Reviewer: Edwin L. Carpenter Source: Theater Writer: Woody Allen Producer: Letty Aronson Director: Woody Allen Genre: Comedy Runtime: 100 min. MPAA Rating: PG-13 Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Kathy Bates
Synopsis:
Midnight in Paris is a romantic comedy that follows a family travelling to the city for business. The party includes a young engaged couple that has their lives transformed throughout the journey. The film celebrates a young man’s great love for Paris, and simultaneously explores the illusion people have that a life different from their own is better.
Dove Worldview:
This one has some funny moments for sure. You have to understand the plot to understand the humor though. In this one, Gil Pender is a romantic, a writer who dreams of living in Paris. In fact, he is there on business along with his fiance’, who spends more time with an old boyfriend named Paul then with Gil. She just can’t understand his desire to take walks in the rain and his dream of being a novelist instead of the successful screen writer that he is. She also can’t comprehend his daydreams of 1920s Paris. When he finds himself in a certain part of the city one night and the clock strikes twelve he soon is shocked to learn he has traveled back to his dream time, Paris in the 1920s. He meets Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald as well as Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, and a woman he could fall in love with.
He always winds up back in the present when morning breaks but on one occasion he and the woman he falls for winds up in another time frame, the 1890s. She longs to remain in that time frame but he points out that he might have to get dental work done, and they didn’t have proper pain medication back then!
Owen Wilson is likable in his role as Gil and the movie makes a point that no matter what time one lives in, there are always problems to deal with. Despite the nice themes including being true to one’s self, and the opening sequence which includes shots of the Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, the Seine River and nice cafes, sadly there is use of strong language and the sex rating hits a three in content, due to some frank sexual comments. It should be noted that there are a few political comments too which some viewers will not appreciate. We are unable to award this movie our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal.
Sex: Frank sexual comments and a few innuendos; kissing; a woman talks about having moved in with her boyfriend; an unmarried couple live together and the woman admits to having an affair while in Paris with her old boyfriend. Language: Chr*st-1; JC-1; For Chr*st Sake-1; G/OMG-10; H-3; D-1 Violence: A few disagreements. Drugs: A lot of drinking scenes including wine and champagne and comments about wine tasting; cigarette smoking; a character admits to being drunk; a few scenes of characters riding in cars including a taxi and drinking; a character takes medicine for panic attacks; a comment about “coke” spoons. Nudity: Cleavage; some hookers raise up skirts; a nude drawing of a woman nude from the waist up. Other: Political comments about former President Bush and right wingers who are “air-heads” and “demented” and “fascists”.
Looks like it is three-way race tonight in Iowa. With 88 percent of the vote in it seems that Santorum leads by 58 votes and Paul is down by 4% at 21 percent.
Iowa Caucuses Too Close to Call as Three Candidates Battle for Lead
Published January 03, 2012
| FoxNews.com
AP
Shown here are Rick Santorum, left, Mitt Romney, center, and Ron Paul.
The Iowa caucuses are too close to call, as early returns show Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in a dead heat for the first-in-the-nation presidential contest.
With 45 percent of precincts reporting, Santorum led with 25 percent. Romney followed with 24 percent, Paul with 22 percent. The Fox News decision desk projects that only those three candidates are in contention for the top spot.
Fox News also projects that Michele Bachmann will finish last in Tuesday’s caucuses among the candidates who are competing there. Early returns show her with 6 percent. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry are settling into the second tier, with Gingrich slightly ahead.
The results trickled in following a day of sharp-elbowed politicking.
Gingrich, fed up with the negative ads against him, agreed with a depiction of Romney as a liar.Santorum, similarly dispirited about a spate of robo-calls in Iowa, called Paul “disgusting.”
The exchanges were characteristic of the bitter tone that pervaded the closing moments of one of history’s most volatile GOP elections. With more than 40 percent of Iowans supposedly uncommitted to a candidate as of this past weekend, the campaigns approached Tuesday night’s caucuses with little certainty of the outcome.
The three candidates at the top took nothing for granted, holding rallies on caucus day in a final bid to get out the vote. Gingrich, Perry and Bachmann also pressed the flesh Tuesday in a last appeal to caucus-goers.
At the 1,774 caucus sites, each candidate relied on local supporters to make his or her case before Iowans finally cast their ballots. Romney had found himself defending a narrow lead in the state — after barely competing there for most of 2011. A win Tuesday night could help reaffirm his oft-threatened front-runner status, as the field heads next into New Hampshire, where Romney holds a decisive lead.
But Romney is not pulling away from the pack by any means. After having predicted a win the night before, caucus returns show Romney seemingly unable to break the 25 percent threshold — which roughly has been his cap in terms of support in national polls. Romney’s showing in Tuesday’s caucuses appears similar to his showing in 2008, when his 25 percent haul landed him in second place behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
A second-place finish for the former Massachusetts governor on Tuesday could portend a more drawn-out and competitive process. Santorum and Paul, each looking for a come-from-behind win in the state, tussled on Tuesday as they tried to consolidate the not-Romney vote.
Paul has been claiming Santorum is a closet liberal, while Santorum and others say Paul is dangerous on foreign policy.
On Tuesday, Santorum called Paul “disgusting” after blaming his campaign for robo-calls that describe Santorum as too liberal on gun rights and abortion.
Paul, on Fox News, accused Santorum of trying to “deflect away” from the scrutiny his record is receiving. Paul claims Santorum’s support for foreign aid is outside the conservative mainstream.
Elsewhere in Iowa, Gingrich continued to take a more aggressive tone after being battered with negative advertising and watching his once-lofty poll numbers plummet.
Asked in a CBS interview early Tuesday whether he thinks Romney is a liar, he said yes — claiming the so-called “Super PACs” running ads against him are tied to Romney though he “pretends” he’s not involved.
Romney suggested on Fox News that Gingrich is thin-skinned.
“If you can’t stand the heat of this little kitchen, wait until the Hell’s Kitchen which is coming from Barack Obama,” Romney said.
And Perry, who like Gingrich once led the field in Iowa, tried to fire up the crowd Tuesday during a stop at his West Des Moines headquarters.
“It is a powerful moment in America’s history, and you are on the front lines. This is Concord, this is Omaha Beach,” Perry said. Despite flagging in the polls, Perry’s campaign is making plans to chart a post-Iowa course. The Perry campaign confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that it has bought TV time in South Carolina, which holds the first-in-the-South primary — one that historically has been far more accurate at picking eventual GOP nominees than Iowa.
Romney, for his part, predicted a day earlier that he would pull off a win in Iowa. The statement marked a turnaround from his earlier campaign strategy, which all but discounted Iowa in favor of New Hampshire.
Romney told Fox News on Tuesday that he’s prepared to take on President Obama.
“We created more jobs in Massachusetts than this president created in this entire country,” Romney told Fox News. “We’ll be comparing my record with his record, and he comes up very short.”
Santorum, who unlike Romney was committed to Iowa from the start of his campaign and visited all 99 counties, said he has the essential ingredients headed into the evening’s endeavor.
“Caucuses are about enthusiasm and momentum, and we certainly have enthusiasm and momentum,” he said.
But Bachmann, an Iowa native, earlier claimed Iowans were quietly returning to her camp — a claim the caucus results appeared to dispute.
Aside from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman who is not competing in Iowa, Bachmann had performed the worst in recent caucus polling.
Why is Ron Paul surging? (Part 3) The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that […]
John David Duggar supports Rick Santorum in Iowa Uploaded by bubba2229 on Jan 2, 2012 John Duggar, 21, explains why he and his famous family are supporting Rick Santorum’s Republican presidential campaign. Recorded Jan. 2, 2012, in Boone, Iowa._____ _ Today Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times Blog commented: In some places, a Jim Bob […]
This caught my attention. It was very moving moment: Rick Santorum: Alan Colmes called to apologize Posted by The Right Scoop on Jan 2, 2012 in Politics Rick Santorum briefly discusses why they chose to take their newborn son home after he died and also mentions that Colmes called to apologize for his earlier comments: […]
Why is Ron Paul surging? (Part 2) The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half […]
Why is Ron Paul surging? (Part 1) The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that […]
2012 Primary Schedule The 2012 GOP primary/caucus schedule is nearly set in stone. The calendar dates below are believed to be accurate unless last minute changes occur to the schedule. Always check with your local board of elections to verify election dates, times and locations ahead of time. Note that “Super Tuesday” in 2012 falls […]
Ron Paul is pro-life: AN EXPERIENCED PHYSICIAN As an OB/GYN who delivered over 4,000 babies, Ron Paul knows firsthand how precious, fragile, and in need of protection life is. Dr. Paul’s experience in science and medicine only reinforced his belief that life begins at conception, and he believes it would be inconsistent for him to […]
I saw Ron Paul on Jay Leno’s show the other day and here is some of the things he talked about: PROVEN LEADERSHIP “Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he […]
I have talked a lot about spending cuts on this blog. Here is a great article on this very subject: A Guide to the Presidential Candidates’ Proposals to Cut Spending Posted by Tad DeHaven Over at Downsizing the Federal Government, Chris Edwards and I have regularly complained that most policymakers have been insufficiently specific when it comes […]
Confederate soldier Julius Howell talking about his capture and imprisonment at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md. Howell was born in 1846 near the Holy Neck section of Suffolk, in the Holland area. He was the youngest of 16 children, the son of a prominent Baptist minister. His daddy wouldn’t allow him to join the army until he was 16½, he says in his account.
He saw action guarding the Blackwater River against Yankees until his regiment was called to help defend Richmond in 1864. By then, he was a corporal and courier for two generals.
In April 1865, Howell was taken prisoner at the battle of Sailor’s Creek and was transported to Point Lookout, Md., a notorious Union prison. He was there when he heard about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
“I arose pretty early,” he says. “There were 20,000 of us there. I saw a flag pole, and a flag stopped halfway.”
The youth, a slightly built man with bright red hair, knew what it meant.
“I stuck my head in a tent and said, ‘Boys, there must be some big Yankee dead.’ ”
A guard told the men later that the president had been shot. Howell says he felt no hatred toward Lincoln, only kindness.
“We didn’t fight for the preservation or extension of slavery,” he says. “It was a great curse on this country that we had slavery. We fought for states’ rights, for states’ rights.”
After the war, Howell taught at Reynoldson Institute in Gates County, N.C. He soon left teaching and went to the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a history degree. From there, he went on to Harvard and got a doctorate in history.
Howell was a history professor at the University of Arkansas. He eventually headed the department. In 1901, he was named president of Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, where he served for 50 years.
Howell was forever loyal to the South. He became state commander of the Tennessee Confederate Veterans and, in 1940, was named commander-in-chief of the national United Confederate Veterans.
In 1942, Life magazine did a spread on Howell. Several photos of the old gentleman show him dressed in his Confederate uniform. Because legislators wanted to hear more from the Confederate veteran, Howell addressed the combined Congress of the United States in Washington in 1944, when he was 98, and that is when it is believed this tape was made.
Four years later, in February 1948, on his 102nd birthday, the city of Bristol threw a party. His old friend, actress Mary Pickford, and her family attended.
Howell, who had never been sick a day in his life, died the following June.
Julius Howell was the great-great-uncle of former ANV Commander Russell Darden.
next Like many other southerners, my two grandfathers told me about their grandfathers who fought in the Civil war. My great, great grandfather from Mississippi actually was released after the war in Union City, Kentucky near the Tennessee state line. There he had to walk back to his home in Oxford, MS. My other great, […]
Confederate soldier Julius Howell Interview What The south Fought For Confederate soldier Julius Howell talking about his capture and imprisonment at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md. Howell was born in 1846 near the Holy Neck section of Suffolk, in the Holland area. He was the youngest of 16 children, the son of […]
The American Civil War Part 1 The Union I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in Little Rock for another event (Bill […]
Ken Burns discusses his Emmy winning series The Civil War – EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in Little Rock […]
Civil war veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938 Civil war veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938. Our other greatest generation. God bless both sides of this war who both tested and saved our union. _____________________________________________ I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim […]
This is colour video of Albert Woolson, the last Union veteran of the US Civil War; he is also the last absolutely confirmed veteran of that conflict from either side. This footage, as far as I know, is the very last footage taken of a US Civil War veteran at all. I believe at least […]
A montage of archival footage from the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I really enjoyed the article “REBEL GRAY’S GOLDEN DAYS: In 1911, LR filled to the brim with Confederate veterans,” by Jake Sandlin that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 15, 2011. It took 81 years before more people to gather in […]
The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that amount. At that rate we will be going bankrupt a few years after Greece.
I think the future looks bright for politicans like Ron Paul. There are several reasons why Ron Paul has surged in the polls. Let me list some of the reasons this has happened. These reasons are taken from the article by Edward Crane, “Why Ron Paul Matters,” Wall Street Journal, Dec 31, 2011:
• Austrian economics. Mr. Paul is often criticized for references to what some consider obscure economists of the so-called Austrian School. People should read them before criticizing. Nobel laureate Friedrich von Hayek and his mentor Ludwig von Mises were two of the greatest economists and social scientists ever to live.
Modern Austrian School economists such as Lawrence H. White, now at George Mason University, and Fred Foldvary at Santa Clara University predicted the housing bubble and the recession that followed the massive, multitrillion-dollar malinvestment caused by government redirection of capital into housing. Mr. Paul, like Austrian School economists, understands that we would be better off with a gold standard, competing currencies or a monetary rule than with the arbitrary and discretionary powers of our out-of-control Federal Reserve.
Mr. Paul should be given credit for his efforts to promote these ideas and other libertarian policies, all of which would make America better off. He’d be the first to admit he’s not the most erudite candidate to make the case, but surely part of his appeal is his very genuine persona.
John Duggar, 21, explains why he and his famous family are supporting Rick Santorum’s Republican presidential campaign. Recorded Jan. 2, 2012, in Boone, Iowa._____
UPDATE: Somebody sent me this Twitter from Sen. Bill Pritchard:
I am NOT in Iowa with Duggars & Jon Woods. Instead I am Campaigning hard in NWA for Sen. Bill Pritchard!
Good politics, I’d say. Pritchard beat Duggar in a race for Senate previously. He faces Woods this year. What’s more important — Arkies or catering to the fringe in the Iowa caucuses?
I read on the Arkansas Times Blog this morning this sad news about Duggar’s miscarriage. Michelle said, “I feel like my heart broke telling my children…” Below is the article from People Magazine: Michelle Duggar Miscarries By Alicia Dennis Update Thursday December 08, 2011 08:25 PM EST Originally posted Thursday December 08, 2011 04:30 PM […]
The Arkansas Times Blog reported today: EXPECTING 20th: Michelle Duggar People magazine reports that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are expecting their 20th child this spring. She’s 45 and had a rough time with her 19th, Josie, born prematurely weighing 22 ounces Link includes video to TLC, where the Duggar-based reality show airs. ______________________ Related […]
Demonstrators march through the streets of Little Rock on Saturday in a protest organized by Occupy Little Rock. (John Lyon photo) Occupy Arkansas got cranked up today in Little Rock with their first march and several hundred showed up. It was unlike the pro-life marches that I have been a part of that have had […]
What Ever Happened to the Human Race? Jason Tolbert told a story about pro-life marchers and their tactic of prayer: OWNER TURNS SPRINKLERS ON PRO-LIFE PRAYER VIGIL In July, I wrote about a new movement springing up in Arkansas that seeks to combat abortion not with violent protest, but with peaceful prayer demonstrations. It is called “40 […]
TLC stars Josh and Anna Duggar with their newborn son — TLC I was walking at the Another Duggar Baby! Josh & Anna Duggar Welcome Baby Boy Yahoo News reported: The Duggar family continues to grow! Josh Duggar, 23, – the eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle – and wife Anna, 22, welcomed their […]
In today’s news you will read about Kirk Cameron taking on the atheist Stephen Hawking over some recent assertions he made concerning the existence of heaven. Back in December of 1995 I had the opportunity to correspond with Carl Sagan about a year before his untimely death. Sarah Anne Hughes in her article,”Kirk Cameron criticizes […]
Rep. Tim Griffin and Lt. Gov. Mark Darr at the Arkansas March for Life in Little Rock from Tolbert Report. Go to Fox 16 website and you will read this story below and watch a video clip on both marches. What you will not read is the fact that only 150 people showed up for […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com President Obama on abortion Adrian Rogers (former President of Southern Baptist Convention): “I am not as afraid of the Communist, the Russians, the Chinese, as much as I am afraid of God. If God be for us, who can be against us? If God be against us, then who can be for us? It […]
Rick Santorum briefly discusses why they chose to take their newborn son home after he died and also mentions that Colmes called to apologize for his earlier comments:
UPDATE: Just to add to this, Santorum was asked to address the hurtful comments from Colmes earlier in the day, and his wife who was in the audience began to weep (via Hotair):
ABC NEWS – At a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Newton, Iowa, a member of the audience asked Santorum to react to a controversial attack leveled by liberal Fox News contributor Alan Colmes, who called the Santorum family’s approach to grieving for their dead baby boy, who lived for only two hours after his birth in 1996, “crazy.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Colmes characterized Santorum’s decision to bring the deceased child home an example of “some of the crazy things he’s said and done.”
But in Iowa this afternoon, Santorum explained that it was important for his other children to “know they had a brother.”
Santorum’s wife, Karen, who was at the event and listened to her husband talk about the experience, began to weep.
“It’s just so inappropriate,” she said as tears streamed from her eyes.
Related pro-life posts:
UPDATE: Just to add to this, Santorum was asked to address the hurtful comments from Colmes earlier in the day, and his wife who was in the audience began to weep (via Hotair):
ABC NEWS – At a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Newton, Iowa, a member of the audience asked Santorum to react to a controversial attack leveled by liberal Fox News contributor Alan Colmes, who called the Santorum family’s approach to grieving for their dead baby boy, who lived for only two hours after his birth in 1996, “crazy.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Colmes characterized Santorum’s decision to bring the deceased child home an example of “some of the crazy things he’s said and done.”
But in Iowa this afternoon, Santorum explained that it was important for his other children to “know they had a brother.”
Santorum’s wife, Karen, who was at the event and listened to her husband talk about the experience, began to weep.
“It’s just so inappropriate,” she said as tears streamed from her eyes.
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.
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Below you see an article and videos by Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute concerning Reagan and Clinton. First lets look at where we are now with Obama.
Over the last 10 presidents was have had 16.9% of GDP of deficits total from five Republican presidents and 12.7% total from Democratic presidents. However, what is most disturbing is that 8.3% of the 12.7% comes from the Obama administration who is currently in power and we are no longer in the cold war era. That is almost double the total of all the other four Democratic presidents combined under just one president. Take a look at the chart below from the Heritage Foundation:
Over the past 50 years, 10 U.S. presidents have made annual budget requests to Congress, projecting deficits both big and small. But no other president compares to Barack Obama when it comes to the size and scale of the current budget deficit facing the United States.
The country is facing an 8.3 percent estimated average national deficit of a two-term Obama administration — the biggest of the past 50 years. By comparison, the current estimate for Obama is nearly double the percentage under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush — and they were fighting the Cold War.
Political party doesn’t tell the whole story, however. President Bill Clinton leads the pack of presidents since 1961, according to data from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Heritage put together this graphic as part of our Budget Chart Book.
So what does the current trajectory mean for the United States? We’re certainly no longer looking at a continuation of manageable deficits in the years to come. This is a dramatic change in the magnitude of annual shortfalls at the federal level. That’s one reason Heritage came up with a plan to fix the debt crisis.
If you have a suggestion for a chart we should feature in the future, please post a comment below, email us at scribe@heritage.org, or send me at tweet @RobertBluey.
President Obama unveiled his fiscal year 2012 budget today, and there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s no major initiative such as the so-called stimulus scheme or the government-run healthcare proposal. The bad news, though, is that government is far too big and Obama’s budget does nothing to address this problem.
Actual spending cuts would be the best option, of course, but limiting the growth of spending is all that’s needed to slowly shrink the burden of government spending relative to gross domestic product.
Fortunately, we have two role models from recent history that show it is possible to control the federal budget. This video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity uses data from the Historical Tables of the Budget to demonstrate the fiscal policy achievements of both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Spending Restraint, Part I: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton
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 and Prosperity uses data from the Historical Tables of the Budget to show how Reagan and Clinton succeeded and compares their record to the fiscal profligacy of the Bush-Obama years.
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Some people will want to argue about who gets credit for the good fiscal policy of the 1980s and 1990s.
Bill Clinton’s performance, for instance, may not have been so impressive if he had succeeded in pushing through his version of government-run healthcare or if he didn’t have to deal with a Republican Congress after the 1994 elections. But that’s a debate for partisans. All that matters is that the burden of government spending fell during Bill Clinton’s reign, and that was good for the budget and good for the economy. And there’s no question he did a much better job than George W. Bush.
Indeed, a major theme in this new video is that the past 10 years have been a fiscal disaster. Both Bush and Obama have dramatically boosted the burden of government spending — largely because of rapid increases in domestic spending.
Last but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is that government already is far too big in the United States. This is undermining prosperity and reducing competitiveness.
Nations can make remarkable fiscal progress if policy makers simply limit the growth of government spending. This video, which is Part II of a series, uses examples from recent history in Canada, Ireland, Slovakia, and New Zealand to demonstrate how it is possible to achieve rapid improvements in fiscal policy by restraining the burden of government spending. Part I of the series examined how Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were successful in controlling government outlays — particularly the burden of domestic spending programs. http://www.freedomandprosperity.org
The Kiss bassist – who claims to have slept with over 2,000 women and has for a long time vowed never to marry – popped the question to the actress-and-former-Playboy model, in Belize recently.
In video footage for their reality show ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’, he asks Shannon: “I come with so much baggage, but you’re the only friend I’ve got, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved, you’re the only one I love, and the only one I ever will love. I’ve never said those words to anybody, and I don’t ever wanna…
“It’s funny, they used to watch movies where they say I can’t live without you but for me it’s true.”
He then gets down on one knee and says “will you marry me,” at which point Shannon is crying.
Gene, 61, and Shannon, 54, have been together for 27 years and have two children, Nicholas, 22, and Sophie, 19.
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Above you read that Gene Simmons has gone to bed with 2000 women. However, he is engaged to be married to the mother of his children. The point of contension in the past has been his infidelites. Will he be faithful to his wife? There is a strong warning from the Bible concerning this.
In the Fellowship Bible Church worship service on July 24th, Brandon Barnard read Proverbs chapters 5, 6, and 7 and when he finished he said that was strong and explicit. This warning that comes to us comes with power and intensity. I know when we talk about this, it is talking about the adulterous woman, and Proverbs is speaking to sons, but you have to take the universal context and that is that sexual pressures are coming on all of us. Men and women are engaging in pornography and affairs and romantic fantisies, but when you read Proverbs 5, 6, 7 so you there is the warning STAY AWAY FROM THIS. DEATH IS THERE AND TRAPPING IS THERE AND IT WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE. WE HAVE TO CHOOSE IF WE ARE GOING TO WALK THIS PATH OF IMPURITY OR THIS PATH OF PURITY. ALL OF US HAVE DEALT WITH THIS IN OUR LIVES MAYBE IN MORE WAYS THAN WE CARE TO ADMIT. We just can’t sweep everything under the carpet and go on doing life. We have to deal with it.
He started off the sermon by reading three chapters from Proverbs. Here are the verses:
Proverbs 5:1-23
English Standard Version (ESV)
Proverbs 5
Warning Against Adultery
1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding, 2that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge. 3For the lips of a forbidden[a] woman drip honey,
and her speech[b] is smoother than oil, 4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to[c] Sheol; 6she does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it. 7And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house, 9lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless, 10lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed, 12and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof! 13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.”
15Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well. 16Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you. 18Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated[d] always in her love. 20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?[e] 21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD,
and he ponders[f] all his paths. 22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. 23 He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray.
Proverbs 6:20-35
English Standard Version (ESV)
Warnings Against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they[a] will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24to preserve you from the evil woman,[b]
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.[c] 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,[d]
but a married woman[e] hunts down a precious life. 27Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned? 28Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched? 29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her will go unpunished. 30People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house. 32He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself. 33He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34For jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 35He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
Proverbs 7:6-27
English Standard Version (ESV)
6For at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice, 7and I have seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man lacking sense, 8passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house 9in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
10And behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[a] 11She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home; 12now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait. 13She seizes him and kisses him,
and with bold face she says to him, 14“I had to offer sacrifices,[b]
and today I have paid my vows; 15so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you. 16I have spread my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen; 17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love. 19For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey; 20he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
21With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him. 22All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast[c] 23till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24And now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth. 25Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths, 26for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng. 27Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
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Pictured above is Gene with his son Nick. Does Gene want to follow what Proverbs says or not? If he doesn’t then will his son also fall down the same trap? It is a powerful question. That is why Solomon directed these warnings to his son!!!!
It is apparent from this statement below that Senator Mark Pryor is against the Balanced Budget Amendment. He has voted against it over and over like his father did and now I will give reasons in this series why Senator Pryor will be defeated in his re-election bid in 2014. However, first I wanted to quote the statement Senator Pryor gave on December 14, 2011. This information below is from the Arkansas Times Blog on 12-14-11 and Max Brantley:
THREE CHEERS FOR MARK PRYOR: Our senator voted not once, but twice, today against one of the hoariest (and whoriest) of Republican gimmicks, a balanced budget amendment. Let’s quote him:
As H.L. Mencken once said, “For every complex problem there is a solution which is simple, clean, and wrong.” This quote describes the balanced budget amendment. While a balanced budget amendment makes for an easy talking point, it is an empty solution. Moreover, it’s a reckless choice that handcuffs our ability to respond to an economic downturn or national emergencies without massive tax increases or throwing everyone off Medicare, Social Security, or veteran’s care.There is a more responsible alternative to balance the budget. President Clinton led the way in turning deficits into record surpluses. We have that same opportunity today, using the blueprint provided by the debt commission as a starting point. We need to responsibly cut spending, reform our tax code and create job growth. This course requires hard choices over a number of years. However, it offers a more balanced approach over jeopardizing safety net programs and opportunity for robust economic growth.
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One of the biggest reasons that Senator Mark Pryor will not be re-elected in 2014 to the Senate is because EVEN THOUGH HE ASKS FOR SPENDING CUT IDEAS, HE REALLY DOESN’T WANT TO EMBRACE THEM. FOR INSTANCE, IN THIS ARTICLE BELOW BY JOHN STOSSEL THERE ARE PLENTY OF GREAT SUGGESTIONS BUT PRYOR HAS HEARD THEM ALL AND DOES NOT LIKE THEM BECAUSE HE LIKES SPENDING MORE!!!!
The point is that we don’t need to choke our government — or, more to the point, ourselves — with such simplistic devices as balanced budget amendments. The point is that we need to make our often-essential deficit and debt more sustainable, more manageable, more responsible and less massive, and that we should do that by addressing both income and outgo.
You’re right, my tea party friend, about how government must change its ways. You’re not right, though, in the over-simplicity of your assessment or in the impractical, even drastic, nature of your remedies.
Brummett’s view used to be the majority view, but in a recent poll by CNN over 70% now favor a Balanced Budget Amendment. I am starting a series today on the Balanced Budget Amendment!!!
Dear Senator Pryor,
Why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? As you know that federal deficit is at all time high (1.6 trillion deficit with revenues of 2.2 trillion and spending at 3.8 trillion).
On my blog www.HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com I took you at your word and sent you over 100 emails with specific spending cut ideas. However, I did not see any of them in the recent debt deal that Congress adopted. Now I am trying another approach. Every week from now on I will send you an email explaining different reasons why we need the Balanced Budget Amendment. It will appear on my blog on “Thirsty Thursday” because the government is always thirsty for more money to spend.
You are right to ask for ideas to cut spending because that is the real cause of the deficit. John Stossel rightly noted, “Milton Friedman always said taxes don’t tell the whole story. What counts is how much of our resources government spends, however it acquires them. The doubling of spending under Bush and Obama hasn’t gotten enough attention.”
Senator Pryor, you asked for spending cut advice. Here is some from John Stossel:
It’s not hard to balance the budget. On my show, we made enough cuts to create a $237 billion surplus. I cut whole departments, like Education and Commerce. I cut two-thirds of the Defense Department (which still leaves it much bigger than China’s). I indexed Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to inflation, raised the retirement age, and took away benefits for rich people. But I don’t have to run for office. Congressmen do, and they can’t even manage to cut ridiculous tax breaks like those for ethanol.
The political class predicted “disaster” if Congress didn’t raise its debt limit.
I think that was a scam to get more money. See, the poor politicians don’t have enough, and they need to borrow more. We taxpayers are cheap. This year we’ll give them only $2.2 trillion. They want to spend $3.8 trillion.
The president said if he didn’t get more money, Social Security checks wouldn’t go out. Why not?
With $2 trillion, they can pay Social Security, Medicare, the interest on the debt and still have billions left. It’s billions more than the government spent when President George W. Bush took office. What’s the problem?
The problem is that Republicans and Democrats under Bush and President Obama doubled spending. Now, Obama wants more taxes.
Taxes shouldn’t be the answer when spending is the problem.
Grover Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), leads the charge to keep the focus on spending. Norquist and ATR are famous for asking officeholders and candidates to sign a pledge not to raise taxes. Some say he is the reason the debt-ceiling debate was so drawn out.
“I think the reason there isn’t a tax increase on the table,” he told me, “is that 235 members of the House of Representatives signed a pledge never to raise taxes, a pledge to their voters, and 41 senators did. …
“Only if you take tax increases off the table do you even begin to … focus on spending, and that’s what Obama wants to keep our focus off of. He wants us to talk about the deficit, not spending.”
I pointed out that Obama might have scored points with the public because new revenues he sought — even though they wouldn’t do much to shrink the deficit — would come from closing unpopular tax “loopholes.”
Norquist said he favors that — if tax rates are lowered at the same time.
“(We) want to simplify the code,” he said. “(We) want to take a lot of the goodies that politicians have laced into that code … as long as you reduce tax rates and it’s not a hidden tax increase.”
Milton Friedman always said taxes don’t tell the whole story. What counts is how much of our resources government spends, however it acquires them. The doubling of spending under Bush and Obama hasn’t gotten enough attention.
“We need to ask what it is government should do,” Norquist said. “But it’s going to be knockdown, drag-out. All government overspending creates the constituency for its own perpetuation. … Weaning people off, that is very difficult.”
He’s right. When politicians make little cuts in the rate of spending growth, every interest group mobilizes to protect its little piece of the pie. That’s why you must cut government like you take off a Band-Aid: quickly and all at once.
It’s not hard to balance the budget. On my show, we made enough cuts to create a $237 billion surplus. I cut whole departments, like Education and Commerce. I cut two-thirds of the Defense Department (which still leaves it much bigger than China’s). I indexed Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to inflation, raised the retirement age, and took away benefits for rich people. But I don’t have to run for office. Congressmen do, and they can’t even manage to cut ridiculous tax breaks like those for ethanol.
Obama predicted disaster if the debt ceiling wasn’t raised. Some predict disaster if the ratings agencies downgrade Treasury bonds. I’m dubious. In 1995, President Clinton and Republican Congress couldn’t agree on a budget, so the government shut down twice, the second time for three weeks.
Did the economy grind to a halt? No. During the first shutdown, the stock market went up. During the second, it dropped then recovered.
The alarmists screamed that the fight over the debt ceiling would discourage lenders. Wrong. Ten-year Treasury bonds sold for a measly 3 percent interest (versus 15 percent in 1981).
I wasn’t worried that Congress would fail to raise the debt ceiling. But I am worried that Congress will keep spending.
John Stossel
John Stossel is host of “Stossel” on the Fox Business Network. He’s the author of “Give Me a Break” and of “Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity.” To find out more about John Stossel, visit his site at johnstossel.com.
The liberals have been successful at getting government to spend over 25 percent of our total GDP, but the problem is that money is running out. Actually it ran out a long time ago. In 2011 we spent 3.8 trillion and took in a little over half that amount. At that rate we will be going bankrupt a few years after Greece.
I think the future looks bright for politicans like Ron Paul. There are several reasons why Ron Paul has surged in the polls. Let me list some of the reasons this has happened. These reasons are taken from the article by Edward Crane, “Why Ron Paul Matters,” Wall Street Journal, Dec 31, 2011:
• Civil liberties. Libertarians often differ with conservatives over issues related to civil liberties. Mr. Paul’s huge support among young people is due in large part to his fierce commitment to protecting the individual liberties guaranteed us in the Constitution. He would work to repeal significant parts of the so-called Patriot Act. Its many civil liberties transgressions include the issuance by the executive branch of National Security Letters (a form of administrative subpoena) without a court order, and the forbiddance of American citizens from mentioning that they have received one of these letters at the risk of jail.
The Bush and Obama administrations have claimed the right to incarcerate an American citizen on American soil, without charge, without access to an attorney, for an indefinite period.
President Obama even claims the right to kill American citizens on foreign soil, without due process of law, for suspected terrorist activities. Meanwhile, the Stop Online Piracy Act moving through the House is a clear effort by the federal government to censor the Internet. Mr. Paul stands up against all this, which should and does engender support from limited government advocates in the GOP.
The Right Scoop
The Daily Hatch 