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The world could one day get a patron saint of surfing now that the Vatican is considering a Brazilian man known as the "Surfer Angel" for sainthood.

Guido Schäffer, a doctor, took to the waves to connect to God; he helped others do the same.

"Surfing for him was a totally heavenly experience," Eduardo Martins, a close friend of Schäffer's, told PRI's The World. "In the water, he could feel God, he could talk to God, and in fact, I learned with him to pray before going surfing... Surfing a tube was the perfect experience, because it was like being embraced by God in the water."

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The first surfer saint? http://t.co/9th9JLUTWO pic.twitter.com/u0KCAFxXI4
— Alive Surf School (@AliveSurfSchool) February 27, 2015

It was at Martin's bachelor party in 2009 that Schäffer, who was 34, drowned while surfing off the coast of Barra da Tijuca, shortly before he was to be ordained as a minister.

Since then, people in the area have come to follow him, pray to him and bring him gifts. Some even claim that he has saved tenuous pregnancies or helped women to become pregnant.

In November, the Holy See issued a "nihil obstat," or no objection, document, beginning the process of canonization. In January, the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints gave permission to Rio priests to investigate evidence of Shäffer's holiness.

John Lyons, who wrote an article about Schäffer for the Wall Street Journal, told HuffPost Live that many people in Rio believe it's an act of God that Schäffer was killed while surfing.

The canonization process can take decades. The first step is to be proclaimed a "servant of God" and beatified. Miracles performed by Schäffer still have to be investigated.

While the decision to allow Rio priests to submit evidence is an "enormous step" in becoming a saint, Lyons told HuffPost Live, it doesn't guarantee sainthood.

Confucius, China's greatest sage, developed his world-changing philosophy 2,300 years before the birth of the United States. His teachings, though, are remarkably relevant to the debates currently raging in Washington.

And remarkably Republican.

What a surprise, many of you are probably thinking, that GOP conservatives share a lot in common with a crotchety reactionary born in the sixth century BC. The truth, however, is that Confucius explored many of the same political and social issues our policymakers struggle with today -- such as the proper role of government in society, how to ensure national prosperity, and the line between personal and public responsibility. And many of Confucius's views on these contentious subjects would make any Tea Partier proud.

"Confucius explored many of the same political and social issues our policymakers struggle with today -- such as the proper role of government in society, how to ensure national prosperity, and the line between personal and public responsibility."
That's because Confucius was an early advocate of laissez faire economics. To him, good government was small government. Confucius believed that states that imposed high taxes, wasted money in grand schemes or intervened too intrusively in the economy deprived the common man of the fruits of his labor and damaged overall prosperity. In the Analects, the ancient text that best encapsulates his doctrine, Confucius says that to govern a state, there must be "economy in expenditure, and love for men;" When one of his former students, then in the employ of a rich noble family, imposed a land tax over Confucius's objections, the sage groused: "He is no disciple of mine."

Confucius was also a big proponent of another Republican favorite: "family values." For him, the perfect society was built from the ground up - on a solid foundation of strong families. The key to a good Confucian family was the concept of filial piety, which meant children were to be obedient to and supportive of their parents throughout their lives. When filial piety was practiced, "the people were brought to live in peace and harmony," Confucius is quoted saying in one ancient text.

Today's Republicans and Confucius agree on the importance of personal responsibility as well. During his own life, Confucius did not benefit from special privileges or wealth, but instead tried to make his way in the world on his education and perseverance -- and he expected everyone to do the same. When something goes badly, you're not supposed to blame others or rage against the unfairness of society, but look first to yourself, to see what you might have done wrong. "When you meet someone better than yourself," Confucius once said, "turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self."

However, there is at least one commonality between Confucius and the Republicans that they would be better off without: Both have trouble with women. In recent elections, more women have voted Democrat, and if Confucius stood for office today, he probably wouldn't win the female nod, either. He suggested in the Analects that women should be limited to a subordinate position to men in society. "Women and servants are most difficult to nurture," he notoriously said in the Analects. "If one is close to them, they lose their reserve, while if one is distant, they feel resentful." Can't you imagine a foot-in-mouth Republican saying something uncomfortably similar?

"Still, on some issues, even Confucius was more progressive than the GOP. Confucius believed it was the responsibility of policymakers to ensure wealth was spread out among the masses."
Still, on some issues, even Confucius was more progressive than the GOP. Confucius believed it was the responsibility of policymakers to ensure wealth was spread out among the masses. Once when a companion asked Confucius what should be done for the people of an especially populous region, he simply responded: "Enrich them!" In fact, Confucius saw people who were too focused on accumulating riches as ethically suspect. "The gentleman understands what is moral," Confucius said. "The small man understands what is profitable."

That spirit led later Confucians to distrust big business and agitate for the redistribution of wealth. In the second century BC, one prominent Confucian warned the emperor that an excessive concentration of land ownership among a rich few was impoverishing the ordinary man. "The poor were left without enough land to stick the point of an awl into," he complained. "How could the common people escape oppression?" The Confucians were proponents of policies to eliminate income inequality, such as land equalization, and welfare schemes to aid those in need. Mencius, the most influential Confucian thinker after Confucius himself, once scolded a king that if he didn't release food stored in his granaries when his people were starving, he was in effect guilty of murder, as if he had knifed them to death.

A Republican Party that opposes minimum wage increases and food stamps would probably condemn such Confucian ideals as socialist. Perhaps, though, it would improve the Republicans' electoral prospects by becoming even more like Confucius.

Why does 3D printing get all the love? Probably because it evokes visions of Star Trek's famous replicator. Back here in the humble 21st century, however, it's just one of the computerized manufacturing methods set to upend industry. Another method, subtractive manufacturing, is the yin to 3D printing's yang.

While additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) builds parts layer by layer from the ground up, subtractive machines (like 5-axis mills) whittle precision parts out of solid chunks of metal.