San Diego County's Response

There is an update on the post below. The county officials have given their side of the story.

It looks like most of the time all of the cars fit on the couples property but occasionally some people have to park on the street. A neighbor complained one of these nights and the county responded. Here is a clip from the article.

Wallar said it's the officer’s job to determine what kind of event is hosted at Jones’ house to decide what part of county code the event falls under.

"The Bible studies are one that's probably in a very gray area," Waller said.

That gray area may be causing the problem. Wallar said the county only cares about how any event impacts the surrounding neighborhood.

"We want to make sure -- whether they're on a public road or a private road -- that they're parking safely; that we can get fire trucks in; that we can get police vehicles in," Waller said.

Jones' attorneys told 10News it sounds like the county is backing away from their original warning.

If a few cars parking on the street is a problem in San Diego County, I would hate to try to host a baby shower or birthday party there.

This neighbor complaining reminds me of a Bible study I went to where the host warned me not to park in front of a certain house. Apparently the man living there was often drunk and threaten to shoot anyone who parked on "his" section of street.

I wonder if the public outcry had any bearing on the county's change of heart?

San Diego County Tries to Shut Down Home Bible Study

HT: AFA

A couple in San Diego have been told that they will have to get a permit (costing thousands) to continue to have their weekly home Bible study of about 15 people. Read about the case here.

So what happened to religious freedom in San Diego County? Unless of course the county is also pursuing Monday night football gatherings or poker nights that meet on a regular basis or weekly network marketing meetings. Somehow I doubt it.

Critter Corner V.3

Give Away

Dr. Jobe Martin has come out with a new DVD called Creation Proclaims. For those of you unfamiliar with Dr. Martin, he spent a significant part of his adult life believing evolution was the correct explanation for the origin and variety of life. When he was a professor of dentistry, some of his students challenged him. He eventually gave up on evolution and now gives lectures and produces DVD's about the irreducibly complex nature of all animals. You may know him from his series Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution.

This first volume of Creation Proclaims, is quite good. My kids (kindergarten and 1st grade) and I watched it, and we all liked it. It talks about the unique traits of various animals (gibbon, baboon, aye-aye, weta, hissing cockroach) and how they could not have evolved slowly. I think that anyone that likes animals could enjoy it.

So if you want a copy, leave a comment stating why you want it and I will let my kids pick a winner in a few days.

Tadpoles
The kids and I have two tiny tadpoles in an aquarium from our creek/drainage ditch. They are about the size of a petite pea. We also inadvertently captured quite a few snails, some mosquito babies, and some tiny specks that continually hop underwater. There are hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles in this little tiny area surrounded by houses and a school. It is cool to see nature right in our neighborhood.



Pink Dolphin in Louisiana

Have you heard of the reports of this albino dolphin in Lake Charles? Supposedly they are very rare. I have certainly never heard of it before.

Of Justices

The California Supreme Court Justices
First I am pleased and somewhat surprised that the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8 defending traditional marriage. I was even more impressed that it was 6 to 1. So bravo California Supreme Court Justices. If you would like to read parts of the opinion in the LA Times, click here. This is one part:

"No authority supports the Attorney General's claim that a constitutional amendment adopted through the constitutionally prescribed procedure is invalid simply because the amendment affects a prior judicial interpretation of a right that the Constitution denominates 'inalienable.' The natural-law jurisprudence reflected in passages from the few early judicial opinions relied upon by the Attorney General has been discredited for many years."

Sonia Sotomayor
Much of the MSM seems all wrapped up in Judge Sotomayor's "compelling story" and the fact that she is a Hispanic Woman. I personally don't care how or where she grew up. I don't care about here gender or ethnicity. I care about where she has read the Constitution and will she defend it.

From what I can find out about her, she may have read the Constitution, but she believes that judges "make policy". Hello! I thought judges applied the law as it is written. At least in a just society. Here is a video of her talking about judges making policy.

Auditing the Federal Reserve

I like Rep. Ron Paul for many reasons even if I didn't vote for him for President. He is great for getting us back to the Constitution and the freedom found there. I wouldn't mind if he ran for Governor of Texas, but my husband's counter is "but who would fill his place in the House?"

Anyway, he has a bill in the House that is gaining support. It is a bill (HR 1207 or the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009) that would require the Comptroller General to audit the Federal Reserve and have the report back to Congress by 2010. So far the bill has 179 co-sponsors my Rep. Kay Granger being one of them. It also has a companion bill in the Senate (S 604).

According to WorldNetDaily, Rep. Paul wrote in his "Straight Talk" column, "To understand how unwise it is to have the Federal Reserve, one must first understand the magnitude of the privileges they have," he wrote in a new Straight Talk commentary. "They have been given the power to create money, by the trillions, and to give it to their friends, under any terms they wish, with little or no meaningful oversight or accountability."

Maybe if this law passes, it will open our eyes to the power the Federal Reserve has and what it has done with that power. I tend to distrust agencies that have little oversight or accountability. It makes me nervous how much money the Fed creates out of thin air. I think this law is a good thing and hope that it passes.

Memorial Day

As we honor those that gave their lives for our freedom, I thought I would bring a certain cause to your attention.

There is a case in California where the ACLU is trying to get the Mohave Desert Memorial Cross removed. This monument to our war dead has stood for 75 years. The ACLU first succeeded in putting a bag over the cross. Now it is surrounded by plywood. If they have their way, it will soon be demolished.

There is an organization that is fighting to save not only this cross but all war memorials that have religious aspects. The website is DontTearMeDown.com.

Portions Now and Then

There was an interesting post by FatFighterTV about three weeks ago talking about the differences in portion sizes now and 20 years ago. Here is one of the examples given:

20 years ago: a bagel was three inches in diameter and had 140 calories.

Today: a six inch bagel with 350 calories.

Anyway, it is worth a look.

My husband and I have taken to ordering 1 entree and 1 appetizer and splitting them. We always have more than enough and we are pretty big eaters. Do places serve such huge portions so that people feel like they got their money's worth? I remember a place near where I lived in college that had what I considered more normal portions that only cost $3.50. I went there more often because the food was good, I could afford it, and the portion was right for me. Too bad there aren't more of those kind of places out there.