Pie SNAPS! Never A Dull Minute

Balls & Nipples next?

Published on Apr 18, 2017

Views: 11,320

A snap election ruins Pie's day

Off To See The Wizard In Washington, D.C.

This isn't the way it is supposed to be, Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were some of our first politicians and there were some of our greatest! When did we let our standard slip so much!?! 


See more > U.S. Term Limits

What A Wacko: Biggs Compares Himself to Einstein

Have some more Koop-Aid

Published on Apr 13, 2017

Views: 436

Republican Congressman Andy Biggs of Gilbert was being heckled by a town hall crowd Tuesday night for his views on climate change. Biggs maintained his calm throughout. But when he compared himself to Einstein, the crown went wild.

Getting Warm + Warmer > How Hot Is It?

Earth can't stop, won't stop setting monthly warming records
So much for a global warming slowdown. New data released on Friday shows that March 2017 was the second-warmest on record, behind March of last year. The global average surface temperature was 1.12 degrees Celsius, or 2.016 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than the 1951-1980 average.Source: Mashable 

The two top March temperature anomalies have occurred during the past two years.

SEE ALSO: Earth just had its second-warmest February on record

March of last year was the hottest such month on record, with a temperature anomaly of 1.27 degrees Celsius, or 2.28 degrees Fahrenheit, above the 20th century average for the month. 
March of 2017 was only the eighth month in NASA's database to have a global temperature anomaly at or above 1-degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. This is especially relevant since world leaders have committed to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, below preindustrial levels by the year 2100. 

Recent monthly temperatures have come perilously close to one climate guardrail that concerns low-lying developing nations, which favor a temperature target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Celsius, above preindustrial levels. If global temperatures exceed this level, leaders have warned, small island states such as the Maldives and Kiribati would face an existential threat from sea level rise. 

Interestingly, the global average temperature anomaly was greater in March than it was in February, and with hints of another El Niño event developing during the next six months, such a warming trend may continue.
According to the global map of temperature anomalies, Europe and all of Russia, particularly Siberia, were much warmer than the 20th century average. Much of the United States was also relatively warm, with the exception of Alaska, which was cooler than average. 

The entire year of 2016 was the hottest on record, with last year's temperatures exceeding all previous years since record-keeping began. It is possible, though not likely, that 2017 will beat 2016 to become the third-straight warmest year on record. 
NOAA and NASA scientists have said that human-caused global warming was responsible for a majority of the annual temperature gains, including the annual record set in 2016. 
However, scientists’ warnings are falling on deaf ears in the Trump administration, with officials like Scott Pruitt, who leads the Environmental Protection Agency, rejecting mainstream climate science altogether.

National Issues Hit Hyper-Local Conservative Republican Mesa

Last week two conservative Mesa politicos holding national elected office in Washington D.C. -  one Jeff Flake a Senator and the other Andy Biggs a Congressman [coincidentally both Mormons] - relented to rising public pressure to stage Town Hall meetings with their constituents here in Mesa after trying to stay out-of-the-spotlight to avoid any possible public heat with Tele-Town Halls produced in a studio.

Take the heat they did in-person and face-to-face. It was all good to keep these two guys honest, open, transparent and accountable to the public - that's the way democracy works.
Likewise, it was a run for more than a week of high-interest and high-ratings for both local and national media for two events here in Mesa, the most conservative city in America where the public is usually dis-engaged from government.

Times are changing, or are they?
Trump was here during the presidential election campaign, staging an event in a private hangar at Gateway Airport. Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont, will be here this Friday, April 21st in the outdoor arena of the Mesa Amphitheater.

One might ask why the City of Mesa is the chosen spot-to-be for both ends of the political spectrum. Whatever the reason, it's a refreshing opportunity for the exercise of democracy to see how it works when the public gets engaged and active - that's good. Hallelujah

Thanks for Hitting On MesaZona > Do It Some More Yeah!

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Religious Rights & Recycled Rubber Tires? Case Gets Bounced Up To Highest Court

                     ?Politics | Sun Apr 16, 2017 | 7:19am EDT        

With Trump pick aboard, top U.S. court tackles religious rights

By Andrew Chung | WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court is set this week to hear a closely watched case testing the limits of religious rights, and new Justice Neil Gorsuch's judicial record indicates he could tip the court toward siding with a church challenging Missouri's ban on state funding of religious entities.

Source: Reuters

 

"The U.S. Supreme Court is set this week to hear a closely watched case testing the limits of religious rights, and new Justice Neil Gorsuch's judicial record indicates he could tip the court toward siding with a church challenging Missouri's ban on state funding of religious entities. . . Gorsuch, who embraced an expansive view of religious rights as a Colorado-based federal appeals court judge, on Monday hears his first arguments since becoming a justice last week. He will be on the bench on Wednesday when the justices hear the Trinity Lutheran case, one of the most important of their current term. . . Gorsuch, appointed by President Donald Trump, restored the Supreme Court's 5-4 conservative majority. . . Trinity Lutheran wanted public funds to replace its playground's gravel with a rubber surface made from recycled tires that would be safer for children to play on.

The U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state and guarantees the free exercise of religion."

The Question Presented

Does funding a playground associated with a Church violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?

 

Case Background

Trinity Lutheran Church (Trinity) in Columbia, Missouri. manages a licensed preschool and daycare called The Learning Center. The daycare center was founded as a non-secular non-profit, but later became a part of Trinity Lutheran Church in 1985. The Learning Center follows an open admissions policy, where anyone can enroll, regardless of their faith. It also integrates daily religious instruction into its programs.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), a state agency, offers Playground Scrap Tire Surface Material Grants. This grant funds qualifying organizations to purchase recycled tires to resurface their playgrounds. In 2012, Trinity applied for a grant, disclosing that the school and daycare were a part of the church. Although Lutheran was otherwise qualified for the grant, DNR denied their application

Missouri Constitution, Article I, Section 7

“That no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, or denomination of religion, or in aid of any priest, preacher, minister or teacher thereof, as such; and that no preference shall be given to nor any discrimination made against any church, sect, or creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or worship.”

 

For more case history and law please take a look at Lesson Plan – Trinity Lutheran Church v. Sarah Parker Pauley

 

 

Video from the lesson plan uploaded to YouTube

Uploaded on Aug 25, 2010

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