News: Morning Quick Links | Sojourners

News: Morning Quick Links

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER: Occupy Wall Street, False Idols And A Moral Economy

Even as some pundits and politicos dismiss the Occupy Wall Street movement as a fleeting burst of activism from the far left, Cardinal Peter Turkson of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said last week that the "basic sentiment" behind the protests aligns with mainstream principles of Catholic social teaching on the economy.

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THE HUFFINGTON POST: Breaking The Cycle Of Poverty

The Occupy Wall Street movement, while disjointed, offers the basis for a national conversation about economic disparity. Everyone involved in the movement seeks to change the status quo. People who have felt ignored are fighting against disenfranchisement. The question for the movement now is how they push the right levers to seek the change they want?

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ASSOCIATED PRESS: Poorest Poor In US Hits New Record: 1 In 15 People

The ranks of America's poorest poor have climbed to a record high - 1 in 15 people - spread widely across metropolitan areas as the housing bust pushed many inner-city poor into suburbs and other outlying places and shriveled jobs and income. New census data paint a stark portrait of the nation's haves and have-nots at a time when unemployment remains persistently high. It comes a week before the government releases first-ever economic data that will show more Hispanics, elderly and working-age poor have fallen into poverty.

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PHILANTHROPY TODAY: As Poverty Deepens, Giving To The Poor Declines

With more Americans living below the poverty line than at any other time since the Census Bureau began to keep track-and government support for many social services declining-some experts are taking a second look at where the country's philanthropic dollars are going, according to a special giving section in The New York Times.

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THE HUFFINGTON POST: Shakespeare, The Bible, And America's Shift Into A Punitive Society (By Arianna Huffington)

I spent the weekend of the Great Ice Storm of 2011 in New Haven for Parents Weekend. In spite of the conditions, I had a great time, having the chance to spend time not only with my two daughters, but also with two of my all-time favorite professors: Professor (and extremely popular HuffPost blogger) David Bromwich, and Professor (and fellow Greek) John Geanakoplos.

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MOTHER JONES: Peaceful Occupy Oakland March Followed By Late-Night Clashes

A massive crowd snaked through downtown Oakland yesterday afternoon, eventually shutting down operations at the Port of Oakland. There was sporadic vandalism, with windows broken at bank branches and a Whole Foods, but protesters were also seen cleaning up graffiti and holding others back from destroying property. After most protesters had left, a contingent of several hundred occupied the abandoned Traveler's Aid building and barricaded surrounding streets; when police moved in, protesters set barricades on fire, and police deployed tear gas.

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