Pelosi and Company have tried to pin Bernie Sanders in D.C. for the impeachment show but it looks like slow Joe Biden is in trouble. Biden hasn’t sealed the deal. Worse, it appears they have resorted to more Biden Hidin’ (thanks to The Chief for the phrase). Biden Hidin’ is when Joe is kept out of public view and away from cameras because his advisors have no idea what he will say or which random woman on the stage that Joe will fondle. They are hoping that recent, controlled campaign events are enough to get Joe over the line.
Team Biden is an army of one
However, former Vice President Joe Biden has no endorsement from his former running mate, President Obama. In fact, Barry has been silent and on the sidelines. Word is that he doesn’t like Sanders either.
The Clintons are silent also. All we keep hearing is that Hillary wants to be drafted by the Party and she will gladly jump in the race. Perhaps she is banking on a brokered convention.
Bernie is a team effort
Meanwhile, AOC and a cadre of surrogates are blanketing Iowa and other early primary states campaigning for Bernie.
Dems are just starting to realize that Bernie is the probable nominee
Today, we find a story that the Democrat establishment is on the verge of panic at the idea that Bernie might really win. Gee, sounds eerily similar to establishment Republicans in 2016.
The independent senator from Vermont has been running for president for the better part of five years, but some Democrats are only just now…beginning to come to grips with the fact that he could actually win the nomination.
“Suddenly, we have the Democratic establishment very nervous about this campaign. We got Wall Street nervous,” Sanders told a crowd of roughly 1,100 Sunday night in Sioux City. “They’re starting to think, could this really happen?”
“We are their worst nightmare,” he added.
A Sanders win would turn the Democratic Party upside down, much as Donald Trump’s victory did for the GOP in 2016. But how could virtually no one see Sanders coming when he nearly overturned the party establishment four years ago when he came within a whisker of winning Iowa?
“None of his opponents have attacked him,” said Ian Sams, a Democratic operative who has now gone two rounds against Sanders — as a campaign aide to Clinton in the last election, and to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., in this one. “There had been a supposition all last year from media and the political class that there’s no way Bernie way could win, which was a pretty faulty assumption.”
Now, some moderate Democrats feel the need to sound the alarm and try to wake supporters up to the fact that Sanders is not a mere protest candidate, but a real threat to win the nomination and, they argue, potentially cost Democrats the election against Trump.
“Bernie Sanders could be the nominee of our party,” Pete Buttigieg’s campaign alerted supporters in an email. “Bernie’s campaign is out-raising and out-spending us. If this continues, there’s a good chance he wins the Iowa caucuses.”
“It’s past time for other Democrats to come off the sidelines and for the media to start doing its job to vet a serious contender for the nomination,” he added. “We simply can’t stand by while there’s a threat that Democrats could nominate a guy who would hand such nuclear-level ammunition to the Trump campaign.”
Voters at events for moderate candidates this weekend expressed concern about Sanders’ potential nomination, though all said they would vote for him in the general election.
So far, a “Stop Sanders” effort has not emerged, but one still could — and Sanders allies say they now have a target on their backs.
“Things are going to get crazy,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has endorsed Sanders and become one of his top surrogates, told volunteers at a field office opening in Ankeny, Iowa.
Michael Moore, the documentary filmmaker, who joined Sanders as a warm-up act on his most recent Iowa swing, told supporters in Ames that “the rich” are going to start panicking.
“The knives are out,” Moore said.
Bernie is leading handily in California too. Don’t forget that we will be voting here in five short weeks.
Sanders has support from 26% of voters likely to cast ballots in the state’s March 3 Democratic primary, drawing support from liberals largely at the expense of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren is now backed by 20% of likely voters….
The rest of California’s likely primary voters remain divided among several candidates, which has left the party’s front-runner nationally, Vice President Joe Biden, with only 15% in the most populous state.
Like I’ve been saying, the 2020 election will be California values versus American values. We here at ReallyRight are solidly rooting for the Stars n’ Stripes.
So, it looks like we get two old white guys slugging it out in November. So much for the Party of diversity. Trump v Anti-Trump, with America in the balance. Sounds like another comic book movie to kick off the holiday season. Will Orange man survive to deliver the country from its enemies? Stay tuned.
Before I get into what a mess this really is, let me start by saying that it has taken me several days to verify what was sent to me and research further to present what follows. If needed, I have only reluctantly relied on anyone’s thoughts, opinions, or remarks on the issue before us.
It’s been a while since we’ve looked in on Kirk Uhler and the Placer County Mafia. Uhler is up for reelection yet again. Reportedly he’s still up to his old tricks, although the law may finally be catching up to him. It’s a good thing that Republicans only believe in term limits for other people or he might have to find another way to personally enrich himself.
Recap
When we last left this ethically challenged politician in 2016, we had chronicled the following:
2009 Uhler got his wife a job on the county’s dime. The position was created just for Tami Uhler. It was never advertised. Oh, last we checked it was paying a salary of $92K. (More on that shortly)
2014 Uhler doubled his salary as a supervisor
Uhler combines his Supervisor gig with his “day job.” This enables him to offer turn-key solutions to access all that Placer County has to offer in exchange for throwing a little business his way. Think pay-to-play, quid pro quo, or even Aaron Park’s “If you advertise here – it means an endorsement.”.
Uhler also has his hand in an online gambling operation where he is listed as a vice-president of the corporation.
2015 Uhler along with the Just Us Brothers looted the Placer CRA treasury in a move only Adam Schiff or Bernie Madoff could truly appreciate.
Recently, Supervisor Uhler was the subject of several emails that were sent to me from the bowels of his district. Attached were several hundred pages of information concerning the nepotism of Uhler’s wife living off the taxpayers while her husband engineers further pay increases for her and that fact that the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has been repeated asked to get involved in the situation. (See Appendix 1 below for links to the eleven letters on file with the FPPC.)
Oh, for folks in Rio Linda, nepotism is “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.”
Nepotism is against the law and has been for decades. This was one of the issues that Jerry Brown used as a reason to dismantle the Board of Equalization (BOE). BOE had about one in five employees being directly related and others hired as political favors.
Per the emails that I received, in 2019 Uhler lead the charge to give his wife a thirty percent raise in one year. This caused a flurry of activity and correspondence with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The FPPC is the State body charged with insuring that politicians and political campaigns follow state law. The correspondence which I shall go thru in detail is from the Office of the Placer County Counsel (the county’s lawyer) and the FPPC.
The issues of fact and law under dispute are related to Uhler’s wife, Tamara (a.k.a. Tami), and her employment by Placer County.
Tami’s Job
Let’s look at some nuggets in the document dump that I was sent and try to reconstruct what happened and when. The questions needing to be asked include whether Placer County can employ Uhler’s wife, is her $30K raise justified, and did Uhler engineer its approval behind the scenes. On the face of it, what happened doesn’t pass the proverbial “smell test.”
Tamara Uhler, the Placer County Assistant Director of Child Support Services (“Assistant Director”), is married to Kirk Uhler, a member of the Placer County Board of Supervisors. Assistant Director Uhler’s service began in July of 2009, after Supervisor Uhler was elected to the Board of Supervisors. The Assistant Director reports to the Director of the Department of Child Support Services (“Director”). The Assistant Director position is an at-will, unclassified management classification, with no written employment contract. An appointment to the Assistant Director classification was completed by the Department Head pursuant to County Code, and no confirmation or affirmative action from the Board of Supervisors was required.
The FPPC states above that Kirk Uhler was already a Supervisor. I was curious how long he had been a Supervisor, so I looked up.
Kirk returned to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 19, 2006 to fill the vacancy created after 4th District Supervisor Ted Gaines was elected to the State Assembly in November. At the Dec. 19 meeting, the four remaining board members selected Kirk from a field of five candidates who applied to serve the final two years of Gaines’ term. Kirk was sworn into office immediately after the vote.
Kirk represented the 4th District on the Board of Supervisors from 1993-96. He was only 25 years old when elected to the post, becoming the second youngest Supervisor in California history.
2009 Tamara Uhler was given the job of Assistant Director of Child Support Services. This Assistant Director “position is an at-will, unclassified management classification.” This means Tami is not part of a labor union and can be hired or fired just like anyone in the private sector. To get this job, Tami required “no confirmation or affirmative action from the Board of Supervisors.”
Please note that no record has been produced that the job opening was advertised or that Tami ever had to compete for the position. Furthermore, as far as we know, no one other than her was ever interviewed for the job.
Allegations of a conflict of interest, a violation of public trust, unfairness in the Placer County hiring process and even nepotism surround the recent appointment of a county supervisor’s wife to a management position.
While wrongdoing has not been identified by an official investigative body, the move has raised concerns from citizens and county union leaders who are calling for action. The relatively high-paying position was not advertised, and the position had been vacant for two years.
Tami Uhler, wife of Placer County Supervisor Kirk Uhler, was appointed to the assistant director of the Placer County Department of Child Support Services July 7 with a starting salary of $92,000 plus benefits, according to county officials.
Per an FPPC letter on the subject of conflict of interest, Tami’s hire was wrong. The letter is written in legalese but when you remove the double negative in the section and the excess verbiage, it boils down to this:
Accordingly, new Regulation 18702.5(b)(1) would expressly reinsert this exception, and would provide as follows: a personal financial effect is … material if the decision would: (1) Affect only the salary, …(of) the public official or a member of his or her immediate family receives from a … local government agency … the decision is to … promote … a member of his or her immediate family… when the member of the public official’s immediate family member is the only person in the job classification or position.
So, if Tami was just one of many people working in the same classification, then this rule would not apply but since she is the only one, it’s a big problem.
Meanwhile Tami Gets Huge Raise
If you recall, when Tami was hired in 2009, she was making about $92K. Today, she is getting double that amount thanks to the Placer County Supervisors.
Folks, Placer County—like most government websites—doesn’t list and compile historic data on the pay of government employees, but there is a place you can go to find the information; namely, the Transparent California website.
Their data on Placer County only goes back to 2011 but here is what you will find on Kirk and Tami Uhler.
Note: The wages and benefits are estimates based on many factors since on the one hand pay scales are public information but an individual’s W-2 is confidential. For this reason, the numbers from Transparent California will not exactly match some numbers used from the Placer Country website.
Before going further, we need to clarify something for people that have never worked for a government agency. Most employees are paid a salary not an hourly wage. Pay increases are of three types and may occur on different anniversary dates. First, government normally gives employees cost of living increases each year. Usually, these increases are done at the beginning of a new fiscal year. In addition, you get step increases. You start at the bottom wage for your job classification and each year you get pay increases until after several years, you get to the top step. Step adjustment are often on the anniversary of the date you first started in that classification. Once at the top step, your wage will only go up via cost of living adjustments. Lastly, pay may be increased by negotiation with an employer. For many government workers, this is done via labor unions and not on the basis of individual merit.
Placer County Supervisors gave county employees a pay raise which took effect on August 3, 2019. Tami was the beneficiary of a huge raise that only applied to her. Based on comparisons with the county wage information and Transparent California, it is my opinion that Tami was at the top pay step in her job classification prior to the 2019 pay raise. I also think this is a reasonable assumption based on the fact that she has been in that position for over ten years.
Note: Pay numbers used in the remainder of this section can be found in Appendix 5 at the end on this blog post
In 2018, Tami Uhler was paid $132.433.60
She is classified as Position #19869 and her payrate is Management # 452
This is based on 2,080 hours at a salary of $63.67
So, after her raise in 2019 it should look like this:
She is classified as Position #19869 and her payrate is Management # 452
This is based on 2,080 hours at a salary of $63.67
Thus, her pay should be 2,080 hours at a salary of $64.94 or $135,075.20
This would be a two percent pay raise; however, this is not what really happened.
Instead Tami was raised from MNGT 452 to 477
She is classified as Position #19869 and her payrate is Management # 477
Thus, her pay actual pay is 2,080 hours at a salary of $83.30 or $173,264.00
Comparing this year and last year’s salary, Tami received a 23.57 percent pay raise–not including benefits or retirement.
But it gets even better, notice the little footnote on her
classification?
Here’s the footnote.
When Tami leaves this position, the pay will drop down to MNGT 452. Thus, this pay raise is only for Tami and only for as long as she wishes to work for Placer County.
Yep, no favoritism or conflict of interest here, just business as usual in Placer County.
More Than Money
Uhler presided over the Board of Supervisor’s Meetings on July 9 & 23 when the pay raise for his wife was approved. He never stated that he had a conflict of interest and or recused himself. The pay raise was a consent calendar item at both meetings. On July 9, during the vote on item 14, Uhler reportedly left the room.
The account that I was given is:
At the July 9, 2019 meeting, after Board agenda item 12.A.l concluded, Board Chair Uhler stood, handed the gavel to Vice Chair Bonnie Gore, and left the room without stating a word about his departure. Although he left the room and remained out of the room for item # 14.A. l, he did not state his conflict of interest or recuse himself from the vote on the next agenda item # 14.A. l “Equity Adjustments for Classified and Unclassified Management Employees”. Kirk Uhler deliberately evaded the conflict of interest requirements by leaving the room and “making himself absent” just prior to item related to his wife, Tamara Uhler’s salary increase.
See Appendix 4 below
At the July 23 meeting, when the vote on item 19 occurred, Uhler abstained.
On July 23, 2019, as part of consent agenda 19.A. l “Equity Adjustments for Classified and Unclassified Management Employees” the Board of Supervisors took action to “adapt the ordinance” approving the salary increases for various management positions, including the salary increase for the position of Assistant Director of Child Support Services held by Tamara Uhler. Chairman of the Board, Supervisor Uhler personally called for the vote to approve the consent agenda, which included his wife’s salary increase. He called for ayes, noes and then stated he was “abstaining”, not recusing himself. He did not leave the room, and he did not give any reason for his abstention.
See Appendix 4 below
The item which was voted on stated that several people were getting an eight percent raise but not a word about the position held by Mrs. Uhler was in the narrative. Unless one took a calculary to it, chances are it would not be noticed.
As a result of this review and analysis of the costs associated with salary increases, the HRD is recommending salary adjustments for 13 management classifications to place them approximately eight percent (8%)…
Salary and benefit costs to maintain a minimum of eight percent (8%) between management classifications and their highest paid direct report are estimated at $365,000.
The letter that I was sent also challenges the premise of giving Tami any raise on the basis of an 8 percent differential.
Prior to the July 23, 2019 salary increase, the salary differential between the Assistant Director of Child Support Services ($135,075 top step) and its highest paid direct report (Senior Administrative Services Officer top step $ I 05,348) was already at a 28% differential ($29,727). This 28% differential was greater than, and therefore not consistent with the rational for the 8% differential which was stated in the board memo.
On this issue, Kirk Uhler claims that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and any enrichment of his family is purely coincidental. However, those that know him best tell a different tale.
Some people I know are upset that Kirk Uhler endorsed Jim Holmes – who also endorsed Kirk. The record of Uhler is unassailable. So, let’s tell a Kirk and Jim Story. Did you know that when the final, fateful vote was to occur on Pioneer Energy’s proposed massive rate hike came down the pipe – Jim Holmes called Kirk Uhler to ask him how he was supposed to vote on the issue. With Holmes opposing the 27% rate hike, that ended the debate forever. It is because of Uhler’s relationship with his colleague that this happened.
“Pioneer Community Energy is about local control,” said Kirk Uhler, a Placer County supervisor and member of Pioneer’s governing board, in a news release.
Two thoughts. First, why is Uhler involved in a county supervisor vote on rate hike for a utility that he works for? Second, why is he telling other supervisors how to vote?
Given this, how are we to believe that he had nothing to do with the massive pay hike for his wife?
This is the appearance of impropriety if not the substance.
Tami Wants a Promotion
But wait, there’s more. Tami wants to be Director of Child Support Services.
The Director position is currently vacant.Assistant Director Uhler has informed the Placer County Counsel and the Director of Human Resources that she intends to apply for the position. The Director, a County Department Head classification, is an at-will appointment and there is no employment contract. The Director reports to the County Executive Officer (“CEO”).
The California Family Code requires the Board of Supervisors to select the Director. Appointment of the prior Director was made by the Board on June 12,2007. Pursuant to the Placer County Charter, the CEO is responsible for the appointment, suspension or removal of all appointive department heads except County Counsel, “subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors.” Similarly, the Placer County Code identifies the CEO as appointing authority for all department heads other than elective officials “[e]xcept as specifically provided elsewhere …. “ The Board has routinely been involved in the appointment of department heads in the past, albeit not consistently through the years. As noted above, and as evidenced by the Board agenda summary of June 12, 2007, the prior Director was considered by the Board in closed session and his appointment was reported.
To be promoted to Director, Tami must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. So even if her hire in 2009 was not nepotism or a conflict of interest—which I think it clearly was—promoting her to the corner office appears to be a line that can’t be crossed.
In fact, our friends at the FPPC said just that.
Remember that letter that I was quoting from the FPPC?
Here is the question that Placer County Counsel, Karin Schwab, asked the FPPC.
Under Section 1090, may the Placer County Board of Supervisors appoint a Supervisor’s spouse to the position of Director of Child Support Services, given that the spouse currently serves as the Assistant Director of Child Support Services?
See Appendix 3 below
The FPPC responded not just “no” but “hell no.”
No. The Board of Supervisors may not appoint the Supervisor’s spouse as Director, because a Supervisor has a financial interest in his or her spouse’s income under Section 1090, and no exception to Section 1090 is applicable given the circumstances.
See Appendix 3 below
Comments
On paper, Kirk and Tamara Uhler have finally been smacked down by the FPPC for violating the law; however, nothing has really changed. Like our Democrat controlled Legislature, when one political party runs a state (or county) with an iron fist, the interests of the political class inevitably come first. They enrich themselves and their families at the public trough, doing good for their friends (or contributors) and God willing, just neglecting the rest of us. They view the law as being for others and not themselves. They view themselves as too vital to be bound by the constraints of us mere mortals.
Not showing self-restraint, the attitude of corrupt officials is “if you don’t like it then sue us.” Those of us in the real world can only fund so many fights with city hall before throwing in the towel.
Mr. Uhler may have had good intentions when he first ran for office, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Mr. Uhler lost his way many years ago.
I have barely touched on the laws concerning public officials and conflict of interest, nepotism, and the like. (See Appendix 4 if you want to read someone’s attempt to get into the conflict of interest issue in depth.) Uhler’s wife is a lawyer. Instead of following the law she once swore to uphold, she uses her training to skirt just so far over the line knowing that nobody is going to go to the trouble of jerking her chain, especially in Placer County. Kirk Uhler is the king of Placer County.Hail to the King baby.
Conclusion
As I was getting ready to post the above, a few things continue to bother me. After some thought, I have decided what will happen in the real world with this issue. Let me explain and I think you will be forced to agreed with me and simultaneous not like it.
The great political observer, Scott Adams of Dilbert fame wrote a whole book with the premise that “there is a right way, a wrong way, and the weasel way. ” Kirk Uhler has a track record of following the weasel way.
Given that the Assistant Director of Child Support Services position was empty for two years before being filled by Tami Uhler, and given that Tami wants a promotion, and given that the FPPC said no and given that the Director of Child Support Services position is currently empty and given that its duties are currently being performed by Tami Uhler, a reasonable person must therefore conclude that Tami will remain the de facto Director and the Board will not take any action to fill the Director position until such time as Tami chooses to voluntarily retire from Placer County with a full pension and benefits for the rest of her natural life.
Lastly, Tami already has some time in working for the District Attorney’s Office so I expect her exit will be in just a few years. You might want to add pension spiking to the list of grievances committed by the Uhlers against the taxpayers of Placer County.
Appendix 1 Citizen Complaints
Here are the eleven complaints on file with the FPPC concerning Uhler’s wife getting a raise via a vote of the supervisors.
This letter is part of a 106 page document that I was sent. This is only the first few pages. The remainder of the letter was the author’s attempt to defend and document his concerns. I generally agree with what he said but as you can see I don’t just accept his word as authoritative on all points. Since it doesn’t seem to be publicly available and I quoted from it, I wanted to make the source available to my readers.
Donald Trump spoke at the March for Life today. This is something that no other president has ever done; not even the Great Ronald Reagan. Trump is on track to be regarded as the greatest Conservative President in the history of the Republic. He does what he says and scares the hell out of the other guys. Not only does he say the words but he does the deeds too.
Case in point is this article on federal funding and abortion.
The Trump administration on Friday threatened California with a potential loss of federal health care funds over the state’s requirement that insurance plans cover abortions.
The announcement, timed to coincide with the anti-abortion March for Life in the nation’s capital, came hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to address the marchers in person, becoming the first president to do so. Religious conservatives are a core element of Trump’s political coalition, and his administration has gone out of its way to deliver on their demands.
The federal Health and Human Services Department said it is issuing a “notice of violation,” giving California 30 days to comply with a federal law known as the Weldon amendment. That law bars federal health care funding from being provided to states or entities that practice “discrimination” against a health care organization on the basis that it “does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.”
“If states receive federal funds … they cannot discriminate against a health plan that declines to cover abortions,” said Severino.
Severino did not specify which of many streams of federal health care funds amounting to tens of billions of dollars might be in jeopardy for California. That could include money for community health centers, Medicaid health insurance for low-income people, and basic public health activities like educating parents about vaccines.
“Our goal is to seek compliance, and we are going to give them 30 days, so we do not have to cross that bridge,” said Severino. Other states could also face federal actions.
Federal law has long barred the use of taxpayer money to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the woman.
God bless you Mr. Trump, I can’t wait to vote for you in November.
Told ya! Pelosi’s deny on impeachment was to clear the field for Biden to win Iowa. Here’s the polling data to prove it.
With two weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, a new poll indicates that former Vice President Joe Biden has a slight edge over his 2020 rivals for the Democratic nomination in the state that kicks off the presidential primary and caucus calendar.
Biden stands at 24 percent support among likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa in the survey released Monday by Focus on Rural America…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts registers at 18 percent, with former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 16 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 14 percent, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of neighboring Minnesota at 11 percent.
While Biden’s numbers were basically unchanged from the Focus on Rural America’s previous poll – released in September – Warren dropped 5 percentage points, Sanders soared 5 points, Buttigieg jumped 4 points and Klobuchar rose 3 points.
As I understand the impeachment rules, Senators are to be seen but not heard during the presentation of the case against Trump. Also, due to conflict of interest, Sanders, and the other two may be asked to recuse themselves from voting. So, what was that about the Democrats being unified? Lastly, if Sanders and Pocahontas aren’t on the record for an impeachment vote, will that hurt them with their base?
Folks, on last night’s conference call with our editorial board, a subject crystalized that needs to be documented; namely, the Broad Squad and socialist insurgent’s future in the Democrat Party hinges on Bernie Sanders. While I believe that no Democrat can beat Donald Trump, except perhaps if there was a complete implosion of the stock market which neither Party wants, whoever is the nominee for the Democrats is the de facto leader of the Party for the next four years. If Sanders loses in the primaries, AOC and company are history.
Bernie Sanders
Let’s break this down.
Previously, we documented that New York Democrats are planning to gerrymander AOC’s district out of existence. New York will lose one Congressional seat in the next census and they are clear that she will be the first to go. Politics is about people and is local and AOC is not a team player with the State Party in New York. Neither is she a team player with the national party as we also documented. If you missed that, AOC is the biggest Dem fundraiser in Congress and won’t pony-up her share of dues to elect other Democrats to Congress. Instead, she is running her own PAC to run candidates against incumbent Democrats. This, in political terms, is the unpardonable sin.
Broad Squad
Other members of the Broad Squad are under investigation by the FBI and other federal agencies for fraud and campaign finance violations. By their behavior, the Broad Squad faces an existential threat to their existence. They also face the threat of declining Congressional representatives in their respective states. They have pinned their hopes and hitched their political wagons to Bernie Sander.
This brings us to impeachment. Nancy Pelosi is balancing several things on the impeachment show. Nancy needs to impeach Trump because much of her caucus wants to do this at any cost, including AOC and her Broad Squad. But why the delay?
Sanders is a sitting Senator and needs to be present at the impeachment show to provide red meat to his base, but the timing keeps him and Pocahontas out of Iowa and other early primary states. If Pelosi had promptly turned over the impeachment to the Senate, Senate leadership had said it would be over by Christmas. Remember that?
Because of the impeachment delay, slow Joe Biden now has a clear field to campaign to his heart’s content with no serious competition in Iowa and other places. Nancy has cleared the decks with this delay to give Biden the best opportunity that he will ever have to establish himself as a frontrunner and seal the deal.
Iowa Counties
The only problem is every time Biden opens his mouth or is near young women, you never know what will happen next. Whatever you think of Biden, he has proven to be a hands-on candidate.
Joe Biden the hands-on Democrat for President
On the flip side, Pelosi needs to put on a good show of going after Trump but cannot let Hunter Biden anywhere near the impeachment show. If Biden Jr. get called, all her work for Joe is for naught.
Hunter & Joe Biden–the Men in Black
If Pelosi loses control of this gambit, her political career is over ever though she will easily be reelected. If Sanders is the eventual nominee, then look for her to resign to spend time with her family or some such excuse. If Republicans retake the House, look for her to resign.
Pelosi must thread the political needle just right to survive. With impeachment she must check all these boxes.
Joe Biden must win Iowa and other early primary states.
Joe Biden must be the eventual Democrat nominee.
Hunter Biden must not testify at the impeachment show.
Democrats need to unify and hold the House.
AOC, the Broad Squad, and their fellow travelers must go away. Any that remain must pledge fealty to Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team or be persona non grata.
Politics is about power, especially in Washington. Next time you hear that impeachment is about getting Trump, remember my post. Impeachment is about saving Nancy Pelosi and unifying Democrats while eliminating the insurgents in their ranks.
Since Cory Booker threw in the towel on his presidential campaign, conservatives has been mocking the remaining field incessantly. Frankly, I think Dinesh D’Souza is gloating and ready to respond with a hearty “told ya.”
Babylon Bee
It started with the Babylon Bee.
DES MOINES, IA—Authorities are warning that a gang of known criminals is currently holding a meeting to debate various plots to steal your money.
The criminals are debating exactly how much of your money to steal. Some are suggesting stealing all of your money, while others would just like to steal most of your money. Whatever the case, they all agree on two things: A.) you have money and B.) it must be stolen.
“I know!” shouted one of the criminals, an older man with frizzy hair, known throughout the criminal underworld as a seasoned veteran when it comes to stealing people’s money.
Democrats, however, were unhappy with the news, insisting their party deserved better, more diverse candidates. “These people are all rich, white, privileged scum,” said Bernie Sanders as he rubbed a balloon on his head to prep for the debate. “If my opponents cared at all about diversity, they would drop out and let me win.”
The FCC will soon ask viewers to upgrade to color television in advance of the presidential debates this fall, as the incumbent will require televisions that display a brilliant orange hue.
The other day President Trump held a rally in New Orleans, and a college championship football game broke out.
Not to be outdone, Democrats held a Klan rally where a debate broke out.
Sadly for Democrats, they have nothing to run on. Baby Black Jesus is gone, and secretly Democrats are happy. They showcased their feelings about Obama, as they overlooked two of his proteges, namely Harris and Booker. Both are junior senators, black with no Negro dialects. A chip off the old Obama block. Yet they, and two other blacks get no love from the Party of Lynching Negroes”.
Last night, I noticed that fast food sandwich chain Subway had swerved into the fray too.
It happened like this, I was at guy’s night out watching other folks drink beer and talk about being good husbands to their wives—an honorable goal for a man—when over the shoulder of the pastor was a graphic on the television that said, “Seasoned all white meat.”
My first thought was the articles above which I had read and thought what a perfect description of the 2020 Democrat field. How else would you describe them? All the front runners are very old, angry, seasoned citizens, full of preservatives and antibiotics, and everyone is white.
Folks I really don’t care what color someone is because I do agree with MLK that you should judge a person not by the color of their skin but the content of their character—something anathema to Democrats who claim the mantle of this black, Republican minister. Sadly, Democrats only care about your category not your character.
Yeah, I know when he was hanging out with John McCain that statement would have made me cringe too but since John went to his eternal reward, Lindsey Graham seems to have found his spine—at least on occasion. In a story on Fox New today, Senator Graham validated my basic statement on the Senate and House getting the impeachment nonsense out of the way because President Trump has a speech to give on the House floor February 4th.
“On February the fourth when the president comes into the house chamber to deliver the State of the Union, he will have been acquitted by the Senate, [he will be] the strongest he has been politically.” –Lindsey Graham
“By the time the trial is over and we have an election in November, there will be a backlash … I will tell you why,” Graham said. “Most Americans zealously guard the right to pick their own leaders. I think they will hold it against politicians trying to take that away.”
“We will get the House back,” Graham concluded, “the Senate majority … and President Trump will be reelected.”
“The House will be able to make their case for 24 hours. Hopefully, we do this in a couple of days. Then the defense team of the president will make their case based on the record established in the House,” Graham said.
“I hope this is done in about a week and I predict a bipartisan acquittal of President Trump,” he added.
Graham is 100 percent right. Trump will be acquitted and the backlash from flyover country will be mind boggling to the Democrats. Pelosi will be put out to pasture and then the fun will begin. If the Broad Squad is able to take out a few incumbent Democrats along the way, they just might shift their party even more to the Left. Can you saw overreach?
Broad Squad
Meanwhile, the impeachment show is the 2020 Presidential campaign. If they can’t cripple Trump and separate him from his base, they have no chance. The words of our good friend of the blog—good friend because she gives us so much material to poke fun at both here and on social media— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a.k.a. (AOC)’s words still ring as true now as they did when she said them last November:
“At the end of the day, we have to be able to come together as a caucus, and if it is this Ukrainian allegation that is what brings the caucus together, then I think we have to run with however we unify the House,” Ocasio-Cortez told Wolf Blitzer…
Impeachment isn’t about removing Trump, this is their way to unite Democrats and try to nationalize the election. Unlike Newt and the gang back when Clinton was President, Democrats don’t want to unite their party with ideas or a platform but with raw hatred. However, as Rush Limbaugh pointed out many years ago, you can’t live on an emotion because you can’t genuinely sustain it. Most people want their lives, their country, and their world to be better for the next generation not live to burn it down because they lost one election four years ago.
The irony is, if Democrats followed the Constitution, it wouldn’t matter who was President because what happened in Washington wouldn’t affect your daily life. But of course, if we followed the Constitution, there wouldn’t be any need for a fulltime person in Congress and thus no career politicians. Without fulltime politicians, there is no need for Democrats.
Nancy Pelosi and the boys in the House are expected to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate as soon as tomorrow. Reportedly, House Democrats are meeting today to decide what to do being as they never got this far with Richard Nixon and they aren’t totally sure what comes next.
Unconfirmed reports from Capitol Hill insiders say that Democrats are playing musical chairs to such inspirational tunes as “Baby Shark” to decide who gets to grandstand on the cable networks and present their case to the American people. Being that this is an election year, those in swing state districts that Trump is leading are being discouraged from participating.
Democrats seek inspiration from Grandma Shark, Nancy Pelosi
Another contentious issue faced by House members in going forward with the prosecution of President Trump is negotiations with the Senate. These negotiations are reportedly delicate and complex in nature. A few such examples are listed below.
When on camera, House members want their names displayed during the live broadcast in several languages including Spanish, Farsi, and Chinese; plus a deaf interpreter inserted in the broadcast. Since they will accept nothing less than the ultimate penalty for the President, they want Trump’s name shown only in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. (Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe assured Democrats that there is common law precedent for crucifixion when accusations are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.)
Laurence Tribe–Harvard Law guy
During the broadcast, there is a chance that viewers might see bottled water in front of participants of the trial. This became a thorny problem since the Senate commissary is run by union employees and they have an exclusive contract supplying the Senate’s proceedings. Since no impeachment endorsement deal could be reached with a bottled water manufacturer, and potential conflicts with existing union vendors, some changes will be made. An additional complication was that some House members felt being seen with plastic bottles would promote pollution of the world’s oceans. Thus it was agreed that labels would be removed from the water and the smaller size bottles would be used so there was less likelihood of them being seen on TV. AOC tried to amend the agreement to allow open containers but was shot down by leadership.
Reluctantly, House prosecutors agreed to the Senate demand to limit the length of each prosecution question to five minutes and the witness answer to thirty seconds. Being this is the Senate, this rule will not apply to Senators.
Also at issue is which beloved jurist should preside over the trial. Chief Justice John Roberts has been negotiating for a way to get out of appearing. It turns out that Roberts is a big supporter of the current ban on television cameras in proceedings involving the Supreme Court. By tradition, the Court members are seen but not heard at the State of the Union show each year.
Chief Justice John Roberts
Insiders claim that Roberts had suggested both Judges Judy and Napolitano but Senate leader Mitch McConnell objected. Radio talk show host Mark Levin refused to leave his undisclosed bunker to preside over the affair so in the end, nobody wants Robert’s job.
Mark Levin declined to preside
While all this is happening, NPR reported that Senator Cory Booker is planning to pay a visit to the House Democrat caucus to pass out impeachment participation awards to the entire caucus. This is in addition to the t-shirts crafted by Mitch McConnell which will be given to each House member that visits the Senate for the trial.
Photo courtesy Babylon Bee
Lastly, on his radio show today, Mark Levin did remind House and Senate leaders to hurry this process to its conclusion because Trump is already booked at the House for the State of the Union speech on February 4, 2020.
Yesterday, I did something that I’ve never done before, I went to a lunch where Ham was the featured item. Folks this is very rare for me. You see, as a rule, I really avoid any kind of ham. About every four years you’ll catch me with a sliver of the Honey Baked Ham but otherwise it’s a nonstarter.
Yesterday however was different. I loaded the family into the car and drove all the way to Modesto for a special lunch. You see Ham was featured but not on the menu. No, the menu was actually BBQ meat–pork or beef–and chicken, rice, BBQ veggies, salad, and so forth. It was served buffet style at Big Valley Grace Community Church.
The event was a fundraising presentation by Answers in Genesis (AIG). This is the second such event that we’ve been invited to attend, the other being last spring in Stockton.
Answers in Genesis is a group that is built on the premise that the Bible is true.While this sounds like something most Christians claim in their denomination’s statement of faith, in reality, most folks put a mental asterisk next to such a claim. They have dumbed-down the Scriptures and the faith so that they don’t conflict with whatever thing is popular today. If the Bible is in conflict, it gets jettisoned in favor of popular culture. Believing there is a separation between secular and sacred is such a false dilemma. Trying to reconcile evolution and Genesis is another.
AIG rightly understands that if you deny six-day creation, Adam’s Fall, and Noah’s Flood, and reduce them to allegory and myth, then eventually you will deny all supernatural claims of Scripture including the virgin birth and bodily resurrection of Christ.
What I find amazing is that folks that don’t believe in any of the supernatural claims of the Bible continue to call themselves Christian. Sadly, some of them occupy the pulpits of formerly orthodox denominations that are now on the forefront of schism and heresy.
The speaker at yesterday’s event was AIG founder Ken Ham. Ham talked about his organization, the tourist destination that his group has built, and the witness that they are making for Christ and biblical inerrancy.
Ken Ham Modesto, CA 01-11-2020
He also spoke briefly of how he got involved in the issue of defending Genesis. He credits his parents for teaching him apologetics, even though they never used that word.
I was happy that he credited Whitcomb and Morris’s book The Genesis Flood as being influential on him. This book had a profound impact on me when I read it in junior high school. I have tried with varying degrees of success to get others to read it too. If you only read two other books in your life besides the Bible, they should be the Genesis Flood and Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin.
Ham made a point of repeatedly saying that it is the church that has failed the culture and needs reformation. Until we stand on the Word, we will have no impact on the world around us. He views his mission as equipping believers with the tools to withstand the many attacks on the faith that are brought to bear by those around us.
AIG’s Ark Encounter
The meeting closed and we were asked to see the guys at the back table if we were interested in contributing. We had a family photo taken with Ham and thanked him for his work.
ReallyRight Jr., Ken Ham, William & Mrs. William
I then went to the back table and turned in the paperwork, giving my usual amount and had them spread it out over many payments. In exchange I got the appropriate swag bag and their thanks.
I’m glad that Ken Ham and others are being a witness to those around us that He is There and He is not Silent—as Francis Schaeffer used to say.
This blog is the result of a recent discussion about Mary, the mother of Jesus.
For the past two years, my family has been worshipping as part of a conservative Lutheran congregation. Last weekend, I was invited to a church related event held in someone’s home. Part of the discussion was about the life of Jesus.
Except for one incident about Jesus visiting Jerusalem at age twelve, all we know of his life is centered on either his birth or subsequent ministry at the age of 30. Nevertheless, within the gospels are interspersed a few nuggets concerning his background and that of his earthly family.
At the event last weekend, I think I conducted myself well—theologically speaking—during most of the discussion except in one area where stepped in it. Below is a more reasoned and thorough discussion of some of the controversial topics discussed that evening.
Note to readers:I’m going to deal with today’s subjects in terms of the Roman Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity, while I think the Orthodox folks would mostly agree with Rome, I’m not familiar enough with their theology to say for certain. As is typical on my blog, all verses are from KJV.
Mary and Joseph
I think I’m on fairly safe ground when I say that Mary was young when she became the mother of Jesus. I’m not aware of any dispute in the historic church on this point. However, Joseph is another matter altogether. Joseph is sometimes portrayed as being near the same age as Mary but many Protestants and virtually all of Rome would disagree. The prima facie proof that Joseph was much older than Mary is that Joseph is never mentioned by name after Jesus’ visit to the temple at age twelve.
And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. Luke 2: 42-43
Ok, but what about Jesus’ family? He was not an only child.
Brothers and Sisters
Jesus’ siblings were mentioned in a few different places.
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. Matthew 13:54-57
Same account from Mark’s gospel.
And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Mark 6:1-4
The wedding at Cana–Jesus’ first miracle.
After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. John 2:12
Wedding at Cana
Below is a summary of other mentions in the New Testament of Jesus’ mother and siblings.
Jesus’ brothers, sisters & mother
Jesus’ siblings are mentioned as accompanying Jesus and his mother to Capernaum after the marriage at Cana (John 2:12). Later Mary and these brothers are recorded as seeking an audience with Jesus (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21). Toward the end of Jesus’ ministry, His brethren are mentioned as urging Jesus to prove His Messiahship, which they themselves doubted (John 7:3-5). That they were later converted is clear, for they are described in Acts as uniting with the disciples and others in “prayer and supplication” prior to Pentecost (Acts 1:13-14). Paul implies that they were all married (1 Corinthians 9:5).
Many commentators hold that the author of the epistle of Jude, who identifies himself as the “brother of James,” was one of these brothers (Jude 1). It is also generally believed that the leader of the church at Jerusalem was James the brother of Jesus, (see Acts 12:17; 15:13). This seems to be confirmed by Paul’s reference to his visit to Jerusalem, in which he states that he saw only Peter, and “James, the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:18-19).
Rome and some Protestants believe that the brothers and sisters mentioned above were not Mary’s biological offspring but Joseph’s from a previous marriage, making them all half siblings. They assert that Joseph was a widower that then wed a much younger woman. Some of you may wonder why it matters and others will jump to where I’m going next.
Mary: a Perpetual Virgin?
You see, some maintain that Mary was and remained a virgin throughout her entire life. Thus they need for the four brothers and unknown number of sisters of Jesus to be someone else’s children.
I first encountered this issue about fifth grade. I went to a Catholic elementary school and my Religion class was taught by nun. I was a Catholic at the time but had run across some folks that got me to read the Bible for myself. I brought this passage to my teacher and she was horrified.
“Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”
In fact her response to this and other questions I brought to her that year was that we needed to leave biblical interpretation up to priests and bishops. She stated that lay folks were not capable of understanding the Bible on their own. She stated furthermore that if we began reading the Bible for ourselves, we might become heretics like Martin Luther.
FYI that was the first time I had ever heard the name, Martin Luther.
Folks remember that she was my teacher for a class to instruct me in Christianity—Roman style—and that was her view!
My Dissent
Folks I dissent on the claim that Mary was perpetually a virgin. There is simply no biblical warrant for such an idea. There are biblical passages on the issue but why let them get in the way of something that you need to be in there because of your presuppositions on celibacy?
Let’s skip my opinion and jump right into the Bible.
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. Matthew 1:24 & 25
Oh, the King James Bible usage of the word “knew” in this passage means the same as it does in Genesis 4:1. (For purists, I’m arguing the KJV is consistent in the way they translate this idea of marital relations. I’m fully aware that NT was Greek while Genesis was originally Hebrew.)
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Knew in Strong’s is #1097 in Greek. If you look it up you will find “3. By a Hebraistic euphemism…is used of the carnal connection of male and female”
And the final nail in the perpetual virginity coffin is a quote from Mary herself.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Luke 1:34
Strong’s citation of #1097 indicates that the same word is used in both passages, Matthew 1:25 and Luke 1:34. Thus Mary didn’t have sexual relations with Joseph until after Jesus was born which is just what Matthew says. Any speculation about Jesus’ siblings being from a previous relationship of Joseph or Mary being a perpetual virgin do violence to the clear reading of the gospels.
So far, I think I’ve been on strong (pardon the pun) theological ground; however, I then got myself off of firm ground and out on a limb.
Did Jews call Jesus a bastard?
The short answer is yes, but my question was when? And why?
The Talmud seems to reference Jesus and when it does, in an unfavorable light, but whether these references are original or later edits is debatable. If you wish to wade into this question, see Jesus in the Talmud However, at some point, Jesus was accused of being the offspring of Mary and a roman soldier.
Does the New Testament indicate that Jesus’ critics made such accusations? At the event last week, I asserted that they did and of course was challenged. At the time, I couldn’t find a biblical reference. Later I did find the passage where the Jews called Jesus a bastard.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. John 8:39-41
The phrase “We be not born of fornication” is the textbook definition of “bastard”– a person born of parents not married to each other. Was this a shot at the parentage of Jesus or his theology? Both?
Pharisees
At least one Gospel writer indicates the possibility…
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph… Luke 3:23
Is there more evidence?
However, besides this one account of Jesus being called a bastard, the New Testament is silent on the issue… unless you can fit it in ambiguous verses like the one below.
And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him. Luke 22: 64 & 65
While it’s probable that the Roman soldiers called Jesus such names and worse, there is no explicit account of that in the Bible. If the soldiers did say derogatory things about Jesus’ parentage, it was just harassment of the condemned, as they would not know of the story of his virgin birth.
Also, in the verses quoted above about Jesus being “the carpenter’s son” and “Mary, his mother”, nothing indicates that the people that Jesus encountered during his ministry questioned his origins. If they had, it would have been a continuing source of harassment his entire life.
The testimony of the genealogies given in the gospel is that Jesus has a rightful claim to the throne of David both thru the linage of Joseph and Mary. Were he a bastard, this claim would be void and grounds to reject his claim as King of the Jews.
The Annunciation
So why was I so wrong?
At last week’s gathering, I was wrong in my assertion that Jesus (and Mary) had to contend with rumors that Mary had become pregnant by someone other than Joseph. On this point I was wrong but I’m not alone.
After reflecting on the topic, I remembered where I’ve heard this claim of Jesus being called a bastard. I took this as true because I’ve heard it stated many times in the context of discussing the life issue. We, prolifers, want to try to relate our faith with women that find themselves in a crisis pregnancy. We try to make a connection between Mary being poor, single, and pregnant as a bridge to the situation these women are in so we can convince them to “save their baby.”
Our argument goes much like this: We say Mary was poor and disadvantaged. She faced disruption of her life and risked the social stigma attached to being pregnant. Her situation was much like yours now. Were Mary in your situation and chose abortion then Jesus would never be born. Thus, we argue, be like Mary, choose life for your baby.
Journey to Bethlehem
I think this idea is based in part on distorting verses like “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) and “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17).
In our zeal to be relevant and persuasive on the life issue, we find ourselves making theological pretzels by trying to force the Bible to say something that it does not. We desperately want to make the point that Jesus loves and understands both the pregnant woman and her unborn child because he and his family went thru the same life events that the young woman is now facing.
While the sentiment is understandable, it is not biblical. We have forced the text to fit an emotional argument that we want to make, to fit an emotional situation, that yields a rational result.
Sounds good but…
Here is a typical example of a different but related argument that I have often heard. I got this example from my handy internet search engine. The author is referring to Deuteronomy 22:20-29.
As you can see, the status of betrothal was almost identical to the status of a married woman. A betrothed woman who lay with a man that was not her intended husband, was punished as if she had committed adultery.
Mary of Nazareth, unwed and pregnant, knew the punishment she faced—stoning. She had nothing but the story of an angel to tell her parents and Joseph, the man she had promised to marry. Joseph would have been well within his rights—even within his duty—to expose her sin and witness her execution.
It was only with the intervention of an angel and Joseph’s own faith-filled acceptance of the angel’s message, that saved both Mary’s life and the life of her unborn baby, the Incarnation of God.
Mary knew exactly what she would face in her home and community after she said her faith-filled “Let it be done to me according to your word” to the visiting angel. And still, she said yes. She trusted that God would take care of her, and he did, through her holy husband Joseph.
This is a classic proof that equates Mary’s situation with a crisis pregnancy in modern day America.
Stoning of Stephen
Was Jesus’ birth really an unplanned pregnancy?
In a rebuttal to this idea is the following:
There is a popular meme making the rounds on social media that attempts to make a clever point about the importance of being open to life. Showing an image of the Nativity, the meme states, “One unplanned pregnancy saved us all.” The problem is that not only is the meme untrue, but it reduces a sublime and divine event to a common and mundane situation.
The fact of the matter is that the Incarnation was the most “planned” pregnancy in all of human history, and NOT just from God’s perspective. After writing a post on Facebook about this meme, explaining that the plan for the Incarnation was established at the very beginning, a lot of discussion ensued, most particularly focused on whether Mary had planned on having a baby or not.
But the question continues to be raised as to whether or not Mary’s surprise at Gabriel’s greeting and subsequent explanation of the Incarnation constitutes an “unplanned” pregnancy.
Truth cannot be based on a lie, distortion, or misstatement. We are on the right side on the life issue but misrepresenting our God, His Word, or our faith to score points at the local clinic is not the path we should choose.We can communicate God’s love to both the woman and her baby without the sentimentality of recasting the faith into something that it is not. We are challenged to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) and that doesn’t require any artificial sweeteners to be added.
Conclusion
It is wrong to claim that Mary was perpetually a virgin and/or equate the virgin birth of Jesus with a “crisis pregnancy.” Many well-meaning folks make both claims. Lastly, no internal evidence in the New Testament exists that a shadow hung over Jesus or Mary as a result of the virgin birth. In my mind if such were the case, Jesus would be confronted with it during his public ministry or during the various trials held prior to his crucifixion.
