Monthly Archives: September 2011

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan of the Grateful Dead didn’t survive but Barry McGuire did (jh17c)

September 8, 2011 – 4:08 pm

Drugs and alcohol have always been a pitfall that many of the wealthy fall into. We see rock bands that become famous have lots of temptations thrown their way and many fall into these traps. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Barry McGuire fell into these traps. One joined the “27 Club” and the other left the drugs behind when he put his faith in Christ.

In light of the horrible tragedy in Little Rock on Sunday with the death of a young man of 24 years of age, I wanted to warn other young people of the dangers of alcohol and drugs.

Below is a post I did a few weeks ago and I will follow it with more links to recent posts I have done concerning drugs and alcohol.

You have to drink a lot to develop cirrhosis at the age of 27. And unfortunately, singer and keyboard player McKernan, one of the founders of the Grateful Dead, drank a lot. Before his death, Pigpen was the definitive embodiment of the original, slapdash, wasted blues incarnation of the Dead, before psychedelia and experimental proficiency became their defining element. He helped form the group, but was surpassed in musical ability by later recruits. Even before he died, he represented a throwback to "the way things used to be" for fans to argue over — not unlike his fellow 27 clubber Brian Jones was for the Rolling Stones. (AP Photo)

You have to drink a lot to develop cirrhosis at the age of 27. And unfortunately, singer and keyboard player McKernan, one of the founders of the Grateful Dead, drank a lot. Before his death, Pigpen was the definitive embodiment of the original, slapdash, wasted blues incarnation of the Dead, before psychedelia and experimental proficiency became their defining element. He helped form the group, but was surpassed in musical ability by later recruits. Even before he died, he represented a throwback to “the way things used to be” for fans to argue over — not unlike his fellow 27 clubber Brian Jones was for the Rolling Stones.

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Amy Winehouse and the ‘Forever 27 Club’

Saturday, the first news headline I saw was:  “Amy Winehouse found dead at 27”.  For some reason, it felt a little more crippling that it was supposed to.

“It was a long-time coming”, is what most say (someone won an iPod by predicting the date on the website whenwillamywinehousedie.com) and maybe it was a long-time coming, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that however you look at it, the music industry has lost a really good singer and one of the most influential artists of the late part of this decade;  Lost a voice that embodied what Motown legends were made of;  And essentially, if you believe in the oddidy of the so-called Forever 27 Club – we lost another talented musician to the club of dead rock stars — those that never lived to see 28.  An age we cautiously outgrow, thinking of their fated (and un-fated) deaths at least once during the age of our own 27th year of life.

Essentially speaking, “27” seems to be rock and roll’s most unlucky number.  Sure there are those who have passed at this age due to overdoeses and drug addictions and battles with depression,  it’s the age that as we all know now took Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and now the second female in the club, Amy Winehouse.

There are more members of the Forever 27 Club;  some died because of medical conditions, car accidents and just plain, weird occurrences, and tragedies.  Any way you look at it, it is weird that so many musicians can’t seem to make it to the age of 28.  Other members of the Forever 27 Club include:  Ron “Pigpen” McKernan of the Grateful Dead, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Chris Bell of Big Star, even Robert Johnson a famous blues musician died at 27, cited for unknown reasons.

The creepiness of the amount of rock stars that die at this age poses the question, what about the age of 27 has put so many rock stars into the ground?  Is it behavior we expect from them (abusing drugs and alcohol, making bad decisions, driving drunk, getting on small planes?).  Is 27 an exceptionally hard age to live through when you are that famous (mine was a good year, but I am not famous)?  Or is it a question of just wanting more and more and more.  Twenty-seven is an age, after all that is old enough to be an adult, but still not old enough to understand the world. Although I am not sure that has happened to me yet, and I am 31.

For Amy Winehouse, the tragedy of being part of the Forever 27 Club means not having to slide into a vauge mediocre music choices to keep up with the wretched”singers” who would outsell her lovely, husky sound with computer generated vocals and gyrated movements with snakes and backup dancers.

In her death, she has left us with a small collection of music to take from — all beautiful, all tragic and all for us to keep our arms tight around.  From her two Cd’s she inspired a sound that made music a little better, if only for a little while.  Her sound brought out the funk and beat of a broken heart in a time when hipster, gothic, hang-yourself love songs were topping the charts, paving the way for singers like Adele, Cee Lo Green and Bruno Mars to get a little funky with broken hearts.

You can hear her fate in the song that made her a household name, “Rehab,” a smart, self-aware song about her struggle with going to get help for drinking, drugs and depression.  A fight she would essentially lose.

Winehouse sounded wise and wounded beyond her years. And like Cobain, Hendrix and Joplin, Amy Winehouse’s music had a sense of strength and purpose that she — and they — failed to summon in their own lives.

I hope when I get to the pearly gates one day, I am greeted by the “Forever 27’s”, heaven’s best band ever.  Well, either them…or the Beatles.

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Members of the Grateful Dead are pictured in this 1969 photo. After thirty years of making music, the Grateful Dead, once the house band of the 1960s counterculture, is breaking up. The move came four months after the death of its founder and guiding spirit, Jerry Garcia. From left in the back row are, Tom Constanten, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Phil Lesh. Jerry Garcia, left, and Mickey Hart, right, are in the front row. (AP Photo) // The ‘Forever 27’ Club: Rock stars dead at 27 (AP Photo)

Larger image

AP Photo

Members of the Grateful Dead are pictured in this 1969 photo. After thirty years of making music, the Grateful Dead, once the house band of the 1960s counterculture, is breaking up. The move came four months after the death of its founder and guiding spirit, Jerry Garcia. From left in the back row are, Tom Constanten, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Phil Lesh. Jerry Garcia, left, and Mickey Hart, right, are in the front row. (AP Photo)

The keyboardist, singer and harmonica player from The Grateful Dead died in 1973 from a stomach hemorrhage as a result of years of heavy drinking.

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Musician Barry McGuire’s Testimony: Eve of Destruction

When I was a little boy, my grandmother told me something I’ve never forgotten. I was probably about five, maybe six years old. She used to take care of me during the day when my mom worked. One day she said to me, ‘you know, Barry, one day when you grow up, you’re gonna know the truth, and the truth is gonna set you free.’ Now, I didn’t know that came out of the Bible. I didn’t even know there was a Bible. I was just a little kid. My grandmother told me that. And I knew she loved me, and boy, I knew I loved her. And when I grew up, sure enough, I wanted to be free. I mean who doesn’t want to be free? And certainly, a lie has never set anyone free. So if anything was gonna set me free, it had to be the truth.

Eve of Destruction was written by 19-year-old songwriter P. F. Sloan in 1965 and eventually became Barry McGuire’s one and only big Billboard chart hit song.

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And along came the 60s. And boy, I was the right age at the right time in the wrong place, you might say. And hey, I wanted to be free. Boy, I sang ‘Eve of Destruction’ lookin’ to be free. I went to Broadway. I did a show on Broadway called HAIR. I played the male lead in the original Broadway cast, lookin’ to be free. And the very lifestyle that we were promoting was killing us all. I looked around me I saw my friends, one, two, three at a time goin’ down: drug overdose, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases.

So I left Broadway, I came back out to California. And I was livin’ with a friend of mine, Denny Doherty, up on the Appian Way. And he used to joke and tease me, ’cause I was still lookin’ for truth, and every time a new teacher or sage or somebody, Meyer Baba, Sai Baba, Hadji Baba, any Baba would do, I mean I was down there in the front row, ya know, ‘Humna Baba, lay the truth on me, man!’ I was hummin’ and bobbin’ and goin’ for it. And Denny says, ‘Ah, you belong to the Guru of the Month Club.’ I mean, anybody, I didn’t care. If they had a word, I was down there tryin’ to learn the truth. And they said a lot of things that were true, but I just couldn’t somehow get it right inside of me.

And I was just about to give up, and one day I went over to a friend’s house, Eric Hord. He used to be the lead guitar player for The Mamas and Papas, and he always had a big bowl of marijuana under his coffee table. And man, I had this bowl out that morning; I had three papers glued together. I figured he’s only gonna lay one joint on me, so I’ll make the biggest one I can roll. And I look down on this particular day, there’s a little paper back book layin’ on the table next to the grass, and it’s called Good News for Modern Man. And I thought, ‘Hey, I’m a modern man. I could use some good news.’ I mean, everybody was dyin’ all around me. So I took the book home with me, didn’t know what it was. I got by myself, opened it up, and right on the first flyleaf page in the book it says, ‘The New Testament in Modern English.’ I got so angry. ‘Ah, look at this! Them Jesus Freaks, man! They’re diguisin’ the Bible!’ Threw it on the floor, I didn’t wanna read the Bible! Give me a break! And it laid there for days. I was hopin’ someone would come along and throw it away. I didn’t wanna throw it away, ’cause I knew what it was, the Bible, and just in case, you don’t wanna be responsible. Who knows? But it laid there for days, weeks, and months actually. I mean, when somethin’ hit the floor in my house; the next person to pick it up was an archaeologist. I mean, that was some future dig.

And I was there one day by myself. And there this little book somehow kept surfacing above the trash. And the wind was blowing through the window catching the pages. It was flickin’ its pages, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick. ‘Read me!’ it said to me. And truthfully, just out of bored, sarcastic curiosity, I picked up The Life and Times of Jesus Christ. And for the first time in my life, I stopped looking at Christians; I stopped looking at denominations, organizations, Catholics, Protestants, ya know, all this stuff that goes on in His name. And I took a look at Him, examined what He had to say. How He treated His personal friends. What He had to say to the people in the street, the alcoholics, the prostitutes, the homosexuals, the thieves, liars, and robbers. What he had to say about the military people, the political leaders, and the spiritual leaders (which is about the scariest thing he had to say to anybody). How He treated the little children when they came around. And everything that Jesus had to say, as I put it to the test against what I knew to be true through my own life experience, I couldn’t find anything wrong with His words. There’s no double meaning, no hidden agenda. It was all out front. And then He said thirteen words that changed my life, because I saw this was the answer to my personal eve of destruction. He said, ‘Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as your self.’

How simple can it get? And I realized that if all of us in the whole world lived according to those two simple instructions — I don’t care what your concept of God is, you could be a Buddhist, you could be B’hai, you could be, ya know, whatever it is, Christian, just your concept of God — love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as your self, and our world would change. How simple can it get? We wouldn’t need a police force anymore, and we wouldn’t need armies and navies and prisons and welfare systems. We wouldn’t need lawyers and politicians. Two simple pieces of instruction: Love God with all my heart, and love my neighbor as my self.

And I wanted to be like Jesus. I thought, ‘Man, this is my guy!’ But I didn’t wanna be a Christian, see. I wanted to be like Him, but I didn’t wanna be like all them. I thought if I said yes to Jesus I’d have to get a powder blue leisure suit — remember those? — White shoes, ya know, walk around smilin’ a lot. I couldn’t do that.

But then I wrestled with it for nearly a year. And one day I was up just off Mulholland Drive in Stone Canyon in the Hollywood Hills. And I’m bangin’ my head on the wall, my friends are all smokin’ dope, eating peyote, psilocybin, ya know, drinkin’ champagne and orange juice. And I’m over in the corner; I can’t have fun anymore. See, once you’ve been busted by the truth, you’ve been busted. You can’t fake it anymore. You can’t go around sayin’, ‘Well, who really knows?’ ‘Cause you really know. You don’t wanna know. But I knew. Jesus is the Lamb of God. His death paid my karmic debt. See, I had a debt I couldn’t pay. I had debt I could not pay. I mean, I’m a murderer, I’m a liar, I’m a thief, I’m everything you’re not supposed to be. I did it all. One time I was doing a newspaper interview, and the reporter said, ‘Well, what did you do?’ I said, ‘Well, ya know the Ten Commandments?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I broke ’em. All of ’em. A lot.’

That’s what I did. And that’s what we all did. And there has to be justice. How could God not allow justice to be? He couldn’t just arbitrarily say, ‘that’s okay, Barry. You’re forgiven.’ And Jesus said, ‘I will go. I will satisfy the demands of justice on his behalf.’ And now the Bible says if I should stumble, if I should sin, it says God is faithful and just. You know what that justice cost? It cost Jesus’ life. And He did that for me, He did that for you, He did that for every person that’s gonna ever hear these words. So that I could be forgiven and truly, truly be free. That happened in 1971. I fell on my face on the floor of that house in Stone Canyon. I said, ‘God, I don’t know why, how; if I wake up alive tomorrow I’ll follow You wherever You lead me.’ And within a week I was on a Greyhound bus out of Hollywood, and I’ve never looked back, except in awe and wonder at how He revealed Himself to me in my state of mind at that time.”

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If you feel that your life feels incomplete or unsatisfying, please follow this link:
What is purpose of life?

Below are my most recent posts related to the subjects of drugs and alcohol:

Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren of Kansas: Their story of deliverance from drugs

The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]

Pictures of Dexter Williams

These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short  while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) Related posts: Pictures of Dexter Williams September 7, 2011 – 10:22 pm These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was […]

You tube video “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” about Brett Cummins

Youtube video about Brett Cummins story posted. TV weatherman awakens in hot tub next to naked dead man with ‘dog collar’ around his neck after drug and alcohol-fueled party   By Thomas Durante Last updated at 7:24 PM on 7th September 2011 It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is […]

Brett Cummins turns to drugs instead of God

Brett Cummins has risen to be the top tv weatherman in the evening at KARK News 4. However, something is missing in his life. (I wish Brett would just take the time to read the story by Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio at the end of this post). I […]

The sad case of Brett Cummins: Alcohol takes another victim jh14c

Brett Cummins and his friends were drinking heavily and taking drugs on Sunday night and all three of them went to sleep under the influence of alcohol and drugs and only 2 of them woke  up.  This reminds me of a few verses from the Old Testament. (There is hope. Check out the video interviews of Kerry Livgren […]

Picture of Dexter Williams with link to full police report

This is a link to the full police report. (There is hope. Check out the video interviews of Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope of the rock band Kansas.  Also check out an excellent paper by Marvin McMickle on the meaning of the song “I can’t get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones and where to find the satisfaction.) Dexter […]

KARK Brett Cummins was “snorting…illegal narcotics…” according to friend jh13c

Details concerning what happened are coming out now. It seems that KARK can no longer ignore the fact that Cummins was snorting coke. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.)Here is a Democrat-Gazette article on the incident: Man, 24, found dead in […]

Statement from KARK does not mention drug use of Brett Cummins

Brett Cummins was snorting coke but you could never tell it from this statement from KARK: KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said on the air today, “Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers. Brett will not be on […]

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

Responding to Oppenneimer and Lizza:Defending Francis Schaeffer’s influence on believers such as Michele Bachmann(Part 7)

September 8, 2011 – 4:06 pm

Both Oppenneimer and Lizza have attacked Francis Schaeffer’s view, but the way to know his views best is to take time to watch his film series. I said that in my first post and I will continue to show all ten episodes of his film series “How should we then live?”

This is a series of posts concerning presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and her religious beliefs. Particularly I will be looking at the identity of Francis Schaeffer who Michele said had major impact on her views. I also would say that Francis Schaeffer was the greatest christian philosopher of the 20th century.

In 1979 I first watched the film series “How should we then live?” and it was so impressive to me that I returned to my high school with permission from my former teacher to view the series again. In fact, Mr. Brink would tell the seniors at Evangelical Christian School in  Cordova, TN something to this affect: “I hope you realize how important this film series by Dr. Francis Schaeffer is. Here we have Everette Hatcher who is in college now, but he is coming back to see this film again because he knows how valuable it is.”

The best way to understand Michele Bachmann’s worldview is to watch the film series “How should we then live?” by Francis Schaeffer. I have provided a 30 minute episode at the end of this post with a written outline.  In this film series the humanist worldview is seen as weak because it is not able to give adequate answers to life’s tough questions while the christian worldview can.  Humanism has a finite base because it is limited to finite man while the Christian worldview is based on information provided by the infinite-personal God of the Bible.

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E P I S O D E 7

How Should We then Live Episode 7 small (Age of Nonreason)

#02 How Should We Then Live? (Promo Clip) Dr. Francis Schaeffer

10 Worldview and Truth

Two Minute Warning: How Then Should We Live?: Francis Schaeffer at 100

Francis Schaeffer Whatever Happened to the Human Race (Episode 1) ABORTION

Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR

I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act on his belief that we live in a closed system that was produced by chance with no God. Therefore, man’s only alternative is to look to chance and nonreason for our search for meaning in life and for moral guidance. Schaeffer rightly points out “With what Christ and the Bible teach, Man can have life instead of death—in having knowledge that is more than finite Man can have from himself.”

T h e AGE OF NON-REASON

I. Optimism Of Older Humanist Philosophers:

The unity and true knowledge of reality defined as starting from Man alone.

II. Shift in Modern Philosophy

A. Eighteenth century as the vital watershed.

B. Rousseau: ideas and influence.

1. Rousseau and autonomous freedom.

2. Personal freedom and social necessity clash in Rousseau.

3. Rousseau’s influence.

a) Robespierre and the ideology of the Terror.

b) Gauguin, natural freedom, and disillusionment.

C. DeSade: If nature is the absolute, cruelty equals non-cruelty.

D. Impossible tension between autonomous freedom and autonomous reasons conclusion that the universe and people are a part of the total cosmic machine.

E. Kant, Hegel, and Kierkegaard and their followers sought for a unity but they did not solve the problem.

1. After these men and their followers, there came an absolute break between the area of meaning and values, and the area of reason.

2. Now humanistic philosophy sees reason as always leading to pessimism; any hope of optimism lies in non-reason.

III. Existentialism and Non-Reason

A. French existentialism.

1. Total separation of reason and will: Sartre.

2. Not possible to live consistently with this position.

B. German existentialism.

1. Jaspers and the “final experience.”

2. Heidegger and angst.

C. Influence of existentialism.

1. As a formal philosophy it is declining.

2. As a generalized attitude it dominates modern thought.

IV. Forms of Popularization of Nonrational Experience

A. Drug experience.

1. Aldous Huxley and “truth inside one’s head.”

2. Influence of rock groups in spreading the drug culture; psychedelic rock.

B. Eastern religious experience: from the drug trip to the Eastern religious trip.

C. The occult as a basis for “hope” in the area of non-reason.

V. Theological Liberalism and Existentialism

A. Preparation for theological existentialism.

1. Renaissance’s attempt to “synthesize” Greek philosophers and Christianity; religious liberals’ attempt to “synthesize” Enlightenment and Christianity.

2. Religious liberals denied supernatural but accepted reason.

3. Schweitzer’s demolition of liberal aim to separate the natural from the supernatural in the New Testament.

B. Theological existentialism.

1. Intellectual failure of rationalist theology opened door to theological existentialism.

2. Barth brought the existential methodology into theology.

a) Barth’s teaching led to theologians who said that the Bible is not true in the areas of science and history, but they nevertheless look for a religious experience from it.

b) For many adherents of this theology, the Bible does not give absolutes in regard to what is right or wrong in human behavior.

3. Theological existentialism as a cul-de-sac.

a) If Bible is divorced from its teaching concerning the cosmos and history, its values can’t be applied to a historic situation in either morals or law; theological pronouncements about morals or law are arbitrary.

b) No way to explain evil or distinguish good from evil. Therefore, these theologians are in same position as Hindu philosophers (as illustrated by Kali).

c) Tillich, prayer as reflection, and the deadness of “god.”

d) Religious words used for manipulation of society.

VI. Conclusion

With what Christ and the Bible teach, Man can have life instead of death—in having knowledge that is more than finite Man can have from himself.

Questions

1. What is the difference between theologians and philosophers of the rationalist tradition and those of the existentialist tradition?

2. “If the early church had embraced an existentialist theology, it would have been absorbed into the Roman pantheon.” It didn’t. Why not?

3. “It is true that existentialist theology is foreign to biblical religion. But biblical religion was the product of a particular culture and, though useful for societies in the same cultural stream, it is no longer suitable for an age in which an entire range of world cultures requires a common religious denominator. Religious existentialism provides that, without losing the universal instinct for the holy.” Study this statement carefully. What assumptions are betrayed by it?

4. Can you isolate attitudes and tendencies in yourself, your church, and your community which reflect the “existentialist methodology” described by Dr. Schaeffer?

Key Events and Persons

Rousseau: 1712-1778

Kant: 1724-1804

Marquis de Sade: 1740-1814

The Social Contract: 1762

Hegel: 1770-1831

Kierkegaard: 1813-1855

Paul Gauguin: 1848-1903

Whence, What Whither?: 1897-1898

Albert Schweitzer: 1875-1965

Quest for the Historical Jesus: 1906

Karl Jaspers: 1883-1969

Paul Tillich: 1886-1965

Karl Barth: 1886-1968

Martin Heidegger: 1889-1976

Aldous Huxley: 1894-1963

J.P. Sartre: 1905-1980

Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper: 1967

Further Study

Unless already familiar with them, take time to listen to the Beatles’ records, as well as to discs put out by other groups at the time.

Albert Camus, The Stranger (1942).

Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception (1954).

Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762).

J.P. Sartre, Nausea (1938).

Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (1952).

Following Rousseau, the exaggeration of the delights and the pathos of nature and experience which marks Romanticism may be sampled in, for example, Wordsworth’s poems, Casper David Friedrich’s paintings, and Schubert’s songs.

J.G. Fichte, Addresses to the German Nation (1968).

J.W. von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther (1962).

Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind (1952).

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

Video of Republican Debate of Sept 7, 2011

September 8, 2011 – 4:04 pm

I got this off the internet. I don’t agree with the comments below. For instance, I do think that Security is a Ponzi scheme.

Uploaded by on Sep 8, 2011

Who do you think stood out the most as a leader in this debate? Share you thoughts on http://www.postingsplus.com, a new political social network.

“The reviews are in of last night’s Republican presidential debate at the Reagan Library. The short of it is that the debate was all about Texas Gov. Rick Perry — the newest in the field and presumed “front runner” — and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Our friend Frank James at It’s All Politics has analysis. But here’s what others are saying this morning:

— Politico’s top take-away is that Perry has now emerged as the “clear frontrunner”: The Texas governor got the most questions from questioners Brian Williams and John Harris, but he also absorbed the most punches from his competitors. When all the energy is concentrated in one direction, it underscores who is dominating the field – and last night it was Perry who was at the center of attention. Perry himself acknowledged the focus on him, saying at one point, “I feel a bit like a pinata.”

— The conservative National Review polled experts after the debate and the views were mixed to say the least.

Hadley Arkes, a professor of jurisprudence at Amherst College, wrote that the debate brought out one thing of importance for him. “Rick Perry persuaded me that he was not scary, and that he won’t be seen as scary by the vast public,” he wrote.

Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos could not disagree more: He said that during the debate Perry stuck to his claims that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and that is “scary stuff for seniors.”

— The New Republic’s John B. Judis makes the case that Perry will be the Republican nominee, saying he “appeared tough, confident, able to deflect criticism, and to fire back when fired upon.”

Here’s what he said about Romney: Romney is the Nelson Rockefeller of today’s Republican party. Rockefeller, elected four times as governor of New York, was one of the most able politicians in America, but he was too liberal for the Republican party of his time. He backed civil rights and the welfare state, he was a big spender, he was pro-union. And he was also divorced. He might have won the presidency in 1960 or 1968, but he could never win the Republican nomination for president.

— Not everyone jumped on the Perry bandwagon. The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza gave the night to Romney: … Romney showed his experience and steadied himself as the proceedings wore on — repeatedly giving answers that sounded reasonable and, dare we say it, presidential. Romney continues to execute his strategy: focus on President Obama and the economy while avoiding too much back and forth with his Republican rivals. It worked (again) tonight.

— The New York Times’ Nate Silver concurred. He scored Perry’s performance a B-minus and gave Romney an A-minus. He called Perry’s “Ponzi scheme” remark “unwise” saying, “This particular remark is not likely to sit exceptionally well even with Republicans, conservative though they may be. A CNN poll published last month found 57 percent of Republicans opposed to major changes in Social Security and Medicare.” – NPR

FACTCHECKS on statements from the Reagan Library Debate:
– http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/09/08/2011-09-08_gop_debate_in_…
– http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/09/factcheck-statemen…
– http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checking-the-gop-d…

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

Responding to Oppenneimer and Lizza:Defending Francis Schaeffer’s influence on believers such as Michele Bachmann(Part 6)

September 8, 2011 – 2:56 pm

Both Oppenneimer and Lizza have attacked Francis Schaeffer’s view, but the way to know his views best is to take time to watch his film series. I said that in my first post and I will continue to show all ten episodes of his film series “How should we then live?”

This is a series of posts concerning presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and her religious beliefs. Particularly I will be looking at the identity of Francis Schaeffer who Michele said had major impact on her views. I also would say that Francis Schaeffer was the greatest christian philosopher of the 20th century.

In 1979 I first watched the film series “How should we then live?” and it was so impressive to me that I returned to my high school with permission from my former teacher to view the series again. In fact, Mr. Brink would tell the seniors at Evangelical Christian School in  Cordova, TN something to this affect: “I hope you realize how important this film series by Dr. Francis Schaeffer is. Here we have Everette Hatcher who is in college now, but he is coming back to see this film again because he knows how valuable it is.”

The best way to understand Michele Bachmann’s worldview is to watch the film series “How should we then live?” by Francis Schaeffer. I have provided a 30 minute episode at the end of this post with a written outline.  In this film series the humanist worldview is seen as weak because it is not able to give adequate answers to life’s tough questions while the christian worldview can.  Humanism has a finite base because it is limited to finite man while the Christian worldview is based on information provided by the infinite-personal God of the Bible.

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Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey
I often tease my friend who will run for president some day that our friendship will end up costing him dearly. Reporters will dig up our connection and will explain what a freak I am and how that disqualifies him to be president. That’s kind of how it goes now if you run for office, apparently, no matter where you fall politically.

We see this kind of guilt by association throughout a new piece on Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) from The New Yorker, a much talked-about profile that includes some bizarre connections and strange inferences.

Apparently this is the week for targeting Bachmann, as there is much talk about the notorious Newseek cover, which we’ll deal with in a later post. Some of you may resonate with Slate’s Jessica Grose when she says, “I hate it when Michele Bachmann makes me defend her,” but hold on to your hats for a Leblancian edit (bolded phrases are my own) of the religion-related parts of New Yorker’s smear by Ryan Lizza.

Bachmann belongs to a generation of Christian conservatives whose views have been shaped by institutions, tracts, and leaders not commonly known to secular Americans, or even to most Christians.

Oh really? What’s his basis for this claim?

Her campaign is going to be a conversation about a set of beliefs more extreme than those of any American politician of her stature, including Sarah Palin, to whom she is inevitably compared. Bachmann said in 2004 that being gay is “personal enslavement,” and that, if same-sex marriage were legalized, “little children will be forced to learn that homosexuality is normal and natural and that perhaps they should try it.”

Bachmann wasn’t the first to consider sin enslavement, even if you might agree or disagree with her interpretation. How does Lizza know that her campaign will be focus on a set of beliefs? Is the media making this the focus?

…The trip [to Israel] gave her a connection to Israel, a state whose creation, many American evangelicals believe, is prophesied in the Bible. (St. Paul, in the Letter to the Romans, says that Jews will one day gather again in their homeland; modern fundamentalists see this, along with the coming of the Antichrist, as presaging the Rapture.)

Who are modern fundamentalists and what do they have to do with Bachmann? Is there any evidence that Bachmann holds the idea of pretribulation, midtribulation, or posttribulation rapture? Or maybe she’s postmillennial or even amillennial.

These ideas get complex, so things get muddy while trying to summarize an entire belief system on eschatology in a paragraph when the reporter doesn’t offer evidence for those beliefs.

In the fall of 1975, Bachmann enrolled at Winona State University, a small school in southeastern Minnesota, where she became more devout and tried to lead her dormmates to Christianity.

Regular readers know we hate the d-word. And, of course, part of being an evangelical often means evangelism, so this isn’t exactly breaking news or terribly unusual.

Then the reporter examines the beliefs of the late Francis Schaeffer, who was kind of a big deal for many evangelicals. Now, Bachmann has said before that Schaeffer has strongly influenced her views, so the association here makes sense. What’s strange is how the reporter portrays him as fringe. Here’s the reporter’s explanation for part of a video Schaeffer produced.

In the sixth episode, a mysterious man in a fake mustache drives around in a white van and furtively pours chemicals into a city’s water supply, while Schaeffer speculates about the possibility that the U.S. government is controlling its citizens by means of psychotropic drugs.

How much of that video consisted of speculation? Is there any indication that Bachmann holds this belief?

Lizza uses Schaeffer’s son Frank to explain his father’s beliefs, but he should at least acknowledge that Frank has also taken his own ideological shift. For example, Frank recently blamed the shootings in Norway on conservative evangelicals and warns that evangelicals could be planning similar attacks in the U.S. Hmm.

In 1981, three years before he died, Schaeffer published “A Christian Manifesto,” a guide for Christian activism, in which he argues for the violent overthrow of the government if Roe v. Wade isn’t reversed.

I’ll defer to Ben Domenech.

… I find this depiction of Schaeffer’s position is just a vicious smear.

What Schaeffer called for were acts of civil disobedience if Roe v. Wade was not overturned. He repeatedly and specifically stressed that violence was not justified – “overreaction can too easily become the ugly horror of sheer violence”, he wrote.

Oops. You don’t have to agree with Schaeffer to wonder whether he is unfairly maligned in this piece. The reporter then jumps to Bachmann time at Oral Roberts’ former law school.

For several years, the school could not get accreditation, because students were required to sign a “code of honor” attesting to their Christian belief and commitment.

Does anyone know whether this is really the reason why the school couldn’t get accredited? This surprises me, considering that lots and lots of colleges that have variations on a religious “code of honor” are accredited (BYU anyone?).

The law review published essays by Schaeffer and Rousas John Rushdoony, a prominent Dominionist who has called for a pure Christian theocracy in which Old Testament law—execution for adulterers and homosexuals, for example—would be instituted.

Here are more attempts to prove guilt by association. I’m guess that, for example, our friend Mr. Brad Greenberg does not believe everything a professors who write for a law review from UCLA produces, but maybe he does. Did the law review publish essays calling to execute homosexuals and adulterers? Did she believe these claims in any way?

Lizza quotes professor John Eidsmoe whom Bachmann worked for at Oral Roberts (ORU).

When I asked him if he believed that Bachmann’s views were fully consistent with the prevailing ideology at O.R.U. and the themes of his book, he said, “Yes.” Later, he added, “I do not know of any way in which they are not.”

That’s a pretty generic question he’s answering. It doesn’t get into if she believes in criminalizing adultery or homosexuality, which seems to insinuate. Then Lizza touches on Bachmann’s foster parenting.

Bachmann’s motivation seems to have been to save the girls, in the same way that she had been saved.

Again, not terribly shocking for a Christian foster parent, but even if this was her motivation, how she did this would be more relevant. Is there any evidence that she coerced the children in any way?

In the late nineteen-nineties, William Cooper, a wealthy bank executive and conservative activist, became chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, and started to demand more ideological purity. “He began a purge of people like me,” Laidig said. “No abortion, so if your daughter is raped or if you find out your child is going to be permanently a vegetable you have the kid. Not every abortion is birth control, O.K.? So really hard-core stuff.”

Maybe he did, but did this Republican leader really want to “purge” people that supported abortion in cases of rape and if child is a permanent “vegetable?” How does this apply to Bachmann?

Here’s another journalist using guilt by association with a very tenuous basis on reality to take shots. I could go on and on about the problems in the piece and how it could have been improved, but for now, we’ll ponder why these sections weren’t edited more thoroughly.

Pieces like this do little to illuminate Bachmann’s beliefs or how they apply to her policy stances, but NPR doesn’t mind highlighting it (audio will be available later today). Better watch out who you’re friending on Facebook. You never know what they said 20 years ago that will come back to haunt you in your next job interview.

Written by: Sarah Pulliam Bailey on August 9, 2011

I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: elimination of belief in a Creator.1. Closed system derives not from the findings of science but from philosophy.2. Now there is no place for the significance of Man, for morals, or for love.C. Darwin taught that all life evolved through the survival of the fittest.1. Serious problems inherent in Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism.

This is probably one of the most important episodes in the series.

The Scientific Age

Uploaded by  on Oct 3, 2011

T h e

SCIENTIFIC AGE

I. Church Attacks on Copernican Science Were Philosophical

Galileo’s and Copernicus’ works did not contradict the Bible but the elements of Aristotle’s teaching which had entered the Church.

II. Examples of Biblical Influence

A. Pascal’s work.

1. First successful barometer; great writing of French prose.

2. Understood Man’s uniqueness: Man could contemplate, and Man had value to God.

B. Newton

1. Speed of sound and gravity.

2. For Newton and the other early scientists, no problem concerning the why, because they began with the existence of a personal God who had created the universe.

C. Francis Bacon

1. Stressed careful observation and systematic collection of information.

2. Bacon and the other early scientists took the Bible seriously, including its teaching concerning history and the cosmos.

D. Faraday

1. Crowning discovery was the induction of the electric current.

2. As a Christian, believed God’s Creation is for all men to understand and enjoy, not just for a scientific elite.

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Francis Schaeffer- How Should We Then Live? -6- The Scientific Age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0e-_jvWg8

III. Scientific Aspects of Biblical Influence

A. Oppenheimer and Whitehead: biblical foundations of scientific revolution.

B. Not all early scientists individually Christian, but all lived within Christian thought forms. This gave a base for science to continue and develop.

C. The contrast between Christian-based science and Chinese and Arab science.

D. Christian emphasis on an ordered Creation reflects nature of reality and is therefore acted upon in all cultures, regardless of what they say their world view is.

1. Einstein’s theory of relativity does not imply relative universe.

2. Man acts on assumption of order, whether he likes it or not.

3. Master idea of biblical science.

a) Uniformity of natural causes in an open system: cause and effect works, but God and Man not trapped in a process.

b) All that exists is not a total cosmic machine.

c) Human choices therefore have meaning and effect.

d) The cosmic machine and the machines people make therefore not a threat.

IV. Shift in Modern Science

A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.

B. From an open to a closed natural system: elimination of belief in a Creator.

1. Closed system derives not from the findings of science but from philosophy.

2. Now there is no place for the significance of Man, for morals, or for love.

C. Darwin taught that all life evolved through the survival of the fittest.

1. Serious problems inherent in Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism.

2. Extension of natural selection to society, politics and ethnics.

D. Natural selection and Nazi ideology.

E. The new authoritarianism: not the crudely dictatorial regimes of Hitler and Stalin. New regimes will be subtly manipulative, based on sophisticated arsenal of new techniques now available.

1. To obtain organs for transplants forces acceptance of new definition of death. Possible abuses.

2. Without the absolute line which Christianity gives of the total uniqueness of Man, people have no boundary line between what they can do and what they should do.

3. Moral and legal implications of Artificial Insemination by Donor (A.I.D.)

4. Skinner’s social psychology and the abolition of Man.

5. Tell people they are machines and they will tend to act accordingly.

6. Each theory of conditioning leads to social application.

a) Koestler: tranquilizer to cure human aggression.

b) Clark and Lee: controlling aggressions of politicians.

c) Kranty: control reproduction through the water supply.

7. Who controls the controllers? —The unasked question.

a) The basic question begged: the psycho-civilizer as King?

b) If people are machines, why should biological continuation have value?

V. Need to Reaffirm That  Which Was the Original Base for Modern Science

Questions

1. Explain the important contributions to science made by biblical principles.

2. How should our knowledge of the biblical view of work and nature affect our own attitudes to research, study of the Bible, and the use of our minds?

3. Does this segment help you to understand how and why men of great intellectual refinement in Nazi Germany could accept what was going on?

4. “Without the absolute line which Christianity gives of the total uniqueness of Man, people have no boundary line between what they can do and what they should do.” Discuss.

Key Events and Persons

Copernicus: 1475-1543

Francis Bacon: 1561-1626

Novum Organum Scientiarum: 1620

Galileo: 1564-1642

Pascal: 1623-1662

Isaac Newton: 1642-1727

Principia Mathematica: 1687

Michael Faraday: 1791-1867

Charles Darwin: 1809-1882

Origin of Species: 1859

Herbert Spencer: 1820-1903

Albert Einstein: 1879-1955

Russel Lee: 1895-

Heinrich Himmler: 1900-1945

B.F. Skinner: 1904-1990

Arthur Koestler: 1905-

Kenneth B. Clark: 1914-

Murray Eden: 1920-

Kermit Kranty: 1923-

Skinner’s Beyond Freedom and Dignity: 1971

Further Study

Robin Briggs, ed., The Scientific Revolution of the Seventeenth Century (1969).

E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (1932).

Arthur Koestler, The Watershed. A Biography of Johannes Kepler (1960).

Arthur Koestler, The Ghost in the Machine (1967).

C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength (1945).

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (1972).

D.M. Mackay, The Clockwork Image (1974).

Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution. Wistar Symposium

Monograph, no. 5 (1967).

B.F. Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971).

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

A response to 9/11 by Adrian Rogers jh54

September 8, 2011 – 2:24 pm

 

Picture of Adrian Rogers above from 1970’s while pastor of Bellevue Baptist of Memphis, and president of Southern Baptist Convention. (Little known fact, Rogers was the starting quarterback his senior year of the Palm Beach High School football team that won the state title and a hero to a 7th grader at the same school named Burt Reynolds.)

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Adrian Rogers – [1/2] How to Come Back When You’re Down

Adrian Rogers – [2/2] How to Come Back When You’re Down

Here are 5 thoughts by Adrian Rogers:

Many have asked how should Christians respond to what happened in America on September 11. And after much prayer and reading through God’s Word, I’d like to share you five things God has placed on my heart as to our response to current affairs of our nation and the war on terrorism.

The first thing I want to tell you is to trust God. He will see us through this. His anchor hold in the storm. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” America may go to war with manmade weapons, but our safety and ultimate victory comes from the Lord.

Second, we need to gather and pray. Gather your family and pray. Go to your neighbors and pray. We need pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. God’s word says, “I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, then giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (1 Timothy 2:1). We need to pray for and we need to work for peace.

Third, all the prayer in the world is not going to do any good unless we repent. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We, as a nation, must repent. We, as Christians, who have stood back in apathy and allowed our nation to slide into a cesspool of immorality, need to repent for our sins, as well.

Fourth, we need to reach out in love. Let the terrible wickedness committed on September 11 be the dark velvet upon which the diamond of God’s love can be seen in your life. This is an opportunity for you to share the love of Jesus with everybody – whatever their race, whatever their nationality, whatever their religion.

This is a time for a mighty baptism of God’s love. Romans 12:21 says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” There is no person on the face of this earth that you have the luxury of hating and no person that you can rejoice when he falls into misery.

Finally, we need to speak up. As the night grows darker, the saints need to grow brighter. The attacks on September 11 were based on a philosophy and we can’t shoot down a philosophy with a bullet. The only thing that will overcome an idea is a better idea. And that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I challenge you to move out of your comfort zone and into your neighborhoods to share the love of Jesus. Oh, that we would live the truth, tell the truth, speak the truth, believe the truth, love the truth.

We need, with all of our heart and soul, to preach the glorious Gospel of Jesus to a lost and dying world. If all we’re doing is enjoying our pursuit of happiness, we’re just making America a better place to go to hell from. Each of us needs to go to our family, neighbors, friends, coworkers, and business associates – and get them lashed to the cross.

We need to help them understand that there’s a God in glory who rules over all and come what may, “neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you need resources to help you share God’s plan of salvation, Love Worth Finding can help, just give us a call at 1-800-LOVE-GOD or visit our web site at www.lwf.org. We’re praying for God to use you in a mighty way for His glory!

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers | Comments (1)

Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren of Kansas: Their story of deliverance from drugs

September 8, 2011 – 7:52 am

The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. Some has wondered why KARK in their press release failed to even mention Cummins’ drug use.

I am hoping that those that I know who are involved in drugs will think long and hard also about the recent addition to the “27 Club” of Amy Whinehouse.

Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren went on a journey in their life together. They both were founding members of the rock group Kansas. Dave Hope actually got heavily involved in the drug scene as his rock band made it to the top. His story of deliverance through Christ is in the two video clips later in this post. First I want to take a look at the story of Kerry Livgren. Step by step in this 8 minute video clip he tells about his journey and how he found the answer he was searching for by putting his faith alone in Christ. I want to challenge those who have chosen to escape through drugs to watch this video and I wound love to have your feedback.

Kerry Livgren testimony

Uploaded by on Nov 1, 2009

Kerry Livgren( music group Kansas) testimony and promotion of film The Imposter starring Kevin Max(DC Talk) and Jeff Deyo.

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At this point I am posting a portion of a previous post I did earlier this year. It deals with the search for satisfaction that Woody Allen, Coldplay, Kansas and King Solomon all went on. It includes the video clips of Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren of Kansas.

________________________________

Here is an article I wrote a couple of years ago:

Solomon, Woody Allen, Coldplay and Kansas

What does King Solomon, the movie director Woody Allen and the modern rock bands Coldplay and Kansas have in common? All four took on the issues surrounding death, the meaning of life and a possible afterlife, although they all came up with their own conclusions on these weighty matters.

Let me start off by pointing out what they all had in common. First, they were very successful and rose to the top of their fields. Second, they were very famous and of course, thirdly they were wealthy and experienced the privileges that fame and wealth brought. Finally, they were still seeking answers to life’s great questions even though it seemed they had experienced all the world had to offer.

Unlike many the past grammy winners of “Best Rock Album,” Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay is filled with songs that deal with spiritual themes such as death, the meaning of life and searching for an afterlife.

Leadsinger Chris Martin notes, “…because we’ve had some people close to us we’ve lost, but some miracles — we’ve got kids. So, life has been very extreme recently, and so both death and life pop up quite often” (MTV News interview, June 9, 2008).

Russ Briermeier of Christianity Today observes that this album is “often provocative, spiritual, and seemingly on the verge of identifying a greater truth, asking and inspiring many questions without providing the answers.” It reminded me of King Solomon’s search for answers in the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. Solomon also dealt the subject of death a lot. Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 asserts, “It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. Sorrow is better than laughter, it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.”

The subject of death is prominent in the songs “Poppyfields,” “Violet Hill,” “Death and All His Friends,” “42,” and the “Cemeteries of London.” Then the song “The Escapist” states, “And in the end, We lie awake and we dream, we’re makin our escape.” In the end we all die. Therefore, I assume this song is searching for an afterlife to escape to. The song “Glass of Water” sheds some more light on where we possibly escape to: “Oh he said you could see a future inside a glass of water, with riddles and the rhymes, He asked ‘Will I see heaven in mine?’

Coldplay is clearly searching for spiritual answers but it seems they have not found them quite yet. The song “42“: “Time is so short and I’m sure, There must be something more.” Then the song “Lost“: “Every river that I tried to cross, Every door I ever tried was locked, I’m just waiting til the shine wears off, You might be a big fish in a little pond, Doesn’t mean you’ve won, Because along may come a bigger one and you will be lost.”
Solomon went to the extreme in his searching in the Book of Ecclesiastes for this “something more” that Coldplay is talking about, but he did not find any satisfaction in pleasure (2:1), education (2:3), work (2:4), wealth (2:8) or fame (2:9). All of his accomplishments would not be remembered (1:11) and who is to say that they had not already been done before by others (1:10)? This reminds me of the big fish in the little pond that Coldplay was talking about. Even if you think you are on top, are you really? Also Solomon’s upcoming death depressed him because both people and animals alike “go to the same place — they came from dust and they return to dust” (3:20).

In 1978 I heard the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas when it rose to #6 on the charts. That song told me thatKerry Livgren the writer of that song and a member of Kansas had come to the same conclusion that Solomon had. I remember mentioning to my friends at church that we may soon see some members of Kansas become Christians because their search for the meaning of life had obviously come up empty even though they had risen from being an unknown band to the top of the music business and had all the wealth and fame that came with that. Furthermore, like Solomon and Coldplay, they realized death comes to everyone and “there must be something more.”

Livgren wrote:

“All we do, crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see, Dust in the Wind, All we are is dust in the wind, Don’t hang on, Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and Sky, It slips away, And all your money won’t another minute buy.”

Both Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope of Kansas became Christians eventually. Kerry Livgren first tried Eastern Religions and Dave Hope had to come out of a heavy drug addiction. I was shocked and elated to see their personal testimony on The 700 Club in 1981 and that same  interview can be seen on youtube today. Livgren lives in Topeka, Kansas today where he teaches “Diggers,” a Sunday school class at Topeka Bible Church. Hope is the head of Worship, Evangelism and Outreach at Immanuel Anglican Church in Destin, Florida.

The movie maker Woody Allen has embraced the nihilistic message of the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas. David Segal in his article, “Things are Looking Up for the Director Woody Allen. No?” (Washington Post, July 26, 2006), wrote, “Allen is evangelically passionate about a few subjects. None more so than the chilling emptiness of life…The 70-year-old writer and director has been musing about life, sex, work, death and his generally futile search for hope…the world according to Woody is so bereft of meaning, so godless and absurd, that the only proper response is to curl up on a sofa and howl for your mommy.”

The song “Dust in the Wind” recommends, “Don’t hang on.” Allen himself says, “It’s just an awful thing and in that context you’ve got to find an answer to the question: ‘Why go on?’ ”  It is ironic that Chris Martin the leader of Coldplay regards Woody Allen as his favorite director.

Lets sum up the final conclusions of these gentlemen:  Coldplay is still searching for that “something more.” Woody Allen has concluded the search is futile. Livgren and Hope of Kansas have become Christians and are involved in fulltime ministry. Solomon’s experiment was a search for meaning to life “under the sun.” Then in last few words in the Book of Ecclesiastes he looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

You can hear Kerry Livgren’s story from this youtube link:

(part 1 ten minutes)

(part 2 ten minutes)

Kansas – Dust In The Wind

Ecclesiastes 1

Published on Sep 4, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider

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Ecclesiastes 2-3

Published on Sep 19, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 16, 2012 | Derek Neider

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By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Dear Senator Pryor, why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? (Part 6 Thirsty Thursday, Open letter to Senator Pryor)

September 8, 2011 – 12:53 am

Dear Senator Pryor,

Why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? As you know that federal deficit is at all time high (1.6 trillion deficit with revenues of 2.2 trillion and spending at 3.8 trillion).

On my blog www.HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com I took you at your word and sent you over 100 emails with specific spending cut ideas. However, I did not see any of them in the recent debt deal that Congress adopted. Now I am trying another approach. Every week from now on I will send you an email explaining different reasons why we need the Balanced Budget Amendment. It will appear on my blog on “Thirsty Thursday” because the government is always thirsty for more money to spend.

New CBO Numbers Re-Confirm that Balancing the Budget Is Simple with Modest Fiscal Restraint

Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell

Many of the politicians in Washington, including President Obama during his State of the Union address, piously tell us that there is no way to balance the budget without tax increases. Trying to get rid of red ink without higher taxes, they tell us, would require “savage” and “draconian” budget cuts.

I would like to slash the budget and free up resources for private-sector growth, so that sounds good to me. But what’s the truth?

The Congressional Budget Office has just released its 10-year projections for the budget, so I crunched the numbers to determine what it would take to balance the budget without tax hikes. Much to nobody’s surprise, the politicians are not telling the truth.

The chart below shows that revenues are expected to grow (because of factors such as inflation, more population, and economic expansion) by more than 7 percent each year. Balancing the budget is simple so long as politicians increase spending at a slower rate. If they freeze the budget, we almost balance the budget by 2017. If federal spending is capped so it grows 1 percent each year, the budget is balanced in 2019. And if the crowd in Washington can limit spending growth to about 2 percent each year, red ink almost disappears in just 10 years.

These numbers, incidentally, assume that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are made permanent (they are now scheduled to expire in two years). They also assume that the AMT is adjusted for inflation, so the chart shows that we can balance the budget without any increase in the tax burden.

I did these calculations last year, and found the same results. And I also examined how we balanced the budget in the 1990s and found that spending restraint was the key. The combination of a GOP Congress and Bill Clinton in the White House led to a four-year period of government spending growing by an average of just 2.9 percent each year.

We also have international evidence showing that spending restraint – not higher taxes – is the key to balancing the budget. New Zealand got rid of a big budget deficit in the 1990s with a five-year spending freeze. Canada also got rid of red ink that decade with a five-year period where spending grew by an average of only 1 percent per year. And Ireland slashed its deficit in the late 1980s by 10 percentage points of GDP with a four-year spending freeze.

No wonder international bureaucracies such as the International Monetary fund and European Central Bank are producing research showing that spending discipline is the right approach

Daniel J. Mitchell • January 27, 2011 @ 12:00 pm
Filed under: Government and Politics; Health Care; Tax and Budget Policy

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

Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 36)

September 8, 2011 – 12:02 am

Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 36)

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.

Scalise statement on passage of the Budget Control Act

Friday, July 29, 2011

Washington, DC — Congressman Steve Scalise today issued the following statement after the House passed the Budget Control Act, a two-step proposal to cut and control Washington spending, provide permanent accountability with a balanced budget amendment, and an increase in the debt ceiling to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States.

“The Budget Control Act marks the beginning of the critical process to cut and control Washington spending so we can ensure accountability by getting back to a balanced budget while also preserving the full faith and credit of the United States,” Scalise said.  “While this is far from the final solution to our debt problems, this vote begins to change the culture of Washington and the broken system of spending.  Achieving a solution to Washington’s spending problem should not be about what’s best for the President’s next election, it should instead be about what’s best for America.  It is long past time for the President and the Senate to take up this common-sense agreement and stop playing games with America’s future

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

Pictures of Dexter Williams

September 7, 2011 – 10:22 pm

These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short  while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. (Cummins has resigned as of Friday.)

Dexter Williams (Photo from family)

I was at church camp but look at how chink-eyed i am. LOL in My Photos by Dexter Williams

a beautiful day at toad suck! Dex-Star

me with no shirt. Dex-Star

i39m kinda scared or horses but Lindsay insisted. Dex-Star

Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo)

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Paul Dexter Williams died from asphyxiation police said

The Democrat-Gazette reported this morning: Man in Maumelle tub asphyxiated, police say By Sean Beherec LITTLE ROCK — The state Crime Laboratory determined a 24-year-old man found dead in a bathtub with a Little Rock meteorologist in a Maumelle home died from asphyxiation, police said Thursday. The manner of death of Paul Dexter Williams of […]

Why no further updates available on investigation of Dexter Williams’ death?

I have been asked and I don’t have an answer for why there has been no updates whatsoever since September 9th on the investigation concerning Dexter Williams death. KATV had a story dated Sept 9th and updated the 15th. Here is the last story from KTHV channel 11: Dexter Williams (Photo from family) LITTLE ROCK, […]

Should recent events in Little Rock be reason to blog about the dangers of drug use?

I welcome the input from those that read my blog. Recently I received some criticism from readers and Jordan is probably more of the most vocal. He wrote today, “I hardly see a ‘tragic’ death as you call it, a morally sound reason to throw in people’s faces what drugs do to people…You know as […]

KARK answers question: Is Brett Cummins story censored?

In today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Linda Caillouet wrote: LITTLE ROCK — When news broke of the death of Dexter Williams over the Labor Day weekend at a Maumelle home visited by then-KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins, most local news media reported details from the police report. This newspaper, KATV and KTHV reported that police said the body of […]

Little Rock story about Brett Cummins reported by CNN and Fox nationally

What started out on Sunday night September 4 as a local story now has grabbed national attention through both CNN and Fox News. Brett Cummins, 33, is seen in a photo on the website of Little Rock station KARK-TV. Cummins works as a meteorologist for the station. Police Probe Death of Arkansas Man Found in […]

Brett Cummins resigns

KATV reported: Ark. weatherman quits after found with body in tub Posted: Sep 09, 2011 5:45 PM CDTUpdated: Sep 09, 2011 6:00 PM CDT By JEANNIE NUSS Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – An attorney for an Arkansas meteorologist who was found in a hot tub with a dead body earlier this week says his client […]

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Brett Cummins should turn over the name of his drug dealer!!!!

KARK’s website includes these words: Thursday afternoon, Brett Cummins released the following statement to CNN through his attorney: Brett Cummins is devastated by the tragic death of his friend Dexter Williams and extends his sincere condolences to Dexter’s family. They remain foremost in his thoughts and prayers. Mr. Cummins deeply regrets the grief this incident […]

Attorney: Ark. weatherman innocent in Maumelle death of Dexter Williams

Today’s THV channel 11 in Little Rock reported: MAUMELLE, Ark. (AP) – An attorney for a local meteorologist says no foul play was involved in the death of a 24-year-old Mountain Pine man. Little Rock-based lawyer Mark Hampton said Thursday that KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins is innocent. Authorities say Cummins and the body of 24-year-old […]

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan of the Grateful Dead didn’t survive but Barry McGuire did

Drugs and alcohol have always been a pitfall that many of the wealthy fall into. We see rock bands that become famous have lots of temptations thrown their way and many fall into these traps. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Barry McGuire fell into these traps. One joined the “27 Club” and the other left the […]

Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren of Kansas: Their story of deliverance from drugs

The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]

Pictures of Dexter Williams

These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short  while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) Related posts: Pictures of Dexter Williams September 7, 2011 – 10:22 pm These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was […]

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Pictures of Dexter Williams

These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short  while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo)

You tube video “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” about Brett Cummins

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Brett Cummins turns to drugs instead of God

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The sad case of Brett Cummins: Alcohol takes another victim jh14c

Brett Cummins and his friends were drinking heavily and taking drugs on Sunday night and all three of them went to sleep under the influence of alcohol and drugs and only 2 of them woke  up.  This reminds me of a few verses from the Old Testament. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who […]

Picture of Dexter Williams with link to full police report

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Statement from KARK does not mention drug use of Brett Cummins

Brett Cummins was snorting coke but you could never tell it from this statement from KARK: KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said on the air today, “Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers. Brett will not be on […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (9)

You tube video “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” about Brett Cummins

September 7, 2011 – 2:21 pm

Youtube video about Brett Cummins story posted.

TV weatherman awakens in hot tub next to naked dead man with ‘dog collar’ around his neck after drug and alcohol-fueled party

 

By Thomas Durante

Last updated at 7:24 PM on 7th September 2011

It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is on its way, but he never saw this one coming.

Police in Arkansas said Tuesday that they are investigating the death of a man found in an unfilled hot tub with a sleeping TV weatherman.

In a storm: KARK-TV weatherman Brett Cummins awakened in a dry hot tub next to the body of his friendIn a storm: KARK-TV weatherman Brett Cummins awakened in an unfilled hot tub next to the body of his friend

Maumelle police officers were called to the home of Christopher Barbour Monday morning where they found the body in the hot tub.

Mr Barbour, told cops that the dead man and meteorologist Brett Cummins of Little Rock station KARK, were guests at his home Sunday night for Labor Day weekend party.

Police were told that the trio was drinking and snorting drugs.

Mr Barbour said that he awoke the next morning to Cummins’ loud snoring, and found the weatherman in his hot tub with the nude body of Dexter Williams lying next to him.

Williams’ face was discoloured and he had with a chain around his neck – described by police as a ‘dog collar.’

There were also traces of blood in the hot tub, police said.

Upon awakening, Mr Cummins became ill and vomited on the carpet. He later left the home, but returned to give his statement to police, which was not released.

Maumelle police Lt Jim Hansard said investigators haven’t ruled out foul play in Williams’ death.

The 24-year-old’s Facebook page lists partying among his interests.

Lt Hansard told MailOnline that an autopsy has being conducted on Williams’ body, the results of which are pending.

No arrests had been made in the case.Victim: The body of Dexter Williams was found curled in the fetal position in a hot tub with Arkansas weatherman Brett Cummins

According to a report from Maumelle police, the Mr Barbour said he invited Mr Cummins to his home Sunday evening.

He showed up with Mr Williams, a friend from Mountain Pine, Arkansas, and they started drinking and snorting drugs, Mr Barbour told police.

At some point, they got into a hot tub and continued drinking, according to the police report.

Police are working with local prosecutor JaNan Davis to determine what charges, if any, might be filed.

Davis said any charges in the case hinge on the results of the autopsy.

 
Grisly discovery: Police were called to the Arkansas home of Christopher Barbour, where an alcohol and drug-fueled Labor Day weekend party turned deadlyGrisly discovery: Police were called to the Arkansas home of Christopher Barbour, where an alcohol and drug-fueled Labor Day weekend party turned deadly
 
Revelry: Dexter Williams' Facebook page lists 'partying' as one of his interestsRevelry: Dexter Williams’ Facebook page lists ‘partying’ as one of his interests

Cummins did not respond to a phone message left Tuesday.

Mike Vaughn, the general manager for KARK, said Cummins reported to work Monday, but never went on the air.

He said the station received the report about Williams’ death and was working to figure out what happened, but he declined to comment further.

During a Tuesday news broadcast, KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said: ‘Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers.

‘Brett will not be on the air while he is mourning the loss of his friend. Our thoughts naturally are with Brett and of course with the family and friends of Dexter Williams.’

 
Officer's account: A police report details what officers found as they entered Christopher Barbour's home in Maumelle, ArkansasOfficer’s account: A police report details what officers found as they entered Christopher Barbour’s home in Maumelle, Arkansas

Here are related posts:

Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren of Kansas: Their story of deliverance from drugs

The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]

Brett Cummins turns to drugs instead of God

Brett Cummins has risen to be the top tv weatherman in the evening at KARK News 4. However, something is missing in his life. (I wish Brett would just take the time to read the story of Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio at the end of this post). I […]

The sad case of Brett Cummins: Alcohol takes another victim jh14c

Brett Cummins and his friends were drinking heavily and taking drugs on Sunday night and all three of them went to sleep under the influence of alcohol and drugs and only 2 of them woke  up.  This reminds me of a few verses from the Old Testament. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who […]

Picture of Dexter Williams with link to full police report

This is a link to the full police report. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) Here are related posts: KARK Brett Cummins was “snorting…illegal narcotics…” according to friend September 7, 2011 – 7:15 am Details concerning what […]

KARK Brett Cummins was “snorting…illegal narcotics…” according to friend jh13c

Details concerning what happened are coming out now. It seems that KARK can no longer ignore the fact that Cummins was snorting coke. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.)Here is a Democrat-Gazette article on the incident: Man, 24, found dead in […]

Statement from KARK does not mention drug use of Brett Cummins

Brett Cummins was snorting coke but you could never tell it from this statement from KARK: KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said on the air today, “Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers. Brett will not be on […]

Pictures of Dexter Williams

These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short  while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo)

You tube video “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” about Brett Cummins

Youtube video about Brett Cummins story posted. TV weatherman awakens in hot tub next to naked dead man with ‘dog collar’ around his neck after drug and alcohol-fueled party   By Thomas Durante Last updated at 7:24 PM on 7th September 2011 It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is […] 

 
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged , | Comments (1)