Category Archives: Current Events

Carl Sagan versus RC Sproul

January 9, 2012 – 2:44 pm

At the end of this post is a message by RC Sproul in which he discusses Sagan.

Over the years I have confronted many atheists. Here is one story below:

I really believe Hebrews 4:12 when it asserts:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
That verse prompted  me in 1992 to start sending a particular cassette tape out to these skeptics. This tape included three messages (“How I know the Bible is the Word of God,” Adrian Rogers, Sept 1972; “The Final Judgement,” Adrian Rogers,Sept 1972; “How to get a pure heart,” Bill Elliff, 1992.)

On Dec 5, 1995 Carl Sagan while suffering from cancer took time to finally answer the 4 letters I had written to him up to that point.(I don’t know if he ever listened to the tapes I had sent him.) Here is his response:

Thanks for your recent letter about evolution and abortion. The correlation is hardly one to one; there are evolutionists who are anti-abortion and anti-evolutionists who are pro-abortion.You argue that God exists because otherwise we could not understand the world in our consciousness. But if you think God is necessary to understand the world, then why do you not ask the next question of where God came from? And if you say “God was always here,” why not say that the universe was always here? On abortion, my views are contained in the enclosed article (Sagan, Carl and Ann Druyan {1990}, “The Question of Abortion,” Parade Magazine, April 22.)

I responded with a two page letter on Jan 10, 1996 and I never heard back again from Dr. Sagan and he died on Dec 20, 1996. His wife Ann Druyan reported that many people of faith reached out to Sagan in last few months of his life, but he never left his agnosticism.

I have read lots of Carl Sagan’s books and written several reviews and papers on his views. I will just leave you with two thoughts.

Sagan observed,”Plainly, there’s something within me that’s ready to believe in life after death…If some good evidence for life after death was announced, I’d be eager to examine it; but it would have to be real scientific data, not mere antedote”(pp 203-204, The DemonHaunted World, 1995).

Sagan said he had taken a look at Old Testament prophecy and it did not impress him because it was too vague. He had taken a look at Christ’s life in the gospels, but said it was unrealistic for God to send a man to communicate for God. Instead, Sagan suggested that God could have written a mathematical formula in the Bible or put a cross in the sky.However, what happens at the conclusion of the movie Contact?  This is Sagan’s last message to the world in the form of the movie that appeared shortly after his death. Dr Arroway (Jodie Foster) who is a young atheistic scientist who meets with an alien and this alien takes the form of Dr. Arroway’s father. The alien tells her that they thought this would make it easier for her. In fact, he meets her on a beach that resembles a beach that she grew up near so she would also be comfortable with the surroundings. Carl Sagan when writing this script chose to put the alien in human form so Dr. Arroway could relate to the alien. Christ chose to take our form and come into our world too and still many make up excuses for not believing.

Lastly, Carl Sagan could not rid himself of the “mannishness of man.” Those who have read Francis Schaeffer’s many books know exactly what I am talking about. We are made in God’s image and we are living in God’s world. Therefore, we can not totally suppress the objective truths of our unique humanity. In my letter of Jan 10, 1996 to Dr. Sagan, I really camped out on this point a long time because I had read Sagan’s  book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors  and in it  Sagan attempts to  totally debunk the idea that we are any way special. However, what does Dr. Sagan have Dr. Arroway say at the end of the movie Contact when she is testifying before Congress about the alien that  communicated with her? See if you can pick out the one illogical word in her statement: “I was given a vision how tiny, insignificant, rare and precious we all are. We belong to something that is greater than ourselves and none of us are alone.”

Dr Sagan deep down knows that we are special so he could not avoid putting the word “precious” in there. Schaeffer said unbelievers are put in a place of tension when they have to live in the world that God has made because deep down they know they are special because God has put that knowledge in their hearts.We are not the result of survival of the fittest and headed back to the dirt forevermore. This is what Schaeffer calls “taking the roof off” of the unbeliever’s worldview and showing the inconsistency that exists.

In several of my letters I quoted this passage below:

Romans 1:17-22 (Amplified Bible)

17For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.(A)

18For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.

19For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.

20For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],(B)

21Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and [a]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.

22Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].

Below is a video by RC Sproul that discusses Carl Sagan and the beginning of time.

R.C Sproul: The Psychology Of Atheism – Defending Your Faith Part 25

Published on May 13, 2012

*I do not own this presentation. Used only for education purposes
All rights to Ligonier Ministries. (C) Ligonier Ministries
______________________

Uploaded by on Jan 2, 2012

Introduction: The Primary Philosophical Questions

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Adrian Rogers, Atheists Confronted, Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 18)

January 9, 2012 – 8:10 am

 

Coldplay

This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference:

My son Hunter Hatcher’s 3rd favorite Coldplay song is “Every Tear Drop is a WaterFall”

Hunter noted, “Recent favorite of mine. I love the guitar rift and the song has a gradual climb in the explosivness of the music. Great.”

The Best Coldplay Songs Of All Time – And Why?

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No one can argue that Coldplay is one of the best bands of today. Their music has been spread across the globe from the US to Canada, Australia to New Zealand, England to France and many more. Personally, I’m a huge Coldplay fan and when the question of “what are the best Coldplay songs of all time” came up amongst a few friends of mine while playing Rock Band it got the cogs in mind thinking…

I decided that there were too many great Coldplay songs so I narrowed it down to just five. Here’s what I came up with…

Trouble

Trouble is the song that made me fall in love with the band. A great starting piano tune that not only delivers an excellent chorus but then tops that with a remarkable ending. Not too many songs these days change total direction at the end and give their listeners something more at the finale. A gorgeous video combining stop-motion and digital effects. If you’re unfamiliar with Coldplay’s music then this is a great place to start.

Speed of Sound

Great beat. Great lyrics. Again, you have a beautiful piano part starting the song off. Where “Trouble” is a steady horse from start to end, Speed of Sound is more like a gallop that increases as the song progresses. Just when you think they’ve drawn you in with the ultimate hook they continue to deliver hook after hook in this song. And not just in the vocals. The guitars and piano are all throwing in their cool little hooky riffs. Its kinda like one of those russian dolls that you keep opening up to more and more cute little dolls. This song is guaranteed to fill your musical palette over and over again.

In My Place

In My Place starts with a rockin drum line with kick, snare and hi-hat by the ever-talented “Will Champion”. Then a beautiful guitar line comes in with Jonny Buckland leading us through the whole song. This is the first hook we hear in the song, played in the upper registers of the guitar with a combination of arpeggios and melodic note choices. I always find it funny to hear instruments in a song that don’t show up in the video. If you listen closely you’ll hear a gentle organ playing its way through the verse but in the video it’s not featured. And once again Chris does an amazing job coming up with the best hooks in the chorus providing not only a great Pop/Rock tune but a memorable song that will last through the times.

Clocks

I don’t think any piano line has been played more than the one from Clocks. You’ll not only hear this song in every romantic movie out there but the piano hook itself has been dissected from the song just to be featured by itself in many movies and tv shows. The song is a basic 4/4 form but what’s great is how they divide the meter. A constant division of 3-3-2 driving you throughout the entirety of the song. It provides not only a great rock feel but with such a rhythm it’s guaranteed you’ll find yourself alone in your room dancing like a freak until your mum walks in on you embarrassing you in the process.

The Scientist

No other song by Coldplay gives me goosebumps like The Scientist. A sweet and nostalgic tune that enjoys a long intro with Chris Martin on vocals and piano. It’s not until the 1:38 mark does the full band finally come in. That’s a big no no in the Pop world. You see, by Pop standards you’re supposed to hit the full chorus by at least the first 30 seconds. But that’s perhaps what I love about this song. They manage to go outside that box and provide a moving a wonderful musical tale. In the July 14th, 2005 edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Chris Martin is quoted as saying:”On the second album I was thinking there was something missing. I was in this really dark room in Liverpool, and there was a piano so old and out of tune. I really wanted to try and work out the George Harrison song ‘Isn’t It A Pity,’ but I couldn’t. Then this song came out at once. I said, ‘Can you turn on the recorder?’ The first time I sung it is what’s out there.”

Whether you agree with my choice for the best Coldplay songs of all time or not, there’s no disputing that they are one of the greatest bands of all time.

Related posts:

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 4)

Dave Hogan/ Getty Images This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference: For the 17th best Coldplay song of all-time, Hunter picks “42.” He notes, “You thought you might […]

Documentary on Coldplay (Part 2)

The best band in the world. Below I have linked some articles I have earlier about the search for meaning in life the band seems to involved in. Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion formed Coldplay in 1996 while going to University in London. The young band quickly established themselves in the […]

Review of New Coldplay song with video clip

I am presently involved in the counting down of the best Coldplay songs of all time, but I am also in a series here reviewing the upcoming songs on Coldplay’s new cd that will be released soon. Here is a review from Rolling Stone: Coldplay Debut new song ‘Charlie Brown’ June 6, 2011 Coldplay debuted […]

Documentary on Coldplay (Part 1, the song “Yellow” featured)

Great documentary on Coldplay. I have written a lot on Coldplay the last few years and I see something spiritually happening with the group as they continue to search for a deeping meaning in life. Coldplay Max Masters – Part 1 of 7 Uploaded by thepostbox on May 6, 2009 The ASTRA Award winning music documentary […]

“Woody Wednesday” Will Allen and Martin follow same path as Kansas to Christ?

Several members of the 70′s band Kansas became committed Christians after they realized that the world had nothing but meaningless to offer. It seems through the writings of both Woody Allen and Chris Martin of Coldplay that they both are wrestling with the issue of death and what meaning does life bring. Kansas went through […]

“Music Monday”:Coldplay’s best songs of all time (Part 3)

 This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference:   Hunter has chosen the song “Viva La Vida” as his number 18 pick. Hunter noted, “The violin synth is a […]

Review of New Coldplay songs (video clip too)

Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall Published on Jun 28, 2011 by ColdplayVEVO The new single, taken from Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP (featuring two more new tracks). Download it from http://cldp.ly/itunescp Music video by Coldplay performing Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. (P) 2011 The copyright in this audiovisual recording is owned by […]

 

 

Chris Martin performs Viva La Vida 1/30

Uploaded by on Jan 30, 2009

Chris Martin performs Viva La Vida for Absolute Radio on January 30th, 2009

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Christopher Hitchens’ debate with Douglas Wilson (Part 7)

January 9, 2012 – 12:10 am

Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson Debate at Westminster Theological Seminary, Part 7 of 12

PART 3

 

5/15/2007 07:42 AM

Christopher Hitchens

Here is a minor example of how the complacency of the religious allows them to be rude (and crude) in a manner which they might not so easily permit themselves in everyday discourse. I am quite familiar with the verse from the Psalms that describes me as a fool, and corrupt and abominable as well. (In my book, God Is Not Great, I point out that the psalmist was so delighted with this conceit that he reproduced it almost word for word at the opening of Psalm 53.) No great surprise—and no real offense taken—to find myself similarly dismissed as a dumb and vain ingrate in the epistle to the Romans. It’s true that I never asked to be saved and don’t want anyone to be martyred for me—or to martyr themselves against me, for that matter. All I ask of the apostle Paul is that he and his followers and emulators leave me alone.

On the much more pertinent question of the origin of ethical imperatives, which I believe to be derived from innate human solidarity and not from the supernatural, let me likewise offer an instance from each Testament. Let us assume that the tales can be taken at face value. Is it to be believed that the Jews got as far as Sinai under the impression that murder, theft, and perjury were more or less all right? And, in the story of the good man from Samaria, is it claimed that the man went out of his way to help a fellow creature because of a divine instruction? He was clearly, since he preceded Jesus, not motivated by Christian teaching. And if he was a pious Jew, as seems probable, he would have had religious warrant and authority NOT to do what he did, if the poor sufferer was a non-Jew. It is belief in the supernatural that can make otherwise decent people do things that they would otherwise shrink from—such as mutilating the genitals of children, frightening infants with talk of hellfire, forbidding normal sexual practices, blaming all Jews for “deicide,” applauding suicide-murderers, and treating women as Paul or Muhammad thought they should be treated.

I have nowhere claimed nor even implied that unbelief is a guarantee of good conduct or even an indicator of it. (I have sometimes thought that atheists have a slight superiority in one respect, in that we come to our conclusions without any element of self-centered wish-thinking about death.) But an atheist can as easily be a nihilist, a sadist—even a casuist.

On the matter of Stalin and the related question of secular or atheist barbarism, I shyly call your attention to chapter seventeen of my little book, which attempts an answer to this frequently asked question. Until 1917, Russia had been ruled for centuries by an absolute monarch who was also the head of a corrupt and bigoted Orthodox Church and was supposed to possess powers somewhat more than merely human. With millions of hungry and anxious people so long stultified and so credulous, Stalin the ex-seminarian would have been a fool if he did not call upon such a reservoir of ignorance and servility, and seek to emulate his predecessor. If Mr. Wilson would prefer to compare like with like and point to a society that lapsed into misery and despotism by following the precepts of Epicurus or Spinoza or Jefferson or Einstein, I will gladly meet him on that ground.

— CH

Related posts: 

Christopher Hitchens’ view on abortion may surprise you

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Christopher Hitchens discusses Ron Paul in 3-2-11 inteview

Max Brantley in the Arkansas Times Blog reports that Ron Paul is leading in Iowa. Maybe it is time to take a closer look at his views. In the above clip you will see Chistopher Hitchens discuss Ron Paul’s views. In the clip below you will find Ron Paul’s latest commercial. Below is a short […]

Evangelicals react to Christopher Hitchens’ death plus video clips of Hitchens debate (part 3)

DEBATE William Lane Craig vs Christopher Hitchens Does God Exist 07 Below are some reactions of evangelical leaders to the news of Christopher Hitchens’ death:   Christian leaders react to Hitchens’ death Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | by Michael Foust   DEBATE William Lane Craig vs Christopher Hitchens Does God Exist 08 Author and […]

Evangelicals react to Christopher Hitchens’ death plus video clips of Hitchens debate (part 2)

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By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Atheists Confronted | Comments (0)

Barrett Jones and Tim Tebow are very similar

January 8, 2012 – 7:40 pm

For

 

Barrett Jones is a Tim Tebow type of person and I am glad that people like Jones and Tebow are not ashamed of their Savior Jesus Christ. They don’t try to live two lives, one in church and one that is different in the lockerroom.

Barrett Jones is the 2011 Outland Trophy winner who plays for Alabama. Tomorrow night the national championship will be decided between LSU and Alabama. The funny thing is that the SEC will have 6 national championships in a row in football. If Alabama wins then the last three national championships will stay in the state of Alabama.

Here are some related posts I did earlier:

Sound off on Tebow

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Barrett Jones wins Outland Trophy

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Aaron Douglas played for Vols and Bama before dying because of drugs jh39

Aaron Douglas played for Vols and Bama before dying because of drugs jh39 Aaron Douglas was a lineman for Alabama and I have already written about another Bama lineman by the name of Barrett Jones who was a teammate of Aaron’s. Here are the two links below: Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide (Part 1 […]

Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide (Part 1 of series “Christians in Athletics”)

Today I am starting a new series called “Christians in Athletics.”  Barrett Jones grew up under the ministry of Adrian Rogers at Bellevue. Below is a clip from the Memorial Service for Dr. Rogers.   Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide has spent time the last two years ministering to earthquake victims in Haiti. Actually […]

Bama’s star lineman Barrett Jones puts ministry first

Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide has spent time the last two years ministering to earthquake victims in Haiti. Actually I wrote about Barrett’s faith in Christ and you can read my article at this link. I am hoping my Arkansas Razorbacks win the game tomorrow, but Barrett Jones is a winner in life because […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Tebow does it again

January 8, 2012 – 7:28 pm

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He did it again.

Tebow does it again. It is simply amazing. With all the odds against him he comes through. I guess that will ruin Bill Maher’s jokes for the week.

Can Tebow rally the team for another unlikely victory? The Steelers were 8 point favorites and I am sure the Patriots will be favored next week too.

I have posted about Tim Tebow many times before. Below are some of the related posts:

Max Brantley and Ark Times bloggers poke fun at Tebow after 3rd straight loss

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Tim Tebow attacked by Bill Maher

  Tebow attacked by Bill Maher: Even in defeat, Tim Tebow creates controversy — this time in Tinseltown. HBO’s Bill Maher created a firestorm over the Christmas weekend with a scathing reaction to Tebow’s subpar performance in Buffalo. Shortly after Tebow threw four interceptions in the Broncos’ lopsided defeat to the Bills, Maher turned to […]

Why We Love Tim Tebow

I really enjoyed this article and wanted to share it with you. Why We Love Tim Tebow posted by Linda Mintle | 7:33am Wednesday December 14, 2011   Yesterday I was asked to do a TV interview on Tim Tebow. This time the focus was positive. Tebow is very polarizing. People either love or hate him […]

Tim Tebow: Bestselling religious author of 2011

Tim Tebow seems to win at everything he tries. The Good Book: Tim Tebow A No. 1 Author Monday, December 26, 2011 12:45 pm Written by: Ben Maller Sports experts go crazy debating whether Tim Tebow can win NFL games, but there’s no question he can win over readers. Tebow’s Christian life story, “Through My […]

10 Reasons for Tim Tebow Hate

I enjoyed this article below: 10 Reasons for Tim Tebow Hate posted by Linda Mintle | 7:25am Tuesday December 6, 2011   I walked in to a radio station focused on doing an interview totally unrelated to football and the producer starts ranting about how much he hates Tim Tebow. This was a day after Tebow […]

Post on SNL skit of Tim Tebow draws reaction from Mormons and Skeptics

Recently I posted that I was saddened by the Saturday Night Live reckless skit on Tim Tebow that among other things  endorsed Mormonism. In response, I gave several evidences from archaeology that disproved the Book of Mormon. Then I included a five part video series that showed the archaeological evidence that supported the historical accuracy of  the Bible. (Archaeological […]

James Robinson on Tim Tebow

  I have heard James Robinson preach many times before. I thought you might enjoy these insights on Tebow on 12-16-11: Tim Tebow’s Witness By James Robison I remember clearly the first time I heard the name “Tebow.” Some of our family were watching a football game and I asked who was playing. Someone answered, […]

5 things you might not know about Tim Tebow from People Magazine

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Tom Brady, Coldplay, Solomon and the search for satisfaction (part 1)

Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net Tom Brady is still searching for satisfaction in his life. Over the years I wanted bands like Kansas and Coldplay […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

“Soccer Saturday” Tim Howard’s 100 yard goal

January 7, 2012 – 12:40 am

 

Tim Howard, not celebrating his own awesomeness.

 

Judging by the expression on Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard’s face in the picture above, you might assume he was the keeper who just got scored on by his counterpart from 100 yards out instead of the one who just shocked and delighted his teammates and home fans by being the scorer. He was the scorer, though, putting Everton up 1-0 on Bolton in the 63rd minute with considerable help from the strong winds whipping around Goodison Park (see the goal here).

It was just the fourth goal scored by a keeper in the Premier League (which only dates back to 1992, when it replaced the old First Division, mind you) and second from an American (the other being Brad Friedel in 2004). It was also fellow American Landon Donovan’s first match back with Everton since the start of his second loan spell with the club. And though ecstatic teammate Johnny Heitinga jumped into his arms, Howard kept his poker face and tried to move on with the match because he was thinking more about how bad opposing keeper Adam Bogdan must’ve felt at that moment.

From the AP:

“I was delighted that we were in the lead and would hopefully go on to get three points, but it’s not a nice feeling for a keeper. It’s really awful actually,” Howard told Sky Sports. “For the back four and the goalkeepers at both ends, there was an awful wind swirling. You could see everybody was mistiming balls. Defenders were missing clearances that normally they would put up the field. I think the wind is the hardest condition to play in. Snow, rain, sun doesn’t matter, but the wind really does play tricks on you.”

Howard spoke with Bogdan after the match.

“I let him know that I was feeling for him,” Howard said. “It’s not a nice place to be. I’ve been there before, a long, long time ago, and that was why I didn’t celebrate.”

The sting of that goal was probably taken away by the fact that Bolton went on to score twice in just 15 minutes right after that to win 2-1. So it could’ve been worse for Bogdan. He could’ve been the goalkeeper who had the wind conspire to make him score on himself.

Here’s video of Howard’s goal…

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

Heritage Foundation looks at good and bad trends of 2011 (Part 3)

January 6, 2012 – 11:35 am

 

On http://www.heritage.org I found a great article and I wanted to share it with you over the next few days. Mike Kelsey in his article “2011 in Review: Who’s Been Naughty, Who’s Been Nice?,” December 30, 2011 wrote:

Americans are blessed to have inherited a constitutional republic. If we are to keep it, we must vigilantly preserve the Constitution upon which it stands. As 2011 draws to a close, we made a list (and checked it twice!) of the year’s most important constitutional trends.

Nice: Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare
While the nullification efforts were roundly defeated, conservatives did mount a very successful constitutional challenge to Obamacare. Several states passed a Health Care Freedom Actdesigned to provoke a legal challenge to Obamacare. A majority of states and several individuals then brought lawsuits against Obamacare. Appellate courts upheld some cases and struck down others. Most significantly, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a suit brought by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business and declared the individual mandate unconstitutional. On November 14th, the Supreme Court announced that it would rule on the 11th Circuit Court’s decision in June 2012.
Naughty: Progressives Run Wild
2011 was above all a year of unbridled Progressivism. Ostensibly organized to protest crony capitalism, the Occupy Wall Street movement quickly devolved into unruly factions seeking redistributive government programs. In stark contrast to the Tea Party’s peaceful support of the Constitution, the occupiers blatantly disregarded property rights and the rule of law and denounced America’s representative government. Such prominent progressives as Peter Orzag and North Carolina’s Governor Bev Purdue suggested that America needs “less democracy” and more centralized administration. In his seminal speech in Osawatomie, Obama drew upon populist rhetoric to advocate a thoroughly progressive vision of government where bureaucratic experts enforce political and economic “fairness” rather than letting the American people govern themselves.

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

“Friedman Friday” (“Free to Choose” episode 3 – Anatomy of a Crisis. part 4 of 7)

January 6, 2012 – 12:18 am
The massive growth of central government that started after the depression has continued ever since. If anything, it has even speeded up in recent years. Each year there are more buildings in Washington occupied by more bureaucrats administering more laws. The Great Depression persuaded the public that private enterprise was a fundamentally unstable system. That the depression represented a failure of free market capitalism, that the government had to step in to perform the essential function of stabilizing the economy, of providing security for its citizens. The widespread acceptance of these views, sparked the enormous growth in the power of government that has occurred in the decade since and that is still going on. We now know as many economists knew then that the truth about the depression was very different. The depression was produced or at the very least, made far worse by perverse monetary policies followed by the U.S. authorities.
Far from being a failure of free market capitalism, the depression was a failure of government. Unfortunately, that failure did not end with The Great Depression. Ever since, government has been attempting to fine tune the economy. In practice, just as during the depression, far from promoting stability, the government has itself, been the major single source of instability.
DISCUSSION
Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; Robert Lekachman, Professor of Economics, City University, New York; Nicholas Von Hoffman, Syndicated Columnist; Peter Temin, Professor of Economics, MIT; Peter Jay, British Ambassador to the United States, 1977_1979
MCKENZIE: And now we join the invited guests here at the University of Chicago, as they discuss Friedman’s interpretation of those events and their implications for today.
LEKACHMAN: The 1929 crash, the succeeding calamities, were not the first of their kind. Capitalism has been subject to severe depressions since the beginning of the industrial revolution. This was the first time, however, government tried to intervene seriously. It did it very badly. The lesson I would draw is a very simple one: Government is unavoidable; the expectations of the public are proper; government ought to do better oddly enough the government did do better until very, very recently. Until, I would say, October 1973, even, government did reasonably well in fulfilling the expectations of the public. I’m an unrepentant proponent of government intervention, intelligent government intervention. But I would describe much of the intervention which has followed the great 1929 crash as quite intelligent.
MCKENZIE: Let’s take a further look, though, at this argument that just as during the depression, far from promoting stability, the government has itself been the major single source of instability.
VON HOFFMAN: I_I don’t think there is any stability this side of the graveyard. I mean, I think __ I don’t think it matters what system you’re working under, you are not going to __ you are not going to have a level and hold it under any system with living human beings.
TEMIN: Governments are larger now and therefore more of a source of an influence for good and for bad. And I think like Mr. Von Hoffman that you can’t get perfect stability, given that you’re going to have governments, given that there are legitimate functions of governments, there are also risks in having the government be as active as it is.
MCKENZIE: Peter Jay.
JAY: I think that government is a god that has failed. I think that we have too much of it and need less of it. I think it has failed to prevent both the modern forms of economic instability and the prewar ones. I do not, however, think that government is the original or primary source of that instability, and I do not think that simply getting rid of the government, or greatly reducing it, which I’m in favor of, will, by itself, remove the instability.
LEKACHMAN: I would put it this way: There was __ there was a great economist, with a suitably esoteric doctrine, which could nevertheless be translated as Dr. Friedman did in the film, into simple English, at the same time as there was the widespread hardship of The Great Depression and the natural yearning of human beings not to repeat anything like it. So you have a coincidence of an appropriate theory, with an appropriate public sentiment, and I suppose the symbol in the United States was the passage of 1946 of the Employment Act of that year. Which, it was a weak measure, but it was nevertheless a public declaration of an obligation of government to do something about employment, and economic prosperity, and a good thing, too.
MCKENZIE: Now that’s the __ really the crux of the matter. Do you agree it was a good thing too, that obligation was accepted by government at that stage?
JAY: I think it’s very important here to distinguish two completely different issues. There is the rather narrow issue as to whether Keynes was right or wrong in believing that you could stabilize the economy with regard to really one essential variable _ unemployment _ by a certain technique which he talked about. We may now think that he was wrong, but that’s a quite separate issue from the broad political philosophical issue associated with socialism, associated with social democrats, and many other so-called left wing political thinkers, that the duty of government, so far as it can, is to concern itself not only with defense and law and order and the traditional things, but also with the social welfare and the economic welfare of a society. Now that’s a broad philosophical __
MCKENZIE: Is that a disaster, as Milton seemed to be implying, or was it a good and helpful, useful thing to happen?
JAY: Well, that is one of the great __ perhaps the greatest of all debates in political philosophy, as to whether or not it is right or is not right to believe that a society, collectively, should concern itself with these things and has the right, having concerned itself, through law and through government and in other ways, to move to try to correct these things.
VON HOFFMAN: Well I just __ it seems to me that Americans have believed that for the last century. I mean William McKinley ran on the slogan of a full dinner pail, so that the notion that this is a government responsibility for prosperity dates from the 1930’s I think is erroneous. What I wonder about after having seen that film is this: We have in 1929 __ we have the man who could have saved it dead two years and in 1946 we’ve got the man who might have saved it dying. So what I have to ask is: Are we doomed to find out the right answer only too late? Is it possible that our __
TEMIN: Or should we just look for somebody who’s recently died.
VON HOFFMAN: Exactly. Rummage the morgues. (Laughter)
MCKENZIE: Well, you asked the question __
FRIEDMAN: No, and I think the question is a very different one. And it goes to much of the discussion to this point. Everybody looks for the right man. You say, “Government __
VON HOFFMAN: You brought’em up.
FRIEDMAN: Those men at that time. Quite right. But a system which depends on the right man is a bad system. The Federal Reserve was a bad system because it depended on the right man working it. The idea of demand management, of the kind of thing we’re talking about where Keynes’ death mattered, was a bad system because it depended on a particular man working it. The notion that the problem that Bob Lekachman brought up, that the problem is not the government interferes, but it does it unintelligently, is again a demand for the right man, the man on the white horse who will know what to do. My whole view is very different. It is that it’s the system that’s wrong, and that we’ve got to have a system that the right way to accomplish these objectives is to have a system which doesn’t depend on whether you happen to have the right man pushing the buttons at the right time.
TEMIN: The problem is somebody has to __
FRIEDMAN: Which relies on the __ on establishing a framework within which an invisible hand, within which the activities of people all over are jointly to produce the kind of result. It won’t produce perfect stability; but it’ll produce a far higher degree of stability, a far greater level of freedom, and a far greater level of prosperity than the kind of thing we’ve had with these governmental interventions.
TEMIN: Somebody still has to design the system. You can’t take the people out of it entirely.
FRIEDMAN: Of course.
TEMIN: Unless you’re in the grave as it says.
FRIEDMAN: Of course, but the __ that doesn’t __
TEMIN: But the question is __ I mean it’s said that generals always fight the last war. How do we know that the system won’t fight the last war? We probably won’t have another depression exactly like 1929 to ’33.
MCKENZIE: But, but __
TEMIN: But that doesn’t say we won’t have another depression or another stagflation or another crisis of some other source.
MCKENZIE: But is this process reversible? Because you argued that the public, having been appalled by The Great Depression, in effect demanded of government that they accept responsibility for wellbeing of the economy, for management of the society and so on. Now, that expectation having been raised, can it be reversed?
VON HOFFMAN: Let me answer a question you didn’t ask and say that it seems to me that what we’re getting here is the question of sort of social astrophysics. And that is, do we have an unseen hand, or are we on the war star where we are trying to design a computer that is going to take care of the navigation of this thing. In other words, it seems to me that’s our central question. Is there a mechanism that you can put right in the center of the spaceship that will operate regardless of who is the captain on the quarterdeck at any one moment in time? I don’t think that’s an economic question. I think that’s a question that goes to religion.
By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Milton Friedman | Comments (0)

Heritage Foundation looks at good and bad trends of 2011 (Part 2)

January 5, 2012 – 11:41 am

 

On http://www.heritage.org I found a great article and I wanted to share it with you over the next few days. Mike Kelsey in his article “2011 in Review: Who’s Been Naughty, Who’s Been Nice?,” December 30, 2011 wrote:

Americans are blessed to have inherited a constitutional republic. If we are to keep it, we must vigilantly preserve the Constitution upon which it stands. As 2011 draws to a close, we made a list (and checked it twice!) of the year’s most important constitutional trends.

Naughty: Runaway Bureaucrats
Despite the country’s woes, bureaucrats had no qualms about burdening an already struggling economy with billions of dollars of (sometimes bizarre) regulations. Public outcry put an end to a few of the most ridiculous regulation such as the “Christmas tree tax.” But since bureaucrats are unelected and uncountable to Congress, they were largely undeterred. The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, usurped Congress’s legislative authority and issued new vehicle fuel-efficiency standards that (by its own estimates) will cost the economy $8.5 billion per year and raise the price of cars by at least $2,000. Just what we need to help the economy.
Nice: Congress tries to rein in Bureaucrats
This year Congress finally began to take practical steps to regain control of the legislative process. Most importantly, the House passed the REINS Act and the Regulatory Accountability Act, which would give Congress much needed authority to restrain the excesses of unaccountable bureaucrats. Although these bills are unlikely to pass the Senate, they have succeeded in turning public scrutiny upon the nation’s regulatory agencies and—most importantly—in creating a solid precedent for future reform efforts.

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)

John Calipari’s tribute to mentor Gene Bartow

January 5, 2012 – 7:19 am

Memphis State coach Gene Bartow comforts Larry Finch at the awards ceremony after the Tigers lost the NCAA final to UCLA in St. Louis in March 1973. Bartow died Tuesday after a long fight with cancer.

Photo by Wayne Crosslin

Memphis State coach Gene Bartow comforts Larry Finch at the awards ceremony after the Tigers lost the NCAA final to UCLA in St. Louis in March 1973. Bartow died Tuesday after a long fight with cancer.

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In 1972 I was 11 and I shot the basketball with a side arm method that was faulty. My father sent me to a basketball camp headed up by Gene Bartow and he had several of the Memphis St players like Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson and Larry Kenon (future NBA star) working with kids at the 3 week long camp. Bartow’s son Murry was a friend I made at that camp. He used to take me to lunch at the Memphis University Student Center. I have not stayed in touch with him since then but now he is  the coach at East Tennessee St.

After the camp was over my shooting method was much better and I had a great respect for Gene Bartow. Bartow died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

Below is a tribute from John Calipari:

Received some very, very sad news Tuesday night. My good friend and mentor, Gene Bartow, passed away Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.

Not only was he a great coach, he was a great man. He’s going to be sorely missed.

His wife, Ruth, and I talked Monday morning. Both of us cried knowing that it was coming to an end. My heart and my prayers go out to the Bartow family.

Words will never be able to describe how much Gene meant to me, but I wanted to use this space to offer a little tribute to my dear friend. Here is just a sample of what Gene did during his amazing career:

  • Gene was elected to 10 different Hall of Fames, including the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2009 along with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wayman Tisdale, Jud Heathcote, Walter Byers, Travis Grant and Bill Wall.
  • He is also a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the UAB Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
  • Gene is known as “The Father of UAB Athletics.” He was the school’s first athletics director while serving as the first basketball coach and guided UAB to seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Gene coached at UAB for 18 seasons and led the school to nine total NCAA Tournaments. None of his 18 teams finished below .500.
  • Before UAB, Gene was the coach at UCLA for two seasons. If there was anybody that could succeed legendary coach John Wooden, it was Gene. He took UCLA to the Final Four before leaving for UAB.
  • In 1973 he led Memphis State to the national championship game.
  • Overall, Gene coached 34 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. He is one of the all-time winningest college basketball coaches, racking up 647 wins during his career.
  • His six different colleges included Central Missouri State (1961-64), Valparaiso (1964-70), Memphis (1970-74), Illinois (1974-75), UCLA (1975-77) and UAB (1978-1996).
  • Gene coached the Puerto Rican national team in the 1972 Munich Olympics and served as the head coach of the U.S. national team in 1974.
  • He was the president of Hoops LP, the company that owns the Memphis Grizzlies.
  • Gene began his career coaching at the prep level. His 1957 St. Charles team won the state championship.

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Memphis Houn'Dawgs president Gene Bartow on Nov. 8, 2000.

Photo by A.J. Wolfe

Memphis Houn’Dawgs president Gene Bartow on Nov. 8, 2000.

Gene Bartow coaches the Memphis State Tigers on January 22, 1972.

Photo by Dave Darnell

Gene Bartow coaches the Memphis State Tigers on January 22, 1972.

Gene Bartow, right, as he is honored by the Memphis Grizzlies on December 11, 2009.

Photo by Nikki Boertman

Gene Bartow, right, as he is honored by the Memphis Grizzlies on December 11, 2009.

(left to right) Head Coach Gene Bartow, Larry Finch (21), Ronnie Robinson (33) and Larry Kenon (35) wait to be interviewed after Memphis State beat Providence in the semi-finals of the Final Four in St. Louis on March 24, 1973.

Photo by The Commercial Appeal files

(left to right) Head Coach Gene Bartow, Larry Finch (21), Ronnie Robinson (33) and Larry Kenon (35) wait to be interviewed after Memphis State beat Providence in the semi-finals of the Final Four in St. Louis on March 24, 1973.

Gene Barton coaches the Memphis State Tigers on December 1, 1970.

Photo by Barney Sellers

Gene Barton coaches the Memphis State Tigers on December 1, 1970.

Coaches John Wooden of UCLA, left and Gene Bartow of Memphis State University are photographed at a press conference in this March 26, 1973 file photo in St. Louis. Wooden called a time-out 35 years ago in the NCAA championship game against Memphis, bringing his UCLA Bruins to the bench. Bill Walton was going off against the Tigers, piling up points inside as fast as the seconds ticked off the clock. (AP Photo, File)

Photo by AP

Coaches John Wooden of UCLA, left and Gene Bartow of Memphis State University are photographed at a press conference in this March 26, 1973 file photo in St. Louis. Wooden called a time-out 35 years ago in the NCAA championship game against Memphis, bringing his UCLA Bruins to the bench. Bill Walton was going off against the Tigers, piling up points inside as fast as the seconds ticked off the clock. (AP Photo, File)

Former Tigers coach Gene Bartow, right, and retired Tiger commentator Jack Eaton trade stories about the 1973 team during a reunion at the Pyramid while team members Ronnie Robinson, left, Wes Westfall and Jim Liss listen on February 16, 2003.

Photo by Jim Weber

Former Tigers coach Gene Bartow, right, and retired Tiger commentator Jack Eaton trade stories about the 1973 team during a reunion at the Pyramid while team members Ronnie Robinson, left, Wes Westfall and Jim Liss listen on February 16, 2003.

By Everette Hatcher III | Comments (0)