A prominent Democrat was explaining to me the other day that Arkansas is neither still a Democratic state nor newly a Republican one. As regards our four congressional districts, he asserted, Arkansas “feels like 2-and-2.”
That sense aside, the state currently goes 3-to-1 for Republicans.
Beyond that, any logical or obvious redrawing of the four congressional districts under the new Census seems to strengthen or preserve the Republican inclinations of three of the four, all but the 4th across southern Arkansas, which now has the only Democratic representative, Mike Ross.
That, then, is the point of the Pig Trail Gerrymander.
That is my name for this absurdly still-viable notion to extend the 4th District northward along a squiggly line from some wilderness area out between Ozark and Alma and run it up narrowly to carve the Democratic-leaning city of Fayetteville out of the otherwise overwhelmingly Republican 3rd District and attach it to the 4th.
This intergalactic idea sprang from a back room all the way across the state from Fayetteville, in eastern Arkansas.
It was not concocted for any reason having to do with either of the affected districts, the 4th or 3rd. Instead it was contrived wholly to try to protect against any further Republicanization of the eastern region’s 1st District, which went Republican last year for the first time since Reconstruction.
Democrats think they can take it back, thus forging the 2-to-2 split they assert as some kind of natural-seeming order.
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Brummett is right when he asserts, “Instead it was contrived wholly to try to protect against any further Republicanization of the eastern region’s 1st District.”
The Republicanization of Arkansas on the federal level has happened at the same time it is happening on the State government level. The way things are going for the Democrats, they will be lucky to keep 40% of the State Reps and Senators in office in 2012. Look around at the states around us. Mississippi has a Democratic controlled House and a Republican Controlled Senate, but every other state (TX, TN, LA, MO, OK) have Republican control. After 2022 the Republicans will have rigged it where we will never have another Democratic Congressman from Arkansas. Every district will have 60% Republicans in it. Look at what length the Democrats are having to go to keep one district competitive (Putting Fayetteville in the South).
Wave of Destruction
Photograph by Mainichi Shimbun, Reuters
A tsunami wave crashes over a street in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, in northeastern Japan on March 11.
The Bible maintains several characteristics that prove it is from God. One of those is the fact that the Bible is accurate in every one of its details. The field of archaeology brings to light this amazing accuracy. (Video Series on Biblical Archaeology, Part 1 of 5)
It is that Altes said he wanted the Bible taught as history because it is the most accurate book ever written, which — if I may dare to say so in ready anticipation of hate mail — is a debatable assertion.
At the very least, can we agree that you cannot behold the Bible as wholly accurate without faith?
The value of the Bible in scholarly instruction is as literature, not as history.
To be sure, there are some things in the Bible which will never be confirmed through archaeology. For example, archaeology has not found any evidence that Abraham lived — but, of course, that’s exactly what you would expect, since in terms of the politics of his day, Abraham was not exactly the most important historical figure. And because they don’t exist, archaeologists are obviously not going to dig up tapes and transcripts of Abraham having a conversation with Sarah, or for that matter with anyone else. All we can legitimately expect form archaeology in matters like this is to show that the events described in the Bible make sense in context. And that, of course, has been done in a very spectacular manner.
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I wonder if skeptics are open to looking at the facts when it comes to what archaeology has to say about the Bible’s accuracy.
Hezekiah’s Siloam Tunnel Inscription. King Hezekiah of Judah ruled from 721 to 686 BC. Fearing a siege by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, Hezekiah preserved Jerusalem’s water supply by cutting a tunnel through 1,750 feet of solid rock from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city walls (2 Kings 20; 2 Chron. 32). At the Siloam end of the tunnel, an inscription, presently in the archaeological museum at Istanbul, Turkey, celebrates this remarkable accomplishment. The tunnel is probably the only biblical site that has not changed its appearance in 2,700 years.
Inside Hezekiah’s Tunnel-B
Inside “Hezekiah’s tunnel,” the 8th century water channel cut through bedrock right under the City of David. The channel brought water from the Gihon spring (on the north-eastern slope of the hill) to the Siloam pool at the southern tip of the city. King Hezekiah ordered construction of this water system to secure a water source inside the city walls in the face of the approaching Assyrian army. When the channel was finished, the entrance to the spring was covered over with rubble to prevent the Assyrians from using (or tampering with) the water.
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An aerial picture shows the devastated city of Minamisanriku, in Miyagi Prefecture, northeast Japan. Radiation levels fell Tuesday at a quake-hit Japanesenuclear power plant after an earlier sharp rise, the chief government spokesman said
Jane “legs a mile long” Russell, Bob Hope and Roy Rogers from Son of Paleface (1952) – and a treat at the very end!
My grandfather, Everette Hatcher Sr. (1903-1988), and I saw Bob Hope do a performance in Memphis in 1982. It was great. I know that we used to watch Hope on TV together and he would always comment how amazing Hope was to be hosting so many TV Shows at his age.
Well, yes and no. Most of the movies he made as a Warner Bros. contract player are unwatchable by persons of sound mind. When he was president, it was easy to laugh at them. The spectacle of the leader of the free world, a.k.a. Secret Service agent Brass Bancroft, deploying an enormous ray gun against an airborne armada was especially hilarious in 1983, the year he announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, that vaporizer of foreign nuclear missiles. “All right, Hayden – focus that inertia projector on ’em and let ’em have it!”
Even when Reagan believed he was acting well, as in “Kings Row,” he betrayed infallible signs of thespian mediocrity: an unwillingness to listen to other performers and an inability to communicate thoughts. Now that he is dead, however, one feels an odd tenderness for the effort he put into every role – particularly in early movies, when he struggled to control a tendency of his lips to writhe around his too-rapid speech.
Ironically, he was transformed into a superb actor when he took on the roles of governor of California, presidential candidate and president of the United States. Then, as never in his movies, he became authoritative, authentic, irresistible to eye and ear. His two greatest performances, in my opinion, were at the Republican National Convention in 1976, when he effortlessly stole Gerald Ford’s thunder as nominee and made the delegates regret their choice, and at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1985, when he delivered the supreme speech of his presidency.
I asked him once if he had any nostalgia for the years he was nuzzling up to Ann Sheridan and Doris Day on camera. He gestured around the Oval Office. “Why should I? I have the biggest stage in the world, right here!”
Pete Leabo / AP
No. 27: A halfcourt shot KOs the champs
Midwest Regional semifinals, March 14, 1981 — Arkansas trailed defending champion Louisville 73-72 with five seconds remaining, but guard U.S. Reed was stuck trying to wind through defenders and was unable to pass. So he launched a 49-foot heave that found the bottom of the net. “Before the game I was shooting long shots in warmups,” he said. “They were so long the guys in the line were saying, ‘What are you doing?’ I was saying I may have to hit a long shot at the end of the game. You never know.”
n pictures: Japan earthquake and tsunami
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At least 300 people are already confirmed to have died but many are still missing.
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) seems to fight back tears while listening to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol March 9, 2011 in Washington, DC. Gillard emphasized the long and strong bond between her country and the United States.
Hunter Hatcher at Looney Bin in Little Rock Last Night
Last night (March 16, 2011) at the Looney Bin in Little Rock. I must say that the other 10 comics were just not funny at all. Hunter got the most laughs by far. Here is a joke he did to finish off the night.
Matt Jones skit from 1/14/2011 show at Luigi’s Pizza in Bryant, Arkansas
I wonder if the speaker of the house got to read Gene Lyons article (that is mentioned below)which accuses him and other Republicans of the main reason the federal debt is so out of control today!!!
Brian Riedl, Senior Domestic and Economic Policy Analyst at The Heritage Foundation, discusses how President-elect Obama can keep his campaign pledge of fiscal discipline and the need to make tough choices about government spending.
Riedl’s budget research has been featured in front-page stories and editorials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. He has discussed budget policy on NBC, CBS, PBS, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. He also participates in the bipartisan “Fiscal Wake-Up Tour,” which holds town hall meetings across America focusing on the looming crisis in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Dissecting the Myths
The data contradict many popular myths about federal tax cuts and the rapidly expanding federal deficit.
Myth #1: The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts wiped out the $5.6 trillion surplus for 2002–2011.
Fact: They caused just 14 percent of the swing from projected surpluses to actual deficits.
The budget surplus peaked at $236 billion in 2000. However, Senator John Kerry (D–MA), among others, has criticized President George W. Bush for having “taken a $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see.”[1] The critics have pointed specifically to the $1.7 trillion in tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 as the leading creator of deficits. However, the numbers tell a different story.
First, the $5.6 trillion surplus never actually existed. It represents the cumulative 2002–2011 budget surplus projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in early 2001. Instead, the United States is now set to run a $6.1 trillion deficit for 2002–2011—a swing of $11.7 trillion. The surplus projection itself was completely unrealistic. It assumed that the late-1990s economic and stock market bubbles would continue forever and generate record-high tax revenues. It assumed no recessions, no terrorist attacks, no wars, and no natural disasters. It also assumed that discretionary spending would fall to 1930s levels as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP).
It is possible to diagnose the specific causes of the lost surplus. Since the 2001 budget surplus projection, the CBO has published 28 baseline updates. Each update specified the causes of the deteriorating surplus or expanding deficit since the previous update. Combined, the 28 updates identify the causes of the $11.7 trillion swing. As Chart 1 shows, these causes are:
Economic and technical revisions ($3.8 trillion or 33 percent of the swing). Most of these arose from CBO’s early 2001 budget projections understandably not anticipating two recessions and two major stock market corrections over the decade.
The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts ($1.7 trillion or 14 percent). These tax cuts receive most of the blame for the lost surplus, but are responsible for just one-seventh of it.[2] And the tax cuts for “the rich”—those earning more than $250,000 annually—account for just 4 percent of the saving.
The 2009 stimulus ($0.7 trillion or 6 percent). The stimulus plays a significant role in the 2009 through 2011 budget deficits, but a small role in the overall deficits over the decade.
Other new spending ($3.7 trillion or 32 percent). Defense spending accounts for $2 trillion, other discretionary spending for $700 billion, and new entitlement spending for $1 trillion. The largest entitlement expansions came from the new Medicare drug entitlement, financial bailouts, farm subsidies, and refundable tax credits.[3]
New net interest costs ($1.4 trillion or 12 percent). Instead of the federal government paying off the entire national debt by 2009 as the CBO had projected in 2001, rising debt meant steeply rising net interest costs.
Other tax cuts ($0.4 trillion or 3 percent). This includes the 2008 tax rebates, annual tax extension packages, and the patches to the alternative minimum tax (AMT).[4]
Japanese authorities have established a temporary radiation cleaning shelter in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. Japan’s Emperor Akihito has delivereda rare address to a jittery nation in dread of nuclear catastrophe as millions struggled in desperate conditions after quake and tsunami disasters.«
I have made no secret of the fact that Ronald Wilson Reagan was my favorite president. We named our son Wilson after him. He could be funny when the occasion called for it and be serious when he needed to. In the video clip below he talks about the sacrifice of those who died on D-Day. Below that I have included some of Reagan’s humor.
Reagan’s D- Day speech
Reagan’s humor
I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. congress
***Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
[ Funny Government Quotes]***Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his. (During 1980 presidential campaign)
[ Funny Political Quotes]***Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.
[ Funny Government Quotes] [ Funny Economics Quotes]***Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.
[ Funny Political Quotes]***A Hippie is someone who walks like Tarzan, looks like Jane and smells like Cheetah. (Second book of Insults, 1981, ed. Nancy McPhee)
[ Funny Character Quotes]***Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
[ Funny Political Quotes]***I’ve talked to you on a number of occasions about the economic problems our nation faces, and I am prepared to tell you it’s in a hell of a mess—we’re not connected to the press room yet, are we?
[ Funny Government Quotes] [ Funny Economics Quotes]***The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.
***
Douglas C. Pizac / Associated Press
No. 26: Bo Kimble shoots ‘em left-handed for Hank
March 16, 1990 — Hank Gathers, the nation’s leading scorer and rebounder as a junior, was part of Loyola Marymount’s 122 point-per-game offense when he collapsed during a conference tournament game and later died. His teammate, Bo Kimble, shot his first free throw during each of the Lions’ three NCAA tourney games left-handed in honor of Gathers. He made all three in a surpring run for the No. 11 seed.
1980 Presidential Debate between Reagan and Carter
Presidential Debate with Jimmy Carter
10/28/80
MS. HINERFELD
Good evening.
I’m Ruth Hinerfeld of the League of Women Voters Education Fund. Next Tuesday is election day. Before going to the polls, voters want to understand the issues and know the candidates’ positions. Tonight, voters will have an opportunity to see and hear the major party candidates for the Presidency state their views on issues that affect us all. The League of Women Voters is proud to present this Presidential Debate.
Our moderator is Howard K. Smith.
MR. SMITH
Thank you, Ms. Hinerfeld.
The League of Women Voters is pleased to welcome to the Cleveland, Ohio, Convention Center Music Hall President Jimmy, Carter, the Democratic Party’s candidate for re-election to the Presidency, and Governor Ronald Reagan of California, the Republican Party’s candidate for the Presidency. The candidates will debate questions on domestic, economic, foreign policy, and national security issues.
The questions are going to be posed by a panel of distinguished journalists who are here with me. They are: Marvin Stone, the editor of U.S. News and World Report; Harry Ellis, national correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor: William Hilliard, assistant managing editor of the Portland Oregonian; Barbara Walters, correspondent, ABC News.
The ground rules for this, as agreed by you gentlemen, are these: Each panelist down here will ask a question, the same question, to each of the two candidates. After the two candidates have answered, a panelist will ask followup questions to try to sharpen the answers. The candidates will then have an opportunity each to make a rebuttal. That will constitute the first half of the debate, and I will state the rules for the second half later on.
Some other rules: The candidates are not permitted to bring prepared notes to the podium, but are permitted to make notes during the debate. If the candidates exceed the allotted time agreed on, I will reluctantly but certainly interrupt. We ask the Convention Center audience here to abide by one ground rule. Please do not applaud or express approval or disapproval during the debate.
Now, based on a toss of the coin. Governor Reagan will respond to the first question from Marvin Stone.
MR. STONE
Governor, as you’re well aware, the question of war and peace has emerged as a central issue in this campaign in the give-and-take of recent weeks. President Carter’s been criticized for responding late to aggressive Soviet impulses, for insufficient buildup of our Armed Forces, and a paralysis in dealing with Afghanistan and Iran. You have been criticized for being all too quick to advocate the use of lots of muscle, military action, to deal with foreign crises, Specifically, what are the differences between the two of you on the uses of American military power?
GOVERNOR REAGAN
I don’t know what the differences might be, because I don’t know what Mr. Carter’s policies are. I do know what he has said about mine. And I’m only here to tell you that I believe with all my heart that our first priority must be world peace, and that use of force is always and only a last resort, when everything else has failed, and then only with regard to our national security.
Now, I believe, also, that meeting this mission, this responsibility for preserving the peace, which I believe is a responsibility peculiar to our country, that we cannot shirk our responsibility as the leader of the Free World, because we’re the only one that can do it. And therefore, the burden of maintaining the peace falls on us. And to maintain that peace requires strength. America has never gotten in a war because we were too strong. We can get into a war by letting events get out of hand, as they have in the last 3 1/2 years under the foreign policies of this administration of Mr. Carter’s, until we’re faced each time with a crisis. And good management in preserving the peace requires that we control the events and try to intercept before they become a crisis.
But I have seen four wars in my lifetime. I’m a father of sons: I have a grandson. I don’t ever want to see another generation of young Americans bleed their lives into sandy beachheads in the Pacific, or rice paddies and jungles in Asia, or the muddy, bloody battlefields of Europe.
MR. SMITH
Mr. Stone, do you have a followup question for the Governor?
MR. STONE
Yes. Governor, we’ve been hearing that the defense buildup that you would associate yourself with would cost tens of billions of dollars more than is now contemplated. In assuming that the American people are ready to bear this cost, then, nevertheless keep asking the following question: How do you reconcile huge increases in military outlays with your promise of substantial tax cuts and of balancing the budget, which in this fiscal year, the one that just ended, ran more than $60 billion in the red?
GOVERNOR REAGAN
Mr. Stone, I have submitted an economic plan that I’ve worked out in concert with a number of fine economists in this country, all of whom approve it, and believe that over a 5-year projection this plan can permit the extra spending for needed refurbishing of our defensive posture, that it can provide for a balanced budget by 1983, if not earlier, and that we can afford — along with the cuts that I have proposed in Government spending — we can afford the tax cuts I have proposed — and probably, mainly because Mr. Carter’s economic policy, has built into the next 5 years, and on beyond that, a tax increase that will be taking $86 billion more next year out of the people’s pockets than was taken this year. And my tax cut does not come close to eliminating that $86 billion increase. I’m only reducing the amount of the increase.
In other words, what I’m talking about is not putting Government back to getting less money than Government’s been getting, but simply cutting, the increase in spending.
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The quake was felt in the capital Tokyo, where workers evacuated swaying buildings, trains and underground services were halted, plants closed and the international airport temporarily shut.
It is that Altes said he wanted the Bible taught as history because it is the most accurate book ever written, which — if I may dare to say so in ready anticipation of hate mail — is a debatable assertion.
At the very least, can we agree that you cannot behold the Bible as wholly accurate without faith?
The value of the Bible in scholarly instruction is as literature, not as history.
I know that the Bible is not a history book, but I do believe that when it speaks about history that it is accurate. I am going to start a series today that does compare places in the Bible that speak of historical events where we actually do have other secular historical sources. Then compare the two accounts.
As time rolls on the archaeologist spade does its work, and now more than ever before we have more light being shed on past events. Below is a great example.
The Babylonian Chronicle
of Nebuchadnezzars Siege of Jerusalem
This clay tablet is a Babylonian chronicle recording events from 605-594BC. It was first translated in 1956 and is now in the British Museum. The cuneiform text on this clay tablet tells, among other things, 3 main events:
1. The Battle of Carchemish (famous battle for world supremacy where Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated Pharoah Necho of Egypt, 605 BC.),
2. The accession to the throne of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Chaldean, and
3. The capture of Jerusalem on the 16th of March, 598 BC.
We are going to compare the record of this Babylonian clay tablet, as translated into English by scholars, with the account recorded in the Bible. About the capture of Jerusalem the clay tablet reads:
“In the seventh month (of Nebuchadnezzar-599 BC.) in the month Chislev (Nov/Dec) the king of Babylon assembled his army, and after he had invaded the land of Hatti (Syria/Palestine) he laid seige to the city of Judah. On the second day of the month of Adara ( 16th of March) he conquered the city and took the king (Jehoiachin) prisoner. He installed in his place a king (Zedekiah) of his own choice, and after he had received rich tribute, he sent (them) forth to Babylon.”
And now we will look at the record of the Babylonian invasion in the Book of II Kings and compare the two:
II Kings 24:7-17 And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook ofEgypt to the River Euphrates. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushtathe daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it.Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
President Reagan and Nancy Reagan Reagan dancing with (left to right) Stubby Kaye, Shirley Jones, Marvin Hamlisch and Lee Roy Reams during a rehearsal for “In Performance at the White House.” 8/5/88.
My University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Trojans played a great game last night, but just a great shot in the closing seconds from way out allowed their opponents to get to overtime. The Trojans can be proud!!!!It was the first game in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and it has been 21 years since they were in the tournament. I remember when Mike Newell took the Trojans to the tournament 3 of the 6 years he was here. I didn’t know if UALR would ever get back and I am glad they did.
The march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history
At the same time, we invite the Soviet Union to consider with us how the competition of ideas and values — which it is committed to support — can be conducted on a peaceful and reciprocal basis. For example, I am prepared to offer President Brezhnev an opportunity to speak to the American people on our television if he will allow me the same opportunity with the Soviet people. We also suggest that panels of our newsmen periodically appear on each other’s television to discuss major events.
Now, I don’t wish to sound overly optimistic, yet the Soviet Union is not immune from the reality of what is going on in the world. It has happened in the past — a small ruling elite either mistakenly attempts to ease domestic unrest through greater repression and foreign adventure, or it chooses a wiser course. It begins to allow its people a voice in their own destiny. Even if this latter process is not realized soon, I believe the renewed strength of the democratic movement, complemented by a global campaign for freedom, will strengthen the prospects for arms control and a world at peace.
I have discussed on other occasions, including my address on May 9th, the elements of Western policies toward the Soviet Union to safeguard our interests and protect the peace. What I am describing now is a plan and a hope for the long term — the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people. And that’s why we must continue our efforts to strengthen NATO even as we move forward with our Zero-Option initiative in the negotiations on intermediate-range forces and our proposal for a one-third reduction in strategic ballistic missile warheads.
Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that’s now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets, but a test of wills and ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated.
No. 29: Mike Miller sparks a Final Four run
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Chuck Burton / Associated Press
No. 29: Mike Miller sparks a Final Four run
NCAA East Regional opener, March 17, 2000 — Florida trailed No. 12 seed Butler 68-67 with 8.1 seconds remaining. So the Gators went for a “Home Run.” The designed play called for Teddy Dupay to dish to freshman Mike Miller, who cut across the lane and pulled up for a short jumper that rattled through the hoop as the buzzer sounded.
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Little known presidential facts:
Abraham Lincoln was the only presidential candidate who was not a Mason in the 1860 election.i
President James Buchanan (1791-1868) quietly but consistently bought slaves in Washington, D.C., and then set them free in Pennsylvania.g
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In Ichihara giant fireballs rise from a burning oil refinery. Thousands of people have also been evacuated from the area around a nuclear power plant, over fears its cooling system was damaged.
The last few weeks former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has been all over the news. Of course, the sudden burst of media corresponds to the release of his latest book. But a former governor of a rural state does not get a lot of press for a book release without something more enticing.
Thus, we are subjected to a long and painful tease, hinting that he might run for president again in 2012. In one interview with CBS and pushed out by his political action committee, he said he “very well may” run again. In a media availability at the National Press Club, he said running for president is “very much an option that he is considering” and that he is “seriously and genuinely contemplating it.”
I could list all the quotes but you get the idea. Of course, he is very careful not to go too far, which he admits is motivated by the fact that if he does, he has to give up his multi-million dollar contract with Fox News for his weekly cable talk show as well as his daily radio broadcast with Citadel Media. Just last week, Fox suspended their contracts with both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as they are “serious concerning” running for president.
In this respect, Huckabee is stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. But this delicate dance between hinting at a presidential run while maintaining his media empire is becoming increasingly painful to watch.
I think Mike Huckabee is going to run for president, but I think he’s going to finesse the decision as long as possible to hang onto the money he makes as a non-candidate with his radio show (now on 560 stations) and his show on Fox News, which recently booted two commentators who’ve made not much more presidential noise than Huckabee.
He’s found you can say just about anything about Obama and get away with it, while firing up the base.
Much as he likes money, he probably suspects there’s a REAL pot of gold at the end of a presidential rainbow, not to mention all those limos, jets, gifts and perks he loves so much.
Wonder if the campaign HQ will be in his putative home state of Florida? It sure is remarkable how often he and Janet are seen around Arkansas. Does DF&A monitor that sort of thing when people live here but claim residency elsewhere to avoid income taxes.
________________________________________________ I think that Huckabee will run, but will put it off in order to make more money. The funny thing about Brantley’s last sentence is that liberals just can’t have it both ways. They praise Dale Bumpers for raising the state income tax to 7% and they get made when wealthy Arkansans leave the state for places like Texas, Tennessee and Florida that do not have a state income tax.
Reagan: Freedoms are always preferred by the people
The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster the infrastructure of democracy, the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universities, which allows a people to choose their own way to develop their own culture, to reconcile their own differences through peaceful means.
This is not cultural imperialism, it is providing the means for genuine self-determination and protection for diversity. Democracy already flourishes in countries with very different cultures and historical experiences. It would be cultural condescension, or worse, to say that any people prefer dictatorship to democracy. Who would voluntarily choose not to have the right to vote, decide to purchase government propaganda handouts instead of independent newspapers, prefer government to worker-controlled unions, opt for land to be owned by the state instead of those who till it, want government repression of religious liberty, a single political party instead of a free choice, a rigid cultural orthodoxy instead of democratic tolerance and diversity?
Since 1917 the Soviet Union has given covert political training and assistance to Marxist-Leninists in many countries. Of course, it also has promoted the use of violence and subversion by these same forces. Over the past several decades, West European and other Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, and leaders have offered open assistance to fraternal, political, and social institutions to bring about peaceful and democratic progress. Appropriately, for a vigorous new democracy, the Federal Republic of Germany’s political foundations have become a major force in this effort.
We in America now intend to take additional steps, as many of our allies have already done, toward realizing this same goal. The chairmen and other leaders of the national Republican and Democratic Party organizations are initiating a study with the bipartisan American political foundation to determine how the United States can best contribute as a nation to the global campaign for democracy now gathering force. They will have the cooperation of congressional leaders of both parties, along with representatives of business, labor, and other major institutions in our society. I look forward to receiving their recommendations and to working with these institutions and the Congress in the common task of strengthening democracy throughout the world.
It is time that we committed ourselves as a nation — in both the pubic and private sectors — to assisting democratic development.We plan to consult with leaders of other nations as well. There is a proposal before the Council of Europe to invite parliamentarians from democratic countries to a meeting next year in Strasbourg. That prestigious gathering could consider ways to help democratic political movements.
This November in Washington there will take place an international meeting on free elections. And next spring there will be a conference of world authorities on constitutionalism and self-goverment hosted by the Chief Justice of the United States. Authorities from a number of developing and developed countries — judges, philosophers, and politicians with practical experience — have agreed to explore how to turn principle into practice and further the rule of law.
Carol Francavilla / Associated Press
No. 28: Tate George buries Clemson
East Regional semifinals, March 22, 1990 — With one second remaining against Clemson, Connecticut pulled off a minor miracle. The No. 1 seed trailed 70-69 — blowing a 19-point second-half lead – when Scott Burrell launched a 94-foot pass to Tate George. The senior guard spun away from defender Sean Tyson and sunk a 16-foot jumper that gave UConn a remarkable win. Burrell was amazed. “I never thought we’d have enough time to do it.”
In pictures: Japan earthquake and tsunami
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One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded has struck off the coast of north-east Japan, causing widespread destruction. Many casualties are feared.
NCAA Championship game, April 4, 1983 — Dereck Wittenburg was running out of time. Tied 52-52, N.C. State – a No. 6 seed, playing powerhouse Houston with two future NBA stars in Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler – had a chance to pull off a huge upset, but Wittenburg was scrambling after a pass Drexler knocked away. With 3 seconds remaining and from 30 feet out, Wittenburg launched a shot that fell about a foot short. Cue teammate Lorenzo Charles, who caught the ball and dunked it in one motion, just before time expired.
Everybody in Little Rock is buzzing over our University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR) Trojans going to the NCAA playoffs. Tonight the boys play at 5:30pm and the girls play this weekend.
Dave Barton from wallbuilders.com shows how George Washington was a Christian rather than a deist.
In the next few days I will post portions of the speech (which really was just a newspaper article) but since it is so long I will put an outline of the speech that is provided by David Barton of Wallbuilders.
Debt.
“Avoid occasions of expense by cultivating peace . . . .”
“Timely disbursements to prepare for danger” are better than “greater disbursements to repel it.”
Avoid debt: in time of peace, pay off debts..
Public opinion should “cooperate” with their representatives to pay off debt.
Some taxes are necessary even though “inconvenient and unpleasant.
With this type of mindset, what do you think the founding fathers would think of our federal governement’s spending and taxing habits today?
Take a look at Rand Paul’s proposal to cut the budget deficit by 1/3 in one year:
What do you think? Vote now in our poll below and leave your comments in the section below.
(WHAS11) – In what his office terms as a way to begin a conversation with other senators about cutting the deficit, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is proposing $500 billion in spending cuts, including an 83 percent cut to the Department of Education and eliminating some government agencies altogether.
In an interview with WHAS11, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says Paul’s budget cutting measure would “decimate” education.
“I think we have to invest in education,” Duncan said when asked about Paul’s plan, “We have to educate our way to a better economy.”
In a 36 page overview of the spending cut plan, Paul proposes rolling back spending levels to 2008 levels and eliminating the most wasteful programs.
Though Paul says 85 percent of the current government funding would remain in place, he wants to eliminate – among others – the Departments of Education, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development, the Corporation for Public Broadacasting and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, among other agencies and programs.
“This is the first step of many, needed to confront the biggest threat to our national security – our country’s perpetual debt,” Paul said in a videotaped statement posted on his Senate YouTube account.
“My proposal includes an overall rollback to 2008 pre-Stimulus spending levels,” Paul continued, “plus 10 percent cuts in some defense spending, and at least 20 percent cuts to a number of other department and agencies like NASA, TSA, Agriculture, and Department of Energy. My proposal also includes elimination of those that have gone beyond their usefulness or are not fulfilling their stated missions like Department of Education, GPO, and International aid programs.”
No agency is spared in Paul’s plan, which is also aimed at restraining government from what Paul views as an overreach beyond what the U.S. Constitution allows.
Paul’s Proposed Cuts
Legislative Branch – 23%
Judicial Branch – 32%
Agriculture (including food stamps) – 30%
Commerce – 54%
Defense – 6.5%
Education – 83%
Health and Human Services – 26%
Homeland Security – 43% (and Coast Guard would transfer to Defense Department)
The National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Md., has on display one of Washington’s lower dentures—made from gold, ivory and lead, as well as human and animal teeth.
— The only time Washington traveled out of the country was to Barbados in 1751 with his brother Lawrence who was suffering from tuberculosis.
The Daily Hatch 