Native of Hope, AR Desires Presidency

 Former President William Jefferson Clinton is not the subject of this post; although I am sure he still desires the Presidency. There is another son of Hope, AR who desires the office of President of the United States, and like Mr. Clinton, the man of whom I speak is also a Southern Baptist, a former Governor of Arkansas, and is a former chair of the National Governors Association.

Those are about the only similarities between Mr. Clinton and Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee (Doesn’t that name just scream Arkansas?) was a guest on MSNBC’s Jan. 28 Meet the Press. Tim Russert asked Mr. Huckabee why he was running for President. Here is Huckabee’s answer:

I think America needs positive, optimistic leadership to kind of turn this country around, to see a revival of our national soul, and to reclaim a sense of, of the greatness of this country that we love, and also to help bring people together to find a practical solution to a lot of the issues that people really worry about when they sit around the dinner table and talk at night.

Are you asking yourself, “Who is Mike Huckabee?” I’ll admit that until yesterday all I knew about him was that as a Republican he twice won the Governor’s office by a landslide in a yellow-dog democrat state. Here is what I learned today.

According to Wikipedia:

He graduated magna cum laude from Ouachita Baptist University, completing his bachelors degree in 2 1/2 years before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to his political career, Huckabee was pastor of several Southern Baptist churches in Arkadelphia, Texarkana, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He served as President of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1989 to 1991 and as President of a religious-oriented television station.

You might think the above information alone would be enough for me to vote for him were he to receive the Republication nomination. You would be wrong. First of all, just because someone is a Baptist does not mean they automatically qualify for public office. Second, if God has called this man to the gospel ministry why is he running for President? Why was he the Governor of Arkansas? As you would expect, leaving the pulpit for politics was one topic Russert addressed, and he quoted Huckabee from early in his political career. Here are those quotes (taken from the MTP transcript linked above):

“Huckabee … explained why he left pastoring for politics. ‘I didn’t get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn’t have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives.’” And then this: “I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ.”

I wholeheartedly agree that the real answer is in repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I disagree with the notion of “taking the nation back for Christ” on two levels. First, when was this nation ever Christ’s? Yes, I fully believe that our great nation was founded on Biblical principles, but it is a fallacy to refer to this nation as ever being truly Christian. Second, Christ ordained that we reach our communities through evangelistic not political effort. The greatest affect that a person can make on his community, his state, his nation is to honestly, exhaustively, passionately, boldly, and persistently proclaim the gospel. The government can’t save you, but the gospel does.

Listen, before you political activist types turn deep shades of red; I think that Christians should hold political office, but I think that “reclaim America for Christ” soundbites are just plain unBiblical and untenable on the national level. Accordingly, when Russert pressed Huckabee about that quote Huckabee said:

Well, I think I—I’d probably phrase it a little differently today.

Now that I have that off my chest, let me say this; Huckabee does have a solid conservative track record, especially on crucial social issues such as abortion and marriage, and he is a proponent of creationism. I’m all for that! Some conservatives have criticised his fiscal policies. The CATO Institute, a conservative think-tank, gave him an “F” for his last term as Governor and a “D” overall. The reason for such a low-ranking is mainly because he increased spending and raised taxes. You can read his fiscal policy defense in the MTP transcript.

Here is one final quote from Huckabee:

“One of the reasons that I’m running for president is because I think that America needs folks who understand what it is to start at the bottom of the ladder and climb their way to the top. We’ve got a lot of people who are born on third base and think they’ve hit a triple. “America loves an underdog. America loves people who have had to struggle and for whom every rung of the ladder has been sometimes three rungs up and two back down, Thank God for the one you’ve gained, and keep climbing”.

Will Huckabee receive the Rebublican nomination? I doubt it. As a conservative, however, I would feel much more comfortable with a Huckabee than a Giuliani.

Bengals Make the Headlines Again!

 Those crazy Bengals are back in the sports headlines. Not because they’re going to the Super Bowl. By the way, just imagine what it would be like to have this Bengals team in Miami! Who knows how many players would have been arrested before the game. Had the Bengals made it to Miami, Carson Palmer, Brian Simmons, and Willie Anderson would have been forced to play both ways; not because of injuries, but because of incarcerations.

The Bengals are back in the news because Chris Henry has been sentenced to serve some jail time. So it appears that Henry will be wearing stripes of a different color, at least for a couple of days.

Don’t Call Me…I’ll Call You

That’s what Kelvin Sampson heard for much of tonight’s game. The Illini fans taunted coach Sampson for not calling Bruce Weber when coveted recruit Eric Gordon started waffling on his oral commitment to Illinois. Somebody should have called the IU offense because it left the arena shortly after tipoff and it never returned. The Hoosiers began the game by draining seven of their first ten shots; after that it was one wrong number after another.Much was made of Kelvin Sampson “stealing” stud recruit Eric Gordon from Bruce Weber’s Illini. The only thing Sampson is guilty of is poor etiquette. Yes, he owed Weber a phone call; a phone call explaining that Gordon wanted out of his oral commitment to Illinois in order to play his college ball in the real Assembly Hall. You know, the Assembly Hall that has five national championship banners hanging from the rafters. Sampson should have called. The irony is that here is a guy who was slapped with NCAA sanctions because he racked up an obscene number of minutes to recruits. Evidently his troubles have caused him to become nervous around the telephone.

But Samspon didn’t steal Gordon. The North Central star only committed to Weber last year because of all the uncertainty surrounding IU’s program, and the young man was right. Mike Davis resigned before the season was over. Gordon had no idea who would be hired to take the helm of the once powerful program. (Too bad IU hasn’t been a major player in the NCAA since Gordon was in diapers.) With the swift hiring of Kelvin Sampson, and with the return of all the players except for Vaden and whatshisname from Europe (really, I can’t remember his name) Gordon realized that he’d much rather be in Bloomington than Champaign.

I wish he was there now.

The anemic offense that was on display this evening is in desperate need of Gordon’s skills. The Illini were up 49-40, not at the half, but with 20.9 seconds left in the game; one point a minute. Pathetic.

Don’t misunderstand me. I like what Sampson has done with this team, and I think that he will restore some of the shine to this rusty and dusty program. This was his first “bad loss”, however, and after beating an athletic UCONN squad in Hartford, and after cracking into the Top 25 in both polls, being beat down by a weak Illinois team is unimpressive. About as unimpressive as one point a minute.

Is anyone else tired of seeing DJ White with the ball 30′ from the basket? Is anyone else tired of the team launching a three every other time down the floor? Sure, it’s great when they go down, but when they don’t…well, you get one point a minute.

Just once, I’d love to see Wilmont curl off a White screen in the lane for either a 12 footer or a pass to White as he rolled to the hoop.

Just once.

That will happen about as soon as Sampson finds Weber’s phone number.

Read any good books lately?

If you’re like most people, neither you or your children have read any books lately. Our culture has increasingly become video and picture oriented rather than text oriented. Books have been shelved. They are disregarded, and when one does take up a book, it is often seen as a chore or an “assignment”. Who wants another job to do? Nobody, and so, books are put away to look nice in the bookcase and collect dust with the other household antiques.

Of course, you are currently reading a blog. Perhaps you feel that I’ve overstated the issue, but a blog is not a book. Al Mohler has written an interesting article on this topic – Defining Literacy –Do Your Kids Read Books? I encourage you to read his article, and the Washington Post article that he cites. I do, however, want to provide you with this small excerpt:

Reading is an important Christian discipline. Further, growth as a Christian disciple is closely tied to the reading of the Bible, as well as worthy Christian books…A loss of literacy and respect for the book amounts to grave danger for the Christian…The electronic media have their places and uses, and I am thankful for the accessibility of so much worthy and important information through digital means. Nevertheless, the electronic screen is not the venue for lengthy, thoughtful, serious reading. The vehicle for serious reading is the book, and the Christian should be a serious reader.

Not only are leaders readers, but Christians should be readers as well. God’s revelation to us is words on a page. If we as Christians are to love and please our Savior we must read His book; not just to soak up information, but to live what we learn.

In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Donald Whitney cites the following statistics from a survey of people who identified themselves as “born again Christians”:

“18% read the Bible every day and 23% said they never read the Word of God.”

That is unacceptable. Since it was Jesus who said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), surely He intended, at the very least, for us to read every word.

Read any good books lately?

Don’t Call Me…I’ll Call You

That’s what Kelvin Sampson heard for much of tonight’s game. The Illini fans taunted coach Sampson for not calling Bruce Weber when coveted recruit Eric Gordon started waffling on his oral commitment to Illinois. Somebody should have called the IU offense because it left the arena shortly after tipoff and it never returned. The Hoosiers began the game by draining seven of their first ten shots; after that it was one wrong number after another.Much was made of Kelvin Sampson “stealing” stud recruit Eric Gordon from Bruce Weber’s Illini. The only thing Sampson is guilty of is poor etiquette. Yes, he owed Weber a phone call; a phone call explaining that Gordon wanted out of his oral commitment to Illinois in order to play his college ball in the real Assembly Hall. You know, the Assembly Hall that has five national championship banners hanging from the rafters. Sampson should have called. The irony is that here is a guy who was slapped with NCAA sanctions because he racked up an obscene number of minutes to recruits. Evidently his troubles have caused him to become nervous around the telephone.

But Samspon didn’t steal Gordon. The North Central star only committed to Weber last year because of all the uncertainty surrounding IU’s program, and the young man was right. Mike Davis resigned before the season was over. Gordon had no idea who would be hired to take the helm of the once powerful program. (Too bad IU hasn’t been a major player in the NCAA since Gordon was in diapers.) With the swift hiring of Kelvin Sampson, and with the return of all the players except for Vaden and whatshisname from Europe (really, I can’t remember his name) Gordon realized that he’d much rather be in Bloomington than Champaign.

I wish he was there now.

The anemic offense that was on display this evening is in desperate need of Gordon’s skills. The Illini were up 49-40, not at the half, but with 20.9 seconds left in the game; one point a minute. Pathetic.

Don’t misunderstand me. I like what Sampson has done with this team, and I think that he will restore some of the shine to this rusty and dusty program. This was his first “bad loss”, however, and after beating an athletic UCONN squad in Hartford, and after cracking into the Top 25 in both polls, being beat down by a weak Illinois team is unimpressive. About as unimpressive as one point a minute.

Is anyone else tired of seeing DJ White with the ball 30′ from the basket? Is anyone else tired of the team launching a three every other time down the floor? Sure, it’s great when they go down, but when they don’t…well, you get one point a minute.

Just once, I’d love to see Wilmont curl off a White screen in the lane for either a 12 footer or a pass to White as he rolled to the hoop.

Just once.

That will happen about as soon as Sampson finds Weber’s phone number.

Another Arrested Bengal

Why am I not surprised? Johnathan Joseph, the rookie CB of the Cincinnati Bengals was arrested early this morning and charged with possession of marijuana. From 1990 until Marvin Lewis arrived in the Queen City the Bengals were the Bungles. The franchise was abysmal from top to bottom. The team couldn’t win on the field or on draft day, even though they routinely selected at or near the top. It was embarrassing to watch them play. A sure way to ruin your Sunday afternoon was to watch the Bungles find a way to lose.

Then Marvin Lewis came to town. In his inaugral season of 2003 he coached a team that had posted a 2-14 record the previous year to an 8-8 record, and he did this with an unproven back (Rudi Johnson) and without the team’s best defensive player (Takeo Spikes signed a free agent contract with the Bills before the ‘03 season). He led the team to another 8-8 season in 2004. In other footbal cities this would not be cause for celebration, but the city of Cincinnati was ecstatic. Back to back .500 seasons had not happened since the glory days of the ’80s. In the 2005 season Marvin took the next step. He lead the team to an 11-5 record, the AFC North crown, and a home playoff game. Had Carson Palmer’s knee not been mangled on the first drive of the game who knows how 2005 would have ended.

That brings us to this year and the disappointing 8-8 finish. Now, you now that Cincinnati has come a long way when 8-8 is considered underachieving, but that is what the Bengals did this year. But that is not the worst part of this story. The Bengals are no longer the Bungles on the field, but they have become the Bungles off the field. Joseph is the ninth Bengal arrest this year. Chris Henry has been arrested five times, and he is still on the team.

What a shame that the team has finally come together on the field and no longer embarrasses the city as a football club. What a shame that the team is undisciplined away from the field and embarrasses the city because of a complete disregard for the law.