Yearly Archives: 2011

True Grit:Best Movie made about Arkansas

January 5, 2011 – 9:29 pm

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Linda Caillouet reported in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today in her column that True Grit author Charles Portis of Little Rock spent News Year Day watching the film with longtime pals Ron Farrar and Phyllis Brandon. Caillouet observed:

The trio go way back — they all studied journalism together at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and all worked on the student newspaper, The Traveler, with Farrar serving as editor.
Portis’ New Year’s Day trip to the Little Rock theater was the first time he’d seen the Coen brothers’ remake of the 1969 film, which starred John Wayne and Glen Campbell, but added he might catch it again sometime in the future.
No one in the half-full theater — except the pair of pals he went with — knew the noted novelist was among the audience watching the film.

My 14 yr old son Wilson and I loved the movie, and I especially loved the music. I had told Wilson that the author of the book was born in Arkansas and has lived for many years in Little Rock. Furthermore, I told him that the original story took place in Arkansas and Oklahoma. He quickly asked me if it was filmed here, and I had to tell him that it was filmed in New Mexico.

Max Brantley in the Arkansas Times Blog  (“Why True Grit wasn’t filmed in Arkansas,” Dec 22) quotes Ethan Coen:

You know what? That’s one thing that’s not faithful to the novel. The landscape is a total cheat, but we kind of thought people will think it’s a Western, and some things you just can’t mess with. People want that.

Wilson is still mad about that, but we both enjoyed the movie a lot. It did have a few curse words, and there was one scene of violence. However, there were many biblical references throughout the movie, and the issue of justice was highlighted. I did come away with the same opinion that John Brummett did when he wanted to choose the fictional Mattie Ross “Arkansan of the Year.”

True Grit has to be the best movie made about Arkansas. I can not think of any other that comes close up to this point of time. Many movies have had small parts of Arkansas in them (Gone with the Wind, The Firm), but none of the movies that focus on Arkansas (White Lightning, Sling Blade, and  The Legend of Boggy Creek) are better than True Grit. I had to get over my bias toward Boggy Creek since my wife’s uncle Hub Dugan was actually in the movie playing the monster (not kidding).

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The Lawmaker I am profiling today is Jeremy Gillam.

About Jeremy.

Jeremy has been married to his wife, Carissa, for ten years. They have two wonderful boys, Alexander, age 5, and Jaxon, age 2.

  • Owner of Gillam Farms
  • Graduate of Beebe High School
  • Attended ASU Beebe and Jonesboro where I received degrees in Criminology and Psychology
  • Member of the ASU Beebe Development Council
  • Member of the White County Farm Bureau Board of Directors
  • Arkansas Farm Bureau Horticulture Chairman
  • Served on the American Farm Bureau Horticulture Committee
  • Recently named to the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Advisory Committee
  • Member of Trinity Baptist Church
  • Deacon at Trinity Baptist Church

Issues.

Although there are many issues that confront our district I believe that we must focus on the two things that will most immediately impact our day to day lives.

Economic Development is the key to growing the opportunities that our district needs. As a business owner, I know how difficult it can be to survive in these difficult times. Conventional thinking is not going to be sufficient now. We need leaders that can think outside of the box and bring new economic growth to our communities.

Improving our Infrastructure is something I believe will impact the daily lives of our citizens in a very real and dramatic way. I believe that we need to improve more than just our roads. We need to improve our communications infrastructure as well as our basic utilities.

 

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

Unconfirmed Quote attributed to Ben Franklin

January 5, 2011 – 4:36 pm

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Part 2 David Barton on Founding Fathers were they deists?
Not James Wilson and William Samuel Johnson

In the next few weeks I will be looking at this issue of unconfirmed quotes that people think that the Founding Fathers actually said and the historical evidence concerning them. David Barton has collected these quotes and tried to confirm them over the last 20 years. These unconfirmed quotes are used every single day and unfortunately my group of conservatives have been guilty of using them more than the liberals have. This website HALT (HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com) includes the T for the word ‘truth.” I want to always tell it like it is and that includes this fact: Conservative Republicans will be more likely than their liberal counterparts to  stand up today in state legislatures all across the country and use quotes that have not been confirmed with original sources linking them to the Founding Fathers.

6. Whosoever shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world. — Benjamin Franklin (unconfirmed)

Franklin knew quite well the value of Christianity to society. In the context of teaching history to the youth of Philadelphia, he said:

History will also afford the frequent opportunities of showing the necessity of a public religion, from its usefulness to the public; the advantage of a religious character among private persons; the mischiefs of superstition, &c. and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern.

This is not to say that Franklin was a Christian; he did not believe in the divinity of Christ. This is easily documented. However, he was well aware of the utility of religion in general and Christianity specifically. In a letter to his daughter, Franklin stated:

Go constantly to church, whoever preaches. The act of devotion in the Common Prayer Book is your principal business there, and if properly attended to, will do more towards amending the heart than sermons generally can do. For they were composed by men of much greater piety and wisdom, than our common composers of sermons can pretend to be; and therefore I wish you would never miss the prayer days; yet I do not mean you should despise sermons, even of the preachers you dislike, for the discourse is often much better than the man, as sweet and clear waters come through very dirty earth. I am the more particular on this head, as you seemed to express a little before I came away some inclination to leave our church, which I would not have you do.

A key phrase in our unconfirmed quote is “primitive Christianity.” Franklin, like Jefferson, felt the true doctrines of Christ had been perverted. Just days before his death, Franklin wrote to the Reverend Ezra Stiles:

As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think his system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is like to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doctrines more respected and more observed; especially as I do not perceive, that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any peculiar marks of his displeasure.

Moreover it was Franklin who made the famous appeal for prayer at the Constitutional Convention-an idea which was implemented shortly after the first congress convened. Madison’s notes of the convention offer these words:

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better that the builders of Babel.

Franklin spoke favorably and often on the role of religion in America. However, while the questionable quote may have been his, Franklin’s writings are well-known and it is unlikely that anything new will surface.

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Today I am profiling State Lawmaker David Sanders.

About David J. Sanders

For David, standing up for our conservative values is a way of life, and it starts at home. He and his wife Rebecca, a teacher, have five children: Abigail, 11, Noah, 9, Isaac, 8, Elijah, 2.5 and Levi, who was born last October.He is an active member of Little Rock’s First Baptist Church, where he is an ordained deacon. David has spent the last four years working in Christian education as the director of development for the Arkansas Baptist School System, a K-12 Christian college preparatory school in West Little Rock.

After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1997, he put his beliefs in to action when he went to work for the people of Arkansas in the Governor’s Office. Then, he left government and politics. For six years, David worked for Johnson Controls, Inc., one of the country’s leading energy services companies.

During that time he also started another career, which allowed him to become a leading conservative voice in Arkansas.

In 2000, Stephens Media hired David as a columnist. Twice a week, for nearly a decade, his column ran in more than 25 newspapers statewide. Two years later, Arkansas Business named David one of the state’s top leaders under 40-years old.

He also took our conservative values to the airwaves, first as a panelist on AETN’s ARKANSAS WEEK and then as the producer and host of Unconventional Wisdom, his award-winning public affairs program. His leadership was recognized outside the state as well.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE have published David’s conservative commentary. In May 2005, he was honored with the prestigious Robert D. Novak Fellowship.

Along with raising a family with his wife and working in business and education, standing up for “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” has been David’s fulltime job. He is a member of the Arkansas Right to Life, National Rifle Association and Club for Growth.

David has led on so many important issues. Now he wants to represent you in the Legislature so that he can fight to strengthen our families and against policies that could bankrupt our state. Like you, he wants Arkansas to be the Land of Opportunity.

I have enjoyed reading David’s articles over the years. Here is one below:

Taking on the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming (full column)

January 7, 2009

By David J. Sanders

A little review: A group called the Center for Climate Strategies held undue influence over the Arkansas Governor’s Commission on Global Warming and was forced onto the commission without any serious debate.

CCS acts at the behest of its wealthy donors who pay for their work to carry out its aggressive advocacy agenda. Here’s how the scheme works:

CCS helps set up a state-based global warming policy study group and then gets hired to direct it. The group will adopt one of CCS’s canned policy reports. Then, the policy group’s members lobby their state government to adopt controversial and costly environmental policies.

The GCGW reproduced one of CCS’s reports, which contained 54 policy recommendations and carried a price tag of $3.7 billion.

The governor’s office supplied a copy of CCS’s contract with the state, signed on Oct. 31. 2008. There was little explanation as to why CCS had begun working months before the commission was hurriedly pressured to hire the group at its first meeting.

But new information sheds more light on CCS’s heavy-hand, casting further doubt on the fidelity of the commission’s processes and policy recommendations.

On Monday, Dr. Richard Ford, commission member and economist and tenured faculty member at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, thumbed through a notebook on his desk, stopping at a copy of the law — Act 696 — that set up the global warming commission.

“Right here,” he said, pointing to the law’s emergency clause. “It says that ‘it is imperative that Arkansas study the scientific data … to determine whether global warming is an immediate threat to the citizens in the State of Arkansas.’ We did not do that.”

According to Ford, the only economist on the commission, the group wasn’t allowed to do what it was instructed by law to do. He explained that the commission never “studied or even debated the scientific data” on global warming.

So why would a commission set up to study and make policy recommendations about global warming not study it? It’s simple; CCS wouldn’t allow it, according to a memo entitled “Proposal to Develop an Arkansas Climate Action Plan” sent to Morril Harriman, Gov. Beebe’s chief of staff on June 27, 2007.

Under the heading “Participant Guidelines,” the memo stated, “Participants will not debate the science of climate change or the directive of the Act, but will instead provide leadership and vision for how Arkansas will rise to the challenges and opportunities of addressing climate change.”

This information was deleted from a similar memo on the GCGW’s Web site.

When asked about CCS’s insistence to limit debate, a governor’s spokesman tried to justify it by claiming that it wasn’t the commission’s job to debate climate change (Later he admitted that in spite of CCS’s “standards of conduct,” it wasn’t the policy of the governor’s office that debate on climate change be stifled.)

The memo also contained a projected budget totaling $435,383 for CCS’s cost to work with the commission. According to the governor’s office, the state only paid $50,000 of the total amount. The memo stated that CCS’s “group of private foundation donors” would “share” the rest of the cost.

The governor’s spokesman didn’t know who paid the remaining cost … of the commission that, mind you, was set up by law. He, instead, encouraged me to contact CCS.

But in the GCGW’s final report, a handful of donors, who are widely viewed as global warming alarmists or who have close ties to liberal causes, are identified as having paid the rest of Arkansas’ bill. The Blue Moon Fund, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, New York Community Trust, Energy Foundation, and the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation are all listed.

It’s becoming clearer: CCS helped set up the GCGW, then got hired to advise the group, limited the terms of the debate, pushed its policies, which were eventually adopted, and then found liberal donors sympathetic to the cause to pay the bill.

A bargain? No. A ruse? Yes.
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in David Barton, Unconfirmed Quotes of Founders | Comments (0)

Gun Control working?

January 5, 2011 – 3:55 pm

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John Stossel report “Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime

Both John Brummett and Max Brantley have made it clear that they support gun control. I am going to start a series today debunking popular myths about guns and gun control.

During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.

4. States that allow registered citizens to carry concealed weapons have lower crime rates than those that don’t.

This happens to be true. The 31 states that have “shall issue” laws allowing private citizens to carry concealed weapons have, on average, a 24 percent lower violent crime rate, a 19 percent lower murder rate and a 39 percent lower robbery rate than states that forbid concealed weapons. In fact, the nine states with the lowest violent crime rates are all right-to-carry states. Remarkably, guns are used for self-defense more than 2 million times a year, three to five times the estimated number of violent crimes committed with guns.

Today I am profiling State Lawmaker Stephen Meeks. Here is his story:
I grew up in Springhill and graduated from Greenbrier High School in 1988. The summer following high school I joined the US Army Reserve and attended basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. 

The following spring my father’s job transferred us to Jacksonville, Florida, where I attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville.  I received an A.S. Degree in Telecommunication Engineering Technology and an A.A. Degree. Following college I worked for a number of years as computer technician.

I served  two terms as president of the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society, taught a continuing education class at Jacksonville University and as an adjunct astronomy professor for Fl. Community College. I also served as a subject matter expert at several Space Shuttle launches.

I eventually left the computer field for a chance to teach 3rd and then 4th grade at a Christian elementary school. In 2003 I started what was one of my more enjoyable positions as an operations manager for one of the top 100 movie theaters in the country. By the time I left in 2006, I was responsible for the hiring, training and scheduling of our over 100 employees.

In Sept. 2005 I married Jennifer my first and only wife. In July 2006 we returned to Arkansas and the following year, with help from my cousin, we built our home. In July 2009, we had our first child, Rebecca.
Family Photographs
A few photographs of my family to help you get to know me better.
Jennifer and I visiting relatives in Florida. At the pumpkin patch. Me, sister Kelly, and David
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Gun Control | Comments (0)

Is Mike Ross a Conservative who helped pass a Liberal Healthcare Bill?

January 5, 2011 – 12:48 am

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(John Stossel on healthcare bill 7 min)

The Republicans are moving now to try and overturn the Obama healthcare act , but no one really gives their efforts much hope. How did President Obama get this healthcare act get passed in the first place.

The liberal columnist John Brummett wrote an excellent article on Mike Ross and his position as a Blue Dog Democrat in the article “Straddling Democrat or Stand-up Republican?” (Arkansas Times, Sept 28, 2010). In this article he noted:

Ross is expert, even genius, in balancing the values of his constituents against the urgings of his national party. That’s always been good enough. But polls suggest that this balance is now precarious. The seeming tipping point is health care reform.

The question is whether to delay the health care reform bill and change it, as Ross did amid mostly favorable national media attention in the summer of 2009, or kill it altogether, which Ross and his Blue Dog Democrats had the muscle to do, but didn’t, in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Ross can say, quite correctly, that he voted against health care reform on the House floor the first time and that he voted against it the decisive time when it came back through the budget reconciliation process from the Senate….

.

But here’s what Rankin and the Tea Party can say: Yes, Ross did all that, but the truth is that he and his pals among Blue Dogs, by having enough votes on Energy and Commerce to hold up the bill and demand changes in the first place, also had enough votes to kill it outright. Instead, in the end, they did Pelosi’s bidding, as they always will do at crunch time, and let her have the bill on the floor of the House.

My conclusion is that the lone remaining Democratic Congressman from Arkansas has made a calculated decision to vote like a Republican and at the same time do the Democratic Party bidding when necessary. The perfect example would be the President Obama’s healthcare bill where he could have killed it in committee but chose to let it go to the floor where it passed despite his vote against it.

One of the main messages from the Tea Party in 2010 election was that politicians can no longer think they can be hypocritical and get away with it. How much longer will Mike Ross get away with it? This is not a liberal versus conservative issue, but the real issue is being consistent with what you say you stand for. If you want the liberals to win the healthcare debate then vote with them. If you want the conservatives to win the debate then vote with them. Just don’t straddle the fence, but be a stand-up guy.

I personally wish that Lt Governor Mark Darr would run against Ross in 2012 because I think he would beat Ross. However, it appears that will not be doing so, but probably will wait to run for governor in 2014.

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Today I am profiling State Lawmaker Charlie Collins.

As a life-long conservative, US Navy veteran, Fortune 500 company leader, small business owner and committed family man, Charlie Collins will bring a broad range of life experience to office in Little Rock. You can count on him to support conservative principles today, tomorrow, the next day and every day after that. Core principles like this—It’s Free enterprise, not big government, but free enterprise that creates the path to good jobs, economic growth, and prosperity for all. Charlie is pro-life and a life member of the NRA.

Charlie was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Livonia, a nearby suburb. After high school graduation in 1981, he left to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Shaking President Ronald Reagan’s hand at graduation in 1985 is still one of his fondest memories.

In the year following graduation from the Naval Academy he was commissioned a Naval Intelligence officer, married Leeann (his wife of almost 25 years), and completed his masters degree in quantitative economics from George Washington University. Following Naval Intelligence School, he was assigned to serve aboard the aircraft carrier USS America CV-66. After completing his 2 ½ year tour aboard ship, Charlie was assigned as a Soviet military capabilities instructor at the Navy & Marine Corps Intelligence Center and gave training presentations all over the world.

After completing five years of active Navy service, Charlie joined Procter & Gamble at their Cincinnati, OH headquarters and moved up the management ranks. He continued serving as an active Navy reservist as well, earning eventual promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Charlie was transferred to the Procter & Gamble Wal-Mart Global Customer Team in Fayetteville, AR in 1996 with Leeann and their four toddlers (Jordan was three and the triplets, Andrew, Jamie and Austin, were almost two).

Charlie and Leeann quickly realized that Northwest Arkansas was the place where they would settle down and raise their family. Charlie resigned from the Navy Reserve and was honorably discharged after 12 years combined service so he would have more weekends at home with his young children. At Procter & Gamble, he was promoted to Associate Director, responsible for the $750+ million Wal-Mart Beauty Care sales team. After 13 years at Procter & Gamble, Charlie was recruited by Eastman Kodak to be Vice-President and Wal-Mart sales team leader. After two and half years with Kodak, Heinz recruited him as Vice-President managing their half-billion dollar US Wal-Mart business.

While corporate America was challenging and exciting, Charlie was lured away by an offer to be the co-owner of a small entrepreneurial business. He and his partner have run Crown Partners Executive Search together for the past four years, helping to match executive talent to business needs in Northwest Arkansas and across the country.

Charlie has been active in the community as well. He is a member of the First Christian Church in Fayetteville and has served in a variety of roles, including Elder, Trustee, and Sunday school teacher, and he just completed a two year term as Chairman of the Board in December 2009. He currently serves as the President of his neighborhood Property Owners Association and is active as a Boy Scout parent (his two sons are working on their Eagle Scout rank). Charlie is a member of the Arkansas Chapter of the US Naval Academy Alumni Association, the American Legion, and a Life Member of the National Rifle Association.

Charlie was appointed by the Governor to the Selective Service Appeals Board for the western district of Arkansas and has served as Chairman for the past five years. He also serves on the Third Congressional District, USNA Nomination Interview Committee. Charlie has been active in the Republican Party as a member of the Washington County Republican Committee for nearly ten years and the group’s Executive Committee for the past five.

Charlie’s four children will all attend Fayetteville High School next fall, so his wife agrees that now is the time for him to pursue his passion of serving you by making state government smaller and more effective while helping to turn Arkansas into a good jobs magnet.

    

Charlie Collins
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Healthcare | Comments (1)

Mark Pryor: We can balance budget in 10 or 20 yrs

January 4, 2011 – 2:06 am

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com

 

Mark Pryor said on Arkansas Week in Review which was broadcast on AETN on Dec 24th
“We are in a perpetual debt cycle and a perpetual spending cycle that is unsustainable….We will put together a system or a formula where we will get our debt under control. We will get this ship turned around. We won’t do it overnight, but we get it turned around and in the next 10 or 20 years we will get back to a balanced budget.” 

Liberals do not want you to know this secret: The budget would be balanced in 2016 if the current levels of spending were frozen, and the budget would be balanced in 2017 if a growth of 1% in federal spending was allowed.

Pryor and other liberals do not want to make the hard choices concerning the spending cuts that need to be made. Privatizing Social Security would have to be back on the table for instance.
Dan Mitchell from the Cato Institute elaborates:
Our fiscal policy goal should be smaller government, but here’s a video for folks who think that balancing the budget should be the main objective.

The main message is that restraining the growth of government is the right way to get rid of red ink, so there is no conflict between advocates of limited government and supporters of fiscal balance.

More specifically, the video shows that it is possible to quickly balance the budget while also making all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent and protecting taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax. All these good things can happen if politicians simply limit annual spending growth to 2 percent each year. And they’ll happen even faster if spending grows at an even slower rate.

This debunks the statist argument that there is no choice but to raise taxes.

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I am profiling State Lawmaker Nate Bell today.

Married to
Phyllis Reinhard Bell
Political Views:
Conservative
Religious Views:
Christ follower
Favorite Quotations:
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.”
~Cicero 63 BC 

He who thinks he knows it all proves how little he knows.
Anonymous

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” ….
John Stuart Mill.

* You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong.
* You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift.
* You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down.
* You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred.
* You cannot build character and courage, by taking away men’s initiative and independence.
* You cannot help men permanently, by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.
-found in an essay about Abraham Lincoln

-Anything worth doing is worth catching hell for.
Earl Warren

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

‘Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.’

‘The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’

‘The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.’

‘Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. Was too strong.’

‘I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.’

‘The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.’

‘Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.’

‘The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.’

‘It has been said that politics is the world’s second oldest profession. I’ve come to believe that it bears a striking resemblance to the first’
Ronald Reagan

About Me:
Poultry Farmer and small businessperson from Mena who wants to continue my service to the community by representing District 22 in the Arkansas legislature.
Gender:
Male
Click on people’s faces in the photo to tag them.
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Taxes | Comments (0)

Dumas:Lowering Capital Gains Tax Bad Idea

January 3, 2011 – 5:16 am

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This video clip gives 6 reasons why the Capital Gains Tax should be abolished

Ernest Dumas in his article “Tax work not wealth,” (Arkansas Times, Nov 25, 2010) asserts, “The (capital gains) tax rate was raised in 1976 under President Gerald Ford and economic growth accelerated. President Jimmy Carter cut the top rate from 39 percent to 28 percent in 1978 and economic growth slowed. President Reagan’s sweeping tax cuts in 1981 lowered the top capital gains rate again to 20 percent, which was followed by the deepest recession since the 1930s. Needing to rein in the growing deficit, Reagan restored the 28 percent rate on capital gains in the tax reform act of 1986 and the economy and hiring sharply expanded over the next two years.”

Sounds like disaster occurred after Bush lowered the capital gains tax. Let’s look at the facts.

I am responding to these liberal assertions with a portion from an article published January 29, 2007 called, “Ten Myths About the Bush Tax Cuts” by Brian Riedl. Riedl is the Grover Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs at the Heritage Foundation and 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.

Myth #4: Capital gains tax cuts do not pay for themselves.
Fact: Capital gains tax revenues doubled following the 2003 tax cut.

As previously stated, whether a tax cut pays for itself depends on how much people alter their behavior in response to the policy. Investors have been shown to be the most sensitive to tax policy, because capital gains tax cuts encourage enough new investment to more than offset the lower tax rate.

In 2003, capital gains tax rates were reduced from 20 percent and 10 percent (depending on income) to 15 percent and 5 percent. Rather than expand by 36 percent from the current $50 billion level to $68 billion in 2006 as the CBO projected before the tax cut, capital gains revenues more than doubled to $103 billion. Past capital gains tax cuts have shown similar results.

By encouraging investment, lower capital gains taxes increase funding for the technologies, businesses, ideas, and projects that make workers and the economy more productive. Such investment is vital for long-term economic growth.

Because investors are tax-sensitive, high capital gains tax rates are not only bad economic policy, but also bad budget policy.

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I have been profiling State Lawmakers and today is David Meeks. [16680_low.jpg]

About David Meeks

David has a rich Arkansas heritage. He is proud of the fact his mom, grandfather, and great grandmother were all born right here in Arkansas. David himself grew up near Springhill and attended school in Greenbrier. During his junior year in high school, his dad got a job which moved them to Florida. Even though he moved away, he never forgot his Arkansas upbringing and always considered Greenbrier to be his hometown.

Shortly after graduation from high school in 1990, David joined the Army and for the next 5 years proudly served his country. He spent a year in South Korea in 1991. After the year-long deployment in South Korea, he went to Ft. Drum, NY. During his time at Ft. Drum, NY, David took part in the Hurricane Andrew, Somalia, and Haiti Humanitarian Relief efforts.

After David received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1995, he attended college where he earned a Bachelor�s degree in Pastoral Ministries. While attending college, he taught and mentored children which is something he continues to do to this day.

After college, David took a position as an associate pastor and then worked for an inner-city charter school in Jacksonville, FL. During his time at the school, he worked with middle school children to overcome a myriad of problems and become successful high school students.

In 2003, David took a job working as a Customer Service agent with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. It was there he got an insight to the problems that our healthcare industry faced. Because of his hard work and leadership skills, David was promoted to work as a project manger. As a project manager, he was able to help improve business processes saving the company time and money.

Even during this time away from Arkansas, David would come back and visit often with his grandparents and relatives who lived in Faulkner County.

He eventually had the opportunity to return to Arkansas in 2008. It was a great decision as shortly after he moved back, he met his future wife, Naomi. They were married at Bible Baptist Church on February 14th, 2009. They currently reside in Conway and attend Bible Baptist Church. They are both active in the Children�s ministry.

CONSERVATIVE VALUES. CONSERVATIVE VISION.

The Better Arkansas Plan

1) Create Jobs by Cutting Taxes

2) Curb Spending and Government Growth

3) Protect States Rights

For more details and to see where David stands on the issues please visit the issues page.

Endorsements:

  • Arkansas Right to Life
  • NRA
  • Police Benevolent Association
  • State Senator Gilbert Baker
  • Dr Chuck Harding, Fmr Deputy Commander for Diplomatic Security Service, US State Department
    • By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Taxes | Comments (0)

    Brummett: American Exceptionalism is really Chauvinism

    January 2, 2011 – 12:02 am


    I do not think that “American exceptionalism is as example of  “American chauvinism as Brummett contends. I have made it clear that in my two previous posts on this issue that I do not think that the USA has exceptional people, but has been the world’s best example of free enterprise. Let me give me an example that may seem strange at first.

    Americans were given the opportunity to work in sweat shops in the end of the 1800’s, and the results of that experience has resulted in the children and grandchildren of those workers experiencing the American dream.

    Read what Milton Friedman had to say about his mother’s experience in the sweat shop:

    Of course she didn’t stay here a long time, she stayed here while she learned the language, while she developed some feeling for the country, and gradually she was able to make a better life for herself. 


    Similarly, the people who are here now, they are like my mother. Most of the immigrants from the distant countries __ they came here because they liked it here better and had more opportunities. A place like this gives them a chance to get started. They are not going to stay here very long or forever. On the contrary, they and their children will make a better life for themselves as they take advantage of the opportunities that a free market provides to them.


    The irony is that this place violates many of the standards that we now regard as every worker’s right. It is poorly ventilated, it is over-crowded, the workers accept less than union rate __ it breaks every rule in the book. But if it were closed down, who would benefit? Certainly not the people here.Their life may seem pretty tough compared to our own, but that is only because our parents or grandparents went through that stage for us. We have been able to start at a higher point.


    But in the past 50 years, we’ve been squandering that inheritance by allowing government to control more and more of our lives, instead of relying on ourselves. We need to rediscover the old truths that the immigrants knew in their bones; what economic freedom is and the role it plays in preserving personal freedom.


    Is America going to be exceptional in the future? It all depends on our adherence to the principles that made us great in the first place.


    Take a look at Milton Friedman’s film series Free to Choose and the episode The Power of the Market.

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    Today I have a State Lawmaker profile of Andy Mayberry who represents Saline County.

    My mission is simple: To best represent the people of District 27 in the Arkansas House of Representatives.Like many of you, I have a growing concern about the overwhelming presence of government in our lives. I believe in smaller government, less bureaucracy, lower taxes, restrained spending, and those rights afforded to us by God as well as other liberties guaranteed to us by the Constitution. 

    I believe that good government starts on the local level, and we must continue building a solid foundational leadership in order for our communities, state and country to prosper. As you know, we face many challenges, and I believe now is a time for men and women of good conscience and common sense to take action. I would appreciate your vote and additional support in this endeavor.

    Thank you and may God bless,

     

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    “… the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” – Benjamin Franklin
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    Paid for by the Andy Mayberry for State Rep Committee

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    In the immortal words of Deputy Barney Fife, I’m going to “nip it … nip it in the bud.” If you’ve been chuckling to yourself since you first heard my name, that’s OK. Plenty of other folks laugh aloud, though others never make the connection. Yes … I am supposedly named for the sheriff in the 1960s classic television program, The Andy Griffith Show. And I’m proud of it!

    So what exactly is “Mayberry” thinking?

    In my opinion, The Andy Griffith Show was perhaps the best television show ever made. If one has to go through life associated by name with a TV program, I’m glad to be linked with that one. To me, it humorously demonstrates the great morals, ethics and sense of small-town values I hope my daughters grow up to learn.

    People in Mayberry loved their family, community, country and God. They helped their friends as well as those who weren’t necessarily their friends. And they never – not once – asked whether you were a Democrat or Republican before they offered their assistance. Perhaps best of all, they used common sense and worked together to solve problems. They were decent, kind, and always tried to do what’s right. That’s precisely the kind of thinking and attitude I’d like to take with me to our state’s capitol. I’d appreciate your vote to help me do that very thing.

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    Mayberry receives endorsement of Arkansas Right to Life PAC
     

    Andy Mayberry, the Republican nominee for the District 27 seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives, has received the endorsement of the Arkansas Right to Life Political Action Committee.

    Mayberry, who is a board member of Arkansas Right to Life, is a long-time pro-life advocate. His wife, Julie Mayberry, is also a vocal opponent of abortion and has been a featured speaker at multiple Arkansas Right to Life events.

    “Certainly I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the Arkansas Right to Life political action committee,” Andy Mayberry said. “It is encouraging for my campaign, and inspiring for me personally, to be one of the first two candidates in Arkansas to receive the ARTL endorsement in the 2010 general election. The fact that I join the select company of Congressman John Boozmanin his bid to become Arkansas’ next U.S. Senator makes the honor that much greater.”

    Regarding the priority of pro-life issues, Mayberry said that in the grand scheme, there are none “any larger” than protecting life.

    “The Bible is very clear that life is a precious gift from God, and that we are to value it,” Mayberry said. “It’s important how our society treats its most weak, vulnerable and innocent. Our Founding Fathers knew how important life is when they referenced it in the Declaration of Independence as an unalienable right endowed to us by our Creator, and I believe it is our duty to protect it. If we cannot trust an elected representative to defend the most basic and essential of our human rights — LIFE — how can we possibly trust that person with other daily issues we face such as the economy, jobs, safety and security, and education?”

    Mayberry said that first and foremost, we have to work to change the hearts and minds of those who justify the killing of an unborn child.

    “Regardless of the law,” he said, “unfortunately there will always be those who choose to kill and destroy. That said, I will work tirelessly with others in the pro-life movement to develop, sponsor, advocate and vote for legislation that will limit, reduce and – by the Grace of God, maybe one day eliminate – abortion.”


     

    By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Milton Friedman | Comments (0)

    PART 2: American Exceptionalism? Not exceptional people, just exceptional principles!!!

    January 1, 2011 – 3:54 am

    HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com

    Francis Schaeffer points out how Communism is based on materialism which leads to repression while countries with a reformation base truly have a solid basis for law and the people enjoy freedom.

    Max Brantley (Arkansas Times Blog, Dec 14) observes:
    Is the U.S. “Special in the world, divinely blessed, better than the rest,” as Brummett defined the term? A reflexive yes ignores the reality of the specifics, however great a beacon of hope and freedom we have been, are and hope to be. Demonstrably — take education and health care — all the specific comparisons can’t be answered in the affirmative. After arrogance, this is the biggest problem with the exceptionalism argument. If you’re already perfect, what need is there to seek to improve or learn from others who might have a better idea?

    My quick answer to the statement about the USA woeful education performance would be that our public schools have been a victim of a lack of free enterprise competition and an infiltration of humanism.

    First, the inexpensive voucher schools in Washington D.C. that President Obama recently closed had been much more successful at educating the kids than the surrounding public schools.

    Second, inner city kids suffer the most when there is no school choice.

    Third, the problem in the USA has not been the lack of funding. Caroline Hoxby, Ph.D., the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University has correctly noted:“The United States spends more money per pupil on public K-12 schooling than any other country in the world. Some of the school districts that are the most embarrassing for Americans like Newark, NJ or Washington D.C. are some of the most expensive in the world. So it is hard to make the case that the problem America has is just that it is not spending enough money… We have raised per pupil spending (in real inflation adjusted terms)  every single year for the last 40 years… (Not having enough money) is not the source of the problem for American education.”

    There are actually two reasons our public education in the USA has suffered. The first was because the free enterprise system has not been allowed to work its magic as shown above. The second was because of the humanistic elements that have been allowed into our schools. This goes back to the two principles that I talked about in the first installment of this series on “American Exceptionalism.

    First, our country was founded on a reformation base.

    Second, our country allowed free enterprise to flourish without excessive government controls.

    Since I have already discussed this second point at length in regard to the schools, I will concentrate on this first point.

    Notice in the video above is from the episode “The Revolutionary Age” from the film series “How Should We Then Live?” by Francis Schaeffer that a system like communism is based on a materialistic base, and must use internal repression to keep in power. Communism always comes in with promises, but what you end up with is a loss of freedom of the press and freedom of religion too. This can be seen even today in the 5 communist countries which exist.

    However, when you contrast these communist countries to those countries that have a reformation base you find a large difference in protection of human rights. Francis Schaeffer has pointed out that in these countries (with the reformation base ) the biblical basis did give absolutes upon which to combat injustice. In contrast, the humanist has no way to say that certain things are right and certain things are wrong. This is because for the humanist the final thing that exists is the impersonal universe and that is silent and neutral about right and wrong and about cruelty and noncruelty.

    Earlier I said that the schools in the USA are suffering because of a lack of competition, but they are also being hurt by the teaching of humanism in the area of moral choices. They are being taught that we all are a product of chance and there are no absolutes.

    The Bible tells us, “{God} has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). The secularist calls this an illusion, but the Bible tells us that the idea that we will survive the grave was planted in everyone’s heart by God Himself. Romans 1:19-21 tells us that God has instilled a conscience in everyone that points each of them to Him and tells them what is right and wrong (also Romans 2:14 -15).

    It’s no wonder, then, that a humanist would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” THE HUMANIST, May/June 1997, pp. 38-39)

    Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. However, I know how moral relativism works, and I expected that Mrs. Leitner would soon be challenged by her fellow humanists. It wasn’t long before she received criticism. Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (THE HUMANIST, September/October 1997, p. 2)

    Do you see where our moral relativism has taken us in the USA?

    I had a chance back in 1991 to visit with a gentleman by the name of Robert Lester Mondale while he was retired in Missouri.  He was born on May 28, 1904 and he died on August 19, 2003. He was an Unitarian minister and a humanist. In fact, he was the only person to sign all three of the Humanist Manifestos of 1933, 1973 and 2003. In my conversation with him he mentioned that he had the opportunity to correspond with John Dewey who was one of Mondale’s fellow signers of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto I.

    I really believe that the influence of John Dewey’s humanistic philosophy has won the battle of the textbooks in the USA today (with evolution teaching being a key component). As a result, we have people like humanist Abigail Ann Martin who wrote, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?”

    (I wanted to recommend an article “Making a monkey out of Darwin” by Adrian Rogers. This article shows the damage that the belief in evolution has done.)

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    I have  been profiling State Lawmakers and today is Saline County’s Kim Hammer.
    It is not a statement of rhetoric, but a statement of fact, that America is heading in the wrong direction. We are moving away from what our founding forefathers established this nation to be in principle, practice, and proper pride–all under the open practice of seeking God’s divine leadership. Without shame or apology, I openly state that I believe we as a nation have also drifted away from giving God His proper place in the decision-making process of the establishment of the laws that govern us. And we are reaping the consequences of our actions.

    We who believe that “powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1) have a civic duty to come forward and help perpetuate what the founding fathers of America paid an ultimate price to birth.

    We are at a crossroads in America’s history where those who believe in heart, not in lip service, that we are still “One Nation Under God” must rise to the occasion and not idly stand by and let America be dismantled one decision at a time. It is not so much a matter of party or person as it is a matter of principle and purpose. People and party affiliations have a tendency to be bartered away, but principles of value will withstand the test in the moment of decision and the end result will reflect that philosophy.

    As citizens of Arkansas we must elect people into positions who are willing to stand by their convictions. Those convictions must rest in a belief that if we want to claim to be “One Nation Under God,” then we must allow God to be introduced into convictions that guide our decisions or else we have become a state and a nation where everyone does that which is right in his own eyes.

    This is why I am asking you to vote for me to represent you in the Arkansas House of Representatives, District 28. I may not vote every way you want me to, but it’s not about you and me. It’s bigger than that. It’s about taking one issue at a time, weighing it out against how a decision will affect Arkansas and America emotionally, spiritually, and physically-one vote at a time.

    I believe that there is still power in the vote and that this nation, one state at a time, one elected official at a time, can redirect America back onto the course that reflects we are “One Nation Under God”.

    Respectfully,
    Kim D. Hammer

    Friday, 27 August 2010

    Kim Hammer of Benton has worked his whole life helping people with their physical and spiritual needs. Now Hammer wants to help more people in the area by being a voice for District 28 in the state House of Repre-sentatives. He will face state Rep. Barbara Nix, D-Benton.
    Hammer ran for the position in 2006 but did not make it, he said. Being that close to attaining the position has motivated him to run again, along with other incentives.
    “I felt that for my life and where I am in my life and my convictions about the direction our country is going in, I felt like this was the right time to (run again),” he said.
    Hammer spent the early years of his life working as an emergency medical technician and eventually earned the rank of being a nationally Registered EMT Intermediate — and he began only as a volunteer.
    “I started because I wanted to give to the community. From there I had a conviction to keep doing it and I worked full time at MEMS in between churches. I let my license go in 1995, though.”
    He now works full time as the chaplain at Saline Memorial Hospice House in Bryant. He is a graduate of Trinity College in Indiana and has served several churches throughout the state.
    His Christian beliefs are something that he will not be afraid to bring into House discussions, he said.
    “I think that there needs to be a conviction of appreciation for a place of God in government. I’m not an extermist, but I’m not going to apologize for what I believe in. I’m not going to apologize for thinking that God has been pushed out of the decision-making process,” Hammer said.
    He added, “I have Christian convictions that I do not believe need to be imposed on anyone, but I do not believe it is right to back up from them. I believe there are Christian convictions that are represented in the decision-making process when it comes to the law, but that doesn’t mean I want to cram anything down anyone’s throat — but I’m tired of backing up.”
    If elected, Hammer said he will take these beliefs to the House to help people in District 28, especially people with a palliative time of life and children in need. Hammer once worked for a school-based mental health firm and, as he said, “has a real conviction for helping children.”
    If he wins the House seat, Hammer doesn’t have a firm agenda of things to get done, but he says he does have some ideals he will stand by firmly.
    “I believe in strong, family values, beginning with protecting the definition of the union of marriage. I’m also strong on state sovereignty and believe that the state has to stand up against federal government that is going to impose hardships on us. We have to present a strong front as a state,” Hammer said.
    One of his main objectives, he said, is to go through the checkbooks of the state government and see where money is not being spent wisely.
    “There are a lot of good things that can be done with money that might be wasted. I want to scrutinize the budget and try to get funding for things such as non-profit and faith-based initiatives. I want to see where wasteful spending is happening and put it in the hands of those who need it,” he said.
    Hammer plans to attend several local events, including the Salt Bowl Tailgate, the Saline County Fair and Old-Fashioned Day and would enjoy meeting any residents or answering questions. To find out more about Hammer, visit http://www.hammer4house.com.

    By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Adrian Rogers, Francis Schaeffer, President Obama, Vouchers | Comments (0)