Monthly Archives: October 2011

Mutemath a Christian band?

October 11, 2011 – 8:36 am

I have loved the music of Mutemath since the first time I heard them. I wanted to pass on a great review of their band.

Mute Math: Is It Christian Music?

posted by Patton Dodd | 11:50am Thursday August 2, 2007

A Burn or Burn profile of Mute Math almost writes itself. This is a band whose lead singer once fronted Earthsuit, a band with crystal clear Christian credentials. This is also a band who sued its label, Warner, when the label’s Christian division marketed their music. And this is a band who–to their credit–has talked openly about the problem of being a bunch of Christian pop musicians who want to sing for audiences more diverse than your neighborhood Baptist youth group.
mutemath_idol.jpgThis is also a band with a hit song and a MTV video that is becoming a cult favorite. The lyrics to “Typical” could be about a thousand situations, but to my Burn-or-Burn-ing ears, they sound like the story of a Christian band wanting to become a regular band:

Come on, can I dream for one day?
There’s nothing that can’t be done

But how long should it take somebody

Before they can be someone?
Cuz I know there’s got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I’m feelin’ like it’s now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical?

For Mute Math, CCM equals “typical” and mainstream music equals “the other side”–and being “someone” means being someone more than a Christian rock star.
Then there’s that Michel Gondry-esque video for “Typical”, where the song is delivered forward but everything happens backward. It’s artfully done–check it out–and it’s a fabulous metaphor for a band who wants to push themselves along creatively and professionally, but also feels pulled back by their Christian industrial pasts. The video is as disorienting as the experience of being Mute Math, or, for that matter, the experience of being a Mute Math fan. Do we listen to the music, or do we watch what’s happening to the band? It’s almost impossible to do both at the same time.
Mute Math has, inevitably, been knocked by sources Christian and non as they’ve finagled their way out of the Christian music industry. But they seem to have pulled it off. Last week, they rocked David Letterman (John Mayer called it the Letterman “appearance of the year”) and their fan base is clearly growing.
As for me, I’m won over by Mute Math’s openness in talking about the struggles of being Christians who want to make music for more than just their fellow Christians. They haven’t shed the faith; just the faith industry. That distinction makes all the difference.
So, I say–burn ‘em: Download the album and add “Typical” to that “Summer ’07″ mix CD.

Related posts:

Mutemath in Little Rock tonight at Revolution Music Room

I am going to see Mutemath tonight at 8:30pm tonight at the Revolution Music Room in downtown Little Rock. Here is an old review I dug up on them: 2004 saw the debut of one of the most promising new acts in the Christian music scene. The demise of rock band Earthsuit gave birth to […]

Mutemath a Christian band?

I have loved the music of Mutemath since the first time I heard them. I wanted to pass on a great review of their band. Mute Math: Is It Christian Music? posted by Patton Dodd | 11:50am Thursday August 2, 2007 A Burn or Burn profile of Mute Math almost writes itself. This is a band […]

 

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 5)

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 5) 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: Hunter picked “Don’t Panic,” as his number 16 pick of Coldplay’s best […]

Former Weezer band member Mickey Welsh dead

CHICAGO (AP) — Former Weezer bass player Mikey Welsh, who also found success in his second career as an artist, died in aChicago hotel room, police said Sunday. Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said Welsh was supposed to check out of the Raffaello Hotel at 1 p.m. Saturday. When he didn’t, hotel staff went to his room, entered it and […]

 

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 4)

Dave Hogan/ Getty Images 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: For the 17th best Coldplay song of all-time, Hunter picks “42.” He notes, “You thought you might […]

Documentary on Coldplay (Part 2)

The best band in the world. Below I have linked some articles I have earlier about the search for meaning in life the band seems to involved in. Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion formed Coldplay in 1996 while going to University in London. The young band quickly established themselves in the […]

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

The Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 12)

October 11, 2011 – 8:08 am

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.

Posey: Last Minute Plan Falls Short of What is Needed to Curb Debt
 

 
 

Washington, Aug 1 – Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement regarding his vote against the debt limit deal:

“Our nation is deep in debt and plummeting deeper in the red every day. The Federal government is spending way beyond its means. The credit ratings agencies have warned that the U.S. will lose its AAA credit rating unless Washington enacts a credible, long-term plan to control spending and reduce the national debt. That is what is required.

“The last minute bill put forward today does not achieve this goal. Regardless of its enactment, the U.S. will still be at serious risk of losing its AAA credit rating. To date, the only plan introduced that passes muster for the credit rating agencies is the Cut, Cap and Balance legislation which passed the House with bipartisan support last week and is purposefully being blocked in the Senate.

“Today’s legislation includes a weakened Balanced Budget Amendment option. In my view, it makes no serious effort in bringing us closer to passing-on such a popular and necessary provision to the States for consideration. A Balanced Budget Amendment is needed to ensure that Washington’s addiction to spending is broken. Washington must begin to live within its means. Somehow that principle had to be tossed-out to get the Senate and Administration on board with this deal.

“This bill grows the debt to $16.7 trillion without implementing a long-term plan to control spending. The real crisis is not the Administration’s impending arbitrary deadline to raise the limit, but the lack of a plan to ever repay this money and reverse this terrible trend of deficit spending and debt accumulation.

“Again, I thank the Speaker for his efforts in filling the leadership void and for putting ideas out on the table.”

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

Herman Cain tells Wall St marchers where to march

October 11, 2011 – 8:06 am

OCCUPY_2.jpg

The Arkansas Times Blog reported today:

Around 100 were on hand for tonight’s Occupy Little Rock planning meeting, the second since the group formed in Little Rock earlier this month. Organizers and attendees struggled with a somewhat complicated voting-by-hand-signals process, but the assembly did get some key points ironed out, including the start time and place for this Saturday’s march, and locations the group plans to picket.

Protestors with Occupy Little Rock will assemble this Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Riverfest Amphitheater near the River Market. The march will begin at 10 a.m., with the group proceeding to the headquarters of Stephens Inc., the Little Rock branch of Bank of America, the U.S. Federal Building and the Arkansas State Capitol.

I heard Herman Cain’s speech and I noticed that re-directed the Wall St marchers where they should be marching.

Below is a great article on what the difference between the Tea Party and the Wall Street Marchers:

Tea Party, Meet Occupy Wall Street. OWS, Tea Party.

Posted by Jim Harper

Broad political movements are going to have none of the coherence that we demand of ourselves in ideological movements like libertarianism. The Tea Party has some people with views that libertarians and reject and many we embrace. Occupy Wall Street has a lot of people with views that libertarians reject and some that libertarians embrace—freedom from police abuse being one. (Such a favor the NYPD officer who pepper-sprayed female protesters did to OWS by driving attention and sympathy its way.)

That’s all caveat to sharing an image that’s making waves on the Facebook. It makes a hopeful statement, I think, about the Occupy Wall Street movement and its potential or actual kinship with Tea Partyism. There’s something wrong in the country, and this image suggests that there might be consensus on the framing of what’s wrong: the unity of government and corporate power against people’s freedom and prosperity.

There are plenty of reasons to reject the possibility of alliance between Tea Partyism and OWS, but not necessarily good ones. The easiest out is to pour this new wine into old bottles and characterize OWS as dirty hippies using retrograde protest tactics. Many are kinda like that. But that stuff was a couple of decades ago. No, wait—four decades ago. These kids have no direct knowledge or experience of, say, Kent State, and older observers might be too prone to fitting them into a pattern that doesn’t exist for them.

To the extent the substance of their grievance is, or can be turned to, corporations’ use of government power to win unjust power and profits for themselves, that’s a grievance I can sit in a drum circle for.

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

Republicans are no longer a rarity in Arkansas

October 11, 2011 – 7:55 am

John Brummett talks about how state lawmakers get paid today. It is problem that the Democrats created 20 years ago and the Republicans will have to correct in 2013.

In the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is an excellent article . The Republicans are going to take over soon and the Blue Arkansas Blog can rant and rave about it all they want but the good ole days for Democrats in Arkansas are over :

How to scare a governor

Show him a two-party system in Arkansas

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

LITTLE ROCK — SOME OF us are old enough to remember when Arkansas, like the rest of the South, had only one party (Democratic), one crop (cotton), and one issue always lurking behind all the others.

But the times, they’re not only changing, they done changed. (Linguistic note: The insertion of the auxiliary “done” in a verb form means it’s in the tense known as the Southern Emphatic.)

Cotton long since has been challenged by rice, soybeans and even corn in the old Cotton Kingdom.

Even the race issue ain’t what she used to be, having lost much of its power. The days when an Orval Faubus could pull it out of his sleeve whenever he wanted another term in the Governor’s Mansion seem as far behind us as George Wallace’s time in Alabama, or Lester Maddox’s in Georgia.

These days the demagogues have to settle for unsatisfactory substitutes for the race issue like fear of Hispanic immigrants. The race card itself may be played only rarely, as when a white candidate dares run for office in a largely black constituency. People just don’t seem as scared of the Other as they used to be.

Most upsetting of all, Republicans are no longer a rarity. They could show up anywhere these days. One could be living next door. Some even inhabit state constitutional offices (land commissioner, secretary of state, even lieutenant governor), and comprise most of the state’s congressional delegation. The two-party system has even raised its heads in the state legislature, where Republicans seem to occupy more seats every year. The impertinence of it. Don’t these people know their place?

It’s alarming. Mike Beebe, who’s still governor and still a Democrat, certainly sounds alarmed. “It scares me a little bit . . .” he told a Lions Club at Conway the other day—twice. For he also noted that the state’s House of Representatives was dividing more along party lines than the Senate, “and it scares me.” And it’s not even Halloween yet.

If this state keeps getting more Americanized, the two-party system could become as much a fixture of state politics as it is in Congress. And the benefits of competition might be as widely recognized in politics as they are in business.

How alarming. The governor certainly sounded alarmed. And has reason to be. For where will it all end? At this rate, some of these uppity Republicans in the Ledge might even object when a governor chooses a good ol’ boy as director of higher education whether or not he’s legally qualified. They might even go so far as to ask the state’s attorney general for an opinion that reveals how little the governor really cares about the law he’s supposed to follow.

Now that’s scary.

This article was published today at 4:30 a.m.Editorial, Pages 14 on 10/11/2011

Editorial 14

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

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “What is wrong with our schools?” (Part 3 of transcript and video)

October 11, 2011 – 7:31 am

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “What is wrong with our schools?” (Part 3 of transcript and video)

Here is the video clip and transcript of the film series FREE TO CHOOSE episode “What is wrong with our schools?” Part 3 of 6.

 
Volume 6 – What’s Wrong with our Schools
Transcript:
If it doesn’t, they can simply pick up and go elsewhere. For the students, they want to get their money’s worth. They are customers, and like every customer everywhere, they want to get full value for the money they are paying. And so much of the success here comes from the fact that students understand precisely the cost involved and they are determined to get their money’s worth.
Regina Barreca, Student:. . .they send you sheets saying how much everything costs all the time, so that you know exactly, you can break it down per lecture. And when you see each lectures costing $35, and you think of the other things you could be doing with the $35, you’re making very sure you’re going to that lecture.
Friedman: Many of the buildings and facilities at Dartmouth have been donated by private individuals and foundations. Like other private universities, Dartmouth has combined the selling of monuments with the provision of education and the one activity reinforces the other.
The students, in effect, earn part of their keep by helping to solicit alumni for contributions, knowing full well that they will be solicited in their turn. It is another way in which the real value of education is brought home. This may not be the usual idea of an economic market, but it is nonetheless a marketplace where buyers can choose and sellers must compete for customers.
What happens when the educational market is distorted? Look at state colleges and universities. Their fees are generally very low, paying for only a small part of the cost of schooling. They attract serious students just as interested in their education as the students at Dartmouth or other private schools, but they also attract a great many others. Students who come because fees are low, residential housing is good, food is good, and above all there are lots of their peers, it’s a pleasant interlude for them.
The University of California at Los Angeles __ for those students who are here as a pleasant interlude, going to class is a price they pay to be here, not the product they are buying. Darrell Dearmone,
Lecturer: We frequently wind up with people who cannot compete favorably with even the average person here. There is a magnet here for everything. We have the best weather practically speaking, in the country. Hollywood is here, Beverly Hills is here, the social scene, the television industry in this country is centered here.
Friedman: The justification for using tax money to support institutions like this is supposed to be so that every youngster, regardless of the income or wealth of his parents, can go to college. A few youngsters from poor families are here, but not very many. Most of these students are from middle and upper-income families, yet everybody, whatever his income, pays taxes to help support these institutions. That is a disgraceful situation. It is hardly what public education was all about. These students are being subsidized by people who will never go to college. That means that on the average people who will end up with higher income are being subsidized by people who will end up with lower income. And in addition, the quality of undergraduate education is poor. Undergraduate teaching is not what UCLA is famous for. Besides from its athletic team, UCLA’s reputation is for graduate work and research.
Faculty members have every incentive to do research, that’s the way to advance in their profession. They have much less to gain by good teaching.
Only about half of those who enroll in UCLA complete the undergraduate course. Compare that with the 95% at Dartmouth who finish the work for their degrees. What a waste of student time and what a waste of taxpayers’ money.
What should we do about this disgraceful situation? We must not deny any young man or woman whose desires formal education. Everyone who has the capacity and the desire to have a higher education should be able to do so, provided they are willing to undertake the obligation to pay the cost of their schooling either currently or in later years out of the higher income that their education will make possible. We now have a governmental program of loans which is supposedly directed to this objective but it’s a loan program in name only. The interest rate charged is well below the market rate. Many of these loans are never paid back. We must have a system under which those who are not able or do not go to college are not forced to pay for those who do.
As we have seen the market works in education. When people pay for what they get, they value what they get. The market works in higher education. It can also work at the level of primary and secondary education. Until we change the way we run our public schools, far too many children will end up without being able to read, write, or do arithmetic. That is not what any of us wants.
The system is not working and it is not working because it lacks a vital ingredient. The experts mean well, but a centralized system cannot possibly have that degree of personal concern for each individual child that we have as parents. The centralization produces deadening uniformity, it destroys the experimentation that is the fundamental source of progress. What we need to do is to enable parents, by vouchers or other means, to have more say about the school which their child goes to, a public school or a private school, whichever meets the need of the child best. That will inevitably give them also more say about what their children are taught, and how they are taught. Market competition is the surest way to improve the quality and promote innovation in education as in every other field.
DISCUSSION
Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Albert Shanker, President, American Federation of Teachers; Professor John Coons, Initiative for Family Choice in Education, California; Thomas A. Shannon, Executive Director, National School Boards Association; Gregory Anrig, Commissioner of Dept. of Education in Commonwealth of Massachusetts
McKENZIE: The distinguished guests tonight are all intimately concerned with the world of education; so lets find out how they react to Friedman’s analysis.
SHANKER: I think it’s very foolish to throw out something that you’ve got and that has some shortcomings, but is very, very good in order to try out someone’s pet ideas.
McKENZIE: Well, before we ask Milton to reply to that, lets get other views on the same quotation, “Market competition is the surest way to improve the quality and promote innovation in education.” John Coons.
COONS: Well, of course, there’s enormous evidence that that is exactly right and we see it in the case in California that I observe every day of low income children whose families are making great sacrifices to go to schools that operate at a third of the cost of public education and are turning out kids who are performing and are learning and achieving at very high levels. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to suggest that unlimited competition is the answer to every problem. And, indeed, the whole definition of competition is very ambiguous. It seems to me that if one is truly interested in liberty, which I think is the ultimate value that Milton Friedman talks about, one has to be very careful how he structures the kinds of subsidies…
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Milton Friedman, Vouchers | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Mitt Romney’s religion is becoming an issue

October 11, 2011 – 6:59 am

This issue concerning Mitt Romney’s religion is heating up.

Baptist pastor taken to task

Russ Jones and Chad Groening – OneNewsNow – 10/10/2011 11:05:00 am

Popular radio and television commentator Glenn Beck wrapped up the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, Sunday in a wave of anti-Mormonism comments lodged towards GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

 

 

The weekend gathering of conservatives provided GOP presidential candidates a platform to present their ideas. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas, was asked by Summit sponsor Family Research Council to introduce Texas Governor Rick Perry. But the Texas pastor captured more headlines than the candidates themselves when, during an interview after the introduction, described Mormonism is a “cult” and said presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is “not a Christian.” (See related story)
 
Glenn BeckBeck, founder of Glenn Beck TV, delivered a 39-minute speech at the conclusion of the event. In a tearful moment, he defended his Mormon faith as he referred to Pastor Jeffress’ remarks.
 
“People have come onto this stage and been for and against, I guess, members of my faith,” Beck stated. “I celebrate their right to say those things in America. I am a proud member of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior — he redeemed me.”
 
In earlier remarks, William Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, also responded to Jeffress’ comments, saying the pastor had overshadowed the speeches of Rick Perry and all the GOP candidates who spoke at the conference.
 
“Do not give voice to bigotry,” said Bennett. “And I would say to Pastor Jeffress, you stepped on and obscured the words of Perry and [Rick] Santorum and [Herman] Cain and [Michele] Bachmann and everyone else who has spoken here. You did Rick Perry no good, sir, in what you had to say.”

 

Story continues below …

 

To what extent does a presidential candidate’s personal faith influence how you vote?

Vote in our poll

 

 
Dr. Robert Jeffress (First Baptist Church, Dallas)Speaking Monday on the Fox News Channel, Jeffress did not back away from his comments over the weekend.
 
“It was John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who said, ‘We have the duty and privilege as Christians to select and prefer Christians as our leaders,'” he said. “If I’m a bigot, then the first chief justice of the Supreme Court is also a bigot.”
 
Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann declined to answers questions about Jeffress’ comment; Rick Santorum and Rick Perry both say they do not consider Mormonism a cult.

 

Texas Congressman Ron Paul easily won the Summit’s annual straw poll, but Values Voter straw poll organizers suggested there was ballot-stuffing, making the results virtually irrelevant.

 

On Jeffress’ side
An author who grew up in the LDS Church says she agrees with Pastor Jeffress’ statements. Tricia Erickson is the daughter of a Mormon bishop who left the movement, and is the author of Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters? The Mormon Church Versus the Office of the Presidency of the United States of America. (Listen to audio report)

“The Mormon Church fits the definition of a cult,” she tells OneNewsNow. “They have secret rituals, they have charismatic leaders, they have false prophets, they believe things that are so irrational — but they cover it. [They] know it amongst themselves, but they understand enough to know that their beliefs, if they really came out …would be ridiculed more because they’re so outrageous.”

Erickson says she is thankful that Jeffress had the courage to tell the truth about Mormonism.

Related posts: 

Lt Gov. Mark Darr endorses Romney

I think that many evangelical Christians may have a problem with supporting Mitt Romney who is a Mormon. I think that Romney is a very good speaker and will beat President Obama easily. He is not my favorite candidate though. John Brummett rightly noted that this endorsement by Lt. Governor was sought after by Romney […]

Romney have a chance with evangelicals?

Dr. Richard Land on Mitt Romney Does Mitt Romney Have a Prayer with Evangelicals? By Amy Sullivan Friday, June 3, 2011 When Mitt Romney makes his appearance at Ralph Reed’s Faith & Freedom Conference Friday evening in Washington, he won’t exactly be headed into the lion’s den—but it might seem that way to him. A […]

Candidate #9 Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part Four, 7 Questions Christians Must Ask Before Voting For A Mormon Part C)

Romney’s Faith & Politics Speech (Part 3) This is part 3 of 3 of Governor Mitt Romney’s speech on his Mormon Faith and Politics at the George HW Bush Presidential Library in Texas. __________________________________________________________ The following is written by Rev Sherwood Haisty Jr. of Santa Monica, California. Sherwood has pastored churches in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee […]

Candidate #9 Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part three, 7 Questions Christians Must Ask Before Voting For A Mormon Part B)

Huckabee Apologizes To Mitt Romney For Mormon Question At Des Moines University, 12/12/2007 __________________________________________ The following is written by Rev Sherwood Haisty Jr. of Santa Monica, California. Sherwood has pastored churches in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and California and currently he is the process of finishing up his Masters degree at the Masters Seminary.  I personally […]

Candidate #9 Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part two, 7 Questions Christians Must Ask Before Voting For A Mormon Part A))

Richard Land on Mitt Romney and Mormonism Hannity & Colmes. _____________________________ Deseret News reported yesterday Mitt Romney To Officially Announce Presidential : Mitt Romney will officially launch his presidential candidacy next week in New Hampshire. The Washington Post says: “Romney, who is regarded as the race’s (Republican) frontrunner, will formally announce his presidential campaign next Thursday, June 2 in […]

Candidate #9 Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Hopefuls (Part 1)

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Possible 2012 presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to a group of small business owners on the economy during a visit to Meetze plumbing in Irmo, S.C. Saturday May, 21, 2011 Jim Davenport wrote for the Associated Press on May 21: COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina wasn’t kind to […]

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

Federal Spending Grew More Than Ten Times Faster Than Median Income

October 11, 2011 – 3:38 am

Federal Spending Grew More Than Ten Times Faster Than Median Income

Everyone wants to know more about the budget and here is some key information with a chart from the Heritage Foundation and a video from the Cato Institute.

When federal spending grows faster than Americans’ paychecks, the burden on taxpayers becomes greater. Over the past few decades, middle-income Americans’ earnings have risen only 27 percent, while spending has increased 299 percent.

PERCENT CHANGE OF INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS (2010)

Download

Federal Spending Grew More Than Ten Times Faster Than Median Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and White House Office of Management and Budget.

Chart 3 of 42

In Depth

  • Technical Notes

    The charts in this book are based primarily on data available as of March 2011 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The charts using OMB data display the historical growth of the federal government to 2010 while the charts using CBO data display both historical and projected growth from as early as 1940 to 2084. Projections based on OMB data are taken from the White House Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The charts provide data on an annual basis except… Read More

  • Authors

    Emily GoffResearch Assistant
    Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy StudiesKathryn NixPolicy Analyst
    Center for Health Policy StudiesJohn FlemingSenior Data Graphics Editor

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

“Tip Tuesday” Advice to Gene Simmons (Part 14)

October 11, 2011 – 12:58 am

Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed

 
photo

People Magazine reported:

You can’t always believe what you see on reality TV. Case in point: KISS bassist Gene Simmons finally proposed to longtime girlfriend Shannon Tweed.

Turns out, the proposal scene in Tuesday night’s finale of A&E’s reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels was taped “several months ago,” a source confirmed, and it’s been a rocky road for the pair ever since.

Simmons, 61, and Tweed, 54, were vacationing in Belize when he proclaimed, “you’re the only friend I’ve got. You’re the only one I love … and you’re the only one I ever will love,” before getting down on one knee.

It remains to be seen whether Tweed will be saying “I do” and sticking with it. She did, however, tell PEOPLE in a recent interview that she had moved out of their home and that there was a “slim chance” of them getting back together. “You’re seeing this happy family,” Tweed said, “but in my heart, I am dying.”

The couple, who once described themselves as happily unmarried, have been together for 28 years and have two grown children Nick, 22, and Sophie, 18.

This season of Family Jewels has documented their troubles and family therapy sessions stemming from Simmons’s claim that he has slept with thousands of women. Last month, during a promotional tour, Tweed slammed Simmons for his infidelities and said their relationship had “pretty much unraveled.”

“I need some sort of commitment,” Tweed told PEOPLE, reiterating that their relationship is over if Simmons’s behavior continues. “Something has to give.”

On Monday, Tweed Tweeted that the proposal was “the most shocking moment” of her life.

________________

Marriage is about committment and the benefits of marriage are amazing. Take a look at this article:

Is marriage an old-fashioned, outmoded institution? Is it merely a piece of paper, having no real impact on our lives?

Researchers are finding that marriage has a much greater impact in our lives than many have assumed. This is especially true in the area of adult health and well-being. Sociologist Linda Waite and researcher Maggie Gallagher explain, “The evidence from four decades of research is surprisingly clear: a good marriage is both men’s and women’s best bet for living a long and healthy life.”1 Men and women who are in their first marriages, on average, enjoy significantly higher levels of physical and mental health than those who are either single, divorced or living together. The research on this is very strong.

Leading social scientist, James Q. Wilson, explains:

“Married people are happier than unmarried ones of the same age, not only in the United States, but in at least seventeen other countries where similar inquiries have been made. And there seems to be good reasons for that happiness. People who are married not only have higher incomes and enjoy greater emotional support, they tend to be healthier. Married people live longer than unmarried ones, not only in the United States but abroad.”2

Research conducted at the University of Massachusetts concludes,

“One of the most consistent observations in health research is that the married enjoy better health than those of other [relational] statuses.”3

Dr. Robert Coombs of UCLA reviewed more than 130 empirical studies published in this century on how marriage impacts well-being. He found that these studies indicate “an intimate link between marital status and personal well-being.”4

Alcoholism

Coombs, in his review, found that 70 percent of chronic problem drinkers were either divorced or separated, and only 15 percent were married. Single men are more than three times as likely to die of cirrhosis of the liver.5

Long and Healthy Life

Unmarried people spend twice as much time as patients in hospitals as their married peers and have lower activity levels.6

Research conducted at Erasmus University in Rotterdam reports that “married people have the lowest morbidity [illness] rates, while the divorced show the highest.” Professor Linda Waite of the University of Chicago finds that the “relationship between marriage and death rates has now reached the status of a truism, having been observed across numerous societies and among various social and demographic groups.”7

In Waites’ 1995 presidential address to the Population Association of America, she explained that the health benefits of marriage are so strong that a married man with heart disease can be expected to live, on average, 1400 days longer (nearly four years!) than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. This longer life expectancy is even greater for a married man who has cancer or is 20 pounds overweight compared to his healthy, but unmarried, counterpart. The advantages for women are similar.8

Additional research from Yale University indicates that a married man who smokes more than a pack a day can be expected to live as long as a divorced man who does not smoke. This researcher explains with a touch of humor, “If a man’s marriage is driving him to heavy smoking, he has a delicate statistical decision to make.”9

Dr. Coombs’ research agrees with these findings: “Virtually every study of mortality and marital status shows the unmarried of both sexes have higher death rates, whether by accident, disease, or self-inflicted wounds, and this is found in every country that maintains accurate health statistics.”10

Research published in JAMA finds that cures for cancer are significantly more successful (eight to 17 percent) when a patient is married and being married was comparable to being in an age category 10 years younger.11

Mental Health

Research dating back to 1936 shows that first-time psychiatric admission rates for males suffering from schizophrenia were 5.4 times greater for unmarried men than for married men. Dr. Benjamin Malzberg, the author of this study, concludes, “The evidence seems clear that the married population had, in general, much lower rates of mental disease than any of the other marital groups.”12

More recent research conducted jointly at Yale University and UCLA reports:

One of the most consistent findings in psychiatric epidemiology is that married persons enjoy better health than the unmarried. Researchers have consistently found the highest rates of mental disorder among the divorced and separated, the lowest rates among the married and intermediate rates among the single and widowed. They also found that a cohabiting partner could not replicate these benefits of marriage.13

General Happiness

A study published in the Journal of Marriage and the Family examined the link between personal happiness and marital status in 17 industrialized nations that had “diverse social and institutional frameworks.” This study found:

“married persons have a significantly higher level of happiness than persons who are not married. This effect was independent of financial and heath-oriented protections offered by marriage and was also independent of other control variables including ones for sociodemographic conditions and national character.”14

Increased levels of happiness among the married was found in other studies as well.15

Miscellaneous

Additional research shows that marriage:

  • Provides the highest levels of sexual pleasure and fulfillment for men and women16
  • Protects against feelings of loneliness17
  • Protects women from domestic and general violence18
  • Enhances a parent’s ability to parent19
  • Helps create better, more reliable employees20
  • Increases individual earnings and savings21

Research conducted at the University of Colorado indicates why marriage is so beneficial to adults:

Generally, compared with those who are not married, married individuals eat better, take better care of themselves, and live a more stable, secure and scheduled lifestyle.22

Clearly, married men and women provide better things for society than their unmarried peers. Husbands and wives are not as likely to be a burden to the health care system or be a drain on a company’s health insurance benefits because of their better health and increased ability to recover from illness quicker and more successfully. They are less likely to miss work because of illness. They are not likely to jump from job to job. They are less likely to suffer from alcoholism and other substance abuse and less likely to engage in other risk behaviors. Married women are significantly less likely to be victims of any kind of violence, either by her spouse or by a stranger. They are less lonely and happier. Happier people make better citizens, employees and neighbors. Married people earn and invest more money. They report enjoying the job of parenting better and they are more successful at it. This mountain of social science research tells us marriage is a serious and valuable community treasure.

Copyright © 1996, Focus on the Family Action. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Myths about higher gas prices

October 11, 2011 – 12:06 am

Myths about higher gas prices

Is President Obama right about the reason gas prices are rising?

As Americans across the country gas up their cars for their Memorial Day getaways this weekend, their wallets will take a bigger-than-usual hit. That’s because gas prices are up $1.06 from last year according to a study by AAA. In fact, prices have more than doubled since President Obama took office. And while the media has been slow to demand answers of the President, he has been busy trying to deflect attention away from his incoherent energy policy with a number of gas price-related myths.

Our latest video takes several of these myths head on and puts them to rest. From overstating the impact of green energy to downplaying the devastating impact of his drilling moratorium, the President should spend less time trying to deflect criticism and more time working to ease pain at the pump.

If you’ve heard other myths, let us know in the comments. In the meantime, please help us get the word out about our latest video by sharing it with friends and family.

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

Minimum wage could be eliminating jobs

October 11, 2011 – 12:04 am

Minimum wage could be eliminating jobs

Liberals just don’t have a clue.

The Job-Killing Impact of Minimum Wage Laws

Uploaded by on Jun 14, 2010

Minimum wage laws seem like a good idea, but arbitrarily mandating a certain wage can have terrible consequences. This CF&P Foundation mini-documentary reveals that business are not charities, so if the minimum wage is set above the market level, this eliminates job opportunities — particularly for the less fortunate members of society. Since employees and employers should have freedom of contract, the right minimum wage is zero. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Minimum Wage Hikes Deserve Share of Blame for High Unemployment

Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell

Even though the Obama Administration claimed that squandering $800 billion on so-called stimulus would  keep the joblessness rate below 8 percent, the unemployment rate today is almost 10 percent. There are many reasons for the economy’s tepid performance, including a larger burden of government spending and the dampening effect of future tax rate increases (tax rates will jump significantly on January 1, 2011, when the 2003 tax cuts expire).

A closer look at the unemployment data, though , suggests that minimum wage laws also deserve a big share of the blame. In this Center for Freedom and Prosperity video, a former intern of mine (continuing a great tradition) explains that politicians destroyed jobs when they increased the minimum wage by more than 40 percent over a three-year period.

Mr. Divounguy is correct when he says businesses are not charities and that they only create jobs when they think a worker will generate net revenue. Higher minimum wages, needless to say, are especially destructive for people with poor work skills and limited work experience. This is why young people and minorities tend to suffer most – which is exactly what we see in the government data, with the teenage unemployment rates now at an astounding (and depressing) 26 percent level and blacks suffering from a joblessness rate of more than 15 percent.

In a free society, there should be no minimum wage law. From a philosophical perspective, such requirements interfere with the freedom of contract. In the imperfect world of politics, thought, the best we can hope for is that politicians occasionally do the right thing. Sadly, the recent minimum wage increases that have done so much damage were signed into law by President Bush. It’s worth noting that President Obama’s hands also are dirty on this issue, since he supported the job-killing measure when it passed the Senate in 2007. When the stupid party and the evil party both agree on a certain policy, that’s known as bipartisanship. In the real world, however, it’s called unemployment.

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