Let me see if I understand this...

We're going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, signed by a president that also hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese and financed by a country that's nearly broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

Jesus was NOT homeless

If I hear one more person say that Jesus was homeless, I'm gonna scream. Or maybe puke.

Every Christmas season we will hear the inevitable revisionist version of the Christmas story in order to further government programs. Jesse Jackson was the first to turn Joseph and Mary into a “homeless couple” when he claimed that Christmas “is not about Santa Claus and ‘Jingle Bells’ and fruit cake and eggnog,” of which all Christians would agree, but about “a homeless couple.”

Barbara Reynolds, a former columnist for USA Today, following Jackson’s early lead, scolded the Christian Right for opposing government welfare programs: “They should recall,” she writes, “that Jesus Christ was born homeless to a teen who was pregnant before she was married.” Hillary Clinton, in comments critical of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s homeless policies, sought to remind all of us that “Christmas celebrates ‘the birth of a homeless child.’”

Have these people never read the Bible?

• Mary did not engage in premarital sex. Her circumstances, to say the least, were unique (Luke 1:26-28). Many young girls got married as teenagers.
• Mary went to live with her cousin Elizabeth upon hearing about her pregnancy and “stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home” (Luke 1:56). Presumably her parents owned a home and did not throw her out when they learned of her pregnancy.
• Mary and Joseph were actually married at the time she learned she was pregnant even though a formal ceremony had not taken place. Joseph is called “her husband” (Matt. 1:19).
• Joseph was a self-employed carpenter (Matt. 13:55).
• An edict from the centralized Roman government forced Joseph and Mary to spend valuable resources of money and time to return to their place of birth to register for a tax (Luke 2:1-7). Joseph’s business was shut down while he took his very pregnant wife on a wild goose chase concocted by the Roman Empire to raise additional tax money.
• Typical of governments that make laws without considering the consequences, there was not enough housing for the great influx of traveling citizens and subjects who complied with the governmental decree (Luke 2:1).
• Mary and Joseph had enough money to pay for lodging. The problem was inadequate housing. The fact that “there was no room in the inn” (Luke 2:7) did not make them homeless. If we follow liberal logic, any family that takes a trip and finds “no vacancy” signs, is technically homeless.
• Joseph and Mary owned or rented a home. It was in their home that the wise men offered their gifts: “And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11).
• Joseph, Mary, and Jesus became a family on the run when Herod, a government official, became a threat to them (Matt. 2:13–15).

We would be more accurate to say, the Christmas story is about how taxes hurt the poor and government decrees can turn productive families into the disenfranchised by enacting and enforcing a counterproductive law.

Of course, the Christmas story is not about homelessness nor is it about taxes and government decrees. It's about God's interevention into history. It's about His plan to provide a savior, to reconcile sinners to Himself.

Quote of the day

"He's not a grinch, he's an economist." -- the FastDraw guys on CBS Sunday Morning.

DARPA Network Challenge

DARPA, the real inventors of the Internet (sorry Al), is conducting an experiment to determine the usefulness of social networks in solving certain kinds of problems.

Tomorrow they will launch 10 red balloons, tethered at fixed locations somewhere in the continental United States. The first person or organization to submit the location of all 10 balloons will win a $40,000 prize.

Groundspeak, the organization that runs geocaching.com, is enlisting the help of the geocaching community. If they win the prize, they are going to add $10,000 of their own money to it and award $50,000 to schools that need GPS equipment through donorschoose.org.

So if you see a big, red, tethered balloon on Saturday, December 5, email the location to darpa@groundspeak.com.

To follow Groundspeak's attempt to win the prize, follow their blog: 10 Balloonies or follow them on Twitter.

The President Gets It Right

Y'all know I'm no fan of Obama, but I thought his speech last night was nearly perfect. I was surprised by how many times I found myself nodding in agreement. I even said out loud "It looks like he finally grew a pair."

I was impressed that he recognized the reasons we were in Afghanistan, that he acknowledged the overwhelming support that congress gave to going there in the first place, and the urgency of winning the war there.

I could have done without the bashing of the previous administration for getting sidetracked in Iraq, but I had to admit he was correct in stating that it was Iraq that kept us from being successful in Afghanistan to date.

I think the Republican response, as voiced by John McCain, is disingenuous. They are correct that announcing a "date certain" for withdrawal gives strength to our enemies and distresses our allies. But I didn't hear that in Obama's speech. I heard him say that we would BEGIN to withdraw troops in 18 months. I also heard him say that the timetable to complete that withdrawal would depend on conditions in Afghanistan, that we would remain there until our mission is accomplished.

Kudos, Mr. President!

52 New Laws Take Effect Today in North Carolina

I've quoted James Madison here before, but it bears repeating:

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they can not be read, or so incoherent that they can not be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow."--From The Federalist Papers 

Below is a list of the new North Carolina laws that go into effect today. Some are simple housekeeping. Some actually simplify the system (such as consolidating all of the rules on when a record can be expunged).

At least one is unenforceable... it's illegal to send or read text messages while driving. However, it's legal to make a phone call or use the built-in GPS on your cell phone for directions. So how is a police officer supposed to know if I just read a text message, as opposed to glancing at my phone to see who is calling me?

One makes a particular plant illegal... because that's worked so well in the case of another common plant that's illegal. And another makes the sale of glass tubes illegal. There's certainly no potential for abuse of that one, is there?   This is simply more of your tax dollars at work, in the War On (some) Drugs.

And the "Targeted Picketing" thing appears on it's face to be an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.



S.L. 2009-37 (HB 616) OFFENSE FOR PORTABLE TOILETS/PUMPER TRUCKS.
S.L. 2009-93 (HB 1327) SCHOOLS NOTIFIED OF CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION.
S.L. 2009-107 (HB 43) SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS/FAILURE TO DISCHARGE DUTY.
S.L. 2009-128 (SB 1000) MOTOR VEHICLE SIZE AND WEIGHT LAW CHANGES.
S.L. 2009-135 (HB 9) NO TEXTING WHILE DRIVING.
S.L. 2009-147 (HB 440) THE NICHOLAS ADKINS SCHOOL BUS SAFETY ACT.
S.L. 2009-179 (HB 315) PLEA BARGAIN DISCLOSURE.
S.L. 2009-203 (HB 1190) PRESERVATION OF DNA & BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.
S.L. 2009-204 (HB 787) INCREASE PENALTY/REMOVE SERIAL NUMBER FROM GUN.
S.L. 2009-205 (HB 722) PARAPHERNALIA CONTROL ACT. (Editorial comment: this one makes the sale of glass tubes illegal.)
S.L. 2009-234 (SB 649) MODIFY SPEED ZONE RESTRICTIONS.
S.L. 2009-300 (HB 885) TARGETED PICKETING.
S.L. 2009-319 (HB 882) MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAM CHANGES.
S.L. 2009-333 (HB 1105) AMEND LAWS/REFRIGERATION CONTRACTORS.
S.L. 2009-335 (SB 817) INCREASE CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTIONS.
S.L. 2009-336 (SB 65) AMEND COMPUTER SOLICITATION OF CHILD.
S.L. 2009-344 (SB 307) REGULATE OWNERSHIP & USE OF CERTAIN REPTILES.
S.L. 2009-348 (SB 764) REAL ESTATE/SETTLEMENT AGENT EMBEZZLEMENT.
S.L. 2009-349 (SB 1076) MODIFY CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
S.L. 2009-351 (HB 23) STRENGTHEN CHILD LABOR VIOLATION PENALTIES.
S.L. 2009-356 (HB 192) CHILD WITNESS TESTIMONY/PROCEDURES.
S.L. 2009-369 (HB 1185) HABITUAL DWI-REINSTATEMENT PETITION/10 YRS.
S.L. 2009-372 (SB 920) PROBATION REFORM.
S.L. 2009-379 (HB 1256) LARCENY OF A MOTOR VEHICLE PART.
S.L. 2009-380 (HB 1255) SEX OFFENDERS/PERMANENT NO CONTACT ORDER.
S.L. 2009-398 (HB 1077) VENUE/MUNICIPALITIES IN MULTIPLE DISTRICTS.
S.L. 2009-411 (SB 513) NOTICE OF HEARING/UNSUPERVISED PROBATION.
S.L. 2009-412 (SB 1078) DELAY BOND/PROBATIONER ARRESTED FOR FELONY.
S.L. 2009-415 (SB 713) REMOVAL OF ELECTRONIC MONITORING DEVICE.
S.L. 2009-417 (HB 1058) INCREASE STATUTORY HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
S.L. 2009-451 (SB 202) APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2009.
S.L. 2009-456 (HB 67) LICENSE PLATE FRAME/STATE NAME VISIBLE/STUDY.
S.L. 2009-460 (HB 1098) PROTECT SEARCH AND RESCUE ANIMAL.
S.L. 2009-491 (HB 1117) SEX OFFENDER CAN’T DRIVE BUS WITH CHILDREN.
S.L. 2009-498 (HB 209) SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY/LIBERTIES W/STUDENT.
S.L. 2009-500 (HB 926) CONTINUOUS ALCOHOL MONITORING SYSTEMS.
S.L. 2009-508 (SB 990) INCREASE PENALTY/TIMBER THEFT.
S.L. 2009-514 (HB 775) ALT. TESTIMONY/CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES.
S.L. 2009-516 (HB 1269) AOC OMNIBUS COURTS ACT.
S.L. 2009-517 (SB 853) MOTION FOR APPROPRIATE RELIEF/NEW REQUIREMENT.
S.L. 2009-528 (HB 889) CHANGE PENALTY FOR MISD. DEATH BY VEHICLE.
S.L. 2009-531 (SB 295) CLARIFY CLOSEST MARKET.
S.L. 2009-534 (HB 1111) CAMPAIGN FINANCE AMENDMENTS.
S.L. 2009-538 (SB 138) SALVIA DIVINORUM UNLAWFUL.
S.L. 2009-545 (SB 984) ACCESS TO JUVENILE RECORDS/VIOLENT OFFENDERS.
S.L. 2009-547 (SB 726) AMEND HOUSE ARREST LAWS/ADULT/JUVENILE.
S.L. 2009-551 (HB 1261) PROTECT OUR KIDS/CYBER BULLYING.
S.L. 2009-553 (HB 1387) SOLAR COLLECTORS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
S.L. 2009-554 (HB 1135) QUI TAM/LIABILITY FOR FALSE CLAIMS.
S.L. 2009-555 (SB 489) EVEN OUT PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD POINTS.
S.L. 2009-556 (SB 488) ESTABLISH PROPORTIONATE SENTENCE LENGTHS.
S.L. 2009-577 (HB 1329) CONSOLIDATE EXPUNCTION STATUTES.