Liberals’ solution for the poor is more welfare, but that will not work

Milton Friedman’s solution to limiting poverty

Liberals like Michael Cook just don’t get it. They should listen to Milton Friedman (who is quoted in this video below concerning the best way to limit poverty).

New Video Shows the War on Poverty Is a Failure

Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has released another “Economics 101″ video, and this one has a very powerful message about the federal government’s so-called War on Poverty.

As explained by Hadley Heath of the Independent Women’s Forum, the various income redistribution schemes being imposed by Washington are bad for taxpayers — and bad for poor people.

Free Markets, Not Redistribution, Is Best Way to Reduce Poverty

Uploaded by  on Oct 3, 2011

The so-called War on Poverty has failed. Making government bigger and creating more federal redistribution programs has been bad news for taxpayers. But the welfare state also has been a disaster for the less fortunate, creating a flypaper effect that makes it difficult for people to lead independent and self-reliant lives. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video shows how the poverty rate was falling after World War II — but then stagnated once the federal government got involved. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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The video has a plethora of useful information, but the data on the poverty rate is particularly compelling. Prior to the War on Poverty, the United States was getting more prosperous with each passing year and there were dramatic reductions in the level of destitution.

But once the federal government got involved in the mid-1960s, the good news evaporated. Indeed, the poverty rate has basically stagnated for the past 40-plus years, usually hovering around 13 percent depending on economic conditions.

Another remarkable finding in the video is that poor people in America rarely suffer from material deprivation. Indeed, they have wide access to consumer goods that used to be considered luxuries – and they also have more housing space than the average European (and with Europe falling apart, the comparisons presumably will become even more noteworthy).

The most important message of the video, however, is that small government and economic freedom are the best answers for poverty. As Hadley explains, poor people can be liberated to live meaningful, self-reliant lives if we can reduce the heavy burden of the federal government.

Last but not least, the video doesn’t address every issue in great detail, and there are three additional points that should be added to any discussion of poverty.

  1. The biggest beneficiaries of the current system are the army of bureaucrats that receive very comfortable salariesadministering various programs.
  2. The Obama Administration is looking to re-define poverty in a way that would expand the welfare state andincrease the burden of redistribution programs.
  3. The welfare reform legislation of the 1990s was a small step in the right direction because it eliminated a federal entitlement and shifted responsibility back to the state level. This success story should be replicated for programs such as Medicaid.

This last point is worth emphasizing because it is also one of the core messages of the video. The federal government has done a terrible job dealing with poverty. The time has come to get Washington out of the racket of income redistribution.

Related posts by Milton Friedman. Pay attention to posts about poverty or FREE TO CHOOSE episode on “Cradle to Grave.”

Friedman Friday” Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “Created Equal” (Part 3 of transcript and video)

Friedman Friday” Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “Created Equal” (Part 3 of transcript and video) Liberals like President Obama want to shoot for an equality of outcome. That system does not work. In fact, our free society allows for the closest gap between the wealthy and the poor. Unlike other countries where free enterprise and other […]

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “Created Equal” (Part 2 of transcript and video)

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “Created Equal” (Part 2 of transcript and video) Liberals like President Obama want to shoot for an equality of outcome. That system does not work. In fact, our free society allows for the closest gap between the wealthy and the poor. Unlike other countries where free enterprise and other freedoms are […]

Milton Friedman Friday: (“Free to Choose” episode 4 – From Cradle to Grave, Part 4 of 7)

 I am currently going through his film series “Free to Choose” which is one the most powerful film series I have ever seen. PART 4 of 7 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 […]

Debate on Milton Friedman’s cure for inflation

If you would like to see the first three episodes on inflation in Milton Friedman’s film series “Free to Choose” then go to a previous post I did. Ep. 9 – How to Cure Inflation [4/7]. Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose (1980) Uploaded by investbligurucom on Jun 16, 2010 While many people have a fairly […]

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

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 […]

Milton Friedman Friday: (“Free to Choose” episode 4 – From Cradle to Grave, Part 3 of 7)

 I am currently going through his film series “Free to Choose” which is one the most powerful film series I have ever seen. PART 3 OF 7 Worse still, America’s depression was to become worldwide because of what lies behind these doors. This is the vault of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Inside […]

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman: Episode “Created Equal” (Part 1 of transcript and video)

 Milton Friedman and Ronald Reagan Liberals like President Obama (and John Brummett) want to shoot for an equality of outcome. That system does not work. In fact, our free society allows for the closest gap between the wealthy and the poor. Unlike other countries where free enterprise and other freedoms are not present.  This is a seven part series. […]

Ernest Istook of the Heritage Foundation speaks in Little Rock on 6-22-11 (Part 2)

The third monthly luncheon with featured speaker Ernest Istook was excellent. First, we got to hear from Dave Elswick of KARN   who came up with the idea of this luncheon, and then from Teresa Crossland of Americans for Prosperity. Below is a portion of Istook’s biography from the Heritage Foundation: Ernest Istook Distinguished Fellow Government Studies Ernest […]

Milton Friedman Friday:(“Free to Choose” episode 4 – From Cradle to Grave, Part 2 of 7)

 I am currently going through his film series “Free to Choose” which is one the most powerful film series I have ever seen. For the past 7 years Maureen Ramsey has had to buy food and clothes for her family out of a government handout. For the whole of that time, her husband, Steve, hasn’t […]

The poor in the USA have best chance in the world to go up

I love Milton Friedman’s film series “Free to Choose.” In that film series over and over it is shown that the ability to move from poor to rich is more abundant here than any other country in the world. This article below reminded me of that that. Are Poor Really Helpless Without Government? By Michael […]

November 8, 2011 – 9:10 pm Categories: Cato Institute, Current Events, Milton Friedman | Post a comment

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Duggars expecting another baby (related links to Duggars)

The Arkansas Times Blog reported today:

EXPECTING 20th: Michelle Duggar

  • EXPECTING 20th: Michelle Duggar

People magazine reports that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are expecting their 20th child this spring. She’s 45 and had a rough time with her 19th, Josie, born prematurely weighing 22 ounces

Link includes video to TLC, where the Duggar-based reality show airs.

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Related links with the Duggars:

Duggars expecting another baby (related links to Duggars)

The Arkansas Times Blog reported today: EXPECTING 20th: Michelle Duggar People magazine reports that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are expecting their 20th child this spring. She’s 45 and had a rough time with her 19th, Josie, born prematurely weighing 22 ounces Link includes video to TLC, where the Duggar-based reality show airs. ______________________ Related […]

Crowd at Occupy Arkansas pales in comparison to annual pro-life march

Demonstrators march through the streets of Little Rock on Saturday in a protest organized by Occupy Little Rock. (John Lyon photo) Occupy Arkansas got cranked up today in Little Rock with their first march and several hundred showed up. It was unlike the pro-life marches that I have been a part of that have had […]

Pro-life marchers turn to prayer

What Ever Happened to the Human Race? Jason Tolbert told a  story about pro-life marchers and their tactic of prayer: OWNER TURNS SPRINKLERS ON PRO-LIFE PRAYER VIGIL In July, I wrote about a new movement springing up in Arkansas that seeks to combat abortion not with violent protest, but with peaceful prayer demonstrations.  It is called “40 […]

Duggar’s first grandson born

TLC stars Josh and Anna Duggar with their newborn son — TLC I was walking at the Another Duggar Baby! Josh & Anna Duggar Welcome Baby Boy Yahoo News reported: The Duggar family continues to grow! Josh Duggar, 23, – the eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle – and wife Anna, 22, welcomed their […]

Atheists confronted: How I confronted Carl Sagan the year before he died jh47

In today’s news you will read about Kirk Cameron taking on the atheist Stephen Hawking over some recent assertions he made concerning the existence of heaven. Back in December of 1995 I had the opportunity to correspond with Carl Sagan about a year before his untimely death. Sarah Anne Hughes in her article,”Kirk Cameron criticizes […]

Fox 16:Biased reporting on Marches

Rep. Tim Griffin and Lt. Gov. Mark Darr at the Arkansas March for Life in Little Rock from Tolbert Report. Go to Fox 16 website and you will read this story below and watch a video clip on both marches. What you will not read is the fact that only 150 people showed up for […]

33rd ANNUAL MARCH FOR LIFE:Little Rock Sun 2pm begins at Capital and Louisiana Streets

HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com President Obama on abortion Adrian Rogers (former President of Southern Baptist Convention): “I am not as afraid of the Communist, the Russians, the Chinese, as much as I am afraid of God.  If God be for us, who can be against us?  If God be against us, then who can be for us?  It […]

November 8, 2011 – 2:47 pm Categories: Current Events, Prolife | Post a comment

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Brantley condemns Mississippi personhood amendment because it “gives the status of a human being to a zygote” (Part 1)

Liberals are really up in arms about what is happening in Mississippi. Max Brantley (Arkansas Times Blog, Nov 8, 2011) wrote:

The world will watch today as Mississippi votes on a “personhood” amendment that begins protection at fertilization. It, in short, gives the status of a human being to a zygote.

When does personhood begin?

Science Matters: Former supermodel Kathy Ireland tells Mike Huckabee about how she became pro-life after reading what the science books have to say.

My good friend Dr. Kevin R. Henke is a scientist and also an atheistic evolutionist. I had a lot of discussions with Kevin over religious views. I remember going over John 7:17 with him one day. It says:

John 7:17 (Amplified Bible)

17If any man desires to do His will (God’s pleasure), he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself) whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My own accord and on My own authority.

I challenged Kevin to read a chapter a day of the Book of John and pray to God and ask God, “Dear God, if you are there then reveal yourself to me, and I pledge to serve you the rest of my life.”

Kevin did that and he even wrote down the thoughts that came to his mind and sent it to me and these thoughts filled a notebook.

Kevin did not become a Christian, but I am still praying for him. I do respect Kevin because he is an honest man. Interestingly enough he  told me that he was pro-life because the unborn baby has all the genetic code at  the time of conception that they will have for the rest of their life. Below are some other comments by other scientists:

Dr. Hymie Gordon (Mayo Clinic): “By all criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception.”

Dr. Micheline Matthews-Roth (Harvard University Medical School): “It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception.”

Dr. Alfred Bongioanni (University of Pennsylvania): “I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception.”

Dr. Jerome LeJeune, “the Father of Modern Genetics” (University of Descartes, Paris): “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 . . . it is plain experimental evidence.”

Back on April 27, 2009 Fox News ran a story by Hollie McKay(“Supermodel Kathy Ireland Lashes Out Against Pro Choice,”) on Jill Ireland.

It’s no secret that the majority of Hollywood stars are strong advocates for a woman’s right to choose whether or not she wants to terminate a pregnancy, however former “Sports Illustrated” supermodel-turned-entrepreneur-turned-author Kathy Ireland has gone against the grain of the glitterati and spoken out against abortion.

“My entire life I was pro-choice — who was I to tell another woman what she could or couldn’t do with her body? But when I was 18, I became a Christian and I dove into the medical books, I dove into science,” Ireland told Tarts while promoting her insightful new book “Real Solutions for Busy Mom: Your Guide to Success and Sanity.”

“What I read was astounding and I learned that at the moment of conception a new life comes into being. The complete genetic blueprint is there, the DNA is determined, the blood type is determined, the sex is determined, the unique set of fingerprints that nobody has had or ever will have is already there.”

However Ireland admitted that she did everything she could to avoid becoming a believer in pro-life.

“I called Planned Parenthood and begged them to give me their best argument and all they could come up with that it is really just a clump of cells and if you get it early enough it doesn’t even look like a baby. Well, we’re all clumps of cells and the unborn does not look like a baby the same way the baby does not look like a teenager, a teenager does not look like a senior citizen. That unborn baby looks exactly the way human beings are supposed to look at that stage of development. It doesn’t suddenly become a human being at a certain point in time,” Ireland argued. “I’ve also asked leading scientists across our country to please show me some shred of evidence that the unborn is not a human being. I didn’t want to be pro-life, but this is not a woman’s rights issue but a human rights issue.”

November 8, 2011 – 1:44 pm Categories: Mike Huckabee, Prolife | Post a comment

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Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 3)

I heard Johnny Majors speak at the November 7, 2011 Little Rock Touchdown Club. He talked about his respect for Frank Broyles and the great coach he was. He also said he saw a lot of those same great qualities in Derek Dooley.

Uploaded by  on Sep 3, 2010

Johnny Majors from Huntland, TN tried out for the UT Football team weighing 150 pounds. His Father, Shirley Majors his HS Coach,encourage him and then 4 younger brothers all to be Vols. Johnny Majors was the runner-up in 1956 for the Heisman Trophy to Paul Horning, on a loosing Notre Dame team. So much for Northern politics with writers.

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Majors: Dooley needs time

By Jeff Halpern

LITTLE ROCK — Johnny Majors played and coached at Tennessee and was an assistant at Arkansas. So when he sees the Tennessee Volunteers struggle, he knows what it is going to take for second-year coach Derek Dooley to turn things around.

Time.

Majors, 76, is retired and living in Knoxville, Tenn., and he understands where the Volunteers (4-5, 0-5 SEC) are at going into Saturday’s game against BCS No. 8 Arkansas (8-1, 4-1 SEC) in Fayetteville.

“The thing is, Derek Dooley inherited a program that was going downhill,” said Majors, the guest speaker Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club luncheon.

Majors said Tennessee’s slide began under Phil Fulmer. Lane Kiffin was hired to replace Fulmer, but Kiffin stayed for only the 2009 season before bolting for the head coaching job at Southern California.

Majors said he believes Kiffin would have stopped the slide had he stayed, but his sudden departure set the program back even more.

“Derek lost about a half a dozen players who either didn’t pan out or got hurt, and you can’t rebuild a program in a year or two,” Majors said. “It’s going to take at least three to four to be solid.

“So whenever people ask if Tennessee will be patient to give Derek Dooley the time to turn things around, I tell them they don’t have any choice but to give him time.”

Dooley, the son of former Georgia Coach Vince Dooley, is 10-12 overall and 3-10 in SEC games.

“He is intelligent and has a good background,” Majors said. “He worked seven years for Nick Saban at LSU and at the Miami Dolphins, so you know he has to be tough.”

Injuries also have been a problem of late. The Volunteers lost wide receiver Justin Hunter to a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament Sept. 17 in a 33-23 loss at Florida. Quarterback Tyler Bray broke his thumb in a 20-12 loss to Georgia on Oct. 8, leaving Matt Simms and Justin Worley to fill in.

Tennessee has had its moments this season. The Vols went into halftime tied 3-3 with Alabama before eventually losing 37-6. It held LSU scoreless in the first quarter but eventually were defeated 38-7.

“I told Derek after the LSU game that I know what he’s going through and have been there before, and that this, too, shall pass,” Majors said.

Under Majors, Tennessee was becaame of the premier teams in the country.

Tennessee went 116-62-8 from 1977-1992 and won three SEC titles with Majors as coach. Under Fulmer, Tennessee went 152-52-1, won two SEC titles and the 1998 national championship.

However, Tennessee went 29-21 overall and 17-15 in SEC games in Fulmer’s last four seasons, including losing seasons in 2005 (5-6) and 2008 (5-7). The Volunteers went 7-6 in Kiffin’s lone season, and they were 6-7 under Dooley last season.

“The thing I saw was recruiting went down the last few years under Fulmer,” Majors told members of the media after Monday’s luncheon. “I would work as an unpaid consultant for the East-West Shrine Game, and we would have at least 100 scouts and they would tell me that things were going down under Fulmer.

“It didn’t seem like they were doing a good job of evaluating prospects and had many discipline problems on and off the field and were beating themselves.

“You don’t win by accident, and you don’t lose by accident.”

While Majors didn’t mention Fulmer by name during his speech, it is no secret he and Fulmer, his offensive line coach from 1980-1988 and offensive coordinator from 1989-1992, do not get along.

Majors was forced to resign late in the 1992 season after the Volunteers went 2-3 following his return from heart surgery after Fulmer had guided Tennessee to a 3-0 start. Majors felt Fulmer maneuvered to get the head coaching job while he was recovering from surgery and that a promise was broken about a new seven-year contract.

When asked Monday about his relationship with Fulmer, he left little doubt about whether those feelings still lingered.

“I don’t need to go into that,” Majors said.

This article was published today at 5:08 a.m.

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Johnny Majors was a great quarterback for Tennessee.

Image Detail

 
November 8, 2011 – 7:30 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

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“Tip Tuesday” Advice to Gene Simmons (Part 18)

Below is an article on the show: (This came out several months ago)

Gene Simmons gets ‘whipped’ on ‘Family Jewels’

Amanda Edwards / Getty Images Contributor

Gene Simmons took his son Nick to Israel, where the KISS frontman was born.

By Randee Dawn, TODAY.com contributor

It seemed that “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” might end prematurely: After Simmons’ longtime partner Shannon Tweed stormed off the set during an interview, the couple seemed on the verge of breaking up.

But for Simmons (who remains with Tweed), it’s all in a day’s work on the show, now in its sixth season.

“I get a good a**-whipping every episode,” he told TODAY.com. “In a very real way, the show forces me to confront real issues that you may take for granted.”

He said seeing himself on the show has made him “more reflective” on his own behavior.

“It’s one thing to live through it, and another when you sit down and watch it,” he said. “This way I can see how (Shannon) feels about it, and how I come off. It’s like having a separate pair of eyes watching me. Usually we’re too busy being ourselves to see ourselves.”

In this week’s episode (“Blood Is Thicker Than Hummus,” airing Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on A&E) though, Simmons ended up looking not just inside himself, but at his history. In the episode, Simmons, Tweed and their son Nick return to Israel, where Simmons was born. The musician, 61, had not visited since he emigrated with his mother at age 8.

“I came from a small town outside Haifa, which you can’t even pronounce or spell, but now it’s a modern place,” he said. “I remember hills and dirt roads.”

It was all a surprise planned by Tweed. “I knew nothing. We just went with the TV show because she thought I should visit my homeland. She also thought it was important for Nick to get a sense of where one of his parents came from. Shannon planned the whole thing – she was sneaky.”

Sophie, the couple’s daughter, was “stuck in school” and did not accompany them.

Tweed also engineered a family reunion: Simmons met a half-brother and half-sisters he never knew he had, and learned that his father, who left him and his mother when Simmons was around 7, had been married “as many as” six times.

“Who knows how many other kids he’s got?” said Simmons.

That’s all heavy stuff to show up on camera around the world, but the KISS leader takes it in stride.

“I don’t like it, but it’s necessary,” he said. “It’s important to get a sense of who came before you and why.”

Still, he added, “Celebrities – methinks they protest too much. When they don’t get attention, they complain. When they get too much attention, they complain. It’s just about complaining. I’m a lucky bastard, and anything’s OK with me. My hair’s all messed up in every episode, and I don’t care. I’m OK even if they visit me in the loo.”

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THE REASON THAT GENE IS GETTING BEAT UP ON THE TV SHOW EVERY WEEK IS BECAUSE HE STILL BELIEVES HE HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE AFFAIRS.

My advice to Gene Simmons is very simple. Ann Wexler mentioned to him that there is a point where you have enough money and should turn your attention to other important things in his life like relationships. She implies that Gene is being selfish.

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Many times when a marriage is falling apart there is lots of selfishness that comes out in the open. It may be that a love of money is exposed or it may be a desire to satisfy carnal desires.

Here are some important points.  First, we are to be married and faithful to one lady. Gene has been having occasional affairs and deep down thinks he deserves the right to do this. However, that is not the plan that God has for us.

Second, we are to love our wife as Christ loves the church and that means we love her more than anything even money.

Brandon Barnard in his message “The Battle for Purity” at Fellowship Bible Church on July 24 said there were two paths. The path of impurity and the path of purity. Last time we looked at the path of impurity and today we want to look at the path of purity.

THOSE ON THE PATHWAY TO PURITY WILL PURSUE ALL PLEASURE IN CHRIST AND TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN THEIR SPOUSE ALONE AND DRINK WATER FROM YOUR OWN CISTERN AND REJOICE IN THE WIFE OF YOUR YOUTH.

Proverbs 5:15-20 states:

15Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16Should your springs be scattered abroad,
   streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

19a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated[a] always in her love.
20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?[b]

Adrian Rogers – [2/3] How to Cultivate a Marriage

November 8, 2011 – 12:50 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

99th anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birth (Part 21) (“Free to Choose” episode 3 – Anatomy of a Crisis. part 7of 7)

Milton Friedman was born on July 31, 1912 and he died November 16, 2006. I started posting tributes of him on July 31 and I hope to continue them until his 100th birthday. Here is another tribute below:

TEMIN: We don’t think the big capital arose before the government did?
VON HOFFMAN: Listen, what are we doing here? I mean __ defending big government is like defending death and taxes. When was the last time you met anybody that was in favor of big government?
FRIEDMAN: Today, today I met Bob Lekachman, I met __
LEKACHMAN: But that’s not to say __ with discrimination __not per se.
VON HOFFMAN: You’re in favor of certain functions __
FRIEDMAN: I make a living by making distinctions, after all. Certainly not without qualification.
MCKENZIE: Von Hoffman, you have the floor.
VON HOFFMAN: What I was going to say is, I think most of us are not in favor of big government as a theory. The question that keeps haunting me here is, how do you, going back to your question of just the monetary regulation, how do you make __ and let’s assume that you can really, we’ll go a step further and we’ll say __ we’ll go all the way with you. We will install that mechanism. What makes you think that when the storms arise that, that the people running that mechanism are not going to misread, just as they did in the past?
FRIEDMAN: Because I’m gonna have __ if I had my way I would have a mechanism which didn’t require them to read anything.
VON HOFFMAN: In other words, simply a money formula.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.
VON HOFFMAN: Is cranked out in relation to the GNP regardless.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
TEMIN: The question is: How are you going to keep from tampering with this black box? Would you have a thing __
FRIEDMAN: I’m not gonna have a black box; I’m gonna have a very visible system. I have written out, as you know __
TEMIN: No, I know. Yeah, but the question is, no, you have the rule __
FRIEDMAN: __ at relative great length and precise details on what I would do.
TEMIN: __ it will calculate this, but then there’s going to be someone who’ll come in, the people that you dislike, they’ll say, “But we could do it a little bit better by doing it this way or that way.”
FRIEDMAN: Of course. Of course.
TEMIN: How will you keep them from doing it?
FRIEDMAN: Well, in the only way in which you can do it in a democratic society, by establishing both a written and an unwritten __ and the unwritten is just as important as the written __ an unwritten constitution on the part of the public at large, an acceptance of the view, that this is not what people in government ought to be doing. That it’s their problem
VON HOFFMAN: A highly sacred measure of __
FRIEDMAN: Well, if you want, but not necessarily sacred in the theological sense.
JAY: It’s unfair of people to say, Professor Friedman, he’s a bad doctor because people won’t actually take his medicine. I mean that is, that is not fair. But it does seem to me, and I say it again, that to reduce the whole debate to one, are you in favor of big government or small government, as though that is the only interesting or important political-economic choice we had to make, is very foolish.
FRIEDMAN: That is very foolish. I agree.
JAY: But __ and if you put it in that form, in practice in democratic societies, people will go on backing, supporting, and paying for big government. Because unless you __ in addition to pointing out the errors, defects, weaknesses, fallibilities, failures or government, you also describe in some detail, and to some attraction, the other changes that you’re going to make in the nongovernmental sector of the economy, which are going to give people the kind of protection, the kind of opportunities, the kind of fulfillment, the kind of stability, the kind of prosperity that they want. They are not going to buy it because you’re offering them a pig in the poke, and they will see it, whether or not you approve of the phrase, or whether or not I approve of the phrase, there’s going back to something which they’re glad to have got away from.
TEMIN: The question of how you draw the lines, and where you draw the lines is a difficult one, and I can’t see any possible way of somehow making a decision on that will stand like __ like the Rock of Gibraltar against all comers.
LEKACHMAN: I don’t think that the public is going to, nor should it, choose ideologically. I think it’s going to favor and disfavor certain activities of government out of its experience, by its perception of what’s good in its own interests and so on. And my __ I don’t preclude the possibility that there will be a different mixture of perceptions by the public which will lead to a shift in the functions of government. But I think it’s at least as possible that after the shift occurs, government will be perceived to have more functions as that it will have fewer functions.
VON HOFFMAN: It seems to me also that you could have the monetary policy that you are talking about, and have the very big HEW etcetera.
OFF SCREEN: Absolutely. Oh, yes.
VON HOFFMAN: And more easily.
FRIEDMAN: Unfortunately, you’re right.
VON HOFFMAN: Now could you dilate on that?
FRIEDMAN: No, no I __
VON HOFFMAN: No, I mean it, seriously.
FRIEDMAN: I agree with you. I agree with Nick. These are separable issues. And Peter Jay will agree with that, too. In fact he and I are in almost complete agreement on the desirable monetary policy. Where we differ is on these other policies, and there is certainly no doubt that you could have an essentially automatic stabilizing monetary policy of the kind which I’ve suggested, of a fixed rate of monetary growth, no discretionary intervention for cyclical purposes, and at the same time have a very big government on HEW, have all sorts of regulation, have tariffs and all other things. With respect to Peter Jay’s more general statement, it’s impossible not to agree with his statement, because it’s __ it concentrates on objectives and not on means. And the real issue has to do with means. What are the most appropriate and effective means which will give people the greatest assurance __ you can’t give them certainty __ but the greatest assurance that they will have a reasonably stable society with opportunity for themselves and their children, for their needs, for their wants. Of course.
MCKENZIE: We must end the discussion for this week and hope you’ll join us again for the next edition of Free to Choose.
November 8, 2011 – 12:08 am Categories: Milton Friedman | Post a comment

Review of Carl Sagan book (Part 4 of series on Evolution)jh68

Review of Carl Sagan book (Part 4 of series on Evolution)

The Long War against God-Henry Morris, part 5 of 6

Uploaded by on Aug 30, 2010

http://www.icr.org/
http://store.icr.org/prodinfo.asp?number=BLOWA2
http://store.icr.org/prodinfo.asp?number=BLOWASG
http://www.fliptheworldupsidedown.com/blog

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This is a review I did a few years ago.

THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. New York: Random House, 1995. 457 pages, extensive references, index. Hardcover; $25.95.
PSCF 48 (December 1996): 263.
Sagan is the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University. He is author of many best sellers, including Cosmos, which became the most widely read science book ever published in the English language.
In this book Sagan discusses the claims of the paranormal and fringe-science. For instance, he examines closely such issues as astrology (p. 303), crop circles (p. 75), channelers (pp. 203-206), UFO abductees (pp. 185-186), faith-healing fakes (p. 229), and witch-hunting (p. 119). Readers of The Skeptical Inquirer will notice that Sagan’s approach is very similar.
Sagan writes:
The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is an organization of scientists, academics, magicians, and others dedicated to skeptical scrutiny of emerging or full-blown pseudo-sciences. It was founded by the University of Buffalo philosopher Paul Kurtz in 1976. I’ve been affiliated with it since its beginning. Its acronym, CSICOP, is pronounced Asci-cop C as if it’s an organization of scientists performing a police function Y CSICOP publishes a bimonthly periodical called AThe Skeptical Inquirer. On the day it arrives, I take it home from the office and pore through its pages, wondering what new misunderstandings will be revealed (p. 299).
Sagan points out that in 1991 two pranksters in England admitted that they had been making crop figures for 15 years. They flattened the wheat with a heavy steel bar. Later on they used planks and ropes, but the media paid brief attention to the confession of these hoaxers. Why? Sagan concludes, ‘Demons sell; hoaxers are boring and in bad taste’ (p. 76).
Christians must admire Sagan’s commitment to critical thinking, logic, and freedom of thought. He takes on many subjects in this book, and the vast majority of his analysis is exceptional. However, his opinions on religious matters are affected by his devotion to scientism. Sagan believes only that which can be proved by science is true. He disputes psychologist Charles Tart’s assertion that scientism is ‘dehumanizing, despiritualizing’ (p. 267). Sagan comments, ‘There is very little doubt that, in the everyday world, matter (and energy) exist. The evidence is all around us. In contrast, as I’ve mentioned earlier the evidence for something non-material called `spirit’ or `soul’ is very much in doubt’ (p. 267).
Science can only prove things about the physical world, and it cannot prove anything about the spiritual world. Does that mean that the mind and soul don’t exist? Of course not! First, we must realize that science is not the only way to truth. Even Sagan must admit that he must justify values like ‘be objective’ or ‘report data honestly’. Where do those values come from? They came from outside science, but they must be in place for science to work.
Sagan gives an illustration that contrasts physics and metaphysics. He shows that the physicist’s idea will have to be discarded if tests fail in the laboratory. Therefore, the main difference between physics and metaphysics is that the metaphysicist has no laboratory. This is a cute story, but can science answer the basic questions that underline all knowledge? Metaphysics is necessary for science to take place. It is not true that science is superior to metaphysics like Sagan would have us believe. The presuppositions of science can only be validated by philosophy. J. P. Moreland has correctly said, ‘The validation of science is a philosophical issue, not a scientific one, and any claim to the contrary will be a self-refuting philosophical claim’ (Scaling the Secular City, p. 197).
Second, the absence of scientific evidence for the soul does not mean the soul does not exist. Sagan himself states, ‘Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’ (p. 213).
I was impressed with the way Sagan put his inner thoughts on the table. For instance, he comments, ‘Plainly, there’s something within me that’s ready to believe in life after death…If some good evidence for life after death was announced, I’d be eager to examine it; but it would have to be real scientific data, not mere anecdote’ (pp. 203-204). What kind of evidence is Sagan looking for? It certainly is not vague prophecies. He states, ‘Think of how many religions attempt to validate themselves with prophecy…Think of how many people rely on these prophecies, however vague, however unfulfilled, to support or prop up their beliefs…Yet has there ever been a religion with the prophetic accuracy and reliability of science? (p. 30). The answer to that question is yes. Christianity can point to very clear passages such as Isaiah 53 and Daniel 11 written hundreds of years before the events occurred.
While comparing science to religion, Sagan comments, ‘Science is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It’s just the best we have (pp. 27-28). Here Sagan is only half right. Science is imperfect, but it is not better than the Bible.’
The Demon-Haunted Worldis a thought-provoking book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Some of Sagan’s anti-Christian views come through, but on the whole, this book uses critical thinking and logic and applies them to the claims of the paranormal and fringe-science of our day.
Reviewed by Everette Hatcher III, P.O. Box 23416, Little Rock, AR 72221.

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Atheist says “It’s not about having a purpose in life..” (Arkansas Atheist, Part 1)

The Bible and Archaeology (1/5) The Bible maintains several characteristics that prove it is from God. One of those is the fact that the Bible is accurate in every one of its details. The field of archaeology brings to light this amazing accuracy. _________________________- I want to make two points today. 1. There is no […]

Ancient Sea Monsters (A Creationist point of view Part 3)

Leviathan: the Fire-Breathing Dragon: Kent Hovind [6 of 7] Everybody is trying to get info on this subject. Here is what the Bible has to say about it. Mace Baker wrote the aritcle, “Sea Dragons – The Institute for Creation Research,” and here is the third portion of that article:  Pterosaurs were the flying reptiles of the ancient world. Why […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)Other posts concerning Carl Sagan:

Atheists confronted: How I confronted Carl Sagan the year before he died

In today’s news you will read about Kirk Cameron taking on the atheist Stephen Hawking over some recent assertions he made concerning the existence of heaven. Back in December of 1995 I had the opportunity to correspond with Carl Sagan about a year before his untimely death. Sarah Anne Hughes in her article,”Kirk Cameron criticizes […]

November 8, 2011 – 12:01 am Categories: Atheists Confronted, Current Events | Post a comment

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 2) jh71

Johnny Majors broke the streak of Alabama victories over Tennessee with this victory over Bama pictured below.

Image Detail

When Johnny Majors was introduced today at the Little Rock Touchdown Club, it was mentioned that he caused a stir back in 2005 with his previous visit to the Little Rock Touchdown Club. Here is an article from ESPN on that visit:

Updated: November 22, 2005, 9:15 AM ET

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Johnny Majors has made it clear in the past he was not happy with the way he left Tennessee. Majors was fired in 1992, and his assistant, Phillip Fulmer, succeeded him.

On Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club, Majors said he still has fond memories of Tennessee, but he drew a laugh from the crowd full of Arkansas fans when a took a small dig at Fulmer.

“I don’t pull against those players up there,” Majors said. “But I don’t have any regard for Judas Brutus, who’s coaching up there.”

Fulmer, the current coach of the Volunteers, was a top assistant to Majors when Majors underwent heart surgery in 1992, and took over the team for three victories while Majors was recovering. He was named head coach following Majors’ dismissal.

A call to the Tennessee sports information office seeking comment from Fulmer was not returned.

Majors spoke for about 45 minutes, entertaining the crowd with stories about his playing days at Tennessee, his years as an assistant to Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, and a head coaching career that spanned almost three decades.

Majors was a star running back at Tennessee during the 1950s, finishing second to Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung in the ’56 Heisman Trophy race. He went 184-137-10 as a head coach at Iowa State, Tennessee and Pittsburgh.

He led Pitt to the 1976 national title, then left a few days later to coach Tennessee. He spent 16 seasons there, but missed the first three games in 1992 while he recovered from heart bypass surgery. The Volunteers, coached by Fulmer, got off to a 3-0 start.

Majors unexpectedly returned and Tennessee lost three of its next five games. With three games left, the university said Majors would not return for another season. He later went back to Pitt.

Majors has returned to Tennessee’s campus only a few times since stepping down as coach, but he was there last month for a tribute to his 1985 team that won the Sugar Bowl.

“They’ve been great to me and my family for a long, long time since I went there as a freshman in 1953.” Majors said Monday. “I am not a bitter man, I am not an angry man. I am having too much of a good time living.”

Majors amused the Razorback partisans with his comments about Tennessee, but they appeared just as interested when he talked about his experiences at Arkansas. Majors became an assistant on the Razorbacks’ staff in 1964, the year Arkansas went 11-0 and finished ranked No. 1 by the Football Writers Association of America.

Arkansas shut out its last five regular-season opponents that year before beating Nebraska 10-7 in the Cotton Bowl.

“When they don’t score, it’s pretty hard to lose,” Majors said.

Majors became the coach at Iowa State in 1968, where his assistants included Jimmy Johnson, Jackie Sherrill and Larry Lacewell.

Lacewell, who went on to coach at Arkansas State, was in the audience Monday. Majors took the opportunity to needle him a bit.

“Larry Lacewell, Jimmy Johnson and Jackie Sherrill were on my first staff up there. Man, they had all the answers,” he said with a touch of sarcasm.

Majors went to Pitt in 1973, taking over a team that had won one game the previous season and eventually winning a national title. After a 16-year stay at Tennessee, he went back to coach the Panthers, trying to resurrect the program for a second time. But he went 11-32 in his second stint and retired at the end of the 1996 season.

Majors said he never forgot the lessons he learned from Broyles and the rest of the Arkansas staff, and he still has an obvious soft spot for the school and its supporters.

“There’s none better anywhere in the country than the Arkansas Razorback fans,” he said. “You have a stellar group here.”


Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Iowa State Cyclones (Big Eight Conference) (1968–1972)
1968 Iowa State 3–7 1–6 7th      
1969 Iowa State 3–7 1–6 7th      
1970 Iowa State 5–6 1–6 T–6th      
1971 Iowa State 8–4 4–3 4th L Sun 17  
1972 Iowa State 5–6–1 2–4–1 5th L Liberty    
Iowa State: 24–30–1 9–25–1  
Pittsburgh Panthers (Independent) (1973–1976)
1973 Pittsburgh 6–5–1     L Fiesta    
1974 Pittsburgh 7–4          
1975 Pittsburgh 8–4     W Sun 13 15
1976 Pittsburgh 12–0     W Sugar 1 1
Tennessee Volunteers (Southeastern Conference) (1977–1992)
1977 Tennessee 4–7 1–5 8th      
1978 Tennessee 5–5–1 3–3 T–4th      
1979 Tennessee 7–5 3–3 T–5th L Bluebonnet    
1980 Tennessee 5–6 3–3 6th      
1981 Tennessee 8–4 3–3 T–4th W Garden State    
1982 Tennessee 6–5–1 3–2–1 5th L Peach    
1983 Tennessee 9–3 4–2 T–3rd W Citrus    
1984 Tennessee 7–4–1 3–3 T–5th L Sun    
1985 Tennessee 9–1–2 5–1 1st W Sugar 4 4
1986 Tennessee 7–5 3–3 6th W Liberty    
1987 Tennessee 10–2–1 4–1–1 3rd W Peach 13 14
1988 Tennessee 5–6 3–4 T–6th      
1989 Tennessee 11–1 6–1 T–1st W Cotton 5 5
1990 Tennessee 9–2–2 5–1–1 1st W Sugar 7 8
1991 Tennessee 9–3 5–2 3rd L Fiesta 15 14
1992 Tennessee 5–3* 3–3* 3rd (East)* * 12* 12*
Tennessee: 116–62–8 57–40–3  
Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East Conference) (1993–1996)
1993 Pittsburgh 3–8 2–5 6th      
1994 Pittsburgh 3–8 2–5 7th      
1995 Pittsburgh 2–9 0–7 8th      
1996 Pittsburgh 4–7 3–4 5th      
Pittsburgh: 45–45–1 7–21 *Three early games and the Bowl game are credited to Phillip Fulmer.
Total: 185–137–10  
      National Championship         Conference Title         Conference Division Title
#Rankings from final Coaches’ Poll.
°Rankings from final AP Poll.

Johnny Majors
Majors in 2009
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born May 21, 1935 (age 76)
Place of birth Lynchburg, Tennessee
Playing career
1954–1956
1957		 Tennessee
Montreal Alouettes
Position(s) Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1957
1958–1959
1960–1963
1964–1967
1968–1972
1973–1976
1977–1992
1993–1996		 Tennessee (GA)
Tennessee (backfield)
Mississippi State (DB)
Arkansas (assistant)
Iowa State
Pittsburgh
Tennessee
Pittsburgh
Head coaching record
Overall 185–137–10
Bowls 9–7
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 National (1976)
3 SEC (1985, 1989–1990)
Awards
All-American, 1956
2x SEC MVP (1955–1956)
Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1973)
AFCA Coach of the Year (1976)
Sporting News College Football COY (1976)
SEC Coach of the Year (1985)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1987 (profile)
November 7, 2011 – 2:57 pm Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

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Houston Nutt will resign at end of season

I am surprised myself. Take a look at this below from ESPN:

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt will resign at the end of this season, the university announced Monday afternoon.

Nutt

Nutt

Nutt will coach the Rebels’ last three games this year, said athletic director Pete Boone, who also announced Monday he will step down within the next year.

Ole Miss (2-7, 0-6 SEC) has lost 12 straight Southeastern Conference games dating back to last season. The Rebels are assured of a second straight losing season under Nutt, who is 24-23 in his four years in Oxford.

Coming over to Mississippi from Arkansas in 2008, Nutt led the Rebels to nine victories in each of his first two seasons, including back-to-back Cotton Bowl wins.

Nutt, who is earning approximately $2.7 million this season, has a $6 million buyout clause in his contract, Boone said.

Chris Low and Edward Aschoff cover SEC football for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

November 7, 2011 – 2:51 pm Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

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Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 1)jh70

Below is a picture of Lane Kiffin with Johnny Majors.

Image Detail

Today Johnny Majors spoke at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. Majors told several revealing stories about his time at Arkansas from 1964-1968 when he was an assistant coach under Frank Broyles. One of the funniest stories concerned fellow assistant coach Jim MacKenzie who knew how to play Broyles at times according to Majors.

One such occasion the assistant coaches were being pressed into working long hours by Broyles during a time that Broyles thought he needed to see some progress with the team. Earlier the assistant coaches had been allowed to leave at noon and go fishing or play golf when the razorbacks had been winning almost all their games.

It was in July and Majors and some of the other coaches wanted to go play golf. Coach Broyles came into the room and asked how things were going. Coach MacKenzie asked Broyles what were the shots Broyles had on the first hole on Augusta when he got that 72. Broyles went to the chalk board and erased the plays and began to draw the placement of the ball on the first hole as he outlined the birdie he got .

By the time Broyles recalled the first 5 holes, he put down the chalk and said that it appeared we were all caught up around here and we should go play some golf!!!!

Johnny Majors

Over and over today, Majors talked about his respect for Coach Broyles. In this article below Johnny Majors lists the top coaches of all time and he includes Frank Broyles who hired Majors as an assistant.

Former Tennessee star, coach Johnny Majors says new Vols coach Derek Dooley will succeed if given time

Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 7:00 AM

Derek Dooley may not have been the first choice to replace Lane Kiffin as head coach at Tennessee, but he was the right choice, said former Tennessee All-American and coach Johnny Majors.

The son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley “knows how to coach,” Majors said, and he’ll get the job done if given the opportunity.

“I think he’ll do very well,” Majors said before speaking at the Cellular South 1st and 10 Club Monday night at Heron Lakes Country Club. “I think he was a very good pick. I’ve been an advocate of his the last two or three years since I’ve got to know him at a lot of coaching clinics.

“I’ve known him since he was a kid. … He’s got a good background, he’s intelligent, competent and … he’s learned a lot by osmosis, being around his dad and being raised up by his dad.”

The keys for Dooley are getting the time and power to turn around a program in decline, Majors said.

“It’s going to take time,” Majors said. “I think they’re going to have a very challenging struggle this year, very challenging — the most since I took over. It took us five or six years. … He’s got a tough job.

“People ask, ‘Do you think they’ll give him time?’ I tell them, ‘Frankly speaking, they don’t have a choice.’ … It’s been a mess for several years. They’ve had a tough time finding a president. They’ve had three presidents that didn’t last. So they need to learn how to hire the right person and stay with that person.

“They’ve got no choice. They’re going to have to tough it out. If you’ve got a strong back and strong spine and strong-minded, loyal person you’re working for (it’s easier). Its been a mess and they’re going to have to give him a chance to get it straightened out.”

Majors said he believes the Vols were headed in the right direction with Lane Kiffin, who led the program for one year before leaving for Southern Cal.

“Kiffin took over a bad situation,” Majors said. “After me, he took over the job in the worst situation it’s been in. No question about it. It’s been going that way, downhill, for 10 years at least, especially the last three.

“Lane Kiffin would have won there. He stopped the bleeding. He stopped a runaway truck. You don’t want a runaway truck, an 18-wheeler, going down the Sewanee Mountain. He got it braked and turned the cab sideways and was going to turn it back uphill. He would have won there, because they knew how to coach.”

Coaching drove Majors for many years, not only at Tennessee, but also at Iowa State and twice at Pitt, where he won the 1976 national championship. Before that, he was SEC MVP twice and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy his senior year.

“I don’t remember my first spoken word or my first conscious thought, but surely I can’t remember when I didn’t love football,” Majors said. “I think it’s a great game.”

Although it’s a different game than when he played or even coached, the best level of football, in his opinion, is still special.

That’s why he still loves to watch the game, why he loves watching other men coach the game, especially the great ones. One of those coaches is a Dooley mentor for whom he served as an assistant for seven years — Alabama’s Nick Saban.

“There’s no one that can coach ’em up any better than Saban can,” Majors said. “Intensity, focus, discipline, tenacious, clever, keeps his eyes on the bull’s-eye. He’s very demanding of his coaches and they have a great amount of respect for him. … Saban knows how to coach.”

Others on that list would include Frank Broyles, Vince Lombardi, Vince Dooley and Bear Bryant, among others, Majors said.

The College Football Hall of Fame member said he hopes Derek Dooley will make that list by leading Tennessee back to its glory years.

“Watching (Tennessee) practice, he’s made an impression on me,” Majors said. “He can coach. … But they’re going to have to give him a chance.”

McGill-Toolen’s E.J. May (defense) and Mary Montgomery’s Harrison Corley (offense) were recognized at the meeting as the Cellular South student-athletes of the week.

The next 1st and 10 Club meeting is on Sept. 20 with ESPN college football analyst Joe Schad as the guest speaker.

November 7, 2011 – 2:00 pm Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

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