Obama and the Cash Register

"Now, this is like having a really good product in the store and the cash registers don’t work ... so we are working overtime to get this fixed."
--stuff Obama said (regarding the glitched up healthcare.gov)

It's Pinnochios All The Way Down

(I've used this gag before, but an update is warranted. Original form of this story found here.)

A well-known columnist (some say it was Glenn Kessler) once wrote a much noticed piece on politicians not always telling the truth. He described how politicians are lured into this practice by the inherent nature of DC, and how DC, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of power and money called politics. He used it to describe how Obama was just the latest in a long line of politicians who "misspeak", and that he really was not that different or worse than past politicians, and was deserving of only one Pinocchio.

At the end of his comments section, a little old lady wrote a passionate response. "What you have told us is rubbish. Obama is really a never-ending fount of lies. In fact, Obama is a liar, he's not that smart, and he's a nasty little man. This president and his entire political career is supported by four giant Pinocchios."

The columnist typed a superior winking smile using a semi-colon, a dash and parentheses at the beginning of his reply and then continued, "What are the four Pinocchios resting on?"

"You're very clever, young man, very clever," wrote the old lady. But it's Pinocchios all the way down!"

Obamacare Has Found CheChe

Over at Ace of Spades, we find this...

Daily Kos Diarist: Crikey, I'm Ever So Suprised and Upset to Discover That ObamaCare Has Doubled Me Bloomin' Health Insurance Premium!

And Ace makes this comment:

I haven't seen this much emotion from a Kossack since Che-Che and his perpetually-sobbing daughter.

Did someone say CheChe? I've had fun a couple of times with that CheChe post. Here and here.

Here we are again. Poor CheChe's daughter has been trying to sign up to get her some of that sweet, sweet Obamacare. Only, there may have been a glitch or two.

I don't think I've ever seen such a look of misery and dejection on the face of my daughter as I just did when she tried signing up for Obamacare.

She just couldn't understand why the system kept timing out and error pages kept coming up, when she so desperately needs insurance subsidized by other Americans who actually work for a living. "Doesn’t the Obama administration care about my needs anymore?" she asked pitifully.

I sat down with her on the sofa and (as calmly as I could) tried to explain to her why Obama seems to be abandoning all the promises he made when Obamacare was being passed. "Honey, I am afraid that we have come to the point in our nation’s history when a majority of the people who work in government have become fat, lazy and stupid…exploiting the very citizens who vote to give them the most power - and those in government, from Obama on down, care more about enriching themselves as the country rots from within.”

I tried to keep my voice steady, but it became increasingly difficult - the rage and feelings of helplessness were just too much. I think my daughter could tell something was wrong. I found myself at such a loss for words - nothing made any sense; nothing makes sense anymore. I finally had to admit, "Honey, I just don't know - I don't know what's going on in this country anymore..."

When I finished her lower lip started to tremble and her eyes began to fill with tears, "Daddy" she said, "why is Obama doing this to the country?" Well, that was it for me: I finally fell apart. She just fell into my arms and we both began sobbing for several minutes.

For once she had to comfort me and get me back on my feet. Sometimes I just think it's too much, but seeing the strength in my young daughter's voice helped me to get through.

Heart rending. But it gets worse. CheChe himself just got a letter from his insurance company.

I don't think I've ever seen such a look of misery and dejection on the face of my father as I just did when he just opened the letter from Kaiser Permanente.

My dad, known to all of you as CheChe, just couldn't understand why his insurance policy which he's had for nearly a decade had been cancelled, and the premiums for alternative they were offering were double what he had been paying. And the deductible had been tripled. "Doesn’t Obama care about us anymore?" he asked pitifully.

I sat down with him on the sofa and (as calmly as I could) tried to explain to him why the President seems to be abandoning him. "Daddy, I am afraid that in order to give free healthcare to everyone, someone has to pay. I'm not sure how this works, but apparently my right to get free birth control affects the cost of your insurance. I don't know why. It's not at all what Obama told us."

I tried to keep my voice steady, but it became increasingly difficult - the rage and feelings of helplessness were just too much. I think my dad could tell something was wrong. I found myself at such a loss for words - nothing made any sense; nothing makes sense anymore. I finally had to admit, "Daddy, I just don't know - I don't know what's going on in this country anymore..."

When I finished dad's lower lip started to tremble and his eyes began to fill with tears, "Honey" he said, "why has Obama done this to the country?" Well, that was it for me: I finally fell apart. He just fell into my arms and we both began sobbing for several minutes.

For once he had to comfort me and get me back on my feet. Sometimes I just think it's too much, but seeing the strength in my daddy's voice helped me to get through.

Here's a dirty little secret: they're both still enthusiastic about Hillary 2016.

A Little Perspective On The Debt Limit Debate

Since the Sequester kicked off on March 1, the debt has only risen ninety eight billion, four hundred eleven million, six hundred thirty seven thousand, eight hundred twenty one dollars and thirty cents.

All figures come from Debt to the Penny, a US Treasury website.

A penny here, 98 billion there and pretty soon we're talking about real money.

Actually, I'm not even being terribly facetious by saying "the debt has only risen".

That number is barely more than one tenth of the rise in debt that occured during the same time frame in Obama's first and second years in office, which were nine hundred seventeen billion, five hundred fifty million, eight hundred three thousand, seven hundred fourty four dollars and twenty cents and nine hundred thirty five billion, nine hundred six million, five hundred twenty six thousand, thirty two dollars and forty cents respectively.

Not only that, it is less than 40% of the rise in debt that occurred during the same time frame in President George W. Bush's first year of his second term, which was two hundred fifty two billion, five hundred fifty one million, four hundred sixty two thousand, one hundred six dollars and ninety seven cents.

But then again, Bush was spending like forty three wazillion dollars a month on his illegal war for oil in Iraq (that both of Obama's Secretaries of State voted for) and just air raiding villages in Afghanistan each month, and Obama is not spending a just muscular enough not to be mocked amount on his unbelievably small illegal war for ego in Syria because of unpatriotic Republicans, his string of six double bogeys on the back nine last Saturday, global warming, the Chicago White Sox three game losing streak, his unprecedented devotion to Democracy, today being Friday, September 13th (the 199th anniversary of Francis Scott Key writing the Star Spangled Banner, the 87th anniversary of the birth of Mel Tormé and the 17th anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death), and his legendary Smart Diplomacy using his diplomatic abilities to diplomatically bend (over/forward for) the likes of Putin, so there's that.

Obama Burns A Strawman

The only means of argumentation known to Obama:

All The Way Down

A well-known columnist (some say it was Glenn Kessler) once wrote a much noticed piece on political scandals. He described how politicians are lured into scandal by the inherent nature of DC, and how DC, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of power and money called politics. He used it to describe how the Obama administration was just the latest in a long line of presidencies who suffer scandals, and that it really was not that different or worse than past administrations, and was deserving of only one Pinocchio.

At the end of his comments section, a little old lady wrote a passionate response. "What you have told us is rubbish. The Obama administration is really a never-ending campaign beset by scandal because it is the most politicized and corrupt administration in this nation's history. This administration is supported by four giant Pinocchios." The columnist typed a superior winking smile using a semi-colon, a dash and parentheses at the beginning of his reply and then continued, "What are the four Pinocchios resting on?"

"You're very clever, young man, very clever," wrote the old lady. But it's Pinocchios all the way down!"

Obama's Transparency

The most transparent President ever.

Obama Passes The Buck

It's always someone else's fault with this guy.

"Ok, go long! Keep going...keep going....further...."

Jay Carney To Be Replaced?

The Benevolence of Government

Margaret Thatcher died this past week. In reading about her, I came across this quote from her last speech to British House of Commons:

The hon. Gentleman is saying that he would rather that the poor were poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That way one will never create the wealth for better social services, as we have. What a policy. Yes, he would rather have the poor poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That is the Liberal policy.

If it pleases the lady, and I ever hope it would, I would like to introduce this fictional and entirely too simplistic scenario to help illustrate her point for where we are today, or at least where Obama would take us, in the United States.

Let's say I make $100,000 and someone else makes $20,000. That is "income disparity".

And income disparity is to be despaired above all things.

But unfortunately that someone else loses his job (because his evil corporate fatcat boss says complying with ObamaCare means he can't afford as many workers, but that's another story for another day). So, the government takes $20,000 of my income to help that guy while he's out of work.

We'll call the $20,000 the government takes from me "enhanced revenue". And we'll call the $20,000 they'll use to give to that other guy an "investment".

See, the government really, really cares for this guy, honest.

Now I've got $80,000 $70,000 (not having that $20,000 prevented me from making investments in my business and reduced my ability to market and produce the goods I make), and that guy has $20,000 $10,000 (after the government takes it's slice to pay administrators to determine what that guy should get. And for their staplers and laptop computers and buildings and offices and health insurance and pensions and their annual conference in Fiji for their workshops on better administrating).

I'm telling you, the government cares about this guy.

So now, we got ourselves a situation where we went from me having 400% more than that guy to a point where I have 600% more. Some might argue the income disparity just increased. But don't worry -- those people don't know what they're talking about. See, I used to have $80,000 more than he did, and now I only have $60,000 more. That's a 25% reduction in the disparity! Forward!

We'll call this, oh, I don't know, "fairness".

Ok, at this point, I'm a bit misty about just how much the government cares about this guy.

Of course, there used to be $120,000 in economic activity being generated between the two of us, and now there is $70,000. That's a 42% reduction in economic activity. But don't worry, taking the money from me and passing it through DC gives it a 4.652x multiplier (I rounded the number to save pixels, but government economists know the exact multiplier to at least 16 more places past the decimal point). This will juice the economy a lot more than if I had been allowed to selfishly keep the money I earned.

See, and this is perhaps the greatest lesson of all, the government helps me become a better, less selfish person.

We'll call all this. . . what's the phrase I'm looking for . . . The Obama Economy.

And just wait until they come for another $20,000 from me -- what a world that will be!

Now That March Madness Is Over

Now that the month of March has run its course, let's take a look at how The Sequester! impacted the growth of the total U.S. Debt compared to other years in the Obama presidency. This is the net change from the first day of March to the last day of March.

For example, in 2013 the debt was $16,640,135,316,625.30 on March 1 and $16,771,379,006,760.30 on March 29 (the last week day of the month). That works out to an increase of $131,243,690,135.00 (that is 131 billion dollars with a "b").

Here you go:

How we have survived as a nation with such austere measures is nothing short of astounding.

I Was Wrong

In one of my first forays into the bloggish new media whatever-you-want-to-call-it, I sent an email to Jonah Goldberg at National Review in 2006.

He posted it on the Corner:

It’s way too cute and conspiratorial, but it ain’t altogether crazy either. From a reader:

Wanted to propose a theory about Al Gore and other global warming alarmists. Maybe others have reached this conclusion, but I haven’t seen it.

Was just reading an article [which] starts out profiling Bill Gray, the preeminent hurricane guy. Talks about how he is a global warming skeptic and how he’s pissed at how he’s being treated in the scientific community. Etc.

But then I read this sentence, “In just three, five, maybe eight years, he [Gray] says, the world will begin to cool again.” and it hit me…Holy cow. The global warming alarmists KNOW the earth is going to begin cooling in a few years – and their alarm is that they have to have Kyoto-like programs in place that they can point to as the cause of the cooling.

If they can succeed at this – they effectively control the world. In a few decades they can revive the “earth is cooling and there’s an ice age coming” alarmism – and prescribe policies that ensure they have the power they want to manage that impending climate disaster.

For years now I have taken umbrage at Jonah calling me "not altogether crazy". I expressly aim to be exactly altogether crazy.

Anyway, I was waaaaay off base in that 2006 prediction. I was wrong. The Global Warming crowd didn't react to Bill Gray's accurate prediction of a pause in global warming -- indeed a cooling -- with some measure of crowing about how their efforts helped bring it about. Nope. They've just moved from the oh so restrictive "Global Warming" label to Climate Change. If it rains? Global Climate Warming Change! If there's a drought? Global Climate Warming Change! If it snows, if it hails, if it neither snows nor hails? Global Climate Warming Change! It rained in Dubuque! Ahaaaaa!!! It was dry in Dalhart! Proofiness!!!!!

If the temperature today is hotter than yesterday, then Climate Change! And if the temperature is cooler? ZOMG! CLIMATE CHANGIER!!!!!

I was naive in 2006. I was wrong. The earth has cooled, just like Dr. Gray predicted. But the Global Warmerists have no real reason to look at temperatures that diverge from what they predicted and pretend that that matters at all. The religion of Global Warmerism needs no empirical evidence, after all, it only needs faith.

There is a lot of faith -- much greater than a mustard seed -- going on up here in the Church of the Global Warmerism. And it will take a miracle for any of their predictions to come true.

But so far it's Dr. Gray 1, Global Warmerists 0.
(you can put me down for 0 too)

I Called On Obama To Bow Out For Exactly This Reason

The effort to resist saying I Told You So is not strong enough. Michelle Obama said this:

First lady Michelle Obama slipped up in a local TV interview Thursday and accidentally called herself a “single mother.”

“Believe me, as a busy single mother– or, I shouldn’t say single, as a busy mother. Sometimes, you know, when you’ve got a husband who is president, it can feel a little single. But he’s there,” Mrs. Obama told Vermont CBS affiliate WCAX.

Four years ago, I said this:

I call on Obama to bow out

Here's wife Michelle on the campaign trail:

But seriously, with the exception of the campaign trail and life in the public eye, I have to say that my life now is not really that much different from many of yours. I wake up every morning wondering how on earth I am going to pull off that next minor miracle to get through the day. I know that everybody in this room is going through this. That is the dilemma women face today. Every woman that I know, regardless of race, education, income, background, political affiliation, is struggling to keep her head above water. We try to convince ourselves that somehow doing it all is a badge of honor, but for many of us it is a necessity and we have to be very careful not to lose ourselves in the process. More often than not, we as women, are the primary caretakers in our households, scheduling babysitters, planning play dates, keeping up with regular doctor’s appointments; this was my week last week, supervising homework, handing our discipline. Usually we are the ones in charge of keeping the household together. I know you men, I know that you guys try to do your part, but the reality is that we’re doing it, right? (laughter and applause) Laundry, cleaning, cooking, shopping, home repairs. You know Barack has my back, he’s right there with me, feels my pain, and all that. (laughter)

If she thinks it's hard out there as the wife of a Senator and the wife of a Presidential candidate, just think of the demands of being first lady. And the strains of having your husband and your kids' father being President. If she thinks raising her family is hard now, if she thinks she can barely keep her head above water now, she in no way should think that she could make it with Barack in the White House.

Besides, in Hillary's America, she will have a village to help raise her kids.

And if there one thing we've learned from her whining, it's that Michelle needs a village to raise her kids.

Yes, Michelle needs Hillary.

For the children.

For the love of God, won't somebody think of the children!

See, I did think of them. But nooooo, no one listened to me.

Spring Break Your Foot

Kayak, which is a palindrome, and therefore evil (kayak live is evil kayak backwards), took its evil wrath out on my wife's foot.

The silver lining in this otherwise cloudy cloud, is that her bruising matches well with her toenail polish.

Obama's 2013 Bracket

ESPN reports that Barack Obama has filled out his brackets for the NCAA tournament, picking Louisville to go all the way.

It's that time of year.

It's also that time of year when the President submits a budget request to Congress. And while he hasn't submitted it to Congress yet, Obama has devised a method to not only help focus his decisions, but also to organize the process in a way that is familiar to him. Here is where he has ended up:

Clicking the image will take you to the Flickr page for the photo - clicking here will take you directly to the 1024x968 size of the image, probably best for viewing in detail.

What The Sequester Hath Wrought

Sequester!

Obama warned us the dire consequences of the Sequester! would be, um, dire. And so far about all we have is White House tours being cancelled to show for it. And now that everyone is laughing at him and not with him for his Chicken Littleism (as opposed to his Barackadoodledoo of 2008), where do we find ourselves?

Using TreasuryDirect.gov, and their "Debt to the Dime" application let's take a look at the total U.S. Debt compared to previous years, and see what effect the Sequester! might have had on it this year.

Where did the total U.S. debt stand at the first week day of March (when the Sequester! took effect this year) compared to the sixth week day of March?

2009
March 2: $10,942,165,294,650.80
March 9: $10,952,663,030,603.40
Added to debt: $10,497,735,952.60
Debt increased 0.096%

2010
March 1: 12,507,536,462,861.oo
March 8: 12,546,372,001,879.70
Added to debt: $38,835,539,018.70
Debt increased 0.31%

2011
March 1: $14,172,957,589,856.60
March 8: $14,193,176,753,471.60
Added to debt: $20,219,163,615.00
Debt increased: 0.143%

2012
March 1: $15,501,014,716,143.70
March 8: $15,517,794,642,311.20
Added to debt: $16,779,926,167.50
Debt increased: 0.108%

So, there's a baseline. How does 2013 fare in comparison, now that we are under the scourge of the cut-spending-to-the-bone Sequester!?

2013
March 1: $16,640,135,316,625.30
March 8: $16,701,846,937,879.70
Added to debt: $61,711,621,254.40
Debt increased: 0.371%

Well that's some real belt-tightening, not to mention eye-popping, austerity right there.

Or something.

Wacko Birds

It certainly wasn't an original idea -- see this article at Reason -- but once McCain called Rand Paul and those who supported his filibuster "wacko birds," me doing this was inevitable:

But forget the photoshop. If I could just get a programmer to develop an app for Wacko Birds...........

Bottom Story of the Day: Look Out Below! Can a Blog Get James Taranto to Fall for a Stunt by Writing a Headline with a Question Nobody Is Asking, Like "Hey, Kids! What Time Is It?" and in Doing So Provide an Example of the Lonely Lives of Columnists? Now That Would Be News - You Can Use

On Wednesday, I was quoted in James Taranto's Best of the Web Today feature at the Wall Street Journal based on an old 2008 post. If you are not familiar with Taranto's work, the title of this post could be a little bit confusing.

In his lead topic, Taranto was discussing how impotent Obama has become as highlighted by his "I am not a dictator" quote earlier in the week. Taranto was tackling an article by Ryan Lizza at the New Yorker who was arguing it's not Obama's fault. Here's the quote:

Contrary to Lizza's account, Obama seemed to understand this before his election. In September 2008, as blogger Jeff Dobbs noted, CBS's Steve Kroft asked the junior U.S. senator from Illinois why he thought he would be a good president. Obama answered: "I'm a practical person. One of the things I'm good at is getting people in a room with a bunch of different ideas who sometimes violently disagree with each other and finding common ground and a sense of common direction."

Of course, read the whole thing. Taranto has long been one of my favorites, and his daily article is must reading. I used to fire stuff off to him all the time and get counted among the people credited at the end of the piece. But notably, this marks the second time my name has been used in the article itself, the last occuring in 2007 when I had a John Edwards joke that struck his fancy.

Interesting, that. In 2007, a John Edwards joke on my blog was picked up by the late Dean Barnett for my first ever mention at the Weekly Standard. Dean became a good friend and helped me in my blogging considerably. The interesting thing tying these events together is that the post Taranto quoted on Wednesday was also quoted in 2008 by Dean at the Weekly Standard, in a post he called The Post Partisan Easter Bunny. The email conversation around that post between Dean and me was the last we had before Dean passed away. That post was made on October 1, 2008. On October 2 Dean made his last post at the Weekly Standard before his death.

Obama The Friendly Host

Obama hosted several Senate Republicans this week for a very nice dinner. The dinner coincided with a 13 hour filibuster from Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, in which he was objecting to the nomination of John Brennan for director of CIA over the lack of an answer from Obama and his administration over the use of drones domestically.

Some of those in attendance at the dinner with Obama made their way to the Senate floor in support of Paul after the dinner was over. Others, notably John McCain of Arizona and Linsdey Graham of South Carolina did not. In fact, not only did they not support Paul's filibuster, they have been attacking him ever since.

Obama's twitter feed showed that he really enjoyed the dinner with the Republicans.

After the dinner, reports came out that Obama picked up the tab. But apparently the Sequester, which has already caused Obama and the administration to cancel tours of the White House, also affected Obama's ability to tip his servers.

A Savior Is Born

Matthew 1:18-24

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Luke 1:26-34

26 God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

Luke 1:35-45

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Luke 1:46-55

46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 2:1-12

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:13-21

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at w

hat the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Matthew 2:1-11

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

---------------------------

Philippians 2:5-11

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:15-22

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation