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Weekly Meanderings, 11 July 2015

Weekly Meanderings, 11 July 2015

Last updated on: July 11, 2015 at 12:15 am by Scot McKnight

Weekly Meanderings, 11 July 2015 2015-07-10T15:58:43-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Books not bullets! By Malala Yousafzai

The Education For All Global Monitoring Report found it would take $39 billion annually. It seems like a big number, an impossible number. In reality, it represents what world governments spend on their militaries in just eight days. In eight days we spend as much on making war as it would take to ensure that every young person can receive 12 years of quality education….

That is a choice. Our leaders are choosing bombs and bullets over books and bright futures. And we are letting them.

Books not bullets

Here is my slogan… our slogan, the slogan of millions of children all over the world: Books not bullets!

Books not bullets is not an empty slogan, it is a strategy to build lasting peace and tackle the huge challenges facing our world.

Thanks Nancy Beach:

Whenever we get a picture of excellence, of what is possible, we are given a hope that maybe, just maybe, we too can excel. For young girls it is vital that they see women flourishing in the business world, in the arts, in sports, in academia, in the home, in politics, and in the church. For all of us who are adult women, we must always remember that young eyes are watching. What a privilege to help paint a picture for them that ennobles and inspires and envisions young girls!

Kendra Pierre-Louis: Kris and I have no hesitations in drinking tap or fountain water. How about you?

Today, 77 percent of Americans are concerned about pollution in their drinking water, according to Gallup, even though tap water and bottled water are treated the same way, and studies show that tap is as safe as bottled.

If you don’t trust tap water, you won’t trust water fountains. So when you’re in a public space, you’re not likely to look for a fountain or complain when there isn’t one. A new fountain costs between $300 and $4,500 to install, depending on plumbing and location. When municipal budgets are tight, cutting fountains may be one way to reduce costs without raising the public’s ire.

“No one is dropping dead of thirst in the United States,” Gleick says. “But the failure to maintain public water fountains is encouraging people to look elsewhere for their hydration. When people care less about the public water supply . . . [the will to] maintain it goes down.”

The disappearance of water fountains has hurt public health. Centers for Disease Control researcher Stephen Onufrak,whose team focuses on preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes, has found that the less young people trust water fountains, the more sugary beverages they drink. This can significantly increase the chances that children develop diabetes and obesity.Studies have found that kids who consume sugary drinks regularly are 60 percent more likely to be obese, and adults who do so are 26 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.

How do airlines decide how much to charge? Do you think airfares are too volatile?

As former American Airlines executive Rob Britton told the Journal, one philosophy underpins what airlines charge for a ticket: “Charge what the market will bear.”

At least that’s how it is supposed to work. The Justice Department said Wednesday that it is investigating “possible unlawful coordination by some airlines” that may have kept prices high.

Michael Rosenwald, on challenges to libraries — but librarians will remain the priests of information:

The hallmark of public libraries — the printed book, bound by covers and centuries of page-turning — is being shoved aside by digital doppelgangers.

Around the country, libraries are slashing their print collections in favor of e-books, prompting battles between library systems and print purists, including not only the pre-pixel generation but digital natives who represent a sizable portion of the 1.5 billion library visits a year and prefer print for serious reading.

Is Chicago listening? Adam Taylor: How can we move toward Norway on this?

The Norwegian government recently released statistics about how the country’s police department used guns in recent years, painting a picture of a nation where police officers rarely draw their guns and rarely injure anyone with those guns.

The report found that in 2014, Norwegian police threatened to use their weapons 42 times. However, only two shots were actually fired during the entire year, and no one was wounded by either.

The report also featured historical data showing that the number of times police officers had drawn their weapons was at its lowest in at least 12 years.

Wheaton’s Billy Graham Center aligned now with Ed Stetzer:

The Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College (BGCE) has announced a one-year partnership with LifeWay Research to facilitate the advancement of biblically faithful evangelism.

The partnership includes the appointment of Dr. Ed Stetzer as BGCE Senior Fellow to provide consultation and leadership in collaboration with BGCE leaders in the direction of the Center. Stetzer, who is Executive Director of LifeWay Research, is a prolific author and well-known conference and seminar leader who has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches, and has trained pastors and church planters on six continents.

Drones for the farmer:

CORDOVA, Md. (AP) — Mike Geske wants a drone.

Watching a flying demonstration on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the Missouri farmer envisions using an unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the irrigation pipes on his farm — a job he now pays three men to do.

“The savings on labor and fuel would just be phenomenal,” Geske says, watching as a small white drone hovers over a nearby corn field and transmits detailed pictures of the growing stalks to an iPad.

Nearby, farmer Chip Bowling tries his hand at flying one of the drones. Bowling, president of the National Corn Growers Association, says he would like to buy one for his Maryland farm to help him scout out which individual fields need extra spraying.

Another farmer, Bobby Hutchison, says he is hoping the man he hires weekly to walk his fields and observe his crops gets a drone, to make the process more efficient and accurate.

“I see it very similar to how I saw the computer when it first started,” says Hutchison, 64. “It was a no-brainer.”

Farmers are eager for the technology.

But no water for this farmer!

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A water district has sued Tom Selleck, claiming the star of the crime showsMagnum, P.I. and Blue Bloods stole truckloads of water from a public hydrant and took it to his ranch in drought-stricken California.

The Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County claims a tanker truck filled up at a hydrant more than a dozen times and hauled water to a 60-acre ranch owned by Selleck in Westlake Village.

The Los Angeles Times says Selleck grows avocados at the ranch.

Aging, more or less.

Miss Manners asked about dress code, esp about wearing flip flops into restaurants: her answer? What about you?

GENTLE READER: Do you have any idea what it is like to establish any sort of dress code nowadays?

Employers direct their workers to dress professionally, in terms of whatever the particular profession happens to be. Hosts beg their guests to dress up for their important occasions. Schools issue rules banning vulgar and bigoted outfits. Businesses try to establish a tone they expect their customers to follow.

And what does it get them? Code violators who consider themselves to be fighting — sometimes with lawsuits — for the noble cause of freedom of expression.

It appears that only clubs with rough bouncers are able to inspire people to dress symbolically for the activity in which they are engaged.

So Miss Manners doesn’t wonder that those who write such codes back away from battles over strict enforcement, especially over such hair-splitting questions as what constitutes a shoe. Perhaps if they notice they are losing customers who want a more dignified — or less smelly — atmosphere, they will act.

Or they could just hire a toughie to stand at the door, pronouncing people “tacky” and turning them away. Then the lines will form around the block.

David G. Moore pokes the (conservative) church:

However, I do have grave concerns about our laser-like focus over the horrors of legalizing homosexual marriage. Yes, we need to say something, but I’m afraid our quickly cutting to the chase on this issue leaves many important things unsaid.

My suggestion would go more along these lines:

We believe homosexuality is a sin. We also believe that gluttony, gossip, adultery, sex outside of marriage, racism, unscrupulous business practices, the love of money, divorce, and a whole host of other things are sin. Unfortunately, we have not done a very good job in communicating a comprehensive view of sin. We have been selective. Too many times we have been motivated by fear. We have avoided addressing certain sins for fear our giving at church will plummet. Too many of us have come across as both hating the sin of homosexuality and the homosexual. We could go on with other specifics, but hopefully you get the point. Our selective outrage has made us not act like Jesus. We have been rather poor at modeling the “grace and truth” approach of Jesus.

In our quest to proclaim the righteousness standards of God, I’m afraid our selective outrage presents a gospel which is no longer the gospel. Consider another illustration. Picture that you are driving a car. In the passenger seat is a non-Christian. You tune into your favorite radio station. The problem is that you are not fully tuned in. You are so accustomed to the static that you fail to hear it. You turn to your non-Christian friend and expectantly ask what he thinks about the “amazing” music. Surprisingly to you, he is not impressed. You are baffled by his lackluster response but your habitual listening to music cum static has dulled your ears.

Blame the Beavers:

Indiana Dunes State Park is looking for volunteers to help break up a more than 600-foot-long beaver dam that has caused flooding.

A research crew found the recent “superdam,” which is the length of two football fields.

Park interpretive naturalist Brad Bumgardner said beaver activity is common and it threatens some park infrastructure. Bumgardner said with all the recent rains, the dam needs to be removed so water can flow through.

Bumgardner said beavers make dams to flood an area so they can swim and access trees safely. When the beavers hear the water flowing again, they’ll repair the dam within two days.

Associated Press

Of the ten worst states in which to make a living, Hawaii is #1:

Hawaii
Paradise is not cheap. Hawaii ranks as the No. 1 worst state to make a living in 2015. The state’s cost of living index is a whopping 170.8, driven by housing costs. The estimated state tax on average income totals $3,073.77. An average income of $46,230 is in line with the rest of the nation, but when you adjust for taxes and the cost of living, workers in Hawaii get the equivalent value of just $0.55 for every $1.00 they make.

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