Meet John Shimkus

I have to admit, despite the fact that I try to stay informed of political goings-on, I have never heard of Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL). And now that I have, I'd like to introduce you to him if you haven't made his acquaintance already.

Last March, Shimkus inferred that climate change is a myth by stating that sea levels will not rise and that God would never destroy the earth through a flood again, as stated in Genesis 8:21-22 and 9:11. Clearly, Shimkus is anti-science, but perhaps the most frightening aspect of Shimkus is that he aspires to chair the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Furthermore, he recently sent a letter to his colleagues in which he states that he is "uniquely qualified among a group of talented contenders to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee."

One could only assume that such a person is well-studied in climate change, energy production, and commerce. Of course, he has none of these credentials, but he does have a teaching certificate from Christ College in Irvine, CA. However, to be fair, he also has an MBA from Southern Illinois University.

So we have now reached a point in our political system where a Bible-thumping, climate-change denier who gets kick-backs from the oil industry with no scientific background in energy production or climate change seeks to take the wheel of our nation's energy policies.

I don't know about you, but this man makes me a wee bit nervous.

John embraces sex ed! (Sort of.)

If there really is a hell, it just dropped about ten full degrees.

You may recall in March 2009 when John Ratzinger, aka Pope Benedict XVI, made the ridiculous, unsubstantiated claim that the use of condoms would only serve as a catalyst for the increased spread of AIDS throughout Africa. He even followed up said jackassery in September by urging Africans to pray for AIDS patients and forgo condoms to prevent the spread of the disease, as opposed to embracing education like the rest of the civilized world has.

Fast forward to today, as John has done a complete 120°. I can only assume that John has given in to the public outrage over the stupidity of the aforementioned use of condoms in Africa. But don't give him full credit for his sudden turn around. He says that condoms should not be used to prevent conception, but for preventing the spread of AIDS amongst male prostitutes.

Male prostitutes? Please. One would hope that he gives all sexually active Africans the green light on condoms in order to stem the spread of AIDS.

Eh, what the hell -- it's a start.