God will save us from climate change: U.S. Representative - thestar.com

I stole the premise for this post from WaterWired (Thanks WaterDoc) because it is interesting how language can be interpreted. I think it's interesting that the passage (as it has been translated in whatever edition Shimkus reads) could also be read to mean that God won't destroy the earth, but that doesn't automatically mean God won't prevent humans from destroying ourselves. After all, loving parents are often faced with the choice of being highly protective of their kids or giving them the freedom to learn life's lessons, in sometimes painful ways.

God will save us from climate change: U.S. Representative - thestar.com

U.S. Representative John Shimkus, possible future chairman of the Congressional committee that deals with energy and its attendant environmental concerns, believes that climate change should not concern us since God has already promised not to destroy the Earth.

Shimkus, an evangelical Christian and a Republican member of the House from Illinois, on Tuesday signalled his desire to become chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The Energy and Commerce committee is among the most powerful in the U.S. Congress, with a wide-ranging purview over legislation touching on energy policy, environmental initiatives and public health.

Shimkus already serves on the committee. During a hearing in 2009, he dismissed the dangers of climate change and the warnings of the scientific community by quoting the Bible.

First, he noted God’s post-Flood promise to Noah in Genesis 8:21-22.

“Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though all inclinations of his heart are evil from childhood and never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

“As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.”

“I believe that’s the infallible word of God, and that’s the way it’s going to be for his creation,” Shimkus said.

Then he quoted Matthew 24:31.

“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other.”

“The Earth will end only when God declares it’s time to be over. Man will not destroy this Earth. This Earth will not be destroyed by a Flood,” Shimkus asserted. “I do believe that God’s word is infallible, unchanging, perfect.”

Following the Republican wave in the recent Congressional elections, the committee will shift from Democratic to Republican leadership.

On Tuesday, Shimkus sent a letter to his colleagues burnishing his credentials by saying he is “uniquely qualified among a group of talented contenders to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee.”

Dodo Award

And we wonder why we have such a good reputation world-wide...

While President Obama was securing funds from BP to pay for the damage their oil spill is wrecking on families in the Gulf, Republicans apologized... to BP.

Yes, Texas Congressman Joe Barton actually apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward and called it "a tragedy in the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown." That's right - Republicans think the "tragedy" is that BP will have to pay victims of their disaster.

To add insult to injury, Republicans want to put Congressman Barton in charge of the entire Energy and Commerce committee!

Belief vs. science, duh

Climate-change deniers versus the scientific societies of the world: Who should we listen to?

Dr. Peter Gleick

President, Pacific Institute

"My last post said that climate-change deniers have never produced an alternative scientific theory that adequately explains the compelling evidence of climate change from around the world...."

Read more here...

Belly laugh at the expense of politicians

Now I know that most politicians barely have a handle on reality but I am still, weeks later, still laughing at the outrageous quote from  US Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) that we have the "best health care system in the world."

He probably also believes our nation's infrastructure will go on functioning with no maintenance.

Enough said.