In the news, Tuesday, May 12, 2020

________

MAY 11      INDEX      MAY 13

________

________

from The Archive

Grant and Twain: How Two American Icons Relived the War in Literature
The American Civil War had been a tragedy that had the potential to spell the undoing of the United States. Tearing apart at the seams, here was a nation in need of attaining peace. After the fact, there were those military participants who felt it their responsibility to address the war from both moralistic and tactical points of view. A man of unkempt appearances, and who was of the excessive practice of smoking cigars, certainly rivaling the later connoisseur Humphrey Bogart, was one such person. Ulysses S. Grant by name, he had been the great victor general in the war. Another fellow, with fanciful whiskers and a disposition toward his pipe, was a kindred spirit of Grant's. This was Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, who held a storied history in relation to this divided American conflict. More than simply sharing a passion for offering their thoughts and memories regarding the Civil War, the two shared another intersecting point of correlation: camaraderie. The two were very good friends.

________

from The Living Church
Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)

AFTER COVID-19: A BRAVE NEW WORLD? A BISHOP IN CONFINEMENT WONDERS ABOUT THE FUTURE
The question arises, what should life look like after the COVID-19 pandemic dies down? Like some three billion other fellow humans, I find myself at this time of writing under government order to self-confine in order to stop the spread of the virus. Confinement’s “silver lining” gives us each an opportunity to do some soul-searching about who we are really, and what we hope will happen when we can finally get out and about.

Floods Compound COVID-19 Suffering in Kenya
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Wandera, Bishop of Mumias in the Anglican Church of Kenya, likens the devastating waves to biblical pestilences. In the midst of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, the region he serves in Western Kenya is experiencing catastrophic floods. Over 200 people have been killed and thousands displaced by the swollen Nzoia River, which has been overflowing its banks for three weeks due to an unusually intense rainy season and backflow from Lake Victoria. Meteorologists predict the rains will continue until the end of June.

________

from New York Post
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED,  Newspaper in New York

Judge sides with trans athletes against girls who just want fairness
Lawyers in a high-profile lawsuit over transgender athletics in Connecticut have filed a motion asking the judge to recuse himself. At issue is whether attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom can refer to biologically male high-school athletes as biological males, though the students identify as women. By denying the lawyers the right to do that, the judged revealed his ideological animus against the plaintiffs and would, in essence, force one side in the dispute to adopt the other’s theory of the case. The trouble all began in the 2017-18, when two biologically male, transgender students, Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, began competing against female athletes in track and field. They literally ran away with all the top medals and accolades. While the media applauded the duo for bravery, female runners Selina Soule, Alana Smith and Chelsea Mitchell were relegated to the sidelines of women’s sports, watching athletes born the opposite sex sweep the titles and scholarships set aside for female competitors.

________

from The Spokesman-Review

Newspaper in Spokane, Washington

________