Weekend Reads 11/4/17

Rick Perry made a jaw-dropping attempt to get in on the sexual assault debate

Basically: Expanding fossil fuels in Africa could help prevent sexual assault, presumably because fossil fuels produce light.

Jell-O salads and Catholic hospitals

And there we were, all agreeing that the life and health and flourishing of the mother was a greater concern than the life of the unborn child she was carrying. This was not controversial. It was a unanimous, obvious truth. And at that time — in 1981 or 1982 or whenever exactly that rendition of that conversation took place — similar conversations likely took place at other white evangelical churches all over America.

The first creature in space was a dog. She died miserably 60 years ago

Within a couple of hours after launch, the thermal control system failed and the capsule overheated. Humanity's first effort to send a living creature into space ended with that animal, confined within a metal carrier, dying miserably.

Is the Francis Era Ending the Catholic Bishops' Cozy Ties to the GOP?

But this also illustrates the politically perilous position the bishops find themselves in with the Trumpian GOP. Long-time relationships count for less in a party fractured by discord and unable to chart a way forward. Emboldened progressives within the bishops conference like Cardinal Blasé Cupich are bringing issues like racism, gun control, health care and immigration to the fore, which is bound to cause friction with the GOP.