The Hugh Hewitt Show

It is going to be one great year for political talk radio, and mine began with New jersey Governor Chris Christie:

Audio:

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Transcript:

HH: So great to begin it with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who gave a major speech on his campaign today in New Hampshire. Governor Christie, Happy New Year to you.

CC: Thank you, Hugh, and Happy New Year to you.

HH: There’s a lot to talk about in this speech, but I have to begin with some less-than-serious questions first of all.

CC: Right.

HH: You’re friends with Jerry Jones, right?

CC: I am.

HH: All right. Can we get you to call him to take Manziel off our hands? I mean, don’t you think…

CC: (laughing) No thanks, buddy.

HH: Now look, look, he would do great in Dallas, Governor. He’s just not our guy in Cleveland. I just renewed my Cleveland Browns season tickets. We’re going to draft a new QB. He would be great in Dallas.

CC: Listen, he hadn’t, no one’s ever gotten in trouble for partying in Dallas, right, Hugh? So Johnny Manziel would be perfect for Dallas. That’d be great.

HH: So you’re not buying my pitch, huh?

CC: No, that’s classic New Jersey sarcasm.

HH: Okay, okay, just asking, then.

CC: (laughing)

HH: Second question, are you a Downton Abbey guy?

CC: I am not.

HH: Is Mary Pat a Downton Abbey person?

CC: Mary Pat is not a Downton Abbey person, either. No, neither one of us.

HH: Because it had a prosecution in it that took four seasons to wrap up. And I was going to ask you about that. Are you a Homeland person? Do you watch Homeland?

CC: I do not watch Homeland, either.

HH: What do you do for popular culture?

CC: (laughing) Run for president, Hugh. That’s what I do. Continue Reading

In my experience, the smaller the pond the more arbitrary the rules.  HOA’s are a prime example.  Rules that state things like “Homeowners shall keep their front yards neat and well trimmed,” are interpreted by some OCD sufferer that makes it to the Board as “All grass shall be kept kept between 1.25 and 1.5 inches in length and any litter that is not picked up within 2 hours of first being noted shall result in a fine of not less than $300.”  Soon the OCD sufferer and friends are roaming the neighborhood measuring grass and taking pictures of gum wrappers.  Fine levies start flying around faster than the litter, and things turn very ugly, very fast.

It’s petty stuff, common in HOA’s, church boards, university committees, and small towns.  But I never dreamed I would see it from the federal government.  And yet, the Wall Street Journal notes this morning that, “President Obama announced in his New Year’s weekend address that because Congress hasn’t followed his orders, he plans to issue new unilateral regulations on guns.”  They go on to note:

His Administration is also in a class by itself in issuing de facto rules as “notices” or “guidance” that are ignored by businesses at their peril. Many of these ukases from Washington never even make it into the Federal Register, so Mr. Obama’s record-breaking official totals understate the depth and breadth of his regulating.

A recent report from the National Federation of Independent Business calls this “underground regulation” and notes that the Supreme Court has only encouraged Obama-era abuse by affirming that federal agencies have wide latitude to issue “interpretations” of federal laws and even to change these interpretations without going through a formal rule-making.

This is scary stuff, and very real.  I have actually been in administrative action settlement negotiations with regulators where I have ended up pounding the table demanding documentation of any sort of the interpretation of the rule my client was charged with violating.  And we are not talking $300 HOA fines here either. Continue Reading

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

New Year’s Eve.  If you are at all like me you will spend some portion of the day doing a fiscal review, making sure things are in the best possible order – particularly as relates to the look the tax man will soon take.  If it has been a good year, which mine has been – Praise the Lord, you may find yourself writing a few charitable checks.  After all, better it go to a worthy cause than down any of the wasteful rat holes the government might put it in.   Just make sure and not pat yourself on the back for it.

Let’s face it, tax avoidance giving is hardly Widow’s Mite giving.  Tax avoidance giving is giving from our plenty, not sacrificially.  Not to mention the fact that giving money, while important and necessary, is not God’s deepest desire from us.  We give our money because it is a step in the right direction towards God’s ultimate desire- the “broken and contrite heart” of Psalm 51. Continue Reading

Pamil Ellis is the nurse-missionary who works with Shalom House Maternity Center for the desperately poor of Manila.  She is part of the wildest small world story I’ve every been a part of, which she told on today’s show, during a home visit for Pami, a Biola grad and a Faith Academy alum in the Philippines.  She’s as wonderful in person as she sounds on the radio, so consider supporting this amazing ministry as a great way to end 2015 and begin 2016:

Audio:

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Transcript:

HH: I like to add a little good news in this week between Christmas and New Year’s, amidst all the bad news. Pami Ellis is sitting in studio with me. She is a nurse in the Philippines. She is also the star of the best small world story I have ever known. But before I tell you that story, I want you to know Pami’s story. Pami, you were born in the Philippines?

PE: I sure was.

HH: But you’re an American citizen?

PE: I am.

HH: Why were you born in the Philippines?

PE: My parents are missionaries.

HH: And so you are now a missionary in the Philippines?

PE: Regretfully, yes. No, just kidding.

HH: And how many years did you spend in the States to get your training as a nurse?

PE: Ten years.

HH: And where was that done mostly?

PE: I went to BIOLA for my first degree, and then I did my nursing course at Cal State Fullerton.

HH: Okay, and so tell people what you do in the Philippines.

PE: Well, I run a maternity center. I’m a co-director. We see about 400 ladies a week. We work in the slums. As you know, the Philippines is, Manila, is the most-densely populated city in the world.

HH: I did not know that.

PE: It is, and just to get an idea, it’s half the size of Oahu, and Oahu has about a million people on it. And Manila, greater Manila, has 11 million people. Of the 30 most densely-populated cities in the world, eight are in greater Manila.

HH: I had no idea.

PE: 111,000 people per square mile. Continue Reading