By Luanne Williams
Correspondent
Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc.
January 3, 2008

GRAHAM, N.C. — Residents who want to be able to enjoy a Sunday meal at a local restaurant without being exposed to alcohol sales should plan to speak out at the Jan. 8 meeting of the Graham City Council.

That's when the council will take up the Sunday beer ban — an oft-ignored city ordinance that prohibits restaurants and bars from selling beer and wine between 1 p.m. on Sunday and 7 am. Monday. When it came to the attention of authorities that restaurants had been violating the ban, police sent a letter reminding them of the ordinance. In response, some business owners asked that the local law be changed.

Councilman Jim Albright doesn't think repealing the rule is the answer. And he is hopeful to hear from likeminded residents at the public hearing.

"I don't think we ought to just overturn something that's on the books even if it wasn't being enforced all the time," Albright said. "The police are enforcing it now."

Data on vehicle crashes supports Albright's position. A New Mexico study released just over a year ago showed a 29 percent increase in alcohol-related crashes and a 42 percent increase in alcohol related crash fatalities on Sundays after a law against Sunday packaged sales of alcohol was rescinded. Read More



By Paul Chesser
Climate Strategies Watch
January 3, 2008

While several races are on the primary ballot in May for North Carolinians to get energetic about, the presidential competition is not one of them — yet my friends keep asking me who "my candidate" is for that contest.

What do I tell them? That as a voter, I won't have to make that decision. So if it is my in-state pals doing the asking, I tell them to chill as well.

For presidential politics, only five states — Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, and West Virginia — are less relevant than the Tar Heel state when it comes to choosing the parties' nominees. That's because their primaries are after North Carolina's own ridiculously late date, which is May 6.

So while Iowans fretted during the holidays over which candidates would best represent their principles, I relaxed with my family and focused on the King of Kings for which the season was intended. Instead of enduring debates in which contestants mostly expressed views I'm already aware of, I ignored them and spent my time on the issues I'm interested in. Read More



by Rusty Benson,
American Family Association Journal,
January 4, 2008

Three recently published study Bibles are unique and disparate resources to help Christians understand and apply the Scripture. One is aimed at connecting American Protestants to their Reformation heritage. Another helps Christians build a defense of their faith in a society that is growing more secular. A third teaches readers how literary forms used in the Bible impact meaning. All are aimed at serious students of the Bible and present the Scripture as the infallible and inerrant Word of God.

The 1599 Geneva Bible from Tolle Lege Press is a re-publishing of the first English Bible translated from the original languages. Originally published in 1560, it includes notes, annotations and commentaries by leaders of the Protestant Reformation. This is the version used by the Puritans and others to transform Western Europe in the 1600s.

In introductory comments, Dr. Marshall Foster, founder and president of The Mayflower Institute, writes that the Bible's study notes opened the Scripture to the common man in such a way that entire societies and cultures were transformed. Read More

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