CHECK OUT THIS STORY.  I can totally understand what was going on down in this scuffle.  There is always a bunch of Methodist cruising around in 15 passenger vans down by our seminary looking for trouble with their open hearts, open minds and open doors.  There is nothing worse than a gang of Wesleyans hopped up from their ice cream socials trying to bait us Baptist into a fight.  Now and again we give them what they're asking for and send them scurrying back to their Bishop with their tails between their legs...

Ok, It does not have have the same ring as Bagelfest, and I am not exactly sure what they would serve for breakfast in downtown Mattoon (sparkling water and sodas?) but it was announced today that Mattoon will be getting a 1.5 billion dollar coal generation plant that sequesters carbon in geological formations instead of putting it into the atmosphere (FutureGen).  This plant will also experiment with coal gasification on a large scale to create hydrogen gas.  Considering that the United States is the Saudi Arabia of Coal deposits, this experimental coal plant could be an important piece of our future energy puzzle.  Global consequences not withstanding, it could also be a tremendous benefit to my hometown of Mattoon both directly and the indirect ripple effect of other connected businesses.

I do not live in Mattoon anymore and probably never will (by God's will) but I like to see good things happen for the place that I lived the first 18 years of my life.   My parents still live just north of town and their place out in the country is becoming a great base of operation for National Guard duty.  My armory is just 15 minutes down the road in Sullivan and the road I take goes right past the proposed site of the FutureGen plant.  Hopefully I will get to see it constructed in the upcoming years.  I would also like to give my Mom her props for taking such good care of me on my Guard weekends.  She has been itching to see a Fear and Trembling post that was not about how she scared me emotionally.  All joking aside, a finer Mom cannot be found and I appreciate all that she does for me.  Being home once a month has been nice and in addition to visiting I can help my old Pop with some of his heavy duty chores.  Now that he has moved out among the Amish, he has the urge to fell trees and split logs for the long Illinois winter.  Thankfully, he already has a barn-like structure so no barn raising for the time being.    

Many of you readers received the email that I was not going to be promoted this weekend, but to my surprise I took the officer oath and started my mission as a Chaplain Candidate in a unit preparing for deployment.  I was an officer for less than an hour when I was thrown into the battalion staff's year-long preparation for deployment to a combat zone.  I can honestly say that I have not heard so many acronyms used in such a short period of time.  There is certainly a learning curve to deal with here. 

Before the end of the briefings I was fairly confident in what my role (as a chaplain candidate staying at the home station during deployment) is going to be.  I will be spearheading the efforts to build up the civilian staffed (spouses of soldiers, etc) Family Readiness Group.  The FRG is the Army's efforts to support the families of deployed soldiers and is a key part of unit readiness.  A soldier that is secure in that knowledge that his family will be taken care of in his absence, is a soldier who can focus on his mission. 

It also became clear that I will be putting in many more hours that just the normal drill weekends and I am not sure that I will be able to continue my part time job back here in Louisville.  Although I think that the Clarksville Olive Garden is probably the best restaurant that I have ever worked at,  I enjoy my job and I become fond of my co-workers,  I cannot foresee being able to continue there in addition to school and my military duties.  Financially, it will be a wash so this is not too much of a problem.  This move also lets me stay focused on ministry instead making sure I keep the breadsticks full.

For years, Tracy and I have had about one fight per year and it was always within a day or two of her birthday, "ruining it... again"  This year, no fight, Danni made her a cake, and she claims to have a good birthday.  Of coarse the bar was set really low, but isn't the key to happiness lowered expectations? 

Happy Birthday Tracy!

I have decided that in addition to contributing, I am going to get involved in the campaign of Mike Huckabee.  It has been a long time since there was a candidate that I have felt strongly about and even longer since I felt optimistic about politics.  In my early twenties I went through a liberal phase in which I questioned everything that I believed to be true.  This phase was just before my conversion and during this time I bought my first pair of Birkenstocks,  chased after little hippie chicks, and voted for Bill Clinton!  (SEE THIS POST FOR THE FULL STORY).  I regretted that 1992 Presidential vote (my first time voting in a Presidential election) and became pessimistic about politics in general.  Needless to say, I came back around to conservative views that are now founded on a much more solid foundations and even though I firmly believe that salvation is not found in the political activities of mankind, I see a need for a government that governs wisely and justly without the constant stream backroom deals coming to light (both parties!)

Is Mike Huckabee that candidate to reverse this pessimism that is shared by much of America?  I do not see Mike Huckabee connected to a large political machine like the Clinton's or Karl Rove's and at this point he seems like the true grass roots candidate that represents good governance, not just good politics.  Perhaps Mike Huckabee will be the Next Jimmy Carter and will suffer for not being as connected as previous Presidents, but maybe he is the next Ronald Regan who can communicate to a large swath of Americans and bring some civility to our ever more divisive political debate.  Maybe Mike Huckabee is the kind of President who can govern people from all walks of life.  I want a President that  can draw support on important issues from people who disagree with him but can trust that he has a basic respect for all people.  I believe that his response to the Log Cabin Republicans is an example of this type of leadership.  In the last debate, Huckabee clearly said to this Gay and Lesbian Republican group that he does not support gay marriage and other gay issues, but he was asking for their support anyway. 

For all of you that read this blog, I am posting a link to help you contribute to this campaign financially.  Mitt and Rudy have giant bank accounts, trust funds and political war chest to run their campaign, but Mike Huckabee has taken first place in the national polls on nothing but his message and his labor.    

First NameLast NameAmount$20.08$50$75$100$250$500$1500$2300

I have been doing serious blogging for over a year now and sometime yesterday I reached 10,000 hits on my site.  I have had a wide variety of readers from friends and family to those who have reached my site from Google searches.  I am thankful for all of you who read, comment and keep returning.  I would love to make it more easy to leave comments on my post by moving this site to a more blog-centric host instead of Microsoft's answer to MySpace, but i just have not had the time and have not gotten over the learning curve of creating the kind of site that I have in mind.  As it stands now, I just click a button, write my post and click the publish button to send the post out into cyber space.

I am also surprised at my retuning interest in politics lately.  I was a political science major in college and even in high school I was talking about running for President someday.  Those dreams have changed considerably but if there was a groundswell of support and the people demanded it, I would reconsider a run for the Presidency of the United States :) I would have to hire some serious handlers for my wife however.  I can only imagine what Tracy would do as First Lady and there is also the K factor to consider.  K would make the Bush Twins look like Stepford daughters.  Can you say international incident?  

I want to clarify that Romney's Mormonism is not the only factor in my decision to support Huckabee.  Of even more importance is Mitt Romney's questionable stance on social issues that are important to me and a general inability to relate to me as a voter.  I do not believe in religious test, in general, for candidates for President and have been annoyed by many of the questions posed to the Republican candidates.  (like, do you believe that every word of the Bible is true).  My concerns about Romney is not about any sort of direct action on the part of Romney in advancing the LDS church, it is the overall legitimacy that his Presidency would bring to a religious group that I believe to be dangerous and heretical. 

As far as the relational part of my opposition goes, it is the fact that Romney is a child of privilege that bothers me versus Huckabee who is from blue collar roots like my own.  There is something about an underdog that appeals to most Americans (disclaimer: I am a cub fan too) and to date Romney has spent over 7 million dollars in the Iowa campaign compared to the meager 400,000 that Huckabee has spent.  Can a private school kid who has been raised in the halls of power understand the pressures on those of use that are on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale?  I will not say that this is impossible, but Mike Huckabee has been there as the son of a fireman/mechanic father and mother who was a clerk.  There has been some criticism of Huckabee's "liberalism" but is it liberalism or an understanding that there is a place for government to protect those who have less power and influence than corporate America.  I am pro-business, but I understand that left unchecked, the push for profits will always trump the rights of workers.  In the long run this hurts, not helps, business in America.

Mike Huckabee has the chance to draw away the union vote that has been squarely in the Democrats camp for so long.  There were many members of my old church in Tolono who vote Democrat despite their disagreement with that party on a whole host of other issues, such as abortion.  Why do they vote Democrat?  They are all union members who see the Republican party as representatives of big business.  Is this true?  There is certainly an aspect of this among the Republicans, but it does not have to be this way.  Electing a Republican President that has a more meager background would be a step in the right direction.  Is Huckabee liberal or just less "connected" than past Republican leaders? I want to see the Republican part move away from the Carl Roves of the world and more toward grass roots leaders like Mike Huckabee who can relate to people who have traditionally voted Democrat like African-Americans, union members. 

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