World's Edge

Here are a few photos I took on our KA rush campout this past weekend at "The World's Edge" in NC. Click on them for larger versions.

Lock the Doors

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Ahhh...this is more like it. Advertised as a rally, this event at Furman University actually feels like one. The mostly young crowd lined up over an hour before the event. A teenage band helped pass the time, the room bursting with at least 1,500 people packed standing room only. Two walls had to be collapsed to withstand the flow of people and even that didn't seem to alleviate the pressure of people all around. - Joy Lin, CBS News

I had previously posted the flier for Mike Huckabee's visit to Furman. It was all that I had wished for and more. About 5:45 the lobby began to fill and by 6:15 it was full. At that point we opened the doors to the conference room and by 6:45, two walls were collapsed and the room was as packed as the hog farm I visited this past summer.

Gov. Huckabee had been in a private reception with close friends of Congressman Bob Inglis and at 7:00 he appeared and did a little jam session with "Detour", a high school band from Clemson. At this point, the fire marshal made us lock all the doors and bar anymore people from coming in. We directed them to the side doors so they could stand outside and listen to Huckabee's stump speech. The campus police chief estimated 1500+ people were crammed in there - a huge proportion of them being my fellow students and other young people from Greenville. I was so proud and lucky to have the opportunity to share Gov. Huckabee's message of hope for future generations with all of my friends. If you have some free time, watch him outline his vision for America and his policy positions here.

Mother, Grandmother, and political activist Carole Walters attended the event at and I believe she summed it up best in her Op-Ed in the Greenville News today.

Huckabee brings in the young people

The Republican Party is experiencing rebirth! A look around the Furman rally for Mike Huckabee recently was amazing. The majority of the over 1,500 gathered were young and enthusiastic, first-timers to get involved in any politics. Youth respond to Huckabee's creative use of the Internet, Meet Up groups, Face Book site, tongue-in-cheek ads and stories that touch the heart.

I have been involved in politics in varying degrees over the past 20 years. Often I have seen the Republican Party consisting mainly of older, somewhat affluent people. I had truly become concerned as I attended local party events seeing the aging of the party. However, it looks like Mike Huckabee has struck a chord among the young who want hope in the America that they will inherit. That is what Huckabee does best -- instills hope.

Huckabee's message is: hope in leaving Iraq with assurance that the people and country will be better because our soldiers were there; hope that our borders will be secured as we can get a handle on the immigration problem; hope that our failing, burdensome tax system can truly be fixed in a "fair" way; hope that we will see the end of turning our backs on the most vulnerable members of our society: the unborn and elderly.

As a parent and grandparent, teacher and volunteer to women in crisis, the most important thing I can offer others is hope. As the man from Hope (Arkansas) often says, "We want the greatest generation to be the one that is yet to be born." The twentysomethings are listening and coming out in droves. We say, "Come on in and join the party."
Carole M. Walters
Easley

Media about the event:
Hucksarmy.com Youtube shoutout at Furman University by Gov. Mike Huckabee
Greenville News Photos of the Event
Huckabee Rally Really Feels Like a Rally - CBS
Mike Huckabee woos Greenville, Spartanburg voters - Greenville News
Huckabee’s Home Field Advantage - Fox News
Huckabee Is TCB - ABC
Generation Y: Ready to Rock the 2008 Election - Washington Post

Video: Huckabee on the Fair Tax, immigration
Video: Huckabee on the Greatest Generation
Video: Huckabee jams with Furman students
Video: Huckabee's introductory comments at Furman

One step closer

The talented messenger beat the man with the money. The saver of souls beat the savior of the Winter Olympics. The son of a mechanic with crooked teeth beat the corporate titan with a superhero chin.

And it wasn't even that close.

Those great lines come from Time magazine. However, one can not become complacent, the road ahead is long and strenuous. After wanting Governor Huckabee to come and speak at Furman for a very long time, somehow that wish was granted. It was all the doings of Congressman Bob Inglis and now we will all work hard and watch Huckabee win South Carolina. If you're in the area, stop on by.

What Leadership Looks Like

Since I've returned home I've been following Election 2008 news practically nonstop. It began with Romney's "Faith in America" address the morning after I returned, and yesterday the coverage continued as the candidates made statements on the death of Benazir Bhutto. I don't follow sports too much, instead elections are the games I love to watch. Each day brings new chances for candidates to mess up and opportunities for them to jump ahead. The Iowa caucuses are just a few days away, then New Hampshire, and then all the candidates will be in South Carolina for the last early primary before February 5.

Many of you know that I currently support Mike Huckabee for the Republican nomination. After sifting through the candidates his views most aligned with mine and I've been with him since late in the summer. At that point, everyone dismissed him, just as they did until about November, but now he has gained momentum and he has a great possibility of winning the nomination. Please talk to me for more information on why I support him, but here is the short: He has the most executive experience out of all the candidates (10.5 years Governor of Arkansas, Chair of National Governors' Assoc.), he holds consistent conservative views on social issues, he supports the FairTax, he has a realistic plan to solve our immigration problem, he is electable against Hillary or Obama, and finally he will bring this nation up rather than split us apart.

"I'm a conservative, but I'm not mad at anybody about it. I've learned that you don't have to give up your own convictions, but you do need to be willing to have an open mind, spirit and heart toward people who are completely different from you." - Mike Huckabee

It is really an injustice for me to sum Gov. Huckabee up in a few sentences. Please take some time to research his stances on the issues, and watch more videos of debates, speeches, and interviews so you can decide for yourself.

Best of Mike Huckabee Youtube videos
Mike Huckabee's Website

If you're with Huckabee - sign up to Save 08 here.

The EU

I never mentioned the academic studies we carried out during my time in Europe. Throughout the trip we mainly focused on the politics of the European Union, something most Americans and many Europeans know little about. The link below is for a little introduction I had to write in one of my classes.

Introduction to the European Union

My land

After stepping off the plane I knew I was back in the land of greatness. I met and hugged my mom at baggage claim and we went off to my requested first stop. Bojangles. There I had a cajun chicken biscuit, a sweet tea, and a Boberry biscuit. If you've never had that combination you really haven't experienced the abundant life we are promised here, so make an effort to go soon.

Paris was simply an amazing city. It may be one of my favorites just because it is freshest in my mind but the weather was great, the people were friendly, and the sites were stunning. Check out my photos for everything I did. I loved La Basilique de Sacre Coeur, the large white church that overlooks the city, and I spent one day outside visiting there, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc De Triumph, and other sites.
The second day we visited Le Louvre and Musee D'Orsay which were free that day so every tourist and their Asian cousin were there. These were our last museums of the whole trip and after a couple hours in Le Louvre we were ready to go. The crowds were massive and we saw Mona Lisa and other famous works and we just couldn't handle any more of it.

Our last night in Paris Dr. Nelsen bought us crepes and then a group of us went and played frisbee under the Eiffel tower. It was raining but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so we went for it. We tried to go to the top of the tower, but it was closed so we successfully made it to the second level where I felt like I was going to blow off. I'm not too worried about not making it to the top, I know I'll be back to Paris one day.

Portal of Freedom

In case you’re wondering, yes we did celebrate Thanksgiving. A restaurant was rented out for us and we were served turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, corn (not creamed corn though), green beans, and pecan pie. It was definitely odd thinking about my family all eating together miles away but some of my best friends from Furman are studying in Brussels (where we were). I was so thankful to get to visit with Molly, Taylor, David, and many others. Throughout this trip I’ve come to realize the importance of community and how at Furman is comes a lot easier than it does out in the rest of the world.

While in Brussels we got to visit many important institutions regarding the European Union such as the European Commission, Parliament, and others. After our days there, we traveled to Bruges where the city was complete with an ice skating rink and a Christmas market. The Christmas market was a little disappointing – this one was kind of like a bad arts and crafts fair with cheap products in little wooden huts – but they did have good desserts there.

The highlight of the past week, besides being with old friends in Brussels, has been touring the old battle sites and war memorials from World War II. Our first day of this was spent in Ypre where we saw many British cemeteries and a few German ones as well. Today we went to the Omaha and Utah beaches from the D-Day invasion at Normandy. It is hard to put into words the feelings I had while standing there, thinking of all the soldiers who crawled up over the dunes, risking their lives, for someone else’s freedom. The American cemetery overlooking the water at Normandy was also a powerful place to be as they lowered the flag and the sun set over all of the white marble headstones. The graves show the horrors of war while at the same time honoring the valor and sacrifice the soldiers made. Walking away, I couldn’t help but think of how these men embodied the ultimate display of love – laying down their lives for all of us, their friends, family, and neighbors.

Time is quickly winding down and we only have Paris left to go before we return. I took a poll on the bus the other day and there was a tie for the top food people are most looking forward to when we get back. Chicken biscuits and sweet tea were tied so I cast the final vote for sweet tea making it the winner. I’m also not sure whether I should keep blogging after the trip is done. I was never a fan of bloggers in the past but now I’m starting to come around. But what would I write about? Suggestions are welcome.