Afternoon News Bytes: May 1, 2012 | Sojourners

Afternoon News Bytes: May 1, 2012

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Purpose Of Spectacular Wealth, According To A Spectacularly Wealthy Guy
Ever since the financial crisis started, we’ve heard plenty from the 1 percent. We’ve heard them giving defensive testimony in Congressional hearings or issuing anodyne statements flanked by lawyers and image consultants. They typically repeat platitudes about investment, risk-taking and job creation with the veiled contempt that the nation doesn’t understand their contribution. You get the sense that they’re afraid to say what they really believe. What do the superrich say when the cameras aren’t there?
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THE NATION: A Guide To May Day
For nearly 150 years, May 1 has been an international occasion to celebrate and defend the rights of the working class. This year, with the Occupy movement taking full advantage of May Day’s historic significance, we’re likely to see the greatest explosion of outrage at the excesses of capital since the first mass May Day protest in the United States in 1886, when more than 300,000 workers nationwide walked off their jobs in solidarity with 120,000 laborers striking on behalf of an eight-hour workday.
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THE ATLANTIC: The 10 States And 10 Jobs With The Most Low-Wage Workers
One in four U.S. workers -- or nearly 40 million people -- earn a salary below the federal poverty line of $23,000 for a family of four. Who are they, where are they, and how does their education differ from the rest of the country? A wonderful new paper from the Economic Policy Institute explains it all.
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THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: A Faith-Based Budget Lesson For Paul Ryan (OPINION)
There is something un-Christian about the Gospel According to Paul Ryan. So, at least, says Ryan's Catholic Church.
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CNN: As Childhood Obesity Improves, Will Kids In Poverty Be Left Behind?
The statistics are grim: Roughly one in six U.S. children are obese, and, at last count, nearly one in three are overweight, putting them at increased risk of health problems ranging from diabetes to being bullied at school.
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CNN: Task Force Meets To Look At Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law
A task force created by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to examine the state's "Stand Your Ground" law in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting meets for the first time Tuesday.
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: UK Lawmakers: Rupert Murdoch Unfit To Lead Company
News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch must take responsibility for serious failings that caused Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal, lawmakers said Tuesday in a scathing report - as a narrow majority also insisted the tycoon was unfit to lead his global media empire.
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POLITICO: Congress: It's Going To Get Worse
The House is certainly the most extreme illustration of what’s to come. Moderate Republicans are basically extinct. Conservative Democrats, who not long ago accounted for more than a quarter of the party in the House, are getting wiped away, too - and will likely number a little more than a dozen after November.
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THE HUFFINGTON POST: A Story of Christian-Muslim Friendship: Entering Without Knocking (OPINION)
We all know the standard traditions of marriage in America: something borrowed, something blue... the groom doesn't see the bride before the wedding... processional and recessional... the kiss, the toast... the newlywed couple cutting the cake and smearing it on one another's faces, throwing rice on the departing couple. But there are also some nonstandard traditions that include a wide array of practical jokes.
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SALON: Drones Invade Campus
For all the attention given to U.S. law enforcement’s interest in adopting drones, the biggest users turn out to be not police departments, but universities.
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THE ATLANTIC: Asian Americans: 2012's Stealth Swing Vote?
A new poll finds both parties have the potential to make inroads with this fast-growing bloc -- but neither is doing enough to engage them.
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CHRISTIANITY TODAY: Violence In Nigeria: Breaking The Country's Fatal Deadlock
When a suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed car into the flagship church of one of Nigeria's largest denominations, angry Christian youth retaliated by burning Muslim shops and killing nearby motorcycle riders.
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THINK PROGRESS: MAY DAY CHARTS: We Don’t Currently Reward Our Workers
The 99 Percent Movement is bringing May Day, the worldwide annual celebration of labor, to the United States today with protests in over 135 cities. The theme of the protests is “A Day Without the 99 Percent,” and occupiers are encouraging people to spend the day outside of the U.S. economy.
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THE HUFFINGTON POST: 34 Syrian Children Killed Since Ceasefire: Report
More than 34 children have allegedly been killed in Syria since a shaky truce between President Bashar al-Assad's security forces and opposition groups took hold on April 12, the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict said on Tuesday.
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