CHICAGO, IL (May 15, 2015) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.

Kirsten Powers: The Rise of the Intolerant Left
Powers is not saying that all liberals are intolerant. She credits the American Civil Liberties Union and other activists for protecting free speech, she says the church hasn’t been “particularly loving” toward gay people, and she believes the church needs to engage the culture with more humility. Yet plenty of people have responded vitriolically to her critique that they get vitriolic with people who disagree with them.

The Milwaukee Experiment
John Chisholm, the district attorney in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, was concerned about mass incarceration of African Americans, so he commissioned a study to find out whether his office was contributing to the problem. When the study showed that African Americans were being prosecuted more often and receiving harsher sentences for the same crimes as whites, he overhauled the procedures in his office and stopped prosecuting certain crimes. This is another wonderful article by one of my favorite commentators on the judicial system, Jeffrey Toobin

Math Is Way More Fun When You Teach It with Food
Where was this woman when I was taking math? I might not have had to re-take algebra 2. But then again I might have also eaten the homework before my dog did.

I Went to the 29-hour Marvel Movie Marathon in High Spirits. I Left a Broken Man
Obviously millions of people love super-hero movies, but I just don’t understand the fascination. I marvel at my coworkers who are able to discuss in detail every scene in every movie. This is a humorous article about what happens when you move past being a fan to something of a fanatic. Of course if you ever slept overnight outside the local record store back in the day so you could be near the front of the line when concert tickets went on sale—and then engaged in pushing and shoving when someone tried to cut in line—that was totally different.

How Some Men Fake an 80-Hour Workweek, and Why It Matters
Apparently some men can fake it at work. In many office environments workaholism is expected—and rewarded. But one researcher discovered that some people pretending to turn in those hyper-long work hours were quietly adapting their schedules to achieve more work-life balance. And they were getting away with it. Yet women and men who formally requested lighter or more flexible hours (i.e., by requesting maternity or paternity leave) were much more likely to receive lower performance reviews. Those who were faking it performed as well as those who weren’t.