On offending loved ones, immigration, stressed bureaucrats, and the blockchain

Why Our Willingness to Offend can be the Loving Choice
Southern Baptist Convention ERLC

Similar to my last post's article on rebuke, this one advocates for unapologetic care for those espousing a false gospel. Mike Goeke gives his personal testimony about how his family and friends' willingness to "offend" (that is, offend his false beliefs) eventually drove him back into the hands of God after years of apostasy. 

Blockchain Could Help Us Reclaim Control of Our Personal Data
Harvard Business Review

A new use for the blockchain underscores just how fundamentally important this technology may become. 

Seven of the Many Problems with Trump’s Immigration Principles
Cato Institute

A more open immigration policy is more compassionate and financially sensible. Here David Bier examines President Trump's immigration statements. For further reading, this article from The Economist illustrates how much America's refugee intake levels have dropped.

Why Bureaucrats Don't Seem to Care
The Atlantic

Bernardo Zacka spent eight months embedded as a "front-line" social services worker and recounted his experiences in this article. While it's grievously obvious that federal and state agencies do a poor job of administering funds and caring for the poor (for a variety of reasons) it's still helpful to give grace and the benefit of the doubt, especially as we seek to make the system better. 

Amending America's Constitution
The Economist

Several groups are attempting to convey a constitutional convention in order to add a balanced budget amendment - something that has never happened before. This could be a wonderful opportunity to improve the federal government's operations, or it could open Pandora's box and put the Constitution through the shredder. Opposition to a convention has even united groups as disparate as the John Birch Society and ACLU.