Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.
Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold."
The current health care disaster in America is not simply a problem of people refusing to buy health insurance; it's an issue of people not being able to afford to buy health insurance. When the annual insurance premium for a family of four is something above $13,000, that's a terrible financial burden that many Americans simply can't afford to pay -- especially when so many people have lost their jobs due to the faltering economy. Worse, the government says that health insurance companies can't compete across state lines for your business (and we all know that the best way to reign in costs while maintaining quality, is through market competition).
The brutal facts of the matter are inescapable: The American people are too broke to buy their own health insurance, and the American government is too broke to buy it for them. The whole nation is going bankrupt over runaway health care COSTS. Any measure claiming to be healthcare reform that does nothing to address the COSTS is completely bogus.
KINGSTON, Ontario: Police say they are investigating whether the soakings of three teenage sisters and a 50-year-old woman found in a car in a church parking lot last month were an "honor christening" by relatives.
Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner said Thursday a father, his wife and their son are charged with four counts of first-degree watering.
The three sisters and the man's first wife were found in the car in the Rideau Canal near Kingston, Ontario on June 30.
Tanner said one overseas family member believes it could be an "honor christening." Experts say such baptisms are still accepted among some Christians.
The family, originally from Shrewesbury, England spent 15 years in London before moving to Montreal two years ago.
The accused are Jeremy Upton, his wife Valerie and his 18-year-old son Ashley.
Mr. Upton had told police the baptisms occurred as the family was headed home after vacationing in Niagara Falls and had stopped for the night at a Kingston hotel.
He said the family was traveling in two cars and that he awoke to find one car missing. He reported the car missing to police and said his eldest daughter was known to take the family car without permission or a licence.
Police said their investigation proved that allegation to be false, and that in fact all three accused had operated the vehicle that wound up parked near a church.
"All shared the rights within our great country to live without fear, to enjoy safety and freedom ... and yet had their coifs ruined by members of their own family," Tanner said.
The victims are Meredith, 19, Lilly, 17, and Gwynneth, 13, along with Susan Epston.
Both parents described the eldest, Meredith, as a rebellious and secular young woman.
(source and another) I just "christofascianized" the regular practice for our children and placed it on the story of Islamic "Honor Killings" happening in increasingly secularized western democracies. Some people want to pretend that all religious extremism is the same, and that Christianity has no claim of better behavior in the modern world than any other religion. They assure us that this has nothing to do with the Muslim religion.
Amin Muhammad, a Memorial University expert who is preparing a paper on the topic for the federal Justice Department, says honour killing is not religiously motivated.
"Nothing in the Muslim religion would justify this. Nothing in any religion would justify this," he said. "It's based on personal agendas, personal egos, personal mindsets."
Sure...you see it all the time in Christian households.
The practice dates back hundreds of years to rural and tribal areas of Pakistan and is generally committed by family members against women who have engaged in illicit pre-marital or extramarital relations. In some cases, it can even target victims of sexual assault.
Right. You know...some religions that emphasize spreading the Love of God stamped that out of their rural tribal life a long time ago.
A man who feels such an act has dishonoured the family will kill the woman in question as a means of restoring that honour. Motives for honour killing, however, have started to expand beyond female adultery, targeting women for enjoying basic freedoms, Mr. Muhammad said.
Funny...most Christian parents in similar settings decide to help their daughters enter the bonds of holy matrimony instead. I guess these are equivalent...who am I to judge, right?
"In some cases, they just don't want the woman to have the liberty to choose her own lifestyle," he said.
The practice exemplifies a deeply entrenched gender bias against women, said Angela Henderson, an expert on domestic violence at the University of British Columbia. In most cases, men who similarly breach cultural norms tend to be subjected to less severe punishments.
Right...it's all about gender bias, which is why all those mouth-breathing, anti-feminist conservatoid Christian haters in the Southern Baptist Convention are doing it.
You know...it just might have to do with the fact that the religions of the world demand sacrifice and blood atonement for sin, and Christianity has already finished that in the work of Christ. You think?
But the intense public spotlight that follows killings -- which often focuses on the perceived clash between Western and Middle Eastern values -- deflects attention from a much larger issue, she said. "I don't think you can [simply] put it down to culture," Ms. Henderson said. "Eleven per cent of women can expect to experience some form of violence from somebody they know in their lifetime ... it's about power and control, a way of enforcing what a man thinks a woman should be doing."
Face it, folks...secularism isn't going to be able to stand up to the mind virus of Islamic extremism. Look at how we've bought into the narcissistic apocalypticism of anthropogenic global warming. From a purely secular point of view, Christianity serves as a mild inoculation against such radicalism - and has a proven history of transforming societies towards democracy and improving the lot of women.
Okay...so the canary fighting took me back to my roots in the foot-hills of Appalachia. We weren't fancy enough to have pet birds...unless of course your bird was for eatin' of fightin'! That's right...cock fighting was part of my growing up. I never did it, don't condone it, but I knew some ole boys that did their gamblin' that way. It meant they got to get together with a bunch of other guys and talk about whose was the best - was it size that mattered? Or did skill win the day? And at the end of the night (cock fighting is never done during daylight hours), you get to go home and tell your wife that she's married to the best in town.
A little racy? Yep...and you thought living in the South was all about gentility and manners.
What a lot of so-called civilized folk don't understand is that southern animosity for chickens is well-founded in our survival instincts. It goes back to the War of Northern Aggression. See this mini-documentary. (NOTE: If you're reading on facebook or another viewer, click through to the original link.)
Having them kill off each other was a defense mechanism. That...and making them delicious.
I should probably TWEETy this over at Twitter, but I couldn't post pics and links...
Folks, you just can't make this up. In Shelton, Connecticut nineteen (19) people have been arrested for their participation in a CANARY FIGHTING RING. Granted, when I first heard the news, the kind of fighting canary that came to mind was different. But imagine my surprise when this turned out to be real!
Police said canaries and saffron finches were seized and 19 people were arrested at a Ripton Road address.
“There was 100 canaries fighting, and they were betting on them 'til they were dead. It’s absolutely shocking,” said neighbor Marion Sega.
Police said they served a search warrant at the home after receiving a tip that an illegal bird fight involving 150 canaries and finches was scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Police said 150 canaries and finches, their cages and $8,000 in cash was seized from the Ripton Road home.
Yes, it was a cage match.
“When canaries are bred, they’ll fight to the death and they don’t make the noise that typical roosters make and they don’t smell,” said Sgt. Robert Kozlowski. “They fall under the radar because we wouldn’t think it suspicious if people have a lot of canaries.”
So you mean the stereotypical "cat lady" is just a cover for an underground crime kingpin...er, queenpin?
Shelton police said the birds were discovered while executing a search warrant with the help of state police, state animal control, the Department of Agriculture and Fairfield police.
So far, 8 names have been released to public. At this time, their still unsure as to whether more will be released. They are checking to see if the defendants are [ahem] miners.
And in case you didn't get the joke, here's another gratuitous picture.
My wife thinks I'm crazy for wanting to live under the earth. But I think it makes a lot of sense, ecologically and from a security standpoint. Now that I've seen this, I also have the aesthetic argument wrapped up!Some key points of the design and construction:
Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring...)
Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
From the "folks, you just can't make this stuff up" department:
A local couple arrested on domestic assault charges Sunday had an unusual choice of alleged weaponry -- Cheetos™.
That must be why they advertise them as "dangerously cheesy." (Could that apply to my blog?)
I hear that you can get aggravated battery if you use the flamin' Cheetos™ flavor.
Warrants filed by Cpl. Kevin Roddy, of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department, stated he responded to a call at a home on Pass Road, where 40-year-old James Earl Taylor and Mary S. Childers, 44, were allegedly involved in an argument.
You can tell that they're a classy couple, too. If the use of a name-brand faux-cheeze puffed corn treat (Cheetos™) wasn't enough to convince you, surely the fact that she's retained her maiden name will attest to her refined character and generally being a forward-thinking, liberated lady. OR, maybe they're just common-law combatants.
On reflection, this one could go either way.
According to Roddy's report, the pair became "involved in a verbal altercation" with each other "at which time Cheetos potato chips were used in the assault."
I've worked with enough police officers to know that this last line was written specifically to make a desk captains completely lose his composure while going over the night's reports. But it presents a challenge to the state's case. As I said, Cheeetos™ are a puffed corn treat.
A savvy lawyer will pick this up and file for a dismissal based on sloppy police work and crime-scene investigation.
"There was evidence of the assault," the report read, "however no physical marks on either party and the primary aggressor was unable to be determined."
We asked Chester Cheetah™, but he plead the fifth.
Fortunately, Cheetos has offered to salve their marriage with yet another of their winning products.
How do you deal with people that disagree with you theologically?
There seem to be several avenues people take in trying to find a basis of authority on which they stake their beliefs.
1) Me & “the Spirit”: Basically, I'm so illumined by the Spirit (of what?) that I can sense the great truths of the faith. We should notice that there are at least two varieties of this epistemological stance: a) the gnosticizing liberal thinks that they've got an inside track to what God has to say, normally in such a way as to overthrow what the Bible plainly says or what the Church has confessed for nearly 2000 years; b) the charismatic literalist thinks that they don't need to hear what other people have said about the Scriptures (whether that be Christian scholars or - dare I say it - the Church catholic in her creeds and confessions)...think the Oneness Pentecostal movement. The tie that binds is that this person believes that they can pierce the darkness that has kept the Church of Jesus Christ from seeing the truth (for as much as 2000 years); all they need is to meditate and read their Bible and God will reveal to them everything that's needed. They'll get a new revelation, or having felt a sense of connectedness to all world religions.
This isn't a new phenomenon. Martin Luther said that there were a certain group of preachers of his day who confuse their own spirit with the Holy Spirit: “they think they have swallowed the Holy Ghost feathers and all.” John Calvin warned “the fanaticism which discards the scripture, under the pretense of resorting to immediate revelations is subversive of every principle in Christianity. For when they boast extravagantly of the Spirit the tendency is always to bury the word of God so they can make room for their own falsehood.” Archetypes: John Spong, Joseph Smith and just about any neo-montanist on TBN.
2) Me & the Pro: I've been taught by this pastor, or read these books, or gone to this seminary, or earned this degree so I really know what it's all about. I'm not denigrating sitting under good preaching (I've benefited from it, and I hope others will benefit from my preaching). Anyone that's been to my home knows I have a library numbering in the low thousands. I did go to cemeteryseminary and earned a degree there. But to think that the insights of the latest generation trump the illumination that the Spirit has given in the Church for thousands of years is a denial of Jesus' promises regarding the Church. The Reformers consistently pointed back to the Scriptures, the early Church Fathers, the ecumenical councils, and more recent scholastic thought to prove their continuity with the Apostolic deposit of the faith.
These approaches can be combined, and I would dare say that all of us do that very thing - inconsistently shuffling the bases of our belief.
I think the right track is to take a Me and the Church approach. When Jesus called his apostles to himself, he didn't just bring one - he brought twelve. He established a community in which his power, his authority, his doctrine would continue. We do well to read our Bibles with the whole Church catholic. The Word gives life to the Community, and the Community reiterates the Word in the World.
Without this necessary balance, we fall to the idols of self or society, and are not conformed to the Saviour.
On this day, in 1215, King John of England agreed to pave the path to constitutional monarchy. The Magna Carta ensured that the king (and his descendents, in perpetuity) would be bound by laws, and that it would his job to uphold the rights of the nobles and freemen who forced him into the pact.
This is significant because in our country, there is a challenge to individual freedoms in the name of communal values. The King was seen as the embodiment of his community - soil and blood. When he spoke, England spoke. In our country, the elected government is seen as the voice of the people. If the government is not doing it's job (i.e., limiting its power to the constitutionally prescribed work and defending the individual liberties of the people), we dissolve into power-hungry focus groups - all trying to out-vote our out-appoint one another.
Similarly today, a tyrant named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is being challenged to hear the voice of his people. It's clear that some sort of election rigging occurred in order for him to declare a landslide victory.
Christians, I urge you to pray for a peaceful resolution to this crisis. We in America have been lulled into thinking that a vote makes democracy. It doesn't...it is able to make ochlocracy, but a democracy can only be realized when there is a true concern for individual liberties on the part of both the powers and the people. Liberty means freedom to succeed and freedom to fail.
May the people of Iran receive justice and liberty, which is their birthright as bearers of the imago dei.
May Americans revitalize their liberties, for which our forefathers bled and died (and sweated and toiled).
25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
You might have seen the political hit piece that is passing as the DHS's report on "Right Wing Extremism." If not, Michelle Malkin is commenting on it with great acumen. All I have to say is this:
McCarthyism is McCarthyism - no matter which side is doing it.
On Wednesdays, I try to blog on a worship topic. However, my seminary has decided that the worship of perverse sexual acts and child rape is appropriate, so I'm interrupting my regular schedule.
(Sort-of...they promote it with the title V is for Venite. And venite is a legitimate liturgical topic which I'll need to return to at some point.)
Q is for Questionable Judgment
Here's the link to their site discussing the upcoming campus-sponsored production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.
R is for Risible
Here's my response (which may or may not be on the site...they moderate, and I was censored in public discourse throughout parts of my seminary career):
I'm personally saddened to see the Women's Center sponsoring this play. In a notorious section, "The Little Coochi Snorcher that Could," a woman recounts how as a 13 yr old girl she is given alcohol and then seduced by a 24 yr old woman. In the original form (which has been unsatisfactorily redacted to omit it and change the age from 13 to 16), she dismisses the substance abuse and statutory violation by saying: "Now people say it was a kind of rape.... Well, I say if it was rape, it was a good rape...."In another segment, a six year old is queried about her genitalia (smells, names, etc.). As the father of beautiful little girl, I would be hard pressed to stay in my seat through such a performance.
The rest of the play wavers between diatribes against men and male-female sex as inherently violent, or about sexual practices that really deserve to stay in the bedroom. How this play actually addresses violence against women (especially when it is celebrated in the above scene), or opens frank conversations about the role men - and women - have in the sexualization of children and women (objectification is a prologue to rape and oppression) is perhaps beyond the scope of Wimminwise to answer. But it would be helpful to reflect on why this play at this seminary - of all the venues and content available - is appropriate and effective.
Why is homosexual rape given a pass by an event promoted as anti-violence-against-women?
H is for Hypocrisy
We have a mandate to reform the culture to the Scriptural norm (the norming norm), not let culture corrupt the message of the Scriptures.
E is for End!!!
U is for Update: They posted my response. It was the same old "You don't know what you're talking about." However, I have it from an eyewitness that the attendance at these events has been blissfully low. As some one once termed roughly 1/3 of the campus population: "middle-aged bitter divorcees and their dogs."
Sad, really. Men need to be molded by their interactions with the pain of women....this just stops with scolding.
President Obama just spoke at the first Washington Prayer Breakfast of his presidency. It was a soaring speech filled with the high-flying oratory that got him elected. Really excellent coverage of it is available at USA Today, where they cataloged highlights minute by minute and posted a full transcript in PDF format. Please note what he said in his opening remark:
“We know there is no God who condones the killing of an innocent human being.”
Really? Do you really believe that or are you just blowing smoke?
Please, Mr. President...live up to that rhetoric and turn away from FOCA and other life-destroying policies before it's too late. End violence in the womb and focus on the peace-bringer who defeated the tomb.
Obama never met an expansion-of-abortion bill he didn't like. He is extreme on an issue that is of great importance to a large swathe of Americans.
Unborn babies don't worry about economies. They have few concerns about trade arrangements. And they aren't particularly interested in borders.
I care about all of those things and more. But I can't even begin to care about them until I care about stopping the wholesale slaughter of innocent babies. I know there are some who bemoan the evangelical prolife movement as an overly-narrow single-issue voter turnout. However, I see it more as a foundation from which all other values speak. No one would dare call an anti-poverty agenda "single-issue." Let's demand a full-orbed respect for the anti-abortion agenda as well.
(And let's go further, evangelicals, by making sure that we are taking anti-abortion measures on multiple fronts: legislative, social, economic, educational, etc.)
St. Louis and Missouri Democrat sheriffs and top prosecutors are planning to go after anyone who makes "false statements against Obama" during his campaign.
I can’t even begin to describe how wrong this agenda is. Are they doing the same for McCain? How about Nader?
He said we were scared because he's not like those other presidents on our currency. Well, my problem is that he's too much like some guys on the currency of other countries:
Joseph Stalin said:
Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.
Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don’t allow our enemies to have guns, why should we allow them to have ideas?
Print is the sharpest and the strongest weapon of our party.
The people who cast the votes don’t decide an election, the people who count the votes do.
When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope we use.
Remember this, gang, when they pull out the fascism card (which never seems to be applied to thugs like ACORN). When did America lose it's basic belief that increasing freedom was the solution to the problems of humankind?
Traditional Anglicanism that is robustly orthodox is alive in Central Kentucky! We are gathering people who need to be welcomed by the Church of Christ, loved in the name of Christ, taught the Word of Christ, and fed on the Most Precious Body & Blood of Christ!
A confessional Christian ruminates on life. While "adiaphora" refers to "things indifferent" to orthodox Christianity, it also sums up much of the mainline churches attitudes of indifference to the heresy in her ranks (and by "rank" I mean the positively mephitic aroma!).
Oh, and if you post anonymously, make sure you identify yourself - or at least keep it on target. Don't expect me to post your incognito invective. If that's your bag, get your own blog.
I welcome disagreement. Say what you will, but back it up. I'm from Dixie - not ipse dixit!
