Whittling down some bookmarks

•The New Yorker looks at our fondness for locking people up, and the possible reasons (racism, procedural rules, the prison-industrial complex).
•The Catholic Church has been shut out of federal contracts for helping sex-trafficking victims, due to its refusal to assist them with contraceptives or abortion.
•From a month ago, Charles Pierce contemplates the idea that the Trayvon Martin case (and Jim Crow and slavery and the Civil War before it) has nothing to do with race.
•A reminder of how hard it is to survive on minimum wage. At the other extreme, no matter how much you have, someone always has more.
•Counterterrorism trainers inform the FBI the real enemy is Islam, and that they shouldn’t hesitate to break the law.
•The clown code of conduct.
•Paul Krugman explains why Obamacare is not like forcing Americans to eat broccoli.
•Slacktivist argues that mercy is necessary for divine justice.
•Craig’s list founder weighs in on voting restrictions (he’s not a fan).