Religious left?

   For years now I have been making the same argument and thought it is about time to put it in writing.  What about the religious left?  I am tired of conservative right wingers acting like they have the corner on the market of religious thought.  I consider myself a very religious person, and I am also more of a leftist politically. I don't see a conflict with that.
  For instance, Christianity, and some other religions, stress the need to be kind to others, especially those who are more needy than yourself.  Don't left-leaning social programs do just that?  On the other hand, someone whose religion teaches that God punishes and that those who have bad lives have done something to deserve their misery is more likely to cut social programs.  While someone who holds those beliefs may not say it out loud, is there some thinking behind right wing policies that to provide help to a person in need is to interfere with God's will-- i.e. punishing the guilty for some un-named crime?
   I would like to see a political movement that takes advantage of the religious left.  There are many of us who attend church, pray, and do not vote conservatively.
   

Bay of Fun....dy

   A month or so ago I was speaking with Richard about renewable energy options.  "Why weren't we using the tides?" I wondered.  After all, the tides run practically twice a day, all over the world.  Why use them?
   About a week after that I happened upon an article that spoke to exactly that option.  A research group had installed large turbines on the floor of the ocean in the Bay of Fundy- site of some of the largest tides in the world.  The problem was that the tides were so strong that the turbines had been pulled right off their foundations by the force of the water.  Still, they were working on a way to make it practical to use the tides for a power source.
   When Katie and I were in Canada we spent a day at the Bay of Fundy. What an experience!  We arrived just at high tide, took lots of photos from various points, had a leisurely lunch, and three hours after high tide we were walking on a beach that before had been underwater.  We spent about another three hours taking more photos-- after shots to match the befores-- and then left.
   It was truly amazing to witness the change.  Here are some of the photos.

Unless you see the one with the tiny people walking around under the huge crack in the rocks it is hard to understand the magnitude of the change.  Lots of water!

Here are a few other photos.  It was a FUN- DAY!