Back in 2010, I put together a “Moocher Index” as a rough measure of which states had the highest levels of welfare dependency after adjusting for poverty rates.
My goal was to answer this question.
Is there a greater willingness to sign up for income redistribution programs, all other things being equal, from one state to another?
It turned out that there were huge differences among states. Nearly 18 percent of non-poor Vermont residents were utilizing one or more welfare programs, putting them at the top of the Moocher Index.
In Nevada, by contrast, less the 4 percent of non-poor residents had their snouts in the public trough.
Does this mean Nevada residents are more self-reliant and Vermont residents are culturally statist?
To be perfectly frank, I don’t know, in part because the Moocher Index was an indirect measure of attitudes about dependency.
So I was very interested when I came across some state-by-state numbers from the Department of Agriculture showing food stamp participation compared to food stamp eligibility.
There are some clear similarities between these food stamp numbers and the Moocher Index. Maine and Vermont are in the top 3 of both lists, which doesn’t reflect well on people from that part of the country.
And Nevada and Colorado are in the bottom 10 of both lists.
But there’s no consistent pattern. Mississippi and Hawaii are in the top 10 of the Moocher Index but bottom 10 for food stamp utilization.
What really stands out, though, is that the people of California win the prize for self reliance, at least with regard to food stamps. Only 55 percent of eligible people from the Golden State have signed up for the program. Doesn’t make sense when you look at some of the crazy things that are approved by California voters, but I assume the numbers are accurate.
I’m also surprised that folks from New Jersey are relatively unlikely to utilize food stamps.
On the other hand, why are Tennessee residents so willing to use my wallet to buy food?
Oregon, not surprisingly, always does poorly, whether we’re looking at a map or a list.
Let’s close with a few real-world examples of what we’re getting in exchange for the tens of billions of dollars that are being spent each year for food stamps.
I have written about the tremendous increase in the food stamp program the last 9 years before and that means that both President Obama and Bush were guilty of not trying to slow down it’s growth. Furthermore, Republicans have been some of the biggest supporters of the food stamp program. Milton Friedman had a […]
I have put up lots of cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. Big government will destroy the human spirit. Political Cartoon: Smothered by Big Government December 16, 2011 by Dan Mitchell […]
Welfare state may drag England down the tubes!!!! Very Funny but Very Un-PC British Video on Welfare and Immigration May 19, 2013 by Dan Mitchell I’ve shared this bit of political incorrect terrorism humor from England, as well asthis somewhat un-PC bit of tax humor. But perhaps motivated by the scandal of giving welfare to terrorists, this new video is […]
I have put up lots of cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. Reagan inherited a sluggish economy like President Obama did but he cut taxes and regulations and got the […]
I have put up lots of cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. The sad truth is Obama is wrong about the mean rich people keeping this county down. The Grinch […]
I thought it was great when the Republican Congress and Bill Clinton put in welfare reform but now that has been done away with and no one has to work anymore it seems. In fact, over 40% of the USA is now on the government dole. What is going to happen when that figure gets over […]
Senator Pryor pictured below: Why do I keep writing and email Senator Pryor suggestions on how to cut our budget? I gave him hundreds of ideas about how to cut spending and as far as I can tell he has taken none of my suggestions. You can find some of my suggestions here, here, here, […]
What Are the Dangers of Too Much Debt? Published on Mar 20, 2012 Interest payments on U.S. government debt are three times spending in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars already, and that is with the lowest interest rate we have seen since the 1960s. A rise in interest rates would increase interest payments dramatically. What […]
I have put up lots of cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. Getting votes for handing out government services!!!! That is exactly what President Obama did by almost doubling our food stamp rolls. An […]
President Obama has really cranked up the welfare state (Bush really never slowed it down either) and I think this cartoon below is really appropriate. A Real-Life Example of How Government Handouts Create Life-Sapping Dependency February 7, 2013 by Dan Mitchell Remember Julia, the mythical moocher created by the Obama campaign to show the joys of […]
I have put up lots of cartoon’s from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. Want to Know How to Define Regime Uncertainty? October 13, 2010 by Dan Mitchell My previous post looked at […]
People will move when you raise the taxes too much!!!! Final Score: Dwight Howard 8,000,000 – Jerry Brown 0 July 7, 2013 by Dan Mitchell I feel sorry for the people of California. They’re in a state that faces a very bleak future. And why does the Golden State have a not-so-golden outlook? Because interest groups have effective […]
Senator Pryor pictured below: Why do I keep writing and email Senator Pryor suggestions on how to cut our budget? I gave him hundreds of ideas about how to cut spending and as far as I can tell he has taken none of my suggestions. You can find some of my suggestions here, here, here, […]
I have put up lots of cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. President Obama has always strongly supported the unions but these teacher unions don’t give a hoot about the […]
I have put up lots of cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog before and they have got lots of hits before. Many of them have dealt with the economy, eternal unemployment benefits, socialism, Greece, welfare state or on gun control. President Obama really does think that all his answers lie in raising taxes on the rich when the […]
Thompson Twins – If You Were Here (Live in Liverpool)
Uploaded on Jul 9, 2006
Live in Liverpool 1983
____________________
Sixteen Candles Final Scene Movie Ending Video
if you were here
i could deceive you
and if you were here
you would believe
but would you suspect
my emotion wandering, yeah
do not want a part of this anymore
The rain water drips
through a crack in the ceiling
and i’ll have to spend
my time on repair
But just like the rain
i’ll be always falling, yeah
only to rise and fall again
(REPEAT CHORUS)
The Thompson Twins were a BritishNew Wavepop group that formed in April 1977[2] and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the globe.
The band was named after the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson in Hergé’s comic strip The Adventures of Tintin.[3] At various stages, the band had up to seven members though their best known incarnation was as a trio between 1982-86. They became a prominent act in the so-called Second British Invasion, and in 1985, the band performed at Live Aid where they were joined onstage by Madonna.[3]
In 1977, the original Thompson Twins line-up consisted of Tom Bailey (born 18 January 1954, Halifax, Yorkshire)[4] on bass and vocals, Pete Dodd on guitar and vocals, John Roog on guitar, and Jon Podgorski (known as “Pod”) on drums.[1][5] Dodd and Roog first met when they were both 13 years old.
Arriving in London with very little money, they lived as squatters in Lillieshall Road, London. Future Thompson Twins member Alannah Currie (born 20 September 1957, Auckland, New Zealand) lived in another squat in the same street — which is how she met Bailey. It was in this ramshackle and run-down house that they found an illegal way of “borrowing” electricity from the house next door. Bailey described themselves (laughingly) as spongers (meaning that they were on the dole—unemployed) back then, as they were living on very little and scavenging everything they could lay their hands on. He even said that the only instruments they had were bought, or had been stolen or borrowed. Dodd managed to get a council flat not far away. Their roadie at that time was John Hade, who lived in the same house, and who later became their manager.
As Podgorski had decided to stay in the north, the group auditioned for drummers at the Point Studio in Victoria, London. Andrew Edge joined them on drums for less than one year, and went on to join Savage Progress, who later toured with the Thompson Twins as their support act on the 1984 UK tour.[6]
In 1980, the band (now consisting of Bailey, Dodd, Roog and new drummer Chris Bell) released their first single “Squares and Triangles” on their own DIrty Discs label. A follow-up single, “She’s In Love With Mystery”, was issued later that year.
Membership changes
By 1981, the line-up was Bailey, Dodd, Roog, Bell and two new members: former band roadie Joe Leeway on congas and percussion, and Jane Shorter on saxophone. This line-up recorded the first Thompson Twins album A Product of … (Participation), documented in the film, Listen to London (1981).[7] Currie, who had been associated with the band for a few years, played and sang on the first album, but was not yet a full member.
After the first album, the band’s line-up shifted yet again. Saxophonist Jane Shorter left, percussionist Currie was made an official member, and bassist Matthew Seligman, a former member of The Soft Boys and The Fallout Club, joined.[1] Bailey moved to keyboards and guitar in addition to serving as lead vocalist, with Leeway handling vocals on a few tracks.
The band signed to Arista Records and released the album Set.[1]Thomas Dolby played some keyboards on Set and some live gigs, as Bailey had little experience with synthesizers before then. Set contained the single “In the Name of Love”, sung and largely written by Bailey. It became a No. 1 dance club hit in the US,[8] and an album entitled In the Name of Love (consisting mainly of tracks from Set, with two others from A Product Of… (Participation)) was released in the US to capitalize on the song’s popularity. It entered the US Billboard 200.[9]
Reduction to a trio
After the success of “In the Name of Love”, Bailey, Currie and Leeway, wanting to pursue the single’s different sound, toyed with the idea of starting a new band on the side, which they planned to call ‘The Bermuda Triangle’.[10] When “In The Name Of Love” (and the parent album Set) failed to make a substantial impact in the UK record charts, this plan was abandoned. However, at the same time, manager Hade convinced Bailey, Leeway and Currie to downsize the Thompson Twins to a core of the three in April 1982.[10] Accordingly, the other four members of the band were notified that they were being let go; they were each paid £500 and were allowed to keep their instruments and equipment.
The Thompson Twins decided to go abroad to free themselves of any UK influence, as well as to combine the songwriting for their first album as a trio with a long holiday. They first went to Egypt and then to the Bahamas where they recorded at the Compass Point Studios in Nassau with the producer, Alex Sadkin.
International success
The band broke into the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at the beginning of 1983 with “Lies” and “Love On Your Side”, which became the band’s first UK Top 10 single.[3][8] They then released their third album, Quick Step and Side Kick (called simply Side Kicks in the US),[9] which peaked at number 2 in the UK and was later certified platinum there. Further singles followed with “We Are Detective” (another Top 10 UK hit) and “Watching”.[3] All three received songwriting credits, though the band publicly acknowledged Bailey as the songwriter, with Currie contributing lyrics and Leeway focusing on the stage show.[11] During 1983, the band had the opening spot on The Police concert tour in the US.
A new single, “Hold Me Now“, was released towards the end of 1983. The song was an international chart success, peaking at No. 4 in their native UK where it became the band’s biggest seller earning a gold disc,[12] and reached No. 3 in the US in the spring of 1984 becoming their biggest American hit.[8] The band’s new album, Into the Gap, was released in early 1984 and became one of the year’s biggest sellers, selling five million copies worldwide. It topped the UK Albums Chart[3] and was later certified double platinum there. Further hit singles from the album followed with “Doctor! Doctor!” (UK No. 3) and “You Take Me Up” (UK No. 2, their highest UK singles chart placing[3] and which earned a silver disc).[13] Other singles included a new version of the album track “Sister of Mercy” (UK No. 11), and “The Gap” (though this was not released in the UK). The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album, which had also made the US top ten.
A new single, “Lay Your Hands On Me”, was released in the UK in late 1984 and reached No. 13 in the UK charts.[3] However, while working on the follow-up album to Into The Gap, Bailey suffered a nervous breakdown. The band’s planned next single, “Roll Over”, was then cancelled at the last minute. The band had already parted company with their producer Alex Sadkin, and Nile Rodgers was subsequently called in to help finish the album. Released in September 1985, Here’s To Future Days reached the Top 5 in the UK and the Top 20 in the US,[9] though failed to come close to the success of Into The Gap. It spawned the single “King For A Day”, which peaked at No. 22 in the UK,[3] but reached No. 8 on the US chart[8] Other singles included a new US version of “Lay Your Hands On Me” (US No. 6),[8] the anti-drug song “Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream” (UK No. 15)[3] and an unsuccessful cover of The Beatles‘ 1968 hit “Revolution” which became the band’s first single to fail to make the UK Top 40 in three years.
Prior to the album’s release, the Thompson Twins made headlines when they performed on the American leg of Live Aid in July 1985 and were joined onstage by Madonna.[3] The planned 1985 tour of the UK had to be cancelled due to Bailey’s breakdown (fans with tickets received a free live album as compensation), though international dates were re-scheduled and the latter half of 1985 saw sell out tours for the band in the US and Japan.[14]
Final years
Leeway left the band in 1986, and the remaining duo of Bailey and Currie carried on making music for another seven years.[1] 1987 saw the release of Close to the Bone and the single “Get That Love”, which climbed to No. 31 in the US[8] but failed in the UK.[1] “In the Name of Love” was given a new lease on life in 1988, after a remix by Shep Pettibone made the Top 50 in the UK.[3] 1989 saw the release of another album, Big Trash, and a new recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.[1] The single “Sugar Daddy” peaked at No. 28 in the US[8] and would be their last brush with mainstream chart success.[1] 1991’s Queer would be the band’s swansong, and was supported by various techno inspired singles under the moniker of Feedback Max (in the UK) to disguise the identity of the band to clubDJs. The single “Come Inside” reached No. 7 in the US Dance Chart[8] and No. 1 in the UK Dance Chart. However, once it was discovered that the Thompson Twins were behind the record, sales dropped and the album never had a UK release[citation needed].
Prior to this, Bailey and Currie (who were now a couple) had their first child together in 1988,[1] and in the following years they spent a lot of time writing material for other artists including the hit single “I Want That Man” for Debbie Harry in 1989. In 1990, Bailey and Currie contributed the song “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” to the Cole Porter tribute album “Red Hot + Blue“ produced by the Red Hot Organization. In 1991, Bailey and Currie were married in Las Vegas and the following year moved to New Zealand with their two children. In 1992, the Thompson Twins contributed the song “Play With Me” to the soundtrack of the Ralph Bakshi film Cool World; Bailey alone contributed a second track, “Industry and Seduction”. The following year, the duo formally teamed up with engineer Keith Fernley and changed their band name to Babble.[1]
The Thompson Twins declined to follow the examples of many of their contemporaries and reform to tie-in with a nostalgic rebirth of the 1980s, although Bailey, Currie and Leeway appeared together on the UK Channel 4 show Top Ten Electro Bands in 2001. The Thompson Twins were placed ninth.
Criticism
The British music press regularly criticised the Thompson Twins. The NME called them, “1984’s most instantly kitsch mass program of monosodium glutamation of the brain”. City Limits said they were “candy-floss art capitalists”, whilst The Guardian dubbed them “The three haircuts”.[11]
After the Twins
Babble released two albums — The Stone (1993)[1] and Ether (1996) — with songs featured in the films Coneheads and With Honors. Three quarters of a third album was recorded, but it remains unreleased.
In the mid-1990s, Currie gave up the music business to set up her own glass-casting studio in Auckland. After her sister died of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Currie founded a group in New Zealand called Mothers Against Genetic-Engineering in Food and the Environment (also known as MADGE), which soon had thousands of members.[11] Currie described this group as a “rapidly growing network of politically non-aligned women who are actively resisting the use of genetically-engineered material in our food and on our land”. An advert for this group featuring a young woman with four breasts hooked up to a milking machine became famous after appearing on billboards across New Zealand.[11] Bailey and Currie split up in 2003, and are now divorced. They both left New Zealand to live separately in Britain, but are still close friends. In 2011, Currie married Jimmy Cauty (formerly of The KLF) and as of then was a trained upholsterer known professionally as “Miss Pokeno”.[15]
In 1999, Bailey produced and played keyboards on the album Mix by the New Zealand band Stellar*, and won the Producer of the Year Award at the 2000 New Zealand Music Awards.[16] He has also arranged soundtracks and has provided instrumental music for several films. He continues to make music under the moniker International Observer and has released the albums Seen (2001), All Played Out (2005), and Felt (2009).[17] He also performs with the Holiwater group from India. Remarried (to artist Lauren Drescher), he currently resides in London.
After leaving the Thompson Twins in 1986, Leeway briefly dabbled in acting and attempted a solo music career, though neither were successful. As of 2006, he resides in Los Angeles, California, and works in the field of hypnotherapy. He is on the staff at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI) in Tarzana, California, and is also a certified trainer in neuro-linguistic programming.
The earlier members went on to do other things:
Dodd and Roog formed a band called Big View (with Edge on drums) and recorded a single called, “August Grass”, which was released on Point Records (owned by Merton, the Thompson Twins publisher) in 1982.[18] Dodd is now living back in Chesterfield working as a freelance journalist — and has released his own History of Rock album billed as Peter & the Wolves. Dodd still sees Podgorski on a regular basis.
Roog lives in London and is in a senior position in Tower Hamlets Adult Services.
Seligman worked for a law firm in London, and has played in The Soft Boys reunions as well as releasing his own albums,[19] but has moved to Japan with his Japanese wife and their daughter. In 2009, he contributed to the new Thomas Dolby album.
The Keith Green Story pt 3/7 Keith Green had a major impact on me back in 1978 when I first heard him. Here is his story below: Spiritual Conversion Keith had a Jewish and Christian Science background, but grew up reading the New Testament. He called it “an odd combination” that left him open minded […]
The Lou Gramm Band – You Saved Me (great song) Uploaded by SacredWarrior1991 on May 2, 2011 This song is taken from The Lou Gramm Band (LGB – 2009). ______________________________________ The Lou Gramm Band – I Wanna Testify (great song) Uploaded by SacredWarrior1991 on May 2, 2011 This song is taken from The Lou Gramm […]
Double Vision – Foreigner Foreigner- Urgent Foreigner – Cold As Ice _____________________________ The Lou Gramm Band – Redeemer (great song) Uploaded by SacredWarrior1991 on May 2, 2011 This song is taken from The Lou Gramm Band (LGB – 2009). ____________________________________ Lou Gramm Knows What Love Is – CBN.com Uploaded by CBNonline on Nov 4, 2009 […]
Katy Perry Dedicates Song to Tim Tebow at Super Bowl Party Sun, Feb. 05, 2012 Posted: 07:01 PM EDT Flamboyant pop star Katy Perry dedicated suggestive song “Peacock” to evangelical quarterback Tim Tebow at a pre-Super Bowl party Saturday night. Perry, the daughter of Christian ministers, said “This one goes out to Tim […]
Wikipedia reported: Blondie Chris Stein and Deborah Harry in 2008 Background information Origin New York City, US Genres New Wave punk rock[1][2] dance-rock[3] pop punk[3][4] post-punk power pop Years active 1974–1982 1997–present Labels Chrysalis/EMI Beyond/BMG Epic Sanctuary Private Stock Website http://www.blondie.net Members Debbie Harry Chris Stein Clem Burke Leigh Foxx Matt Katz-Bohen Tommy Kessler Jimmy […]
Chynna Phillips is open about her Christian faith jh31 “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS) is a very popular show. I have only watched it a little, but I am a big fan of Chynna Phillips. I love a lot of her music. Dancing With the Stars: Chynna Phillips Speaks Openly About Her Christian Faith Actress […]
In-Studio Interviews – Tyson Ritter ‘The All American Rejects’ Interview: Kids In The Street I enjoyed the concert in Little Rock on 12-13-12, and lead singer Tyson Ritter wrote a song on his latest cd that we should all pay attention to because it covers an issue that both him and many other lead singers […]
Woody Allen serves as guest host on this 1971 edition of “The Tonight Show”, with Ed McMahon riding shotgun.
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Dick & Woody shmooze with the audience
Uploaded on Jul 1, 2008
An audience member saw Woody on the street and made the misassumption that Woody was en route to see a movie called SWEDEN: HEAVEN & HELL. But in actuality Woody was en route to see a movie called HISTOIRES EXTRAORDINAIRES.
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Woody Allen show
Woody Allen Show 2
Woody Allen Show 3
Woody Allen Show 4
Woody Allen Interview- “Take The Money And Run” (Merv Griffin Show 1969)
Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham pt.1 – Featured Video –
Why do I keep writing and email Senator Pryor suggestions on how to cut our budget? I gave him hundreds of ideas about how to cut spending and as far as I can tell he has taken none of my suggestions. You can find some of my suggestions here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, and they all were emailed to him. In fact, I have written 13 posts pointing out reasons why I believe Senator Pryor’s re-election attempt will be unsuccessful. HERE I GO AGAIN WITH ANOTHER EMAIL I JUST SENT TO SENATOR PRYOR!!!
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.thedailyhatch.org . I took you at your word and sent you over 100 emails with specific spending cut ideas. (Actually there were over 160 emails with specific spending cut suggestions.) However, I did not see any of them in the recent debt deal that Congress adopted although you did respond to me several times. 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. Today I actually have included a great article below from the Heritage Foundation concerning an area of our federal budget that needs to be cut down to size. The funny thing about the Sequester and the 2.4% of cuts in future increases is that President Obama set these up and then he acted like the sky was falling in as the cartoons indicate in the newspapers.
IF YOU TRULY WANT TO CUT THE BUDGET AND BALANCE THE BUDGET THEN SUBMIT THESE POTENTIAL BUDGET CUTS PRESENTED BELOW!!
_______________
Does Government Have a Revenue or Spending Problem?
People say the government has a debt problem. Debt is caused by deficits, which is the difference between what the government collects in tax revenue and the amount of government spending. Every time the government runs a deficit, the government debt increases. So what’s to blame: too much spending, or too little tax revenue? Economics professor Antony Davies examines the data and concludes that the root cause of the debt is too much government spending.
_______________
We got to cut wasteful spending out of the government and here is another fine suggestion from the Heritage Foundation.
The massive spending bill, or continuing resolution, released by the Senate this week continues spending on programs which are inappropriate or wasteful and fails to adopt good policies in many areas. Here’s a rundown of some of the worst offenders in the Senate bill:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):$77.2 billion. The recommendation continues record-high food stamp benefits. Food stamp spending has approximately doubled since President Obama came to office. It is one of the largest and fastest growing federal welfare programs. The federal government operates 80 federal welfare programs at a cost of nearly $1 trillion a year. Over 10 of these provide food assistance.
Food stamp spending should be rolled back to pre-recession levels. Able-bodied adults without dependents who receive food stamp benefits should be required to work or prepare for work as a condition of receiving benefits.
—Rachel Sheffield, Research Associate
Job Corps: $30 million added to the funding level already provided under sequestration. This program should be terminated, because a scientifically rigorous impact evaluation of Job Corps participants were less likely to obtain high school degrees, were no more likely to attend or complete college, and earned only $0.22 more in hourly wages than non-participants. Further, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General estimates each Job Corps participant who is successfully placed into any job costs taxpayers $76,574.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grants: $416.5 million. VAWA grants should be terminated, because these services should be funded locally. Using federal agencies to fund the routine operations of domestic violence programs that state and local governments could provide is a misuse of federal resources and a distraction from concerns that are truly the province of the federal government.
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) grants: $1.1 billion. OJP grants should be terminated, because these grants assign functions to the federal government that fall within the expertise, jurisdiction, and constitutional responsibilities of state and local governments. Further, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants ($392 million) within OJP have been used to place criminals on the street without posting bail.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP): $279.5 million. OJJDP grants should be terminated, because these grants fund juvenile justice and prevention programs that fall under the unique responsibilities of state and local governments. Further, there is little evidence that these grants are effective at preventing delinquency.
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): $225.5 million. COPS grants should be terminated, because these grants assign functions to the federal government that fall within the expertise, jurisdiction, and constitutional responsibilities of state and local governments. Further COPS grants were used to supplant local funds and had little to no effect on reducing crime.
FEMA Fire Grants: $675 million. Fire grants should be terminated. Fire grants, which subsidize the routine operations of local fire departments, are ineffective at reducing fire-related deaths and injuries of firefighters and civilians. Fire grants incorrectly encourage local fire departments to become increasingly dependent on federal funding.
—David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Empirical Policy Analysis
In my speeches, especially when talking about the fiscal crisis in Europe (or the future fiscal crisis in America), I often warn that the welfare state reaches a point-of-no-return when the number of people riding in the wagon begins to outnumber the number of people pulling the wagon.
To be more specific, if more than 50 percent of the population is dependent on government (employed in the bureaucracy, living off welfare, receiving pensions, etc), it becomes rather difficult to form a coalition to fix the mess. This may explain why Greek politicians have resisted significant reforms, even though the nation faces a fiscal death spiral.
But you don’t need me to explain this relationship. One of our Cato interns, Silvia Morandotti, used her artistic skills to create two images (click pictures for better resolution) that show what a welfare state looks like when it first begins and what it eventually becomes.
These images are remarkably accurate. The welfare state starts with small programs targeted at a handful of genuinely needy people. But as politicians figure out the electoral benefits of expanding programs and people figure out the that they can let others work on their behalf, the ratio of producers to consumers begins to worsen.
Then things get really interesting. Small nations such as Greece can rely on permanent bailouts from bigger countries and the IMF, but sooner or later, as larger nations begin to go bankrupt, that approach won’t be feasible.
I often conclude my speeches by joking with the audience that it’s time to stock up on canned goods, bottled water, and ammo. Many people, I’m finding, don’t think that line very funny.
If you spend too much then people won’t want to work anymore.
_______________
The Balanced Budget Amendment is the only thing I can think of that would force Washington to cut spending. We have only a handful of balanced budgets in the last 60 years, so obviously what we are doing is not working. We are passing along this debt to the next generation. YOUR APPROACH HAS BEEN TO REJECT THE BALANCED BUDGET “BECAUSE WE SHOULD CUT THE BUDGET OURSELF,” WELL THEN HERE IS YOUR CHANCE!!!! SUBMIT THESE CUTS!!!!
Thank you for this opportunity to share my ideas with you.
The problem with the debt ceiling is very clear to me. We need to get serious about cutting federal spending. I am so upset about it that I have emailed over 100 emails to Senator Pryor concerning specific spending suggestions. I get emails from back from Senator Pryor like the one below. This means that […]
Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 164) Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to […]
Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 163) Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to […]
Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 162) Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to […]
Three very good video tours below from Senator Mark Pryor. Published on Jun 13, 2012 by SenatorPryor Episode 1: Arkansans in the Capitol Published on Jul 9, 2012 by SenatorPryor Episode 2: The Crypt and the Old Supreme Court Published on Aug 20, 2012 by SenatorPryor Episode 3: The Senate Chamber If you want to […]
Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 161) Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to […]
Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending and I sent them to him but he didn’t take any of my suggestions. However, he did take time to get back to me today, but I am not too impressed with Senator Pryor’s response. I gave him hundreds of ideas about how […]
Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 160) Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to […]
Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 159) Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to […]
Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below: Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. On May 11, 2011, I emailed to […]
Office of the Majority Whip | Balanced Budget Amendment Video In 1995, Congress nearly passed a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget. The Balanced Budget Amendment would have forced the federal government to live within its means. This Balanced Budget Amendment failed by one vote. 16 years later, Congress has the chance to get it […]
Sadly Senator Pryor has voted against the Balanced Budget Amendment over and over in his long time in the Senate. Senator Pryor: “There are a lot of people who think a balanced-budget amendment solves all the fiscal problems. I completely disagree.” (Peter Urban, Pryor Tilts Balanced Budget, Southwest Times Record, 11/17/11) Dear Senator Pryor, Why […]
Mark Levin and Senator Hatch discuss the balanced budget amendment and it’s importance. Uploaded by loveconstitution on Jan 28, 2011 Mark Levin interviews Senator Hatch 1/27/2011 about the balanced budget amendment. Mark is very excited about the balanced budget amendment being proposed by Senator Orin Hatch and John Cornyn and he discusses the amendment with […]
Dr. Jay Barth with Hendrix College comments on our latest poll results on Arkansas politics (clip from Talkbusiness) Talk Business reported today in the article “Poll Shows Beebe Strength, Pryor Shaky,” the following: A new Talk Business-Hendrix College Poll shows Gov. Mike Beebe (D) maintaining his high job approval rating, while Sen. Mark Pryor (D) […]
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor at the 2009 Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Dinner, Arkansas’s largest annual political event. Mark Pryor is up for re-election to the Senate in 2014. It is my opinion that the only reason he did not have an opponent in 2008 was because the Republicans in Arkansas did not want to go […]
Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the CATO institute, explains that the rate of return on social security will be much lower for todays youth. Steve Brawner wrote in his article “Tiptoeing toward the third rail,” (Arkansas News Bureau, Jan 9,): Social Security has long been considered the “third rail” for American politicians, meaning it’s […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com CBS — October 19, 2010 — New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny talks to Jan Crawford about the state of Democrats in the South… Are they a dying species? In the article “Southern Democrat much closer to extinction after GOP wave,” (Washington Times, Nov 4, 2010), Ben Evans notes: After this week’s elections, the […]
HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com Roland Martin appears on Rick’s List with Rick Sanchez and the Best Political Team on television (Candy Crowley, John King, Jeffery Toobin, Ed Rollins, Gloria Borger and Victoria Toensing) to discuss day two of the Elena Kagan Supreme Court confirmation hearings. During the analysis, Senator Graham and Elena Kagan had an interesting exchange over […]
Q: York County was recently in the news for a lawsuit involving the teaching of intelligent design. What’s your attitude regarding the teaching of evolution in public schools?
A: “I’m a Christian, and I believe in parents being able to provide children with religious instruction without interference from the state. But I also believe our schools are there to teach worldly knowledge and science. I believe in evolution, and I believe there’s a difference between science and faith. That doesn’t make faith any less important than science. It just means they’re two different things. And I think it’s a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don’t hold up to scientific inquiry.”
Sagan is the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University. He is author of many best sellers, including Cosmos, which became the most widely read science book ever published in the English language.
In this book Sagan discusses the claims of the paranormal and fringe-science. For instance, he examines closely such issues as astrology (p. 303), crop circles (p. 75), channelers (pp. 203-206), UFO abductees (pp. 185-186), faith-healing fakes (p. 229), and witch-hunting (p. 119). Readers of The Skeptical Inquirer will notice that Sagan’s approach is very similar.
Sagan writes:
The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is an organization of scientists, academics, magicians, and others dedicated to skeptical scrutiny of emerging or full-blown pseudo-sciences. It was founded by the University of Buffalo philosopher Paul Kurtz in 1976. I’ve been affiliated with it since its beginning. Its acronym, CSICOP, is pronounced Asci-cop C as if it’s an organization of scientists performing a police function Y CSICOP publishes a bimonthly periodical called AThe Skeptical Inquirer. On the day it arrives, I take it home from the office and pore through its pages, wondering what new misunderstandings will be revealed (p. 299).
Sagan points out that in 1991 two pranksters in England admitted that they had been making crop figures for 15 years. They flattened the wheat with a heavy steel bar. Later on they used planks and ropes, but the media paid brief attention to the confession of these hoaxers. Why? Sagan concludes, ’Demons sell; hoaxers are boring and in bad taste’ (p. 76).
Christians must admire Sagan’s commitment to critical thinking, logic, and freedom of thought. He takes on many subjects in this book, and the vast majority of his analysis is exceptional. However, his opinions on religious matters are affected by his devotion to scientism. Sagan believes only that which can be proved by science is true. He disputes psychologist Charles Tart’s assertion that scientism is ’dehumanizing, despiritualizing’ (p. 267). Sagan comments, ’There is very little doubt that, in the everyday world, matter (and energy) exist. The evidence is all around us. In contrast, as I’ve mentioned earlier the evidence for something non-material called `spirit’ or `soul’ is very much in doubt’ (p. 267).
Science can only prove things about the physical world, and it cannot prove anything about the spiritual world. Does that mean that the mind and soul don’t exist? Of course not! First, we must realize that science is not the only way to truth. Even Sagan must admit that he must justify values like ’be objective’ or ’report data honestly’. Where do those values come from? They came from outside science, but they must be in place for science to work.
Sagan gives an illustration that contrasts physics and metaphysics. He shows that the physicist’s idea will have to be discarded if tests fail in the laboratory. Therefore, the main difference between physics and metaphysics is that the metaphysicist has no laboratory. This is a cute story, but can science answer the basic questions that underline all knowledge? Metaphysics is necessary for science to take place. It is not true that science is superior to metaphysics like Sagan would have us believe. The presuppositions of science can only be validated by philosophy. J. P. Moreland has correctly said, ’The validation of science is a philosophical issue, not a scientific one, and any claim to the contrary will be a self-refuting philosophical claim’ (Scaling the Secular City, p. 197).
Second, the absence of scientific evidence for the soul does not mean the soul does not exist. Sagan himself states,’Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’ (p. 213).
I was impressed with the way Sagan put his inner thoughts on the table. For instance, he comments, ’Plainly, there’s something within me that’s ready to believe in life after death…If some good evidence for life after death was announced, I’d be eager to examine it; but it would have to be real scientific data, not mere anecdote’ (pp. 203-204). What kind of evidence is Sagan looking for? It certainly is not vague prophecies. He states, ’Think of how many religions attempt to validate themselves with prophecy…Think of how many people rely on these prophecies, however vague, however unfulfilled, to support or prop up their beliefs…Yet has there ever been a religion with the prophetic accuracy and reliability of science? (p. 30). The answer to that question is yes. Christianity can point to very clear passages such as Isaiah 53 and Daniel 11 written hundreds of years before the events occurred.
While comparing science to religion, Sagan comments, ’Science is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It’s just the best we have (pp. 27-28). Here Sagan is only half right. Science is imperfect, but it is not better than the Bible.’
The Demon-Haunted Worldis a thought-provoking book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Some of Sagan’s anti-Christian views come through, but on the whole, this book uses critical thinking and logic and applies them to the claims of the paranormal and fringe-science of our day.
Reviewed by Everette Hatcher III, P.O. Box 23416, Little Rock, AR 72221.
Friendly Fire with John Whitehead—Rob Boston (Part 2)
The Bible and Archaeology (1/5) The Bible maintains several characteristics that prove it is from God. One of those is the fact that the Bible is accurate in every one of its details. The field of archaeology brings to light this amazing accuracy. _________________________- I want to make two points today. 1. There is no […]
Leviathan: the Fire-Breathing Dragon: Kent Hovind [6 of 7] Everybody is trying to get info on this subject. Here is what the Bible has to say about it. Mace Baker wrote the aritcle, “Sea Dragons – The Institute for Creation Research,” and here is the third portion of that article: Pterosaurs were the flying reptiles of the ancient world. Why […]
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 […]
Like every other decent person, I was horrified and nauseated by the school shootings in Newton, Connecticut.
Part of me wishes the guy hadn’t killed himself so that he could be slowly fed into a meat grinder.
And my friends on the left will be happy to know that part of me, when I first learned about the murders, thought the world might be a better place if guns had never been invented.
Sort of like my gut reaction about cigarettes when I find out that somebody I know is dying of a smoking-related illness or how I feel about gambling when I read about a family being ruined because some jerk thought it would be a good idea to use the mortgage money at a casino.
But there’s a reason why it’s generally not a good idea to make impulsive decisions based on immediate reactions. In the case of gun control, it can lead to policies that don’t work. Or perhaps even make a bad situation worse.
I’ve certainly made these points when writing and pontificating about gun control. But I’m a libertarian, so that’s hardly a surprise. We’re people who instinctively are skeptical of giving government power over individuals.
But when someone on the left reaches the same conclusion, that’s perhaps more significant. Especially when you get the feeling that they would like ban private gun ownership in their version of a perfect world.
That’s why I heartily recommend Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in The Atlantic.
Here are some of the most profound passages in the article, beginning with a common-sense observation that there’s no way for the government to end private gun ownership.
According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 47 percent of American adults keep at least one gun at home or on their property, and many of these gun owners are absolutists opposed to any government regulation of firearms. According to the same poll, only 26 percent of Americans support a ban on handguns. …There are ways, of course, to make it at least marginally more difficult for the criminally minded, for the dangerously mentally ill, and for the suicidal to buy guns and ammunition. …But these gun-control efforts, while noble, would only have a modest impact on the rate of gun violence in America. Why? Because it’s too late. There are an estimated 280 million to 300 million guns in private hands in America—many legally owned, many not. Each year, more than 4 million new guns enter the market. …America’s level of gun ownership means that even if the Supreme Court—which ruled in 2008 that the Second Amendment gives citizens the individual right to own firearms, as gun advocates have long insisted—suddenly reversed itself and ruled that the individual ownership of handguns was illegal, there would be no practical way for a democratic country to locate and seize those guns.
The author then wonders whether the best way of protecting public safety is to have more gun ownership.
Which raises a question: When even anti-gun activists believe that the debate over private gun ownership is closed; when it is too late to reduce the number of guns in private hands—and since only the naive think that legislation will prevent more than a modest number of the criminally minded, and the mentally deranged, from acquiring a gun in a country absolutely inundated with weapons—could it be that an effective way to combat guns is with more guns? Today, more than 8 million vetted and (depending on the state) trained law-abiding citizens possess state-issued “concealed carry” handgun permits, which allow them to carry a concealed handgun or other weapon in public. Anti-gun activists believe the expansion of concealed-carry permits represents a serious threat to public order. But what if, in fact, the reverse is true? Mightn’t allowing more law-abiding private citizens to carry concealed weapons—when combined with other forms of stringent gun regulation—actually reduce gun violence?
He cites examples where armed citizens stopped mass killings.
In 1997, a disturbed high-school student named Luke Woodham stabbed his mother and then shot and killed two people at Pearl High School in Pearl, Mississippi. He then began driving toward a nearby junior high to continue his shooting spree, but the assistant principal of the high school, Joel Myrick, aimed a pistol he kept in his truck at Woodham, causing him to veer off the road. Myrick then put his pistol to Woodham’s neck and disarmed him. On January 16, 2002, a disgruntled former student at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia, had killed three people, including the school’s dean, when two students, both off-duty law-enforcement officers, retrieved their weapons and pointed them at the shooter, who ended his killing spree and surrendered. In December 2007, a man armed with a semiautomatic rifle and two pistols entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and killed two teenage girls before a church member, Jeanne Assam—a former Minneapolis police officer and a volunteer church security guard—shot and wounded the gunman, who then killed himself.
The author also punctures the left’s mythology about concealed carry laws.
In 2003, John Gilchrist, the legislative counsel for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, testified, “If 200,000 to 300,000 citizens begin carrying a concealed weapon, common sense tells us that accidents will become a daily event.” When I called Gilchrist recently, he told me that events since the state’s concealed-carry law took effect have proved his point. …Gilchrist’s argument would be convincing but for one thing: the firearm crime rate in Ohio remained steady after the concealed-carry law passed in 2004.
Goldberg elaborates.
Today, the number of concealed-carry permits is the highest it’s ever been, at 8 million, and the homicide rate is the lowest it’s been in four decades—less than half what it was 20 years ago. (The number of people allowed to carry concealed weapons is actually considerably higher than 8 million, because residents of Vermont, Wyoming, Arizona, Alaska, and parts of Montana do not need government permission to carry their personal firearms. These states have what Second Amendment absolutists refer to as “constitutional carry,” meaning, in essence, that the Second Amendment is their permit.) Many gun-rights advocates see a link between an increasingly armed public and a decreasing crime rate. “I think effective law enforcement has had the biggest impact on crime rates, but I think concealed carry has something to do with it. We’ve seen an explosion in the number of people licensed to carry,” Lott told me. “You can deter criminality through longer sentencing, and you deter criminality by making it riskier for people to commit crimes. And one way to make it riskier is to create the impression among the criminal population that the law-abiding citizen they want to target may have a gun.” Crime statistics in Britain, where guns are much scarcer, bear this out. Gary Kleck, a criminologist at Florida State University, wrote in his 1991 book, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, that only 13 percent of burglaries in America occur when the occupant is home. In Britain, so-called hot burglaries account for about 45 percent of all break-ins. Kleck and others attribute America’s low rate of occupied-home burglaries to fear among criminals that homeowners might be armed. (A survey of almost 2,000 convicted U.S. felons, conducted by the criminologists Peter Rossi and James D. Wright in the late ’80s, concluded that burglars are more afraid of armed homeowners than they are of arrest by the police.)
That last bit of info is very powerful. The bad guys are more afraid of armed homeowners than the police. Surely, as I explained here, that tells us that gun ownership lowers crime.
Here’s another no-sh*t-Sherlock observation from the article.
It is also illogical for campuses to advertise themselves as “gun-free.” Someone bent on murder is not usually dissuaded by posted anti-gun regulations. Quite the opposite—publicly describing your property as gun-free is analogous to posting a notice on your front door saying your home has no burglar alarm. As it happens, the company that owns the Century 16 Cineplex in Aurora had declared the property a gun-free zone.
One place that isn’t likely to see any massacres is Colorado State University.
For much of the population of a typical campus, concealed-carry permitting is not an issue. Most states that issue permits will grant them only to people who are at least 21 years old. But the crime-rate statistics at universities that do allow permit holders on campus with their weapons are instructive. An hour north of Boulder, in Fort Collins, sits Colorado State University. Concealed carry has been allowed at CSU since 2003, and according to James Alderden, the former sheriff of Larimer County, which encompasses Fort Collins, violent crime at Colorado State has dropped since then.
I also recommend this video, which makes fun of those who support gun-free zones.
Here is Goldberg’s conclusion.
But I am sympathetic to the idea of armed self-defense, because it does often work, because encouraging learned helplessness is morally corrupt, and because, however much I might wish it, the United States is not going to become Canada. Guns are with us, whether we like it or not. Maybe this is tragic, but it is also reality. So Americans who are qualified to possess firearms shouldn’t be denied the right to participate in their own defense. And it is empirically true that the great majority of America’s tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners have not created chaos in society.
Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.
Sincerely,
Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com
“Oh how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
Christianity is not a legal relationship, it is a love relationship. Ten thousand “don’ts” will never make you one iota more like the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself Who makes you like Him. But you need to spend time with Him. I want to give you five factors for spending some quiet time with Him each day.
The Proper Period
You must find the right time. Your quiet time should last at least half an hour. But some time is better than no time, so if you can’t start at thirty minutes, begin with ten. It should be your very best time. Don’t give the Lord your leftovers. And don’t try to find time — make time, and make it a priority. Also find time early in the day. Psalm 5:3 says, “… in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.” You don’t take the trip and then read the map, do you? Spend time alone with God to begin your day.
The Proper Preparation
A quiet time is fellowship with a holy God. There are a few things you can do to be prepared for this time. First, be physically alert. Find a time when the cobwebs are out of your mind and you can think clearly. Second, be mentally aware. Be focused, and know He’s there. Emotion doesn’t really have all that much to do with it. And third, be morally pure and clean. Some people don’t have a quiet time because they feel uncomfortable looking God in the face with sin in their lives.
The Proper Place
Find a place where you can focus. Jesus said enter into your closet and pray (see Matthew 6:6). That simply means find a place of isolation where you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven. Jesus sought out places where He could be alone, and so should you.
The Proper Provisions
In order to have an effective quiet time, you need the right tools. Here are some tools I use:
a readable Bible – Invest in one with plenty of room to jot notes in the margins.
a prayer journal – Expect God to give you something and write it down. Also use it to record things you’re praying about.
a notepad – Write down your daily assignments.
The Proper Procedure
Finally, may I recommend some procedures to follow in your quiet time?
Get still and quiet. The Bible says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Focus your mind on Him. Calm down, relax, and recognize His presence. Take a deep breath and focus your thoughts on the Lord.
Get into the Word of God. It’s better to start by reading the Bible than it is to start in prayer. It is more important for you to hear from God, even than for God to hear from you. God already knows all about you, but you need to know a lot more about Him.
Read the Bible for quality and not quantity. It’s good to have a goal to read the Bible through in a year, or a similar goal; but that’s not the purpose of your quiet time. Also, devotional books are wonderful. But again, this is not the place for them. This is the time when you simply read the Bible with an open mind.
Meditate. As you focus on the Word of God and meditate, let it permeate you. Ask:
Is there a command to obey?
Is there a promise to claim?
Is there a sin to avoid?
Is there a lesson to learn?
Is there a new truth to carry with me?
Record what God has given you. Write down what God says to you and what He tells you to do. It doesn’t have to be flowery. You’re not writing it for publication or to impress other people.
Now you’re ready to pray. When you pray, pour out your soul. Be natural and honest with God. Tell Him how you feel. Pray out loud. It keeps your mind on track and enables you to stay focused.
Begin to share out of your quiet time. God did not make us to be reservoirs; He made us to be conduits. Tell others what is God is showing you.
Finally, obey what God tells you. Your spiritual train is running on two rails. One is revelation and the other is obedience. And if either rail stops, your train stops. Learn to obey the Word of God.
I pray these simple suggestions will help you have a daily quiet time in the presence of our loving, almighty, powerful God
Alabama last year had to play Tennessee and Kentucky from the East and their conference record was 1-15 while LSU had to play Florida and Georgia and their record was 14-2. Doesn’t seem fair does it? In the old days Tennessee would have been a top 10 team almost every year and playing them as a permanent opponent was pretty tough for Alabama in the 1990’s and even pretty tough on them in the 2000’s too until recently. Will things change back again? I don’t know. Arkansas is a pretty easy team to play right now too. Last year we went 4-8, but in 2010 we went to a BCS bowl and in 2011 we finished 11-2 and ranked #5. In fact, Tennessee played Arkansas when they were ranked #3 and Georgia when they were ranked #2 and Alabama when they were ranked #1. That had not happened since 1971 when Iowa St (coached by Johnny Majors) played Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado when they were ranked in the top 3 positions.
In case you’ve missed it while on the royal baby watch, there has been considerable hand-wringing over inequities in the SEC football schedule.
“I’d have to say,’’ LSU coach Les Miles said last week at SEC Media Days, “there’s a repeated scheduling advantage and disadvantage for certain teams in this conference based on tradition and traditional matchups.’’
Steve Spurrier couldn’t resist chiming in, noting the paths Alabama and Georgia took to the 2012 SEC championship game:
“Alabama didn’t play the top three teams in the East and Georgia did not play the three top teams in the West. Scheduling does make a difference.’’
You know who could resolve this travesty of justice and level the playing field?
Tennessee could.
If the Vols could get back to being the power program they were at the end of the 20th Century when the SEC designated its permanent (traditional) rivals, a lot of the “in” would disperse from the inequity.
Consider the route to the 2013 Western Division title: Alabama’s two East Division opponents were a combined 1-15 in SEC games last year. Permanent opponent Tennessee was 1-7, rotating opponent Kentucky 0-8.
LSU’s two East opponents were 14-2. Permanent opponent Florida and rotating opponent Georgia were both 7-1.
In 1992 when the SEC expanded to 12 teams and split into divisions, the 5-2-1 format called for two permanent non-divisional opponents and one rotating. Alabama and Arkansas were UT’s permanent opponents.
In 2003, the format changed to 5-1-2. Tennessee kept Alabama, shed Arkansas and got two rotating West teams.
The theory was to match strong against strong, weak against weak.
The strong: UT-Alabama, LSU-Florida, Georgia-Auburn. The weak were Ole Miss-Vandy and Kentucky-Mississippi State. Arkansas-South Carolina was more of a middle-ground, newcomer pairing.
With the additions of Missouri and Texas A&M in 2012, the 6-1-1 format is one permanent on the other side, one rotating.
Beginning in 2014, neighbors Arkansas and Missouri become permanent rivals. That leaves South Carolina and Texas A&M as distant but permanent rivals.
The problem with the formula is Tennessee hasn’t kept up its end of the bargain as a power program.
In the 21 years of divisional play, UT and ’Bama are 10-10-1 head-to-head. Perfect pairing.
But over the past five seasons, Alabama is 35-5 in SEC play, stronger than ever. Tennessee is 12-28, strong no more. The Tide has won six straight with an average victory margin of 23.3 points.
Meanwhile, LSU has to duke it out with Florida. The Tigers are 28-12 (SEC)
over the past five years, Florida 27-11. Fair fight.
“Scheduling,” said Miles, “should not in any way decide championships repeatedly or throughout.’’
But of course it does, and to some extent always has.
Up until 1992, the Vols played Georgia or Florida sporadically. Florida rarely played Alabama, etc.
The disparity works both ways. Tennessee is currently at a disadvantage by facing Nick Saban’s juggernaut every year. Georgia hasn’t played Alabama since 2008.
Trading Alabama for, say, Ole Miss, Auburn or Arkansas in a given year probably would have gotten the Vols to bowl games the past two seasons. To Tennessee’s credit, there hasn’t been any official whining.
That originates mostly at LSU. Saban, who had to play Florida every year when he was LSU’s coach from 2000-2004, points out that the only equal path to a championship comes when everybody plays everybody.
That works in a 10-team Big 12 Conference that plays nine league games. It’ll never happen in a 14-team SEC stuck on eight games.
But at least the Vols could help level the playing field by pulling their weight again.
Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at Strangemike44.
Photo by Saul Young Former UT quarterback Peyton Manning, center, is congratulated by head coach Phil Fulmer as his jersey is retired Saturday before the South Carolina game in 2005. The hogs made the list twice: Tennessee Football’s 10 Most Heartbreaking Losses, 1989-2007 By Will Shelton (Senior Analyst) on August 12, 2008 2,722 reads 25 […]
Photo by BYRON SMALL/KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL Septermber 2, 1997 – University of tennessee football Coach Phillip Fulmer announced Monday, Nov, 3, 2008, his plans to step down. Here’s Fulmer talks with then UT quarterback Peyton Manning on the sidelines. The hogs made the list twice: Tennessee Football’s 10 Most Heartbreaking Losses, 1989-2007 By Will Shelton […]
Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess Tennessee wide receiver Justin Hunter (11) reaches for a catch under pressure from North Carolina State defensive back Juston Burris (11) during the Chick-Fil-A Kick Off Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Tennessee won the game 35-21. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL STAFF) ____________ Tennessee […]
SEC has proved how good we are, but it doesn’t mean every team in the SEC could win a national title in 2013. David Climer: Titles can’t erase SEC football’s weaknesses Alabama players celebrates after their 32-28 win in the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game against Georgia, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, in Atlanta. (AP […]
ESPN’s final recruiting rankings are not as good as others as I have seen. I do have a hard time with Missouri (38) having such a good ranking when other services had the tigers tanking their class this year compared to other SEC schools. However, Kentucky (36) is almost as bad when there is vast […]
Nick Saban Streeter Lecka We finally found a Top 25 in which the SEC is more dominant than the USA Today Coaches’ Poll: the post-Signing Day recruiting class rankings. ________ I have to say the SEC is really doing well these days. Everyone expects Alabama is going to be on top on most years […]
It is really troubling to me that my Arkansas Razorbacks are 14th in the SEC in football recruiting this year and there are only a couple of days left till signing day. Alabama came in and got our best running back from North Little Rock high and I was told yesterday that Hunter Henry of […]
I am not so mad anymore about Arkansas being ranked number 64 in recruiting this year while Auburn is #20 and Tennessee is #30 and even Kentucky is doing better than us. That is because they racked up lots of players when they had coaches during the year while we had John L. Smith. What […]
Ole Miss Applauds 1962 Undefeated Rebels I am doing a series on the “Ghosts of Ole Miss broadcast.” I enjoyed watching the Ghosts of Ole Miss broadcast on ESPN on 1-27-13 with my mother. She went to Ole Miss in the early 1960′s. Also living in Little Rock my wife has relatives that were also […]
It is truly sad that Arkansas is ranked #62 in recruiting in the 2013 football class so far. The thing that troubles me the most is that there are 4 schools in the SEC that have brought in new coaches and Arkansas is one of them. However, what upsets me most is that the other […]
The fifty most significant games of all-time? That is what the article said. I don’t have time to go through all of them but I have listed a few from that list below. Here are some games listed below: http://southernmemoriesandupdates.com/2011/georgia/georgia-tech-wins-football-game-222-to-0/ October 7, 1916 Yes, there is a most lopsided victory in college football and it […]
I just got back from Memphis and it seemed that every other Vol fan that called in wanted Bobby Petrino as their new Tennessee football coach. However, there is a new report that Petrino has been seen on Ark St’s campus reported by Ark Times and there is a report that Petrino has called and […]
I have posted before about the possibility that Petrino would go to Tennessee. Off the website of the Knoxville newspaper they have pictures of 10 possible replacements for Derek Dooley and here is the best choice my view: AP2011 Former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino. Despite his disgraceful exit from Arkansas, Petrino is going to […]
I was listening to 103.7 FM the buzz at 11:30 and a source close to the Athletic Director told David Bazzel that Mike Gundy of Oklahoma St will be named the Razorback coach. Below is an article from earlier today that said Gundy was considering an offer. It is still unclear if Chris Petersen was […]
I first read this on Jason Tolbert’s blog, but I did not take it serious. However, on Dec 2, 2012, I heard Bill Vickery say on his “Sunday Buzz” show on 103 .7 FM that a friend of his who was an agent contends that Jeff Long is working out the final details with Chris […]
I heard a rumor on Friday that Kentucky was going after Bobby Petrino and today I read in the Knoxville Paper that Petrino would be a good fit for Tennessee. Where will Bobby land? John Adams: If not Jon Gruden, how about Bobby Petrino or Tommy Tuberville? By John Adams govolsxtra.com Posted November 11, 2012 […]
It is no surprise that John L. Smith and Derek Dooley may be heading out the door at the end of this season. That was expected by most people that watch SEC football. However, could Gene Chizik of Auburn being out the door too? If that happens then I must admit that I did not […]
I am very happy with the new football schedules that the SEC released for next year. It is a stand alone schedule that will not affect the final decision that make concerning the rotation in the 2014 schedule and beyond. 2013 Georgia Bulldogs Football Schedule Date Opponent Time/TV Tickets Saturday 04/06/13 G-Day Spring Game […]
Tonight we’re grateful to celebrate Passover with some new friends, many of whom have not experienced it before.
Passover, 2013
Since before our eldest daughter was old enough to remember, we have celebrated Passover together as a family. The tradition is now cherished, with fond memories, by all of us. It began in 1988, our second year of marriage, when a Messianic church held a seder, open to the public, at the local Denny’s. Candace and I eagerly seized on the opportunity to participate and learn more, and resolved to make a Messianic seder a regular tradition. Unlike some strands of Messianic Christianity, we were not motivated by any sense of obligation to biblical law; our conviction then as now was that there is one covenant of grace uniting both Testaments, and uniting Hebrew and Christian believers into one people of God. We saw celebrating Passover together and with our children not as an observance of law, but as a celebration of God’s grace through countless generations.
As a young Christian, I was much taken by books like Peter Gillquist, The Physical Side of Being Spiritual,, Francis Schaeffer, The New Super-Spirituality,, Udo Middelmann, Pro existence,Edith Schaeffer, Hidden Art, Hans Rookmaaker, Art Needs No Justification, or Ranald Macauley & Jerram Barrs, Being Human: The Nature of Spiritual Experience, all of which encouraged thinking about how God loves ordinary, physical and tangible things, and uses them to embody his presence with us. The Incarnation provides the paradigm for creation, and the sacraments are exemplary of his hidden presence with us through other people and all that he has made. For me, this longstanding interest in God’s presence mediated through creaturely life and physical things was part of the reason I wanted to better understand the Hebrew celebration of Passover. It also didn’t hurt that I was an avid reader of Francis and Edith Schaeffer’s other books, including Christianity is Jewish which taught me this poem: “How odd of God to choose the Jew. But odder still are those who choose the Jewish God and hate the Jew.” When their daughter, Susan Schaeffer Macauley, wrote a book on pedagogy, For the Children’s Sake, I was immediately attracted to the Charlotte Mason tradition it articulated, even before we had children of our own. As I’ve noted here before, Mason likewise emphasized the pedagogical value of direct and ordinary experience. So it seemed natural to us that a regular celebration of Passover would impart to our children, as well as to us, a deepened understanding of the one covenant of grace revealed in the Old and New Testaments.
Christians may expect many benefits from the celebration of Passover. Our children may learn what grace looks like in a multi-sensory, participatory manner, repeated throughout the short years of their lives with us. But even if we do not have children of our own, celebrating Passover may help us develop a greater sympathy toward our Jewish brothers and sisters, particularly in the post-Holocaust epoch in which we live, when the need to actively repudiate anti-Semitism remains an urgent imperative (sadly, even within some churches). And, in addition, experiencing this Hebrew tradition promises to provide us with a clearer understanding of our Lord, as we learn to see him through non-Latinized eyes:
“We put a Gentile mask on the face of Jesus…. We need to go to school with the People of Israel, as it were, in order to share with them the training they were given by God through many, many centuries until a matrix of understanding and thought and worship was prepared in Israel appropriate for the reception of God’s ultimate self-revelation in Jesus Christ.” Thomas F. Torrance, in The Witness of the Jews to God, ed. David W. Torrance (1982), p. 97.
After all, Jesus grew up celebrating Passover year after year, and chose that occasion for his own Last Supper. Any Christian’s understanding of the eucharist will surely be deepened by a greater appreciation of how the first disciples experienced Christ’s final Passover meal.
Because the meal is a major undertaking, we celebrate Passover at whatever time is most convenient for us during the month prior to Easter, so it has become a waymark on our Lenten journey. The Passover meal has become for us a part of spring in the same way that fall and winter wouldn’t be the same without Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. When we were diagnosed with an allergy to gluten, Candace was not deterred, but quickly perfected the art of making gluten-free matzah and other Passover recipes!
Tips: Identify beforehand six readers, in addition to the leader and the child who asks the four questions. If a pastor is present, ask him or her to read the Leader texts from p. 27 through the top of p. 29 (the Cup of Redemption, after the meal). So that all may eat or drink together, mention at the beginning that the leader will indicate when to drink the cup or eat the matzah, since there are times when either might be poured or distributed and held a little while. Sometimes, to accommodate extra guests, we set up several tables where each table has its own seder plate, pitcher of grape juice, afikomen and ransom (a prize of chocolate or jelly beans for the children who recover the afikomen). Each table will need a designated “father” to point out items on the seder plate, pour the grape juice, etc., and a designated “mother” to light the candles.
Page 3, before paragraph 1:
We begin by reciting the prologue of the 10 Commandments: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2)
Page 3, after paragraph 2:
“You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’” (Exodus 13:8)
“We retell the story and symbolically relive the events. We are to feel as if we ourselves were just delivered from Egyptian bondage… ‘For God did not redeem our ancestors alone, but us as well.’” (Eckstein, 96)
Page 3, after paragraph 4:
“The Pesach festival bears eloquent testimony that God hears the cries of the oppressed and redeems humanity. ‘And the people of Israel groaned under their bondage, and cried out for help, and their cry under bondage came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob’ (Exod. 2:23-24). Curiously, although Moses was the key figure in the exodus drama, his name is not mentioned even once in the entire Seder service. For we are not to confuse Moses, the divine instrument of God’s salvation, with God himself. It was God who heard Israel’s cries. It was he who interceded in history to redeem them.” (Eckstein, 103-104)
Page 5, top:
“Let all who are hungry come eat with us.” (Isaiah 55.1-3)
Page 8.
To save time, begin with the leader lifting the basin of water. Read the passage at the top of the page, from Psalm 24, while the basin is being passed. Add:
Only Messiah is clean and pure. Only Messiah can truly pray this prayer. Only through Messiah do we participate in worship together tonight.
Page 14, first sentence.
If other families are participating in other tables, change “I” to “the fathers”.
Page 16, (lifting the kharoset, the brown apple mixture). The kharoset represents mortar:
“So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.” (Exodus 1:13–14)
Page 17, before “Leader: The children of Israel…”:
“As we drink the wine, we recline slightly, as was the manner of Roman emperors, to demonstrate our freedom on this day. Even if we live under conditions of oppression, and are not in fact physically free, we are to feel as if we were. Pesach reminds us that true freedom also involves the inner, spiritual realm. It cannot be externally denied, nor can a condition of slavery and servitude be outwardly imposed. The physically oppressed must also recline and feel like emperors on Pesach night…. Nothing must stand in the way of fulfilling the mitzvah of feeling free on this holiday. (I have often marveled at how it was humanly possible for Jews living in concentration camps during the holocaust to fulfill this mitzvah of ‘feeling free’ on Pesach. And yet, the amazing testimony to the power of God’s spirit moving within humankind is that many Jews did find the spiritual strength and courage to fulfill it, despite their wretched conditions.)” (Eckstein, 101)
Page 21, within paragraph 1, after “…slavery of Egypt.”
“When your enemy falls, do not be overjoyed.” (Proverbs 24.17)
Page 24, after paragraph “Leader: Since the Temple…”
Jesus is our sacrificial lamb, sacrificed once for all for us.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1Corinthians 5:7)
“He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” (Hebrews 7:27)
Page 26, end:
Eat desert now also; no additional food after the afikomen.
Page 27, top:
If a pastor is present, ask him to read the Leader texts here through p. 29 (top).
Page 27, before first “Leader” paragraph:
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all humanity.” (1 Timothy 2.5)
Page 29, end:
Re Elijah: “It is also customary to pour a fifth cup of wine…. For centuries Jews have poured but not drunk from this fifth cup to symbolize that God’s promise for their return to their homeland remains unfulfilled. It came to be called ‘Elijah’s cup’ since, according to tradition, it is the prophet Elijah who will usher in the Messiah….” (Eckstein, 100)
—–
“And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:17–18)
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26)
David Hodges is a Grammy award-winning writer/producer/artist hailing from Little Rock, AR.
As the former writer and keyboardist of the band Evanescence, he and his band mates took home Best New Artist as well as the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy for their hit “Bring Me To Life” in 2004. Evanescence’s debut album Fallen has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
David went on to write and produce Kelly Clarkson’s biggest worldwide single to date, “Because Of You”, which appeared on Clarkson’s 11 million-selling album Breakaway and garnered him the 2007 BMI Song Of The Year honor. The song was covered by Reba McEntire as the first single off her Duets album, and quickly rose up the country charts in 2007 becoming McEntire’s 30th Top 2 country single.
Hodges also penned the single, “What About Now”, which appears on American Idol Chris Daughtry’s debut album Daughtry. The 4x platinum Daughtry to date is credited as the fastest selling debut rock album in Soundscan history. “What About Now” also happens to be the first single on Westlife’s album “Who We Are.” David also won a BMI Pop award for this song.
David wrote the first single “Crush” for American Idol’s David Archuleta, which had the highest chart debut of any single since January 2007. David has since written songs for & released by Carrie Underwood, Train, Christina Perri, Celine Dion, David Cook, Lauren Alaina, The Cab, & many others.
In less than 10 years, David Hodges has been nominated for 6 Grammys & 1 Golden Globe, has won 5 BMI pop awards & 1 BMI country award, has had at least one album in the Billboard 200 for the last 8 consecutive years, and has written on albums that have sold over 50 million copies worldwide.
According to Lee, “Bring Me to Life” has several meanings and inspirations; its subjects are an incident in a restaurant, open-mindedness, and waking up to the things which are missing in the protagonist’s life. Lee later revealed that the song was inspired by her long-time friend and husband Josh Hartzler. Critical response to the song was mostly positive, critics praising the melody of the song, Lee’s vocals and their accompaniment by McCoy.
Following the inclusion of “Bring Me to Life” on the Daredevil soundtrack, it has become a commercial and critical success topping the charts in Australia, the United Kingdom and Italy. It charted in the top ten in more than fifteen countries including the United States, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand. “Bring Me to Life” was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and twice Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The lyrics of the song have been interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ, which helped the song to chart on the Christian rock charts.
The band won in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards where the song was also nominated for Best Rock Song. The accompanying music video was directed by Philipp Stölzl; it shows Lee singing and climbing on a skyscraper while having nightmares in her bedroom. “Bring Me to Life” was part of the set list during the Fallen and The Open Door Tour. Many artists recorded cover versions of the song, including the classical singer Katherine Jenkins and American pianist, John Tesh. The song was also used on several television shows.
“Since we released [the song] on Daredevil it went all over the world, whether they wanted it to or not, so we had fans in countries we had never been to because they had the soundtrack and they heard it on the radio. So, it started blowing up all over the world and then we had a reason to tour all over the world. And that’s how the whole international thing happened this early. Which is awesome.”
– Amy Lee talking about the release and the worldwide success of the song.[3]
According to Amy Lee, the song has several meanings, the first being an incident at a restaurant. During an interview from a tour stop in Tulsa she told The Boston Phoenix: “I was inspired to write it when someone said something to me — I didn’t know him, and I thought he might be clairvoyant.[…] I was in a relationship and I was completely unhappy. But I was hiding it. I was being completely abused and I was trying to cover it up; I wouldn’t even admit it to myself. So then I had spoken maybe 10 or 15 words to this guy, who was a friend of a friend. We were waiting for everyone else to show up, and we went into a restaurant and got a table. And he looked at me and said, ‘Are you happy?’ And I felt my heart leap, and I was like, he totally knows what I’m thinking. And I lied, I said I was fine. Anyway, he’s not really clairvoyant. But he is a sociology major.”[4] Lee said in a VH1 interview: “Open-mindedness. It’s about waking up to all the things you’ve been missing for so long. One day someone said something that made my heart race for a second and I realized that for months I’d been numb, just going through the motions of life.”[5] During an interview with Blender, Lee claimed that she wrote “Bring Me to Life” about her longtime friend, Josh Hartzler, whom she married in 2007.[6]
“Bring Me to Life” was released on April 22, 2003; it was the first single from the band’s debut album, Fallen. The album’s opening track, “Going Under“, was initially planned to be the first single, but the after the release of the Daredevil soundtrack, it was changed to the album’s second single. Wind-up Entertainment president/CEO Ed Vetri, revealed that when the label was pushing the song to the radio, owners stated “We don’t play pianos and chicks on rock radio.”[7] However, when “Bring Me to Life” was released on the Daredevil soundtrack, listeners demanded the radio to play the song.[7] The single includes “Farther Away” as a B-side and refers to it as the album version; however, the track order of Fallen was not finalized at the time of its release and the track was omitted from the album. The first pressing of the Australian single contained the track “Missing” as a B-side,[8] but this was omitted from later pressings and later released as a bonus track on the band’s first live album, Anywhere but Home.[9] Earlier versions of “Bring Me to Life” were recorded and released as demo versions before Fallen‘s release; featuring more industrial pieces of music and the absence of Paul McCoy‘s guest vocals. An acoustic version was recorded and released on the Bring Me to Life DVD. Several other versions of the track have been released, such as remixes, acoustic and altered versions. The live version featured on the Anywhere but Home DVD contains a piano and vocal solo before the song’s intro and features John LeCompt performing guest vocals.[10]
Recording and composition
Critics noted that “Bring Me to Life” had a similar sound with songs by American rock band Linkin Park.
“Bring Me to Life” was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges for their first studio album Fallen.[11] Recording work for Fallen started at Ocean Studios in Burbank, California, where most of “Bring Me to Life” was recorded, prior to full album production.[12] The song was mixed by Jay Baumgardner in his studio, NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, on an SSL 9000 J.[12] A 22-piece string section was recorded in Seattle by Mark Curry.[12] “Bring Me to Life” was mixed at the Newman Scoring Stage and Bolero Studios, both in Los Angeles.[12] The orchestra parts were arranged by David Hodges and David Campbell.[12] During an interview, Lee recalled that during the recording process of the song it was said to her that the song must have male vocals: “It was presented to me as, ‘You’re a girl singing in a rock band, there’s nothing else like that out there, nobody’s going to listen to you. You need a guy to come in and sing back-up for it to be successful.'”[13]
According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing on the website Musicnotes.com, “Bring Me to Life” is a rock, alternative metal, hard rock, chamber pop and gothic metal song set in a common time and performed in a moderate tempo of 95 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E minor and Lee’s vocal range for the song runs from the note A3 to D5.[14] In the song, Paul McCoy sings the lines “Wake me up/ I can’t wake up/ Save me!”[1] in a rap style.[15]St. Petersburg Times‘ Brian Orloff called the song a “…boffo hit” in which Lee sang the lines “‘Call my name and save me from the dark’ over surging guitars.”[3] Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote: “‘Bring Me to Life,’ with its lyrical drama and crunchy guitars, branded the band as overdone nu-metal.”[16] Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian called the song a power ballad.[17] Joe D’Angelo from MTV wrote that the “…toothy riffs” of songs like “Going Under” and “Bring Me to Life” might suggest that “…Nobody’s Home” (2005) from Avril Lavigne‘s second studio album Under My Skin will sound like “an Evanescence song with Avril, not Amy Lee, on vocals.”[18]
Rolling Stone‘s Kirk Miller wrote that: “…thanks to the song’s digital beats, clean metal-guitar riffs, scattered piano lines and all-too-familiar mix of rapping and singing”, “it was similar to Linkin Park‘s material.[19] Nick Catucci of The Village Voice found “…piano tinkles, Lee’s breathless keen, dramatic pauses, guitars like clouds of locusts, [and] 12 Stones singer Paul McCoy’s passing-12-kidney-stones guest vocals.”[20] Vik Bansal of musicOMH compared Evanescence’s own song “Going Under” with “Bring Me to Life”, noting their similarity to Linkin Park‘s material.[21] Lee said, during an interview with MTV News: “Basically, we go through life every day, kind of doing the same thing, going through the motions, and nothing phases us for the most part. Then one day something happens that wakes [you] up and makes [you] realize that there’s more to life than just feeling nothing, feeling numb. It’s as if [you’ve] never felt before and just realized there’s this whole world of emotion or meaning that [you’ve] never seen before. It’s just like, ‘Wow, I’ve been asleep all this time.'”[22]
Reception
Critical reception and awards
According to The Boston Globe, the song “…is a mix of Lee’s ethereal soprano, piano interludes, and layers of serrated guitar crunch that conjure visions of Sarah McLachlan fronting Godsmack.”[23] In his review of Evanescence’s second studio album, The Open Door, Brendan Butler of Cinema Blend compared “Sweet Sacrifice” (2007) with “Bring Me to Life” calling them “…radio-friendly songs.”[24] Jason Nahrung of The Courier-Mail called the song “…an ear-grabber”.[25] Adrien Bengrad of the website PopMatters said that Lee and McCoy made “Bring Me to Life” sound “…like a love song between a Lilith Fair girl and an Ozzfest dude.”[26] Blair R. Fischer from MTV News called the song a “…ubiquitous rap-rock confection”.[1] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said that “Bring Me to Life” “…floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and then hits like a brick.”[27] Richard Harrington from The Washington Post called “Bring Me to Life” a “…crunching metallic” song which helped the band to win a Grammy Award.[28] Joe D’Angelo called it an “…unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate” and that “Lee’s vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture to keep it from sinking into tired mediocrity.”[22]
Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the song a “…mix of voluptuous singing and metallic guitar (the latter enhanced by guest vocalist Paul McCoy’s rap-rock declamations)”.[16] Bryan Reeseman of Mix wrote that the song was a “…grandiose and moody single” which features a “…dramatic trade-off” between Lee and McCoy.[12] While reviewing Evanescence’s second studio album, Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net praised the songs on The Open Door saying that they lacked “…the annoying faux-rapping that was a key component of the band’s first big hit, ‘Bring Me To Life’ (here’s hoping that more rock bands feel less pressure to include some sort of hip-hop nod on their records).”[29] David Peschek of The Guardian said: “Take away the identikit rock riffs and Bring Me to Life could be a Britney Spears song, or one of those cheesily portentous techno-pop mini-symphonies for the Gatecrasher kids.”[30] Nick Catucci of The Village Voice compared the song with works by American rock band Creed, and said that it sounds like a “church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal.”[20] John Hood of Miami New Times called “Bring Me to Life” a “… huge, heavy, and mightily histrionic” song while complimenting McCoy’s “… rap-infused gruff” and Lee’s soaring voice.[31]
“Bring Me to Life” peaked within the top 10 of more than 15 countries, and within the top 20 of several other countries, making it the band’s most successful single to date. It was certified Platinum in 2003 for selling more than one million copies in the United States.[7] It topped the BillboardAlternative Songs and Pop 100 charts and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[43] It also peaked at number four on the Adult Pop Songs chart. The song initially peaked within the Christian rock charts as well, because its lyrics were interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ by several listeners.[44][45] “Bring Me To Life” charted at number 73 on Billboard‘s Best of the 2000s Rock Songs Chart, the only song by a female-led band on that chart.[46] The song topped the charts of Australia, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. It peaked within the top 5 of Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden. On the ARIA Singles Chart, “Bring Me to Life” peaked at number one where it stayed for six weeks.[47]
“Bring Me to Life” charted within the top 20 of every other country of its release. The song spent four weeks at number one in the United Kingdom and helped Fallen reach number one on the UK Albums Chart.[48][49] The song also topped the European Hot 100 chart.[50] On June 4, 2011, the song returned to the top of the UK Rock Singles Chart, eight years after its release, remaining at number one for two weeks, on June 11, 2011 to June 25, 2011. It fell to number two, remaining there for three weeks, and on July 17, 2011, “Bring Me to Life” returned to number one again and remained there for three weeks. The song remained within the top 10 into October 2011.[51] As of October 2011, the song has sold more than 511,500 copies in the United Kingdom.[52]
Music video
The accompanying music video for “Bring Me to Life” was directed by Philipp Stölzl.[53][54] After the success of the video, Lee received some film offers.[55] Talking about the video, Stölzl said: “On the one hand, it brings out the most catchy part of the song, the bridge, the duet with the male and female vocals. On the other hand, it reflects the [‘Daredevil’] soundtrack background of the song. I did not know if I would have to use a stunt double for most of the angles, which would have restricted me a lot, but then it turned out that Amy did everything herself, hanging on Paul’s arm for hours without getting tired. In the end, she is the one who made that shot strong.”[53]
The video begins with Amy Lee dressed in a nightgown, barefoot and asleep in a bed within a building, dreaming of falling through the air below a skyscraper. As the chorus begins, the band and Paul McCoy are performing in another room as Lee awakens and makes her way to the window. Lee climbs out of the window and climbs the building until she reaches the window of the room where the band is performing. During the bridge, McCoy notices Lee and opens the window, which causes her to lose her balance, and she grabs the ledge. Throughout the bridge and chorus, McCoy unsuccessfully attempts to reach Lee, who falls off the building. However, she is shown asleep in her bed again.
Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote: “You might not immediately recognize Amy Lee’s name, but you would know her if she plummeted past you from the top floor of a tenement building” and: “That’s how anyone with basic cable first saw the singer for the band Evanescence, in the video for the song “Bring Me to Life”: falling backward in slow motion, her hair unfolding like a long black veil as she headed for hard pavement below.”[16] According to Joe D’Angelo of MTV News, Lee’s “…teetering on a ledge” in the video shows a “…distressed and emotionally wrought heroine.”[56] Corey Moss of MTV wrote: “…certainly as intense as a superhero movie, the sequence also gives a nice visual to the song’s most memorable lyric, ‘Save me.'”[53] MTV’s Gil Kaufman wrote that “…singer Amy Lee dreams that she has super Spidey powers, climbs up the outside of a building, spies on her creepy neighbors, then plunges into the abyss”[57] and added, “…even if your boyfriend is a buff rap-rocker guy, he might not be able to save you from falling off a 20-story building to your death. And don’t play on ledges in a billowy dress on windy days.”[57] John Hood of Miami New Times wrote that the “gothopolis backdrop” used in the video, “would make Tim Burton green with envy.”[31] The music video for “Bring Me to Life” was nominated at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rock Video.[38]
Live performances
During the live performances of “Bring Me to Life”, McCoy was replaced by John LeCompt.[1][58]
Evanescence performed “Bring Me to Life” as part of the set-lists of the Fallen and The Open Door tours. The band performed the song on August 13, 2003 in Chicago during their Nintendo Fusion Tour. During the performance, former Evanescence guitarist John LeCompt replaced McCoy during the song.[1] According to Blair R. Fischer: “The guitarist did an adequate job imitating McCoy while he laid down the song’s fiery, Iron Maiden-esque riff.”[1] The band performed “Bring Me to Life” in Wantagh, New York on July 23, 2004. According to Joe D’Angelo from MTV News: “…the massive popularity of the song was a smart set-list assembly that helped the crowd respond in kind.”[59] The song was performed on November 21, 2007 at WaMu Theater.[60]
Evanescence performed “Bring Me to Life” at the Webster Hall in New York City in September 2003.[27] During the performance, Lee wore an Alice in Wonderland dress covered with scrawled words, including the words Dirty, Useless, Psycho and Slut.[27] She explained her reasons for wearing the dress. On her previous visit to New York City, Lee had met a DJ from the radio station K-Rock, who had made what she called horrible comments about the pleasure he had derived from the picture of her face on the cover of Fallen.[27] She had felt too ashamed to say anything, so she decided to respond through the dress, which represented something innocent that had been tainted.[27] The band performed “Bring Me to Life” during their concert at The Great Saltair on October 25, 2006. Lee wore red and black, with a skirt.[61] She was called a magnet of the night by the Deseret News‘ reviewer Larry D. Curtis.[61] Other performances of the song were in Magna, Utah in October 2006,[62] and the Air Canada Centre in January 2007.[63] The band also played the song at a secret gig in New York City on November 4, 2009.[64] During their concert at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on August 17, 2011, Evanescence performed “Bring Me to Life” to promote their third album, Evanescence.[65] They also performed the song during the 2011 Rock in Rio festival on October 2, 2011.[66] While reviewing a concert by the band, Caroline Sullivan wrote “Slowly raising her arms during Bring Me to Life’s thunderous, strobe-lit fade-out, she’s missing only a chariot.”[67]
Cultural impact
Evanescence were promoted in Christian stores until the band made it clear they did not want to be considered part of the Christian rock genre, like fellow Wind-up Records artists Creed.[68] In April 2003, Wind-up Records chairman, Alan Meltzer, wrote to Christian radio and retail outlets to explain that, despite the “…spiritual underpinning that ignited interest and excitement in the Christian religious community,” Evanescence are “…a secular band, and as such view their music as entertainment.”[69] Therefore, he wrote, Wind-Up “…strongly feels that they no longer belong in Christian markets.”[69] Almost immediately, many Christian radio stations removed “Bring Me to Life” from their playlists.[69] Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident, expressed puzzlement at the band’s about-face, saying: “They clearly understood the album would be sold in these [Christian music] channels.”[70] In 2006, Amy Lee told Billboard that she had always opposed Evanescence being identified as a Christian band.[71]
Cover versions
British classical singer Katherine Jenkins, (pictured) recorded a cover of the song.
British classical singer Katherine Jenkins recorded a cover version of “Bring Me to Life” on her 2009 album Believe.[72] Jenkins said: “I’d mentioned that I wanted to try Evanescence’s Bring Me To Life and David [Foster] said ‘you can’t sing that’. I came out there questioning my vocal abilities. I’m just not used to being told that. I went home that night and I just thought to myself ‘you have to pull yourself together, he’s worked with so many incredible artists you have to step up the plate.’ I did talk myself round and I went in there the next day on a mission. It’s good to be pushed sometimes – and I proved him wrong!”[73] Jenkins decided to change the guitar-led and percussive original version and instead, “make it more orchestral with the percussion coming from the strings.”[74] Alfred Hickling of The Guardian gave a mixed review of Jenkins’ cover, calling it “…histrionic.”[75] However, a writer of BBC Online chose her version of the song as a highlight on the album.[74] On November 23, 2011, Jenkins sang the song live at the Leicester Square station in London.[76]
A hi-NRG dance cover by Rochelle was released through Almighty Records. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.[77] American pianist, John Tesh released an instrumental version of the song on his albums A Deeper Faith, Vol. 2 (2003) and A Passionate Life (2007).[78][79] Also in 2003, Kidz Bop Kids covered the song on their fourth studio album, Kidz Bop 4. In 2008, Black metal band Wykked Wytch covered the song and produced an accompanying music video. Their version was digitally released in October of that year on iTunes Store.[80] In 2010, German band Gregorian released a cover version of the song on their 2010 album Dark Side of the Chant.[81]
During the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008, contestant Carly Smithson performed “Bring Me to Life”.[82]Jai McDowall, the winner of the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent sang the song live during the semi-finale of the show.[83][84] Lys Agnés, a contestant on the sixth season of America’s Got Talent, performed an opera version of “Bring Me to Life” and was praised by the show’s judges.[85][86] In 2006, Zayra Alvarez, a Puerto Rican singer, performed the song on Rock Star: Supernova. On October 31, 2011, during the thirteenth season of the US reality show Dancing with the Stars, a group called Team Paso Doble danced while the song was played in the background.[87][88] In March 2012, Dennis Egal performed an “extremely unorthodox” version of the song during Britain’s Got Talent. Judge Simon Cowell praised his performance, saying: “This is totally bonkers, but another side of me says because I’ve never seen this before and I’m kind of intrigued by you, I’m going to say yes.”[89]
On August 12, 2012, Allen Jane Sta. Maria performed “Bring Me to Life” during The X Factor Philippines‘ second live show. On October 27, 2012, contestant Ella Henderson covered the song for the ninth season of the UK’s The X Factor.
On the April 3, 2013, edition of American Idol, contestant Angela Miller performed the song as part of their “Classic Rock” episode.
Usage in media
Mixtery used up-beat samplings of the song in a hit also titled “Bring Me to Life” featuring Nigerian Eurodance artist Eddy Wata.[90]
^Breimeier, Russ (2003). “Fallen (Wind-Up)”. Christianity Today (Christianity Today International). Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. “‘Bring Me to Life,’ as excerpted above, reads as a solid plea for spiritual revival.”
^ ab“Les Certifications depuis 1973” (To access, select “Evanescence” from the drop-down list). Infodisc.fr (in French). Syndicat National de l’Édition Phonographique. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
Christina Perri ‘Safe Haven’ Interview- New Album Coming! Published on Feb 6, 2013 http://bit.ly/ClevverMusic – Subscribe to ClevverMusic! We caught up with “Jar of Hearts” singer Christina Perri at the Safe Haven movie premiere where her song “Arms” is featured on the soundtrack. We chatted with her on the red carpet about the song, and […]
David Hodges is a graduate of Arkansas Baptist High School in Little Rock and he co-wrote the song “A Thousand Years,”with Christina Perri. It was featured in the movie “Breaking Dawn Part 2.” David is one of the three founding members of Evanescence and he has written for Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, […]
The “American Idol” contestant-turned-actress is getting positive reviews for her role in “Smash.” The singer plays an actress who is competing for the part of Marilyn Monroe in a Broadway show. The Hollywood Reporter calls it “‘Glee’ for grownups” and Entertainment Weekly calls McPhee “mediocre” but “very likable.” Great song: Uploaded by KatharineMcPheeVEVO on Nov […]
Little Rock native and Arkansas Baptist High School graduate David Hodges co-wrote a song for the blockbuster movie “Breaking Dawn” that comes out this Friday. Interview: Breaking Dawn’s Christina Perri Twi’s Hard, Dreams Big By Leah Collins, Dose.ca Nov 1, 2011 More Images » OMG. Christina Perri went from a […]
On June 28, 2013 Underwood was back on top with a song that Little Rock native David Hodges who graduated at Arkansas Baptist High School help write. Carrie Underwood “Sees” No. 1 Again onTop 20 By Sarah Wyland | Leave a Comment Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville. Carrie Underwood current single title is prophetic. She makes […]
My goal was to answer this question.
On the other hand, why are Tennessee residents so willing to use my wallet to buy food?
“Oh how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
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The Daily Hatch 