Monthly Archives: September 2011

“Woody Wednesday” Allen realizes if God doesn’t exist then all is meaningless (jh 15)

September 14, 2011 – 12:45 am

The Bible and Archaeology (1/5)

The Bible maintains several characteristics that prove it is from God. One of those is the fact that the Bible is accurate in every one of its details. The field of archaeology brings to light this amazing accuracy.

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I want to make two points today. 1. There is no way for an atheist to achieve last meaning. 2. The atheist can not come up with any intellectual basis for the “Golden Rule.” In a world of time and chance the survival of the fittest is the best he can come with. (Woody Allen’s movie makes that point very well with his reference to “might makes right.”)

In response to John Brummett’s article “Irony abounds as religion arises,” Arkansas News Bureau, August 16, 2011,

mudfishin Says:
August 16th, 2011 at 9:46 am

Atheists understand that life is wonderful because we only have one. It’s not about having a purpose in life as much as it’s about living life to the fullest extent while trying to make the world a happy place for ALL. The latter part of that statement is why Atheists advertise and proselytize – because religion often gives a person a sense of superiority over others from different faiths and the non-religious, and that often leads to prejudice, division, and violence.

I am an Atheist, yet I believe whole-heartedly in the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you’d have others do unto you. It’s the core belief in over 20 of the largest world religions, believe it or not. .. The fact is this, if you truly follow that rule then you won’t kill or steal or lie or covet thy neighbors anything because you would never want someone doing that to you. It’s common sense, it’s simple human morality, nothing implanted by gods. 

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Christians have a basis for their morality because the infinite personal God of the Bible has spoken in the Bible to them. The Bible was written in a space time setting and many of the passages of the Bible have been verified as historically accurate.

On the other hand, many of the passages of the Book of Mormon has been disproved (For instance, use of horses and chariots in the USA 2000 years ago). Jesus said that he was the only way to God (John 14:6) and that he was the truth and the light.  Those who do not have revealed truth are left in the dark when it comes to morals. Let me give you a perfect example concerning the “Golden Rule.”

Earlier I took a look at the Woody Allen film “Crimes and Misdemeanors.”  In that film Judah has his troublesome mistress killed because she was about to destroy him by revealing his past illegal activities. Judah is told by his agnostic to not be troubled by guilt and that he is home free. She noted that Hitler proved that might makes right.  (Martin Landau played the part of Judah and he revealed that several men had confided to him that they wished they had done the same deed as Judah because they would have been happier.)

The basic question Woody Allen is presenting to his own agnostic humanistic worldview is: If you really believe there is no God there to punish you in an afterlife, then why not murder if you can get away with it?  The secular humanist worldview that modern man has adopted does not work in the real world that God has created. God “has planted eternity in the human heart…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). This is a direct result of our God-given conscience. The apostle Paul said it best in Romans 1:19, “For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God  has shown it to them” (Amplified Version).

It’s no wonder, then, that one of Allen’s fellow humanists would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” The Humanist, May/June 1997, pp.38-39). Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. It wasn’t long before she received criticism.

Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (The Humanist, September/October 1997, p. 2.). Humanists don’t really have an intellectual basis for saying that Hitler was wrong, but their God-given conscience tells them that they are wrong on this issue AND THEY HAVE NO BASIS FOR DEFENDING THE GOLDEN RULE. ABOVE WE READ mudfishin say “It’s common sense, it’s simple human morality…” BUT I KNEW Gloria Leitner WOULD BE CHALLENGED BY A FELLOW HUMANIST WHO THOUGHT THROUGH THEIR WORLDVIEW WITH A LOGICAL MIND, AND SURE ENOUGH IT HAPPENED.

Solomon showed us in the first 11 chapters of Ecclesiastes what the world “under the sun” without God in the picture looks like and it forces one to embrace nihilism.(See previous post on this about Solomon’s search.) However, the atheist has to live in the world that God made with the conscience that God gave him. This creates a tension. The agnostic Carl Sagan felt the tension too.

What does Dr. Sagan have Dr. Arroway say at the end of the movie Contact when she is testifying before Congress about the alien that  communicated with her? See if you can pick out the one illogical word in her statement: “I was given a vision how tiny, insignificant, rare and precious we all are. We belong to something that is greater than ourselves and none of us are alone.”

Dr Sagan deep down knew that we are special so he could not avoid putting the word “precious” in there. Francis Schaeffer said unbelievers are put in a place of tension when they have to live in the world that God has made because deep down they know they are special because God has put that knowledge in their hearts.We are not the result of survival of the fittest and headed back to the dirt forevermore. WOODY ALLEN REALIZES THAT IF GOD DOES NOT EXIST THEN WE ARE NOT PRECIOUS AND ALL IS MEANINGLESS!!!

I would love to hear from any atheist that would present a case for lasting meaning in life apart from God. It seems to me that the British humanist H. J. Blackham was right in his accessment of the predictament that atheists face:

On humanist assumptions [the assumption that there is no God and life has evolved by time and chance alone], life leads to nothing, and every pretense that it does notis a deceit. If there is a bridge over a gorge which spans only half the distance andends in mid-air, and if the bridge is crowded with human beings pressing on, oneafter another they fall into the abyss. The bridge leads to nowhere, and those who are pressing forward to cross it are going nowhere. . . It does not matter where they think they are going, what preparations for the journey they may have made, how much they may be enjoying it all . . . such a situation is a model of futility (H. J. Blackham et al., Objections to Humanism (Riverside, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1967).)

Woody Allen’s film does a great job of showing the need for the “enforcement factor.” One reviewer made it sound like the movie was unrealistic and Judah could have smoothtalked his way out of this. However, Woody Allen anticipated this objection and that is why he threw in the illegal financial dealings of Judah that his former girlfriend knew about. Now instead of just losing his marriage he may have to go to jail.

The Bible and Archaeology (2/5)

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 42)

September 14, 2011 – 12:00 am

Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 42)

This post today is a part of a series I am doing on the 66 Republican Tea Party favorites that resisted eating the “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal. Actually that name did not originate from a representative who agrees with the Tea Party, but from a liberal.

Rep. Emanuel Clever (D-Mo.) called the newly agreed-upon bipartisan compromise deal to raise the  debt limit “a sugar-coated satan sandwich.”

“This deal is a sugar-coated satan sandwich. If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see,” Clever tweeted on August 1, 2011.

Hartzler says “Enough” to more government borrowing and more cuts to defense; votes “No” on debt ceiling agreement

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) has taken a stand for fiscal discipline and a strong national defense, voting against the latest bill to increase the nation’s debt ceiling.

“I appreciate House Speaker John Boehner’s rejection of liberal demands for a blank check debt limit increase and liberal calls for tax increases, but the solution approved by Congress and sent to President Obama dramatically cuts our national defense,” said Hartzler. “This agreement strips $350 billion from the Base Defense Budget and has the Obama Administration bragging that this is, ‘the first defense cut since the 1990’s.’ The package also leaves the door open to the possibility of $500 billion in defense cuts down the road. This is unacceptable! The simple truth is that the United States Constitution requires the federal government to do only a handful of things – the most important of which is to provide for our national defense.”

“I also have concerns about a watered-down Balanced Budget Amendment provision,” continued Hartzler. “This agreement forces a vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment, but does not require it to pass and be sent to the states for ratification. I worked hard to include language requiring not only a vote on a BBA, but for the House and Senate to pass the Amendment and send it to the states. Only a Balanced Budget Amendment can force Washington to live within its means as American families must do. It is only through spending discipline that America can secure its future economic freedom.”

“Despite my opposition to this legislation, I am pleased that Republicans are changing the debate in Washington,” concluded Hartzler. “We will continue to work to control spending, solve America’s huge debt problem, and balance our budget.”

Vicky Hartzler was elected to Congress on November 2, 2010. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committe

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in spending out of control | Comments (0)

Stimulus did not work earlier and will not now (Part 1)

September 13, 2011 – 1:08 pm

Government Spending Doesn’t Create Jobs

Uploaded by on Sep 7, 2011

Share this on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/qnjkn9 Tweet it: http://tiny.cc/o9v9t

In the debate of job creation and how best to pursue it as a policy goal, one point is forgotten: Government doesn’t create jobs. Government only diverts resources from one use to another, which doesn’t create new employment.

Video produced by Caleb Brown and Austin Bragg.

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When I think of all our hard earned money that has been wasted on stimulus programs it makes me sad. It has never worked and will not in the future too. Take a look at a few thoughts from Cato Institute:

Feeling Spent

by Michael D. Tanner

This article appeared in The New York Poston September 13, 2011. 

On Thursday night, the president laid out his plan for job creation, a $447 billion stimulus proposal, most of which we have seen before. After all, if Congress passes this new round of government spending, it would be the seventh such stimulus program since the recession began. George W. Bush pushed through two of them, totaling some $200 billion, and Obama already has enacted four more, with a total price tag of roughly $1.3 trillion.

The result: Three years and $1.5 trillion of spending later, we are back to the same gallimaufry of failed ideas. Among the worst:

1. Temporary Tax Cuts. The president wants to extend and expand the temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax that Congress enacted last December. The president also called for a grab-bag of tax credits for businesses that buy new equipment, hire veterans or even give workers a raise. There is obviously nothing wrong with letting workers keep a bit more of their money. And some of the tax breaks might encourage businesses to speed up otherwise planned hiring or purchases, providing a short-term economic boost. But neither people nor businesses tend to make the sort of long-term plans needed to boost production, generate growth and create jobs on the basis of temporary tax changes. This is especially true when businesses can look down the road and see tax hikes in their future.

If government spending brought about prosperity, we should be experiencing a golden age.

2. Further Extending Unemployment Benefits. The president wants to spend $49 billion to provide another extension of unemployment benefits to 99 weeks. Of course everyone can sympathize with the plight of the long-term unemployed. But, the overwhelming body of economic evidence suggests that extending unemployment benefits may actually increase unemployment and keep people out of work for longer. In fact, many economists believe that current extensions of unemployment benefits have already extended the average length of unemployment by three weeks or more.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, spending out of control | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

“Tip Tuesday” Advice for Gene Simmons (Part 10),

September 13, 2011 – 7:46 am

Gene-Simmons-tvae-20.jpg

Nick is Gene and Shannon’s son and he appears often on Gene Simmons Family Jewels show.

Gene Simmons has been guilty of having affairs while on tour for years. On July 19th episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels he told his tour manager that he was not going to the after party. Then he said it was like “being in a bakery but not being able to eat any bread.”

Commitment is the key word. When we start off a relationship it is exciting but commitment is what is important to make it a lasting and satisfying relationship. In this short film below Jack is excited while declaring his love, but the real test is always in the depth of one’s commitment.

The thought jumped into my mind while watching this 61 yr old man say this. I wonder if he will ever settle down? The article below makes it clear that even if you have been married for 30 yrs, you still have to watch out for the possibility of a moral failing.

Yes, Gene does need some advice and here it is:

Affairs and Adultery

by Focus on the Family

“How could you?” Susan asked, staring at her husband, John, in unbelief. He and a co-worker had been “just friends” until a few months ago. Today the truth came out.

. . . . . . . .

Peter closed the blinds in his living room, turned off the lights, stood in the darkness, and started weeping. He’s never felt so alone in his life. It was bad enough the last time he discovered his wife, Jessica, was having an affair. This time, Jessica simply left a terse note saying she had had enough and was moving in with her new boyfriend.

Do these scenarios sound familiar? If you’ve dealt with infidelity in your own marriage, you know firsthand how devastating it can be. Infidelity is not a simple problem and it cannot be fixed with a simple cure, though that is what we most often desire. This series of articles is designed to provide insight, encouragement and practical advice to anyone whose marriage has been undermined by an act of infidelity.

Maybe it’s happened to you. You’re fed up with your spouse, so you start chatting with that attractive person of the opposite sex in the next cubicle. You’ve known him for years, and it’s so easy to talk. He just listens. Pretty soon you’re sharing intimate problems, and now the co-worker is telling you how hard you have it. Maybe you should just leave your spouse … and maybe the two of you should go out to lunch to talk more about it all.

With this person, you’re finding what you need and want: a sympathetic ear, someone who understands you and all you’re going through, maybe even the first meaningful physical touch you’ve had for months.

Obviously, while not all office relationships lead to affairs, and not all affairs start at work, this scene demonstrates in an overly simplified and time-compressed way how some people start down the path of cheating on their spouse.

No Immunization for Affairs

Whether you’ve been married for 30 days or 30 years, you’re never really immune to an extramarital affair. So, how many married people are cheating on their spouses?

Well, definitive numbers are hard to come by, but most polls and estimates typically report that more than one-third of men and about one-quarter of women admit to having had at least one extramarital sexual act. If you factor in cases of “emotional infidelity” — where a spouse engages in an intimate (yet not sexual) friendship with a member of the opposite sex — the numbers are much higher, probably greater than 50 percent.

Still, nearly 80 percent of Americans say adultery is always wrong and only physical abuse does more harm to a marriage. Indeed, the discovery of an affair more often than not leads to divorce.1

Influence of the Internet

If anything, the growing influence and availability of the Internet has only made things worse, with as many as one in 10 Internet users reporting that they are addicted to cybersex or other online temptations.

After all, online sexual encounters offer the thrill of a make-believe romance along with the added benefit of anonymity. And because many online affairs don’t involve actual physical contact, participants can convince themselves that cybersex isn’t really adulterous, that they aren’t really cheating on their spouse.

The truth is, however, that even a “virtual” affair can wreak havoc on a marriage or a serious dating relationship.

Why Affairs Happen

Affairs don’t only happen for sex. Some reasons people get trapped in an affair:

  • To give a conscious or subconscious “wake-up call” to the spouse. This might happen if your spouse has a different kind of “lover” outside of your marriage, such as a consuming career or hobby.
  • To inflate a bruised ego. You might want to get back at your spouse for something he or she did that hurt you rather than offering forgiveness and dealing with the root issue.
  • A friendship gets out of control. Whether or not you think it’s healthy to have friendships with members of the opposite sex, take extra care in those relationships.
  • Your spouse doesn’t live up to your expectations anymore. Remember that you know your spouse’s good and bad qualities, while you may only see someone else’s good side because you don’t know him or her well enough to see warts yet. That’s known as “romanticizing” a relationship.
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Despite Brantley’s view,Social Security really is a Ponzi scheme (Part 1) (jh1d)

September 13, 2011 – 7:42 am

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme (Part 1)

Governor Rick Perry got in trouble for calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme and I totally agree with that. Max Brantley wants to keep insisting that this will be Perry’s downfall but  think that truth will win out this time around. This is a series of articles that look at this issue.

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?

by  on September 10, 2011 at 12:47 pm in Economics | Permalink

Matt Yglesias says anyone who thinks social security is a Ponzi scheme is nuts. So let’s take a look at some of these nuts. First up is Nobel prize winner Paul Samuelson who wrote:

Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme that Works

The beauty of social insurance is that it is actuarially unsound. Everyone who reaches retirement age is given benefit privileges that far exceed anything he has paid in — exceed his payments by more than ten times (or five times counting employer payments)!

How is it possible? It stems from the fact that the national product is growing at a compound interest rate and can be expected to do so for as far ahead as the eye cannot see. Always there are more youths than old folks in a growing population. More important, with real income going up at 3% per year, the taxable base on which benefits rest is always much greater than the taxes paid historically by the generation now retired.

…A growing nation is the greatest Ponzi game ever contrived.

Samuelson wrote that in 1967 riffing off his classic paper of 1958. By “as far as the eye cannot see” he apparently meant not very far because it soon became clear that the system could not count on waves of youths or rapid productivity growth to generate the actuarially unsound returns that made the program so popular in the early years.

Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson rarely agreed on much but Friedman also called social security a Ponzi scheme. In fact, he called it The Biggest Ponzi Scheme on Earth but perhaps Yglesias puts Friedman in the nut category so let’s go for a third Nobel prize winner who recognizes the Ponzi like nature of social security, none other than…..Paul Krugman (writing in 1996):

Social Security is structured from the point of view of the recipients as if it were an ordinary retirement plan: what you get out depends on what you put in. So it does not look like a redistributionist scheme. In practice it has turned out to be strongly redistributionist, but only because of its Ponzi game aspect, in which each generation takes more out than it put in. Well, the Ponzi game will soon be over, thanks to changing demographics, so that the typical recipient henceforth will get only about as much as he or she put in (and today’s young may well get less than they put in). (ital added, AT)

Of these, I agree the most with Krugman. Social Security is not necessarily a Ponzi scheme but it only generated massive returns in the past because of its Ponzi-like aspects. The Ponzi-like aspects are now over and social security is turning into what is essentially a forced savings/welfare program with, as Krugman recognizes, crummy returns for average workers. Social security is thus a Ponzi scheme which has not gone bust but it has gone flat.

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So here you have it. Both liberals and conservatives can take a calm look at the issue of social security and recognize how Ponzi like it is.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Milton Friedman, spending out of control | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Bobby Bowden’s health announcement Sept 13, 2011

September 13, 2011 – 7:13 am

Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden

By Coley Harvey, Orlando Sentinel7:13 a.m. EDT, September 13, 2011
 
TALLAHASSEE – According to USA Today, former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is expected to tell ABC’s “Good Morning America” Tuesday morning that he had prostate cancerwhile he was coaching in 2007, and that he kept his medical condition a secret out of fear of dirty recruiting tactics.In its editions that hit newsstands and Gannett Company newspapers Tuesday morning, Bowden told the USA Today that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer early in 2007, and that a former player treated him that spring. Since undergoing the low-dose radioactive procedure, he has been cancer-free.

“I did not understand the significance of prostate cancer back then,” Bowden said in an interview with USA Today. “What I knew was when something like that happens to a coach and your opponents find out about it, the first thing they say is ‘Don’t go to Florida State. Coach Bowden is about to die.’

“If I knew then what I know now, I would have considered it my moral duty to bring it out in the open.”

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Bowden, 81, will sit down with “Good Morning America” around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning. Part of his appearance is to help promote On The Line, a national prostate cancer education initiative of which he has become a spokesman.

On Monday night, news of his “GMA” appearance was first reported by a Tallahassee television news anchor.

According to WTXL’s Anne Imanuel’s @AnneImanuel Twitter account, Bowden was “scheduled to make an ‘emotional’ announcement on @GMA (Tuesday) morning.” A second tweet read: “Just spoke to an @GMA producer. The Bobby Bowden ‘emotional announcement’ won’t be released until (Tuesday) AM but it concerns his health.”

In an email to the Sentinel shortly after midnight Tuesday morning, Bowden’s publicist, Kimberly Shiff, said the information on Bowden was supposed to be embargoed until Tuesday morning.

While the news caused an uproar on Twitter, FSU fans chimed in with their concerns that something was wrong with Bowden. Some members of the FSU media tried to calm their fears, saying that the announcement had nothing to do with Bowden’s current health, but that it was important.

Bowden told USA Today that urologist Joe Camps, a captain from his first FSU team in 1976, performed the procedure.

“Bobby is not real big on sharing things that are wrong with him; he doesn’t want to admit he isn’t perfect,” his wife, Ann, told USA Today. She lost her father and a sister to cancer, the USA Today said.

“Bobby has always been so healthy and active,” she continued. “This was not expected.”

When he learned of his diagnosis in Jan. 2007, Bowden’s first thoughts settled on his FSU family.

“My mind was on two things,” Bowden told USA Today. “The press will have you on the front page about to die, and opponents will say ‘Bobby is already 77 years old and he has cancer.’”

In order to pull off the procedure in secret, Camps told USA Today the group made up a fictitious name for Bowden and snuck him into a secure part of the hospital around midnight the night the procedure was performed.

The retired coach has been busy lately.

According to ArkansasSports360.com, Bowden was in Little Rock, Ark. on Monday to speak to the Little Rock Touchdown Club. While there, it was announced that he had just been named to the coaches advisory committee for the Frank Broyles Award, the website reported. Broyles apparently invited him out there for the engagement.

The award goes to the nation’s top assistant coach every year. Bowden’s former defensive coordinator, Mickey Andrews, won the first Broyles Award.

Bowden has found himself in the news recently for other reasons.

In addition to an autograph session at a landmark Tallahassee store last Friday ahead of the Seminoles’ second game of the season against Charleston Southern, he was in Gainesville the previous Saturday to announce the creation of a new college football all-star game.

Bowden was attending Florida’s season-opener against Florida Atlantic to hold a news conference about a game he and fellow coaching icon Howard Schnellenberger were heading. Schnellenberger is in his final season at FAU, but he originally made a name for himself as Miami‘s head coach in the 1980s, when his Hurricanes and Bowden’s Seminoles had their share of epic rivalry games.

There was an uproar about Bowden’s appearance there, too, as some FSU fans questioned why he was in Gainesville for a rival’s opening game, instead of at FSU at the field that bears his name. He has said since stepping away from the sport in Jan. 2010 that he wishes to build a buffer between he and FSU, and that he doesn’t want to get in the way of current coach Jimbo Fisher.

Bowden spent 34 seasons coaching the Seminoles before an emotional, rocky and rather dramatic exit from football following the 2009 season. Since being replaced by Fisher, Bowden has spent his time traveling the world giving speeches and promoting a book.

In 1993 and ’99, Bowden led the Seminoles to their only national titles.

On Saturday, the No. 5 Seminoles, under Fisher’s guidance, are hosting No. 1 Oklahoma in what is being billed as one of the biggest games to ever occur at Doak Campbell Stadium. It is the first time the nation’s current No. 1 team has visited the stadium since Florida did in 1996.

The last team not from Florida to bring a top-5 ranking to Tallahassee was Dan Marino‘s No. 4 Pittsburgh team in 1980. Marino later went on to have a 16-year Hall of Fame career for the Miami Dolphins.

Related Posts:

Bobby Bowden’s health announcement Sept 13, 2011

Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden By Coley Harvey, Orlando Sentinel7:13 a.m. EDT, September 13, 2011   TALLAHASSEE – According to USA Today, former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is expected to tell ABC’s “Good Morning America” Tuesday morning that he had prostate cancerwhile he was coaching in 2007, and that he kept his medical […]

Bobby Bowden at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 2)

I went to the Little Rock Touchdown Club and heard Bobby Bowden of Florida State speak. It was outstanding. Here is an article below on his visit from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: LITTLE ROCK — Former Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden is familiar with pressure brought on by high expectations. Two years ago, after the Seminoles […]

Bobby Bowden named to Broyles Award Selection Committee

    The Broyles Award Trophy, made out of solid bronze, depicts Broyles (kneeling) and longtime University of Arkansas assistant coach Wilson Matthews (standing), watching over a Razorback football game or practice. Matthews was the coach of Little Rock Central High School before joining Broyles on the Razorback’s staff. ______________ Today at the Little Rock […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Bobby Bowden at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 2)jh25

September 13, 2011 – 7:03 am

I went to the Little Rock Touchdown Club and heard Bobby Bowden of Florida State speak. It was outstanding. Here is an article below on his visit from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

LITTLE ROCK — Former Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden is familiar with pressure brought on by high expectations.

Two years ago, after the Seminoles finished the season 7-6, Bowden, 81, wanted to coach one more season. But he was not given that opportunity.

Florida State President T.K. Wetherell asked him to step aside as coach and stay with the team in the diminished role of university ambassador — which would have given him little input on the day-to-day operations of the football team.

Bowden declined. He announced his retirement, and Jimbo Fisher, who had been appointed as the school’s coachin-waiting two years earlier, was given the head-coaching position for the 2010 season.

“That’s just the way it is now,” Bowden told members of the media after speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock on Monday. “I had wanted to coach one more year and try and get to 400 wins.”

Bowden retired with a career record of 377-129-4 after the NCAA forced Florida State to vacate 12 victories from the 2006-2007 seasons for academic problems with his former players.

“They are paying the head coach so much money now that they demand you to win,” Bowden said. “The thing is, head coaches make so much money now that you can retire. There aren’t going to be a lot of coaches who last as long as Joe [Paterno] and I did.”

Paterno has coached 46 years at Penn State with a 402-136-3 record.

Bowden said he made approximately $40,000 per year when he was hired at Florida State in 1976; he was making $2.5 million when he retired two years ago.

His Florida State team won 10 or more games from 1987-2000, never finished lower than fourth in the final AP poll, and won national championships in 1993 and 1999.

But during his last five seasons as coach, the Seminoles went 38-27 and only won 1 ACC championship.

“Those last few years, we didn’t do a good job evaluating players like we once did,” Bowden said. “We would see a kid we wanted, and he wasn’t as good as advertised.”

Failing to live up to expectations also cost Bowden’s sons, Terry and Tommy, their coaching jobs.

Terry Bowden posted a 47-17-1 record from 1993-1998 at Auburn, but he stepped down in 1998 with the Tigers at 1-5 and his job security up in the air.

Tommy Bowden went 72-45 at Clemson from 1999-2008, but resigned when the Tigers started the season 3-3 after being ranked ninth in the preseason Associated Press poll in 2008.

Terry Bowden is now coaching at NCAA Division II North Alabama, while Tommy Bowden is out of coaching.

Bobby Bowden still cares about Florida State football, despite not being able to retire on his own terms. The Seminoles, 2-0 and ranked fifth in this week’s AP poll, host No. 1 Oklahoma Saturday night.

Bowden also acknowledged many of other changes in college coaching, but he remains a traditionalist:

Bowden does not approve of conference realignment, but said it is inevitable.

“Texas A&M is going to leave the Big 12, and if a bunch of schools from the Big 12 leave, then it’s going to change everything,” Bowden said.

On the lack of a playoff in college football: “I don’t think we’ll have a playoff, and it won’t happen because the presidents don’t want it.”

On the coach-in-waiting concept that Florida State, Texas, Maryland and Oregon have used with mixed results: “I think it’s good for the coach-in-waiting,” Bowden said, acknowledging that the coach-in-waiting usually gets promoted or a pay raise if the school doesn’t promote him by a certain date. “The president and athletic council came up with it, and I went along with it because I was at the end of my career.”

On the value a good college football team brings to a university: “When I first came to Florida State in 1976, when I would go recruiting, the president would say, ‘When you go to Tampa, please visit this girl because she’s a straight-A student and we want her,’” Bowden said. “Four years later, we went undefeated, played in our first major bowl game and were on national television. We would take about 2,500 students every year, but were getting 5,000-6,000 applicants because a successful football team attracts students.”

This article was published today at 4:28 a.m.Sports, Pages 19 on 09/13/2011

Sports 19

Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 41)

September 13, 2011 – 12:20 am

Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 41)

This post today is a part of a series I am doing on the 66 Republican Tea Party favorites that resisted eating the “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal. Actually that name did not originate from a representative who agrees with the Tea Party, but from a liberal.

Rep. Emanuel Clever (D-Mo.) called the newly agreed-upon bipartisan compromise deal to raise the  debt limit “a sugar-coated satan sandwich.”

“This deal is a sugar-coated satan sandwich. If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see,” Clever tweeted on August 1, 2011.

Cutting Defense to Pay for Deficit Spending is No Solution

Washington, DC – Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, a known fiscal conservative who has been standing for structural reforms in response to the deficit spending crisis, released the following statement on the new debt ceiling proposal:

“Providing for the common defense is one of the most important roles of the federal government, and is clearly required by the Constitution. At a time when we still have thousands of our men and women in the line of fire, dramatic defense cuts are simply unacceptable. In the worst case scenario, this bill could result in roughly $1 trillion in cuts to the military. Almost half of the debt ceiling increase may come at the expense of our national defense. I believe that many of my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee share my deep concerns with the defense cuts proposed in this plan.

“While Speaker Boehner and others have been negotiating in good faith, I am concerned that this new proposal may actually make it less likely that we can address the central problem of radical deficit spending. While this new proposal has a balanced budget amendment as one option for a future debt ceiling increase, I do not believe that the President or Democrats in Congress will be willing to support a balanced budget amendment while there are other paths available to them that allow for continued deficit spending.

“While some argue that a balanced budget amendment is unachievable with the current political landscape in Washington, our nation needs a balanced budget amendment now more than ever. We have had problems with deficit spending for much of our history, but we are approaching the point of no return. A balanced budget amendment would force us back on a responsible path. If not now, when? If not us, who?

“The plan before us today fails to address the problem at hand, and it threatens to severely degrade our national defense with a trillion dollars in cuts to our military. For these reasons, I am opposing this bill.”

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in spending out of control | Comments (0)

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 1)

September 12, 2011 – 5:45 pm

Coldplay-012811-0001.jpg

This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference:

My son Hunter’s 20th favorite song:

Coldplay – Speed Of Sound

Hunter Hatcher comments:

Speed of sound takes me back to high school and when i was leaving two a day practices. The album came out on dday june sixth 2005. I listened to the song often and i love how coldplay always uses the drums and piano to compliment each other and it shows it well in this song. Just like in the song clocks from the album, “A rush of blood to the head.” Another reason i love this song is bc of the music video. the digital lighting that they use in the back drop of the set plays well with the rythym of the music and is so simple yet so perfect.

Uploaded by on Mar 6, 2009

Music video by Coldplay performing Speed of Sound. (C) 2005 EMI Records Ltd This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2005 EMI Records Ltd

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Wilson loves this soccer video of the best French footballer:

The Best Coldplay Songs

 

By Andrea Malji
Coldplay is a British alternative band that has been around since 1998. The band has produced five albums and sold around 50 million albums. The socially active band whose lead singer Chris Martin is married to actress Gwyenth Paltrow has produced some extremely popular songs, but many of the less popular songs deserve high praise as well. This below compilation is my view of the top 10 songs by Coldplay.

 

1. Yellow-This 2000 song released as a single from the album Parachutes was inspired by the beautiful stars in the sky that the band saw one night during a break from recording. The song begins saying “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do”. Stars have always seemed to inspire poetic beauty and this would especially be a perfect song to serenade your love. After writing the song Martin felt that there was some word missing. While searching for inspiration within the recording studio Martin saw a Yellow Pages book, and the word ‘Yellow’ filled the missing void. ‘Yellow’ helped surge Coldplay into mainstream popularity and set the stage for future hits.

 

2. In my place- This 2002 song from Coldplay’s second album “A Rush of Blood To the Head” won best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal at the 45thGrammys. The song features a beautiful soothing melody while Martin sings about a man’s unreciprocated love for a woman. ‘In my place’ that is where he will be waiting for his love to come to him if she changes her mind. If ‘Yellow’ is the song you want to serenade your love with, then ‘In my place’ is the song you listen to after a breakup

 

3. The Scientist- “The Scientist” was another single the band released in 2002 (in the UK) and 2003 in the US from the album “A Rush of Blood to the Head”. The scientist referred to in the rather odd title is not really mentioned in the song but instead it alludes to science “Questions of science, Science and progress, Do not speak as loud as my heart.” This piano ballad shows off Martin’s beautiful voice and nice falsetto. This emotional song also has a very interesting music video implementing reverse narrative and Martin actually had to learn to sing the song backwards. The Scientist won a few MTV VMA awards and received a 2004 Grammy nomination.

 

4. Clocks- This 2003 song also off the album “A Rush of Blood To The Head” won the 2004 Grammy for Record of the year. However, originally the song was not intended for this album since 10 songs were already on “A Rush of Blood To the Head” and Clocks was left to be included on Album #3. This song, like others from the band, sings about a dysfunctional relationship asking about “Am I a part of the cure/Or am I part of the disease?” But where exactly does the title Clocks come from? In poetry and song clocks have always been associated with time, change, and even death. The lyrics seem to suggest that time is running out with few options “Confusion never stops, Closing walls and ticking clocks”. While the lyrics are great, my favorite part of the song is the piano melody especially at the beginning and when Martin again hits a falsetto for the long “yooooooooooooo ohhhhhh Yoooooooooooo ohhhhhh” that nearly sends chills down your spine

 

5. Speed of sound-This song released in 2005 is off the album X&Y and won an award for Best British single in 2006. The piano based melody and the beauty of Chris Martin’s voice make this song very soothing and almost hypnotic. Martin stated the lyrics of this song were inspired by a feeling of awe and wonder after the birth of his daughter Apple. The lyrics also allude to faith in what cannot be seen “If you could see it then you’d understand/ah when you see it then you’ll understand.”

 

6. Viva la Vida- This is one of the more recent song on the list was released in 2008 and reached number 1 on Billboard Hot 100. Viva la Vida which means ‘live the life’ in Spanish also won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 2009. The musical composition of the song is somewhat different because it is more upbeat and implements strings and percussion as opposed to the typical Coldplay songs that use piano or guitar. The rhythm is very catchy and the lyrics are some of the most interesting I have recently heard. I never could actually figure out half of the things that were being said in the song until I researched the lyrics. Basically the song is about a King who once was on top of everything but now ‘sweeps the streets he used to own’. It also includes religious undertones saying “I know St. Peter won’t call my name”. In an interview with Q magazine Martin said the idea of your life being judged once you’re dead was always fascinating to him and it’s a common theme in all religions. Since St. Peter won’t call his name, apparently the King was not so good possibly because he never had as he says ‘an honest word’.

 

7. Fix you-This song from the X&Y album wasn’t as popular as other Coldplay songs but has some of the most beautiful lyrics. The song was supposedly written for Martin’s wife Paltrow after her father died, but the song is can be very comforting in times of tragedy, hardship or a broken heart. The song uses an organ at the beginning that had been given to Martin by Paltrow’s father, but he didn’t discover how beautiful a sound it made until he played it after his death. However, despite whatever hardship whoever listening may have, there are words of encouragement “Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.”

 

8. Violet Hill- This song also from the 2008 album X&Y and can be viewed as an anti-war song. The song is from a soldier’s point of view essentially about politics, war, and religious hypocrisy. The soldiers don’t want to be used for a cause that they don’t believe in “I don’t want to be a soldier/ with the captain of some sinking ship.” Violet Hill not only borrows rhythms from The Beatles but the road Violet Hill is actually near Abbey Road. I especially like the decrescendo at the end with only the piano and Martin softly singing. I also suggest everyone see the dancing politician’s version to this song on youtube. Overall though, Beautiful melody, beautiful lyrics…What’s not to love?

 

9. Gravity- This song was written by Martin and performed live by Coldplay in 2002 but ultimately the song was given to the band Embrace. Coldplay re-recorded this song in 2005 and it makes one wonder why the song was not always kept with them. This song is simple, with mainly the piano and Martin singing for the first five minutes and some drums and background singers added in after that, but the simplicity remains. This song is peaceful and soothing and could definitely put you to sleep, but not out of boredom.

 

10. Trouble- This 2000 song from the “Parachutes” album was written as a result of Martin’s reflection about his own bad behavior. Once again, the song begins with Martin singing and playing the piano. There is something very magical about his voice in this song, almost haunting. If someone asked for an apology through writing and performing this song, how could you not forgive them?

 

Most Coldplay fans will be familiar with all of these songs. However, for those of you who are just casual listeners of the band, you should definitely add these songs to your Ipod and you may change from a casual to avid fan.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Bobby Bowden named to Broyles Award Selection Committee jh25

September 12, 2011 – 2:32 pm
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The Broyles Award Trophy, made out of solid bronze, depicts Broyles (kneeling) and longtime University of Arkansas assistant coach Wilson Matthews (standing), watching over a Razorback football game or practice. Matthews was the coach of Little Rock Central High School before joining Broyles on the Razorback’s staff.

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Today at the Little Rock Touchdown Club Luncheon, Bobby Bowden spoke, but before he spoke, David Bazell announced that Bowden is the newest member of the Broyles Award Selection Committee. The committee includes Frank Broyles, Don James, Vince Dooley, Haden Fry, Dick MacPherson, Grant Teaff, and LaVell Edwards.

The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men’s athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Bowden told a funny story about the 1980 victory at Nebraska. He pointed out that Nebraska was ranked #3 and was expected to possibly win the national championship. At that time Florida State had not won a game against a top 5 team yet, and FSU went into the game as big underdogs. In fact, the week before FSU had lost 10-9 in a game where they had been heavily favored because of the 10 fumbles they had because their first and second team centers had season ending injuries.

In practice the next week Bowden got several players together to compete for the starting center position and it was won by a walk-on player. The next game against Nebraska, Florida State had no turnovers while Nebraska had 4 and Florida State came away with a 18-14 victory.

Bowden noted that the walk-on center was horrible at blocking, but he was very dependable at providing good snaps. Bowden uses this illustration when he talks to business people to encourage them to seek dependable employees.

Bowden asserted, “That will always go down in my book not neccessarily my favorite win, but probably the most important win in Florida State’s modern day history.”

Below you will see a clip that discusses that 1980 matchup and you will notice that former Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring is interviewed twice in the 4 minute clip. Herring played on the FSU defense.

In 2006 I went to the Shiloh Christian at Bauxite playoff game in Saline County. It was a cold night, and I noticed Gus Malzahn and several other notable persons at the game. Arkansas had played LSU earlier in the day in Little Rock. During the second half I saw a monster hit by a linebacker from Shiloh, and I exclaimed, “Who was that guy?” The gentleman next to me who was wearing a ski mask responded, “That is my son Adam Herring.” I had been standing next to Reggie Herring for 2 hours and did not even know it.

Bobby Bowden Head coach Bobby Bowden of the Florida State Seminoles watches his team while taking on the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium November 24, 2007 in Gainesville, Florida.

In This Photo: Bobby Bowden
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)