Everyone wants to know more about the budget and here is some key information with a chart from the Heritage Foundation and a video from the Cato Institute.
As Washington continues to spend more than it can afford, future generations of taxpayers will be on the hook for increasing levels of debt. The amount of debt per citizen will skyrocket.
INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS (2010)
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau and Congressional Budget Office (Alternative Fiscal Scenario).
The charts in this book are based primarily on data available as of March 2011 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The charts using OMB data display the historical growth of the federal government to 2010 while the charts using CBO data display both historical and projected growth from as early as 1940 to 2084. Projections based on OMB data are taken from the White House Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The charts provide data on an annual basis except… Read More
Authors
Emily GoffResearch Assistant
Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy StudiesKathryn NixPolicy Analyst
Center for Health Policy StudiesJohn FlemingSenior Data Graphics Editor
Sooner or later, there will be a giant battle in Washington over the value-added tax. The people who want bigger government (and the people who are willing to surrender to big government) understand that a new source of tax revenue is needed to turn the United States into a European-style social welfare state. But that’s exactly why the VAT is a terrible idea.
I explain why in a column for Reuters. The entire thing is worth reading, but here’s an excerpt of some key points.
Many Washington insiders are claiming that America needs a value-added tax (VAT) to get rid of red ink. …And President Obama says that a VAT is “something that has worked for other countries.” Every single one of these assertions is demonstrably false. …One of the many problems with a VAT is that it is a hidden levy. …VATs are imposed at each stage of the production process and thus get embedded in the price of goods. And because the VAT is hidden from consumers, politicians find they are an easy source of new revenue – which is one reason why the average VAT rate in Europe is now more than 20 percent! …Western European nations first began imposing VATs about 40 years ago, and the result has been bigger government, permanent deficits and more debt. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, public debt is equal to 74 percent of GDP in Western Europe, compared to 64 percent of GDP in the United States (and the gap was much bigger before the Bush-Obama spending spree doubled America’s debt burden). The most important comparison is not debt, but rather the burden of government spending. …you don’t cure an alcoholic by giving him keys to a liquor store, you don’t promote fiscal responsibility by giving government a new source of revenue. …To be sure, we would have a better tax system if proponents got rid of the income tax and replaced it with a VAT. But that’s not what’s being discussed. At best, some proponents claim we could reduce other taxes in exchange for a VAT. Once again, though, the evidence from Europe shows this is a naive hope. The tax burden on personal and corporate income is much higher today than it was in the pre-VAT era. …When President Obama said the VAT is “something that has worked for other countries,” he should have specified that the tax is good for the politicians of those nations, but not for the people. The political elite got more money that they use to buy votes, and they got a new tax code, enabling them to auction off loopholes to special interest groups.
You can see some amusing — but also painfully accurate — cartoons about the VAT by clicking here, here, and here.
For further information on why the VAT is a horrible proposal, including lots of specific numbers and comparisons between the United States and Western Europe, here’s a video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity.
Born: February 16, 1959 Wiesbaden, Germany American tennis player and television commentator
John McEnroe was one of the most successful and high-profile players in the history of tennis. Throughout his career, McEnroe won seventeen Grand Slam titles, seventy-seven career single titles, and seventy-seven doubles titles.
Childhood on the court
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. was born on February 16, 1959, in Wiesbaden, Germany, where his father, John McEnroe Sr., was serving in the United States Air Force, and his mother, Kay McEnroe, was a surgical nurse. He was the oldest of three sons. In 1963 his family moved to Queens, New York, where he was raised. At an early age he showed advanced hand-eye coordination and athletic ability. According to his father, when John Jr. was only two years of age, he could strike a ball with a plastic bat, and at age four he could hit it a considerable distance.
It soon became obvious that McEnroe possessed a great deal of natural ability on the tennis court. Oddly, although he won several junior tournaments, and moved steadily upward in rank, he was never rated number one on the National Junior circuit. In 1970 McEnroe began training with Tony Palafox, a former Davis Cup (an international team tennis tournament) player for Mexico, and Harry “Hop” Hopman, a former Australian Davis Cup coach, at the Port Washington (Long Island) Tennis Academy.
McEnroe attended Trinity School, a well-known and expensive Ivy League preparatory school in Manhattan, where he was known to be funny, witty, and rowdy. He did above average scholastically—although by his own admission, he could have done better if it weren’t for his many sports activities: four years of soccer and tennis as well as two years of basketball.
Youngest win in Wimbledon finals
In 1977, after McEnroe graduated from high school, he was given the opportunity to play in Europe, where he won the French Juniors Tournament. Aiming for the Junior’s title at Wimbledon, he had to pull out of the event when he qualified for the men’s senior competition. Not only did he qualify for this important tournament, but he advanced to the semi-finals, where he was beaten by the more experienced Jimmy Connors (1952–), who won in four sets. At that time, McEnroe became the youngest man ever to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. He also solidified his reputation as one of tennis’s “bad boys” along with Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase (1946–). His disturbing, emotional outbursts were directed at linesmen, opponents, and himself. Although McEnroe played somewhat inconsistently for the remainder of the year, he was voted Tennis magazine’s Rookie of the Year for 1977.
That fall McEnroe attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, on a tennis scholarship. He led the school’s tennis team to the NCAA Championship in 1978. After his freshman year he decided to turn professional. In the summer of 1978 McEnroe was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon but reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open. By the end of that year, he was ranked sixth in the world in singles and fifth in doubles.
Temper tantrums and superstardom
As McEnroe’s talent came to public attention, so did his “superstar” personality. At no tournament did his comments and disruptive
John McEnroe. Reproduced by permission of the
Corbis Corporation
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actions stand out more than they did at Wimbledon, which was run by the traditional All England Club. Whether there was any truth to his claims or not, McEnroe believed that the Wimbledon umpires were out to get him. Although McEnroe lost in the fourth round at the 1979 Wimbledon tournament, later that year he bounced back and won his first U.S. Open Championship, defeating fellow New Yorker Vitas Gerulaitis. McEnroe became the youngest player to win the U.S. Open since 1948.
At Wimbledon in July 1980 the world watched as one of tennis’s greatest rivalries developed between McEnroe and Bjorn Borg (1956–). The highlight of the match took place in the fourth set, which went into a tiebreaker. It took twenty-two minutes and thirty-four points for McEnroe to finally win the set. But Borg emerged victorious (1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7, 8–6). It was Borg’s fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, but it also showed the world that McEnroe had the endurance and mental toughness to be a top player. The rivals met again at the U.S. Open, where McEnroe found himself defending the title against a determined Borg, who had yet to win the Open. In a match with as many games as their famous Wimbledon final, McEnroe emerged the winner (7–6, 6–1, 6–7, 5–7, 6–4).
The 1981 Wimbledon tournament saw McEnroe and Borg once again in the final. This time McEnroe ended Borg’s five year reign as he won in four sets (4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–4). That same year, in September, McEnroe defended his U.S. Open title once again against Borg (4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–3). Borg, perhaps feeling that his reign was over, retired after this defeat. McEnroe became the only man since Bill Tilden (1893–1953) to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles.
McEnroe’s decline and comeback
In 1984 McEnroe won eighty-two of eighty-four matches, including his fourth World Championship of Tennis final, his third U.S. Pro Indoor Championship, and his second Grand Prix Masters title. He captured his third Wimbledon title, soundly defeating Connors (6–1, 6–1, 6–2), and his fourth U.S. Open title (beating Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–4, 6–1). This victory was to mark the last major title of his career.
In 1986 McEnroe took time away from tennis and married actress Tatum O’Neal, his girlfriend of two years (after the birth of their first child, Kevin), and retreated to his Malibu, California, home. His break from tennis did not last long as he came back in August to face Boris Becker in a tournament in Stratton Mountain, Vermont. The match invited comparisons to the earlier Borg-McEnroe rivalries. Unfortunately, his comeback never fully took shape. He continued as a Davis Cup player and his successes in Cup play earned him more press than his occasional singles titles. McEnroe, who has four children, divorced O’Neal in 1992. He married singer Patty Smyth in April of 1997. The couple has two daughters.
Sports broadcasting and charity work
In 1995 McEnroe began to call matches with the USA Network’s coverage of the French Open. This began his present broadcasting career. He is a network television commentator for both NBC and CBS at Wimbledon, the French Open, and the U.S. Open. He currently competes in a select number of tournaments and special events, largely for charity. In 1999 McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and was named captain of the Davis Cup team.
Although McEnroe’s lack of single-minded devotion may have brought his tennis career to a halt, his charitable activities have brought to the public eye a side of him that was not seen during his reign as champion. An avid rock fan and guitar player, McEnroe occasionally plays at charity events. His interest in art led him to open the John McEnroe Art Gallery in New York City, which features up-and-coming young artists.
For More Information
Evans, Richard. McEnroe, a Rage for Perfection: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982.
Evans, Richard. McEnroe: Taming the Talent. Lexington, MA: S. Green, 1990.
McEnroe, John. You Cannot Be Serious. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002.
Keith Green performing “So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt” live at West Coast 1980
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This song really shows Keith’s humor, but it really has great message. Keith also had a great newsletter that went out every month and I always enjoyed reading it. Below is a portion of an article he wrote and I still remember some of the things he said over 30 years ago when I first read it.
“Now the people became like those who complain about adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.” (Num. 11:1-2)
Grumbling and complaining is one thing we don’t get too concerned about these days. I mean everybody grumbles about something, right? Husbands and wives complain about each other. Kids tell each other how terrible their folks are. Christians grumble about one another – even about their leaders!
The nation of Israel had a long history of grumbling and complaining. You can read about the misery it brought them in the first five books of the Old Testament. I have to confess, for a long time I didn’t like those five books because I thought they were full of The Law. God’s wrath could be pretty terrible. Sometimes He sent plagues or fire from heaven. In Numbers 16, you read about the “rebellion of Korah” when the ground opened up and 250 people who complained against Moses and the Lord were swallowed alive. That’s heavy!
Now the New Testament – that seemed easy in comparison! We were given a new law to keep. The law of love and liberty. As a new Christian, I heard nothing but “love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy” which was great because without them I’d be dead as a doornail! Yet I kept running across scriptures in the New Testament that really turned my head around. Jesus also made some strong statements about obeying the laws of God.
In Matthew, Jesus rebuked the people of three cities where He’d taught and performed many miracles. He wasn’t exactly trying to win a popularity contest when He said: “Woe to you… For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes… (And) if the miracles had occurred in Sodom that occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11:21-24) In other words, “If I don’t judge you in light of all you know, I’m going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”
I’m not pointing out these scriptures to say, “You’d better listen or God’s gonna get ya.” That’s not God’s heart. He is “slow to anger, full of lovingkindness and compassion.” (Ps. 145:8) What I am saying is that those who lived under the old covenant may have had a harsher requirement – but they’ll have an easier judgment than we who live under the new covenant. Why is that?
During the old covenant, the Spirit of God only came to rest upon people, empowering them to do mighty deeds. But it never lived in them to help them fulfill the law. Today, under the law of love and liberty, the Holy Spirit lives in us, to help us keep the law. James says, “..be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves… But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein… this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:22,25 KJV)
I want to make this point strongly: Once God has led us out of our old sinful lives by His Spirit, we must be careful not to return.
I found an important warning sign while reading Old Testament books like Numbers. This signal can tell you if you’re headed backwards where you’re no longer led and controlled by the Holy Spirit. No longer walking forward with God. It seems like a little “insignificant” sin. In fact, some people don’t think it’s a sin at all! I’m talking about grumbling and complaining. .
http://blog.heritage.org | Today marks the 1,000th day since the United States Senate has passed a budget. While the House has put forth (and passed) its own budget, the Senate has failed to do the same. To help illustrate how extraordinary this failure has been, our new video highlights a few of impressive feats in history that have been accomplished in less time.
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President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
On Feb 13, 2012, President Barack Obama released his budget for Fiscal Year 2013. Experts from The Heritage Foundation are analyzing the President’s proposal and offer their reactions, below:
President Obama’s Budget Proposal: Running on Empty – Patrick Louis Knudsen
Coming from a President whose economic philosophy is a borrowed car company slogan, the Obama budget submitted Monday all too predictably repeats the stale and unsuccessful policies of the past three years.
The Administration has tapped all its resources and can only recycle the President’s shopworn “vision”: bigger government, more spending, higher taxes, and deeper deficits. At a time when runaway spending and swelling deficits must be reversed, he worsens both immediately but, as usual, promises to fix them later. In his first post-debt-ceiling fiscal plan—delayed a week, with no explanation—the President appears to have offered an election-year campaign document, not a credible blueprint for addressing the nation’s fiscal and economic problems.
Spending in the President’s budget rises inexorably from today’s $3.8 trillion to $5.8 trillion in 2022. Throughout the decade, outlays hold stubbornly above 22 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), more than twice the New Deal’s share of the economy in its peak years. In constant dollars, outlays are more than three times the peak of World War II.
In 2012, his budget results deliver a fourth consecutive annual deficit exceeding $1 trillion and then make it worse with another round of not-so-shovel-ready construction projects and government “investments” totaling $178 billion. Among these are the typical road, bridge, and school construction, but then they go alarmingly beyond the usual “infrastructure” arguments to fund teachers’ pay.
Obama’s future deficit reduction comes mainly from Budget Control Act cuts already in place, $848 billion in discredited phantom “savings” from the wind-down of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, taking credit for reductions in 2011 appropriations, and roughly $1.8 trillion in unnecessary tax increases on those earning above $250,000 and the oil and gas industry.
Yet even with the hefty tax increases and illusory savings, the President’s deficits over the next decade never fall below $575 billion (in 2018) and climb back to $704 billion (in 2022)—but again only assuming the tax increases and mystical savings cited above.
Debt held by the public in the President’s budget rises from 74.2 percent of GDP today to an economically hazardous 76.5 percent of GDP in 2022. These are historically high debt levels: the post–World War II average is just 43 percent. Moreover, the President’s debt estimates are low because of the unreal nature of much of his proposed deficit reduction.
Regarding the most critical fiscal challenge of the day—the need to restructure Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—the President has once again taken a pass. By the middle of this century, these three programs and Obamacare will consume about 18 percent of GDP, soaking up all the historical average of federal tax revenue. The notion of “protecting” them through benign neglect only ensures their collapse, and the longer Congress and the President wait to address the problem, the more wrenching will be the consequences. But the President merely reruns previous ideas, such as more cuts to medical providers, ignoring the need for fundamental reform.
For other entitlements, the President repeats a range of mere chipping-around-the-edges proposals from last year’s budget, many of which are really tax or fee increases, not spending reductions.
In short, the President’s budget is the same worn-out collection of higher spending and higher taxes he has offered three times before—with the same inevitable result of more spending, higher taxes, and still more government debt.
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More government is not the answer. We are heading in the wrong direction. Stop calling it investments and call it what it is: “Stealing our freedom!!!”
Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your committment as a father and a husband.
Sincerely,
Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com
Pastor Tony Felich of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, KS gives the invocation to the mini conference event in honor of Francis Schaeffer’s 100th Birthday.
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This year Francis Schaeffer would have turned 100 on Jan 30, 2012. I remember like yesterday when I first was introduced to his books. I was even more amazed when I first saw his films. I was so influenced by them that I bought every one of his 30 something books and his two film series. Here is a tribute that I got off the internet from Chuck Colson’s website www.breakpoint.org :
“And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.” Jeremiah 1:16
Prophetic timing
The summer of 2011 has been a memorable one, but for all the wrong reasons. Much of the country has been gripped by an unrelenting heat wave, the nation is reeling from ever-worsening economic news, violence has broken out in a number of cities here and abroad, and the battle for traditional marriage and moral decency lost another round with New York state’s endorsement of same-sex marriage.
During this time, I’ve been teaching Jeremiah in my Sunday morning Explore the Bible class. It wasn’t my idea to teach this particular book at this particular time: it’s part of a nine year through-the-Bible curriculum established by Lifeway publishers. However, the timing does seem, well, prophetic. The similarities between the stiff-necked rebellious people of Judah living six centuries before Christ and the stiff-necked rebellious people of America living today are terrifying — terrifying because of the strong possibility that Judah’s fate foreshadows America’s not-too-distant future.
I realize that many people will say, “America is not Judah. God does not have the same relationship with America as He did with Israel and Judah; therefore, it’s impossible to draw parallels.” They’re wrong. While I concede that no two nations are alike, let alone two nations separated by more than 2500 years of history, we must recognize that God establishes and rules over all nations from the beginning of history to its end. Time does not erase what He requires, both for those who rule and for those who are ruled. Think about it:
God is still the same.
His holiness hasn’t diminished.
His standards for what constitute a good and just society haven’t altered.
Our responsibility to hear and obey His Word hasn’t been negated.
The “law of cause and effect” (sowing and reaping) is still in effect.
Furthermore, to ignore the warning signs of a nation on the verge of destruction – signs we see in Jeremiah – is to make a liar of the apostle Paul, who wrote that all of the Old Testament is written for our instruction (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). It also makes a liar out of God, who speaking through the prophet, asserts that “If any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it” (Jeremiah 12:17).
The indictment against Judah
Jeremiah had a great deal to say about why the people of Judah were headed for destruction:
They “went after worthlessness and became worthless” (2:5).
They “turned degenerate” (2:21) and wore themselves out sinning (9:5).
They were so wicked that they even taught “wicked women” things they didn’t know (2:33).
They “polluted the land with [their] vile whoredom” (3:2).
They were callous and unjust toward the poor (2:34).
They repeatedly claimed that they had not sinned (2:35).
They were greedy, conniving, unashamed, and self-deluded regarding their true status (6:13-15).
They treated the Word as an object of scorn (6:10).
They were incapable of speaking the Truth (7:28).
They followed their own hearts and went after false gods even more diligently than their forefathers had (9:14).
They broke their covenant with the Lord (11:1-13).
They were not correctable: they would not listen to God’s prophet (2:30; 5:3), and they would not obey His Word.
They assured themselves that God would not judge them, that disaster would not fall (5:12).
They were wrong, as history demonstrated in 586 BC when Judah was crushed by the Babylonians.
The indictment against America
It doesn’t take much effort to read through the list of Judah’s sins and see America’s. Even a casual perusal of the television shows being offered today provides plenty of examples of “worthlessness” and of an exuberant, even gleeful, promotion of every kind of immorality and perversion. The poor, and even the middle class, are being destroyed by the government’s irresponsible fiscal policies and by a welfare policy that keeps them dependant and living in poverty. Movies, television shows, and many so-called news programs are boldly promoting their anti-Christian agenda – one designed to keep Bible-believing Christians intimidated and cowed into silence when it comes to the public square. (If you don’t believe this, consider how people who support the Bible’s view of marriage are now labeled homophobic haters in the media.) And public figures who speak up about what the Bible has to say about the state of the nation are ridiculed as backward, desperate, and dangerously out of touch with reality. Even our president has characterized Bible-believing Christians in disparaging terms.
At the 2011 Resolved Conference, pastor John MacArthur made a claim, based on a passage in Isaiah 5, that particularly offended the anti-Christian crowd: “Materialism, drunkard pleasure seeking, arrogant conceit, defiant sinfulness, moral perversion, and corrupt leadership…Do you not see [them] in America?,” MacArthur asked. He then explained that just as these sins resulted in the destruction of Israel in 721 BC, these sins have brought the USA under divine judgment today.
The Christian response
MacArthur’s pronouncement comes as no surprise to anyone who has read Francis Schaeffer’s 1969 book Death in the City. Schaeffer not only claimed that both Europe and America were even then under “the wrath of God,” he also addressed the question of the contemporary relevance of Jeremiah:
“We do not have to guess what God would say about this because there was a period of history, biblical history, which greatly parallels our day. That is the day of Jeremiah. The Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away.
But this is not just the character of Jeremiah’s day of apostasy. It’s my day. It’s our day. And if we are going to help our own generation, our perspective must be that of Jeremiah, that weeping prophet Rembrandt so magnificently pictured weeping over Jerusalem, yet in the midst of his tears speaking without mitigating his message of judgment to a people who had had so much yet turned away.” (emphasis mine)
Our response to the evil of our day – to the millions of people who “knew Him and deliberately turned away” – therefore, must mirror Jeremiah’s sorrowful but unflinching response:
We must, like Jeremiah, keep speaking the truth about human nature (17:9): “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” Unless people understand that they are sinners in need of a Savior, they will — in the words of one bumper sticker I’ve seen around town — tragically believe they are “Born OK the first time” and so don’t need Christ. Evangelism becomes more difficult in a culture where people think they are basically good and where people reject the concept of personal sin.
We must keep warning our fellow citizens that it is foolish to trust in man (17:5), but wise to trust in God (17:7). The corollary to this is that people must learn to trust what the Bible has to say about what has gone wrong with our world and what God has done to set things right. We need to promote a biblical worldview in all areas of life so unbelievers can see the futility of the man-made philosophies they have been clinging to, and suffering under, and instead embrace the Truth of God’s Word as it speaks to issues such as marriage, the family, the right and wrong use of technology and science, the sanctity of human life, the proper role of government, and other “hot button” issues.
We must pray that we will stand firm in these evil days, as Jeremiah did (17:14-17). And while Jeremiah was forbidden to pray for his nation (7:16), we have not yet reached that point: therefore, we must fervently pray for revival to come to America.
We should, if our theology allows it, pray for God’s judgment to fall on the unrepentant who are leading many others down the destructive path of sin and evil (18:19-23).
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Extra – Interview – Part 2 Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on me in the late 1970′s and I have been enjoying his books and films ever since. Here is great video clip of an interview and below is a fine article about him. Francis Schaeffer 1912-1984 Christian Theologian, Philosopher, […]
E P I S O D E 1 0 How Should We Then Live 10#1 FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be led by an elite: John Kenneth […]
What Ever Happened to the Human Race? Bachmann was a student of the works of Francis Schaeffer like I am and I know she was pro-life because of it. (Observe video clip above and picture of Schaeffer.) I hated to see her go. DES MOINES, Iowa — Last night, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann vowed to […]
E P I S O D E 9 How Should We Then Live 9#1 T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads to Pessimism Regarding a Meaning for Life and for Fixed […]
E P I S O D E 8 How Should We Then Live 8#1 I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas) and Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, […]
E P I S O D E 7 How Should We Then Live 7#1 I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act on his belief that we live […]
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Extra – Interview – Part 2 Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on me in the late 1970′s and I have been enjoying his books and films ever since. Here is great video clip of an interview and below is a fine article about him. Francis Schaeffer 1912-1984 Christian Theologian, Philosopher, […]
E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: […]
E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live 5-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there was a unique improvement. A. […]
How Should We Then Live 4-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with […]
How Should We Then Live 3-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so many problems today with this excellent episode. He noted, “Could have gone either way—with emphasis on real people living in […]
How Should We Then Live 2-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard to authority and the approach to God.” […]
How Should We Then Live 1-1 Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why it fell. It fell because of inward […]
Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below:
Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
On May 11, 2011, I emailed to this above address and I got this email back from Senator Pryor’s office:
Please note, this is not a monitored email account. Due to the sheer volume of correspondence I receive, I ask that constituents please contact me via my website with any responses or additional concerns. If you would like a specific reply to your message, please visit http://pryor.senate.gov/contact. This system ensures that I will continue to keep Arkansas First by allowing me to better organize the thousands of emails I get from Arkansans each week and ensuring that I have all the information I need to respond to your particular communication in timely manner. I appreciate you writing. I always welcome your input and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact me on any issue of concern to you in the future.
Reducing the number of consultants employed by the federal government by 150,000;
Suspending acquisition of new federal office space;
Trimming the federal vehicle budget by 5 percent; and
Freezing the federal travel budget at $8 billion15 (Total annual savings: $11 billion).
Implement some additional housekeeping items, including:
Taking back grants to state and local governments that have not been spent within the past three years;
Rescinding any remaining appropriated funds to promote the new $20 bill (2004 spending: up to $53 million, discretionary); and
Consolidating the dozens of small, irrelevant education programs that divert money from more effective education programs ($200 million, discretionary).
Entitlement spending is on autopilot, with annual spending determined by benefit formulas and caseloads.
Entitlements (excluding net interest) account for 56 percent of all federal spending and 14 percent of GDP—up from 10 percent of GDP three years ago.
The three largest entitlements are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Their total cost is projected to leap from 8.4 percent of GDP in 2007 to 18.4 percent by 2050.
Unless those three programs are reformed, policymakers will eventually have to choose from among:
$12,636 per household by 2050, and further thereafter;
Eliminating every federal program except Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; or
Increasing the national debt to unprecedented levels that could cause an economic collapse.
By KEVIN DOLAK, CHRISTINA NG and CECILIA VEGA | Good Morning America – 29 minutes ago
Whitney Houston probably died from a combination of the drug Xanax and other prescription medication mixed with alcohol, TMZ reported, citing family sources who were briefed by L.A. County Coroner officials.
Coroners informed Houston’s family that there was not enough water in the singer’s lungs for her to have drowned, and that she may have died before her head became submerged in the bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where her body was found Saturday, TMZ.com reported.
Whitney’s aunt, Mary Jones, found her lifeless body in the bathtub, having laid out her dress for a party Houston was set to attend Saturday night, sources told TMZ. a Half hour later, at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, someone from Houston’s entourage called hotel security when they found the singer’s lifeless body.
Houston’s mother has arranged for her body to be flown back to Atlanta as early as Tuesday, TMZ reported. Her family was reportedly told that since there is no suspicion of foul play police have not put a hold on the body, and it may be transported.
Investigators looking into the death of Houston have said that they will be examining the pop icon’s behavior in the hours and days before she was found dead in the bathtub, while the singer’s family, friends and staff have already been questioned.
The Los Angeles Coroner said Sunday that toxicology reports on Houston were will not be available for six to eight weeks, but a family member confirmed that Houston’s family, along with those working for her, have been questioned about any health issues she may have had and her behavior before her death.
Houston was staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was to attend music industry executive Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy party. It is the same event where she was introduced to the record industry and the world nearly three decades ago.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, Houston’s daughter, was staying in the hotel with her mother and according to TMZ had also fallen asleep in the bathtub the night before her mother’s death in another room. Friends of the 18-year-old tried knocking on her door repeatedly and eventually had to contact security to open the door to her room so she could be removed from the tub.
Houston, who has struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years and entered rehab last year, reportedly spent Friday night at the bar of the Beverly Hilton hotel with a group of friends. She was at the bar for a long time, drinking and being very loud, according to TMZ.
On Thursday Houston was a guest at Grammy nominee Kelly Price’s party, “Kelly Price and Friends Unplugged: For the Love of R&B Grammy Party” at the nightclub, Tru Hollywood. Price recalls an enjoyable evening with Houston.
“We laughed and we joked and we cracked up, and we danced and sang. She was never more than two feet from me the entire night. I gave her a hug, and while I was talking to her she said give me the mic,” Price recalled.
Houston was there with her 18-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and performed a duet with Price in the early hours of Friday morning, in what would become her last performance.
“In retrospect it’s a much bigger moment than I could have imagined. It was a big moment just because it was Whitney. The world got a gift in that they got an opportunity to see her perform one last time,” Price said.
At the party, Houston reportedly clashed with singer and former “X Factor” finalist Stacy Francis, who had credited Houston as her inspiration and had been pulled onstage to sing with her in 1999 during a concert, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Houston and Francis were re-introduced at the party and all seemed fine until R&B star Ray J, who had dated Houston on-and-off for several years, entered the conversation.
“Whitney just got belligerent,” a witness told The Hollywood Reporter. “Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, ‘Stacy’s family!’, but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised.”
Photos taken later that night showed Houston disheveled, agitated and bloated as she left. She reportedly had to be escorted from the club with blood dripping down her leg and scratches on her wrist.
“It was a great event and she left sweaty, and I have heard the word ‘disheveled,'” Price told ABC News. “That’s about right. When you stand for three hours and in that time period you are dancing. You would leave a club looking that way.
“She didn’t look like she was under the influence of anything. She drank some champagne and toasted Kelly Price’s three Grammy nominations Thursday night. That’s what Whitney Houston did,” Price added.
Over the days preceding her death Houston’s behavior was erratic. She was seen skipping around a ballroom and doing handstands near the hotel pool, the Los Angeles Times reported, adding that she was seen in mismatched clothes and with dripping wet hair.
At some point on Saturday morning or early afternoon Houston’s cousin, the singer Dionne Warwick, spoke to her over the phone to make sure they were seated at the same table at Davis’ party. At this point there were no signs of trouble, according to TMZ.
Around 3:15 p.m., Houston spoke to her mother, Cissy Houston, and everything still seemed to be fine.
Police, who were already on the scene in preparation for the event later in the evening, arrived at Houston’s room two minutes after her body was discovered.
Officials tried to resuscitate the 48-year-old singer with CPR but were unable to revive her. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.
Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. He said there were “no obvious signs of foul play and no obvious signs of a cause of death.”
It was so sad to lose these people so soon. The Curse of 27 This page is in response to my most frequently asked questions – is there really a Curse of 27, how many musicians actually died at that age, and who are they. When legendary Blues man, Robert Johnson, was killed at the age […]
A curve ball in the Amy Winehouse case. Troubled Brit singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her London home in July. / AP FILE PHOTO Written by JILL LAWLESS, | Associated Press FILED UNDER Entertainment LONDON — The coroner who oversaw the inquest into the death of singer Amy Winehouse has resigned after her […]
Jim Morrison’s picture above. He died way too young and many of our young people turn to drugs and suicide because of loneliness. It is sad that this is such a pressing problem. I think of songs that point this out: Adam’s Song, The Last Resort, etc. There are two usual approaches to this problem that […]
I have posted a lot about Amy before. Posted at 04:38 PM ET, 10/31/2011 Amy Winehouse releases posthumous album: why we keep listening after she stops singing By Jessica Goldstein Despite her death in July, Amy Winehouse will be releasing a new album: “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” this year. This is not a posthumous album of […]
There is a truth that many people know. You can die from drinking too much alcohol at one time. I remember like yesterday when AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott died while on tour in England in 1980. According to Wikipedia: On 19 February 1980, Scott, 33 at the time, passed out after a night of […]
Aaron Douglas played for Vols and Bama before dying because of drugs jh39 Aaron Douglas was a lineman for Alabama and I have already written about another Bama lineman by the name of Barrett Jones who was a teammate of Aaron’s. Here are the two links below: Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide (Part 1 […]
CHICAGO (AP) — Former Weezer bass player Mikey Welsh, who also found success in his second career as an artist, died in aChicago hotel room, police said Sunday. Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said Welsh was supposed to check out of the Raffaello Hotel at 1 p.m. Saturday. When he didn’t, hotel staff went to his room, entered it and […]
It is sad that my favorite group did not win a Grammy!!
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
After his duet with Rihanna, Martin joined the rest of his band for “Paradise” off Coldplay’s latest album, Mylo Xyloto. As expected, it was bombastic and over the top. But Coldplay’s strength is its live performance, and boy did the group deliver. Even the jaded Grammy audience got into it, waving multi-colored light-up wrist bands as if they were at an outdoor music festival. This felt like a real concert, not a one-song performance inside an auditorium.
Related posts:
Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 4)
Dave Hogan/ Getty Images This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference: For the 17th best Coldplay song of all-time, Hunter picks “42.” He notes, “You thought you might […]
The best band in the world. Below I have linked some articles I have earlier about the search for meaning in life the band seems to involved in. Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion formed Coldplay in 1996 while going to University in London. The young band quickly established themselves in the […]
I am presently involved in the counting down of the best Coldplay songs of all time, but I am also in a series here reviewing the upcoming songs on Coldplay’s new cd that will be released soon. Here is a review from Rolling Stone: Coldplay Debut new song ‘Charlie Brown’ June 6, 2011 Coldplay debuted […]
Great documentary on Coldplay. I have written a lot on Coldplay the last few years and I see something spiritually happening with the group as they continue to search for a deeping meaning in life. Coldplay Max Masters – Part 1 of 7 Uploaded by thepostbox on May 6, 2009 The ASTRA Award winning music documentary […]
Several members of the 70′s band Kansas became committed Christians after they realized that the world had nothing but meaningless to offer. It seems through the writings of both Woody Allen and Chris Martin of Coldplay that they both are wrestling with the issue of death and what meaning does life bring. Kansas went through […]
This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference: Hunter has chosen the song “Viva La Vida” as his number 18 pick. Hunter noted, “The violin synth is a […]
Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall Published on Jun 28, 2011 by ColdplayVEVO The new single, taken from Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP (featuring two more new tracks). Download it from http://cldp.ly/itunescp Music video by Coldplay performing Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. (P) 2011 The copyright in this audiovisual recording is owned by […]
Clayton E. Cramer teaches history at the College of Western Idaho and is the author of Armed America: The Remarkable Story of How and Why Guns Became as American as Apple Pie (Nelson Current, 2007).
Every so often, a local news story about a victim of crime goes national. Most recently, it was Sarah McKinley, 18, home alone with her 3-month-old son, a few days after Sarah’s husband had died of lung cancer. Two men apparently looking to steal pain medicine prescribed for the husband broke in. Sarah grabbed a shotgun and a pistol and killed Justin Martin as he forced entry into her home.
How often do such incidents happen? While the results from studies vary, the numbers are large. The National Crime Victimization Survey, for various procedural reasons, is at the low end, showing 108,000 such cases a year (although this was some years back, when crime rates were higher than now). The widely reported Kleck/Gertz study, which has its own set of problems, showed a range of 830,000 to 2.45 million defensive gun uses per year. Other studies have fallen solidly in the middle, with hundreds of thousands of defensive gun uses per year.
Our study examines a variety of incident types: concealed-weapon permit holders (285 accounts); home invasions (1,227 incidents); residential burglaries (488). There are categories that we would never have thought were all that common: 172 incidents where people defended themselves from animal attacks (some wild, some dogs gone wild); 34 were incidents where pizza delivery drivers defended themselves from robbery.
Startled? You might think from how rarely stories like this go national that defensive gun use is relatively rare in America. Why don’t we see these stories more often, if victims are using guns in self-defense so often? Keep in mind that the vast majority of defensive gun uses never receive even local news coverage. “Homeowner scares away burglar, no shots fired” is not exactly a major news story, unless you live in a very small town.
Nonetheless, from 2003 through 2011, when I collaborated in an effort to gather local news stories and official reports of civilians using guns in self-defense here in the United States, I was astonished by how many such incidents there were, the vast majority of which never received national attention. Over a period of more than seven years, we compiled almost 5,000 such accounts. Most ended happily, with a burglar, carjacker or robber held for police. Some ended in bloodshed, as in the case of Sarah McKinley. Very few ended with the victim injured or killed.
Some of the news stories that did receive national attention are unsurprising, such as that of Matthew Murray, a mentally ill young man, who walked into New Life Church in Colorado Springs in 2007, carrying two handguns, an assault rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Murray had already murdered four people in the previous 12 hours, two of them in the church’s parking lot. Jeanne Assam, who was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, drew her weapon and shot Murray, preventing what could have been the most lethal mass murder in U.S. history.
Some of the news stories that stayed local, however, were dramatic stories of life and death, good and evil, that seem like the dictionary definition of “human interest story.” On May 4, 2009, two masked men with guns burst into a home in College Park, Ga., while a birthday party was in progress. Ten people, some of them college students, were inside the apartment. The intruders separated the men from the women. One of the intruders started counting his bullets; the other asked how many bullets he had. “Enough,” he said. It does not take much imagination to figure out that there would be no survivors. At this point, one of the students managed to reach into his backpack, pull out a gun and shoot one of the intruders, who then fled the apartment wounded. The armed student then caught the other intruder in the act of raping one of the women in the other room. The student shot the rapist as he jumped out the window.
Do law-abiding adults responsibly use guns in self-defense? The evidence we have amassed says yes, and frequently.
Yesterday I got to hear Mike Anderson on 103.7 the buzz. Mike is really firing up the fans and I think he will be a great coach, but not in the first year. People all around me are jumping to conclusions. They tell me that we are going to the final four for sure next […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Gun control debate on Hannity and Combs with Allen Gottlieb Earlier both John Brummett and Max Brantley have made it clear that they support gun control. However, in today’s article Brummett states: Let us first take the matter of guns in church. Several years ago, owing to our gun-addicted culture and to our insistence on […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Ronald Reagan and others comment on “Gun Control” efforts Series on Gun Control: Part 6 Max Brantley commented on Jan 8th (Arkansas Times Blog) on the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords getting shot and that led to his comments on the state of Arizona laws on guns: “As I said to a pro-carry lobbyist n the […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Series on Gun Control: Part 5 Video on Crime Rates in Switzerland Both John Brummett and Max Brantley have made it clear that they support gun control. They really believe that we should follow the lead of many of the foreign countries that have more strict gun control laws. However, is there a correlation […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Series on Gun Control: Part 4 John Stossel on Gun Control (2003 clip) Bill Clinton asserted, “The Brady Bill [is] a commonsense law that establishes a five-day waiting period and a background check that has already kept handguns out of the hands of some 60,000 felons, fugitives, and other criminals.” However, what do the […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Series on Gun Control: Part 3 Glenn Beck on School Shootings video clip Just yesterday another school shooting occurred. This one in Omaha, Nebraska: An angry online posting from the 17-year-old boy who opened fire at a Nebraska high school, fatally wounding an assistant principal before later killing himself, offers some clues about why […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Series on Gun Control: Part 2 Glenn Beck’s guest mentions Mike Ross and 65 other Democrats upset at Gun Control bills sent up by White House “I would close the gun show loophole…” President Clinton on NBC’s Tom Brokaw discusses gun control with the president, April 12, 2000) This is the second in a […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com 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 […]
National Debt Set to Skyrocket
Obama’s Budget Would Send Federal Debt to Levels Not Seen Since World War II
The Daily Hatch 