Category Archives: Current Events

Little Rock Native David Hodges co-wrote the hit Evanescence song “My Immortal”

July 19, 2013 – 6:38 am

Evanescence – My Immortal

From David Hodges website:

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.

My Immortal

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“My Immortal”
Single by Evanescence
from the album Fallen
Released December 8, 2003
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2002–2003; NRG Recording Studios, California
Genre Piano rock, gothic rock
Length 4:24 (album version)
4:33 (band version)
Label Wind-up
Writer(s) Amy Lee, Ben Moody, David Hodges
Producer Dave Fortman
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Platinum (ARIA)
Evanescence singles chronology
“Going Under”
(2003)		 “My Immortal”
(2003)		 “Everybody’s Fool”
(2004)

“My Immortal” is a song by American rock band Evanescence from their debut studio album Fallen (2003). It was released by Wind-up Records on December 8, 2003 as the third single from the album. The song was entirely written by guitarist Ben Moody, with the exception of the bridge, which was later written by lead singer Amy Lee, and it was produced by Dave Fortman. “My Immortal” was included on their EP releases Evanescence (1997) and Mystary (2003) and on the demo CD Origin (2000). The version originally from Origin was later included on Fallen. The single version of the song was called “band version” because of the additional band performing the bridge and final chorus of the song.

“My Immortal” is a piano rock song written in slow and free tempo. Moody was inspired to write it after the death of his grandfather. Lyrically, it talks about “a spirit staying with you after its death and haunting you until you actually wish that the spirit were gone because it won’t leave you alone.”[1] Critical reception towards the song were positive with critics complimenting its piano melody. In 2005 it received a nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 47th Grammy Awards. The song was also commercially successful, peaking within the top ten in more than ten countries. It also peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in Canada, Greece and the US Adult Pop Songs chart. The single was certified gold in the US, and platinum in Australia.

An accompanying music video directed by David Mould was filmed entirely in black-and-white in Gothic Quarter, Barcelona on October 10, 2003. The video shows Lee sitting and singing on various locations, but never touching the ground. Shots of Moody are also shown but he is never together with his band or Lee. The video was nominated in the category for Best Rock Video at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was performed by the band during their Fallen Tour and The Open Door Tour. It was also performed live during some of their television appearances and award ceremonies such as the Billboard Music Awards.

Contents

Background

“That’s the difference between us, Ben [Moody] tends to write like a storyteller, and it’s not necessarily from any kind of personal experience. I can’t bring myself to write about anything I don’t understand completely. For me, writing is always about some specific thing that’s happened, so sometimes I feel a little distanced singing the song, but I still love it.”

–Amy Lee talking about “My Immortal”.[2]

The song was written by Ben Moody and produced by Dave Fortman; it was the fourth song to be written for Evanescence.[1] Amy Lee‘s vocals and the piano parts of the song were recorded in NRG Recording Studios, California.[3] “My Immortal” was mixed at Conway Recording Studios in North Hollywood while it was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City.[3] The orchestral parts in the song were arranged by the composer Graeme Revell.[3]

The first known recording of “My Immortal” was made for the band’s self-titled EP, which solely featured Lee’s vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a piano, and slightly different lyrics. The song was cut from the EP before it was released.[4] In 2000, the song was re-recorded for the band’s demo album, Origin, which contains a rearranged piano melody and lyrics, including the bridge added by Lee.[5] It was again recorded for the band’s debut full-length debut studio album, Fallen where the vocals of the demo version (that were recorded by Lee at 18 years old) were accompanied by slightly different instrumentation.[1] It is also featured on the band’s 2003 EP, Mystary, which is much similar to the band version.[6] Wind-up Records preferred the Origin version, which is why the exact vocals recorded from 2000 are again included in the song’s album version.[2] The version that was recorded and released as a single is moderately alternative to that of the album version, and is often referred to as the “band version” because of the additional band performing the bridge and final chorus of the song. The later pressings of Fallen contain the single version (or “band version”) of “My Immortal” as a hidden track.[7] Lee expressed some dissatisfaction with the early versions of the song saying, “It’s not even a real piano. And the sound quality is bad because we had to break into the studio to record it late at night when no one was around because we couldn’t afford a real session.”[2]

Composition

“My Immortal” is a piano[8][9] and power ballad[10] written in the key of A major.[11] It was described as a “goth-meets-pop” song.[12] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing on the website Musicnotes.com, the song is set in common time and performed in slow and free tempo of 80 beats per minute. Lee’s vocal range for the song runs from the musical note of A3 to C♯5.[13] Her vocals are accompanied by a simple piano.[10] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters concluded that in “My Immortal”, Lee is “doing her McLachlan/Tori Amos schtick”.[14] The song also received comparisons to Enya‘s material.[15]
“My Immortal”
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A 26-second sample of the chorus of “My Immortal”, a piano ballad inspired by the death of a close person.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The lyrics of the song refer to a spirit that haunts the memory of a grieving loved one.[2] Similar to several other songs written by Moody, the lyrics of the song are based on a short story he had previously written.[1] According to Lee, it was “Ben [Moody]’s song.”[16] Moody said that the song talks about “a spirit staying with you after its death and haunting you until you actually wish that the spirit were gone because it won’t leave you alone.”[1] He also stated in the booklet of Fallen that he dedicated the song to his grandfather, Bill Holcomb.[1] In “My Immortal”, Lee expresses her feelings through the line, “Though you’re still with me / I’ve been alone all along.”[17] A writer for IGN said that “‘My Immortal’ is a song of pain and despair caused by the loss of a family member or very close friend and how it drove her [Lee] to the edge of insanity.”[17] Talking about the composition and the meaning of the song, Tom Reynolds of The Guardian said, “[‘My Immortal’ is] A whimpering post-breakup tune in which lead singer Amy Lee pitifully mourns the end of a relationship over a piano accompaniment that sounds like Pachelbel after the Prozac wore off. My Immortal closely follows the ‘quantum tragedy paradigm’: the shorter the time two people spent together as a couple, the more overwrought the song is that describes their break-up. Judging by the lorry-load of anguish Lee spews out, she split from someone she dated for about an hour (if her lyrics are to be believed, the guy was a real freak, too).”[18]

Critical reception

While reviewing the band’s second studio album The Open Door (2006), Alex Nunn of the website musicOMH showed incredulity that the “angelic-vocalled woman who wrote the moving/emotive/whatever My Immortal” could “churn out such dross as Call Me When You’re Sober.”[19] Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone said that “‘My Immortal’ lets Lee wail about her personal demons over simple piano and some symphonic dressings — it’s a power ballad that P.O.D. and Tori Amos fans could both appreciate.”[10] Chris Harris of the same publication found it to be a “song that’s become something of an Alanis Morissette-like battle hymn for her [Lee’s] goth disciples over the last few years.”[20] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post called “My Immortal” a “majestic” song that helped the band win a Grammy Award.[21] Blair R. Fischer from MTV News described the song as a “delicate, heartfelt ballad”.[15] IGN‘s Ed Thompson concluded that “My Immortal” was “one of the first and best songs Evanescence ever wrote”.[22] Jordan Reimer, a writer of The Daily Princetonian found a “haunting beauty” in the song.[23] Bill Lamb of About.com put the song at number 61 on his list of “Top 100 Pop Songs of 2004”.[24] Tom Reynolds of The Guardian put the song at number 24 on his list “Sad songs say so much”.[18] In 2005 the band was nominated in the category for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 47th Grammy Awards for the song.[25][26][27]

Chart performance

The song is considered the band’s second most successful single of all time, generally peaking within the top 20 of more than 10 countries internationally. On the chart issue dated April 10, 2004, “My Immortal” peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100,[28] while on the Pop Songs chart it peaked at number two on March 27, 2004.[29] It has peaked at number nineteen on the Adult Contemporary chart as well.[30] On February 17, 2009, “My Immortal” was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than 500,000 copies in the United States.[31] The song managed to top the charts of Canada, Greece and Billboard‘s Adult Pop Songs in the United States.[32][33][34] It also helped Fallen to move from number nine to number three on the Billboard 200 chart, selling another 69.000 copies.[35][36] On the Billboard‘s Radio Songs chart, the song peaked at number seven on April 10, 2004.[37] Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems placed the song at number six on the list of most played radio songs in 2004 with 317,577 spins.[38]

On the Australian Singles Chart, “My Immortal” debuted at number four on January 25, 2004 which later became its peak position.[39] The next eleven weeks, it remained in the top ten of the chart,[40] and it was seen on the chart at number forty-four for the week ending June 13, 2004.[41] The single was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[42] On December 20, 2003, “My Immortal” debuted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart which later became its peak position.[43] On February 14, 2004 the song dropped out of the chart, and it later re-entered at number eighty-four on July 18, 2008.[44] After spending several weeks on different positions on the UK Rock Chart, on August 27, 2011, it peaked at number one.[45] The next week, “My Immortal” moved to number two being replaced by the band’s single “What You Want” (2011),[45] and one week later it returned at number one on the chart.[45] That achievement helped the song to re-enter on the UK Singles Chart at number eight-one on August 27, 2011 and at number eighty-nine on October 22, 2011.[44]

Music video

The music video for “My Immortal” was filmed in Barri Gòtic, Barcelona.

A music video directed by David Mould was filmed entirely in black-and-white in Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic), Barcelona on October 10, 2003.[2][46] Lee described the place of the filming during an interview with MTV News: “We did it in a cool, old area of town.[…] We shot some of it at this scenic point, and there was a rooftop where you could see Barcelona below. It was really neat.”[2] The band version of the song is played throughout the video. Lee said that Evanescence initially wanted to film a video for the band version of the song, but “the label was stuck on the demo and wouldn’t let us use the version we really wanted.[…] We fought back and forth about it and finally we gave in, but we were all so angry about it.”[2] The video was filmed two weeks before Ben Moody’s departure from the band.[46] Amy Lee admitted that the visuals in the video were “striking in retrospect”, but added that the similarities between what was filmed and Moody’s departure were coincidental: “We shot it in Barcelona about a week before Ben left the band unexpectedly. I think none of us knew, including him, that he was going anywhere. And when we got the video back and watched it, it was right after he had left. And it’s bizarre how much the video is about that. We all sat there with goose bumps, like, ‘Holy crap. We’ve got to watch that again.'”[47] In an interview with the British magazine Rock Sound, Lee further explained the concept which was related with his departure:

“You know what? When you see the video it’s really amazing. Obviously we filmed it before this [Ben Moody’s departure] happened and it’s amazing irony, how much it makes sense. We’re all separated and wandering the streets looking like it’s the day after a funeral, with Ben in a suit and bare feet, and I’m never touching the ground. I’m sitting on a phone booth or lying on a car, to hint that I’m dead, that I’m singing from the dead. It’s all about separation. It’s almost like the director knew what was going to happen, but he can’t have known. It’s just one of those fate things.”[48]

The music video for “My Immortal” begins with Lee next to a fountain. Her legs and arms are covered with bandage, and she puts them in the water. She’s wearing a long white dress. While she walks around the fountain, behind her are shown children jumping on a skipping rope and playing soccer. Shots of Moody follow, who appears to be sullen and withdrawn. He is wearing a suit and his feet are bare. His shoulders sag and his head slumps forward as he delicately plays piano, and later he picks up his jacket as if he’s about to leave. When the bridge starts, the band is shot performing in one room while Moody is in another, with only his piano. Throughout the video, Lee is never filmed on ground level. She walks along the ledge of a fountain, sits in a tree and sings lying on top of a building. She also lies atop scaffolding and on the hood of a car surrounded with leaves.

The video for the song was nominated in the category for Best Rock Video at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.[49][50][51] According to Jon Wiederhorn from MTV News, the shots of the video are “evocative and artistic, resembling a cross between a foreign film and a Chanel advertisement.”[2] Joe D’Angelo of MTV News said that Lee’s disconnection in the video shows a “distressed and emotionally wrought heroine.”[52] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised the video saying that Lee looked like a “teen-misery titan” and that she “tiptoed through a marble castle of pain”.[53] He also concluded that she could have borrowed the dress from Stevie Nicks.[53] During an interview with Spin in 2011 Lee said that it was weird for her to watch the old videos of the band including the one for “My Immortal”. She explaind, “Just watching our oldest videos, it’s weird. I definitely remember watching ‘My Immortal,’ like, ‘That was not some dream where it was really somebody else.’ I’ve totally had a couple of those moments. It’s cool.”[54]

Live performances

Amy Lee performing during a concert in 2009.

Evanescence performed the song at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards on December 8, 2004.[55] The band was joined by an eight-piece string section during the performance and a stage backdrop of knotted, decaying trees were placed on stage in order to showcase the “powerful vocals” by Amy Lee as stated by a writer of Billboard.[55] The band additionally performed the song at Late Show with David Letterman in March, 2004.[56]

The band performed “My Immortal” on August 13, 2003 in Chicago during the Nintendo Fusion Tour.[15][57] It was also part of the set list on the band’s first Fallen Tour.[58] Evanescence also performed the song at the Webster Hall in Manhattan, New York City in September, 2003. “My Immortal” was the closing song of the concert, and Lee performed it after asking the fans “Just promise not to fall asleep.”[57] During the performance, she wore an Alice in Wonderland dress covered with scrawled words, including the words “dirty, useless, psycho and slut.”[57] She explained that there was a story behind the dress. The last time she had come to New York, she had met a D.J. from the radio station K-Rock, who had made what she described as horrible comments about exactly how much pleasure he had derived from the picture of her face on the Fallen album cover.[57] She had felt too ashamed to say anything, she went on, so she decided to respond through the dress, which represented something innocent that’s been tainted.[57]

“My Immortal” was also part of the set list during the band’s second tour, called The Open Door Tour in support of their second studio album The Open Door (2006).[59][60][61] Evanescence also played the song live at their secret New York gig which took place on November 4, 2009.[20] They also performed the song during the 2011 Rock in Rio festival on October 2, 2011.[62] The song was later added on the set list of their third worldwide tour in support of their third self-titled studio album Evanescence (2011).[63][64] A live version of the song from Le Zénith, Paris is featured on their first live album, Anywhere but Home (2004).[65][66][67] Johnny Loftus of Allmusic praised the live version saying that Lee takes a “softer approach” while performing “My Immortal” and added that it “becomes a singalong moment for 5,000 souls.”[68]

Covers and usage in media

“My Immortal” was featured on the soundtrack Daredevil: The Album from the movie Daredevil (2003) along with “Bring Me to Life“.[14][69] It was also heavily used in promos for the series finale of Friends.[citation needed]

The song has been used during several television episodes. It featured during the Smallville season three episode “Memoria”. It was used in the first episode, “No Such Thing as Vampires“, of the American series Moonlight.[70] Lucy Walsh, a contestant of the show Rock the Cradle, covered the song during the fifth episode, “Judge’s Picks”.[71] Dancer Hampton Williams performed to this song during his audition for the Season 9 premiere of So You Think You Can Dance which aired on May 24, 2012, where he received a standing ovation.[72][73]

The song was used for The Voice UK winner Andrea Begley as her winning single. The song saw much success for Begley and the show.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Fallen liner notes.[1]

Evanescence
Production

Track listing

  • CD single (Released December 8, 2003)[74]
  1. “My Immortal” (band version) – 4:33
  2. “My Immortal” (album version) – 4:24
  • CD maxi single (Released December 8, 2003)[74][75]
  1. “My Immortal” (band version) – 4:33
  2. “My Immortal” (album version) – 4:24
  3. “Haunted” (Live from Sessions@AOL) – 3:08
  4. “My Immortal” (Live from Cologne) – 4:15
  • Promo – CD maxi single (2003)[74]
  1. “My Immortal” (band version / no strings) – 4:33
  2. “My Immortal” (band version / guitars down) – 4:33
  3. “My Immortal” (album version) – 4:24

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[76] 11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[77] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[78] 9
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[79] 5
Germany (Media Control AG)[80] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[81] 20
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[82] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] 7
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[40] 4
Canadian Singles Chart[33] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten)[83] 7
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[84] 9
France (SNEP)[85] 11
Greece (IFPI Greece)[34] 1
Italy (FIMI)[86] 3
New Zealand (RIANZ)[87] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[88] 2
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[89] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[74] 9
US Billboard Hot 100[90] 7
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[91] 2
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[92] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[30] 19
Chart (2006–2011) Peak
position
UK Rock Chart (Official Charts Company)[45] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] 81
US Digital Songs (Billboard)[93] 43
Chart (2013) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[94] 40
UK Rock Chart[95] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2003) Position
Dutch Top 40[96] 218
UK Singles Chart[97] 185
Chart (2004) Position
Austrian Singles Chart[98] 44
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[99] 23
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)[100] 42
Dutch Top 40[101] 26
Dutch Single Top 100[102] 38
Italian Singles Chart[103] 23
New Zealand Singles Chart[104] 36
Swedish Singles Chart[105] 65
Swiss Singles Chart[106] 30
US Billboard Hot 100[107] 19
US Hot Adult Top 40[108] 6
US Hot Adult Contemporary[109] 29

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–2009) Position
US Adult Pop Songs[110] 48

Certifications

Region (provider) Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Australia (ARIA) Platinum[42]
Italy (FIMI) Gold[111]
United States (RIAA) Gold[31]

See also

Book icon

References

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  45. ^ a b c d The song peaked at number one on the UK Rock Chart for three consecutive weeks in 2011:
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Ecclesiastes: Darkness under the Sun

July 19, 2013 – 1:50 am

Ecclesiastes 4-6 | Solomon’s Dissatisfaction

Published on Sep 24, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 23, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider

___________________

I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man can not hope to find a lasting meaning to his life in a closed system without bringing God back into the picture. This is the same exact case with Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Three thousand years ago, Solomon took a look at life “under the sun” in his book of Ecclesiastes. Christian scholar Ravi Zacharias has noted, “The key to understanding the Book of Ecclesiastes is the term ‘under the sun.’ What that literally means is you lock God out of a closed system, and you are left with only this world of time plus chance plus matter.”

Let me show you some inescapable conclusions if you choose to live without God in the picture. Solomon came to these same conclusions when he looked at life “under the sun.”

  1. Death is the great equalizer (Eccl 3:20, “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.”)
  2. Chance and time have determined the past, and they will determine the future.  (Ecclesiastes 9:11-13)
  3. Power reigns in this life, and the scales are not balanced(Eccl 4:1)
  4. Nothing in life gives true satisfaction without God including knowledge (1:16-18), ladies and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and great building projects (2:4-6, 18-20).

You can only find a lasting meaning to your life by looking above the sun and bring God back into the picture.

Darkness under the Sun

April 23, 2012 at 1:50 pm | Posted in Ecclesiastes | 8 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

King Solomon was looking at life from an earthly, temporal point of view, and he came to these conclusions:

1. Life is vain because of its monotony.
2. Life is vain because of the limits of wisdom.
3. Life is vain because of the limits of wealth.

I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:8-11

Solomon was the richest man in the Bible – maybe of all time. He was the Bill Gates of his day. However, no one can buy his way into Heaven or out of eternity. Somebody once said that if money can’t buy happiness, at least it will allow you to afford your favorite kind of misery. Money can be a valuable tool. You can’t eat cash, but you can buy food with it. You can’t keep warm with it, but you can buy fuel with it. This quote once appeared in the Wall St. Journal: “Money is a universal passport to everywhere except Heaven; and a universal provider of everything except happiness.”

For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

Ecclesiastes 1:21

You may have seen the bumper sticker that says, “He who dies with the most toys wins,” but this is not true. When you go to see God, you won’t be judged for how nice a boat you have, or how impressive your music collection was. The Apostle Paul described life as if it were a race, but that race is not a race to financial security. It is a race to become more Christ-like. The preacher in Ecclesiastes tells us that, not only can we not take it with us, but we can’t control it anymore after we’re gone. Some of the most agonized-over and detailed legal documents are wills and trusts. There is nothing wrong with wanting to provide for your family after you die, but when we spend so much energy trying to make sure our descendants have an easier time of it than we did, we might be doing them a disservice. Sometimes, working to achieve things for ourselves is how God makes us into who He wants us to be.

King Solomon felt that:

4. Life is vain because it has an end.

We know that this is true only in a limited sense.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Hebrews 9:27

The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.

Ecclesiastes 2:14

The idea that we’re all going to die can be a depressing thought. It is one of the reasons why there is so much “escapist” entertainment.

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:24

If we are not careful, we will focus so much of our time, our energy, our money, on entertainment, that we will not have anything other than shallow entertainment to offer the people we care about when we find them suffering. Movies, music, television, and pop culture are no substitute for Biblical comfort, counseling, and promises when someone is truly in pain.

However, there is an opposite extreme to mindless entertainment that can also be vain. If we become so fixated on our own sorrows that they swallow us up, we will become “depressed.” There is a plague of depression in our society today. I realize that some of this is caused by actual physical conditions or chemical imbalances in the brain, but a great deal of it comes from being focused only on what’s happening “under the sun.” Without the assurance of a life beyond this world with a kind and loving God, there is a tendency to think, “We know death is coming anyway, so we might as well stop living now and get used to it.” That’s the view “under the sun.” But “over” the sun – “above the sun” – God wants us to enjoy life and have peace and hope and contentment.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

I Timothy 6:6

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Philippians 4:11

Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Psalm 115:15-16

The Lord does want us to have fun – but with Godliness. And He wants us to be content!

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Ecclesiastes: Vanity: The Diagnosis and the Antidote

July 18, 2013 – 6:43 am

Ecclesiastes 2-3

Published on Sep 19, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 16, 2012 | Derek Neider

_____________________________

I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man can not hope to find a lasting meaning to his life in a closed system without bringing God back into the picture. This is the same exact case with Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Three thousand years ago, Solomon took a look at life “under the sun” in his book of Ecclesiastes. Christian scholar Ravi Zacharias has noted, “The key to understanding the Book of Ecclesiastes is the term ‘under the sun.’ What that literally means is you lock God out of a closed system, and you are left with only this world of time plus chance plus matter.”

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  2. Chance and time have determined the past, and they will determine the future.  (Ecclesiastes 9:11-13)
  3. Power reigns in this life, and the scales are not balanced(Eccl 4:1)
  4. Nothing in life gives true satisfaction without God including knowledge (1:16-18), ladies and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and great building projects (2:4-6, 18-20).

You can only find a lasting meaning to your life by looking above the sun and bring God back into the picture.

Vanity: The Diagnosis and the Antidote

April 17, 2013 at 10:53 am | Posted in Ecclesiastes | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Book of Ecclesiastes is – in my opinion – one of the more difficult books in the Bible to teach. Many of its proclamations seem troubling and paradoxical in light of New Testament revelation. However, when understood in the proper context, it is an extremely edifying book, and, like all Scripture, it is immensely profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. It also contains its own helpful thematic summation:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Our earthly life is both temporary, and, in some respects, vain, but it is also valuable and of eternal significance. It is a gift from our Creator, and we must be good stewards of it.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:14

Three solid principles for Christians to remember each day are: Fear God, obey God, and prepare to meet God.

The antidote to Ecclesiastes’ diagnosis of “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” is:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

I Corinthians 15:58 (emphasis added)

Here are links to the previous lessons on the Book of Ecclesiastes:

1. Contextual Wisdom
2. Nothing New under the Sun
3. Darkness under the Sun
4. Break It Up!
5. Right Where You’re Supposed to Be
6. Do Birds Sing about Eternity?
7. Good Timing
8. Order in a Fallen World
9. Working for a Living
10. Fresh, Frail, or Fruitful?
11. Two Kinds of Heart Medication
12. Don’t Ruin Your Name
13. Would You Rather? (Wisdom of Solomon Edition) (*)
14. Don’t Lose Your Balance
15. Accurate Timing
16. The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
17. Fooling or Ruling?
18. A Fly in the Ointment
19. His Heart Was in the Right Place
20. A Little Bird Told Me
21. Fortifying the Fulcrum
22. Indulgent, Incompetent, or Industrious?
23. Life’s Big Adventure
24. Under the Sun vs. Over the Sun

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If I see Chris Martin of Coldplay in person what would I say to him? (Part 2)

Chris Martin revealed in his interview with Howard Stern that he was rasied an evangelical Christian but he has left the church. I believe that many words that he puts in his songs today are generated from the deep seated Christian beliefs from his childhood that find their way out in his songs. His belief in […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part N “A discussion of the Woody Allen Movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS”(includes film DEATH BY SOMEONE’S CHOICE)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part L “On what basis do you say murder is wrong?”Part 2 (includes the film THE BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part K “On what basis do you say murder is wrong?”Part 1 (includes film ABORTION OF THE HUMAN RACE)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

“Woody Wednesday” Another look at Woody Allen’s movie Crimes and Misdemeanors

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Wednesday” A 2010 review of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

Robert Dick Wilson’s talk “Is the Higher Criticism Scholarly?” (part 6 of transcript)

The Bible and Archaeology (3/5) For many more archaeological evidences in support of the Bible, see Archaeology and the Bible . (There are some great posts on this too at the bottom of this post.) Robert Dick Wilson at the Grove City Bible Conference in 1909. IS THE HIGHER CRITICISM SCHOLARLY?Clearly attested facts showing that thedestructive […]

“Woody Wednesday” In 2009 interview Woody Allen talks about the lack of meaning of life and the allure of younger women

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Wednesday” Woody Allen on the Emptiness of Life by Toby Simmons

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

12 Questions for Woody Allen (Woody Wednesday)

Above is a clip of 12 questions for Woody Allen. Below is a list of some of his movies. WOODY’S FINEST: Philip French’s favourite five Annie Hall (1977) In his first fully achieved masterwork, a semi-autobiographical comedy in which his ex-lover Diane Keaton and best friend Tony Roberts play versions of themselves, Allen created a […]

“Woody Wednesday” Allen on the meaning of life (part 2)

September 3, 2011 · 5:16 PM ↓ Jump to Comments Woody Allen on the Emptiness of Life In the final scene of Manhattan, Woody Allen’s character, Isaac, is lying on the sofa with a microphone and a tape-recorder, dictating to himself an idea for a short story. It will be about “people in Manhattan,” he says, […]

Video interviews of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (Part 4)

As far as I know they have never done an interview together. Therefore, I have included separate interviews that they have done below and I have some links to past posts I have done on them too. Shane Warne – Chris Martin Interview (Part 1) Uploaded by HandyAndy136 on Nov 24, 2010 Originally broadcast on […]

“Woody Wednesday” Allen realizes if God doesn’t exist then all is meaningless

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 […]

Milton Friedman’s religious views

John Lofton noted: “DR. FRIEDMAN an evolutionist with ‘values’ of unknown origin but he said they were not ‘accidental.’ “   If anyone takes time to read my blog for any length of time they can not question my respect for the life long work of Milton Friedman. He has advanced the cause of freedom […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Adrian Rogers on gambling

July 18, 2013 – 12:44 am

Adrian Rogers: How to Be a Child of a Happy Mother

Published on Nov 13, 2012

Series: Fortifying Your Family (To read along turn on the annotations.)
Adrian Rogers looks at the 5th commandment and the relationship of motherhood in the commandment to honor your father and mother, because the faith that doesn’t begin at home, really doesn’t begin. This message references: Exodus 20:12
I own nothing, all the rights belong to Adrian Rogers (R.I.P.) & his website http://www.lwf.org.

________________________

Another great article by Adrian Rogers.

What does the Bible teach about gambling?

Gambling of any sort is built on a faulty premise; it really has the spirit of thievery. Why is that? Legitimate business is win-win. If I sell you a widget for a dollar, you get the widget and I get the dollar. We both win. Nobody can win at gambling without another losing. Many of the losers are those least able to afford it.

One may object, “But nobody is forced to gamble.” Gambling done willingly doesn’t make it right. A duel, for instance, is murder by mutual consent. Just because two people agree to shoot each other doesn’t make it right.

The person who gambles and wins has the motive of getting something from another for nothing: thievery. The person who loses has the same motive, but has the added problem of being foolish. The Bible says “Woe to him who increases that which is not his” (Habakkuk 2:6). The “woe” that is so evident is addiction, broken homes, increases in theft, and the warping of children.

Investment in the stock market, on the other hand, is not gambling because again it is based on the win-win philosophy. Basically one party provides funding enabling another party to offer a legitimate product or service, and both benefit. Yes, risk is involved, but risk is not what makes gambling wrong. We take risks every day, like when we get in a car. Greed and gain without mutual benefit is the issue that makes gambling a sin. In fact, when it comes to prudent investment for long-term gain, the Bible encourages it (Matthew 25:14-30). That’s simple stewardship. God expects our lives, both financially and otherwise, to bring great gain for the kingdom of heaven.

Everything you are and everything you have belongs to God. Your choice is to squander it on the things of this world or give it all to Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, for incredible eternal gain.

Related posts:

Easter weekend 2013, List of posts on series: Is the Bible historically accurate? (Updated 1 through 14C)

“In Christ Alone” music video featuring scenes from “The Passion of the Christ”. It is sung by Lou Fellingham of Phatfish and the writer of the hymn is Stuart Townend. On this Easter weekend 2013 there is no other better time to take a look at the truth and accuracy of the Bible.    Is the […]

Evidence for the Bible

Here is some very convincing evidence that points to the view that the Bible is historically accurate. Archaeological and External Evidence for the Bible Archeology consistently confirms the Bible! Archaeology and the Old Testament Ebla tablets—discovered in 1970s in Northern Syria. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place […]

John MacArthur on Larry King Live Part 4 The Bible on War

Larry King – Dr. John MacArthur vs. “father” Manning Uploaded on Sep 26, 2011 GotoThisSite.org ___________ I have seen John MacArthur on Larry King Show many times and I thought you would like to see some of these episodes. I have posted several of John MacArthur’s sermons in the past and my favorite is his […]

Evidence can be found in Archaeology that supports the historical accuracy of the Bible and here are some links posted here at www.thedailyhatch.org

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. _________________________- Many people have questioned the accuracy of the Bible, but I […]

 

Part 2 Adrian Rogers on Proverbs “How To Be The Father Of A Wise Child” (video too)

I have been reading Proverbs almost every day for many years with my family in the evening and there is lots of wisdom in it. Take a look at the second part of this message from Adrian Rogers. How to Be the Father of a Wise Child Another great sermon outline from Adrian Rogers. Adrian Rogers […]

Part 1 Adrian Rogers on Proverbs “How To Be The Father Of A Wise Child” (video too)

Picture of Adrian Rogers above from 1970′s while pastor of Bellevue Baptist of Memphis, and president of Southern Baptist Convention. (Little known fact, Rogers was the starting quarterback his senior year of the Palm Beach High School football team that won the state title and a hero to a 7th grader at the same school named […]

What Adrian Rogers said to pro-abortion activist at the U.S. Senate in the 1990′s

Leadership Crisis in America Published on Jul 11, 2012 Picture of Adrian Rogers above from 1970′s while pastor of Bellevue Baptist of Memphis, and president of Southern Baptist Convention. (Little known fact, Rogers was the starting quarterback his senior year of the Palm Beach High School football team that won the state title and a hero […]

John McArthur and Adrian Rogers on Proverbs and Alcohol (Eddie Sutton and Ryan Dunn used as examples)

Same old story it seems. Kentucky pulls out another close victory over the Vols. This is not the only story I am talking about today. Kentucky’s Alex Poythress (22) shoots between Tennessee’s Josh Richardson, left, and Yemi Makanjuola during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, […]

The Life and Ministry of Adrian Rogers (Part 3)

7 years ago on November 15, 2005 Adrian Rogers passed away. This is a series of posts about the life and ministry of Adrian Rogers. Adrian Rogers Memorial – Come To Jesus Uploaded by jonwhisner on Jan 20, 2011 This video is from Adrian Roger’s Memorial Service held at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN in […]

Adrian Rogers and John MacArthur on wisdom from Proverbs on alcohol

(My pastor growing up was Adrian Rogers and he died 7 years ago today. He would have been 82 if he was still living. ) I love the Book of Proverbs and every day I read one chapter of Proverbs. Since there are 31 chapters, I start the 1st of ever month and read chapter […]

Adrian Rogers on evolution

  Picture of Adrian Rogers above from 1970′s while pastor of Bellevue Baptist of Memphis, and president of Southern Baptist Convention. (Little known fact, Rogers was the starting quarterback his senior year of the Palm Beach High School football team that won the state title and a hero to a 7th grader at the same school […]

The Life and Ministry of Adrian Rogers (Part 2)

7 years ago on November 15, 2005 Adrian Rogers passed away. This is a series of posts about the life and ministry of Adrian Rogers. Adrian Rogers Memorial – Come To Jesus Uploaded by jonwhisner on Jan 20, 2011 This video is from Adrian Roger’s Memorial Service held at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN in […]

The Life and Ministry of Adrian Rogers (Part 1)

7 years ago on November 15, 2005 Adrian Rogers passed away. This is a series of posts about the life and ministry of Adrian Rogers. Adrian Rogers Memorial – Come To Jesus Uploaded by jonwhisner on Jan 20, 2011 This video is from Adrian Roger’s Memorial Service held at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN in […]

Terri Blackstock’s husband led to Christ while listening to Adrian Rogers on AFR

Picture of Adrian Rogers above from 1970′s while pastor of Bellevue Baptist of Memphis, and president of Southern Baptist Convention. (Little known fact, Rogers was the starting quarterback his senior year of the Palm Beach High School football team that won the state title and a hero to a 7th grader at the same school named […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Adrian Rogers | Comments (0)

Book of Ecclesiastes

July 17, 2013 – 1:40 am

Ecclesiastes 1

Published on Sep 4, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider

_____________________

I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man can not hope to find a lasting meaning to his life in a closed system without bringing God back into the picture. This is the same exact case with Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Three thousand years ago, Solomon took a look at life “under the sun” in his book of Ecclesiastes. Christian scholar Ravi Zacharias has noted, “The key to understanding the Book of Ecclesiastes is the term ‘under the sun.’ What that literally means is you lock God out of a closed system, and you are left with only this world of time plus chance plus matter.”

Let me show you some inescapable conclusions if you choose to live without God in the picture. Solomon came to these same conclusions when he looked at life “under the sun.”

  1. Death is the great equalizer (Eccl 3:20, “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.”)
  2. Chance and time have determined the past, and they will determine the future.  (Ecclesiastes 9:11-13)
  3. Power reigns in this life, and the scales are not balanced(Eccl 4:1)
  4. Nothing in life gives true satisfaction without God including knowledge (1:16-18), ladies and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and great building projects (2:4-6, 18-20).

You can only find a lasting meaning to your life by looking above the sun and bring God back into the picture.

Book of Ecclesiastes

Filed under: Book of Ecclesiastes — 2 Comments
April 2, 2013

The Book of Ecclesiastes does not directly identify its author. There are quite  a few verses that imply Solomon wrote this book. There are some clues in the  context that may suggest a different person wrote the book after Solomon’s  death, possibly several hundred years later. Still, the conventional belief is  that the author is indeed Solomon.

Date of Writing: Solomon’s reign as king of Israel lasted from around 970 B.C. to around 930  B.C. The Book of Ecclesiastes was likely written towards the end of his reign,  approximately 935 B.C.

Purpose of Writing: Ecclesiastes  is a book of perspective. The narrative of “the Preacher” (KJV), or “the  Teacher” (NIV) reveals the depression that inevitably results from seeking  happiness in worldly things. This book gives Christians a chance to see the  world through the eyes of a person who, though very wise, is trying to find  meaning in temporary, human things. Most every form of worldly pleasure is  explored by the Preacher, and none of it gives him a sense of meaning.

In the end, the Preacher comes to accept that faith in God is the only way to  find personal meaning. He decides to accept the fact that life is brief and  ultimately worthless without God. The Preacher advises the reader to focus on an  eternal God instead of temporary pleasure.

Key Verses: Ecclesiastes 1:2, “’Vanity of vanities,’ says the  Preacher, ‘vanity of vanities, all is vanity’” (NKJV).

Ecclesiastes 1:18,  “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more  grief.”

Ecclesiastes 2:11, “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands  had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing  after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

Ecclesiastes 12:1,  “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble  come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in  them.’”

Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Now all has been heard; here is the  conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the  whole duty of man.”

Brief Summary: Two phrases are  repeated often in Ecclesiastes. The word translated as “vanity” in the KJV, and  “meaningless” in the NIV appears often, and is used to emphasize the temporary  nature of worldly things. In the end, even the most impressive human  achievements will be left behind. The phrase “under the sun” occurs 28 times,  and refers to the mortal world. When the Preacher refers to “all things under  the sun,” he is talking about earthly, temporary, human things.

The  first seven chapters of the book of Ecclesiastes describe all of the worldly  things “under the sun” that the Preacher tries to find fulfillment in. He tries  scientific discovery (1:10-11), wisdom and philosophy (1:13-18), mirth (2:1),  alcohol (2:3), architecture (2:4), property (2:7-8), and luxury (2:8). The  Preacher turned his mind towards different philosophies to find meaning, such as  materialism (2:19-20), and even moral codes (including chapters 8-9). He found  that everything was meaningless, a temporary diversion that, without God, had no  purpose or longevity.

Chapters 8-12 of Ecclesiastes describe the  Preacher’s suggestions and comments on how a life should be lived. He comes to  the conclusion that without God, there is no truth or meaning to life. He has  seen many evils and realized that even the best of man’s achievements are worth  nothing in the long run. So he advises the reader to acknowledge God from youth  (12:1) and to follow His will (12:13-14).

Foreshadowings:  For all of the vanities described in the Book of Ecclesiastes, the  answer is Christ. According to Ecclesiastes 3:17, God judges the righteous and the  wicked, and the righteous are only those who are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  God has placed the desire for eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and  has provided the Way to eternal life through Christ (John 3:16). We are reminded that striving after the  world’s wealth is not only vanity because it does not satisfy (Ecclesiastes 5:10),  but even if we could attain it, without Christ we would lose our souls and what  profit is there in that (Mark 8:36)?  Ultimately, every disappointment and vanity described in Ecclesiastes has its  remedy in Christ, the wisdom of God and the only true meaning to be found in  life.

Practical Application: Ecclesiastes offers the  Christian an opportunity to understand the emptiness and despair that those who  do not know God grapple with. Those who do not have a saving faith in Christ are  faced with a life that will ultimately end and become irrelevant. If there is no  salvation, and no God, then not only is there no point to life, but no purpose  or direction to it, either. The world “under the sun,” apart from God, is  frustrating, cruel, unfair, brief, and “utterly meaningless.” But with Christ,  life is but a shadow of the glories to come in a heaven that is only accessible  through Him

Related posts:

The Humanist takes on Solomon and the Book of Ecclesiastes

This from the American Humanist website: This week we’re pleased to publish a new poem “Ecclesiastes” by Frank S. Robinson. Frank S. Robinson is a retired New York State administrative law judge, a rare coin dealer, and author of five books, most recently The Case for Rational Optimism. He is married to the poet Therese […]

Avril Lavigne commits “the fool’s sin” in front of family crowd in Tampa (Avril and the Book of Ecclesiastes Part 1)

Tampa Bay Rays apologize for Avril Lavigne TMZ reported: According to local reports, Avril’s mic didn’t work at the start of her show … and she responded to the cavalcade of boos by yelling obscenities at crowd. Rays rep Rick Vaughn tells TMZ, “The Rays demand profanity-free performances from all of our concert performers and […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part U “Do men have a say in the abortion debate?” (includes the film SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS and editorial cartoon)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

2008 article on Woody Allen on the meaning of life

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

If I see Chris Martin of Coldplay in person what would I say to him? (Part 3)

Chris Martin revealed in his interview with Howard Stern that he was rasied an evangelical Christian but he has left the church. I believe that many words that he puts in his songs today are generated from the deep seated Christian beliefs from his childhood that find their way out in his songs. His belief in […]

Part 4 Adrian Rogers on Proverbs “How To Be The Father Of A Wise Child” (video too)

Picture of Adrian Rogers above from 1970′s while pastor of Bellevue Baptist of Memphis, and president of Southern Baptist Convention. (Little known fact, Rogers was the starting quarterback his senior year of the Palm Beach High School football team that won the state title and a hero to a 7th grader at the same school named […]

If I see Chris Martin of Coldplay in person what would I say to him? (Part 2)

Chris Martin revealed in his interview with Howard Stern that he was rasied an evangelical Christian but he has left the church. I believe that many words that he puts in his songs today are generated from the deep seated Christian beliefs from his childhood that find their way out in his songs. His belief in […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part N “A discussion of the Woody Allen Movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS”(includes film DEATH BY SOMEONE’S CHOICE)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part L “On what basis do you say murder is wrong?”Part 2 (includes the film THE BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

Taking on Ark Times Bloggers on various issues Part K “On what basis do you say murder is wrong?”Part 1 (includes film ABORTION OF THE HUMAN RACE)

I have gone back and forth and back and forth with many liberals on the Arkansas Times Blog on many issues such as abortion, human rights, welfare, poverty, gun control  and issues dealing with popular culture. Here is another exchange I had with them a while back. My username at the Ark Times Blog is Saline […]

“Woody Wednesday” Another look at Woody Allen’s movie Crimes and Misdemeanors

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Wednesday” A 2010 review of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

Robert Dick Wilson’s talk “Is the Higher Criticism Scholarly?” (part 6 of transcript)

The Bible and Archaeology (3/5) For many more archaeological evidences in support of the Bible, see Archaeology and the Bible . (There are some great posts on this too at the bottom of this post.) Robert Dick Wilson at the Grove City Bible Conference in 1909. IS THE HIGHER CRITICISM SCHOLARLY?Clearly attested facts showing that thedestructive […]

“Woody Wednesday” In 2009 interview Woody Allen talks about the lack of meaning of life and the allure of younger women

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Wednesday” Woody Allen on the Emptiness of Life by Toby Simmons

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

12 Questions for Woody Allen (Woody Wednesday)

Above is a clip of 12 questions for Woody Allen. Below is a list of some of his movies. WOODY’S FINEST: Philip French’s favourite five Annie Hall (1977) In his first fully achieved masterwork, a semi-autobiographical comedy in which his ex-lover Diane Keaton and best friend Tony Roberts play versions of themselves, Allen created a […]

“Woody Wednesday” Allen on the meaning of life (part 2)

September 3, 2011 · 5:16 PM ↓ Jump to Comments Woody Allen on the Emptiness of Life In the final scene of Manhattan, Woody Allen’s character, Isaac, is lying on the sofa with a microphone and a tape-recorder, dictating to himself an idea for a short story. It will be about “people in Manhattan,” he says, […]

Video interviews of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (Part 4)

As far as I know they have never done an interview together. Therefore, I have included separate interviews that they have done below and I have some links to past posts I have done on them too. Shane Warne – Chris Martin Interview (Part 1) Uploaded by HandyAndy136 on Nov 24, 2010 Originally broadcast on […]

“Woody Wednesday” Allen realizes if God doesn’t exist then all is meaningless

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 […]

Milton Friedman’s religious views

John Lofton noted: “DR. FRIEDMAN an evolutionist with ‘values’ of unknown origin but he said they were not ‘accidental.’ “   If anyone takes time to read my blog for any length of time they can not question my respect for the life long work of Milton Friedman. He has advanced the cause of freedom […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Obama’s welfare state creates dependency (be more prompt with tax return next year we almost ran out of welfare money)

July 17, 2013 – 1:17 am

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 government dependency? As illustrated by this Ramirez cartoon, Julia symbolizes the entitlement mentality.

Unfortunately, there are many real-life Julias.

I wrote a couple of years ago about Olga, a Greek woman who petulantly believed that government was responsible for her empty life.

But we don’t know any details about Olga other than her desire to mooch, so the best real-world examples of Julia may be from England. We have Natalija, a Lithuanian immigrant who has quickly learned bad habits of dependency, and Danny and Gina, two native-born scroungers.

Natalija, Danny, and Gina all decided to get a free ride from taxpayers, largely because overly generous handouts meant that they could enjoy higher living standards by staying at home and watching TV rather than living productive lives.

And if these info-graphics are any indication, there must be lots of people in the United Kingdom who make similar calculations.

No wonder English employers sometime have a hard time filling slots. Why climb the economic ladder when government is providing a comfy hammock?

Unfortunately, the same misguided policies exist in the United States. I shared a remarkable chart last year showing that a household would be better off with $29,000 of income rather than $69,000 of income because of the combined impact of both taxes and redistribution programs.

Now, courtesy of some first-rate journalism by a local television station, we have a powerful example exposing how the system operates. We learn the story of Kristina, who chooses to earn less money in order to keep the taxpayer-funded gravy train rolling.

We’ve all heard the line that America is becoming an entitlement society or welfare state, with half of U.S. households now receiving some type of government benefit. But a CBS 21 News investigation has taken that stat one step further to show you how much people are actually getting for free. A few years ago, reporter Chris Papst worked with a single mom who had two children. She turned down a raise because she said the extra money would decrease her government benefits. It was hard to understand why she did that, until Chris started working on this story. “You do what you have to do as a single mom,” explained Kristina Cogan. “And that’s what I did.” ……she admits living a life off the government can be comfortable. “If you’re going to get something for free, are you going to work for it?” Cogan explained. “It kind of like sucks you in.”

Here are some of the horrific details.

For this story, CBS 21 researched what government programs are available to a single mother of two making $19,000 a year. What we found was incredible. Our family would be eligible for $14,976 in free day care, another $13,400 for Head Start and Early Head Start, $7,148 in housing vouchers, $6,500 for weatherization projects, $400 to pay heating bills, $480 a year for a cell phone, with an extra $230 for a land line, and $182 in free legal advice. The family would get more than $6,028 in food assistance and another $6,045 in medical assistance. The mother is eligible for $5,500 in Pell Grants for school with an additional $12,000 for the Education Opportunity Grant; SMART Grant; and TEACH Grant. Our family would also get $6,800 in tax credits, and $1,900 in withholding would be returned. Add it up and this family can get $81,589 in free assistance.

There’s nothing in the story to suggest that Ms. Cogan is utilizing all these programs, but the plethora of available goodies certainly helps to explain why so many people decide it’s easier to be moochers rather than producers.

Which also explains why the welfare state is a recipe for ever-increasing dependency, as shown by this famous set of cartoons.

Which also causes a sluggish economy, as illustrated by this Chuck Asay cartoon.

No wonder the share of households taking something from the government has been increasing. And no wonder the poverty rate stopped falling once the government’s so-called War on Poverty began.

P.S. Most stories about welfare are pathetic, as we see from this dependency contest featuring the “Connecticut Kid” vs the “English Loafer.” But the welfare state also breeds more bizarre behaviors.

P.P.S. Are you subsidizing bad behavior? Click here to see a map revealing which states offer the most extravagant welfare benefits.

P.P.P.S. Share this video to help others understand the high cost of the welfare state.

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Cato Institute, Economist Dan Mitchell, President Obama | Comments (0)

“Woody Wednesday” More Trivia about Woody Allen

July 17, 2013 – 1:08 am

Dick & Woody discuss particle physics

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of his own secular view. I salute him for doing that. That is why I have returned to his work over and over and presented my own Christian worldview as an alternative.

My interest in Woody Allen is so great that I have a “Woody Wednesday” on my blog www.thedailyhatch.org every week. Also I have done over 30 posts on the historical characters mentioned in his film “Midnight in Paris.” (Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway,T.S.Elliot,  Cole Porter,Paul Gauguin,  Luis Bunuel, and Pablo Picasso were just a few of the characters.) Check out these trivia facts below.

Here is some trivia about Woody Allen:

I took a speed reading course and read ‘War and Peace’ in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.

I know it sounds horrible, but winning that Oscar for Annie Hall (1977) didn’t mean anything to me.

When I was in my early twenties, I knew a man who has since died, who was older than me and also very crazy. He’d been in a straitjacket and institutionalized, and I found him very brilliant. When I would speak to him about writing, about life, art, women, he was very, very cogent – but he couldn’t lead his own life, he just couldn’t manage.

[on shooting in London, 2004] In the United States things have changed a lot, and it’s hard to make good small films now. There was a time in the 1950s when I wanted to be a playwright, because until that time movies, which mostly came out of Hollywood, were stupid and not interesting. Then we started to get wonderful European films, and American films started to grow up a little bit, and the industry became more fun to work in than the theatre. I loved it. But now it’s taken a turn in the other direction and studios are back in command and are not that interested in pictures that make only a little bit of money. When I was younger, every week we’d get a Federico Fellini or an Ingmar Bergman or a Jean-Luc Godard or François Truffaut, but now you almost never get any of that. Filmmakers like myself have a hard time. The avaricious studios couldn’t care less about good films – if they get a good film they’re twice as happy, but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100-million pictures that make $500 million. That’s why I’m happy to work in London, because I’m right back in the same kind of liberal creative attitude that I’m used to.

With my complexion I don’t tan, I stroke.

I always think it is a mistake to try and be young, because I feel the young people in the United States have not distinguished themselves. The young audience in the United States have not proven to me that they like good movies or good theatre. The films that are made for young people are not wonderful films, they are not thoughtful. They are these blockbusters with special effects. The comedies are dumb, full of toilet jokes, not sophisticated at all. And these are the things the young people embrace. I do not idolize the young.

Man was made in God’s image. Do you really think God has red hair and glasses?

Most of life is tragic. You’re born, you don’t know why. You’re here, you don’t know why. You go, you die. Your family dies. Your friends die. People suffer. People live in constant terror. The world is full of poverty and corruption and war and Nazis and tsunamis. The net result, the final count is, you lose – you don’t beat the house.

Life is for the living.

My brain: It’s my second favorite organ.

I don’t believe in an afterlife, although I’m bringing along a change of underwear.

Organized crime in America takes in over $40 billion a year and spends very little on office supplies.

It’s true I had a lot of anxiety. I was afraid of the dark and suspicious of the light.

I’m a practicing heterosexual, although bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.

I was thrown out of NYU [New York University] for cheating on my Metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

For me, being famous didn’t help me that much. It helped a little. Warren Beatty once said to me many years ago, being a star is like being in a whorehouse with a credit card, and I never found that. For me, it was like being in a whorehouse with a credit card that had expired.

Stanley Kubrick was a great artist. I say this all the time and people think I’m being facetious. I’m not. Kubrick was a guy who obsessed over details and did 100 takes, and you know, I don’t feel that way. If I’m shooting a film and it’s 6 o’clock at night and I’ve got a take, and I think I might be able to get a better take if I stayed, but the Knicks tipoff is at 7:30, then that’s it. The crews love working on my movies because they know they’ll be home by 6.

I never wanted movies to be an end. I wanted them to be a means so that I could have a decent life — meet attractive women, go out on dates, live decently. Not opulently, but with some security. I feel the same way now. A guy like Steven Spielberg will go live in the desert to make a movie, or Martin Scorsese will make a picture in India and set up camp and live there for four months. I mean, for me, if I’m not shooting in my neighborhood, it’s annoying. I have no commitment to my work in that sense. No dedication.

I wasn’t away. And I’m not back. Match Point (2005) was a film about luck, and it was a very lucky film for me. I did it the way I do all my pictures, and it just worked. I needed a rainy day, I got a rainy day. I needed sun, I got sun. Kate Winslet dropped out at the last moment because she wanted to be with her family, and Scarlett Johansson was available on two days’ notice. It’s like I couldn’t ruin this picture no matter how hard I tried.

Related posts:

I love the movie “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen and I have done over 30 posts on the historical characters mentioned in the film. Take a look below:

“Midnight in Paris” one of Woody Allen’s biggest movie hits in recent years, July 18, 2011 – 6:00 am

(Part 32, Jean-Paul Sartre)July 10, 2011 – 5:53 am

 (Part 29, Pablo Picasso) July 7, 2011 – 4:33 am

(Part 28,Van Gogh) July 6, 2011 – 4:03 am

(Part 27, Man Ray) July 5, 2011 – 4:49 am

(Part 26,James Joyce) July 4, 2011 – 5:55 am

(Part 25, T.S.Elliot) July 3, 2011 – 4:46 am

(Part 24, Djuna Barnes) July 2, 2011 – 7:28 am

(Part 23,Adriana, fictional mistress of Picasso) July 1, 2011 – 12:28 am

(Part 22, Silvia Beach and the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore) June 30, 2011 – 12:58 am

(Part 21,Versailles and the French Revolution) June 29, 2011 – 5:34 am

(Part 16, Josephine Baker) June 24, 2011 – 5:18 am

(Part 15, Luis Bunuel) June 23, 2011 – 5:37 am

“Woody Wednesday” A 2010 review of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Wednesday” In 2009 interview Woody Allen talks about the lack of meaning of life and the allure of younger women

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

Woody Allen video interview in France talk about making movies in Paris vs NY and other subjects like God, etc

Woody Allen video interview in France Related posts: “Woody Wednesdays” Woody Allen on God and Death June 6, 2012 – 6:00 am Good website on Woody Allen How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter? If Jesus Christ came back today and […]

“Woody Wednesday” Woody Allen on the Emptiness of Life by Toby Simmons

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham (Woody Wednesday)

A surprisingly civil discussion between evangelical Billy Graham and agnostic comedian Woody Allen. Skip to 2:00 in the video to hear Graham discuss premarital sex, to 4:30 to hear him respond to Allen’s question about the worst sin and to 7:55 for the comparison between accepting Christ and taking LSD. ___________________ The Christian Post > […]

“Woody Allen Wednesdays” can be seen on the www.thedailyhatch.org

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 If you like Woody Allen films as much as I do then join me every Wednesday for another look the man and his movies. Below are some of the posts from the past: “Woody Wednesday” How Allen’s film “Crimes and Misdemeanors makes the point that hell is necessary […]

“Woody Wednesday” Great Documentary on Woody Allen

I really enjoyed this documentary on Woody Allen from PBS. Woody Allen: A Documentary, Part 1 Published on Mar 26, 2012 by NewVideoDigital Beginning with Allen’s childhood and his first professional gigs as a teen – furnishing jokes for comics and publicists – WOODY ALLEN: A DOCUMENTARY chronicles the trajectory and longevity of Allen’s career: […]

“Woody Wednesday” Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 6)

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 3 Uploaded by camdiscussion on Sep 23, 2007 Part 3 of 3: ‘Is Woody Allen A Romantic Or A Realist?’ A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, Crimes and Misdemeanors, perhaps his finest. By Anton Scamvougeras. http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/ antons@mail.ubc.ca ______________ One of my favorite Woody Allen movies and I reviewed […]

“Woody Wednesday” Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 5)

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 2 Uploaded by camdiscussion on Sep 23, 2007 Part 2 of 3: ‘What Does The Movie Tell Us About Ourselves?’ A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, perhaps his finest. By Anton Scamvougeras. http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/ antons@mail.ubc.ca _________________- One of my favorite Woody Allen movies and I reviewed it earlier but […]

In 2009 interview Woody Allen talks about the lack of meaning of life and the allure of younger women

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Allen Wednesdays” can be seen on the www.thedailyhatch.org

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 If you like Woody Allen films as much as I do then join me every Wednesday for another look the man and his movies. Below are some of the posts from the past: “Woody Wednesday” How Allen’s film “Crimes and Misdemeanors makes the point that hell is necessary […]

Woody Allen on the Emptiness of Life by Toby Simmons

I have spent alot of time talking about Woody Allen films on this blog and looking at his worldview. He has a hopeless, meaningless, nihilistic worldview that believes we are going to turn to dust and there is no afterlife. Even though he has this view he has taken the opportunity to look at the weaknesses of […]

“Woody Wednesday” Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 4)

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 Uploaded by camdiscussion on Sep 23, 2007 Part 1 of 3: ‘What Does Judah Believe?’ A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, perhaps his finest. By Anton Scamvougeras. http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/ antons@mail.ubc.ca _____________ One of my favorite films is this gem by Woody Allen “Crimes and Misdemeanors”: Film Review By […]

“Woody Wednesday” Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 3)

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 3 Uploaded by camdiscussion on Sep 23, 2007 Part 3 of 3: ‘Is Woody Allen A Romantic Or A Realist?’ A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, Crimes and Misdemeanors, perhaps his finest. By Anton Scamvougeras. http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/ antons@mail.ubc.ca ______________ One of my favorite Woody Allen movies and I reviewed […]

“Woody Wednesday” Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 2)

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 2 Uploaded by camdiscussion on Sep 23, 2007 Part 2 of 3: ‘What Does The Movie Tell Us About Ourselves?’ A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, perhaps his finest. By Anton Scamvougeras. http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/ antons@mail.ubc.ca _________________- One of my favorite Woody Allen movies and I reviewed it earlier but […]

“Woody Wednesday” Discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Part 1)

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 Uploaded by camdiscussion on Sep 23, 2007 Part 1 of 3: ‘What Does Judah Believe?’ A discussion of Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, perhaps his finest. By Anton Scamvougeras. http://camdiscussion.blogspot.com/ antons@mail.ubc.ca _____________ Today I am starting a discusssion of the movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” by Woody Allen. This 1989 […]

 
By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Open letter to President Obama (Part 364)

July 17, 2013 – 12:39 am

(This letter was emailed to White House on 12-20-12.)

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

Dear Mr. President,

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

I truly do wonder how smart our elected representatives are in Washington. Mr President I know you are a Harvard graduate and these comments I guess are really aimed at my Republican friends mostly. I got up on 12-20-12 and read this article below from the Heritage Foundation with the reference to Charlie Brown getting fooled by Lucy again when he runs up and tries  to kick the football and of course she moves it again.

Liberals in Congress have always tried to fool conservatives by promising future cuts if they provide higher taxes now. (This article below appeared on www.heritage.org on 12-20-12.)

Obama’s “Lucy Move the Football” Fiscal Cliff Plan Still Not Balanced

Alison Acosta Fraser

December 18, 2012 at 3:25 pm

Volleys of negotiating counter-offers are coming in faster now that Christmas break and the looming fiscal cliff are just around the corner.

While there is much unsatisfactory with Speaker of the House John Boehner’s (R–OH) Sunday night proposal, let us not forget that the reason we are watching this needless, high stakes drama unfold is due to President Obama’s intractable insistence on tax increases on America’s high earners. After all, he and Congress could simply and quickly pass a bill to extend all current policies and avoid the fiscal cliff entirely—if he wanted to. No, this is really about hiking taxes on high earners. Thus the charade of deficit reduction continues.

Obama’s latest counteroffer is no more acceptable than his first offer. Short on details concerning actual spending reductions, especially on entitlements, it is replete with his requisite tax hikes and (we are shocked) new stimulus spending. The cherry on top is an extension of the debt limit for two years, essentially handing over authority to raise it to the President.

Right.

The President originally called for around $800 billion in tax hikes on America’s “highest” earners—those earning $250,000 and up. A ridiculous demand when the economy is still struggling under his big spending and regulatory policies, and one which would squarely hit smaller businesses. You know, the ones who actually create jobs.

Yet, just like Lucy and the football, when Boehner and company offered up $800 billion in tax hikes, Obama quickly doubled his demand to $1.5 trillion in tax hikes—again, all from the highest earners. They, he tells us, can afford to pay a little more. Never mind, of course, that the top 1 percent of earners already pay 37 percent of all income taxes. Somehow we are to believe this is a “balanced approach.”

Obama pitches all this on the pretext that we can simply go back to the tax rates we had under Clinton. Wrong! His dirty little tax secret is that he has already hiked taxes on high earners under Obamacare. First the law added a surtax of 0.9 percent in addition to the Medicare payroll tax on those earning over $250,000. For the first time ever, Obamacare will apply this higher rate of 3.8 percent to investment income on January 1. Obama won’t tell you that going back to Clinton-era tax rates will actually result in higher taxes on wages, dividends, and capital gains.

They say if you want less of something, then tax it. For Obama, this works fine on financial transactions, carbon emissions, driving, and junk food. But evidently, for him, not so much on a strong vibrant economy. And those Clinton boom years? They weren’t ushered in after the Clinton tax hike—only after the Clinton–Gingrich tax cut!

Rather than working with Republicans on tax proposals that will actually grow the economy, Obama is now simply fighting over his definition of “high income” while we are left to wonder how much this $1.2 trillion tax hike will slow the economy.

As for the $1.2 trillion spending reductions, the only reason they are there is because Boehner insisted on them. But $100 billion in cuts would whack the defense budget, which is already reeling from earlier budget cuts. Yet the real spending and debt crisis comes from unaffordable entitlement programs. While Obama is insisting on balance on the tax side, he is sorely lacking in leadership here. As a recent Washington Post editorial opined:

Elections do have consequences, and Mr. Obama ran on a clear platform of increasing taxes on the wealthy. But he was clear on something else, too: Deficit reduction must be “balanced,” including spending cuts as well as tax increases. Since 60 percent of the federal budget goes to entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, there’s no way to achieve balance without slowing the rate of increase of those programs.

We know Obama is open to changing the inflation calculation and slowing the benefit growth in Social Security. But what else? What about the proposals in his own budget, which would increase premiums on Medicare? He could easily broaden his proposals with additional uncontroversial steps to begin the process of strengthening and reining in Social Security and Medicare. All he needs to do is lead.

Some polls may show that Americans think taxes should be part of a deficit deal; but what the polls do not always show is their utter distrust that Washington would use new revenues to actually reduce the deficit. Here, Obama does not let them down. He reportedly wants $80 billion in new spending on infrastructure and unemployment benefits.

In exchange for all of this, he wants to raise the debt limit by enough to fuel his big spending goals for two years. This is utterly unacceptable. Americans know you cannot reduce the deficit when you plan to actually spend more. Americans also know that when Washington lifts the debt limit, it will not control spending. The debt limit puts the very pressure lawmakers need to account for out-of-control spending and make vital course corrections to bring spending under control, lest we face a Euro-style debt crisis in the future.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is actually insisting that “[t]he President’s proposal is the only proposal we have seen that achieves the balance that is so necessary.” Balance, evidently, is in the eyes of the beholder. As the Post noted, 60 percent of the budget stems from entitlements.

In just 13 short years—by the time today’s kindergarteners enter college—entitlements and interest on the debt will eat up all tax revenues. A truly balanced approach must start where the problem starts—with substantive reforms to entitlements. While the President maintains that you cannot cut your way to prosperity, you certainly cannot tax your way there.

_______________

Below is a speech by George W. Bush honoring Milton Friedman:

Milton Friedman Honored for Lifetime Achievements 2002/5/9

Milton Friedman said that getting George Bush I to be his vice president was his biggest mistake because he knew that Bush was not a true conservative and sure enough George Bush did raise taxes when he later became President. I wonder if Jeb Bush has the same genes as his father.

What we need is some people in Washington that are brave enough to say that we have taken too much of the american people’s money and we have to make the painful spending cuts in order to balance the budget and not ask for any more tax increases!!!! Arkansas’ congressman Rick Crawford has also made the Charlie Brown mistake.

Even though America’s fiscal problem is entirely the result of too much government spending, I wrote earlier this year that there were all sorts of scenarios where I would agree to a tax increase.

But I then pointed out that all of those scenarios were total fantasies and that it would be more realistic to envision me playing center field for the New York Yankees.

The fundamental problem is that politicians never follow through on promises to reduce spending – even if you use the dishonest Washington definition that a spending cut occurs whenever the budget doesn’t rise as fast as previously planned.

And to make matters worse, they always seem to want class-warfare tax hikes that do heavy economic damage rather than the loophole closers that at least get rid of some of the inefficient corruption in the tax code.

That’s why I like the anti-tax pledge of Americans for Tax Reform. You don’t solve America’s fiscal problems by saying no to all tax increases, but at least you don’t move in the wrong direction at a faster rate.

Notwithstanding the principled and pragmatic arguments against putting tax increases on the table, some Republicans – in a triumph of hope over experience – are preemptively acquiescing to tax hikes.

Here’s what Jeb Bush said.

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, said Friday that he could back a broad deficit plan that increased taxes, a stance that puts him at odds with other prominent Republicans. Bush told a House panel he could get behind a plan that combined 10 dollars in spending cuts for every dollar of new revenue… “The problem is the 10 never materializes,” [Congressman Paul] Ryan said after Bush said he could support a revenue-increasing deficit deal. Norquist also has criticized deficit deals crafted in 1982 and 1990 – the latter agreed to by then-President George H.W. Bush, Jeb’s father – for failing to deliver on the spending side.

Kudos to Paul Ryan for making the obvious point about make-believe spending cuts. And Grover is correct about the failure of previous budget deals.

Indeed, I cited a New York Times column that inadvertently revealed that the only budget deal that worked was the 1997 pact that cut taxes rather than raised them.

Jeb Bush isn’t the only apostate. Here’s what Senator Graham had to say.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday he believed Republicans should consider eliminating loopholes in the tax code even if they aren’t replaced by additional tax cuts, a move that would break with an anti-tax pledge many GOP lawmakers have signed with activist Grover Norquist. “When you eliminate a deduction, it’s OK with me to use some of that money to get us out of debt. That’s where I disagree with the pledge,” Graham told ABC News. …”I’m willing to move my party, or try to, on the tax issue. I need someone on the Democratic side being willing to move their party on structural changes to entitlements.” Graham said, for instance, he would support a plan that included $4 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax increases. During a Republican debate last August, all eight Republican candidates in attendance said they would reject a proposal to trade $10 in spending cuts for even $1 in tax increases.

In some sense, Senator Graham’s comments are reasonable. With real spending cuts and less-damaging forms of tax hikes, an acceptable deal is possible. But only in Fantasia, not in Washington.

In the real world, all that Senator Graham has done is to move the debate slightly to the left.

I’ve noted that tax increases are political poison for the Republican Party, but I don’t lose sleep worrying about the GOP.

But I do have nightmares about government getting even bigger, and that’s why I don’t want tax increases on the table. I don’t even want them in the room. Or the house. Or the neighborhood.

That’s why Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham are the newest winners of the Charlie Brown Award. They’ve put blood in the water. I wonder if they’ll act surprised when hungry sharks show up looking for a meal?

_____________

In 1982 the Democrats promised future spending cuts if Ronald Reagan would agree to a tax increase, but you guessed it, the taxes were increased and the spending cuts never came. THE REAL PROBLEM IS NOT THAT WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TAXES BUT WE DON’T WANT TO CUT SPENDING!!!

Washington Could Learn a Lot from a Drug Addict

Concerning spending cuts Reagan believed, that members of Congress “wouldn’t lie to him when he should have known better.” However, can you believe a drug addict when he tells you he is not ever going to do his habit again? Congress is addicted to spending too much money.  Lee Edwards wrote in his article “Golden Years” about Ronald Reagan:

Sometimes Reagan went along with a pragamatist like chief of staff James Baker, who persuaded the president to accept the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), which turned out to be the great tax increase of 1982 — $98 billion over the next three years. That was too much for eighty-nine House Republicans (including second-term Congressman Newt Gingrich of Georgia) or for prominent conservative organizations from the American Conservative Union like the Conservative Caucus and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which all opposed the measure.

Baker assured his boss that Congress would approve three dollars in spending cuts for every dollar of tax increase. To Reagan, TEFRA looked like a pretty good “70 percent” deal. But Congress wound up cutting less than twenty-seven cents for every new tax dollar. What had seemed to be an acceptable 70-30 compromise turned out to be a 30-70 surrender. Ed Meese described TEFRA as “the greatest domestic error of the Reagan administration,” although it did leave untouched the individual tax rate reductions approved the previous year. (TEFRA was built on a series of business and excise taxes plus the removal of business tax deductions.)[xxx]

The basic problem was that Reagan believed, as Lyn Nofziger put it, that members of Congress “wouldn’t lie to him when he should have known better.”[xxxi] As a result of TEFRA, Reagan learned to “trust but verify,” whether he was dealing with a Speaker of the House or a president of the Soviet Union.

______________

_____________

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

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Cato Institute, Economist Dan Mitchell, Milton Friedman, President Obama, spending out of control, Taxes | Comments (0)

Little Rock native David Hodges co-wrote the song “The Lonely” sung by Christina Perri and the theme music of the TV Show “Revenge”

July 17, 2013 – 12:36 am

Christina Perri– The Lonely (official music video)

Distance (Christina Perri song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Distance”
Single by Christina Perri featuring Jason Mraz
from the album lovestrong.
Released March 20, 2012
Format Digital download
Recorded 2011
Genre Pop
Length 3:55
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Christina Perri, David Hodges
Christina Perri singles chronology
“A Thousand Years”
(2011)		 “Distance”
(2012)
Jason Mraz singles chronology
“I Won’t Give Up”
(2012)		 “Distance”
(2012)		 “93 Million Miles”
(2012)

“Distance” is a song by American singer-songwriter Christina Perri. The new version of the track featuring Jason Mraz is the third official single taken from the deluxe version of her debut studio album “Lovestrong” (2011) released on March 20, 2012. It was written by Perri and co-written and produced by David Hodges. It is a midtempo ballad about “loving someone at the wrong time in your life” and “being around that one whom your heart longs for without being able to show your true feelings”.

The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with most praising their “emotional vulnerability and engagement” and their chemistry. The original version of the song is the official theme for the ABC TV series “Revenge” whose music video was released April 12, 2012. The official music video featuring Mraz was released on June 30, 2012. It has reached number 20 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.

Contents

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Background and composition[edit]

“Distance” was written by Christina Perri and co-written and produced by David Hodges.[1] It is a midtempo ballad about loving someone at the wrong time in your life. Maybe it’s too soon, maybe it’s too late, but nevertheless it’s about being around that one whom your heart longs for without being able to show your true feelings, without being able to tell them.[2] A new version of the track featuring her good friend Jason Mraz was recorded and released as a single.[3][4] Perri said: “It’s very hard to keep love a secret, and I wrote this song about the one time I had to.”[2] With lyrics like, “Please don’t stand so close to me, I’m having trouble breathing, I’m afraid of what you’ll see right now,” it reflects reality for anyone who has ever fallen in love.[5]
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A 30 second sample of “Distance”, where Perri and Mraz sing about being around that one whom your heart longs for without being about to show your true feelings.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Jason Mraz is featured on the new version, released as a single.

Talking to Artist Direct, Perri further explained the track:

“I wrote it about being in love with someone and not being able to tell them. All of my songs are so specific. They’re a story in my life or something I went through which I pull from. I wrote this about the summer of 2010. I fell in love with someone, and we had to work pretty closely together. I had to pretend I didn’t like him which was the hardest thing for me because I’m not good at lying [Laughs]. The song is about the feelings and swimming in that kind of tension when you’re around someone and trying to keep it cool. That’s what it means for me. Instead of telling him I loved him, I wrote it to him in a song. That’s where I go.”[6]

Perri also talked about the experience of working with Jason Mraz on the new version:

“When a song is born, there’s one thing it’s about or one feeling it gives for the artist. There’s one feeling ‘Distance’ has given me which is stitched up on my heart, but I think it’s always up for interpretation from the listener’s perspective. Jason and I performed it together one time because we were doing a radio show and we thought, ‘Let’s sing a duet!’ He said, ‘How about ‘Distance’?’ He liked it on my album so I was like, ‘Sure.’ We sang it together in San Diego last December. Something happened. Everyone in the audience felt it. My band felt it. Our managers felt it. It was like, “What was that?” There was a three-and-a-half minute journey we went on that was pretty magical. I’m a huge Jason fan so, of course, I felt it. The fact everyone else did probably proved it was something special. We decided to do it again at some other function we were playing together. I was going to put out as a single anyway, and the idea began to get dreamed up. Now, when we perform it, we still go there. With Jason, when we sing this song, we go to this magical place. It feels really good to sing with him. I can’t wait to perform it every night together all summer.”[6]

Reception[edit]

Perri singing “Distance” at the lovestrong. tour in Puerto Rico.

Critical reception[edit]

The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone gave the song a positive review, commending the duet between Perri and Mraz, writing: “The song’s bittersweet message and haunting duet vocals from Perri and Mraz carry the clip with plenty of emotional vulnerability and engagement.”[2] Becky Bain of Idolator praised the duet, writing: “In addition to having two complimentary voices, Perri and Mraz have undeniable chemistry.”[7] Kyle Dowling of “Pop Crush” commented: “While melancholy, the song is beautifully done and floods with emotion.”[8] Jenna Hally Rubestein of MTV Buzzworthy praised the song, writing: “It’s the type of song poignant enough to leave you blubbering and snot-crying into an empty pint of ice cream (since Lady Antebellum‘s “Need You Now“), because that’s just what happens when you add one amazing singer-songwriter to another amazing singer-songwriter.[9] On his music site The Re-View, Nick Bassett called it “quite beautiful on the ears. It sounds like a much more restrained performance from the ‘Jar Of Hearts’ singer and the emotionally engaging combination of her and Mraz really does connect with some resonance.”[10]

Chart performance[edit]

The song debuted at number 40 on the Adult Pop Songs on the Billboard charts.[11] It follows her number seven-peaking Adult Pop Songs hit “A Thousand Years“.[11] For the week of September 15, 2012, the song climbed from number 25 to number 20 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.[12]

Music videos[edit]

Revenge version[edit]

A music video featuring scenes of the ABC‘s TV series Revenge was released.

The original version of the song is the official theme for the ABC TV series “Revenge” whose music video was released on April 12, 2012. [3] The video begins with a 20 second clip of Jack Porter revealing his feelings for Emily Thorne played by Nick Wechsler and Emily VanCamp, respectively.[13] In the poignant scene, Jack tells Emily he’s in love with her. Alongside Perri’s slowed vocals and fitting lyrics a montage of Revenge‘s last season is played.[13] Directed by Elliott Sellers, Perri’s music video was shot on the Revenge set in Los Angeles. With clips from the show, Emily’s love triangle is showcased between her childhood friend Jack and Hamptons’ Daniel Grayson played by Joshua Bowman. It also features shots of Daniel in jail being comforted by a photo of Emily while Emily is at home consoled by Jack.[13] The video also shows Perri interacting with actor Wechsler.[13]

Official version[edit]

The official video featuring Jason Mraz was released on June 30, 2012. Set in a house, the video features Perri dressed in a white dress, soft makeup, and loose waves, while she walks about the house singing before viewers catch a glimpse of Mraz strumming his guitar in presumably, a different location. The two never actually appear on screen together, but the last scene of Perri stripping down pictures and tearing through a wall may leave an impression that she and he will eventually reunite.[14]

“There’s something about the simplicity of the lyrics, with the openness of my heart, I just didn’t want anything dramatic,” she told InStyle of her look, a relaxed little white dress and bare feet. “I wanted classy and simple.” “I wanted to look exactly the way I look right now in this video, in a dress I would wear at home or on stage, in my jewelry, with the minimal makeup I actually wear, and just being me”, she said. “This video is supposed to take you into my reality, not a dream, a real life experience of mine.”[5]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[12] 20

References[edit]

  1. ^ Christopher, James (2011-05-10). “Lovestrong. [Deluxe Edition] – Christina Perri”. AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  2. ^ a b c “Premiere: Christina Perri, ‘Distance'”. Rolling Stone. June 1, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  3. ^ a b “Christina Perri’s ‘Distance’ Music Video for ABC’s ‘Revenge'”. Hollywood Reporter. April 11, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  4. ^ “New Music from May 02 to 30, 2012”. Turn the Radio On. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Clott, Sharon (July 2, 2012). “Christina Perri’s New Music Video “Distance”: The Fashion Details”. InStyle. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Florino, Rick (July 11, 2012). “Christina Perri Talks Jason Mraz Tour, “Tragedy”, Favorite Books, Movies, and More”. Artist Direct. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  7. ^ Bain, Becky (June 1, 2012). “Christina Perri Duets With Jason Mraz On “Distance”: Watch”.Idolator. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  8. ^ Dowling, Kyle (June 4, 2012). “Christina Perri + Jason Mraz Duet on ‘Distance’”. Pop Crush. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  9. ^ Rubenstein, Jenna (July 3, 2012). “New Video: Christina Perri, ‘Distance,’ Featuring Jason Mraz”. MTV News. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  10. ^ “Christina Perri Feat. Jason Mraz: Distance (Official Music Video)”.
  11. ^ a b “Chart Highlights: The Killers Strike on Alternative Songs”. Billboard. July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  12. ^ a b “Adult Pop Songs – Week of September 15, 2012”. Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  13. ^ a b c d “Christina Perri Teams Up With “Revenge” Cast In New Music Video”. Radio Alice. April 13, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  14. ^ Capotorto, Alexandra (June 30, 2012). “CHRISTINA PERRI + JASON MRAZ GO THE ‘DISTANCE’ IN NEW MUSIC VIDEO”. PopCrush. Retrieved July 17, 2012.

External links[edit]

From David Hodges website:

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.

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Seeing Jesus in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job

July 16, 2013 – 1:28 am

Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years

Published on Oct 9, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider

_______________________

Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way

Published on Oct 30, 2012

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider

____________________

I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man can not hope to find a lasting meaning to his life in a closed system without bringing God back into the picture. This is the same exact case with Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Three thousand years ago, Solomon took a look at life “under the sun” in his book of Ecclesiastes. Christian scholar Ravi Zacharias has noted, “The key to understanding the Book of Ecclesiastes is the term ‘under the sun.’ What that literally means is you lock God out of a closed system, and you are left with only this world of time plus chance plus matter.”

Let me show you some inescapable conclusions if you choose to live without God in the picture. Solomon came to these same conclusions when he looked at life “under the sun.”

  1. Death is the great equalizer (Eccl 3:20, “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.”)
  2. Chance and time have determined the past, and they will determine the future.  (Ecclesiastes 9:11-13)
  3. Power reigns in this life, and the scales are not balanced(Eccl 4:1)
  4. Nothing in life gives true satisfaction without God including knowledge (1:16-18), ladies and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and great building projects (2:4-6, 18-20).

You can only find a lasting meaning to your life by looking above the sun and bring God back into the picture.

Justin Taylor|12:00 pm CT

Seeing Jesus in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job

Doug O’Donnell’s new book is now available: The Beginning and End of Wisdom: Preaching Christ from the First and Last Chapters of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job (Crossway, 2011), with a foreword by Sidney Greidanus.

You can read the introduction and first chapter online for free.

TGC now has a page set up providing resources for pastors on preaching from Wisdom Literature, and today they interview O’Donnell on his book.

Here is one exchange:

How would you explain the unique message of each OT wisdom book as it anticipates Jesus?

I hope these Christological summaries below don’t come off as too simplistic. The book shows, I hope, some of the complexities as to the connections I made.

Proverbs: For our own good and the glory of God, the book of Proverbs invites and instructs God’s covenant people—especially young men—to embrace wisdom. For Christians, such wisdom comes through fearing God’s beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:21), and walking in his wisdom.

Ecclesiastes: Ecclesiastes is about finding the goodness of God while living within the vanity of this world. Such goodness or “wisdom” is found only through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. This relationship involves trusting in Christ and heeding his commands, which brings rest, justice, and joy.

Job: The book of Job prefigures the purposeful sufferings of Christ. That is, the story of God’s servant Job prepares us for the story of Jesus, the suffering servant, who in his passion and death shows how innocent suffering can show forth the justice of God.

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