United Methodist Church Splinters Over Some Members’ Refusal To Accept LGBTQ Christians

This is why there are about 45,000 different Christian denominations, and counting:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/united-methodist-church-lgbtq-schism_n_5c74470ee4b03a10c2309f0c

So much for Jesus' prayer for Christian unity:

John 17:20-23 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE--I in them and you in me--SO THAT THEY MAY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Mitch McConnell Says Democrats Are To Blame For Election Fraud That Benefited GOP

In case you need more evidence Mitch McConnell is an asshole:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitch-mcconnell-north-carolina-election-fraud_n_5c7570cee4b02efbde1f42a8

Scientists Are 99.9999 Percent Sure Humans Caused Climate Change

"The narrative out there that scientists don’t know the cause of climate change is wrong. We do."

https://futurism.com/climate-change-caused-humans

Are we on the road to civilization collapse?

This article lists what factors brought down previous civilizations...and those factors are growing in our civilization:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190218-are-we-on-the-road-to-civilisation-collapse

At High Enough CO2 Levels, Clouds Will Start to Physically Break Apart

This paints an unlikely but ugly picture:

https://www.sciencealert.com/high-levels-of-co2-could-stop-these-cooling-clouds-from-forming-warn-scientists

Trump Wants To Set Up ‘Ad Hoc’ Panel To Fight Conclusions About Climate Change: Report

This is really no different than the propaganda that was used by cigarette manufacturers to defend against cancer accusations:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-climate-change-panel-deniers_n_5c734b44e4b00eed0835f1d5

and

http://time.com/5535086/trump-climate-change-national-emergency/

The Warmest and Coolest Months since 1880

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/ataimc/the_warmest_and_coolest_months_since_1880_oc/

This is Trump’s America. See this interactive map to see where hate groups exist in your state.

Great, we in California have the most (but at least we're not first per capita):

https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map

Trump’s Presidency Is Getting Weaker

Good! This should help minimize the damage he causes:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-02-21/donald-trump-keeps-picking-losing-fights

Trump’s Pick To Lead Climate Panel Once Compared CO2 To Jews In Nazi Germany

More incompetency:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/william-happer-climate-jews_n_5c6e0f2be4b0f40774cbfa70

A tipping point on climate change

This time it's some good news:

https://www.axios.com/climate-change-action-tipping-point-056c7163-3258-4f18-ab19-8efc289ef956.html

Leaked Fox News Segment With Rutger Bregman Gets Out of Hand

So worth watching the whole video:

https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1098282209834950657

The 4 Legal Challenges Facing Trump's Emergency Declaration

All sorts of legal hurdles for Drumpf:

http://time.com/5532449/donald-trump-emergency-declaration-lawsuits/

When the Nazis held a ‘Pro-America’ Rally in New York

A mostly unknown stain on US history:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2019/02/19/when-the-nazis-held-a-pro-america-rally-in-new-york/

A Fence, Steel Slats or ‘Whatever You Want to Call It’: A Detailed Timeline of Trump’s Words About the Wall

This just puts into perspective how it's all about politics, not about benefiting the country:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/13/upshot/detailed-timeline-trumps-words-border-wall.html

Republicans Keep Admitting Everything They Said About Obama Was a Lie

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/republicans-admit-everything-they-said-about-obama-was-a-lie.html?ch=99&share=d33358db

Chris asks Stephen Miller about past National Emergencies

I love it when even Faux News pushes back against this administration:

https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1097148819819552768

The Green New Deal Could Launch Republican Climate Solutions

As long as it gets done and done right:

http://time.com/5529135/green-new-deal-republicans-carbon-tax/

Trump’s most hypocritical quotes on unilateral executive action

Trump has a tweet for everything:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/15/trumps-national-emergency-is-exactly-kind-thing-he-used-call-failure-leadership/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.243a5a652880

After Explosive Sex Abuse Allegations, Southern Baptist Leaders Promise Reform

Of course these guys were not going to be any better than the Catholic church:

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/693668194/southern-baptist-leaders-grapple-with-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct-by-pastor

House Dems plan vast Russia probe

Good!

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-76c2bd4f-4f3b-4626-9902-a8fa1560c732.html?chunk=0&utm_term=emshare#story0

In the age of fake news, here’s how schools are teaching kids to think like fact-checkers

"In their own words, the researchers initially found themselves “rejecting ideas for tasks because we thought they would be too easy”—in other words, that students would find it obvious whether or not information was reliable.  They could not have been more wrong. After an initial pilot round, the researchers realized that most students lacked the basic ability to recognize credible information or partisan junk online, or to tell sponsored content apart from real articles. As the team later wrote in their report, “many assume that because young people are fluent in social media they are equally savvy about what they find there. Our work shows the opposite.”"

https://qz.com/1533747/in-the-age-of-fake-news-heres-how-schools-are-teaching-kids-to-think-like-fact-checkers/

The 3 Richest Americans Hold More Wealth Than Bottom 50% Of The Country, Study Finds

This is insane. And it's why capitalism--despite all its benefits--needs regulation and oversight:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/11/09/the-3-richest-americans-hold-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-of-country-study-finds/#51c568d03cf8

What is socialism like in Scandinavia?

I'm a fan of social democracy:

https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/what-is-socialism-scandinavia?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'Green New Deal' Wants to Get Rid of Nuclear Power. That's a Great Idea.

Too slow to develop, and too expensive:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a26255413/green-new-deal-nuclear-power/

With AI, it's all hands on deck

FOR ONCE Trump is doing something actually good. It needs a lot more detail, but it's a great first step:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-541ce70d-20d4-4d38-b339-1fda98d7b3e8.html

Insects Are Dying En Masse, Risking ‘Catastrophic’ Collapse Of Earth’s Ecosystems

Yet another reason why climate change mitigation needs to be at the top of our agenda:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/insect-population-decline-extinction_us_5c611921e4b0f9e1b17f097d

What tackling climate change means, illustrated

Different perspectives:

https://www.axios.com/what-tackling-climate-change-means-illustrated-5102232a-524b-46c7-8d40-9314535ac56e.html

China’s Aging Population Is a Major Threat to Its Future

So despite China's rising political/economic/military clout, it seems they may have planted the seeds to their own collapse during the one-child policy era:

http://time.com/5523805/china-aging-population-working-age/

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls Out Dark Money

AOC does have chutzpah:

https://twitter.com/JKCorden/status/1093634176845139968

As Trump Visits El Paso to Sell His Wall, Locals Refute His False Claims About Their City

We need more Republicans like this who refute Trump's border wall claims:

http://time.com/5522904/donald-trump-el-paso-wall/

18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001

An effective and depressing illustration of the rising world temperatures:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-1ddb5186-b30e-4d07-81d2-af79a70386f8.html

Also note...the last five years have been the hottest in recorded history....

Your online shopping has a startling hidden cost

Well this is disappointing...although certainly no surprise:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90301638/your-online-shopping-has-a-startling-hidden-cost

A Wall And Trump Immigration Policies Benefit Drug Cartels

Ironically, it appears Trump's border wall will do the exact opposite of what he claims:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/02/07/a-wall-and-trump-immigration-policies-benefit-drug-cartels/#11ae6b977888

The real fight begins: Dems vow "MRI" of Trump money

The Democrats are carefully but definitely stepping over Trump's "red line":

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-1ddb5186-b30e-4d07-81d2-af79a70386f8.html

An Arizona City Warns It Will Sue If Razor Wire Isn't Removed From Its Border Fence

Glad to see border towns defying Trump's excessive border protection fixation:

http://time.com/5523605/nogales-arizona-razor-wire-border/

Middle Class Dads Freak Out About Trump Tax Hike

Another self-induced assault on his own supporters finally coming home to roost:

https://www.fatherly.com/news/middle-class-angry-trump-tax-hike

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Unveils Landmark Green New Deal Resolution

AOC has spunk. Climate change IS the biggest threat we face, so I'm glad support for legislation is gaining steam:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal_us_5c588e7fe4b09293b20730d7

Democrats Are Taking the First Steps Toward Getting Trump's Taxes. But Don't Expect to See Them Soon

Yeah, do it right, not fast:

http://time.com/5523040/donald-trump-taxes-house-investigation/

Donald Trump is Facing a Dilemma That Could Define His Presidency

Trump's support is waning and he's bloviated himself into a corner. Music to my ears:

http://time.com/5523776/donald-trump-presidency-dilemma/

Why sex behind the Iron Curtain was better for women

Well this is curious:

https://bigthink.com/sex-relationships/women-sex-socialism

Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump's Biggest State of the Union Claims

A good detailed rundown:

http://time.com/5520715/state-union-donald-trump-fact-check/

What Is the Most "Godless" City on Earth?

Alas, it's Shanghai, but at least there are a lot of other atheistic cities:

https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/what-is-the-most-godless-city-on-earth

The World Might Actually Run Out of People

This is unexpected, if true:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-world-might-actually-run-out-of-people/

Soak the rich? Americans say go for it

It's about time people started coming around to seeing the problem with such massive wealth inequality:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/04/democrats-taxes-economy-policy-2020-1144874

'Willful Ignorance.' Inside President Trump's Troubled Intelligence Briefings

Trump rejects intelligence. Yeah, that sounds about right:

http://time.com/5518947/donald-trump-intelligence-briefings-national-security/

Surely ignoring valid intelligence from one's own intelligence agencies is tantamount to treason?

Winner-take-all race to rule tech

This is why it's imperative to keep anti-science people out of government:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-ceabc528-0d60-49bd-90c9-f15644caa2c0.html

7-Year-Old Boy Killed While Being Punished For Failing To Memorize Bible Verses

And they say religious belief deserves respect?

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2019/02/7-year-old-boy-killed-while-being-punished-for-failing-to-memorize-bible-verses/

New EPA Advisory Board Member Believes Burning Fossil Fuels Is Good For Earth

Hiring a witch doctor to give you medical advice:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-epa-board-member-john-christy-is-climate-change-skeptci_us_5c565b84e4b00187b55185fa

Democrats Announce Hearing On Trump’s Tax Returns

Great to hear! Although Mnuchin could cause problems so it has to be done right:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tax-returns-hearing_us_5c536582e4b0bdf0e7d972f0

Howard Schultz Could Flip the 2020 Election. Just Not Necessarily to Trump's Favor

I'd still rather him gone, frankly:

http://time.com/5517544/howard-schultz-president-trump/