PEOPLE REACT TO BEING CALLED BEAUTIFUL by Shea Glover | youtube.com MASS MURDER AND THE PROBLEM WITH PRAYER | jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com Jonathan Merritt calls out the GOP candidates who have offered lots of prayers for the victims of the San Bernardino shooting but no action..."Leaders will debate what should be done in the face of an epidemic of violence, but something must be done. A life of faith is a life of prayer and action, but never one without the other. Action . . .

THE KILLING OF LAQUAN McDONALD | theatlantic.com A year after the killing of 17 year old Laquan McDonald, a white police officer is indicted on first-degree murder charges and a graphic video is released to the public as Chicago braces for the public's outrage..."Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez charged Chicago Police Department officer Jason Van Dyke on Tuesday for his role in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014. Van Dyke is the first on-duty Chicago . . .

CHRISTIAN GROUPS BREAK WITH GOP OVER SYRIAN REFUGEES | politico.com Evangelical Christian groups are breaking with GOP candidates over the anti-refugee fervor sparked by the Paris attacks last week. After reports that a Syrian migrant may have been one of those responsible for the attacks, 27 U.S. Governors have said they would turn away Syrian refugees, presidential candidate Governor Chris Christie said the United States should bar Syrian orphaned toddlers, and Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz . . .

LET MERCY FOR REFUGEES BE THE RESPONSE TO THE PARIS ATTACKS | theestablishment.com Margaret Covid makes a compelling argument / plea to France's president to respond with mercy as opposed to the current response which is to shut the country's borders, effectively sealing the fate of thousands of refugees suffering in refugee camps as the weather turns..."Why is Hollande using the refugees as hostages, condemning them with his border closure to a death that is slower but no less certain than . . .

STRESSED, TIRED, RUSHED: A PORTRAIT OF THE MODERN FAMILY | nytimes.com  A breakdown of the statistics on what is happening to the modern family according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Without paid family leave policies and after-school child care, parents are stretched thin when it comes to work-family balance which also mean that balance is still heavily tilted to one side.... "In most cases, that means women still do the majority of the child care and housework — particularly . . .

MY HALLOWEEN HOUSE OF HORRORS | McSweeneys.net  Wendi Aarons paints a true house of horrors with five terrifying rooms, each depicting her ultimate nightmares... "I creep down a dark flight of stairs. When I reach the bottom, a white suburban dad dressed like Flava Flav jumps out of nowhere and yells, “Hey, BO-OYYY!” and flicks on the lights. Chills go down my spine when I see that I am in a Pottery Barn catalog living room. Four white PTA moms wearing clear heels and booty . . .

LOVE LETTER TO A TRANSGENDER TEEN ON SPIRIT DAY | Momastery.com Children's minister and GLAAD supporter, Glennon from Momastery.com responds to a transgender teen recently kicked out of their church and subsequently struggling with their faith..."So God created mankind in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them...J, did you catch that? It says that when God wanted to create people in God’s own image, God needed to create two genders to . . .

PLEASE PUT THAT PINK CAN OF SOUP DOWN AND PUT YOUR BRA BACK ON | huffingtonpost.com In response to a "National No Bra Day" to support Pink October, a breast cancer survivor dissects the pink capitalism behind so many of those breast cancer awareness products that actually donate nothing or very little to breast cancer research. Having lost her own breasts in what she calls a "physically and emotionally disfiguring surgery," she can't help but take offense at a movement to show off the two body . . .

WHY I TEACH MY 2-YEAR-OLD ABOUT RACE | washingtonpost.com Michelle Acker Perez, a white mother of a biracial daughter, explains the five reasons why she teaches her toddler about race. After noticing her daughter chose different crayons to match the different skin colors in her own family, she decided to start the conversation about race acknowledging that children are not colorblind. Just as children learn that the sky is blue or a car may be red, talking about skin color is important. While . . .

STOP GOOGLING. LET'S TALK. | The New York Times Having studied the psychology of online connectivity for more than 30 years, Sherry Turkle focuses on the disturbing trend found in the last five years - the loss of face-to-face conversation. Speaking with young people now in college who grew up in the age of smart phones and apps, now known as the "app generation," Turkle investigates the consequences of our advanced technology with particular regards to the smart phone. Students at one . . .