Stop Embarrassing Yourselves, One Percenters

The Article: One percenters, stop embarrassing yourselves! by John Macintosh in CNN.

The Text: Tom Perkins, a well-known venture capitalist, got himself in hot water when he compared the “progressive war on the 1%” with Nazis’ treatment of Jews in World War II. Although Perkins apologized for his comments, he stood by his main point that anger at the rich is a wrong and dangerous attitude.

It’s easy to dismiss Perkins’ sentiment as nothing more than the ill-advised ravings of a cantankerous, thin-skinned old man. But it also illustrates just how bizarre things have gotten for some wealthy people, who find themselves in a new socially constructed category and on the wrong side of a resurgent but elusive political ideal, facing off against mesmerizing populist adversaries.

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West Virginia And Stockholm Syndrome

The Article: West Virginians say they don’t fault coal industry for water crisis by Wilson Dizard in Al Jazeera.

The Text: Many West Virginians don’t blame the coal industry for the spill of a coal-processing chemical that has tainted the water of 300,000 people around Charleston, the state capital.

Indeed, some of those who live in parts of coal country — much of which is suffering from decades-long legacies of mining pollution — say coal is the state’s only hope for employment and progress.

To the outside observer, mining can look like a blight on the Mountain State, not a blessing, with dozens of white and gray scars of blown-off green mountaintops across southern West Virginia visible in satellite images from miles above.

But the feeling on the ground can be very different.

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Being Gay In Putin’s Russia

The Article: The Brutal, Bloody Horror of Gay Life in Putin’s Russia by Mark Joseph Stern in Slate.

The Text: Ever since virulently homophobic Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed through a law effectively outlawing openly gay people, the country’s LGBTQ community has, predictably, been plagued by violence. Now a study published in Harvard University’s Health and Human Rights journal confirms what myriad horrific anecdotes suggest: Gay people in Russia are being beaten, raped, and murdered at record rates—and the government is doing little to stop it.

The issue of violence against gays in Russia is, of course, nothing new. Before the passage of the new federal measure, several regional governments passed identical laws, stripping gay citizens of legal rights and human dignity. More than one-half of Russian gays reported psychological abuse, while 16 percent experienced physical assault, and 7 percent were raped. Yet 77 percent also reported complete distrust of the police, leaving most anti-gay crimes unreported.

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The Facebook Of Mormon

The Article: Facebook Of Mormon by Shira Telushkin in The Atlantic.

The Text: The woman that he was trying to reach almost never picked up her phone, and she lived more than 50 miles away. Plus, he had to watch his gas mileage. So Brandon Gonzales, a then-20-year-old missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints, stationed in Slatington, Pa., looked her up on Facebook. The young Mormon found that she was almost always free to chat online in the mornings, and soon they were chatting every day. He would send her links to church videos and sermons that explained aspects of Mormon faith, family life, or church theology.

This was 2010, and, as far as most Mormons knew, what he was doing was completely forbidden.

Restrictions on technology have long been a defining feature of life during the Mormon mission, a full-time proselytizing effort that typically lasts two years for men and 18 months for women. Missionaries don’t use personal cell phones, browse the Internet, or even watch movies, excluding certain church-produced films. They read nothing outside of the Mormon scriptures and missionary-relevant texts. They call home only twice a year: on Mother’s Day and on Christmas. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year—but also the busiest. Perhaps you’re haunted by the image of your mom making plates of homemade cookies for the neighbors, why not send this Christmas cookies mailed here to your loved ones!

Up until April 2013, these missionaries kept in touch with friends via handwritten letters. Today they have access to email on a church-operated server for a limited time once a week. The lifestyle is constructed to minimize worldly distractions, and focus missionaries on the task of preaching their gospel. Which is why it was a pretty big deal that Brandon Gonzales was on Facebook.

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An Open Letter To House Republicans

The Article: What Century Are You Living In? An Open Letter to House Republicans by Barbara Boxer in The Huffington Post.

The Text: With all of the incredible challenges facing our nation — the need to rebuild our infrastructure, create jobs, improve education and address the threat of climate change — one would expect that these pressing issues would be at the top of your agenda.

But last week I watched in disbelief as Republicans instead chose to ratchet up the War on Women.

First, there was Republican Congressman Steve Pearce’s memoir that argued that wives should “voluntarily submit” to their husbands. Then, former GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joined in, suggesting that American women could “control their libido” rather than receive contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

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