Weekend Reads 3/11/17

For the first time, the Gulf of Mexico didn’t fall below 73° this winter

For the spring and early-summer storm season in the central and southern US, the warm waters will likely have an effect. While the relationship is far from absolute, scientists have found that when the Gulf of Mexico tends to be warmer than normal, there is more energy for severe storms and tornadoes to form than when the Gulf is cooler.

Purple America Has All But Disappeared

In an increasing number of communities like Baldwin County, Alabama, which gave Trump 80 percent of its major-party votes, and San Mateo, California, which gave Clinton 80 percent, an entire generation of youth will grow up without much exposure to alternative political points of view. If you think our political climate is toxic now, think for a moment about how nasty politics could be 20 or 30 years from now.

Paul Ryan, About Seven Years Too Late, Explains Why Full Repeal Would Be a Disaster

Those who want to repeal it fully are the ones with whom Ryan is having trouble. The most striking moment of the presentation came during the question and answer session, when he appeared to give his most direct response yet as to why he can’t do what conservative agitators in his party want him to do: a “clean repeal” of the law.

“What [the insurance industry] also tells us,” Ryan said, “is that if you only repeal the law—gut and repeal the law, as some folks are suggesting—then you have triple-digit premium increases, and you’ll collapse the individual market.”

The Real Reason Evangelicals Don’t Baptize Babies

The core assumption here is that you must have a conversion experience to be saved. You must turn away from a past life toward a new one, usually with tears and laments attesting your sincerity. And this view of Christianity works well in an evangelistic setting, where many have lived as open unbelievers. The problem is it’s an awkward fit when it comes to multi-generational faith.