Republicans deny global warming, while Democrats sell beachfront property.

Der Readers:

You might be asking yourself every once in a while how the Republican Party down in the States got to be so rigid and obstructionist in its views and actions!

Well, it all began under Ronald Reagan in 1980 when he actively courted the evangelical Christians. (Because they view politics with a religious fervor, and see themselves as mandated by God, they do not compromise, no matter the cost.)

Many years before that, (1964) Barry Goldwater, a Republican, had said, "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."

He could not have been more prophetic.

---------------------------------------

Speaking of Conservatives, scientists keep revising their estimates of sea level increases due to global warming and climate change, and contrary to what the right wingers will tell you, it could get very serious very quickly.

With continued emissions growth, it is entirely possible that the overall rate of sea-level rise could reach 1 m per century by 2100 — a rate not seen since the last global ice-sheet melting event, roughly 10,000 years ago.

Beyond 2100, seas will continue to rise for many centuries, perhaps even millennia. With continued growth in emissions, the IPCC has projected a rise of as much as 7 m by 2500. (about 25 feet)

But, they also warned that the available ice-sheet models may underestimate Antarctica's future contribution.

This means that every city in the world that is ON the water now, will be UNDER water by then. (2500 A.D.)

--------------------------------

While we are on the subject of politics, it seems Bernie Sanders is already having a big influence on how things are done down there in the good ol' U.S. of A.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A plan to raise California's minimum wage to $15 an hour passed both houses of the state legislature on Thursday, putting the state on track to become the first in the nation to commit to such a large pay hike for the working poor.

The measure, incorporating a deal Governor Jerry Brown reached with labor leaders and progressive Democrats in the Legislature, was approved in the state Senate Thursday afternoon after winning approval earlier in the day in the Assembly, and now goes to Brown for his signature.

"If you work full time, your family shouldn't live in poverty," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Southern California Democrat, said in support of the bill to raise the state's minimum wage from its current level of $10 per hour.

If enacted, the bill would put California, home to one of the world's biggest economies, among a growing number of U.S. states and cities that have moved in recent years to surpass the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009. A proposal to raise the minimum wage in parts of New York state to $15 was also announced Thursday by Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders.

 http://news.yahoo.com/bill-hiking-california-minimum-wage-15-passes-state-190028387--business.html

--------------------------------------- 

Meanwhile, some critics argue that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., should bow out of the Democratic presidential primary as his chance of defeating Hillary Clinton becomes increasingly slim. 

However, Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, doesn't think Sanders needs to give up.

Yahoo News asked Clinton if he wants Sanders to leave the race at a campaign event in New York City on Thursday afternoon. 

He noted that Sanders has generated substantial support.

“We have an election that goes all the way through June, and she believes, and I believe, that everybody has a right to their own timetable,” Bill Clinton said. “He’s got a lot of supporters. He’s got a perfect right to stay in if that’s what he wants to do and run his race. It’s his decision.”

http://news.yahoo.com/bill-clinton-says-bernie-sanders-has-a-right-to-190802686.html

--------------------------------------

Although we have never met, I have talked to Greta Vosper on several occasions, and although I agree with her observations to a certain extent, I can't for the life of me understand the cognitive dissonance that must let her be a Minister in the United Church on the one hand ......., and an Atheist on the other!

The United Church has decided to go ahead with an unprecedented review that could lead to the defrocking of an ordained minister who believes in neither God nor Bible.

In a brief one-page decision this week, a judicial committee of the church dismissed an appeal by Gretta Vosper to halt the planned review.

The initial ruling to review her status came last May from Nora Sanders, general secretary of the church's general council. Essentially, Sanders said, the review should determine whether the minister was being faithful to her ordination vows, which included affirming a belief in "God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

Vosper, 57, who was ordained in 1993 and joined her United Church West Hill congregation in 1997, has for years made no bones about her beliefs, which include rejecting the notion of an interventionist, supernatural being on which much church doctrine is based.

"I don't believe in...the god called God," Vosper said last year. "Using the word gets in the way of sharing what I want to share."

(Apparently things came to a head after she wrote an open letter to the church's spiritual leader following the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris pointing out that belief in God can motivate bad things.)

One of the lawyers, Julian Falconer, said he was dismayed by the terse decision rejecting the appeal.

"This was an opportunity for the United Church of Canada to showcase its reputation for fairness and openness by holding a full hearing of the appeal on its merits," Falconer said in a statement. "It is an opportunity lost."

Folks, after everything is said and done, this situation smacks of the usual left wing bullshit that is so prevalent in today's society, and is a good indicator of how and why the United Church is shrinking in size from one year to the next! -Ed.