Monthly Archives: April 2011

Ronald Wilson Reagan Part 70

April 3, 2011 – 7:04 am

My sons Wilson (on right) and Hunter  went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (Sherwood on left) March 21-27. Here they are standing in front of the tallest waterfall in North America

I am posting a great March Madness Moment from the article by A. J. Foss called Ultimate March Madness: The 20 Greatest Moments in NCAA Tournament History

16. 1973 UCLA-Memphis
One year earlier, UCLA center Bill Walton gives a near-perfect performance as he hits on 21 of 22 shots for a championship game record 44 points to give the Bruins their seventh straight national championship with a 87-66 victory over the Memphis Tigers.

It is fitting that it is time to post this today because we are also remembering the great life of Larry Finch who died yesterday at age 60 after a long and hard illness. I had the opportunity to attend the 1972 summer Memphis State Basketball Camp and Larry was one of the helpers at the camp. I will never forget his lessons on free throw shooting. It helped me out tremendously.

I later got to visit with him in 1988 when I saw him at a high school game in Chattanooga. He was always a gentleman and very personable. I got to attend the Memphis v UT Chattanooga game in 1995 or so (in Chattanooga) and I got to visit with him after the game too. That was the last time I saw him in person. You can read about his life in today’s Commercial Appeal.

Picture of Nancy and Ronald Reagan sitting together on the White House grounds for an official portrait.
(Picture from the Ronald Reagan Library)

Official portrait of the Nancy and Ronald Reagan on the White House grounds. (November 16, 1988)

MR. SMITH

Governor Reagan.

GOVERNOR REAGAN

That is a misstatement, of course, of my position. I just happen to believe that free enterprise can do a better job of producing the things that people need than Government can. The Department of Energy has a multibillion-dollar budget, in excess of $10 billion. It hasn’t produced a quart of oil or a lump of coal or anything else in the line of energy.

And for Mr. Carter to suggest that I want to do away with the safety laws and with the laws that pertain to clean water and clean air, and so forth — as Governor of California, I took charge of passing the strictest air pollution laws in the United States — the strictest air quality law that has ever been adopted in the United States. And we created an OSHA, an occupational safety and health agency, for the protection of employees before the Federal Government had one in place. And to this day, not one of its decisions or rulings has ever been challenged.

So, I think some of those charges are missing the point. I am suggesting that there are literally thousands of unnecessary regulations that invade every facet of business, and indeed, very much of our personal lives, that are unnecessary; that Government can do without; that have added $130 billion to the cost of production in this country; and that are contributing their part to inflation. And I would like to see us a little more free, as we once were.

MR. SMITH

Volunteers are reflected in a glass door as they work to distribute used clothings for evacuees as a man wearing a mask walks in front of a room at an evacuation center in coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, 19 March 2011. The number of estimated dead and missing person kept rising on 19 March, adding another fear to evacuees who have already been spending their days in dire conditions as they hopelessly wait for a good news on their loved ones whereabouts since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA
Volunteers are reflected in a glass door as they work to distribute used clothings for evacuees as a man wearing a mask walks in front of a room at an evacuation center in coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, 19 March 2011. The number of estimated dead and missing person kept rising on 19 March, adding another fear to evacuees who have already been spending their days in dire conditions as they hopelessly wait for a good news on their loved ones whereabouts since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

1. Attend a Battle of the Ravine one fall Saturday afternoon between Ouachita and Henderson in Arkadelphia. (I have not done this but I really want to. I have attended a game at OBU’s stadium. It was in 2003 and it was a practice game between the senior high Bryant Hornet football team and the Eldorado Wildcats. My son Hunter was a 10th grader and he got his first playing time at the senior high level that day. There was a beautiful sunset that August day and the campus was very beautiful.)
2.Eat barbecue at Craig’s in De-Valls Bluff and then walk across U.S. Highway 70 to buy a whole pie at the Family Pie Shop. (I have eaten at Craig’s and I was told to go across the street and get some pie from my friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. who nows lives in California and was very jealous of my opportunity to go to Craig’s. He says they just don’t have good Barbeque in California.)

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Is the Bible historically accurate? (Part 11)

April 3, 2011 – 7:03 am

My sons Wilson  and Hunter  went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (Sherwood on left) March 21-27. Here you can see all the snow they had to deal with.

Dr Price, who directs excavations at the Qumran plateau in Israel, the site of the community that produced the dead sea scrolls some 2,000 years ago, expertly guides you through the latest archaeological finds that have changed the way we understand the world of the bible. (Part 5 of 6 in the film series The Stones Cry Out).

The Bible and Archaeology – Is the Bible from God? (Kyle Butt 42 min)

You want some evidence that indicates that the Bible is true? Here is a good place to start and that is taking a closer look at the archaeology of the Old Testament times. Is the Bible historically accurate? Here are some of the posts I have done in the past on the subject: 1. The Babylonian Chronicle, of Nebuchadnezzars Siege of Jerusalem, 2. Hezekiah’s Siloam Tunnel Inscription. 3. Taylor Prism (Sennacherib Hexagonal Prism), 4. Biblical Cities Attested Archaeologically. 5. The Discovery of the Hittites, 6.Shishak Smiting His Captives, 7. Moabite Stone, 8. Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, 9A Verification of places in Gospel of John and Book of Acts., 9B Discovery of Ebla Tablets. 10. Cyrus Cylinder, 11. Puru “The lot of Yahali” 9th Century B.C.E., 12. The Uzziah Tablet Inscription, 13. The Pilate Inscription, 14. Caiaphas Ossuary, 14 B Pontius Pilate Part 2, 14c. Three greatest American Archaeologists moved to accept Bible’s accuracy through archaeology., 

From time to time you will read articles in the Arkansas press by  such writers as  John Brummett, Max Brantley and Gene Lyons that poke fun at those that actually believe the Bible is historically accurate when in fact the Bible is backed up by many archaeological facts. The Book of Mormon is blindly accepted even though archaeology has disproven many of the facts that are claimed by it. For instance, swine did not exist in North America when they said they did.

The Book of Mormon suggests that swine existed and were domesticated among the Jaredites.[56] There have not been any remains, references, artwork, tools, or any other evidence suggesting that swine were ever present in the pre-entrada New World.

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Puru “The lot of Yahali” 9th Century B.C.E.
This cube is inscribed with the name and titles of Yahali and a prayer: “In his year assigned to him by lot (puru) may the harvest of the land of Assyria prosper and thrive, in front of the gods Assur and Adad may his lot (puru) fall.” It dates from the reign of Salmaneser III (858-824 B.C.E.) and was used in the ceremonies appointing Yahali eponym, i.e. naming the Assyrian year after him (833 and 825 B.C.). It provides a prototype (the only one ever recovered) for the lots (purim) cast by Haman to fix a date for the destruction of the Jews of the Persian Empire, ostensibly in the fifth century B.C.E. (Esther 3:7; cf. 9:26).

Literature: W.W. Hallo, “The first Purim,” Biblical Archaeologist
46/1(Winter 1983) 19-29.
Museum number: YBC 7058.
Place of publication: YOS 9:73.

Japan tsunami
The tsunami floods Sendai airport in northern Japan. Photo: AP/ Kyodo News
 
 
 

My sons Wilson (on left)  and Hunter  went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (Sherwood on right) They were there from March 21 to March 27. Here you can see all the snow they had to deal with.

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

1.Float the Buffalo River. (I have done that many times and loved it every time. It has been several years since I did it though. I remember when I first did it with my father, when I was in 9th grade, on a father and son church trip with Bellevue Baptist from Memphis. During the share time, I said that my father taking the time to spend with me meant the world to me. Later my my mother told me that my father almost lost it right there with emotion.)
2.Dig for diamonds at Crater of
Diamonds State Park
near Murfreesboro.  (I have never done that but I need to. Some of my kids have.)

3.Eat an entire hubcap cheeseburger at the original Cotham’s in Scott. (I have never been brave enough to do it. I have eaten at the Cotham’s in Little Rock and had their wonderful hamburgers, but never have I taken on the “hubcap cheeseburger.”


By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Comments (0)

Abortionist Bernard Nathanson turned pro-life activist (part 7) Have you wondered why we have abortion in the USA?

April 2, 2011 – 10:48 am

“Jane Roe” or Roe v Wade is now a prolife Christian. She’s recently has done a commercial about it.

 

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I have often wondered why we got to this point in our country’s life and we allow abortion. The answer is found in the words of Schaffer.
Philosopher and Theologian, Francis A. Schaeffer has argued, “If there are no absolutes by which to judge society, then society is absolute.” Francis Schaeffer, How Shall We Then Live? (Old Tappan NJ: Fleming H Revell Company, 1976), p. 224.

Below is a clip from the film series “How Then Shall We Live?”

The Hand of God-Selected Quotes from Bernard N. Nathanson, M.D.,

Reasoned Audacity

Bernard Nathanson, M.D.

Silent Scream, The Hand of God is “semi-autobiographical…for the study of…the…demise of one system of morality…and the painful acquisition of another more coherent, more reliable [morality]…[with] the backdrop …of abortion. p. 3.

“We live in an age of fulsome nihilism; an age of death; an age in which, as author Walker Percy (a fellow physician, a pathologist who specializes in autopsying Western civilization) argued, “compassion leads to the gas chamber,” or the abortion clinic, or the euthanist’s office.” p. 4.

“I worked hard to make abortion legal, affordable, and available on demand. In 1968, I was one of the three founders of the National Abortion Rights Action League. I ran the largest abortion clinic …and oversaw tens of thousands of abortions. I have performed thousands myself.” p. 5.

“The Hippocratic Oath states the following,

I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner, I will not give to a woman a pessary [a device inserted in the vagina, thought erroneously to initiate an abortion] to produce an abortion.

The oath is unambiguous on these matters.” p. 48.

“The World Medical Association meeting at Geneva, in 1948, in the aftermath of the revelations of the Nazi medical experiments, revised the oath marginally to include the pledge, “I will retain the utmost respect for Human Life from conception.”…in 1964 restated the theme : “The health of my patient will be my first consideration.” p.50. The unborn baby in an abortion procedure is not considered a patient.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Comments (0)

Ronald Reagan Part 69H (30 yrs after assassination attempt)

April 2, 2011 – 10:46 am
Image: White House advisers and Cabinet members meet with Vice President George Bush

Image courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library.

2 of 4

White House advisers and Cabinet members meet with Vice President George Bush. L-R at far end of table: National Security Adviser Richard Allen, Counselor to the President Edwin Meese, Vice President Bush, Secretary of State Alexander Haig, White House Chief of Staff James Baker

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I am posting a great March Madness Moment from the article by A. J. Foss called Ultimate March Madness: The 20 Greatest Moments in NCAA Tournament History

14. 1989 Michigan-Seton Hall
Assistant coach Steve Fisher takes the head coaching duties at Michigan right before the tournament begins, after head coach Bill Frieder was fired because he accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, and leads the Wolverines to the national championship.

Michigan point guard Rumeal Robinson nails the game-winning free throws with three seconds to play in overtime after a controversial foul to give the Wolverines an 80-79 victory over the Seton Hall Pirates.

Network coverage of President Ronald Reagan being shot March 30, 1981. Part 10 of 11.Assassination Attempt

William Browning wrote the article “Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt Key Players” (March 26, 2011) for Yahoo News. Browning is a research librarian. Below is a portion of that article.

The assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan occurred a mere 69 days into his administration March 30, 1981. He is the only president to survive taking a bullet thanks to surgeons at George Washington University Hospital.

Many key people were involved in the shooting that day. Had the assassination attempt never happened, many of the key figures surrounding the event would not be known today.

President Ronald Reagan

Reagan finished giving a speech to the AFL-CIO at the Washington Hilton. Just before 1:45 p.m., a man brandishing a gun called out to Reagan and then fired six bullets, four of which found their marks on four separate individuals. Reagan spent nearly two weeks in the hospital recovering at George Washington University Hospital.

Dr. John Hopper

Dr. John Hopper was a psychologist who interviewed Hinckley in Colorado from October 1980 until February 1981. Hopper didn’t realize the depths of Hinkley’s psychosis and was sued by those who were shot by the assassin other than the president. The suit was dismissed in 1983 because he never saw any violent tendencies in Hinckley, just bouts of depression and loneliness.

Network coverage of President Ronald Reagan being shot March 30, 1981. Assassination Attempt. Part 11 of 11.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Abortionist Bernard Nathanson turned pro-life activist (part 6)

April 1, 2011 – 11:20 pm

Modern man’s humanist thought has brought us to the point now that many people realize that they could not find final answers and that would lead to despair. Many people then took leaps into the area of non-reason to find some kind of meaning in life. Some people actually tried to look at communism and somehow they think that will bring meaning to their lives even though EVERYWHERE COMMUNISM HAS BEEN TRIED, OPPRESSION HAS BEEN INSTALLED.

Below is a clip from the film series “How Then Shall We Live?” Of course, there is an answer to this nihilistic point of view and it is found in the Christian Worldview.

I am going to share in the next few posts some things that pro-life learders have said about Dr. Bernard Nathanson. Steven Ertelt posted this on Feb 22, 2011 on LifeNews.com :

The news that former abortion practitioner turned pro-life educator and hero Bernard Nathanson has passed away has been tough for the many pro-life leaders who knew him well and respected his work. Today we feature a sample of some of the heartfelt statements LifeNews.com received about him.

Nathanson, 84, died early Monday morning after a long battle with cancer.

As a fellow New Yorker, Jeanne Head, NRLC Vice President for International Affairs and United Nations Representative, knew Dr. Nathanson first as a foe and then as a friend.

“Dr. Nathanson  was probably one of the individuals most responsible for Roe v. Wade and, once he realized his error, he dedicated the rest of his life to reversing it,” Head said.

She explained that she heard about  “Aborting America” when it was in galley form and may have been the first pro-lifer to speak to him after he had finished co-writing the book with Richard Ostling.

Head added, “It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of his book,  “The Silent Scream,” and his later video, “Eclipse of Reason” in driving home the sheer horror and brutality of abortion.”

Christopher Slattery, the head of a collection of pregnancy center sin New York City, told LifeNews.com, “a great advocate of Life, who was a foremost abortion doctor in the late 60s and early 70s in NYC, passed away in Manhattan.”

“I worked very closely with him in the 80s and 90s. He helped us with Expectant Mother Care, providing pre-natal care, looking after my wife’s pregnancy with our third child, running a fundraiser for us in his home, and even graciously asking me to be his confirmation sponsor into the Catholic Church, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” he said. “His films, books and talks have inspired many of us in the pro-life movement.”

Fr. Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, also remembered the converted pro-life leader.

“My own life has intersected with his since the mid-80’s, and our last time together was just last week,” he explained to LifeNews. “Years ago, Dr. Nathanson said, ‘I uncaged the abortion monster in the United States,’ and then he told us priests that he and his former colleagues ‘would never have gotten away with what we did if you had been united, purposeful and strong.’ That assertion is at the core of our ministry of Priests for Life.”

Fr. Pavone continued, “I will never forget the workshop at which I introduced him at the 1994 Human Life International Conference in Irvine, CA. He was supposed to talk about chemical abortion, but at the last minute decided instead to speak of his spiritual journey. At the end of the talk, he said that he was standing on the brink of conversion to the Catholic Church. The room exploded. People were leaping into the air. He said that he hoped God could forgive him, and I said, ‘Dr. Nathanson, he already has.’ And I reminded him of that exchange just last week.”

“He called Priests for Life the ‘Paul Revere’ of the pro-life movement, and said that he was always immensely grateful for our work, because though he caught the Church asleep on the abortion issue in the late 60’s, he believed the Church could be re-activated to build the Culture of Life. In memory of Dr. Nathanson, we will redouble our efforts to do just that,”  Pavone concluded.

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life added, “Today the pro-life movement mourns the death of Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a true pro-life hero. I’m saddened by that fact that this generation of pro-life activists will never get to meet Dr. Nathanson, but inspired to know that because of his work this generation has been filled with the truth and will help end abortion in America.”

And Stephen Phelan of Human Life International responded, “Human Life International — and indeed, the entire pro-life movement — will sorely miss Dr. Bernard Nathanson.  He was our good friend for many years.”

“He spoke at many of our conferences, and our founder, Fr. Paul Marx, attended his baptism by Cardinal O’Connor in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  We still constantly use his groundbreaking pro-life films “The Silent Scream” and “Eclipse of Reason,” especially overseas.  His courage, knowledge and humor brought light to a difficult struggle, and his knowledge of the inner workings of the abortion industry were priceless,” he said.

For many years, Dr. Nathanson described himself as a Jewish atheist; but, in 1996, Nathanson was baptized a Catholic by Cardinal John O’Connor.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Comments (0)

Will the Fayetteville Finger pass the Senate? (part 10)

April 1, 2011 – 11:12 pm

Jay Barth on Arkansas Week and Review on PBS said tonight that he that the districts would not change much except for the first district where Rick Crawford would be challenged. He thought the problem for the Democrats there would be simple. Could they energize the Democrats to have a good turnout in the 1st district.

He thought the 2nd district would be a little more Democrat friendly but he could not seeing it tipping the scales too much.

Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times said in his weekly pod cast that he thinks people are making too big a deal out of the Fayetteville Finger. 250,000 people are getting moved to other districts and why is the press making such a big deal out of Fayetteville.

I have to disagree with Max on that one. It is very much a political move that is a big deal. Gerrymandering has always been condemned and it has been done to some degree in many cases, but just rarely is it over the top like this. Seven counties were split in order to pull this off. Even Max himself thought it has a sick joke when he first heard it.

I am starting to wonder if the Democrats will pass the current bill out of the Senate.  Jason Tolbert reported:

Also, a bit of relevant news to a current issue in the Senate. I spoke briefly with Sen. Teague who told me that he is inclined not to pull HB1322 – the Congressional map passed by the House – out of committee.

“I want us to pass a map that everyone can feel good about,” said Teague.

It also appears Sen. Jerry Taylor (D-Pine Bluff) – another south Arkansas Democrat – is likely against the map as well.

“They call it the Fayetteville finger for a reason, and that’s because they’re giving south Arkansas the finger,” said Taylor in an AP story

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By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Jason Tolbert | Comments (0)

Is the Bible historically accurate? (Part 10)

April 1, 2011 – 9:29 am

Dr Price, who directs excavations at the Qumran plateau in Israel, the site of the community that produced the dead sea scrolls some 2,000 years ago, expertly guides you through the latest archaeological finds that have changed the way we understand the world of the bible. (Part 4 of 6 in the film series The Stones Cry Out).

The Bible and Archaeology – Is the Bible from God? (Kyle Butt 42 min)

You want some evidence that indicates that the Bible is true? Here is a good place to start and that is taking a closer look at the archaeology of the Old Testament times. Is the Bible historically accurate? Here are some of the posts I have done in the past on the subject: 1. The Babylonian Chronicle, of Nebuchadnezzars Siege of Jerusalem, 2. Hezekiah’s Siloam Tunnel Inscription. 3. Taylor Prism (Sennacherib Hexagonal Prism), 4. Biblical Cities Attested Archaeologically. 5. The Discovery of the Hittites, 6.Shishak Smiting His Captives, 7. Moabite Stone, 8. Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, 9A Verification of places in Gospel of John and Book of Acts., 9B Discovery of Ebla Tablets. 10. Cyrus Cylinder, 11. Puru “The lot of Yahali” 9th Century B.C.E., 12. The Uzziah Tablet Inscription, 13. The Pilate Inscription, 14. Caiaphas Ossuary, 14 B Pontius Pilate Part 2, 14c. Three greatest American Archaeologists moved to accept Bible’s accuracy through archaeology., 

From time to time you will read articles in the Arkansas press by  such writers as  John Brummett, Max Brantley and Gene Lyons that poke fun at those that actually believe the Bible is historically accurate when in fact the Bible is backed up by many archaeological facts. The Book of Mormon is blindly accepted even though archaeology has disproven many of the facts that are claimed by it. For instance, goats did not exist in North America when they said they did.

Goats are mentioned three times in the Book of Mormon[54] placing them among the Nephites and the Jaredites (i.e. between 2500 BC and 400 AD). In two of the verses, “goats” are distinguished from “wild goats” indicating that there were at least two varieties, one of them possibly domesticated or tamed.

Domestic goats are known to have been introduced on the American continent by Europeans in the 15th century,[citation needed] 1000 years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and nearly 2000 years after goats are last mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The aggressive mountain goat is indigenous to North America. There is no evidence that it was ever domesticated.

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The Prophecy

Isaiah 44:28 Who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, you shall be built; and to the temple, your foundation shall be laid.

Verse 28: Who says of Cyrus: The record of the decree to rebuild the Temple can be found in 2 Chron. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1, 2 with several other references in Ezra. The precision of the prediction made by Isaiah about 720 BC concerning events following 536 B.C., more than 184 years later is illustrated here and by the subsequent history. Cyrus reversed the policy of moving and resettling captive nations in unfamiliar places to keep them submissive, which policy had been started by the Assyrians and improved on by the Chaldeans. Ending this period, Cyrus declared the policy of restoring the captive nations to their homelands where possible.

There is a well preserved cylinder seal in the Yale University Library from Cyrus which contains his commands to resettle the captive nations. Cyrus died within 5 years of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and thus he served YHWH exactly as the prophecy says. Cyrus commanded the return and rebuilding and that the Temple be “founded.” He did not live to see the Temple built nor the structure to rise above the foundations. So precise is the prophecy!

A translation of a portion of the Stele follows.
Japan tsunami
A massive tsunami engulfs a residential area in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast this morning. As well as damage from tremors, 10-metre high waves have caused devastation.
My sons Wilson and Hunter got to go to Grace Community Church on Sunday and heard Dr. John MacArthur speak.
 
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Biblical Archaeology | Comments (0)

Abortionist Bernard Nathanson turned pro-life activist (part 5)

April 1, 2011 – 9:08 am

Modern man’s humanist thought has brought us to the point now that many people realize that they could not find final answers and that would lead to despair. Many people then turned to trying to find answers in the area of non-reason. There were no fixed values and they just held on to the two values of “personal peace” and “affluence.” Below is a clip from the film series “How Then Shall We Live?” Of course, there is an answer to this nihilistic point of view and it is found in the Christian Worldview.

Without a Christian worldview people are left with nihilism. Take a look at this song which was written by Kerry Livgren of the group “Kansas.”

Shortly after Kerry wrote this song he sought answers in several places but about 18 months later became a Christian.

Kerry Livgren

Dave Hope (another member of Kansas) also put his faith in Christ.

I wanted to pass along a portion of the excellent article “Bernard Nathanson: A Life Transformed by the Truth about Abortion.” The original article was written on Feb 11, 2011. Today is the last portion of the article.

LifeNews.com Note: Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics and previously served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights. This article previously appeared in Public Discourse:

There are many lessons in Bernard Nathanson’s life for those of us who recognize the worth and dignity of all human lives and who seek to win hearts and change laws. Two in particular stand out for me.

First is the luminous power of truth. As I have written elsewhere, and as Nathanson’s own testimony confirms, the edifice of abortion is built on a foundation of lies. Nathanson told those lies; indeed, he helped to invent them. But others witnessed to truth. And when he was exposed to their bold, un-intimidated, self-sacrificial witness, the truth overcame the darkness in Nathanson’s heart and convicted him in the court of his own conscience.

Bernie and I became friends in the early 1990s, shortly after my own pro-life writings came to his attention. Once during the question-and-answer session following a speech he gave at Princeton, I asked him: “When you were promoting abortion, you were willing to lie in what you regarded as a good cause. Now that you have been converted to the cause of life, would you be willing to lie to save babies? How do those who hear your speeches and read your books and articles know that you are not lying now?” It was, I confess, an impertinently phrased question, but also, I believe, an important one. He seemed a bit stunned by it, and after a moment said, very quietly, “No, I wouldn’t lie, even to save babies.” At the dinner he and I had with students afterward, he explained himself further: “You said that I was converted to the cause of life; and that’s true. But you must remember that I was converted to the cause of life only because I was converted to the cause of truth. That’s why I wouldn’t lie, even in a good cause.”

The second lesson is this: We in the pro-life movement have no enemies to destroy. Our weapons are chaste weapons of the spirit: truth and love. Our task is less to defeat our opponents than to win them to the cause of life. To be sure, we must oppose the culture and politics of death resolutely and with a determination to win. But there is no one–no one–whose heart is so hard that he or she cannot be won over. Let us not lose faith in the power of our weapons to transform even the most resolute abortion advocates. The most dedicated abortion supporters are potential allies in the cause of life. It is the loving, prayerful, self-sacrificing witness of Joan Bell Andrews and so many other dedicated pro-life activists that softens the hearts and changes the lives of people like Dr. Bernard Nathanson.

May he rest in peace.

The Silent Scream part 5


By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Comments (0)

Ronald Reagan Part 69G (30 yrs after assassination attempt)

April 1, 2011 – 8:32 am

 

AP

No. 8: Jordan comes of age; Fred Brown frowns

NCAA Championship game, March 29, 1982 — Dean Smith’s sixth trip to the Final Four gave him his first title, courtesy of a precocious player and a last-second gaffe. Freshman Michael Jordan (No. 23) swished a 16-foot jumper from left wing, but the Hoyas had enough time to set up a game-winner of their own. Yet Fred Brown mistook teammate Eric Floyd for UNC’s James Worthy, who dribbled out the clock on an improbable finish.

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I thought John Thompson did a good job of just taking the focus off of the late turnover.

NCAA 1982 at Superdome, N.O.

Image: Just after the shooting, gunman John Hinckley is buried under a pile of Secret Service agents

Image courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library.

4 of 4

Just after the shooting, gunman John Hinckley is buried under a pile of Secret Service agents outside the Hilton Hotel.

Network coverage of President Ronald Reagan being shot March 30, 1981. Part 8 of 11.

William Browning wrote the article “Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt Key Players” (March 26, 2011) for Yahoo News. Browning is a research librarian. Below is a portion of that article.

The assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan occurred a mere 69 days into his administration March 30, 1981. He is the only president to survive taking a bullet thanks to surgeons at George Washington University Hospital.

Many key people were involved in the shooting that day. Had the assassination attempt never happened, many of the key figures surrounding the event would not be known today.

President Ronald Reagan

Reagan finished giving a speech to the AFL-CIO at the Washington Hilton. Just before 1:45 p.m., a man brandishing a gun called out to Reagan and then fired six bullets, four of which found their marks on four separate individuals. Reagan spent nearly two weeks in the hospital recovering at George Washington University Hospital.

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Timothy McCarthy

Timothy McCarthy was the Secret Service agent who was shot in the stomach. He also survived and received as many at 50,000 get well cards during his recovery from surgery. Reagan honored him as a true American hero who took a bullet for the president. Ironically, McCarthy wasn’t supposed to be on duty that day as he and another agent flipped a coin to see who would fulfill the call for extra protection the afternoon of the shooting. McCarthy has no regrets about the decision to this day.

Dr. Benjamin Aaron

Dr. Benjamin Aaron operated on Reagan at George Washington University and was credited with saving the president’s life. After an 80 minute operation, the president recovered fully for about two weeks before being released to the White House. Aaron was the head of the hospital’s Cardiothoracic Surgery department as an expert in the field. The New York Times reports he was subject to a later lawsuit revolving around the death of terminally ill patient in 1986.

Vincent Fuller

Vincent Fuller was Hinckley’s main attorney who was able to convince jurors he was insane. The New York Times reports His argument to the jury was that no one knew the depths of Hinckley’s psychotic behavior despite being examined by a psychologist. Fuller died in 2006.

Network coverage of President Ronald Reagan being shot March 30, 1981. Part 9 of 11.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Fayetteville Finger (part 9)

April 1, 2011 – 7:57 am

 

 

The Arkansas Times Blog (Friday April 1, 2011) reported:  

Rep. Greg Leding of Fayetteville, who voted for the House-approved congressional redistricting plan that moves a portion of Fayetteville from the 3rd to the 4th Congressional District, has issued a statement on his vote.

LEDING STATEMENT (only first part of statement)

“Of all the votes I’ve cast during this legislative session, this one weighed on my mind more than any other. I listened to a great deal of feedback from my constituents, some who supported and some who opposed this bill.”

“Redistricting is a difficult and, unfortunately, can be a divisive process, but as lawmakers, we have a duty to the people of Arkansas to meet the requirements mandated to us by law. I spent the last severalweeks listening to input from my constituents, and although I may not have been able to answer, I took every email, phone call and message into consideration in weighing this decision.”

Lawmakers have been tasked to address redistricting during this legislative session and with only one proposal on the House floor for consideration, I believe we owe it to the taxpayers to address this matter in the timeframe that has been set for us to do so.”

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I only put the first part of Leding’s statement up because I wanted to show how he basically said that he listened to all those he represented and “some” supported the move and “some” did not. I just wish he would have said, “The overwhelming amount of the people I represent strongly oppose this but I am don’t care what they think!!! I will go ahead no matter how many polls come out showing a vast majority of Fayetteville residents oppose this action!!!” (Tolbert’s poll is prime example.)

Mike Masterson is one of the Northwest Arkansas residents and his thoughts are below:

Mike Masterson (opinion editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Northwest edition) in his article on March 26, 2011 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette rightly asserted:

 The plan to flagrantly gerrymander Northwest Fayetteville from the Third Congressional District into the southernmost Fourth District is the most corrupted political manipulation I’ve seen in a long while. Remember any legislator who supports this twisted, tortured abomination.

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I am a little surprised that Democratic Representatives from South Arkansas did not object either. Jason Tolbert sums up Rep. Matt Shepherd’s objection: In short, a more compact district would be better for both Fayetteville and for south Arkansas both in their representative and in their community of interest.

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Jason Tolbert | Comments (0)