Day180 Friday 02/25/11

ran 3.3 miles

• Michigan was the twenty-sixth state to join the union on January 26, 1837, eight years before Florida and one year after Arkansas.

• Population, as of 2009, is 9,969,727.

• Senators are Carl Levin (D) and Debbie Stabenow (D).

• Representatives are Dan Benishek (R), Bill Huizenga (R), Justin Amash (R), David Camp (R), Dale Kildee (D), Frederick Upton (R), Timothy Walberg (R), Michael Rogers (R), Gary Peters (D), Candice Miller (R), Thaddeus McCotter (R), Sander Levin (D), Hansen Clarke (D), John Conyers (D), and John Dingell (D).

• Michigan has sixteen electoral votes. It was the only state to lose population in the 2010 Census, forfeiting one electoral vote. Historically, the state voted primarily red until the Great Depression. From the 1930s to the 1960s Michigan alternated between the two parties and from 1972 through 1988 the state voted exclusively Republican before becoming the Democratic state it is today. Barack Obama beat John McCain 57% to 41% in 2008.

In current news, during an exclusive interview with Newsmax, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in an effort to point out the hypocrisy that exists among the left and the mainstream media, claimed Barack Obama’s decision to not fully enforce the Defense of Marriage law could lead to a constitutional crisis. “Obama has directly violated his constitutional duties by arbitrarily suspending a law.” This is technically grounds for impeachment, not that it will be pursued, but it is what it is.

Gingrich speculated that if a potential “President Sarah Palin” had committed this action, there would have been immediate demands for her impeachment. When asked whether President Obama was subject to articles of impeachment, Gingrich replied, “Clearly, it is a dereliction of duty and a violation of his constitutional oath and is something that cannot be allowed to stand.”

This double standard was no different after Sarah Palin received so much heat for crosshairs she superimposed on certain voting districts on a United States map shortly before the Arizona shootings. Everything the media had to report dealt with Sarah Palin and the Tea parties she supports encouraging violent behavior. A little over a month later and crosshairs are on posters all over Wisconsin encircling their governor’s face as Barack Obama encourages protestors to refuse to relent. This is typical leftist double standardization, in which they feel no shame in doing exactly what they deplore whenever they deem it is necessary for their own interests. And they receive little ridicule or criticism for their blatant hypocrisy from the larger part of national media.

1,575.8 miles to go.