Weekend Reads 4/23/16

How hackers eavesdropped on a US Congressman using only his phone number

The stalking of US Representative Ted Lieu's smartphone was carried out with his permission for a piece broadcast Sunday night by 60 Minutes. Karsten Nohl of Germany-based Security Research Labs was able to record any call made to or from the phone and to track its precise location in real-time as the California congressman traveled to various points in the southern part of the state. At one point, 60 minutes played for Lieu a crystal-clear recording Nohl made of one call that discussed data collection practices by the US National Security Agency. While SR Labs had permission to carry out the surveillance, there's nothing stopping malicious hackers from doing the same thing.

What if we learned about the Bible from the people who got it right?

The heremeneutics of formerly enslaved African Americans “challenged some of the prominent conclusions” of the hermeneutics and exegesis practiced throughout white Christianity in America. And, more to the point, they were right where those white Christians were wrong.

But again, weirdly, we remain far more inclined to heed and to imitate the hermeneutics of those who were wrong than of those who were right.

George Clooney On A Big Money Difference Between Clinton And Sanders

What Clooney pointed to is that Clinton has been bringing in millions of dollars, not just for her campaign, but also for Democrats running in House, Senate and other local races.

"It's going to the congressmen and senators to try to take back Congress," Clooney said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

James Dobson’s flawed take on population decline (no.1: We’re not in decline)

Reading the CT editorial and the original essay, the problem Dobson is really attacking becomes clear: women aren’t fulfilling their role as mothers. They need to follow God, put aside their selfishness, and procreate at a level that keeps up the population. The problem is never fathers or men. Dobson repeatedly focuses on women. Dobson’s aim is to convince women that they need to have children. Sure, he says, women have the right not to have children but if they exercise that right, we’re doomed.