Remembering Francis Schaeffer at 100 (Part 9) “Schaeffer Sunday”

THE FRANCIS SCHAEFFER CENTENNIAL – SCHAEFFER’S CULTURAL APOLOGETIC PT 1 – DONALD WILLAIMS

schaeffer

This year Francis Schaeffer would have turned 100 on Jan 30, 2012. I remember like yesterday when I first was introduced to his books. I was even more amazed when I first saw his films. I was so influenced by them that I bought every one of his 30 something books and his two film series. Chuck Colson’s website www.breakpoint.org  and I was directed from there to Probe’s website where I found this great article below. I will share it in 4 parts. Todd Kappelman is the author and here is some info on him and Probe.

Todd KappelmanTodd A. Kappelman is a field associate with Probe Ministries. He is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University (B.A. and M.A.B.S., religion and Greek), and the University of Dallas (M.A., philosophy/humanities). Currently he is pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Dallas. He has served as assistant director of the Trinity Institute, a study center devoted to Christian thought and inquiry. He has been the managing editor of The Antithesis, a bi-monthly publication devoted to the critique of foreign and independent film. His central area of expertise is Continental philosophy (especially nineteenth and twentieth century) and postmodern thought.

What is Probe?

Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org.

Further information about Probe’s materials and ministry may be obtained by contacting us at:

Probe Ministries
2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000
Plano TX 75075
(972) 941-4565
info@probe.org
www.probe.org
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This is the third part:

The Need to Read: Francis Schaeffer Print E-mail

Todd Kappelman Written by Todd Kappelman

The Need to Read series began several months ago with a program on C.S. Lewis . The rationale for this series is that many of the great writers who have helped many Christians mature are now either unknown or neglected by many who could use these authors insights into the faith.

This installment focuses on Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984), one of the most recognized and respected Christian authors of the twentieth century.

Escape from Reason

In The God Who Is There, Schaeffers main thesis is that modern man is characterized by his willingness to live a life of contradictions. In the book Escape from Reason, he shows how we arrived at this position, and what can be done about it.

Francis Schaeffer believed that one of the great watershed periods of human history occurred in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The Reformation was a fifteenth and sixteenth century movement, but it was religious in nature and ultimately resulted in the formation of the Protestant churches. The Renaissance, argues Schaeffer, largely emphasized human reason and the achievements of man. In sharp contrast, the Reformation emphasized the will of God and the authority of the Holy Scriptures. It must be remembered that Schaeffer is generalizing in much of what is said here and that both movements had good and bad aspects.

Schaeffer maintains that men in the Renaissance believed they were great because of the wonderful art, literature, and architecture they produced. The Reformation man believed he was great because of the God who had made him. Man was made to have a relationship with his creator, but the Renaissance man found himself more and more concerned with the things of this world.{5}

As the emphasis on man increased, the importance of God decreased. This movement was further facilitated by discoveries in the sciences which allowed man to understand the universe on purely naturalistic principles. The result of mans success in explaining some aspects of the universe through reason alone was that he began to try to explain every aspect of the universe through reason alone.

Men found that they were able to explain much through reason, but the larger philosophical questions proved to be too great. In addition, they discovered that there were many questions that could not be answered by reason alone. Some of these questions were: How did everything begin? Why is there something rather than nothing? What happens to us after we die? These questions are traditionally answered by theology, and the answers usually included an appeal to a divine being called God.

Modern man, thus, was faced with two possibilities. Either he could return to the answers found in the Scriptures, or he could live as though life had meaning even though he did not believe that it really did.{6} Schaeffer argued that men in the Western philosophical tradition largely opted for irrational existence, escaping the requirements of reason, hence the title Escape from Reason. Schaeffers conclusion to this problem is that Christians must return to a serious belief in the Scriptures and their ability to answer the big philosophical problems, and that we must live our faith consistently in front of the world.{7} In addition, Schaeffer believed that the days are gone when the average man on the street would respond to the Gospel. The language has changed, and we must learn to speak in this new language.{8} We must educate ourselves and be ready to give an account of how modern man got into his present state of affairs.

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Francis Schaeffer would be 100 years old this year (Schaeffer Sunday)

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Extra – Interview – Part 2 Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on me in the late 1970′s and I have been enjoying his books and films ever since. Here is great video clip of an interview and below is a fine article about him. Francis Schaeffer 1912-1984 Christian Theologian, Philosopher, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 1 0 How Should We Then Live 10#1 FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be led by an elite: John Kenneth […]

Fellow admirer of Francis Schaeffer, Michele Bachmann quits presidential race

What Ever Happened to the Human Race? Bachmann was a student of the works of Francis Schaeffer like I am and I know she was pro-life because of it. (Observe video clip above and picture of Schaeffer.) I hated to see her go.  DES MOINES, Iowa — Last night, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann vowed to […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 9 How Should We Then Live 9#1 T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads to Pessimism Regarding a Meaning for Life and for Fixed […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 8 “The Age of Fragmentation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 8 How Should We Then Live 8#1 I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas) and Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 7 “The Age of Non-Reason” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 7 How Should We Then Live 7#1 I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act on his belief that we live […]

Francis Schaeffer would be 100 years old this year (Schaeffer Sunday)

Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Extra – Interview – Part 2 Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on me in the late 1970′s and I have been enjoying his books and films ever since. Here is great video clip of an interview and below is a fine article about him. Francis Schaeffer 1912-1984 Christian Theologian, Philosopher, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 6 “The Scientific Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 5 “The Revolutionary Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live 5-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there was a unique improvement. A. […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 4 “The Reformation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

How Should We Then Live 4-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance”

How Should We Then Live 3-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so many problems today with this excellent episode. He noted, “Could have gone either way—with emphasis on real people living in […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 2 “The Middle Ages” (Schaeffer Sundays)

How Should We Then Live 2-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard to authority and the approach to God.” […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 1 “The Roman Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

How Should We Then Live 1-1 Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why it fell. It fell because of inward […]

Andy Rooney was an atheist

How Now Shall We LiveClick here to purchase Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey’s How Now Shall We Live?, dedicated to Francis Schaeffer.


Click here for a list of Francis Schaeffer’s greatest works, from the Colson Center store!
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June 3, 2012 – 5:51 pm Categories: Francis Schaeffer | Post a comment

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Great, great, granddaughter of Devil Anse Hatfield said he came to Christ

The Hatfields and McCoys_ Extended Version – CBN.com

Hatfield and McCoys

I used to travel to Pikeville, Kentucky on a regular basis and I was amazed at the rugged people that lived in that coalmining area. It is the back drop of the Hatfield and Mccoy feud. However, it was filmed in Europe. I have enjoyed watching the film series on the fued on the History Channel and I wanted to look further at the historical facts and I was surprised at what I found about a spiritual aspect in the story.  Take a look at this below:

Amazing End to the Hatfield-McCoy Feud

Wendy Griffith

CBN News Senior Reporter 

CBN News is a national/international, nonprofit news organization that provides programming by cable, satellite, and the Internet, 24-hours a day. 

Many have heard of the famous Hatfield-McCoy feud, but there’s a part of the story that’s not often told.

Shortly after the Civil War and up until about the turn of the century, the mountains along the West Virginia-Kentucky border were home to the most famous feuding family of all times– the Hatfields and McCoys.

Devil Anse Hatfield, the leader of the Hatfield clan, was the great-great-great uncle of CBN News Senior Reporter Wendy Griffith. Click play to watch her report, as she visited her home state of West Virginia to learn more about this unique heritage.

Although many books have been written on the feud, Jimmy Wolford, a local singing legend and the great nephew of Randolph McCoy–the patriarch of the McCoy clan, was the first to write an entire album of songs on the feud. His colorful lyrics include lines such as, “They were men, who matched the mountains, they were Hatfields and McCoys. They were men, who matched the mountains.they were men, when they were boys.”

He told CBN News how William Anderson Hatfield, the leader of the Hatfield clan, got his nickname “Devil Anse.”

“They said when he was a kid, he was devilish, you know, liked to carry on and play pretty rough at times,” Wolford recalled. “Then others say that during the Civil War he had a nickname. because he was a pretty tough character.”

Hatfield Beginnings

Devil Anse Hatfield was born in a log cabin in 1839, one of 11 children. His playground was the rugged Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia. He loved to hunt and was known as one of the best horseman and marksman in the valley. Although he often hunted black bear, in later years, he also kept some as pets.

Despite being illiterate, Devil Anse owned considerable land and ran a successful timber business. He and his wife, Levicy, were busy raising 13 children. Life was good.

Until one day in the fall of 1878, Randolph McCoy, who lived on the Kentucky side of the Tug Fork River, accused Floyd Hatfield, a cousin of Devil Anse, of stealing some of his hogs. The case went to trial and a jury of six Hatfields and six McCoys found Floyd Hatfield innocent.

“They gave the pig back to the Hatfields and all hell broke lose,” Wolford explained.

A Love Story Unfolds

Not long after the pig trial, a McCoy shot to death the juror who had sided with the Hatfields. After that, tensions remained high among the two families, but not for Johnse Hatfield and Roseanne McCoy.

Despite their family feud, the oldest son of Devil Anse and the daughter of Randolf Mccoy fell in love. Roseanne, too afraid to go home, moved in with the Hatfields and became pregnant. But their father’s would not allow them to wed.

So, Roseanne moved in with her aunt and gave birth to a baby girl who later died of measles. To make matter’s worse, only months later, Johnse married Roseanne’s 16-year-old cousin, Nancy McCoy. And although it wasn’t a bullet that killed her, Roseanne died of a broken heart just the same, while still in her 20s.

Two years later, the fighting escalated into one of the bloodiest battles the families had ever seen.

Revenge Turns Deadly

It was a hot summer day in August of 1882 and it was Election Day on Blackberry Creek. Unfortunately, the festivities turned tragic when Ellison Hatfield, Devil Anse’s brother, and three McCoy brothers got into a heated argument.

Armed with knives, the McCoys stabbed Ellison more than 20 times and shot him. They brought him back to an old log cabin bleeding profusely, but still alive.

Sarah McCoy begged for the life of her three sons, but Devil Anse had already made a promise: “If Ellison dies I’m going to kill the McCoy boys.”

Two days after Ellison died, Devil Anse and his posse tied the three McCoy brothers to some paw-paw bushes, blindfolded them, asked if they had any final words and then shot them in retaliation for his brother’s death.

There were several more battles, and as many as 15 lives lost in the feud, including five McCoy children. Some say Randolph McCoy, who spent his later years as a ferry boat captain, never quite recovered from the loss of so many children and died in 1914 at age 88.

But for Devil Anse something dramatic was about to happen that would change his life and perhaps the lives of many generations to come.

A Change for Generations

At the advice of his friend and preacher Dyke Garrett, then 72-year-old Devil Anse went forward at a revival meeting and received Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. Afterwards, he was baptized in the waters of Island Creek near his homes in Logan.

Wolford recounted the day in song:

“Island Creek was cold when Devil Anse went under, but when that bearded man came to the top, he was shouting and a singing, the rifle fire stopped ringing and the water in Island Creek turned boiling hot.”

A photo from September 1911 shows him on the banks of the river that day surrounded by witnesses. For Garrett, it was a baptism he’d been waiting his whole life to perform.

“Around these parts, they called him Uncle Dyke.they say for the rest of his life after that baptism, he had a little bit of bragging rights, and he would tell people that he was the man who baptized the devil,” feud expert and author Keith Davis said.

He believes the baptism of Devil Anse not only helped officially end the feud, but has impacted generations of Hatfields and other families throughout the region.

“I know many Hatfields that are in church that are committed to Christ and I think that something happened in 1910-1911, that is still going on today,” Davis said.

According to friends and neighbors, Devil Anse spent the last ten years of his life in peace, knowing that he was forgiven, his sins washed away in the cool mountain stream.

His death from pneumonia in Jan. 1921 at the age of 81 got strong media attention, including an article in the New York Times, and his funeral was the largest ever held in Logan county, drawing several thousand people.

They say some of the mourners even bore the name McCoy.

*Originally aired March 20, 2009

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Arkansas connection to the Hatfield McCoy feud!!!!

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Origin of Hatfield-McCoy feud may have been a fight over a pig

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Hatfield-McCoy Feud on History Channel makes good effort to get it right

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Does the History Channel’s “Hatfields and McCoys,” fit the actual history

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Great, great, granddaughter of Devil Anse Hatfield said he came to Christ

The Hatfields and McCoys_ Extended Version – CBN.com Hatfield and McCoys I used to travel to Pikeville, Kentucky on a regular basis and I was amazed at the rugged people that lived in that coalmining area. It is the back drop of the Hatfield and Mccoy feud. However, it was filmed in Europe. I have […]

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June 1, 2012 – 2:02 pm Categories: Current Events | Comments (1)

LSU going to drop Arkansas the last week of the season to play Texas A&M instead?

Good to have a big time opponent the last week of the year. There are only two opponents on our schedule that are big time every year and the other one plays in the Iron Bowl at the end of every year. I don’t want to have LSU at the first half of our schedule because you will be making the same mistake that Tennessee makes every year when they front load their schedule with all the tough opponents then end the year in November with Memphis, Vandy, and Kentucky. Sure they get three wins to finish every season but they don’t allow their team time to jell and get better through the year like Arkansas has been doing under Petrino the last few years.

Will the Battle For the Golden Boot be moving? Jeff Long says he's not aware of a change with the annual Arkansas-LSU matchup.
Image by Mark Wagner
Will the Battle For the Golden Boot be moving? Jeff Long says he’s not aware of a change with the annual Arkansas-LSU matchup.

If LSU is replacing Arkansas as its opponent to end the regular season, Jeff Long says he isn’t aware of it.

Long used Twitter to respond to reports that “The Battle For The Boot” might eventually move form its traditional post-Thanksgiving timeslot.

“Hog Fans, I do not know where LSU is getting this information. Have had repeated conversation with SEC Officials and there are no plans as of 6/1/12 to change LSU from our season ending Football game.”

No plans for this year or beyond? It should be noted Long doesn’t specify.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has expressed an interest in changing opponents and said the change could come as soon as 2014.

Arkansas and LSU have ended the regular season against each other since 1992 when the Razorbacks joined the SEC. LSU leads the all-time series 12-8, including a 24-point victory last season. From 2005-2010 the average margin of victory was 3.5 points.

Presumably, the Razorbacks would replace the Tigers with another set of Tigers. Missouri will become Arkansas’ permanent cross-division rival in 2014. 

LSU-Arkansas will meet on the Friday after Thanksgiving this year. The game will be shown on CBS and is scheduled for Fayetteville.

June 1, 2012 – 11:33 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

Austerity has not happened in Italy yet

Max Brantley and Paul Krugman are constantly being critical of the austerity in Europe but in most cases in Europe what we have is tax increases and fake spending cuts. Instead of destroying economic growth with tax increases the right method would be real spending cuts.

We need some austerity in the USA and I don’t mean tax increases. That never helps. However, just like many of the European countries we have run away federal government spending that needs to be cut. Why can’t we learn from others mistakes?

Looking at Austerity in Italy

Posted by Juan Carlos Hidalgo

The Italian economy contracted for a third quarter in a row, deepening the country’s recession and adding to the fire of the euro crisis. Italy is the third largest economy in the Eurozone, and many view it as the endgame of an eventual collapse of the common currency because it is too big to fail. Neither the EU nor the IMF have enough cash to rescue it. If the country defaults, that would probably spell the end of the euro.

Austerity is being blamed for Italy’s economic troubles. Chiara Corsa, an economist at UniCredit, wrote that “The key factor is austerity, which is weighing heavily on consumption and investment.” Recent local elections saw the rise of anti-austerity parties. Paul Krugman warned about this back in December when he described the austerity push of Prime Minister Mario Monti as “self-defeating” and “delusional.”

However, as is the case for Britain, France and Greece, commentators are unclear about what austerity means for Italy, although many seem to imply spending cuts. For example, if Krugman’s criticism about Italian austerity is consistent with his critiques about austerity elsewhere in Europe, we know he means spending cuts. So let’s take a look and see if there has been any:


* Using GDP deflator.
Source: European Commission, Economic and Financial Affairs.

Spending in nominal terms increased by a yearly average of 4.1% between 2000 and 2009, and then fell slightly the following year. In 2011 government spending was just 0.14% below its 2009 level. As for spending in real terms, there’s no cut whatsoever. And as a share of the economy, total spending reached a peak in 2009 at 51.6% of GDP, and it fell to 49.6% last year, a decline far from significant.

So what’s austerity all about in Italy so far? According to The Financial Times, the “government’s €30 billion austerity package, passed in December, was heavily oriented towards tax increases rather than spending cuts, an emphasis that is now widely recognized by ministers as having driven Italy deeper into recession.” The FT adds that the Monti administration is facing “intense pressure from business, politicians and the public to shift the burden of austerity away from heavy taxation towards cuts in public spending.” As a result, the Italian Prime Minister announced €4.2 billion in spending cuts starting in June, still less than 1% of total public spending. That doesn’t sound savage to me.

But it’s quite fascinating to see the hysteria surrounding non existent spending cuts and its supposedly negative impact on economic growth. For example, last December The Economist warned:

“But too great an emphasis on austerity in the short run risks sending the continent’s economy into a deep recession; the latest data on Italian industrial production showed an annual fall of 4.1% in October, even before budget cuts were introduced by the new government.”

Interestingly, according to The Economist, spending cuts were somehow responsible for a decline in economic output in Italy even before being implemented!

If austerity is to blame for Italy’s recession, we need to be clear that by austerity we mean mostly tax increases with almost no reduction in government spending.

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Austerity has not happened in Italy yet

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Austerity not practiced in Britain yet

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Dan Mitchell of Cato Institute: low taxes best for creating jobs

Dan Mitchell on Soaking the Rich There are many economic approaches out there but the one that works best is the free market approach of low taxes and low amounts of government spending and intervention. Daniel in the Lion’s Den: Fighting for Liberty at the United Nations May 18, 2012 by Dan Mitchell I posted yesterday […]

Got to avoid raising taxes if we want the economy to grow and eventually balance the budget

Dan Mitchell on Austerity in Europe 2012 In order to balance the budget we must make deep cuts. Take a look at the study refers to below by Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute in his fine article on the French mess. Raising taxes has not worked in the thirty countries studied. Some French Economic Humor […]

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The liberals in France do not want austerity but more spending but who will pay for their party? Morning Bell: Socialism Rises Again Mike Brownfield May 8, 2012 at 8:55 am Last weekend, the people of France took a sharp turn to the left, and the rest of Europe may be on the brink of […]

Europe has a bleak future because they don’t want austerity

The medicine for the sickness of spending is real budget cuts but no one in liberal europe wants to hear that. Sadly we are on the same road in the USA. Liberals (like my blogger opponent “the Outlier” and others) love to say that austerity has been tried in Europe and it doesn’t work but the truth […]

 

June 1, 2012 – 7:02 am Categories: Cato Institute, spending out of control, Taxes | Post a comment

Open letter to President Obama (Part 85.3)

Cato’s Michael F. Cannon Discusses ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate

Uploaded by on Mar 26, 2012

http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9074

The individual mandate to purchase health insurance is the linchpin of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It is among the issues to be handled by the Supreme Court beginning March 26, 2012.

Michael F. Cannon is the director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute.

____________________

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 wonder why we didn’t hear about the burden that Obamacare would put on state budgets when you were trying to get it passed?

Obamacare is a coming disaster and here is a chart fromt the Heritage Foundation:

A Medicaid Monster

Created on March 23, 2012

A Medicaid Monster

Slide 6 | Obamacare in Pictures

Obamacare increases coverage by adding millions of Americans to the low-quality, low-access Medicaid program, requiring billions of dollars from state budgets.

________

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

Related posts:

7 things wrong so far with Obamacare

Milton Friedman – Socialized Medicine at Mayo Clinic in 1978 Liberals think that people would just fall in love with Obamacare once they got a taste of it but it didn’t work out that way. Seven of Obamacare’s Biggest Failures from the Last Two Years Alyene Senger March 28, 2012 at 5:15 pm It has […]

Obamacare proponents say the Supreme Court should let it become law because the people want it!!!!

Randy Barnett Discusses ObamaCare at the Supreme Court Uploaded by catoinstitutevideo on Mar 26, 2012 http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9074 Cato Institute Senior Fellow and Georgetown University law professor Randy E. Barnett discusses the arguments to be presented to the Supreme Court beginning March 26. I know that many people feel strongly that we live in a democracy and […]

Videos from Cato Institute on Obamacare

Cato’s Michael F. Cannon Discusses ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate Uploaded by catoinstitutevideo on Mar 26, 2012 http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9074 The individual mandate to purchase health insurance is the linchpin of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It is among the issues to be handled by the Supreme Court beginning March 26, 2012. Michael F. Cannon is the […]

Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute takes on entitlement reform

It is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Here Dan Mitchell takes it on. Everything You Need to Know about Entitlement Reform November 28, 2011 by Dan Mitchell Most people have a vague understanding that America has a huge long-run fiscal problem. They’re right, though they probably don’t realize the seriousness […]

Ryan’s plan better than Democrat’s plan but not as good as Rand Paul’s

Promote Federalism and Replicate the Success of Welfare Reform with Medicaid Block Grants Uploaded by afq2007 on Jun 26, 2011 The Medicaid program imposes high costs while generating poor results. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video explains how block grants, such as the one proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan, will save money and […]

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate

Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Feb 13, 2012 http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/13/sen-blunt-vows-to-keep-pressure-on-obama-… | Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced legislation to protect religious organizations from Obamacare’s overreach last summer. Now, as President Obama presses forward with his anti-conscience mandate, Blunt is prepared to keep the pressure on the […]

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator John Barrasso On the Fight Against Obamacare

Senator John Barrasso On the Fight Against Obamacare Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Mar 26, 2012 Sen. John Barrasso earned the nickname “Wyoming’s Doctor” after working for 24 years as an orthopedic surgeon in Casper. Today he represents the state in the U.S. Senate and is one of the leading critics of Obamacare. More than two […]

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator Marco Rubio Talks Cuba, Budget and Obamacare

Senator Marco Rubio Talks Cuba, Budget and Obamacare Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Mar 22, 2012 http://blog.heritage.org/2012/03/22/exclusive-interview-sen-marco-rubio-talks… | Pope Benedict XVI will visit the communist island of Cuba next week. But while there, the Catholic leader has no plans to visit Cuban dissidents who are fighting for freedom from the Castro regime. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), […]

 

June 1, 2012 – 6:52 am Categories: Healthcare, President Obama | Post a comment

Milton Friedman addressed the belief that inflation can cure unemployment, implicit in the Obama administration’s spending blowout “Friedman Friday”

Ep. 9 – How to Cure Inflation [1/7]. Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose (1980)

Cochrane’s Kinky Curves

Posted by Jim Powell

The doctrine that inflation can cure unemployment, implicit in the Obama administration’s spending blowout, goes way back.

The modern version originated with William Phillips, a New Zealand-born economist who, in 1958, wrote a paper modestly titled “The Relation between Unemployment and the Rate of Change of Money Wage Rates in the United Kingdom, 1861‑1957.”  Phillips suggested that when inflation went up, unemployment went down. Keynesian economists Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow popularized Phillips’ idea as a reason to ratchet up government spending and inflate the money supply.  That’s what the Kennedy and Johnson administrations did during the 1960s.

In 1967, Milton Friedman expressed a skeptical view about what had come to be known as the Phillips Curve, launching an extended debate.  Then in 1973, President Richard Nixon, who had famously declared “I am now a Keynesian,” leaned hard on Fed Chairman Arthur Burns to inflate the money supply and drive down unemployment, hopefully to improve Nixon’s prospects for re-election.  Well, as those of us who were around back then recall, both inflation and unemployment went up!  This was a bit of a problem for Phillips Curve aficionados.

As if the stubborn stagflation of the 1970s wasn’t bad enough, subsequent efforts by new Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and President Ronald Reagan to stop inflation cold delivered another hammer blow against the Phillips Curve: both inflation and unemployment went down!

Now fast-forward to January 2009: President Obama levitated the Phillips Curve from the dead when he repeatedly declared that it was urgent to enact his $825 billion stimulus bill so unemployment would go down.  But both spending and unemployment went up!  It became harder to deny that the stimulus spending flopped, though the New York Times’ Keynesian columnist Paul Krugman tried valiantly.  He claimed stimulus spending flopped because Obama didn’t spend enough.  Accordingly, several weeks ago, Obama proposed still more stimulus spending to fight unemployment, and he begged people to support it: “If you love me, pass this bill!”

There shouldn’t have been any surprise about Obama’s flop, since the underlying idea – the Phillips Curve – proved to be a dud long ago.  This would be a good time to review experience with the Phillips Curve.

Thankfully, Cato Adjunct Scholar John H. Cochrane, the AQR Capital Management Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, has done just that.  He focused on the period from 1966 to the present.  That year, President Lyndon Johnson was going full bore, promoting runaway spending on new entitlement programs and on the Vietnam war simultaneously, and inflation reared its ugly head.

Cochrane charted what happened year-by-year to inflation and unemployment.  The result wasn’t a nice smooth curve dreamed about by Keynesians.  Rather, there was a kinky curve.  One year, inflation went up, and unemployment went down.  Next year, inflation went up again, and unemployment went up.  Then when inflation went down, unemployment went up again.  On and on as if we followed a drunk stumbling around a street.  Since a single chart would have become an unreadable tangle if it tried to cover the entire 45-year period, Cochrane developed two charts, 1966-1984 and 1985-2011.  Clearly, what we see is a random relationship between inflation and unemployment, that makes the Phillips Curve worthless as a policy tool.

The charts appear in an insightful article Cochrane wrote, published in the Fall 2011 National Affairs.  The article is important quite apart from the Phillips Curve charts.  Although the prevailing view seems to be that high inflation is most likely to occur if and when the Fed increases the money supply, Cochrane warns high inflation could occur as a consequence of soaring government debt.  Such inflation would amount to a default.  It would be triggered by a run on dollar-denominated assets, if and when investors conclude that the government cannot pay its debts.  Runs occur without warning, often after a succession of events have undermined investor confidence.

June 1, 2012 – 6:42 am Categories: Cato Institute, Milton Friedman | Post a comment

Tagged , , , |

Open letter to President Obama (Part 85.2)

Tim Sandefur Discusses ObamaCare’s Medicaid Expansion

Uploaded by on Mar 26, 2012

http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9074

Tim Sandefur of the Pacific Legal Foundation explains some of the implications of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.

___________________

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.

At one point you said 98% would be covered by health insurance under Obamacare but it really is a lot lower than that.

Obamacare will tax us to death and that is not how you pictured it when you first put it forth.

 Here is a chart from the Heritage Foundation:

Created on March 23, 2012

Taxed Enough Already? Just wait until Obamacare kicks in

Slide 9 | Obamacare in Pictures

To pay for generous subsidies to purchase health insurance, a huge expansion of Medicaid, and other new spending, Obamacare raises taxes and adds 17 new taxes or penalties that will affect all Americans.

_______

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

Related posts:

7 things wrong so far with Obamacare

Milton Friedman – Socialized Medicine at Mayo Clinic in 1978 Liberals think that people would just fall in love with Obamacare once they got a taste of it but it didn’t work out that way. Seven of Obamacare’s Biggest Failures from the Last Two Years Alyene Senger March 28, 2012 at 5:15 pm It has […]

Obamacare proponents say the Supreme Court should let it become law because the people want it!!!!

Randy Barnett Discusses ObamaCare at the Supreme Court Uploaded by catoinstitutevideo on Mar 26, 2012 http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9074 Cato Institute Senior Fellow and Georgetown University law professor Randy E. Barnett discusses the arguments to be presented to the Supreme Court beginning March 26. I know that many people feel strongly that we live in a democracy and […]

Videos from Cato Institute on Obamacare

Cato’s Michael F. Cannon Discusses ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate Uploaded by catoinstitutevideo on Mar 26, 2012 http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9074 The individual mandate to purchase health insurance is the linchpin of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It is among the issues to be handled by the Supreme Court beginning March 26, 2012. Michael F. Cannon is the […]

Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute takes on entitlement reform

It is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Here Dan Mitchell takes it on. Everything You Need to Know about Entitlement Reform November 28, 2011 by Dan Mitchell Most people have a vague understanding that America has a huge long-run fiscal problem. They’re right, though they probably don’t realize the seriousness […]

Ryan’s plan better than Democrat’s plan but not as good as Rand Paul’s

Promote Federalism and Replicate the Success of Welfare Reform with Medicaid Block Grants Uploaded by afq2007 on Jun 26, 2011 The Medicaid program imposes high costs while generating poor results. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video explains how block grants, such as the one proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan, will save money and […]

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate

Senator Blunt Vows to Keep Pressure on President Obama Over Contraceptive Mandate Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Feb 13, 2012 http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/13/sen-blunt-vows-to-keep-pressure-on-obama-… | Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced legislation to protect religious organizations from Obamacare’s overreach last summer. Now, as President Obama presses forward with his anti-conscience mandate, Blunt is prepared to keep the pressure on the […]

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator John Barrasso On the Fight Against Obamacare

Senator John Barrasso On the Fight Against Obamacare Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Mar 26, 2012 Sen. John Barrasso earned the nickname “Wyoming’s Doctor” after working for 24 years as an orthopedic surgeon in Casper. Today he represents the state in the U.S. Senate and is one of the leading critics of Obamacare. More than two […]

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW:Senator Marco Rubio Talks Cuba, Budget and Obamacare

Senator Marco Rubio Talks Cuba, Budget and Obamacare Uploaded by HeritageFoundation on Mar 22, 2012 http://blog.heritage.org/2012/03/22/exclusive-interview-sen-marco-rubio-talks… | Pope Benedict XVI will visit the communist island of Cuba next week. But while there, the Catholic leader has no plans to visit Cuban dissidents who are fighting for freedom from the Castro regime. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), […]

 

June 1, 2012 – 6:40 am Categories: Healthcare, President Obama | Post a comment

Hank Hanegraaff on the issue of abortion (Part 5)

Francis Schaeffer

Uploaded by on Feb 7, 2012

Happy Birthday to someone who made a Big Difference. I’m John Stonestreet, and this is The Point. Visit http://www.thepointradio.org for more commentaries about life, culture, and current events.

______________

Francis Schaeffer, Part 2

We need pro-life judges to be appointed in the future.

What Is Abortion?

Article ID: DA375

By: Hank Hanegraaff

The following is an excerpt from article DA375 by Hank Hanegraaff. The full article can be found by following the link below the excerpt.

Those who continue to fight legislation restricting abortion are in reality not “pro-choice.” Rather, they are singularly “pro-murder.” While the rhetoric has served to camouflage the carnage, abortion is really nothing more than the painful killing of an innocent human being.

What Is Abortion?- Painful

It is painful because the methods employed to kill a preborn child involve burning, smothering, dismembering, and crushing. Dr. James Dobson offers a terrifying description of one method of abortion called Dilation and Extraction (D & X):

Over two days the cervix is dilated. Then an ultrasound device and forceps are used to reach in and grab the baby’s feet. The little body is pulled downward until just the head remains in the cervix. Next the abortionist grasps the nape of the neck and cuts open the back of the skull with blunt scissors. A device called a cannula is then inserted into the wound and the brain material is sucked out. If kidneys or other organs are desired, they are removed while the child is still partially in the vagina. Initially at least, these surgical procedures are performed on a live baby who has not specifically been anesthetized (although the mother’s medication may reduce some of the pain).9

Abortion is also performed by a procedure called Dilation and Curettage (D & C), in which a tiny hoe is used to chop the baby’s body to pieces. The body is then scraped off the wall of the uterus and subsequently reassembled to ensure that no remaining parts have been left behind. Other methods include:

• Saline Solution — a salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid, burning the skin off the baby who, after thrashing in the uterus for a number of hours, is reduced to a shriveled corpse;

• Suction — presently two-thirds of all abortions in the United States and Canada are carried out using a suction tube, which tears the child apart and deposit the pieces into a jar;

• Hysterotomy — similar to a Caesarean section, except it is designed for the express purpose of killing rather than saving the baby;

• Prostaglandin — the injection of a chemical into the uterine muscle, causing it to react violently, thus expelling the preborn child (the few children who survive decapitation resulting from the violent contractions are exterminated after delivery).

What is Abortion?- Killing

Abortion involves killing because the zygote, which fulfills the criteria needed to establish the existence of biological life (including metabolism, development, the ability to react to stimuli, and cell reproduction), is indeed terminated.

What is Abortion?- Innocent

While it is true that everyone is conceived and born in sin, preborn children are innocent because they have done nothing wrong. They deserve protection, not capital punishment.

What is Abortion?- Human Being

The living baby in the mother’s womb is a human being because he or she is the product of human parents and has a totally distinct human genetic code. This truth that abortion terminates the life of a human being is substantiated by science:

• As Dr. Micheline Matthew-Roth, a principal research associate at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Medicine, puts it, “It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception, when egg and sperm join to form the zygote, and this developing human always is a member of our species in all stages of its life.”10

• French geneticist Jerome L. LeJeune bore eloquent testimony to the truth of Dr. Matthew-Roth’s remarks when he gave the following testimony to a United States Senate sub-committee: “To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention, it is plain experimental evidence.”11

• Perhaps Dr. Hymie Gordon, professor of medical genetics and a physician at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, best summarized the perspective of science when he said, “I think we can now also say that the question of the beginning of life — when life begins — is no longer a question for theological or philosophical dispute. It is an established scientific fact. Theologians and philosophers may go on to debate the meaning of life or purpose of life, but it is an established fact that all life, including human life, begins at the moment of conception.”12

Long before science substantiated the truth that abortion is the painful killing of an innocent human being, the psalmist summarized the view of sacred Scripture with these words:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

March 30th, 2009 by CRI | Type: Standard

Filed Under: Abortion, Articles Tags: , , ,

June 1, 2012 – 6:31 am Categories: Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Post a comment

Should the 10 Commandments be banned from public life?(Part 2, David Barton’s Affidavit in support on 10 Commandments)

I read back on Dec 8, 2011 that Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, a social conservative advocacy organization, said in 2011 that President Obama has been “hostile” and “disdainful” toward Christianity. Rick Perry actually said President Obama had a war on religion. One of the most basic things that our founding fathers did is base our laws on the ten commandments. At the Supreme Court there is one depiction showing Moses sitting, holding two blank stone tablets. There is one depiction showing Moses standing holding one stone tablet. There are two stone tablets depicted with Roman Numbers I-X carved in the oak doors.

David Barton has studied the history of the founding of our country for many years and I wanted to share a portion of a document he wrote concerning the 10 Commandments:
David Barton – 01/03/2001
(View the footnoted version on Liberty Council’s website)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY

LONDON DIVISION

SARAH DOE and THOMAS DOE, on behalf

of themselves and their minor child, JAN DOE

Plaintiffs,

v Civil Action No. 99-508

HARLAN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT;

DON MUSSELMAN, in his official capacity

as Superintendent of the Harlan Country

School District,

Defendents.

______________________________________________

AFFIDAVIT OF DAVID BARTON IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CONTEMPT, OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

STATE OF TEXAS

COUNTY OF PARKER

THE INCORPORATION OF DIVINE LAW INTO AMERICAN COLONIAL LAW

12. The Ten Commandments are a smaller part of the larger body of divine law recognized and early incorporated into America’s civil documents. For example, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut-established in 1638-39 as the first written constitution in America and considered as the direct predecessor of the U. S. Constitution -declared that the Governor and his council of six elected officials would “have power to administer justice according to the laws here established; and for want thereof according to the rule of the word of God.”

13. Also in 1638, the Rhode Island government adopted “all those perfect and most absolute laws of His, given us in His holy word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby. Exod. 24. 3, 4; 2 Chron. II. 3; 2 Kings. II. 17.”

14. The following year, 1639, the New Haven Colony adopted its “Fundamental Articles” for the governance of that Colony, and when the question was placed before the colonists:

Whether the Scriptures do hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all dut[ies] which they are to perform to God and men as well in the government of families and commonwealths as in matters of the church, this was assented unto by all, no man dissenting as was expressed by holding up of hands.

15. In 1672, Connecticut revised its laws and reaffirmed its civil adherence to the laws established in the Scriptures, declaring:

The serious consideration of the necessity of the establishment of wholesome laws for the regulating of each body politic hath inclined us mainly in obedience unto Jehovah the Great Lawgiver, Who hath been pleased to set down a Divine platform not only of the moral but also of judicial laws suitable for the people of Israel; as . . . laws and constitutions suiting our State.

16. Significantly, those same legal codes delineated their capital laws in a separate section, and following each capital law was given the Bible verse on which that law was based because:

No man’s life shall be taken away . . . unless it be by the virtue or equity of some express law of the country warranting the same, established by a general court and sufficiently published, or in case of the defect of a law, in any particular case, by the Word of God. (emphasis added)

17. There are other similar examples, but it is a matter of historical fact that the early colonies adopted the greater body of divine laws as the overall basis of their civil laws. Subsequent to the adoption of that general standard, however, the specifics of the Decalogue were then incorporated into the civil statutes.
June 1, 2012 – 1:12 am Categories: David Barton, Founding Fathers | Post a comment

John Brummett: President Obama has not been big spender

Dan Mitchell explains in the above video that Europe can grow and prosper, but only if politicians are willing to reduce the burden of government spending and lower tax rates.

_____________

I have a lot of respect for Tea Party heroes like Tim Huelskamp and Justin Amash who are willing to propose deep spending cuts so we can eventually balance our budget. Nevertheless there are some liberals like John Brummett that want us to think that President Obama did right by doing that stimulus spending and he has not been a big spender. I will straighten that out later in this post.

It is a fact that we must balance the budget soon. I do not believe that we can wait to balance the budget at some distant time in the future. The financial markets will not allow us a long time to get our house in order. Look at how things have been going the last four years and no matter how anyone tries to spin it, we are going down the financial drain fast. Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute showed in an article that I posted earlier about how much spending has exploded the last four years.

John Brummett wrote in the online addition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on May 30, 2012:

Obama did indeed run up the deficit with a stimulus measure to keep the economy from collapsing as he entered office…But in regard to budgets that he actually has proposed as president, beginning with the one for the fiscal year starting nearly a year after his election, Obama has raised spending at a slower rate than Clinton…

Republicans simply are more effective than Democrats at declaring a simple untruth loudly and repetitively through a pliable and powerful echo chamber of talk radio and cable news, thus embedding that untruth beneath the superficial consciousness of people otherwise disengaged.

__________

Now the truth of the matter is that Obama has spent around 25% of GDP when Clinton and most of the other presidents spent 20% or less. This fact allow disproves Brummett’s assertions listed above.

Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute sets the record straight concerning Obama’s spending:

Last week, I jumped into the surreal debate about whether Obama has been the most fiscally conservative president in recent history.

I sliced the historical data from the Office of Management and Budget a couple of ways, showing that overall spending has grown at a relatively slow rate during the Obama years. Adjusted for inflation, both total spending and primary spending (total spending minus interest payments) have been restrained.

So does this make Obama a fiscal conservative?

And how can these numbers make sense when the President saddled the nation with the faux stimulus and Obamacare?

Good questions. It turns out that Obama supposed frugality is largely the result of how TARP is measured in the federal budget. To put it simply, TARP pushed spending up in Bush’s final fiscal year (FY2009, which began October 1, 2008) and then repayments from the banks (which count as “negative spending”) artificially reduced spending in subsequent years.

The combination of those two factors made a big difference in the numbers. Here’s another table from my prior post, looking at how the presidents rank when you subtract both defense and the fiscal impact of deposit insurance and TARP.

All of a sudden, Obama drops down to the second-to-last position, sandwiched between two of the worst presidents in American history. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

But this ranking is incomplete. At that point, I was trying to gauge Obama’s record on domestic spending, and the numbers certainly provide some evidence that he is a stereotypical big-spending liberal.

But the main debate is about which president was the biggest overall spender. So I’ve run through the numbers again, and here’s a new table looking at the rankings based on average annual changes in inflation-adjusted primary spending, minus the distorting impact of deposit insurance and TARP.

Obama is still in the second-to-last position, but spending is increasing by “only” 5.5 percent per year rather than 7.0 percent annually. This is obviously because defense spending is not growing as fast as domestic spending.

Reagan remains in first place, though his score drops now that his defense buildup is part of the calculations. Clinton, conversely, stays in second place but his score jumps because he benefited from the peace dividend after Reagan’s policies led to the collapse of the Soviet Empire.

Let’s now look at these numbers from a policy perspective. Rahn Curve research shows that government is far too big today, so the goal of fiscal policy should be to restrain the burden of government spending relative to economic output.

This means that policy moves in the right direction when government grows more slowly than the private sector, as it did under Reagan and Clinton.

But if government spending is growing faster than the productive sector of the economy, as has been the case during the Bush-Obama years, then a nation eventually will become Greece.

May 31, 2012 – 12:23 pm Categories: Cato Institute, President Obama, spending out of control | Post a comment