It seems to me that during the 1980’s we saw the largest growth of our economy because private industry was encouraged to expand because the top tax rate went down from 70 to almost half of that.
It reminded me of the 1960’s when the top income rate went from 91 to almost half of that and the same thing happened. We need to get back to the same atmosphere of taxing cutting and the expansion of private industry. Instead we have today the government offering handouts everywhere we look. Here is a case that makes this very point below:
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing last week on the Department of Energy’s budget request for fiscal 2013. Chris Edwards tipped me off to a particularly galling exchange between Energy secretary Steven Chu and Sen. Al Franken (D-MN). Sen. Franken uses his allotted time to badger Chu about a federal loan that Energy conditionally committed to a Minnesota company in 2010 that apparently has yet to be approved.
The exchange begins around the 61 minute mark here. Our trusty interns, Devon Sanchez and Stephen Wooten, transcribed the exchange, which I’ll share a portion of:
Sen. Franken:
One such project is from a company in Minnesota called SAGE Electrochromics. I know you are aware of that. Sage has developed energy efficient windows that are cutting edge, better than anything in the world and uses photo-voltaic cells to control the window how dark it gets during the summer to block out UV light and lower air conditioning costs and to let it all in, lower heating costs in the summer. And it’s really…I’ve been there and it’s just an amazing tech. In the Spring of 2010, the DoE promised the company it would receive a $72 million loan guarantee under the 1703 Program to build a new manufacturing facility that would create 160 manufacturing jobs and 200 construction jobs in southern Minnesota. It’s now been two years since SAGE has been notified that it will receive a loan guarantee and the deal has not yet been closed. While the Department of Energy prolongs closing the deal, time and money are running out for SAGE. There are high-tech manufacturing construction jobs at stake here. It’s been going forward with the project assuming they get this loan guarantee but they’re running out of time and they may have to sell themselves to a French company. My first question is that the SAGE loan guarantee was going to be submitted to the credit committee on August 23rd, but it was stopped. Why is the Department of Energy continuing to delay closing and executing the SAGE loan guarantee?
Secretary Chu tells Sen. Franken that he can’t discuss the details and advises the senator to speak with SAGE. A frustrated Sen. Franken takes another crack at getting Chu to explain the holdup, but doesn’t get anywhere and his speaking time runs out. Anyhow, the exchange is sad commentary on the state of affairs in Washington. Sen. Franken sitting there singing the virtues of handing out other people’s money to commercial interests in general would have been problem enough. That he instead used his time to grovel for a handout to a company in his state just goes to show that too many policymakers see the federal government as a favor dispenser.
If this company is producing such “amazing tech,” then perhaps Sen. Franken should lend SAGE some of his money? (Maybe he could use the royalties he receives from DVD sales of “Stuart Saves His Family” to help the company.) Wisecracks aside, a quick Google search shows that SAGE has already received private capital. If this company is so great then it should have no trouble finding additional investors to lend it the money it needs. Then again, Franken says that it’s running out of money so perhaps it isn’t so great. But that’s the way Washington works: taxpayers get the losses while private companies get the profits…and arrogant senators get to pat themselves on the back for “creating jobs.”
I have watched the 4 hour series on the Clinton Presidency on PBS, but I was even more impressed with the fair and balanced view of Clinton given by the Arkansas journalists and historians on the AETN show that aired on 2-12-12. The show also included former Bush aide French Hill too.
There are close friends and advisers: David Gergen, Wesley Clark, Mike McCurry, Dick Morris, Sidney Blumenthal, Harold Ickes, James Carville, Dee Dee Myers, Leon Panetta, Mark Penn, Joe Purvis, Robert Reich, Robert Rubin, John Podesta, Harry Thomason, and Betsy Wright. One wonders, though, where is good friend and first White House chief of staff Mack McLarty?
Meanwhile, a boatload of journalists have their say, including Christiane Amanpour, Jonathan Alter, Max Brantley, John Harris, David Maraniss, and Jeffrey Toobin.
Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images
The show started off with all the members of the panel summing up what Bill Clinton meant to Arkansas history.
Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times Blog observed:
From my point of view he began Arkansas history although we had some giants before he came along. I think the test about Bill Clinton is that we still talk about him so much, and he still is a such a large figure on the world stage with his continuing effort to build a legacy through his foundation.
In the film journalist Joe Klein said about the Gennifer Flowers affair, “The rumors of him messing around were out there. Not only did she appear, but she was a lounge singer!”
This brings me to an observation by Dr. Randall Woods, professor of history, University of Arkansas:
I must say and this will get me in trouble, JFK was having affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Angie Dickinson and you get, forgive me, Gennifer Flowers (with Bill Clinton). I am sorry but it creates this trailer trash kind of, not only was Clinton having affairs, he wasn’t having affairs with the right sort of people and JFK was.
I was surprised that there was so much harmony on the panel discussion concerning Clinton’s presidency. When I thought about the main points of the discussion it became apparent to me that unlike President Obama, Clinton was more of a pragmatist who could learn how to deal with the other party when it was necessary. That served Clinton well and got him two full terms. It was pointed out in the show that had not happened for a Democrat since FDR.
Bill Clinton on inauguration day 1997.
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A lot of good articles have been written about the Clinton documentary and I have put some links below:
‘American Experience’ profiles 42nd president in ‘Clinton’ airing on AETN Feb. 20,21
Posted on 01 Feb 2012
“Clinton,” the latest installment in the critically acclaimed and successful collection of presidential biographies by “American Experience,” explores the story of an American president who rose from a turbulent childhood in Arkansas to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history and one of the most complex and conflicted characters ever to stride across the public stage. “Clinton” airs on the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) in two parts Monday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.
At the conclusion of part two on Feb. 21 at 9 p.m., AETN will air the locally produced follow-up “The Clinton Years: An Arkansas Perspective.” Among those featured in “Clinton” and the AETN follow-up are Arkansans journalists Max Brantley, editor of the Arkansas Times and former reporter for the Arkansas Gazette, and Ernie Dumas, columnists for the Arkansas Times.
From draft dodging to the Dayton Accords, from Monica Lewinsky to a balanced budget, the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton veered between sordid scandal and grand achievement. It recounts a career of accomplishment and scandal, a marriage that would make history and create controversy, and a presidency that would define the crucial and transformative period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11. It follows Clinton across his two terms as he confronted some of the key forces that would shape the future, including partisan political warfare and domestic and international terrorism, and struggled, with uneven success, to define the role of American power in a post-Cold War world. Most memorably, it explores how Clinton’s conflicted character made history, even as it enraged his enemies and confounded his friends.
Directed by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Barak Goodman, “Clinton” features unprecedented access to scores of Clinton insiders, including: White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers; White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum; former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta (current Secretary of Defense); former Senator Trent Lott; Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes; as well as interviews with dozens of journalists, members of the Republican opposition, childhood friends, staffers from Clinton’s years as Governor of Arkansas, and biographers.
“William Jefferson Clinton is a lightning rod in American history,” Mark Samels, executive producer of “American Experience,” said. “It’s hard to find anyone who is neutral about the man or his presidency.
“The complex dynamic between his public accomplishments and his personal foibles makes him endlessly fascinating. At ‘American Experience’ we like to explore the people who have shaped the times in which they live, and Bill Clinton, both charismatic and confounding, certainly had a profound effect on the country during his presidency.”
The four-hour program will air in two episodes:
• “The Comeback Kid,” Monday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m.
“The Comeback Kid” follows Clinton’s bumpy road to the 1992 presidential victory, a triumph over repeated scandals and setbacks, through the first two years of his presidency. From the political backwaters of Arkansas, Clinton emerges as a political force unlike any seen on the national stage in a generation. He is determined from the start to succeed, first in Arkansas, then at Georgetown, Oxford and finally Yale. There he meets a young woman named Hillary Rodham who shares his intellect and idealism. Together they forge a marriage and political partnership that takes them to the Arkansas governor’s mansion and ultimately the White House, an election Clinton wins despite a campaign repeatedly under siege by allegations ranging from draft dodging to womanizing. The tumultuous first two years of the Clinton presidency see the beginning of the Whitewater scandal, the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster, and the defeat of Hillary’s healthcare bill. Although the administration has its domestic successes, troubles brewing in the remote countries of Somalia and Rwanda and the arrival of a new and formidable rival named Newt Gingrich threaten to derail the Clinton presidency before it ever gets off the ground. When Republicans gain control of Congress in the midterm elections, the entire political landscape shifts to the right, leaving Clinton seemingly bereft of power.
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American Experience | Passing the Budget Bill | PBS
• “The Survivor,” Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.
Shattered by the 1994 Republican victory, Clinton begins to sideline his most trusted advisors in favor of an aggressive political consultant named Dick Morris, who uses extensive polling to diagnose the administration’s weaknesses and develop strategies to correct them. The Republican “Contract with America” is riding high and by spring of 1995, Gingrich and his allies select the ground on which to wage their war: a plan to eliminate the federal budget deficit by drastically cutting Medicare and Medicaid. The plan leads to a government shutdown, and slowly the tide begins to turn toward the president, who reclaims the political center with a stream of new initiatives that will curb big government and appeal to middle class families. Clinton wins the 1996 election in a landslide, pulling off one of the greatest turnarounds in political history. He sails buoyantly into his second term: times are good, the economy is booming, and American prestige and power internationally are at an all-time high. Clinton’s dream of repairing the breach with Republicans seems within reach. But, Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky becomes public after she confides in a co-worker named Linda Tripp. The ensuing scandal gives Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr the ammunition he needs to recharge his stalled investigation of the Whitewater affair. Congress initiates impeachment hearings, but the Republican leadership fails to remove Clinton from office. And when Starr’s report is finally released, the ire of the American public is focused more on the independent counsel than the president. Although Clinton survives the ordeal, he fails to reclaim the drive and zeal with which he began his presidency.
“Clinton” will repeat in its entirety Sunday, Feb. 26, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Clinton is the 16th episode in the “American Experience” presidents series. Previous programs in the series have included “LBJ,” “Nixon,” “FDR,” “Jimmy Carter,” “Reagan” and “George H.W. Bush.”
Television’s most-watched history series, “American Experience” has been hailed as “peerless” (Wall Street Journal), “the most consistently enriching program on television” (Chicago Tribune), and “a beacon of intelligence and purpose” (Houston Chronicle). On air and online, the series brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present. Acclaimed by viewers and critics alike, “American Experience” documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including 14 George Foster Peabody Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, and 30 Emmy Awards, including, most recently, Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking for “Freedom Riders.” Exclusive corporate funding for “American Experience” is provided by Liberty Mutual. Major funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. “American Experience” is produced for PBS by WGBH Boston.
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.
In Numbers 13, we find that the complaints against Moses and Aaron have really heated up. What’s key for us is the way they handled it.
At the Lord’s command Moses chose 12 men to go spy out the land of Canaan. He didn’t send flunkies, but the leaders of the tribes. Joshua and Caleb led them across the Jordan to see if the land was fertile and how hard it would be to conquer. They returned with a cluster of grapes so big it took two men to carry it. They also returned with two different reports. Caleb was full of faith. He said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.” (vs. 30)
But the other men who went with Joshua and Caleb “gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report wesaying, ‘The land…devours it’s inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.’” They dragged out some old wives’ tale about a tribe of giants called Nephilim and said they were like mere grasshoppers in comparison. They totally lost sight of God and brought back a bad report about the Promised Land.
Well, one thing the Israelites knew how to do by now was complain and they spent all night doing it. By morning everyone was grumbling against Moses and Aaron. They wanted to kill them, and appoint a new leader, and return to Egypt. How stupid. Did they think God would open the Red Sea for them again? Or that the Egyptians would be happy to see them after they had drowned their whole army?
Anyway, the people went to kill Moses and Aaron and just before the stones began to fly “the glory of the Lord appeared... to all the Israelites” (Num. 14:10). God offers to take care of the problem for Moses, saying, “I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.” (vs. 12) God was offering Moses the same covenant He’d made with Abraham! This was Moses’ big chance!
But what did Moses do? He prayed for those complaining, rebellious people! He said, “Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, just as Thou also hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” (vs. 19) Moses did just what Jesus commands us to do when He said, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven we..” (Matt. 5:44-45)
Remember Saul? Who do you think was praying for him on the road to Damascus? Saul was the most vicious Christian-killer in the land and the Christians were probably on their knees crying out on his behalf. God made Saul into a new man with a new name. And on the cross, when Jesus had been scourged, spat upon, and deserted by His closest friends, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
There’s a big difference between people who say they’re followers of Jesus and people who follow Jesus. Moses asked God to forgive the people of Israel, and reminded Him of His compassion. In other words, “This won’t be too good for Your glory or fame throughout the world if you kill these people.” Here’s a man unselfishly reasoning with God. Does God need to be reminded about His nature? No. But God needs to be reminded we believe His nature. God didn’t strike the people dead, but Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of that generation He let into the Promised Land.
When you step out into the Wilderness of Faith, it’s a one way ticket. You either die in the wilderness, or you enter the Promised Land. You can’t go back to the world.
Many people think they can, but they’re never the same. They are jaded, cynical, sarcastic. Some turn reprobate. I’m not talking about backsliding, I’m talking about completely turning away from the Lord and denying Him. They spiritually die out in the wilderness.
Let me ask you this: Are you willing to forgive those who hurt you? Or do you complain, gossip, and backbite? Do you ask God to “get them” or do you pray for mercy? Moses’ prayer saved the people of Israel from instant destruction. Our prayers can change the hearts of our enemies. They can even change their eternal destiny.
We can obey God, or act according to our flesh. The greatest plan for victory over our enemies is prayer. Prayer shows our belief in the mercy and power of God. If we reject God’s Word, we reject Him. When we complain about the one who has wronged us instead of praying for him, we end up being the loser. Grumbling and complaining is evidence of our unbelief in God’s sovereignty and His ability to work things out for His glory and our good.
In Closing
Let’s take a “relationship inventory.” Are you holding on to hurts? Bitterness? Are you in competition, or a battle with someone? Are you walking in unbelief? Maybe your flesh has opened the door to an ungrateful spirit. Ask God’s forgiveness for your grumbling and complaining right now. He can soften your heart and give you a spirit like His, willing to do battle in prayer – even for your enemies.
Thank you Lord for giving us Your own Spirit which doesn’t only come upon us, but lives inside of us by Your Word. Lord Jesus, help us to believe in You and in others. Help us give a good report of all men and of all ministries. And Lord we ask forgiveness for grumbling and murmuring and complaining because we know You hate it. It’s the greatest proof of our unbelief. God we want to be believers, not just in word, but also in deed. Spank us quickly if we murmur and complain before it grows into the sin of Israel – and send Your blessing of believing faith upon us. We love You Lord Jesus.
Are we supposed to understand and accept that Mike Huckabee is in hell where he has official duties as a greeter,welcoming Osama bin-Laden?
We all suspect strongly, of course, that bin-Laden will spend eternity in hell, whatever his form and whatever hell’s. But we should not embrace a politician’s seeking electoral gain by dictating and announcing after-life dispositions. Those we should defer to a higher power, whose divine authority no mortal man should dare usurp, even for TV ratings or votes, or both.
I really am uncomfortable with all this kind of lighthearted talk about hell. The traditional Christian view of hell is a very serious doctrine. It is a necessary doctrine and today I want to show why.
Take a look at this portion of the article “Hell:The Horrible Choice,” by Patrick Zukeran of Probe Ministries. Here is the fifth installment:
Why Hell Is Necessary and Just
Is hell necessary? How is this doctrine consistent with a God of love? These are questions I face when I speak on the fate of unbelievers. The necessity and justice of hell can be recognized when we understand the nature of God and the nature of man.
Hell is necessary because God’s justice requires it. Our culture focuses mostly on God’s nature of love, mercy, and grace. However, God is also just and holy, and this must be kept in balance. Justice demands retribution, the distribution of rewards and punishments in a fair way. God’s holiness demands that He separate himself entirely from sin and evil (Habakkuk 1:13).The author of Psalm 73 struggles with the dilemma of the suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked. Joseph Stalin was responsible for the death of millions in the Soviet Union, but he died peacefully in his sleep without being punished for his deeds. Since evil often goes unpunished in this lifetime, it must be dealt with at a future time to fulfill God’s justice and holiness.
Notes1. Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Downers Grove, IL.: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 282. 2. Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian (New York: Touchstone Books, 1957), 17 – 18. 3. Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, ed. Nora Darwin Barlow, with original omissions restored (N.Y.: W. W. Norton, 1993), 87. 4. C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan), 69.Woody Allen’s movie Crimes and Misdemeanors does a great job of showing that if God does not exist then people like Stalin and Hitler were “home free” in that they were never going to be punished for what they did. “Existential subjects to me are still the only subjects worth dealing with. I don’t think that one can aim more deeply than at the so-called existential themes, the spiritual themes.” WOODY ALLEN
Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS , is an excellent icebreaker concerning the need of God while making decisions in the area of personal morality. In this film, Allen attacks his own atheistic view of morality. Martin Landau plays a Jewish eye doctor named Judah Rosenthal raised by a religious father who always told him, “The eyes of God are always upon you.” However, Judah later concludes that God doesn’t exist. He has his mistress (played in the film by Anjelica Huston) murdered because she continually threatened to blow the whistle on his past questionable, probably illegal, business activities. She also attempted to break up Judah ‘s respectable marriage by going public with their two-year affair. Judah struggles with his conscience throughout the remainder of the movie. He continues to be haunted by his father’s words: “The eyes of God are always upon you.” This is a very scary phrase to a young boy, Judah observes. He often wondered how penetrating God’s eyes are.
Later in the film, Judah reflects on the conversation his religious father had with Judah ‘s unbelieving Aunt May at the dinner table many years ago:
“Come on Sol, open your eyes. Six million Jews burned to death by the Nazis, and they got away with it because might makes right,” says aunt May
Sol replies, “May, how did they get away with it?”
Judah asks, “If a man kills, then what?”
Sol responds to his son, “Then in one way or another he will be punished.”
Aunt May comments, “I say if he can do it and get away with it and he chooses not to be bothered by the ethics, then he is home free.”
Judah ‘s final conclusion was that might did make right. He observed that one day, because of this conclusion, he woke up and the cloud of guilt was gone. He was, as his aunt said, “home free.”
Woody Allen has exposed a weakness in his own humanistic view that God is not necessary as a basis for good ethics. There must be an enforcement factor in order to convince Judah not to resort to murder. Otherwise, it is fully to Judah ‘s advantage to remove this troublesome woman from his life.
The Bible tells us, “{God} has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). The secularist calls this an illusion, but the Bible tells us that the idea that we will survive the grave was planted in everyone’s heart by God Himself. Romans 1:19-21 tells us that God has instilled a conscience in everyone that points each of them to Him and tells them what is right and wrong (also Romans 2:14 -15).
It’s no wonder, then, that one of Allen’s fellow humanists would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” THE HUMANIST, May/June 1997, pp. 38-39)
Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. It wasn’t long before she received criticism. Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (THE HUMANIST, September/October 1997, p. 2)
The secularist can only give incomplete answers to these questions: How could you have convinced Judah not to kill? On what basis could you convince Judah it was wrong for him to murder?
As Christians, we would agree with Judah ‘s father that “The eyes of God are always upon us.” Proverbs 5:21 asserts, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths.” Revelation 20:12 states, “…And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done (their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors) in accordance with what was recorded in the books” (Amplified Version). The Bible is revealed truth from God. It is the basis for our morality. Judah inherited the Jewish ethical values of the Ten Commandments from his father, but, through years of life as a skeptic, his standards had been lowered. Finally, we discover that Judah ‘s secular version of morality does not resemble his father’s biblically-based morality.
Woody Allen’s CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS forces unbelievers to grapple with the logical conclusions of a purely secular morality. It opens a door for Christians to find common ground with those whom they attempt to share Christ; we all have to deal with personal morality issues. However, the secularist has no basis for asserting that Judah is wrong.
Larry King actually mentioned on his show, LARRY KING LIVE, that Chuck Colson had discussed the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS with him. Colson asked King if life was just a Darwinian struggle where the ruthless come out on top. Colson continued, “When we do wrong, is that our only choice? Either live tormented by guilt, or else kill our conscience and live like beasts?” (BREAKPOINT COMMENTARY, “Finding Common Ground,” September 14, 1993)
Later, Colson noted that discussing the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS with King presented the perfect opportunity to tell him about Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Colson believes the Lord is working on Larry King.
(Caution: CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is rated PG-13. It does include some adult themes.)
There are two crises facing Social Security. First the program has a gigantic unfunded liability, largely caused by demographics. Second, the program is a very bad deal for younger workers, making them pay record amounts of tax in exchange for comparatively meager benefits. This video explains how personal accounts can solve both problems, and also notes that nations as varied as Australia, Chile, Sweden, and Hong Kong have implemented this pro-growth reform.
Social Security reform received a good bit of attention in the past two decades. President Clinton openly flirted with the idea, and President Bush explicitly endorsed the concept. But it has faded from the public square in recent years. But this may be about to change. Personal accounts are part of Congressman Paul Ryan’s Roadmap proposal, and recent polls show continued strong support for letting younger workers shift some of their payroll taxes to individual accounts.
Equally important, the American people understand that Social Security’s finances are unsustainable. They may not know specific numbers, but they know politicians have created a house of cards, which is why jokes about the system are so easily understandable.
President Obama thinks the answer is higher taxes, which is hardly a surprise. But making people pay more is hardly an attractive option, unless you’re the type of person who thinks it’s okay to give people a hamburger and charge them for a steak.
Other nations have figured out the right approach. Australia began to implement personal accounts back in the mid-1980s, and the results have been remarkable. The government’s finances are stronger. National saving has increased. But most important, people now can look forward to a safer and more secure retirement. Another great example is Chile, which set up personal accounts in the early 1980s. This interview with Jose Pinera, who designed the Chilean system, is a great summary of why personal accounts are necessary. All told, about 30 nations around the world have set up some form of personal accounts. Even Sweden, which the left usually wants to mimic, has partially privatized its Social Security system.
It also should be noted that personal accounts would be good for growth and competitiveness. Reforming a tax-and-transfer entitlement scheme into a system of private savings will boost jobs by lowering the marginal tax rate on work. Personal accounts also will boost private savings. And Social Security reform will reduce the long-run burden of government spending, something that is desperately needed if we want to avoid the kind of fiscal crisis that is afflicting European welfare states such as Greece.
Last but not least, it is important to understand that personal retirement accounts are not a free lunch. Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system, so if we let younger workers shift their payroll taxes to individual accounts, that means the money won’t be there to pay benefits to current retirees. Fulfilling the government’s promise to those retirees, as well as to older workers who wouldn’t have time to benefit from the new system, will require a lot of money over the next couple of decades, probably more than $5 trillion.
That’s a shocking number, but it’s important to remember that it would be even more expensive to bail out the current system. As I explain at the conclusion of the video, we’re in a deep hole, but it will be easier to climb out if we implement real reform.
John Brummett discusses the Clinton special that comes on tv tonight on PBS. I enjoyed the film a lot but I did notice some things that I did not know. Betsy Wright nixed his run for the presidency in 1988. I never knew that.
I remember seeing Clinton at the movie theater (on Merrill St in Little Rock) with his family the weekend after he made the announcement that he would not run for president in 1988. I remember thinking that he really meant it when he said he was going to concentrate on family time. However, we later learned from a friend of mine in Benton that he had a mistress out there.
I never believed my friend but later I noticed in the newspapers in 1992 that when Flowers came home from Dallas to visit her parents that she always went to Benton. Evidently he planned in 1988 to spend more time with Flowers than he was letting on.
This article was published February 19, 2012 at 3:30 a.m
LITTLE ROCK — Even in the early 1980s-that is 30 years ago, for heaven’s sake-someone joked at a charity roast-and-toast in Little Rock that there was nothing left to say about Bill Clinton that had not been said already.
So perhaps you will recoil at the prospect of spending four hours over two nights beholding a televised documentary on his life.
That’s especially the case considering that I am here to tell you that the four hours do not offer anything new. There is certainly nothing as spicy in this film as that woeful public dialogue in which we engaged in 1998 over oral sex.
Nonetheless, I hereby tout for your viewing interest and even edification, if not exactly pleasure, the latest installment of American Experience, the stellar signature documentary series on PBS. It will air from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday and from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to explore the subject of-yes-the life and governorship and presidencyof Our Boy Bill Clinton.
I should tell you that the Washington Post, reviewing an advance screening, calls the program “honest but sometimes tediously predictable.”
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American Experience | Passing the Budget Bill | PBS
It may be that the 1990s are not yet so long ago that we can consider Clinton and his presidency throughany meaningful historical lens. After all, neither Bill nor his wife Hillary has yet left the public square. As the old saying goes: How can I miss you if you will not go away?
The Post wonders why the program comes now. PBS points out in a news release that Monday is “Presidents’ Day.” Otherwise, I cannot rightly say.
But what I can tell you is that I’ve seen the program, thanks to an online download of Part 1 and the gift of a DVD of Part 2 from the Arkansas Education Television Network.
And I can tell you that what I liked most was the very thing the Post noted critically. It is that the film is honest and tediously predictable.
It does not sensationalize. It does not seek contrived or overcooked new revelation for a popular hook.
It does not freshly interview Bill or Hillary, since the film is about them, not by them. But nor does it freshly interview many avowed enemies.
Mainly it interviews friends, aides and journalists, more than 50 of whom make talking-head appearances only in snippets and only to advance the narrative.
The film told me not a single thing I did not know already. But what it did was let a compelling personal story, a great American story, refresh itself by pretty much telling itself.
Ponder for a second where Clinton came from and where he ventured. Ponder all the personal dramas that beset him along the way, morepersonal dramas by far than those experienced by any other politician of our time.
No, on second thought: Don’t ponder that yet. Tune in and let this documentary remind and guide you, which is the film’s presumed purpose and value.
In its most tedious honesty, the program does not dare seek a conclusion as to whether Clinton is good or bad. He is-famously, starkly, uncommonly, incurably-both.
Clinton connects with people genuinely and deeply. Then he lies to their faces.
He is the man who drops to a knee to hug a seated and crying woman in New Hampshire who has just toldhim at a campaign event that she can’t afford her $200-a-month prescription medicine bill.
Then he is the man who phones the profoundly creepy Dick Morris to talk about polling Americans on whether he should tell the truth about what he did with that woman,Miss Lewinsky.
If the question is whether Clinton was a near-great president or a disastrously failed one, then the answer is . . . Which year? Which moment?
Surely history will record that he left the White House with the country a richer and better place. But that assumes history will not linger on his leaving the White House having just pardoned some super-rich con whose wife had anted up for the presidential library.
Arkansas viewers may enjoy most Part 1 covering the Arkansas years.
For one thing, the ’80s are longer ago than the ’90s. For another, several Arkansas scenes are shown and several Arkansas people are presented briefly to advance the narrative. You have Bobby Roberts, Betsey Wright, Paul Fray, Carolyn Staley, Marla Crider, Joe Purvis and three of us who were with the old Arkansas Gazette in those days.
If you cannot bring yourself to watch, maybe you could record these hours for viewing later when historic context might make more sense to you.
Even if the time seems wrong, and even if the honest telling is tedious, the tale is a good one and the film is worthy.
–
John Brummett is a regular columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at jbrummett@arkansasonline.com. Read his blog at brummett.arkansasonline.com.
Below is a portion of an article by John Brummett published in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and my response to it. Speaking for the occupiers By John Brummett …But it seems to me that, while they surely vary, these occupiers don’t necessarily protest anybody’s greed. That’s a personal flaw. Nor do they protest anyone’s success. […]
John Brummett (10-26-11, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette online edition) does not want charter schools to put public schools out of business but he wants them to show public schools how to do it. (Paywall) I seek in these matters a kind of Clintonian third-way finesse: I support charter schools only to the extent that they should be […]
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | CLINTON | Interviews & Preview | PBS Uploaded by PBS on Jan 30, 2012 Coming to PBS beginning Monday, Feb. 20. From draft dodging to the Dayton Accords, from Monica Lewinsky to a balanced budget, the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton veered between sordid scandal and grand achievement. In CLINTON, the latest […]
Bill Clinton admits to having inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky Uploaded by iconic on Nov 18, 2010 Bill Clinton admits to having inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky. ______________________________ After the story I have some links to related posts. Bill Clinton Struggled to Deal With Lewinsky Affair, Film Says By Huma Khan | ABC News – Mon, Feb […]
Cato Institute gives Bill Clinton credit Spending Restraint, Part I: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton Uploaded by afq2007 on Feb 14, 2011 Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both reduced the relative burden of government, largely because they were able to restrain the growth of domestic spending. The mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom […]
Bill Clinton said he always wanted to be like JFK. Earlier I posted about the recent claim of a White House intern who claimed to have a 18 month affair with JFK. Now I wanted to take a look back at the scandal in 1998 and I have included some info on Newt’s misdeeds and […]
The Laffer Curve, Part III: Dynamic Scoring A video by CF&P Foundation that builds on the discussion of theory in Part I and evidence in Part II, this concluding video in the series on the Laffer Curve explains how the Joint Committee on Taxation’s revenue-estimating process is based on the absurd theory that changes in […]
The Laffer Curve, Part II: Reviewing the Evidence This video reviews real-world evidence showing that changes in marginal tax rates can have a significant impact on taxable income, thus leading to substantial amounts of revenue feedback. In a few cases, tax-rate reductions even “pay for themselves,” though the key lesson is the more modest point […]
The Laffer Curve, Part I: Understanding the Theory The Laffer Curve charts a relationship between tax rates and tax revenue. While the theory behind the Laffer Curve is widely accepted, the concept has become very controversial because politicians on both sides of the debate exaggerate. This video shows the middle ground between those who claim […]
Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Dec 16, 2010 http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/16/new-video-pork-filled-spending-bill-just-… Despite promises from President Obama last year and again last month that he opposed reckless omnibus spending bills and earmarks, the White House and members of Congress are now supporting a reckless $1.1 trillion spending bill reportedly stuffed with roughly 6,500 earmarks. ________________________ Below you see an […]
Bill Clinton is funny, there is no doubt about that I first met Bill Clinton in 1983 in a small meeting in Little Rock at the Excelsior Hotel where he later had the run in with Paula Jones in May of 1991. Clinton was late for our meeting with 30 small business owners and he was very […]
President Bill Clinton’s Speech Oct 1, 2011 with Joshua & Anna at Little Rock Arkansas Uploaded by bdbaas1 on Oct 2, 2011 _______________________________ Recently while being critical of Lt. Governor Mark Darr, the liberal columnist John Brummett asserted, “Partisan debate is good, indeed vital. Partisan obstruction is not. And not knowing what you’re talking about […]
The Tim Tebow debate has raged into the off-season, and by now we know the usual detractors: guys like Terrell Suggs, Nick Barnett, Shawne Merriman, Brady Quinn …
And it’s not just one subtle jab, either. Early in his piece, Silver gets Quinn talking about how Tebow got promoted to starter:
Early in the season, there was a game when Kyle [Orton] got hurt and the coaches were calling for me to go in, but Kyle got up and finished the game out. So I was the second-string guy. Then, a few weeks later, they decided to put Tim in. I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that. Just ’cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn’t have any billboards. That would have been nice
Silver continues on with an oral history of the season, sprinkling in choice quotes from the likes of Kurt Warner (who compares Tebow to a character in the Bible) and Suggs (who calls Tebow “terrible”).
Then it’s back to Quinn, who demystifies Tebow’s late-game prowess:
The entire game, the defensive line is chasing the quarterback around, and that wears down the pass rush. Meanwhile, the defensive backs are chasing receivers, but you only throw eight passes, so they start to feel lazy. It only takes that one play, that one big pass, for a touchdown.
To be sure, others in the story feel similarly. Merriman, of the Bills, tells Silver, “His teammates are making him look a lot better than he is.” Suggs, of the Ravens, says, “No matter how many bad games Tim Tebow is gonna have, it’s ‘He’s great.’ I’ll never understand it.”
But the most glaring quotes — though not the most hard-hitting — come from Quinn.
In one passage, Broncos star linebacker Von Miller gives credit to the team — “I mean, you could just see our team’s resiliency in action. Nobody was giving up” — and then Quinn offers a different reason for the Broncos’ surge: “We’ve had a lot of, I guess, luck, to put it simply.”
Now, Quinn isn’t saying anything that hasn’t been thought by pretty much everyone. Tebow didn’t win football games with dominance or cunning. It’s hard to pin his leadership on anything other than his all-world will and, as Warner suggests, “divine intervention.” But in this story we have everyone in the Broncos organization, from coach John Fox to president John Elway to Miller, saying all the right things. Then there’s the backup quarterback, Brady Quinn.
And not everything Quinn says is about football. The former Notre Dame star also questions how Tebow prays.
“If you look at it as a whole,” he tells Silver, “there’s a lot of things that just don’t seem very humble to me. When I get that opportunity, I’ll continue to lead not necessarily by trying to get in front of the camera and praying but by praying with my teammates, you know?”
Will Quinn get that opportunity? Fox says he wants two new quarterbacks to contend for the top job in Denver in the fall. So despite leading his team to a playoff victory, Tebow will have plenty of headwinds when training camp opens.
And it’s likely not all of the doubters will be outside the Broncos complex.
Tim Tebow is the best. Take a look at this article below: I believe in Tim Tebow Email Print By Rick Reilly ESPN.com Archive Tim Tebow FoundationTim Tebow with Jacob Rainey, one of the many people dealing with health problems Tebow hosted at Broncos games this season. I’ve come to believe in Tim […]
Another good article I found on Tebow: JANUARY 12, 2012 Does God Care Who Wins Football Games? After a moment of devotion, our team would all shout in unison, ‘Now let’s go kill those S.O.B.’s!’ By FRAN TARKENTON On Sunday, when Denver Bronco wide receiver Demaryius Thomas caught a pass from Tim Tebow on the […]
(In this clip above there is an argument concerning who Rodin married, but sorry it is in French.) Interesting article I wanted to pass on. I have written about Rodin’s “The Thinker” myself in the past. It’s official: Everyone on the planet has an opinion on Tim Tebow. By now we’ve heard from everyone from […]
With almost 300,000 hits on youtube: Uploaded by KDVRDenver on Jan 9, 2012 John Parr has updated his 1985 #1 hit “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” to honor Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Download song at http://www.johnparramerica.com. Lyrics here: http://bit.ly/xHZqvW. Bill Maher is the one who brought Hitler into this. Related posts: Tim Tebow […]
Superbowl commercial with Tim Tebow and Mom. I used to write letters to the editor a whole lot back in the 1990′s. I am pro-life and many times my letters would discuss current political debates, and I got to know several names of people that would often write in response letters to my published letters. […]
Very interesting article below: The NFL bans eye-black messagers. Tebow’s numbers did the preaching on Sunday. (Lynn Sladky/AP) You ever feel like there’s too much Tim Tebow news? Neither do I. Here’s a roundup of some of the most interesting Timbits from the aftermath of the Denver Broncos 29-23 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh […]
For Barrett Jones is a Tim Tebow type of person and I am glad that people like Jones and Tebow are not ashamed of their Savior Jesus Christ. They don’t try to live two lives, one in church and one that is different in the lockerroom. Barrett Jones is the 2011 Outland Trophy winner […]
He did it again. Tebow does it again. It is simply amazing. With all the odds against him he comes through. I guess that will ruin Bill Maher’s jokes for the week. Can Tebow rally the team for another unlikely victory? The Steelers were 8 point favorites and I am sure the Patriots will be […]
Bill O’Reilly Interviews Jehmu Greene About Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad about Tim Tebow I got these quotes from someone off the internet that lives in England. The funny thing is the video is put to music and the song they picked won a grammy for an Arkansas band that lives in Little Rock. Here is […]
Arkansas Times Blogger who goes by the name “Elwood” remarked (The New Year line | Arkansas Blog ): I tuned in late to the KC v Denver Bronco game, just the last few minutes to see CBS giving adequate coverage to Tebow on his knees at his team’s bench in deep prayer. He seemed so isolated. Other […]
Tebow attacked by Bill Maher: Even in defeat, Tim Tebow creates controversy — this time in Tinseltown. HBO’s Bill Maher created a firestorm over the Christmas weekend with a scathing reaction to Tebow’s subpar performance in Buffalo. Shortly after Tebow threw four interceptions in the Broncos’ lopsided defeat to the Bills, Maher turned to […]
I really enjoyed this article and wanted to share it with you. Why We Love Tim Tebow posted by Linda Mintle | 7:33am Wednesday December 14, 2011 Yesterday I was asked to do a TV interview on Tim Tebow. This time the focus was positive. Tebow is very polarizing. People either love or hate him […]
Tim Tebow seems to win at everything he tries. The Good Book: Tim Tebow A No. 1 Author Monday, December 26, 2011 12:45 pm Written by: Ben Maller Sports experts go crazy debating whether Tim Tebow can win NFL games, but there’s no question he can win over readers. Tebow’s Christian life story, “Through My […]
I enjoyed this article below: 10 Reasons for Tim Tebow Hate posted by Linda Mintle | 7:25am Tuesday December 6, 2011 I walked in to a radio station focused on doing an interview totally unrelated to football and the producer starts ranting about how much he hates Tim Tebow. This was a day after Tebow […]
Recently I posted that I was saddened by the Saturday Night Live reckless skit on Tim Tebow that among other things endorsed Mormonism. In response, I gave several evidences from archaeology that disproved the Book of Mormon. Then I included a five part video series that showed the archaeological evidence that supported the historical accuracy of the Bible. (Archaeological […]
I have heard James Robinson preach many times before. I thought you might enjoy these insights on Tebow on 12-16-11: Tim Tebow’s Witness By James Robison I remember clearly the first time I heard the name “Tebow.” Some of our family were watching a football game and I asked who was playing. Someone answered, […]
From People Magazine: By Gabrielle Olya and Rennie Dyball Sunday December 11, 2011 10:30 PM EST Tim Tebow Brian Dowling/PictureGroup Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is the buzz of the NFL these days. The former University of Florida star has helped lead his NFL team to an 8-5 record with one incredible comeback after another, […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net Tom Brady is still searching for satisfaction in his life. Over the years I wanted bands like Kansas and Coldplay […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net Below you will see several video clips of both Tom Brady and Tim Tebow. Evidently despite all the super bowl […]
Denver quarterback Tim Tebow reacts after Broncos running back Lance Ball scored a touchdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (Associated Press/Jack Dempsey) I think Tebow is fine Christian man who believes in telling others about Christ and he lives a morally pure life unlike many others in our society. Therefore, […]
I was saddened that SNL proclaimed Mormonism true in a skit Saturday. The archaeological record is obvious that Joseph Smith was wrong in many of the details he put in the Book of Mormon and he assumed that the Indians in the North America had the same surroundings that the Jews did in the middle east 2000 years […]
I knew this day would come soon. I was asked this morning if I thought God was pulling for the Broncos and I responded, “No I do not. Many think that and for them it will be said that that devil Tom Brady brings the Tebow winning streak to a halt.” Sure enough New England […]
Another good article I read on Tebow: By PATTON DODD On a brisk Thursday evening in mid-November, I sat high in the stands at a Denver Broncos home game, covering the ears of my 4-year-old son as the fans around us launched f-bombs at Tim Tebow, the Broncos’ struggling second-year quarterback. Mr. Tebow was ineffective […]
Everyone is wondering if this amazing fourth quarter comeback streak will end for the Denver Broncos and their quarterback Tim Tebow. At the December 11, 2011 early service at Fellowship Bible Church, pastor Mark Henry noted: How many of you have been watching the drama behind Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback for […]
John Brummett (10-26-11, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette online edition) does not want charter schools to put public schools out of business but he wants them to show public schools how to do it. (Paywall) I seek in these matters a kind of Clintonian third-way finesse: I support charter schools only to the extent that they should be […]
Ron Paul’s Pro-life view Ron Paul’s Pro-Life Speech in Ames, Iowa Uploaded by RonPaul2008dotcom on Aug 13, 2011 Free email updates: http://www.RonPaul.com/welcome.php Please like, share, subscribe & comment! http://www.RonPaul.com 08/13/2011– Ron Paul is America’s leading voice for limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, sound money, and a pro-America foreign policy. ___________________________________ Related posts: Crowd […]
I am thrilled to get the chance to share the following article with you today. I got a call from Tim Keown who is a writer for ESPN Magazine a few days ago. He had read a post from my blog on Tim Tebow and wanted to ask me some questions. One of my answers […]
This is one of my favorite film clips from the movie “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” about the flow of history.
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 an article that I got off the internet that quotes Schaeffer and it comes from Chuck Colson’s website www.breakpoint.org :
Chuck’s 1991 commentary on Justice Clarence Thomas reminds us of the importance of realizing that there is a natural law to which we are all subject – and which we must not ignore.
In politics Americans like to fall comfortably in the middle of the road. And so it’s a common tactic of politicians to present their own views as the mainstream, while painting their opponents as extremists – on the fringe.
Call it the weirdo factor. If you can’t undercut someone by rational argument, just make him look weird, out of the mainstream.
We’re seeing that very tactic at work in the debate today over Clarence Thomas’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Judge Thomas believes in natural law – that human laws have to be measured against an objective standard of morality and justice. A higher law.
Opponents have labelled this view weird. Harvard professor Lawrence Tribe said no Supreme Court nominee in 50 years has held a natural law philosophy.
That’s a wild exaggeration. In fact, most people hold a form of natural law. How about you? Do you believe the government can pass a law that is unjust? If so, you believe in natural law. You believe a law has to measure up to some outside standard of justice; otherwise it’s unjust.
Natural law has been the dominant legal philosophy throughout Western civilization. Its roots reach back to the ancient Greeks and Romans – to Plato and Aristotle, Cicero and Seneca.
It was the dominant philosophy of law in the Middle Ages. The great theologian Thomas Aquinas related the secular concept of natural law to the Biblical concept of divine law. Both refer to an objective standard against which human laws are to be judged.
The Reformers talked about natural law, too. John Calvin wrote that God’s law is “engraved upon the minds of men” through conscience and natural law.
Our modern nations are based on the writings of men such as John Locke and Montesquieu, who offered their own theories of natural law.
Need we belabor the point any further?
Natural law has a long and venerable heritage in Western thought. It is hardly novel or unusual. And certainly not weird.
In fact, it is the only basis for human rights. Judge Thomas argues that minority rights depend upon the idea of natural law found in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration talks about certain rights as inalienable – which means a just government can’t take them away.
But rights are not inalienable unless they are based on something beyond the government.
As the late Francis Schaeffer so eloquently put it, Where do inalienable rights come from? From the state? Then they are not inalienable. Because what the state gives the state can also take away.
That’s why the Declaration of Independence says inalienable rights are endowed by the Creator. The state doesn’t create these rights; it merely acknowledges them as pre-existing by divine creation.
It’s not only Judge Thomas who believes this. Recently a Jewish rabbi named Haberman wrote that without a higher law – a law above the state – there is no standard of Justice to which we can hold the government accountable. Then there is nothing to prevent it from falling into tyranny and totalitarianism.
Rabbi Haberman knows what he’s talking about: He had to flee Germany for his life when the Nazis came to power.
For Jews, for Blacks, for all of us – the only sure basis of civil rights is natural law. And there’s nothing weird about that – whatever Clarence Thomas’s detractors may say.
Want to learn more about the crisis of ethics in America? Order your copy of the DVD series, Doing the Right Thing, and gather with some friends to study this important 6-part series on why natural law matters.
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 […]
Abbott and Costello perform the classic “Who’s on first?” baseball sketch in their 1945 film “The Naughty Nineties” first performed as part of their stage act. Still find this really funny
Who’s on First? is a vaudevillecomedy routine made most famous by Abbott and Costello. In Abbott and Costello’s version, the premise of the routine is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team to Costello, but their names and nicknames can be interpreted as non-responsive answers to Costello’s questions. In this context, the first baseman is named “Who”; thus, the utterance “Who’s on first” is ambiguous between the question (“which person is the first baseman?”) and the answer (“The name of the first baseman is ‘Who'”).
“Who’s on First?” is descended from turn-of-the-century burlesque sketches that used plays on words and names. Examples are “The Baker Scene” (the shop is located on Watt Street) and “Who Dyed” (the owner is named Who). In the 1930 movie Cracked Nuts, comedians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey examine a map of a mythical kingdom with dialogue like this: “What is next to Which.” “What is the name of the town next to Which?” “Yes.” In English variety halls (Britain’s equivalent of vaudeville theatres), comedian Will Hay performed a routine in the early 1930s (and possibly earlier) as a schoolmaster interviewing a schoolboy named Howe who came from Ware but now lives in Wye. By the early 1930s, a “Baseball Routine” had become a standard bit for burlesque comics across the United States. Abbott’s wife recalled Bud performing the routine with another comedian before teaming with Costello.[1]
Bud Abbott stated that it was taken from an older routine called “Who’s The Boss?”, a performance of which can be heard in an episode of the radio comedy program It Pays to Be Ignorant from the 1940s.[2] After they formally teamed up in burlesque in 1936, he and Costello continued to hone the sketch. It was a big hit in 1937 when they performed the routine in a touring vaudeville revue called “Hollywood Bandwagon”.[1]
In February 1938, Abbott and Costello joined the cast of The Kate Smith Hour radio program, and the sketch was first performed for a national radio audience that March.[1] The routine may have been further polished before this broadcast by burlesque producer John Grant, who became the team’s writer, and Will Glickman, a staff writer on the radio show.[3] Glickman may have added the nicknames of then-contemporary baseball players like Dizzy and Daffy Dean to set up the routine’s premise. This version, with extensive wordplay based on the fact that most of the fictional baseball team’s players had “strange nicknames” that seemed to be questions, became known as “Who’s on First?” By 1944, Abbott and Costello had the routine copyrighted.
Abbott and Costello performed “Who’s on First?” numerous times in their careers, rarely performing it exactly the same way twice. They did the routine for President Franklin Roosevelt several times. An abridged version was featured in the team’s 1940 film debut, One Night in the Tropics. The duo reprised the bit in their 1945 film The Naughty Nineties, and it is that longer version which is considered their finest recorded rendition. They also performed “Who’s on First?” numerous times on radio and television (notably in The Abbott and Costello Show episode “The Actor’s Home”).
In 1956 a gold record of “Who’s on First?” was placed in the Baseball Hall of Fame museum in Cooperstown, New York. A video (taken from The Naughty Nineties) now plays continuously on screens at the Hall.
Shortstop: I Don’t Care/I Don’t Give a Darn/I Don’t Give a Damn
The name of the shortstop is not given until the very end of the routine, and the right fielder is never identified. In the Selchow and Righter board game, the right fielder’s name is “Nobody”.[5]
At one point in the routine, Costello thinks that Naturally is the first baseman:
Abbott: You throw the ball to first base. Costello: Then who gets it? Abbott: Naturally. Costello: Naturally. Abbott: Now you’ve got it. Costello: I throw the ball to Naturally. Abbott: You don’t! You throw it to Who! Costello: Naturally. Abbott: Well, that’s it—say it that way. Costello: That’s what I said. Abbott: You did not. Costello: I said I throw the ball to Naturally. Abbott: You don’t! You throw it to Who! Costello: Naturally.
Abbott’s explanations leave Costello hopelessly confused and infuriated, until the end of the routine when he finally appears to catch on. “You got a couple of days on your team?” He never quite figures out that the first baseman’s name literally is “Who”. But after all this he announces, “I don’t give a darn!” (“Oh, that’s our shortstop.”) That is the most commonly heard ending, which varied depending on the perceived sensibilities of the audience. The even milder “I Don’t Care” was used in the version seen in the film The Naughty Nineties. A recording of the obvious “I Don’t Give a Damn” has also turned up on occasion.
The skit serves as a climax for an Abbott and Costello radio broadcast which begins with Costello receiving a telegram from Joe DiMaggio asking Costello to take over for him.[6]
Tennessee forward Jordan McRae (52), forward Jarnell Stokes (5) and guard Cameron Tatum (23) go up for a rebound during the first half against Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Tennessee won 77-58 over Arkansas. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
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I just don’t see 5 SEC schools getting in unless one of the lower schools win three games in the conference tournament. (Jim Harris has a good insight into several possibilities at this link.) Alabama has an outside chance of getting in if they are impressive from here on out. Tennessee and Arkansas need to not only be impressive in the last part of the regular season but they also we need to make deep runs into the conference tournament.
It is my view that only KY, Vandy, Miss St and Florida are locks for the NCAA. Frankly I will be surprised if another SEC gets their act together. Earlier this season I was convinced we would get 6 and possibly 7 but not any more.
Arkansas forward Marvell Waithe (22) defends against Tennessee forward Jeronne Maymon (34) as he goes up for a basket during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Tennessee won 77-58 over Arkansas. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
Kentucky coach John Calipari and Tennessee coachCuonzo Martin said Monday they believe the SEC will get at least five teams into the NCAA tournament.
Martin said at his Monday press luncheon that the Vols are one of the teams outside of the SEC’s top five that are “hovering,” after Saturday’s 62-50 loss at Alabama.
Tennessee (14-13, 6-6) plays host to Ole Miss (15-11, 5-7) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (TV: CSS) at Thompson-Boling Arena before finishing the regular season with games at South Carolina (Saturday), at LSU (Feb. 29) and at home against Vanderbilt (March 3).
“Right now, you’d say on paper maybe five … six (in the NCAA tournament)?” said Martin, whose team is in a four-way tie for fourth. “The guys on paper, Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Mississippi State … there’s five, bona fide, unless someone completely falls on their face.
“You have other teams out there hovering; I think we are. For us, it’s finishing strong down the stretch and winning games in the tournament.”
Calipari said he believes the Vols are one of two SEC teams outside the current top five that are capable of going on a run at the league tournament in New Orleans.
Tennessee forward Jeronne Maymon (34) grabs a rebound during the second half against Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Tennessee won 77-58 over Arkansas. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
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“I think we’ve got five teams that will be in (the NCAA tournament), and if somebody crazy, one of those other teams wins our tournament, we may have six in,” Calipari said on the SEC teleconference on Monday. “What our league has done nonconference, and playing each other, we’ve got five teams in.
“If someone goes into the tournament and goes on a crazy run, and let me tell you something, the other teams can do that,” he said. “We played Tennessee, ask Florida about Tennessee, ask them. Arkansas, now Arkansas loses a tough game to Florida. They hadn’t lost at home. What if one of those two teams goes on a crazy run and wins the tournament? “They’re capable. Now all the sudden, we’ve got six teams in.”
More details as they develop online and in Tuesday’s News Sentinel
Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes (5) goes in for a basket as Arkansas forward Hunter Mickelson (21) defends during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Tennessee won 77-58 over Arkansas. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
SEC Basketball race for 4th places heats up Does anyone want 4th place? It seems that everytime a team gets a few wins under their belt and it appears they are going to sew up 4th place then they lose. Look at Tennessee. The Vols played against a Bama team that had their two leading […]
I think that the hogs and the vols both need 10-6 conference records to get in the NCAA. I have said all year that we need two road victories to do that. I do assume that we will need to beat Florida in Fayetteville to accomplish that. Cuonzo Martin: 10-6 in SEC puts Vols ‘in […]
Florida’s Patric Young (4) goes to the basket as Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes (5) tries to block the shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin) _____________________________ It appears the Arkansas Razorbacks will be facing a new and improved Tennessee Vols basketball team […]
Arkansas must get a couple of road wins if we hope to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year. By reading the comments on Arkansas Sports 360 it appears the fans are anxious for one. Looking at the schedule and there remains games at Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State. The Miss St game would […]
I am glad that Petrino got more defensive players than offensive players but time will tell if he can develop these three star players like he did in 2008 when that class later turned the hogs into a national contender in 2011. Below is an article from http://www.ajc.com Alabama (26): The national champs added to their […]
I know that many of us are disappointed that Dorial Green-Beckham did not sign with the Razorbacks but we just have to move on. I am not interested in reliving the whole thing and going through all the negative things said about the Hogs during the process. That always happens in every recruiting case and […]
Tennessee forward Jeronne Maymon (34), right, fights for control of the ball during the game against Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Tennessee won 77-58 over Arkansas. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
The Daily Hatch 