1. The Kruse Kronicle turns eight years old today. Thanks to my readers for your conversation and encouragement!
2. From the Christian Post: PCUSA Churches Leaving Denomination Dramatically Increased in 2012
According to statistics released Thursday by the Office of the General Assembly for PC(USA), 110 congregations were granted dismissal in 2012 in order to join other denominations; in 2011, the reported number was only 21.
3. In keeping with the Kruse Kronicle tradition of bringing you the most important stories you need to know: Map Shows American Preferences: Church or Beer
4. Lefties like to moan about the anti-science right when it comes to climate change, but large swathes of the left are just as anti-science on other issues: Debunking 'The Big Lie' About Genetically Engineered Crops
"... Since 1996, there has also been an outpouring of data, including prodigious amounts of peer-reviewed risk-assessment research, that provides strong evidence in support of the safety of genetically engineered crops and the foods made from them. During those 17 years, there has been no credible scientific evidence that genetically engineered foods or ingredients cause allergies or any other acute or long-term negative health effects. Several trillion meals containing genetically engineered food ingredients have been consumed by people around the world, with not a single adverse effect documented.
None of these findings should be a surprise. For decades, the scientific community has regarded the use of molecular techniques for genetic engineering as part of a seamless continuum of the genetic improvement of plants – a refinement of earlier methods.
It's long past time we got past the pseudo-controversies fomented by anti-technology activists and more fully exploited the commercial and humanitarian advantages of genetic engineering applied to agriculture.
5. Cities Where Suburban Poverty Is Skyrocketing
The number of poor people in U.S. suburbs rose by 63.6% between 2000 and 2011, from 10 million to well over 16 million people. For the first time, there are now more people living in poverty in the suburbs than in cities.
6. The Biggest Myth About the Gender Wage Gap
... There is a wage difference. But it might not be the wage difference that you thought. The real gap isn't between men and women doing the same job. The real gap is between men and women doing different jobs and following different careers.
That gap should continue to tighten. Women have earned the majority of bachelor's degrees for the last few years. They're well-positioned to benefit from a growing professional service economy, and working moms are already the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of households with kids, an all-time high. But if women are more likely to go into health care than manufacturing, more likely to work in human resources than software, and more likely to leave their careers early to start a family, the gaps will persist.
Ideally, some day soon, it won't take a statistical "control" to show that men and women are fundamental equal partners -- and equal competitors -- in the work force. It will just be the obvious truth.
In a related story: New PayScale Study Challenges Conventional Thinking On Why Women Make Less Than Men
The PayScale analysis, which relied on career profiles of the site's 40 million users, found that women working various non-managerial jobs earn about 98 percent of what men do on average. But once workers become executives, that share shrinks to about 91 percent, according to the study. The findings add dimension to previous analyses of Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data, which estimate that women are earning as little as 77 to 80 percent of what men make overall.
... For upper-middle class men, notes sociologist Michèle Lamont, ambition and a strong work ethic are "doubly sacred... as signals of both moral and socioeconomic purity. Elite men's jobs revolve around the work devotion schema, which communicates that high-level professionals should "demonstrate commitment by making work the central focus of their lives" and "manifest singular 'devotion to work,' unencumbered with family responsibilities," to quote sociologist Mary Blair-Loy. This ideal has roots in the 17th century Protestant work ethic, in which work was viewed as a "calling" to serve God and society. The religious connection has vanished... or has it? ...
8. Manufacturing Is Fueling America's Recovery
... A little historical perspective, beginning in the 1970s: higher costs for raw materials and labor, among others, were significant factors that prompted many American manufacturers to move their operations overseas in order to remain globally competitive. But new supplies and availability of raw materials has shifted in our favor and manufacturers are looking at the United States once again. Today, due to the cost advantage of energy and raw materials, and manufacturing facilities and infrastructure already in place, many companies are beginning to move their operations back within our shores.
In Youngstown, Ohio, for instance, V&M Star is building a $650-million steel mill 34 years after the iron and steel industry left the region. Just last year, General Electric began building appliances previously made in China and Mexico in its long-deserted Appliance Park manufacturing plant in Louisville, Kentucky. Nucor Corp. is opening a new plant in Louisiana this summer. In Houston, Texas, the number of employees in the manufacturing industry has increased from 165,000 to 250,000 since 2009, as companies grow to keep up with the demand for parts needed in the hydraulic manufacturing process. These are just a few examples of the millions of dollars in planned investments as a result of the increased availability of natural gas and NGL. ...
9. The Best and Simplest Way to Fight Global Poverty
Proof that giving cash to poor people, no strings attached, is an amazingly powerful tool for boosting incomes and promoting development.
Of course, the tricky part is how actually to get the cash into the hands of poor people.
10. I agree with this opinion piece: Time for food aid reform that helps hungry countries – and the US
Under the Food for Peace program, aid organizations working overseas must buy food directly from the US instead of using local sources. If politicians want to cut government costs and avoid aid dependency abroad, they'll support President Obama's proposed reforms to US food aid.
11. Brain overload explains missing childhood memories
Scientists -- and parents -- have long wondered why we don't remember anything that happened before age 3. As all parents know, no matter how momentous an event is in a toddler's life, the memory soon drifts away and within months there isn't even a wisp of it left.
Now a new study shows that "infantile amnesia" may be due to the rapid growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for filing new experiences into long-term memory. The study was presented Friday at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience. ...
Fair enough, but what explains my missing memories of ten minutes ago?
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