PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “White House Having Weekly Bible Studies (Which Trump Skips)” / The Young Turks / Cenk Uygur ☮

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Trump thinks setting up Bible studies for his cabinet and not attending them will play well with his evangelical base. He’s probably right.

“Many of President Trump’s Cabinet members gather at a weekly session to study the Bible,” the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) reported Monday.

Ralph Drollinger, the founder of Capitol Ministries, says he leads a weekly Bible study with Cabinet members such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

“It’s the best Bible study that I’ve ever taught in my life. They are so teachable. They’re so noble. They’re so learned,” Drollinger told CBN. Vice President Pence, who is a sponsor of the faith sessions, reportedly joins the group when his schedule allows.”

CHRONIC TRAMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY: “For Ravens’ John Urschel, Playing in the N.F.L. No Longer Adds Up” ☮

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One of the N.F.L.’s smartest players did the math and decided to retire after just three years in the league.

John Urschel, an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens who received much publicity for his off-season pursuit of a doctorate in math at M.I.T., told the team on Thursday that he was hanging up his cleats at 26.

Urschel’s agent, Jim Ivler, said Urschel was overwhelmed with interview requests but would not be speaking to the news media. On Twitter, Urschel wrote that “there is no big story here” and that the decision to retire was not an easy one to make, but “it was the right one for me.”

He added that he planned to return to school full time in the fall, “to take courses that are only offered in the fall semester” and spend time with his fiancée, who is expecting their first child in December.

Urschel’s decision came two days after the release of a study in which all but one of 111 brains of former N.F.L. players showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head.

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WESTERN PHILOSOPHY – STOICISM: “The philosophy of Stoicism” / Massimo Pigliucci ☮

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What is the best life we can live? How can we cope with whatever the universe throws at us and keep thriving nonetheless? The ancient Greco-Roman philosophy of Stoicism explains that while we may not always have control over the events affecting us, we can have control over how we approach things. Massimo Pigliucci describes the philosophy of Stoicism.

CRITICAL THINKING: “Mr. D. Goes to Washington, Luck (Addendum II: Choice)” / Mr. Deity / MUST WATCH! ☮

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Some people have been extremely resistant to my belief that Luck plays an overwhelming role in our lives. This is another attempt to answer various objections.