Sunspots 679

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and politics) Unfortunately, evangelical Christians are the least likely group to believe that the US should accept refugees, according to a poll reported in Sojourners.

Conversely, Relevant discusses reasons, including economic ones, why Christians (and others) should be more accepting of refugees.

Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength examines the nature of the Trinity.


Education: National Public Radio reports that some public school teachers, who thought they had received a grant to pay for their education, have discovered that it is being treated as a loan, that they have to pay back.

Health: Scientific American discusses the seriousness of losing a long-time pet.

Philosophy: Henry Kissinger (yes, that Henry Kissinger), writing in The Atlantic, tells us that we need to think carefully about the implications of artificial intelligence.

Politics: Michael Gerson on the intolerance of Donald Trump, and some other politicians.

NPR on how the Environmental Protection Agency's actions to give manufacturers more stability by rolling back regulations is actually causing unpredictability.

FiveThirtyEight on what might happen if Republicans keep control of both houses of Congress.

Several leading Christians are not at all happy with President Trump's statements about certain immigrants being "animals," according to Relevant.

Science: National Public Radio reports that some satellites measure changes in local gravity, and this can be used to study water flow, especially from melting ice.

FiveThirtyEight on the effects of e-cigarettes.


Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 465

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Computing: Wired has some interesting thoughts on replacing car mirrors with cameras.
Literature: A short, but excellent review of the Tales of Goldstone Wood books, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I am reading the sixth one of these at the moment.
Philosophy: A review, by a philosopher and Bible scholar, of God's Not Dead (the movie).
Politics: (sort of) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has produced a Living Wage Calculator. It is apparently adjusted for each county in the US.
From WBUR, in Boston: A report on how increasing income inequality should not be a surprise, based, in part, on Jane Austen and Balzac.
National Public Radio reports on a retiring congressman who says that $174,000 a year is not enough for a member of Congress. He may be right.
Science: NPR on the importance of whale poop to ocean life. It's critical.
  Image source (public domain)