Monthly Archives: December 2010

Dumas:Federal Taxes are down now

December 31, 2010 – 4:58 pm

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

W. Kurt Hauser comments on Federal Taxes
(You will notice that today is the third time a state lawmaker has been profiled on this website. I have
taking the time to look this info up on the web and then post it. If any lawmaker from Arkansas would be
kind enough to just go ahead and email me the info then I would appreciate it. My
email is lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com)
Ernest Dumas in his article “Budget Balancing,” (Arkansas Times, Nov 18, 2010) asserts “the public has been led to believe that their taxes have gone up and up and up, when the opposite is true, at least with federal income taxes.” Dumas would have us believe that our federal taxes are low. However, the fact is federal tax revenue is up now as compared to GDP after the Bush Tax cuts were put into affect.
I am responding to these liberal assertions with a portion from an article published January 29, 2007 called, “Ten Myths About the Bush Tax Cuts” by Brian Riedl. Riedl is the Grover Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs at the Heritage Foundation and Riedl’s budget research has been featured in front-page stories and editorials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.
Myth #1: Tax revenues remain low.
Fact: Tax revenues are above the historical average, even after the tax cuts.
Tax revenues in 2006 were 18.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which is actually above the 20-year, 40-year, and 60-year historical averages.The historical averages range between 17.9 percent and 18.3 percent of GDP, depending on the time horizon. The inflation-adjusted 20 percent tax revenue increase between 2004 and 2006 represents the largest two-year revenue surge since 1965-1967. Claims that Americans are undertaxed by historical standards are patently false.
Some critics of President George W. Bush’s tax policies concede that tax revenues exceed the historical average yet assert that revenues are historically low for economies in the fourth year of an expansion. Setting aside that some of these tax policies are partly responsible for that economic expansion, the numbers simply do not support this claim. Comparing tax revenues in the fourth fiscal year after the end of each of the past three recessions shows nearly equal tax revenues of:
  • 18.4 percent of GDP in 1987,
  • 18.5 percent of GDP in 1995, and
  • 18.4 percent of GDP in 2006.

I am profiling State Lawmakers and today is Jake Files of Ft Smith.

I am Jake Files, a devoted husband, loving father, common sense conservative, and small business owner.  I have a passion for politics because I honestly believe we can still make a difference, and it is time we elected people who will stand with us and for us.  One of my favorite quotes is “The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)  We live in a time where our most basic freedoms are being challenged, and I believe we must stand together and fight.  The time is now.

FAITH & FAMILY

My faith is the catalyst for everything I do, and my family is the backbone of who I am.  Michaela (Mitchell) and I have been married since 1998, and we have 3 little girls we are raising the best way we know how!  Kate is a 1st grader at Immaculate Conception, Liz is in preschool at Hobson/First Presbyterian, and Bella is still in diapers at home with mom.  Michaela is a RN and has made the choice to stay at home with them and help run our household…no easy task!  We attend Eastside Baptist Church, where I sing and play guitar in the Worship Band, coach little league baseball, and help in the children’s choir.

EDUCATION

I attended Ouachita Baptist University on a track scholarship, and I graduated Cum Laude from Arkansas State through the University Center at UA-Fort Smith (then Westark College) with a bachelors in Accounting.  My mom and sister are both teachers, and I have a tremendous respect for not only education, but also the role education plays in the opportunities we have in life.

The students in this generation will be the leaders of the next generation.  Our future literally depends on them and the education they receive.  WIth such a tremendous amount of our resources dedicated to education, we must insist that we are getting the best return possible in terms of educated young people who understand themselves and the world around them.

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

As a 14 year old paperboy for the Southwest Times Record, I learned the value of a dollar, and more importantly, how quickly it went.  After graduating from college, I accepted a position with Baldor Electric Company as part of the management team for their new flagship plant in Ozark, Arkansas.  What a great company to work for and learn about excellence.  It was there that I learned about manufacturing and what a vital role in plays in our economy and this region.

With a heart for young people, I moved to Fort Smith Christian School, where I later served as President and Superintendent of the Pre-K-12 accredited institution.  While serving in that capacity, I was able to work with educators to shape curriculum and learn what was most important to the educational process.  I also learned that education was not just about what was taught in the classroom, but that the investment we make in the lives of children pays dividends forever.

After seven years at FSC, I went to work for ERC Properties in Real Estate Development and grew immensely.  I was able to work on and close several multi-million dollar deals, and I also obtained my Real Estate License during this time and became a Realtor.  While working in this corporate environment, my entrepreneurial spirit pushed me to look at starting my own business.

In 2006, with much prayer and determination, Michaela and I ventured with two partners into the business we currently own and operate, which is a General Construction Firm and Real Estate Development company.  We develop, build, own, and manage real estate and have been taught great lessons by making a payroll every week and seeing the demands on business owners as insurance and taxes threaten to limit our ability to make money, and in some cases, keep our doors open.

I can assure you that I can identify with you and will work hard to be a pro-business Senator who understands what you go through on a daily basis.

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE

Jake was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, when he successfully won the primary and general election at the age of 26.  He served two terms without being defeated, and he is very proud of his past legislative accomplishments.  He was a leader and instrumental in the bill that transitioned Westark College to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, and he also worked hard to effectively represent Fort Smith in the Legislature while serving his terms.  He announced for this state Senate position in 2002, but because of job obligations, he decided not to file for the office at that time.  Since that time, he has started his own company to enable him to set his own schedule more freely and not be dictated by corporate obligations.

In Jake’s last legislative session, he was presented several awards by groups who appreciated his dedication, leadership, and work, and he also passed some substantial legislation.  One of his greatest achievements was borne from a tragic accident that killed a close family friend.  Determined to make something positive from this, Jake vigilantly fought for tougher safety seat laws and was successful in raising the requirement for children to be in safety seats and in seatbelts.  Many lives have been saved since this legislation became law, and countless others will be saved in the future.

Jake also authored and led the fight to protect Arkansas school children against sexual predators with the “Arkansas School Children Protection Act” which kept our children safer by banning anyone convicted of a sexual offense from working in ANY capacity in a school.

He and then Senator Gunner Delay worked together to pass and fund the Tennis Center at Creekmore Park so that everyone could be afforded the opportunity to play in a first class park and facility.  Jake also was able to secure funding for the Health Science building at Westark College which was a highlight with then Chancellor Joel Stubblefield.  He worked with the legislative delegation in the early stages of Fort Chaffee being transitioned to the Trust and was able to help in the funding of $2 million dollars to the Trust as well.

Jake’s greatest satisfaction comes from being able to serve his constituents and help them get problems solved while interacting with governmental agencies.  “Some of my best memories are not of seeing things happen in Little Rock, but hearing from people that I have been able to help find resolution with state government.  To me, that is the essence of public service.  Making a difference for someone every day,” added Files.

On May 18th, 2010, Jake won the Republican Primary with 40% of the vote over opponents Frank Glidewell and Jim Medley.  Because no one received 50% of the vote, a Run-off between Jake Files and Frank Glidewell ensued.  Files was victorious with nearly 58% of the vote on June 8th, 2010.  There was no Democrat to file for the position, so Files will be the next Senator from Fort Smith on January 1, 2011 in District 13.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Taxes | Comments (0)

American Exceptionalism? Not exceptional people, just exceptional principles!!!

December 30, 2010 – 9:28 pm

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

Arnold Schwarzenegger opens this clip of Milton Friedman’s film series “Free to Choose” with a statement that contrast the socialist country he came from to the freer society in the USA where he came to live in 1968. I am going to post several video clips from this film series that will demonstrate that our country allowed free enterprise to flourish without excessive government controls.

Jason Tolbert, Max Brantley and John Brummett all wrote interesting articles on the issue of American Exceptionalism during the fall after Tim Griffin and Joyce Elliott discussed the subject during the campaign.

I don’t think we are exceptional because of our people, land or resources. It must be because of two principles that have existed in this country for many years.

First, our country was founded on a reformation base. Francis Schaeffer pointed out in his film series, “How should we then live?” episode 5 on the Revolutionary Age: “As the reformation emphasis, that the Bible is the only final authority, took root the ordinary citizen was increasingly freed from arbitrary governmental power.”

Sadly our country has allowed humanism to take away many of the freedoms that our founding fathers meant for our country to have including prayer in schools. Did you know that 29 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had seminary degrees? Futhermore, over 90% of the 250 original founding fathers claimed to be Christians according to their own writings.

Second, our country allowed free enterprise to flourish without excessive government controls. That was because the founding fathers saw the government as a necessary evil and not a positive force to be interfering with our lives.

This article today is the beginning of a series that I will be starting on the true secret behind the American Exceptionalism in our past. There is no denying that it existed in the past. Take a look at page 976 of the book A History of the American People by Paul Johnson (1997):

It is appropriate to end this history of the American people on a note of success, because the story of American is essentially one of difficulties being overcome by intelligence and skill, by faith and strength of purpose, by courage and persistence. America today, with its 260 million people, its splendid cities, its vast wealth, and its unrivaled power, is a human achievement without parallel. That achievement–the transformation of a mostly uninhabited wilderness into the supreme national artifact of history–did not come about without heroic sacrifice and great sufferings stoically endured, many costly failures, huge disappointments, defeats, and tragedies. There have indeed been many setbacks in 400 years of American history. As we have seen, many unresolved problems, some of daunting size, remain. But the Americans are, above all, a problem-solving people. They do not believe that anything in this world is beyond human capacity to soar to and dominate. They will not give up. Full of essential goodwill to each other and to all, confident in their human decency and their democratic skills, they will attack again and again the ills in their society, until they are overcome or at least substantially redressed. So the ship of state sails on, and mankind still continues to watch its progress, with wonder and amazement and sometimes apprehension, as it moves into the unknown waters of the 21st century and the third millennium. The great American republican experiment is still the cynosure of the world’s eyes. It is still the first, best hope for the human race. Looking back on its past, and forward to its future, the auguries are that it will not disappoint an expectant humanity.

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I am taking a  look at state lawmakers. The first one was Ann Clemmer, and the second one I want to share with you today is my own State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson:

Jeremy Hutchinson served in the Arkansas legislature from 2000 – 2007.  Jeremy was term limited from serving further in the Arkansas General Assembly, but left as the most senior member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.  He was elected to be the Assistant Minority Leader and served on Judiciary, Insurance and Commerce, and Joint Budget Committees.  He also served on both the Retirement & Pension and Energy Committees.Jeremy was recognized as one of the most effective conservative legislators to serve in the Arkansas Legislature.  He sponsored and PASSED controversial bills to require parental consent before performing abortions on a minor (HB 1033 of 2005), and to authorize state and local police to enforce our federal immigration laws (HB 1033 of 2005).  Jeremy helped draft and co-sponsored the Partial Birth Abortion Ban of 2005.  He also sponsored and passed legislation that granted a leave of absence to our veterans for treatment of military service-connected disabilities (HB 1254 of 2005), established a new tax deferred college saving plans (HB 1735 of 2003), and created the “Baby Sharon Children’s Catastrophic Illness Grant Program” to assist families whose children suffer from catastrophic illness to pay their mounting bills so the parents can focus on their child (HB 1039 of 2003).

Jeremy also has a strong commitment to protecting citizens from crime.  As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he sponsored and PASSED legislation that made the murder of a child 12 years of age or younger an aggravating circumstance for purpose of imposing the death penalty (HB 1264 of 2001), extended the statute of limitations for rape (HB 1423 of 2001), created the criminal offense of exposing a child to a chemical substance or Methamphetamine (HB 1267 of 2003), and enhanced the penalty for offenses of domestic violence committed on a pregnant woman which recognizes the value of an unborn baby (HB 1540 of 2003).

Jeremy received his undergraduate degree (B.B.A. Economics) from Harding University and his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law.  He is an attorney in private practice and a part time deputy Prosecutor in Saline County.  Jeremy is also an adjunct professor at John Brown University and Harding University, teaching Employment Law and Economics.  Named to Arkansas Business’ 40 under 40 in 2002, Jeremy was also voted one of the “Best Conservatives” by the readers of the Arkansas Times in 2005.

Jeremy is married to Stephanie Hutchinson and they have three kids: Jack (11) Hallie (8) and Abby (6). They attend Fellowship Bible Church.

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Francis Schaeffer does a great job in three 9 minute clips of showing how the USA was founded on a reformation base. Here is the first clip:

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Jason Tolbert | Comments (2)

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville

December 30, 2010 – 1:02 am

1 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

2 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

3 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American

Heritage Series / David Barton

4 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

5 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

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3 Of 3 / Faith Of The Founding Fathers / American Heritage Series / David Barton

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David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 1 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

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David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 2 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

___________________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 3 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

___________________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 4 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

______________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 5 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David Barton has collected these quotes and tried to confirm them over the last 20 years. These unconfirmed quotes are used every single day and unfortunately my group of conservatives have been guilty of using them more than the liberals have. This website HALT (HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com) includes the T for the word ‘truth.” I want to always tell it like it is and that includes this fact: Conservative Republicans will be more likely than their liberal counterparts to  stand up today in state legislatures all across the country and use quotes that have not been confirmed with original sources linking them to the Founding Fathers.

I hear this quote below used quite often by conservative lawmakers.

13. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. — Alexis de Tocqueville (unconfirmed)

Alexis de Tocqueville’s work, Democracy in America, should be required reading for all involved in the Church/state debates. He devoted a significant portion of his work to the religious element of American life, as the following thoughts indicate:

Moreover, almost all the sects of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same.In the United States the sovereign authority is religious, and consequently hypocrisy must be common; but there is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.

The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live.

There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief is only equaled by their ignorance and their debasement, while in America one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world fulfills all the outward duties of religion with fervor.

Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more did I perceive the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country.

While the Tocqueville quote is not in this book, it may be in some other writings of which we are unaware. The fact that there is no primary source for someone quoted so often causes us to view the words as unconfirmed.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in David Barton, Unconfirmed Quotes of Founders | Comments (0)

Lynch: Raise Tax rates to get more $

December 29, 2010 – 12:40 am

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

Dan Mitchell of Cato Institute on income taxes

In his article “Sizing up the new year,” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 27, 2010), Pat Lynch asserts,” Just so you understand, the federal deficit is somewhere just north of $13 trillion and the wealthiest taxpayers will not be even slightly inconvenienced as we pay down the national debt… Since the rich folks have been granted favored status by the continued Bush tax cuts and there is nothing to offset the revenue loss, slashing domestic spending is the preferred conservative option. Sooner or later, somebody is going to have to go after some real money.
The poor and elderly will pay off the budget shortfall.”

Mr Lynch assumes that raising tax rates is the best way to raise revenue. This is a myth. I am responding to these liberal assertions concerning the Bush Tax  Cuts with a portion from an article published January 29, 2007 called, “Ten Myths About the Bush Tax Cuts” by Brian Riedl. Riedl is the Grover Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs at the Heritage Foundation and Riedl’s budget research has been featured in front-page stories and editorials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.

Myth #6: Raising tax rates is the best way to raise revenue.
Fact: Tax revenues correlate with economic growth, not tax rates.

Many of those who desire additional tax revenues regularly call on Congress to raise tax rates, but tax revenues are a function of two variables: tax rates and the tax base. The tax base typically moves in the opposite direction of the tax rate, partially negating the revenue impact of tax rate changes. There is little correlation between tax rates and tax revenues. Since 1952, the highest marginal income tax rate has dropped from 92 percent to 35 percent, and tax revenues have grown in inflation-adjusted terms while remaining constant as a percent of GDP.

Despite major fluctuations in income tax rates, long-term tax revenues have grown at almost exactly the same rate as GDP, remaining between 17 percent and 20 percent of GDP for 46 of the past 50 years. The top marginal income tax rate topped 90 percent during the 1950s and that revenues averaged 17.2 percent of GDP. By the 1990s, the top marginal income tax rate averaged just 36 percent, and tax revenues averaged 18.3 percent of GDP. Regardless of the tax rate, tax revenues have almost always come in at approximately 18 percent of GDP (Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables, pp. 25–26, Table 1.3, and Internal Revenue Service, “U.S. Individual Income Tax: Personal Exemptions and Lowest and Highest Bracket Tax Rates, and Tax Base for Regular Tax, Tax Years 1913– 2005,” at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/histaba.pdf {January 16, 2007}).

Since revenues move with GDP, the common-sense way to increase tax revenues is to expand the GDP. This means that pro-growth policies such as low marginal tax rates (especially on work, savings, and investment), restrained federal spending, minimal regulation, and free trade would raise more tax revenues than would be raised by self-defeating tax increases. America cannot substantially increase tax revenue with policies that reduce national income.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Taxes | Comments (0)

Ernie Dumas: Obamacare will help Arkansas

December 28, 2010 – 12:48 am

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

Great clip from Milton Friedman in speech at Mayo Clinic in 1978



On July 8, 2010 Ernie Dumas wrote the article “Health law gains acceptance in Arkansas: There is a lot to like, including cash infusion for state” which was published by the Arkansas Times. Over and over in this article the praises of Obama’s health care law are sung. However, if the past can be used as a predictor of the future then the article misses the mark. Furthermore, in that article Dumas attempts to get Governor Beebe to endorse his thesis but the governor is wise enough not to jump on board so fast. Dumas wrote:

He still is concerned that a sharply expanded Medicaid program will put a significant burden on the state, even if it is eight or nine years away.

“It would be easy for me to say that it will be fine until 2017 or later since I won’t be here,” Beebe said. “I may not be here next January and for sure I won’t be here in 2017. But I have a responsibility to look at the impact things will have long after I leave.”

Unlucky for Dumas just two months later the Associated Press reported on September 9, 2010 the verdict on the cost of the new health legislation according to a government forecast. The conclusion was that “the nation’s health care tab will go up–not down –as a result of President Barack Obama’s sweeping overhaul.” The Chicago Tribune went on to comment:

“Well, duh. You can’t expand coverage by 32 million Americans and figure that will hold costs down. The Democrats sold health care to Americans with a lot of fuzzy accounting and shaky assertions about how relatively inexpensive all this would be”( September 23, 2010).

That reminds me of a youtube video I saw of Milton Friedman in a speech he delivered at the Mayo Clinic back in 1978. In it he referred to a british study by a Dr Max Gammon.

Dr. Max Gammon worked in the British National Health Service (NHS), and his study of it, beginning in the 1960s, led him to enunciate what he called “the theory of bureaucratic displacement.” In his words in what later became known as Gammon’s Law:

“In a bureaucratic system, an increase in expenditure will be matched by a fall in production. Such systems act rather like ‘black holes’ in the economic universe, simultaneously sucking in resources and shrinking in terms of ‘emitted production’.”
Dr. Gammon measured the NHS’s productivity by comparing two simple variables: inputs (defined as the number of employees) and output (measured as the number of hospital beds). He found that while inputs had increased sharply, output had actually fallen.

In fact, from 1965 to 1973 the input went up with hospital staff going up by 28% and administrative staff by 41% but the output (measured by beds occupied daily) went down by 11%. It was not for a want of patients since there was during that time period an average waiting list of 600,000 people.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Healthcare, Milton Friedman, President Obama | Comments (0)

Pryor ignores the will of the people to vote for Obamacare

December 27, 2010 – 4:25 am

Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

This video of Mark Pryor stumping for Obama for President just shows how out of touch he is with Arkansas voters. President Obama lost Arkansas in a landslide.

Mark Pryor said on Arkansas Week in Review which was broadcast on AETN on Dec 24th, “We owe the American people good government and to try and be productive. I think one reason why you saw the elections turn out the way they turned this November was because I think people all across America feel like the folks inside the beltway are  not listening. I try to listen and to be home as much as I possibly can.”

You would think this would be sound advice for a politician to follow. However, didn’t Senator Mark Pryor ignore polls showing the American people did not want Obamacare?

On September 17, 2009 just a few months before the healthcare vote this article was released, “Fox News Poll: Americans Prefer Current System to Obama’s Health Care Plan.” Here is a portion of that article below:

Most Americans see no upside for their family in the health care reforms being considered in Washington and don’t believe President Obama when he says his plan won’t add “one dime” to the federal deficit. The majority of Americans believe they will have to make changes to their health care coverage if the president’s plan is passed.

These are just some of the findings of a new FOX News poll released Thursday.

More Americans would rather Congress do nothing than pass Obama’s plan: 46 percent to 37 percent of people polled say they prefer the current health care system to the one the president has proposed.

Similarly, more people oppose — 48 percent — the health care reform legislation being considered right now than favor it — 38 percent. While most Democrats — 65 percent — favor the reforms, majorities of Republicans — 79 percent — and independents (55 percent) oppose them.


This is not surprising given less than one in four Americans (22 percent) think they would be better off under the reforms, and many (60 percent) think they will probably have to make changes to their health coverage despite Obama’s assurances that they will not have to. In addition, a sizable majority (67 percent) thinks the president’s plan will increase the national deficit.


Next on November 2nd at the ballot box the American people showed the Democrats that they were not listening as Senator Pryor admits correctly. Take a look at this article by Julian Pecquet below:


Democrats who voted for their party’s signature domestic achievement dropped like flies throughout the evening, adding credence to Republicans’ claim that the American public wants them to repeal healthcare reform.

The law’s proponents read the writing on the wall early on and acted quickly to pre-empt that impression.

“American voters’ focus during the elections was overwhelmingly on jobs and the economy, and this will remain the key public concern until the economy substantially improves,” Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said in a 10:30 p.m. statement. “As pre-election polls reflect, calls to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are not supported by America’s voters — and they certainly were not the motivating factor in the elections.”

The evening started pretty well for Democrats who voted for healthcare reform, with Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky handily winning reelection with 54.5 percent of the vote. Yarmuth’s seat was listed as “likely Democratic” in the Nov. 1 edition of The Cook Political Report, one of 77 “yes” vote seats in play Tuesday evening.

Things quickly went downhill from there.

Within hours, a dozen members had lost reelection, including four freshmen elected in the 2008 Democratic wave: Reps. Tom Perriello and Glenn Nye of Virgina and Suzanne Kosmas and Alan Grayson of Florida.

They weren’t alone: Democratic Reps. Baron Hill (Ind.), Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.) and Allen Boyd (Fla.) quickly joined them. So did Pennsylvania Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper, Chris Carney and Paul Kanjorski, all of whom were main targets of the anti-abortion-rights group the Susan B. Anthony List.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who voted for the bill when her vote was crucial but later voted no on reconciliation, was also defeated.

The trend is even worse when factoring in yes votes who weren’t running for reelection.

Retiring Rep. Bart Gordon (Tenn.) left Democratic candidate Brett Carter to get pulverized by Republican Diane Black, 29.3 percent to 67.5.

Democrats did, however, pick up Republican Rep. Joseph Cao’s seat in Louisiana. Cao had voted yes on the bill in November — the only Republican to do so — but changed his vote when the bill returned before the House in March.


By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Healthcare, President Obama | Comments (0)

Supreme Court never said It.

December 27, 2010 – 4:20 am

1 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

2 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

3 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American

Heritage Series / David Barton

4 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

5 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

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3 Of 3 / Faith Of The Founding Fathers / American Heritage Series / David Barton

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David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 1 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

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David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 2 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

___________________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 3 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

___________________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 4 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

______________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 5 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. These unconfirmed quotes are used every single day and unfortunately my group of conservatives have been guilty of using them more than the liberals have. This website HALT (HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com) includes the T for the word ‘truth.” I want to always tell it like it is and that includes this fact: Conservative Republicans will be more likely than their liberal counterparts to  stand up today in state legislatures all across the country and use quotes that have not been confirmed with original sources linking them to the Founding Fathers.
This first quote I will look at has been on David Barton’s Unconfirmed List for about 20 years but it was confirmed about 7 years ago but it turned out not to be a Supreme Court Case but a lower court case.
 

3. Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise. In this sense and to this extent, our civilizations and our institutions are emphatically Christian. — Holy Trinity v. U. S. (Supreme Court) (inaccurate confirmed! — Richmond v. Moore, Illinois Supreme Court, 1883) 

This quotation appeared in many modern works, each attributing the wording to the U. S. Supreme Court’s 1892 decision in the Holy Trinity case. After researching and being unable to locate this quote in that case, we concluded that it was probably was a cut-and-paste typographical error, for several of the phrases do appear in that case, (10. For example, “These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.” Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States; 143 U. S. 457, 471 (1892).

)but not in the exact wording given above; we therefore at that time recommended that this quote not be used. Now, however, after more than a decade of searching, we have located and confirmed the original source for this quote: it appears not in an 1892 U. S. Supreme Court case

( 11. Justice David J. Brewer, author of the 1892 Holy Trinity opinion, also wrote a book in 1905 called The United States: A Christian Nation. Brewer opened his work with these words: “We classify nations in various ways. As, for instance, by their form of government. One is a kingdom, another an empire, and still another a republic. Also by race. Great Britain is an Anglo-Saxon nation, France a Gallic, Germany a Teutonic, Russia a Slav. And still again by religion. One is a Mohammedan nation, others are heathen, and still others are Christian nations. This republic is classified among the Christian nations of the world. It was so formally declared by the Supreme Court of the United States. But in what sense can it be called a Christian nation? Not in the sense that Christianity is the established religion or that the people are in any manner compelled to support it. On the contrary, the Constitution specifically provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Neither is it Christian in the sense that all its citizens are either in fact or name Christians. On the contrary, all religions have free scope within our borders. Numbers of our people profess other religions, and many reject all. Nor is it Christian in the sense that a profession of Christianity is a condition of holding office or otherwise engaging in the public service, or essential to recognition either politically or socially. In fact the government as a legal organization is independent of all religions. Nevertheless, we constantly speak of this republic as a Christian nation-in fact, as the leading Christian nation of the world.” David J. Brewer, The United States A Christian Nation (Philadelphia: John C. Winston Company, 1905), pp. 11-12. )

but rather in an 1883 Illinois Supreme Court ruling in Richmond v. Moore. ( 12. Richmond v. Moore, 107 Ill. 429, 1883 WL 10319 (Ill.), 47 Am.Rep. 445 (Ill. 1883).) While we previously recommended against using this quote, it is now authenticated and can be cited, providing that it is attributed to the proper source.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in David Barton, Unconfirmed Quotes of Founders | Comments (2)

Pryor hypocritical about Judge Delays?

December 25, 2010 – 5:50 am

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

Senator Graham and Elena Kagan discuss Former Nominee Miguel Estrada

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

On December 24, the Arkansas Times Blog reported:

The Senate ended its lame duck session Wednesday without confirming Fort Smith attorney Paul K. Holmes as a federal judge in Arkansas’s western district.Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said he was disappointed that Holmes’ nomination did not clear the Senate during the 111th Congress.

Paul Greenberg in the editorial “Dept. of Hypocrisy: Mark Pryor’s Selective Outrage,”  (May 3, 2010) pointed out that Pryor was angry that Republicans were holding up the  President’s picks for the federal bench. “There’s just no place for this in the Senate,” he huffs. “There’s no place just to play partisan political games with these judicial appointments.” Greenberg went on to show how hypocritical this was of Pryor.

I wish the Republicans would not play politics like this and I do not condone it at all. However, to call Pryor and Lincoln hypocrites concerning the Miguel Estrada matter is correct too. Both Pryor and Lincoln claimed that Estrada would not answer questions they needed answered, but in March of 2003 all 100 senators were sent a letter from the Bush White House inviting any senator who had doubts about Estrada’s views to send him written questions.

“He would answer the questions forthrightly, appropriately, and in a manner consistent with the traditional practice and obligations of judicial nominees, as he has before,” wrote White House counsel Alberto Gonzales. Did the White House receive any responses from Pryor and Lincoln? The answer is no.
Later both Lincoln and Pryor released statements saying that Estrada had not been willing to answer their questions. In fact, Pryor said, “I am deeply disturbed with the number of unanswered questions that remain about Mr. Miguel Estrada and am troubled by his unwillingness to answer questions posed to him.”

I agree that partisan politics should end, but I also must point out that both Lincoln and Pryor are being hypocritical.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Lots of Fake Quotes of Founding Fathers in Circulation

December 24, 2010 – 3:11 pm

1 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

2 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

3 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American

Heritage Series / David Barton

4 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

5 Of 5 / The Bible’s Influence In America / American Heritage Series / David Barton

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3 Of 3 / Faith Of The Founding Fathers / American Heritage Series / David Barton

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David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 1 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

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David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 2 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

___________________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 3 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

___________________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 4 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

______________________

David Barton on Glenn Beck – Part 5 of 5

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2010

Wallbuilders’ Founder and President David Barton joins Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel for the full hour to discuss our Godly heritage and how faith was the foundational principle upon which America was built.

 

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I wanted to thank Gene Lyons for bringing this issue of fake quotes of the Founding Fathers to our attention because it should be addressed.

In April 8, 2010 article “Facts Drowning in Disinformation,” he rightly notes that Thomas Jefferson never said, “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” However, where the liberal Lyons is wrong is that he fails to look at Jefferson’s other writings to see if this principle is there.

Doesn’t Jefferson’s comment in a prospectus for his translation of Destutt de Tracy’s Treatise on Political Economy make the same point?: “To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, ‘the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, & the fruits acquired by it.’

Here Jefferson makes the same point but he fails to say that “democracy will cease to exist.” However, he does establish the fact that he believed firmly  that people should enjoy the results of their hard work.

When it comes to this issue of fake quotes, I do have an advantage. I had a long term friendship with the late Professor John George of the University of Central Oklahoma political science department and coauthor (with Paul Boller, Jr.) of the book They Never Said It! (Oxford University Press, 1989).

In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. These unconfirmed quotes are used every single day and unfortunately my group of conservatives have been guilty of using them more than the liberals have. This website HALT (HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com) includes the T for the word ‘truth.”

I want to always tell it like it is and that includes this fact: Conservative Republicans will be more likely than their liberal counterparts to  stand up today in state legislatures all across the country and use quotes that have not been confirmed with original sources linking them to the Founding Fathers.

David Barton has put together a list of unconfirmed quotes that are commonly used, and this list has been researched over the last 30 years by Barton and some of the quotes on the list have since been verified. However, Barton recommends not using these quotes until they are verified. Yet so many politicians (unfortunately  most of them have been conservatives) have continued to use these unconfirmed quotes in their speeches and books.

David Barton has done a great job of going through the history of the lives of our founding fathers. Below you will see a film clip from Mike Huckabee’s show where David Barton talks about the religious backgrounds of many of our founding fathers.

Related posts:

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 6 David Barton:Were the Founding Fathers Deists? In 1988 only 25% of Christians voted but that doubled in 1994. Christians are the salt of the world. The last few days I have been  looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Two Unconfirmed quotes attributed to Noah Webster

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 5 David Barton: Were the Founding Fathers Deists? First Bible printed in USA was printed by our founding fathers for use in the public schools. 20,000 Bibles. 10 commandments hanging in our courthouses. The last few days I have been  looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Unconfirmed Quote attibuted to Patrick Henry

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 4 David Barton: Were Founding Fathers Deists? Only 5% of the original 250 founding fathers were not Christians (Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, Joe Barlow, Charles Lee, Henry Dearborn, ect) In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Samuel Adams Unconfirmed Quote was Confirmed Eventually

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 3 David Barton: Were Founding Fathers Deists? American Bible Society filled with Founding Fathers Here is another in the series of  unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David Barton has collected these quotes and tried to confirm them over the last 20 […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Ben Franklin

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 2 David Barton on Founding Fathers were they deists? Not James Wilson and William Samuel Johnson In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David Barton has collected these quotes and […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville

HALT: HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Part 1 David Barton: Were the Founding Fathers Deists? Religious holidays, Court cases, punishing kids in school for praying in Jesus name In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Supreme Court never said It.

Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth David Barton goes through American History and looks at some of the obscure names in our history and how prayer and Bible Study affected some of our founding fathers In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in David Barton | Edit | Comments (0)

Lots of Fake Quotes of Founding Fathers in Circulation

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth   ___ I wanted to thank Gene Lyons for bringing this issue of fake quotes of the Founding Fathers to our attention because it should be addressed. In April 8, 2010 article “Facts Drowning in Disinformation,” he rightly notes that Thomas Jefferson never said, “The democracy will cease to […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in David Barton, Mike Huckabee, Unconfirmed Quotes of Founders | Comments (0)

Hillary Clinton :Take from Rich and give to Poor

December 22, 2010 – 9:44 pm

HALT: Halting Arkansas Liberals with Truth

Back in 2004 at a democratic fundraiser, Senator Hillary Clinton told several hundred supporters – some of whom had ponied up as much as $10,000 to attend – to expect to lose some of the tax cuts passed by President Bush if Democrats win the White House and control of Congress.


“Many of you are well enough off that … the tax cuts may have helped you,” Sen. Clinton said. “We’re saying that for America to get back on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

In April of 2010 President Obama went off the teleprompter in his speech to a Quincy, Illinois audience about Wall Street reform and noted, “I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”

In Milton Friedman’s series FREE TO CHOOSE there is an episode called, “Created Equal.” Basically Friedman says that we have equality before God because we are human beings with dignity. Also in the USA we all have equality of rights under the law. However, there are those who want to try to make the equality of outcome an issue and that has always been met with disastrous consequences.

This is how the late comedian Steve Allen put it in the introduction to the 30 minute episode by Milton Friedman:

Hello there, as they used to say in television. I am Steve Allen. If you don’t know that, it is not going to be a big deal anyway. Millions of people are willing to spend money to be entertained. You spend a few dollars on a record, a theater concert ticket, and Michael Jackson becomes a millionaire. I think that is a nice arrangement for you as well as for Michael Jackson, and for me too. Of course, you also have some special talents, whatever the job. If you do it well, you make life better for yourself, your family, and your neighbors.

With a free market, our income is dependent on how much training we might have had, how well we do our job, and the scarcity of what we have to offer. Lucky for me there weren’t too many other Steve Allens around. But equal opportunity __ that is the American dream. That is a market economy as Milton Friedman explained earlier in the series.

Over the years I have asked Milton for advice in understanding a number of aspects involved in economics and politics. He is a great teacher and, of course, a defender of freedom and individual rights. On the other hand, there are people who think Michael Jackson and others who earn astronomical incomes, should be prevented from doing so. They think it would be better off if income/wealth were shared, more or less, evenly. As a bare, abstract idea, there is something appealing about that. Michael obviously doesn’t need to earn fifty or one hundred million a year, and there are certainly those who have practically no money at all. So, as I say, there have been philosophers over the centuries who have tried to diminish poverty by limiting the income at the top end of the scale. The problem with that admittedly charming idea is that it has never worked.

The Pilgrims tried a form of socialism over 300 years ago. Unfortunately for their fair minded plans, they prospered only after they were allowed to keep for themselves all the food they grew, and to use it or sell it as they saw fit.

Now to turn back the clock to the early days of the communist revolution in Russia, the basic aim again was the share the wealth. But again it didn’t work. It had to be enforced with harsh laws, machine guns and barbed wire. In terms of pure economics, it was a failure. The end result was near poverty for all.

So what human kind has been so long struggling to achieve is a fair system that will permit those with special gifts of abilities to accumulate a good deal of money without, at the same time, turning a blind eye to the sufferings of the poor. No system can work if there isn’t an accumulation of wealth. It just happens that the free market system is better in that regard that the alternatives. In the ongoing debate on this issue, it is by no means necessary to argue that the free market system is perfect. It isn’t. It is simply better than the other alternatives because it is the system that provides us many more choices, certainly much more freedom, and continued prosperity.

(Steve Allen in this 9 minute video introduces Milton Friedman’s episode “Created Equal”)

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I would like to profile some State Legislators and I wanted to start off with my good friend Ann Clemmer who represents Bryant so well. Jill and I have sent our 4 kids to Bryant schools. Ann has sent her three daughters through the Bryant Schools  and I have had a chance to watch her up close and she is a lady of her word. (Below taken from Ann Clemmer’s facebook page)

State Representative Ann Clemmer District 29
First elected 2008 and re-elected 2010.

Hometown:
Bryant
Political Views:
Conservative
Religious Views:
Christian
Activities:
Gardening, reading, watching Bryant Hornet Sports,
Interests:
politics and faith issues and the family I am blessed to be a part of.
Favorite Music:
pop and rock oldies, but I listen to country, and current pop, christian music.
Favorite Movies:
When Harry Met Sally, Schindler’s List, Remember the Titans, Cinderella Man, Lord of the Rings Trilogy,
Favorite Books:
Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, Teacher Man,
Favorite TV Shows:
That 70s Show, Gilmore Girls, West Wing, Everybody Loves Raymond
Favorite Quotations:
“all that is necessary for evil to exist is for good men to do nothing” Edmund Burke
“to whom much is given, much is required” Luke 12:48
About Me:
After all these years of teaching government, I finally decided to run for office. I can no longer sit on the sidelines and offer commentary, without stepping up to offer myself to the voters as a candidate for office. I’m a wife to a wonderful husband, mother of three great and almost grown daughters. I was very happy with my life before deciding to enter politics as a candidate, but especially with term limits in the state legislature, more qualified people need to get out of their comfort zones to make our state a better place for the next generation.

Work Info

Employer:
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Position:
Instructor
Time Period:
August 1992 to present
Location:
Little Rock, AR
Description:
I am a member of a fantastic department where going into the office is a treat everyday. I am sad to be losing a dear colleague to a school closer to his home. We will miss you next year, Bill.

Education Info

Grad School:
College:
High School:
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Hillary Clinton, Milton Friedman, Taxes | Comments (0)