, after learning of his intention to do so. But it was already too late, as Bruno had committed the diocese to the sale. The congregation has been locked out of the 40,000-square-foot building, which sits empty, since June 2015.
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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]By suggesting that he might order a US regime-change invasion of Venezuela, President Trump has inadvertently shown why North Korea has been desperately trying to develop nuclear weapons — to serve as a deterrent or defense against one of the US national-security state storied regime-change operations. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Venezuela and, for that matter, other Third World countries who stand up to the US Empire, also seeking to put their hands on nuclear weapons. What better way to deter a US regime-change operation against them?
In the wake of the Chalottesville riot, it's been interesting how quickly the focus has shifted away from the actual events in Charlottesville and toward the public pundits and intellectuals expressing opinions about the events. Already, the media has lost interest in analyzing the details of the event itself, and are instead primarily reporting on what Donald Trump, his allies, and his enemies have to say about it. This is an important distinction in coverage. Rather than attempt to supply a detailed look at who was at the event, what was done, and what the participants — from both sides — have to say about it, we are instead exposed primarily to what people in Washington, DC, and the political class in general, think about the events in which they were not directly involved.
Although today high levels of inequality in the United States remain a pressing concern for a large swath of the population, monetary policy and credit expansion are rarely mentioned as a likely source of rising wealth and income inequality. Focusing almost exclusively on consumer price inflation, many economists have overlooked the redistributive effects of money creation through other channels. One of these channels is asset price inflation and the growth of the financial sector.
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from New Statesman
"The leading voice of the British left, since 1913."
The overwhelming focus on the grisly details of Partition by the British press is deeply problematic. It’s much easier to focus on the indigenous perpetrators of religious violence than on the imperialist policies that facilitated it. The British press - and certain politicians - may continue to harbour sepia-tinted ideas of the British Raj and the "special relationship" between the two countries, but India has moved on. After 70 years, perhaps the UK will finally realise that India is no longer "the jewel in its crown".
from The Paris Review
Literary Magazine
“What accounts for Bradbury’s scope, his influence?” Margaret Atwood remembers the late Ray Bradbury, who saw his writing as a way of living on after his death.
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from The Spokesman-Review
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from The Washington Post
Violence adds momentum to removal of Confederate statues
Cities and states accelerated their plans to remove Confederate monuments from public property Tuesday as the violence over a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, moved leaders across the country to plan to wipe away much of the remaining Old South imagery.
The Nation is reviewing a story casting doubt on Russian hack of DNC
There is some discontent in the Nation. Staffers and contributors at the storied lefty magazine have raised concerns about an Aug. 9 piece by contributing writer Patrick Lawrence under the headline, “A New Report Raises Big Questions About Last Year’s DNC Hack.” Based on technical evaluations, the article called into question the consensus view of U.S. intelligence agencies that the email disclosures last year from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — which assisted the campaign of Donald Trump — were the work of Russian actors. The whole thing could have been the work of an internal leaker, notes the article.
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from Zero Hedge
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
NYT Shocking Report: US "Ally" Ukraine Is Source Of North Korean Missile Engines
When the US State Department supported Ukraine domestic forces and nationalist elements to stage a successful and deadly coup against then pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, the outcome was supposed to be a nation that is a undisputed US ally and persistent threat, distraction and non-NATO opponent to bordering Russia. Instead, it now appears that it has been Ukraine which was, as the NYT writes, the secret behind the success of North Korea's allegedly nuclear-capable ballistic missile program. Specifically, in a blockbuster report this morning, the NYT alleges that North Korea has been making black-market purchases of powerful rocket engines from a Ukrainian factory citing "expert analysis being published Monday and classified assessments by American intelligence agencies."
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