GOP Energy and Commerce Committee chair candidate: no need to worry about global warming; God promised no more floods

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) will seek the Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship in the new GOP led House of Representatives. He has, in the past, maintained that we do not have to worry about climate change because God promised in the Bible not to destroy the world again after Noah’s flood.

From the YouTube video blurb:

From the March 25, 2009 hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment gives us a crazy performance by insane Rep John Shimkus, a climate change skeptic. Spouting bible verses as evidence that climate change is false, he concludes by the end of his opening statement that: "The earth will end only when God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood."

Indeed, Genesis says:

9:11 I will establish my covenant with you; neither will all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither will there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

9:12 God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.

9:13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

9:14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,

9:15 and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

9:16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.

9:17 God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Thing is, there's plenty of other leeway for Global Warming to result in the destruction of the planet, without flooding.

Watch the video below.

Clueless America: 26 percent don't know we split from England

This should be shocking news. However, considering America is the country that wanted to elect a Vice-President who did not know Africa was a continent, and who could not list a series of publications she regularly read.

26 percent of Americans do not know that the U.S. split from Great Britain when it declared its independence, according to a Marist Poll. That 74 percent do know the correct answer is small comfort.

20 percent were unsure of which country the U.S. split from. Meanwhile, the other 6 percent mentioned France, China, Japan, Mexico, and Spain, among others. Don't imagine it's senility, either: the youngest group was the worst, with 18-29 year olds only answering correctly 60 percent of the time.

Steele rewrites history; Obama becomes president who started war in Afghanistan

It's been said by some that the GOP likes to rewrite history, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appears to be no different. At a GOP fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday, Steele, while responding to a question about the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, stated that the war in Afghanistan "was a war of Obama's choosing" that America had not "actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."

Wait, what happened to this George W. Bush guy? What happened to "Operation Enduring Freedom?"

Here's what Steele said:

"The McChrystal incident, to me, was very comical. And I think it's a reflection of the frustration that a lot of our military leaders have with this Administration and their prosecution of the war in Afghanistan," said Steele. "Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."

Watch a video, but note that Steele is not all that audible in the clip.

Couple tries to sell baby at Walmart; 'Save More, Live Better?'

A couple, possibly feeling they could "live better" without their baby, and with some extra cash, tried to sell their baby outside a Walmart on Tuesday. Unlike Walmart's always falling prices, they raised the price after an initial rebuff.

The incident happened on Tuesday around 7:20 PM. PDT outside a Walmart in Salinas, California, when a Patrick Alan Fousek, 38, approached two women and asked if they'd like to buy his child for $25. Samantha Tomasini, 20, was reportedly in a car nearby.

The women rebuffed Fousek, who then raised the price to $75, and shoved the child into the arms of one woman. The women then called 911.

However, the couple had left before police arrived, but based on the description provided by the women, police eventually found the couple, with baby all right, but her parents high on meth.

The defendants are charged with felony child endangerment, which carries a four-year maximum sentence, and misdemeanor charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of a meth pipe.

The couple was arraigned on Friday, but both are being held in segregated, lockdown cells at the Monterey County Jail. Reportedly, Fousek was attacked by fellow inmates Thursday night after details of the incident were shown on TV. Fousek was transported to Natividad Medical Center, where he was treated for his injuries, including two cracked ribs, before being returned to jail.

Watch a video report:

Woman Punched by Cop Apologizes for Provoking Incident

Many pushed Seattle police officer Ian Walsh under the bus for punching a 17-year-old teenager in the face. That was, until they carefully viewed the video (embedded below), and saw her shove him before that punch. That still-unnamed Seattle teen has now apologized to the officer in a private meeting.

Authorities say officer Walsh accepted the apology Friday. Meanwhile, the King County, WA prosecutor charged the 17-year-old girl with third-degree assault, but as a juvenile. As such, that charge is punishable by a maximum 30 days in detention.

The original incident occurred Monday. The teen interfered in a friend's jaywalking arrest. James Kelly of the Urban League of Seattle said he requested Friday's meeting to help calm the situation.

Despite the apology, which seemingly clears officer Walsh, authorities say the matter is still under investigation. The department's civilian-led Office of Professional Accountability is looking Walsh's actions.

Watch the incident below:

Cop Punches Woman, Video Goes Viral

This YouTube video, of a Seattle, WA cop punching a woman in the face has gone viral, an example of what police shouldn't do if someone's around, period. Nowadays just about everyone has a cell phone that can record video, after all.

It turns out that four women were jaywalking, and the officer had them come over. Things escalated, and he was trying to handcuff the first woman (a 19-year-old) when the second one, a 17-year-old, came over. It is clear from the video that the 17-year-old pushed the officer (as pictured above). At that point, the officer punches the 17-year-old in the face.

In a situation where he is clearly outnumbered, it's difficult to fault the officer. At which point, one must ask, did the second woman feel it was OK to assault the officer, and why didn't the first one just cooperate?

Undoubtedly, there's going to be arguments over the incident, and also undoubtedly, there will be "race" brought into the picture. The Seattle police have responded to the incident, and issued this statement.

"You obviously have to take into context everything that occurred from the point that the officer did make contact with the individuals until the situation ended. As I said before, we have some concerns about the tactics the officer used and employed at the time. Again, we did feel what occurred did deserve a review by the Office of Professional Accountability."

Watch the video, and decide for yourself.

Sixty-two foot 'Touchdown Jesus' statue goes down in flames

One of southwestern Ohio's most familiar landmarks, the "King of Kings" statue, which is a six-story tall statue of Jesus Christ first erected in 2004, has been burned to the ground. The statue, which stood with an image of Jesus with his arms outstretch, had been nicknamed "Touchdown Jesus."

The 62-foot-tall statue, covered in fiber glass, was built by the Solid Rock Church (Monroe, OH)’s at an estimated cost of more the $250,000. In addition to the most popular nickname of "Touchdown Jesus," the statue, which has now been reduced to a pile of rubble, has other popular monickers, such as Big Butter Jesus (as seen in the photo, it is a sort of buttery color) and Drowning Jesus (as the statue's body seems to be half immersed in water).

Watch Touchdown Jesus go down in flames in this embedded video:

Taliban hangs seven-year-old boy accused of spying

The Taliban has executed a 7-year-old boy, it has been reported. The child, whom the Taliban accused of being a spy for the Afghanistan government, has reportedly been hanged, after being placed on trial and found guilty.

The boy was killed on Tuesday in Helmand province. When asked about the incident, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the following,

"A seven-year-old boy cannot be a spy. A seven-year-old boy cannot be anything but a seven-year-old boy. And therefore, hanging or shooting to kill a seven-year-old, regardless of whatever reason one would give for it, is a crime against humanity."

While the so-called spy label has been used as a reason by the Taliban, Daoud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor of Helmand province, gave another. He said that the killing happened days after the boy's grandfather, Abdul Woodod Alokozai, spoke out against militants in their home village.

"His grandfather is a tribal elder in the village and the village is under the control of the Taliban. His grandfather said some good things about the government and he formed a small group of people to stand against the Taliban. That's why the Taliban killed his grandson in revenge."

Watch a video report.