Do you know how they catch monkeys in Taiwan (and parts of India)?  A trap is set with a banana. The monkey saunters on by, reaches into said trap, and grabs the banana. The monkey – now with his fist clenched around the banana – can no longer remove his hand. At any point, he could opt to let go of the banana and run free, but instead he is trapped.  Hilarious isn’t it?

Bill Maher is that monkey.

See, Bill Maher’s a smart guy. None of us can deny that. A nuisance at worst, a more than worthy adversary at best, Bill Maher is the kind of intellectual whose worst enemy is his own pride. Smart people generally don’t make intellectual miscalculations; they make careless errors.  Sometimes, a mistruth is so often repeated in society that even smart folk like Maher accept it as fact. A good example would be Bill Maher’s constant claim that the Bible encourages slavery and the founding fathers were anti-Christian.

Firstly, Bill would be right to say that the founding fathers were anti-religion.  One could say the same thing about most pastors heading churches throughout the United States today. A disdain for man-made religion does not equal a hate for personal faith in God.  (more…)

Earlier this week, UPI reported Vice-President Joe Biden and his wife released their 2008 tax returns and while the Second Couple had an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $269,256, they gave a mere $1,885 to charity.  Not quite the Biblical standard of a tithe. According to a statement by the White House, the charitable donations are “NOT (my emphasis added) the sum of their annual contributions to charity. They donate to their church, among other contributions.” Then what is the sum of their contributions to charity? Inquiring minds want to know.

I realize many recent political appointees have had tax avoidance issues but no one has yet been accused of understating their charitable contributions. Even Turbo Tax encourages you to take full advantage of charitable contributions in several different ways, as I’m sure the Treasury Secretary can attest.  But on the bright side, the Biden Family increased their charitable givings fifteen-fold compared to a decade ago. (more…)