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!

Trip to PEI

My daughter and I are currently on a long awaited trip to Prince Edward Island.  We planned this years ago when she was totally enamored with the Anne of Green Gables stories and she wanted to see Green Gables for herself. For one reason or another the trip never worked out-- until now.

As I watch families with young girls, several with hair in pigtails, I think how nice it is that we waited. For little girls a visit here could be not much different than a trip to Disney World-- see the sights, color the pictures, buy a doll, or at least a hat with attached red braids.

Now both of us bring a better appreciation of the author and her real life, as well as how she crafted her fictional characters from what she knew.  When she was at the age of first reading the Anne books, Katie would have just liked seeing the room where Anne was supposed to have lived, and taking the Haunted Wood trail.  Now she sees with more mature eyes.  She looks at the beauty of the area, takes photos with thoughtful compositions, and soaks in the grace and beauty of the island.

We are also better suited to travel together-- real companions as opposed to mother-daughter mates. Katie is an excellent traveling companion and brings her own set of resources now. For this trip she came equipped with a killer guidebook and a Sat-Nav.  Great!  She is willing to do all the driving so I can enjoy the scenery and follow the maps.

It is a nice trip. The B&B is gracious, the meals have been excellent, and it's fun to share this with my daughter after all the years of delaying the trip.  I couldn't ask for a better week.