Yearly Archives: 2012

Woody Allen’s movie “Midnight in Paris” wins an academy award (link to complete listing of all historical figures mentioned in “Midnight in Paris”)

February 27, 2012 – 6:26 am
Sleepers (1973)
 
Sleepers (1973)

Allen (left) wrote, directed and starred in this oddball love story, set 200 years in the future.  It was his first on-screen collaboration with Diane Keaton (second left), who went on to become one of the director’s muses in the early days of his career.

 

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I have written more on “Midnight in Paris” than anyone else. Close to the bottom of this post is a link to all the historical figures mentioned in “Midnight in Paris.”Here is a great story on what happened last night:

Oscars 2012: When Woody Allen got funny at Academy Awards

February 26, 2012 |  8:05 pm

Woody allen
Woody Allen didn’t show up on Sunday night to collect his Oscar for original screenplay for “Midnight in Paris” — his fourth Academy Award. It was hardly a surprise — Allen has skipped the ceremony in the past, and he even has passed up the chance to join the academy.

So was Allen actually watching when he won the original screenplay Oscar? The executive who distributed Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” said he wasn’t sure.

“He wouldn’t tell me,” Sony Pictures Classics co-chief Tom Bernard told The Times at the lobby bar shortly after the win. “I think he probably has some people who keep him updated.”

Oscars: Red Carpet | Quotes | Key Scenes | Ballot | Cheat Sheet | Winners

As for whether there was any chance the writer-director would have turned up to the Hollywood ceremony to accept a potential award in person, Bernard said he never held out a lot of hope.

“I tried for a little bit to get him to come, but he thinks it’s all…” Bernard said. “He thinks the best movie of the year is ‘A Separation” and all this awards stuff is…”

So we can only guess what the 76-year-old Allen might have said had he turned up to deliver an acceptance speech. But he did attend in 2002, and delivered a funny segment that has us wishing he had shown up this year. Have a look ….

Related posts:

According to Woody Allen Life is meaningless (Woody Wednesday Part 2)

Woody Allen, the film writer, director, and actor, has consistently populated his scripts with characters who exchange dialogue concerning meaning and purpose. In Hannah and Her Sisters a character named Mickey says, “Do you realize what a thread were all hanging by? Can you understand how meaningless everything is? Everything. I gotta get some answers.”{7} […]

“Woody Wednesday” Part 1 starts today, Complete listing of all posts on the historical people mentioned in “Midnight in Paris”

I have gone to see Woody Allen’s latest movie “Midnight in Paris” three times and taken lots of notes during the films. I have attempted since June 12th when I first started posting to give a historical rundown on every person mentioned in the film. Below are the results of my study. I welcome any […]

What can we learn from Woody Allen Films?

Looking at the (sometimes skewed) morality of Woody Allen’s best films. In the late ’60s, Woody Allen left the world of stand-up comedy behind for the movies. Since then, he’s become one of American cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers. Sure, he’s had his stinkers and his private life hasn’t been without controversy. But he’s also crafted […]

Nihilism can be seen in Woody Allen’s latest film “Midnight in Paris”

In one of his philosophical and melancholy musings Woody Allen once drily observed: “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” Life tortures Woody Allen posted by Rod Dreher […]

Movie Review of “Midnight in Paris” lastest movie by Woody Allen

Midnight in Paris – a delightfully entertaining film of wit, wonder and love Have you ever thought that you were born in the wrong time? Since I was a child, I found my love for MGM musicals set me apart from my friends. Are we really out of place, or is a sense of nostalgia […]

“Midnight in Paris” movie review plus review of 5 Woody Allen classics (video clips from Annie Hall)

Five favorite Woody Allen classics Add a comment Sean Kernan , Davenport Classic Movies Examiner June 11, 2011 Woody Allen’s new film “Midnight in Paris” starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard opened Friday, June 10th at Rave Motion Pictures in Davenport, Iowa. “Midnight in Paris” stars Owen Wilson as a blocked […]

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

Is Buffett getting misquoted by the Obama administration?

February 27, 2012 – 5:27 am

Addington, McConaghy Debate Obama’s Jobs Plan

Published on Sep 9, 2011 by

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) — David Addington, vice president at the Heritage Foundation, and Ryan McConaghy, economic director at Third Way, discuss President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan. They speak with Deirdre Bolton and Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Is Buffet getting misquoted by the Obama administration?

Did Warren Buffett really disagree with Obama’s tax plan?

(Scott Eeels/Bloomberg)
September 30, 2011|By James Oliphant
Republicans are getting a great deal of mileage out of an interview investor Warren Buffett gave Friday morning, contending that the billionaire failed to endorse President Obama’s jobs plan or the proposed tax hike that bears his name.The Republican National Committee, for example, e-blasted a mailer that claimed Buffett had disagreed in a CNBC interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin with Obama’s plan to raise taxes on America’s top earners.

But did Buffett actually say that? More than anything, while interviewed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, he took a pass on commenting on Obama’s plan at all. As they used to say in the 20th century, let’s go to the videotape:

Andrew Ross Sorkin: “Let’s talk about the Buffett Rule for a moment. Talk to me about how it came about in terms of the White House getting in touch with you and you putting your name to this?”

Warren Buffett:  “Well, [National Economic Council Director] Gene Sperling called and said, ’Can we use your name?’ And I said, yes.”

Sorkin: “Are you happy you said yes?”

Buffett: “Sure, I mean I wrote about it.”

Sorkin: “Are you happy with the way it’s been described? Is the program that the White House has presented — a million dollars and over — your program?”

Buffett: “Well, the precise program, I don’t know what their program will be. My program would be on the very high incomes that are taxed very low — not just high incomes. Some guy making $50 million playing baseball, his taxes won’t change. If you make 50 million dollars a year appearing on television, his income won’t change, but if they make a lot of money and they pay a very low tax rate, like me, it would be changed by a minimum tax that would only bring them up to what the other people pay .”

Sorkin: “Does that mean you disagree with the president’s new jobs proposal, which would be paid for by raising taxes on households with incomes of over $250,000?”

Buffett: “That’s another program that I won’t be discussing, but my program is to have a tax on ultra-rich people who are paying very low tax rates. Not just all the rich people. It probably would apply to 50,000 people in a population of 310 million.”

Sorkin: “That means you disagree with the president on the 250,000?”

Buffett: “No, no, you may disagree –“

Sorkin: “I’m asking, you agree that 250,000 is the right number?”

Buffett: “I will look at the overall plan that gets submitted to Congress, which they are voting on, and decide, net, do I like it or do I not like it? There’s no question there will be parts I’ll disagree with.”  (Watch the video of the interview at the end of this article.)

Part of the confusion stems from Obama’s use of Buffett’s name in recent speeches as promoting the idea the rich “pay their fair share.”  The Buffett Rule, as Buffett described in the interview and as he has proposed elsewhere, would affect a small percentage (less than 1) of America’s wealthiest citizens and would elevate the rate they pay on capital gains to be comparable to middle-class tax rates.

Essentially, the proposal was boiled down to a metaphor that has billionaires such as Buffett paying taxes at a lower rate than their “secretaries.”

When Obama rolled out his version of the rule, it was described as a tax on millionaires, but in truth, it wouldn’t affect most people who earn more than $1 million a year unless they derived most of their income from investments.

Along with that proposal, Obama has advocated letting the George W. Bush-era tax cuts expire for families making more than $250,000 a year—something which has nothing to do with Warren Buffett or the “Buffett Rule.”

Here’s what Buffett told the Fox Business Network Friday:

“I didn’t say the wealthy should pay more. I said the ultra-wealthy who are paying very low tax rates should pay more and the figures show that the 400 top tax payers who earned an average of almost $230 million apiece were paying 21% in a combined payroll tax and income tax, which is well below what all the people in my office pay now. What I’m talking about would not apply to someone that made $5 million a year as a baseball player or $10 million a year on media. It would apply only to probably 50,000 people out of 309 million who have huge incomes pay very low taxes. If you have a country with a deficit of over a trillion dollars and you think it can be solved by voluntary tax payments then you believe in the tooth fairy. There should be a policy that applies to people with money who earn lots of money and pay very low rates. If they earn it by normal jobs what I say would not hit them at all.”

Related posts:

Do the rich avoid the taxes that we all pay?

Do the rich avoid the taxes that we all pay? Do the Rich Avoid Taxes? Posted by David Boaz President Obama says the rich should pay higher tax rates, citing billionaire Warren Buffett, who says he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. Various analysts have pointed out that Buffett takes very little salary […]

President Obama’s plan and the Heritage Foundation response

Addington, McConaghy Debate Obama’s Jobs Plan Published on Sep 9, 2011 by Bloomberg Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) — David Addington, vice president at the Heritage Foundation, and Ryan McConaghy, economic director at Third Way, discuss President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan. They speak with Deirdre Bolton and Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack.” (Source: Bloomberg) […]

President Obama and Alternative Minimum Tax

President Obama and Alternative Minimum Tax Dan Mitchell does it again. He is always right on the mark. CPAs Celebrate as Obama Proposes to Create a Turbo-Charged Alternative Minimum Tax Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell Wow, this is remarkable. The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is one of the most-hated features of the tax code. It […]

Brantley, Buffett and Obama: “Stop coddling the rich”

Brantley, Buffett and Obama: “Stop coddling the rich” The Laffer Curve, Part I: Understanding the Theory Max Brantley is fond of accusing Republicans of coddling the rich and here comes Warren Buffett and validates both what President Obama and Brantley have been saying. However, will the increase in taxes have the desired result that they […]

Buffett wants the rich soaked but that will not solve our problem in the budget

Max Brantley on the Arkansas Times Blog, August 15, 2011, asserted: Billionaire Warren Buffett laments, again, in a New York Times op-ed how the rich don’t share the sacrifices made by others in the U.S.. He notes his effectiie tax rate of 17 percent is lower than that of many of the working people in his office on account of preferences for […]

Brummett touts Buffett’s math, but it is wrong

Five Key Reasons to Reject Class-Warfare Tax Policy Max Brantley on the Arkansas Times Blog, August 15, 2011, asserted:   Billionaire Warren Buffett laments, again, in a New York Times op-ed how the rich don’t share the sacrifices made by others in the U.S.. He notes his effectiie tax rate of 17 percent is lower than […]

The Top 10 Percent of Earners Paid 70 Percent of Federal Income Taxes

Dan Mitchell on Taxing the Rich Max Brantley this morning on the Arkansas Times Blog, August 15, 2011, asserted:   Billionaire Warren Buffett laments, again, in a New York Times op-ed how the rich don’t share the sacrifices made by others in the U.S.. He notes his effectiie tax rate of 17 percent is lower than […]

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

An open letter to President Obama (Part 18 of my response to State of Union Speech 1-24-12)

February 27, 2012 – 5:20 am

Sen. Toomey responds to State of the Union address 2012

President Obama’s state of the union speech Jan 24, 2012

Barack Obama (Photo by Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)

President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

The Heritage Foundation website (www.heritage.org ) has lots of good articles and one that caught my attention was concerning your State of Union Speech on January 24, 2012 and here is a short portion of that article:

Obama’s Failed Job Creation Logic – Emily Goff

To justify its job creation proposals, especially in the energy or transportation sectors, the Obama Administration is fond of highlighting individual Americans who were unemployed but now have a job. Tonight the President referenced a worker who once made furniture, was laid off, and then found a job with a wind turbine manufacturer. Keep in mind that the wind energy market, like many other energy markets, is highly subsidized. By the president’s logic, that worker got a job thanks to Washington’s spending, so what is needed is more spending.

It’s convenient to put a camera in front of a few newly-employed persons and then say “job well done, our policies worked”. But unemployment numbers in the aggregate tell another story. The unemployment rate currently stands at 8.5 percent. In December there were 200,000 jobs added, which indeed is encouraging amid the current economic doldrums. However, as The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk writes, “At that pace, the unemployment rate will not return to normal levels (or 5.2 percent) for four and a half years—not until September 2016.”

It’s time for the President to recognize that the government doesn’t create jobs. The private sector does, and it does it well. Mr. President, help lead in getting Washington out of the way. Let the economy heal and create jobs on its own.

A PR Gesture on Financial Crimes – David John

No one wants financial crimes to go unpunished, but the President’s announced new Financial Crimes Unit is little more than a PR gesture.  Almost all of the crimes it will consider ranging from insider trading to fraud to stealing are now crimes and have been for many years.  And it is not like the Justice Department has been sitting on its hands since 2008.  Late last year, a very high profile insider trader was convicted as have a number of others.  Still more trials and indictments are pending.  State, local and federal governments have been working together with great success.

The newly announced task force may be worth a few minutes of new TV time, but it is really just doing what hard working professionals have been doing for some time.  The implication that it will do even more is an insult to the prosecutors who have been doing the same thing.

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The answer to our problems is encouraging the private market and not more government spending but your answers seem to involve more government spending.

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

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

Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 136)

February 27, 2012 – 5:15 am

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.

Here are a few more I just emailed to him myself:

The government’s own auditors, as well as outside watchdog groups, have recommended specific reforms to:
  • Reduce food stamp overpayments (annual net losses: $600 million, mandatory);25
  • Verify parent incomes for school lunches (up to $120 million, mandatory);
  • Improve eligibility verification and tracking of student loan recipients (at least $1 billion, mandatory);
  • Prevent states from using accounting tricks to secure extra Medicaid funds (several billion dollars, mandatory);
  • Combat fuel tax fraud ($1 billion, discretionary);
  • Stop veterans program overpayments ($800 million, mandatory/ discretionary);
  • Collect $3 billion in outstanding debt owed to the Department of Veterans Affairs;
  • Stop Medicare overpayments ($12.3 billion, mandatory);
  • Reform Medicare so that it no longer overpays for prescription drugs and medical supplies ($2,900 million, mandatory);
  • Recover the $7 billion owed by Medicare contractors; and
  • Reform the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to stop overpayments ($9 billion, mandatory).

This is how bad it is getting:

  • Anti-poverty spending has surged 89 percent faster than inflation since 2000. Nearly half of this increase occurred in the past two years. President Bush became the first President to spend 3 percent of GDP on anti-poverty programs, and President Obama has already pushed it above 4 percent of GDP. State and local governments spend an additional 2 percent of GDP on these programs.
  • Since 2000, Medicaid and Food Stamp rolls have expanded by nearly 20 million. Average benefit levels have grown faster than the inflation rate.
  • Program success should be measured by reduced government dependency, not increased spending.
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in spending out of control | Comments (0)

Remembering Francis Schaeffer at 100 (Part 10)

February 27, 2012 – 5:10 am

Truth With Tears – A Story of Dr. Schaeffer Shedding Tears At the Lausanne Congress, 1974

Uploaded by on Dec 10, 2011

This video is a segment of an interview we did with Dr. David Calhoun of Covenant Theological Seminary where he described a touching moment with Dr. Schaeffer when he sheds tears at the Lausanne Congress, 1974. The significance of this event is that it depicts both the character of Dr. Schaeffer over schisms in the church but also the deep hurt that he felt over divisions in the church during the early splits with in the church over modernism (Religious Liberalism). The results of these deep feelings would eventually produce a crisis in Schaeffer, and out of that crisis came the work True Spirituality, which is at the foundation of all of Schaeffer’s works. He further elaborated on this topic in a more succinct way in his work The Mark Of A Christian.

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schaeffer

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. Chuck Colson’s website www.breakpoint.org  and I was directed from there to Probe’s website where I found this great article below. I will share it in 4 parts. Todd Kappelman is the author and here is some info on him and Probe.

Todd KappelmanTodd A. Kappelman is a field associate with Probe Ministries. He is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University (B.A. and M.A.B.S., religion and Greek), and the University of Dallas (M.A., philosophy/humanities). Currently he is pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Dallas. He has served as assistant director of the Trinity Institute, a study center devoted to Christian thought and inquiry. He has been the managing editor of The Antithesis, a bi-monthly publication devoted to the critique of foreign and independent film. His central area of expertise is Continental philosophy (especially nineteenth and twentieth century) and postmodern thought.

What is Probe?

Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org.

Further information about Probe’s materials and ministry may be obtained by contacting us at:

Probe Ministries
2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000
Plano TX 75075
(972) 941-4565
info@probe.org
www.probe.org
Copyright information

This is the fourth part:

The Need to Read: Francis Schaeffer Print E-mail

Todd Kappelman Written by Todd Kappelman

The Need to Read series began several months ago with a program on C.S. Lewis . The rationale for this series is that many of the great writers who have helped many Christians mature are now either unknown or neglected by many who could use these authors insights into the faith.

This installment focuses on Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984), one of the most recognized and respected Christian authors of the twentieth century.

THE FRANCIS SCHAEFFER CENTENNIAL – INVOCATION – PASTOR TONY FELICH

Uploaded by on Feb 3, 2012

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.

He Is There and He Is Not Silent

In the analysis of the previous two books, we have seen that Schaeffer explains the development of modern history and how mankind has largely embraced non-reason in the area of morals. In He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Schaeffer outlines a solution for the predicament that faces modern man. He argues that there are three areas in which modern mankind has an absolute necessity for God: metaphysics, morals, and epistemology.{9} These are three areas of philosophy which have to do with, respectively, the problem of existence, the problem of mans moral behavior, and how man can come to a true knowledge of anything at all.

Prior to the seventeenth century, philosophy and theology recognized that they were dealing with the same basic questions. The only difference between the two disciplines was that the former appealed largely to reason and natural revelation, while the latter appealed mostly to reason and special revelation. In the middle ages, philosophy was said to be the handmaiden to theology. Theology was understood to be the queen of the sciences. When philosophy took the lead, it soon became apparent that it was not up to the task of answering the big questions. The reality of God known through His revelation, however, does provide the answers for such questions.

Lets consider the areas of metaphysics, moral, and epistemology. The metaphysical need for the existence of God implies that there must be something or someone who is big enough, powerful enough, wise enough, and willing enough to create and maintain the universe we live in. If these requirements are not met, then man is forced to admit that he is here by chance occurrence and has no special destiny.{10}

The moral necessity of Gods existence centers on man as a personal being and a being who distinguishes between right and wrong. There are only two options. Either man was created from an impersonal beginning and his moral system is a product of his culture, or man had a personal beginning and was given laws to follow and an internal sense of right and wrong.{11} The moral necessity of God is founded on the philosophical need to account for why man is both cruel and wonderful at the same time. This can only be explained in terms of the biblical account of the Fall.

The epistemological necessity of Gods existence addresses our ability to know what is ultimately real. Much of the modern problem in the area of knowledge began in the seventeenth century. As the scientific revolution developed, the criteria for truth became that which could be demonstrated in a laboratory. The result was that belief in God and the miraculous, which cannot be demonstrated in a laboratory, came into doubt and were eventually dismissed by many. The final result was pessimism regarding theological truths and, more recently, any truth at all. We have all encountered the individual who asks, How do you know that? And often this question is repeated for every subsequent answer.

The only answer to these three dilemmas is an appeal to the God who is there, and to His natural and special revelation. The basis of Christianity is the belief that God is there and that man can communicate with Him. If this is not true, then we are without a foundation.

Related posts:

Francis Schaeffer would be 100 years old this year (Schaeffer Sunday)

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, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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 […]

Fellow admirer of Francis Schaeffer, Michele Bachmann quits presidential race

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 […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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 […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 8 “The Age of Fragmentation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 7 “The Age of Non-Reason” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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 […]

Francis Schaeffer would be 100 years old this year (Schaeffer Sunday)

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, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 6 “The Scientific Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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: […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 5 “The Revolutionary Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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. […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 4 “The Reformation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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 […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance”

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 […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 2 “The Middle Ages” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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.” […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 1 “The Roman Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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 […]

Andy Rooney was an atheist

How Now Shall We LiveClick here to purchase Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey’s How Now Shall We Live?, dedicated to Francis Schaeffer.


Click here for a list of Francis Schaeffer’s greatest works, from the Colson Center store!
SchaefferBooks

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

An open letter to President Obama (Part 17 of my response to State of Union Speech 1-24-12)

February 27, 2012 – 5:04 am

Rep Michael Burgess response

Uploaded by  on Jan 25, 2012

This week Dr. Burgess provides an update from Washington and responds to President Obama’s State of the Union address.

President Obama’s state of the union speech Jan 24, 2012

Barack Obama (Photo by Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)

President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

The Heritage Foundation website (www.heritage.org ) has lots of good articles and one that caught my attention was concerning your State of Union Speech on January 24, 2012 and here is a short portion of that article:

Obama’s Policies Have Exacerbated Increases in College Costs – Lindsey Burke

President Obama is right to call on colleges to work to drive down college costs. Unfortunately his administration’s move last year to  forgive student loan debt after 20 years was reckless, and won’t help achieve that goal.

Taxpayers who worked hard to pay off their own college debt should not be penalized by having to pay off the loans of those who, irresponsibly, took out more debt than they can handle paying. Moreover, the three-quarters of American taxpayers who did not graduate from college should not be penalized by having to finance the college student who took out $100,000 in loans to pay for a degree of questionable value.

The Success of A Few Not An Excuse for Obama’s Economic Failures – Bill Beach

The President uses the success of a few as excuse for the economic policy failures of his administration. Changes in the distribution of income are due to three well known developments: the recession, failed economic policies of the past eight years, and the aging of the working population. The President has also been badly served by his economists:

  • If the President’s economists were to account for these three factors, they would find almost no change in the distribution of labor income over the past twenty years.
  • If these economists would use data from 2008 through 2010 rather than stopping their analysis at 2007, they would find that the hated rich have lost 40 percent of their wealth, thus massively decreasing the differences in income between the bottom and top earners.
  • Finally, the President’s analyst should remember that population change is still the biggest force in our society. The Baby Boomers (nearly 71 million are still in the labor force) are at their top earning years, which is a major factor why the top 40 percent of the income distribution is wealthier today than 20 years ago.

_______________________________

Starting a class warfare is not the way to go.

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

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

“Sproul Sunday” RC Sproul: Pre-Evangelism – Defending Your Faith Part 3

February 26, 2012 – 12:45 am

I got this off the internet and it is really good material.

Uploaded by on Jan 6, 2012

*I do not own this presentation. Used only for education purposes
All rights to Ligonier Ministries. (C) Ligonier Ministries
See the following links to purchase a High Quality Version of the presentation. Please support the ministry!
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MESSAGE INTRODUCTION
God uses many means to draw people unto Himself. Not just a preaching of the
Gospel, or Bible study, or prayer, or baptism, though those are the ordinary means
He uses. He also used the godly disputation of apologetics as a way of extending an outer call to rebellious mankind. How can you participate in God’s work in this area?
Dr. Sproul explains how.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the need to study philosophy.
2. To understand the presuppositions of Reformed theology concerning conversion.
3. To understand the importance of the public nature of the foundational events of the New Testament (Christ’s life, death and resurrection).

QUOTATIONS AND THOUGHTS
When a Christian presents the good news of Jesus Christ, he is preaching treason in the Devil’s kingdom (Doug Barnett).
Assensus: Latin, “assent” or “agreement.” Scholars distinguish three degrees of assent: firmitas, certitude, and evidential. The first is assent based on the authority of the person who tells you. The second is agreement based on accepted testimony. The third is assent based on evidence, from either personal sense-experience or reason. Apologetics seeks the third type of assent.

LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Beware vs. Aware

a) Many refuse to study classical theology or philosophy because they are afraid of being influenced.
b) But how can you beware of something you are not aware of in the first place?
Thus, some level of familiarity is necessary when avoiding sin or the influence of sinful ideologies.
c) We cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the proclamation and defense of Christianity.

II. Pre-Evangelism and Apologetics

a) The role of apologetics in pre-evangelism is to promote knowledge of God, but is not contrary to the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
b) Fides Viva means “a living faith.” It is used in context of the discussion of the nature of saving faith. In this case:
i. Noticia: Know what data?
ii. Assensus: Affirm what propositions?
iii. Fiducia: Trust or love whom?
iv. The first two can be accomplished by demons. The latter is done only by the regenerate, through the Holy Spirit alone. The first two are the role of apologetics.
c) Fideism, or the belief that someone should take a blind leap of faith into Christianity, is dangerous. We are called to leap from darkness to light, not from darkness to darkness.
d) The greatest mysteries of the Christian faith were done in the open. This is why we can do apologetics—we can announce clear, public evidence to the world.

III. Conclusion: God commands us to do our homework, that He may use those means to draw people unto Himself. Part of the way in which we give people more certitude about the Christian claims is to point out the public nature of Christianity.

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

Thierry Henry Part 1 “Soccer Saturday”

February 25, 2012 – 11:12 pm

Uploaded by on Jan 9, 2012

Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Third Round Proper
7.45pm, Monday 9 January 2012
Emirates Stadium, Arsenal FC

French legend Henry only joined the Gunners on loan from US outfit New York Red Bulls late last week and had to be content with a place on the bench to start with, but with the game all square with over an hour played and the crowd chanting for the introduction of their hero, boss Arsene Wenger had little to lose.

And it certainly paid off, as the 77th minute winner was classic Henry, right from the way he collected a pass on the left-hand side of the area with one of his first touches of the game before caressing it with his right foot across the goal and into the far corner.

It’s been seen many times before in north London and it was no real surprise to see it happen again, once Alex Song had rolled the ball into space for Henry.

Henry’s triumphant return will certainly take the headlines and it saved the night for Wenger too, as up until that moment the game had offered little as a spectacle and Leeds could consider themselves unfortunate not to have earned a replay at Elland Road, just as they did a year ago at the same stage of the competition.

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Tags: henry goal Thierry leeds united utd arsenal emirates legend fa cup 3rd round 2012 highlights goal legend 3rd round 2012 The FA Cup with Budweiser Third Round Proper Monday 9 January 2012 Emirates Stadium Arsenal FC Soccer red bull soccer

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

The result of having lots of taxes is the mean IRS.

February 24, 2012 – 11:09 pm

The result of having lots of taxes is the mean IRS.

The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think

Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell

Since it is tax-filing season and we all want to honor our wonderful tax system, let’sgo into the archives and show this video from last year about the onerous compliance costs of the internal revenue code.

Narrated by Hiwa Alaghebandian of the American Enterprise Institute, the mini-documentary explains how needless complexity creates an added burden – sort of like a hidden tax that we pay for the supposed privilege of paying taxes.

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The Onerous Compliance Cost of the Internal Revenue Code

Uploaded by  on Apr 12, 2010

The tax system is a complicated nightmare that forces taxpayers to devote ever-larger amounts of time, money, energy, and other resources in hopes of complying with the internal revenue code and avoiding IRS persecution. This CF&P Foundation video shows that this corrupt mess is the result of 97 years of social engineering and industrial policy that began almost immediately after that dark day in 1913 that the income tax was created. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Two things from the video are worth highlighting.

First, we should make sure to put most of the blame on Congress. As Ms. Alaghebandian notes, the IRS is in the unenviable position of trying to enforce Byzantine tax laws. Yes, there are examples of grotesque IRS abuse, but even the most angelic group of bureaucrats would have a hard time overseeing 70,000-plus pages of laws and regulations (by contrast, the Hong Kong flat tax, which has been in place for more than 60 years, requires less than 200 pages).

Second, we should remember that compliance costs are just the tip of the iceberg. The video also briefly mentions three other costs.

    1. The money we send to Washington, which is a direct cost to our pocketbooks and also an indirect cost since the money often is used tofinance counterproductive programs that further damage the economy.
    2. The budgetary burden of the IRS, which is a staggering $12.5 billion. This is the money we spend to employ an army of tax bureaucrats that is larger than the CIA and FBI combined.
    3. The economic burden of the tax system, which measures the lost economic output from a tax system that penalizes productive behavior.

The way to fix this mess, needless to say, is to junk the entire tax code and start all over.

I’ve been a big proponent of the flat tax, which would mean one low tax rate, no double taxation of savings, and no corrupt loopholes. But I’m also a big fan of national sales tax proposals such as the Fair Tax, assuming we can amend the Constitution so that greedy politicians don’t pull a bait and switch and impose both an income tax and a sales tax.

But the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost impossible to have a bad tax system. But if we continue to move in the direction of becoming a European-style welfare state, it will be impossible to have a good tax system.

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

Obama praises GM when actually it was a bad deal for taxpayers

February 24, 2012 – 12:58 pm

When you look at the details then they tell a different story than the president wants you to believe.

GM’s Profits Don’t Mean Taxpayers Will Be Off the Hook

The company’s cash cushion might go to unions, not investors.

| February 22, 2012

Three years after being rescued by a taxpayer bailout, General Motors recently announced some rather ambitious profit targets for 2012. But even if it meets these targets—a big if—taxpayers should not wait on one foot to recover their remaining “investment” in the company.

There is no doubt that GM has returned from the brink. It made $8 billion last year, a record high, and regained enough global market share to once again become the world’s biggest automaker, a title it had lost to Toyota. More impressive, it is planning to bump its profit margins from 6 percent last year to 10 percent this year, on par with its best-in-class rivals such as Hyundai and BMW. This, it hopes, will allow it to post $10 billion in profits this year, something that only 17 public companies managed to do in 2010.

How did investors react to all this hope and cheer? With a giant yawn: GM’s stock price, which has been hovering around $25 for months, barely budged. That’s $8 below GM’s IPO price. And it’s $30 below what’s needed for taxpayers to recover the $30 billion they still have stuck in the company.

If investors aren’t buying GM’s rosy scenarios, it’s for some good reasons. Peter De Lorenzo, editor of Auto Extremist, notes that GM is facing the most competitive market in history and investors are dubious that it can deliver. GM’s $8 billion in profits last year resulted partly from the tsunami in Japa that disrupted Toyota and Honda’s global supply chain.

Both are back this year and more formidable than ever. While GM reported a 6 percent drop in January sales in North America from a year earlier, its foreign competitors posted impressive gains. GM will have a hard time matching last year’s performance, let alone upping it if it has even one more month like January, De Lorenzo notes.

Tougher competition in North America is not GM’s only worry. Its sales in China are slowing. Also, Europe will probably remain a trouble spot. GM suffered $2 billion in losses in Europe last year, thanks to Opel, its hopelessly bloated German brand. But GM has been unable to obtain permission from the German government to restructure its labor costs, even as European sales plummet in an economic meltdown.

Toyota and Honda don’t have the same exposure in Europe and hence have less to worry about. What’s more, GM’s global pension obligations are underfunded to the tune of $22 billion, about $10 billion in the United States alone.

If GM manages to address all these issues, notes Sean McAlinden of the Center for Automotive Research, its share price might go up $40 to $45, leaving taxpayers still $5 billion to $8 billion in the red. But that’s under the best scenario. If stock prices remain at the current $25 level, the losses could mount up to $15 billion. That’s not counting the $15 billion in tax write-offs that GM got as part of the bankruptcy deal. All in all, taxpayers are facing somewhere from $20 billion to $30 billion in losses.

That’s not all the exposure that taxpayers will have going forward. The GM bailout has distorted the playing field so badly that its competitors are demanding their own handouts to even things out.

For example, McAlinden notes, the administration gave GM about $10 billion more than was strictly necessary to finance its bankruptcy. The money contributed to GM’s nice $33 billion cash cushion right now. GM could use this money to buy its own stock and bid up prices, mitigating taxpayer losses—or pay dividends. But McAlinden doesn’t believe that’s what GM will do. It could use the money to pay off its obligations to the union health-care trust fund, making this a direct infusion of cash from taxpayers to unions.

Or it will use the money toward product development, putting its competitors at a disadvantage. Moreover, because all but $10 billion of the bailout money GM got was in the form of equity, the company has no debt service costs. Ford by contrast, is still servicing the $23 billion in debt it took to avoid a bailout.

This is unfair, and the Obama administration knows it, which is perhaps one reason it quickly approved a $5.6 billion retooling loan for Ford. That, in turn, elicited howls of protest from Chrysler’s Sergio Marchionne. The administration gave Marchionne’s parent company, Fiat, the majority stake in Chrysler without asking Fiat to contribute a single euro of its own.

Yet Marchionne complains that the administration hasn’t been generous enough. In contrast with GM, it forced Chrysler to service the bailout loan. Now it’s dragging its feet in approving Chrysler’s new retooling loans, he claims.

Bailout supporters maintain that it was a one-time deal necessary to shore up companies in acute economic times. In reality, the rush for the bailout’s spoils has produced ripple effects that may well haunt the economy for a long time.

As President Barack Obama campaigns to keep his job, he will spin the bailout as a success story that saved millions of American jobs. But taxpayers should bear in mind that the hit to their wallets will be substantial and will probably grow in years to come.

Shikha Dalmia is a senior analyst at Reason Foundation and a columnist at The Daily. This colum originally appeared in Bloomberg news.

 

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