Day214 Thursday 03/31/11

image from Huffington Post

ran 3.5 miles

“The liberal mainstream media, notice how they have tried to destroy Sarah Palin, notice how the more popular Michele Bachmann gets, the more they try to destroy her? You want to know why they go after those two ladies more viciously? Because they know that Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin is going to draw a lot of the women vote away from the Democrat party. They are scared to death of that if they were to run and get the nomination. They are doubly scared that a real black man might run against Barack Obama.”

These were Herman Cain’s words at a recent Tea Party event in Florida. If you don’t know who Herman Cain is then you will soon. He is edging closer and closer to a 2012 presidential run. The above quote was a response to why Cain felt the media was ignoring his presence.

Cain is from Atlanta, Georgia. He has an impressive background of climbing the corporate ladder of numerous successful companies. His last venture was Godfather’s pizza. On the brink of bankruptcy, Cain served as CEO and turned the company around to a profitable state in fourteen months. Here is more information on Herman Cain.

Conservatives Now Outnumber Liberals In Deep-Blue States

Vermont? Rhode Island? Massachusetts? Oregon? Red seems to be the new blue this spring.

“Conservatism, at least at the state level, appears to be growing stronger. Ironically, this trend is most pronounced in America’s least well-off, least educated, most blue collar, most economically hard-hit states. Conservatism, more and more, is the ideology of the economically left behind. The current economic crisis only appears to have deepened conservatism‘s hold on America’s states. This trend stands in sharp contrast to the Great Depression, when America embraced FDR and the New Deal.”

Richard Florida, columnist from The Atlantic

Here is a density map of conservatism across the American landscape and more information on why some traditionally blue states are changing hues.

Some polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 24% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 42% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –18.

• Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Barack Obama’s performance and 55% disapprove.

• Only 25% of voters believe America is heading in the right direction.

• Just 31% believe their own representative in Congress is the best person for the job and only 40% think their own representative deserves reelection.

• Only 16% of voters think country would be better off if most incumbents in Congress are reelected.

• Health Care repeal is favored by 58% of American voters.

1,458.8 miles to go.

Day213 Wednesday 03/30/11

ran 3.3 miles

chapter1

Jonas Martin Cassidy stood at the door of 216 Fifth Street like a lone green leaf on a half-dead tree in the middle of red and yellow autumn. The air outside was cold and thick with moisture. The sun was barely visible and a damp fog clung to Jonas like a wad of chewed gum atop a wayward ant on a strip of concrete.

Stiff blades of grass helpless under torn curtains of shade splintered longingly holding for light. Thin crystal formations of ice webbed along the surfaces of puddles unable to fully freeze or slightly defrost. Every one of Jonas’ breaths hung heavily before his face like a thought he could put in his pocket or a dream he could store in a jar and save for later.

The bitter October breeze hardly flustered his core or the dark abrasive hair on his head. Spikey tufts, like elongated rose thorns, pierced over his searching brown eyes. His beard was filling out not by choice or indecision. His shoes were thrashed and falling apart, soles worn through like forlorn hope. His jeans were frayed at the hems, scuffed all over with work and sweat, and a single hole drew attention on top of his right front pocket. His shirt was plain, white, stained and old. Equal in repute was his moderately insulated navy blue coat with a faded and unintelligible monogram over the left breast. A backpack with unreliable zippers, numerous tears, and a nearly ripped shoulder strap was his only accessory.

Save for a dog-eared curled up copy of poems written by an unknown poet in his back pocket, Jonas had nothing worth robbing or giving. To show for, to perverse by, to prove with and to lie about, he had only a scantily stitched book of unknown poems and a poorly bound backpack filled with seemingly useless objects.

The door before him was peeling away, splintering at the top and bottom like cuticles and hangnails run-a-muck on an unkempt set of fingers and toes. Odd knots in the ruined wood panels were at the same time swelled and shrunken forming an indifference of undulating paisley patterns. The oaken tangles reminded him of scraped knees and busted knuckles on a fallen man who had fought for something important but lost.

Jonas stood reluctantly, yet dignified, at the door of 216 Fifth Street like a rhetorical question to an obvious answer. There was little to say of Jonas much like there was little to say of a stock investment on a day-to-day basis. He moved in one direction or another every twenty-four hours, but nothing he did seemed worthwhile of evaluation until it had failed or succeeded a few decades later. His physical appearance paled in comparison to the details of a white washed wall and he was as inconspicuous as a stop sign at three o’ clock in the morning in a small town. But he had ideas and beliefs that were as thought provoking as they were deemed inconceivable.

Jonas drew from pride an irreverent faith in religion and cultivated the broad idea that everything just might be wrong. He earnestly slacked in every fruitless job he was paid for because he knew they did not matter like the empty promises of a terrified man with a gun pressed to his bruising temple.

He was unmotivated to live in such a frightening silence of servitude in a country that had made opportunity and ambition punishable among its people. Nor was he satisfied with pretending he did not remember the way things once were, like so many others. He refused to sit idly by and so his path was a lone one. It was taking the risks his heart and mind desired and confronting the possible consequences of his actions that animated Jonas. It was his hubris pride that elucidated an unquestionable belief and understanding that he needed absolutely no one.

1,462.3 miles to go.

Day212 Tuesday 03/29/11

ran 4.1 miles
Donald Trump is the latest high-profile name in the news to challenge Barack Obama’s place of birth and his firm decision to show no one his birth certificate. “Either he has one or he doesn’t. Where is it?” This was the blunt statement and the rhetorical question said by Trump to express just how ridiculous this birth certificate issue has become. Many view the obsession with Barack Obama’s place of birth as wasteful behavior that serves no purpose in moving this country forward. Others, as a matter of principle, are simply exhausted with frustration over the fact that this man absolutely refuses to show anyone his birth certificate. And others, yet, find great potential in keeping the accusation alive and thriving to smear Obama and to cast him in a darker, more questionable light.

Here’s where I stand. At this point, I don’t care whether Barack Obama was born in Kenya, France, Brazil, America, or anywhere else. Enough people voted to make him our president in 2008, one of which I was not, and I simply do not agree with his vision of America’s future, I don’t agree with his squishy approach to fixing our economy, I utterly oppose his health care law, and I generally find liberal, or progressive, ideas insulting to the way I define my America. Simple as that.

In the event that evidence reveals itself in the future that can conclusively prove Obama was not born in Hawaii, then that will be that and we can all move on. But in the meantime, many states have passed or are in the process of passing legislation that makes proof of birth place much more stringent for all political candidates than it previously was.

It would obviously be an unforgivable shame to vote a man or woman into the position of President of the United States of America if they were not a natural born citizen. I admit, this birth certificate issue is extremely interesting and I’ll be curious to see how it plays out, but my disapproval of Barack Obama is not built upon this fragmented argument. I simply disagree with this man to the degree that I refuse to stop running against him until the next presidential election.

Those who accuse of course have the burden of proof to deal with, but the fact that Barack Obama will not show anyone his birth certificate is absolutely ridiculous. Like Trump said, “Either he has it or he doesn’t. Where is it?”

I found an article on SanDiego.com today, in which two resident columnists went head-to-head on the birther movement. The article has some interesting arguments on both sides. It’s worth a read. One fact I was unaware of is that Barack Obama’s social security number is traceable to Connecticut, a state in which he had never lived. As odd as that is, there is another side to it, though. The two columnists are extremely opinionated and if nothing else, it just makes you wonder, why not just show the birth certificate and end this obtrusive distraction?

1,465.6 miles to go.

Day211 Monday 03/28/11

ran 9.0 miles
I ran my longest distance tonight, not only of this campaign, but the longest distance I’ve ever run in my thirty-two years. When I started this blog the running aspect of it was, I hesitate to say, a goal set to draw attention to the blog. But it was also certainly an effort to express to others just how seriously and passionately I disagree with the direction America is heading with Barack Obama at the Captain’s wheel, and how motivated I am to contribute anything I can to get his hands off of it, regardless of how few people may follow this blog.

The point I am making is that when I started running I was mildly excited at first until the reality hit me of exactly what I had taken on. I went from not running but maybe every once in a while to running every single day. Now that it has been nearly seven months, I never anticipated that I would be capable of running nine straight miles after work on a Monday.

I don’t usually run such distances from week to week but I am working toward a goal of running a half-marathon (thirteen miles) in the near future. Every two or three weeks I do a lengthy run, one mile longer than the last, and I am trying to work my way to thirteen. I’ve done a seven-mile, an eight-mile, and tonight was the nine-mile.

I confess that I absolutely dread the anticipation of having to do these runs. It’s nice once you’re through, and it’s not so bad to be halfway through, but to be only two miles deep on a nine-mile run can be overwhelming.

1,469.7 miles to go.

Day210 Sunday 03/27/11

600 miles!!!

ran 2.7 miles
I broke 600 miles today! I’m pleased to say I did the math and I am 48.6 miles ahead of schedule. I ran 22.8 miles this week, averaging 3.26 miles per day. It feels good to have my mileage budget at a surplus.

No news today. I am more interested in a “what if”. As I scour news sources everyday I see less and less democratic senators and representatives defending Barack Obama and more and more criticizing his motives. After the mid-term elections, November 2, 2010, one of many ways to describe the ballot boxes would be to assert that Barack Obama and his agenda directly had a heavy hand in getting an abundant number of liberal politicians fired. Not only were they fired, but they were replaced in teeming numbers by conservatives, many of which were Tea party candidates.

What I am trying to point out is the fact that none of the “career” politicians in Washington want to lose their jobs in 2012 and that the Senate and House stand to endure a repeat of November, 2010. As more and more members of Obama’s own party continue to question his leadership, things cannot be getting better for him.

What has changed? As a voter who cast a ballot on November 2, 2010, has anything changed? Let’s say Barack Obama gets a second term; is this nation in a rush to keep the senators and representatives who incensed us enough to vote them out of our House expected to keep them in office? Barack Obama’s appeal and his ideas, his words from behind a podium, his charisma, which got him into Washington, could certainly earn him a second term in this diverse nation, but I am anticipating another liberal exodus in Congress. It’s a challenge to fool an entire nation, but it is more difficult to dupe any given state or the districts that compose them.

1,478.7 miles to go.

Day209 Saturday 03/26/11

ran 3.3 miles
Ten Things You May Not Know About ObamaCare

• Since Jan. 1 of this year (2011), you cannot use your flex-account at work (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) to purchase over-the-counter medicines.

• Since July 1 of last year (2010), Americans have been paying a 10 percent excise tax on all indoor tanning services.

• Starting in 2018, if your health insurance is “too good” or considered a “Cadillac” plan, then you will incur a new 40 percent tax on your health plan.

• ObamaCare has 21 new or higher taxes in it, totaling over $500 billion in increased taxes going to the government over 10 years.

• Beginning in 2014, individuals and families that do not purchase “qualifying” -- as defined by federal bureaucrats -- health insurance will be forced to pay a yearly tax penalty.

• Seven tax hikes in ObamaCare directly break President Obama’s “firm pledge” not to raise any form of taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 per year and families making less than $250,000 per year.

• The capital gains tax rate under ObamaCare will rise to 23.8 percent starting in 2012. That is a 59 percent increase from its current rate.

• In 2013, those Americans facing the highest medical bills and the least ability to pay for them will find their ability to deduct medical expenses is further limited (medical expenses must be reduced by 10 percent of income under ObamaCare, rather than current law’s 7.5 percent).

• Beginning in 2014, businesses with over 50 employees will be forced to offer health coverage for everyone, or pay a hefty tax for each employee.

• In 2013, ObamaCare caps the amount individuals and families can put in their flexible savings accounts at $2500. Currently there is no cap and these accounts are used for a myriad of health expenses including paying upwards of $14,000 in tuition to special needs schools for some parents.

Article from Americans For Tax Reform.

Republicans Utilize American Discontent For ObamCare To Help Win In 2012

Republicans with their eyes on the White House in 2012 spoke to hundreds of conservatives today in Iowa emphasizing that Barack Obama’s health care plan could help make substantial gains in 2012.

“The ultimate arrogance, in my opinion, is Obama-care. That’s why I am so absolutely confident in 2012. Americans have made the decision that we’re going to take our country back.”

Michele Bachmann

“We don’t like the radical socialist agenda that is being shoved down our throats.”

Herman Cain

“It’s never gone below a majority of Americans who want to see Obama-care repealed. This is, I believe, the greatest power grab that I have ever seen.”

Michele Bachmann

I’ve mentioned it often on this blog and I’ll say it again, check out Health Care Compact on facebook. Nearly forty states are working toward this compact to avoid ObamaCare and HCC posts each day about the progress different states are making.

1,481.4 miles to go.

Day208 Friday 03/25/11

ran 3.0 miles

• Montana was the forty-first state to join the union on November 8, 1889, three days before Washington and six days after South Dakota.

• Population, as of 2010, is 989,415.

• Senators are Max Baucus (D) and Jon Tester (D).

• Representative is Dennis Rehberg (R).

• Montana has three electoral votes. Historically, the state has voted red since 1952 except for two democrats. Leading up to 1952, Montana had voted blue five times in a row. Montana is one of seven states with a minimum three electoral votes. John McCain defeated Barack Obama 50% to 47% in 2008.

Heading south for a moment, Arizona is very close to passing a “flat tax” bill to rewrite their state individual income tax. It was surprising to stumble upon that news today. We always hear chatter about flat taxes implemented at state or federal levels but for it to actually materialize is something to think about. This action is certainly a sign of the times. On the surface, this bill sounds unfair and few to none are ever supportive of tax increases, which is what this is for a vast majority of Arizona’s population. Incomes below $100,000 account for 88% of state income filers and they will have their taxes increased the most, while top earners pay less. Here’s where it gets really strange---the people of Arizona seem to be at least somewhat supportive of this measure, or they are at least not protesting or vandalizing their capitol building.

The bill is projected to produce an additional $50 million in annual revenue for the state. Like many other states, Arizona’s budget is at a growing deficit and this is one approach their state’s legislature deems necessary to keep the state afloat and in less debt.

This “flat tax” is not law yet but it will be interesting to see what the people of Arizona’s ultimate response to it is. I don’t fully understand the “flat tax” enough to form a solid opinion of it at this point, but if it is critical to the well-being of an entire state and its future, then perhaps it is necessary.

Between news like this out of Arizona and what has been going on in Wisconsin, both Republican led efforts, combined with an economy that is not soaring upward by any means, I can easily see the 2012 presidential election filled with ugly accusations about one side raising taxes and attacking unions and the other side proclaiming that tough decisions are absolutely necessary to make right now. Can you guess which side is which?

1,484.7 miles to go.

Day207 Thursday 03/24/11

ran 2.9 miles
For yesterday’s post I introduced the prologue to a novel I’ve been working on. In case you missed it, check it out. The novel is titled “I am Erica” and I’ll be posting a chapter per week. I decided to put it on the blog for two reasons. The first reason is an effort to push myself to finish the story. It has been put to the side for too long. The second reason is because I have to confess that it is sometimes daunting and exhausting to campaign against Barack Obama every single day. And it’s not so daunting and exhausting as it is a simple injustice to myself by allowing this man to consume so much of my time. It is undeserved flattery to his ego that I, or anyone, should invest so much time in scrutinizing his every action.

Yet I feel that it needs to be done. The more people who stand up and express how they feel about the direction America is taking, the louder the voice. I look at it the same way I view my job. I have little desire to show up at work everyday but I do it because my stomach and my family compel me. In the particular case of America, which is an idea and a way of life that stands as a rock we all want a grip on, our history and its future compel me.

After 207 days it has finally occurred to me that while current events, facts, opinions, commentary and the general rigmarole that consumes the arena of politics is indeed important and necessary, it is more important to not let it consume me.

I am going to continue with the rigmarole, but I am also going to deviate from the facts, quotes and statistics, in an attempt to express my message on a more personal and creative platform.

This is what a typical Thursday at runningagainstobama.com looks like:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 26% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 38% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –12.

• Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Barack Obama’s performance and 52% disapprove.

• Just 23% believe the U.S. is heading in the right direction.

• Among American voters, 34% support U.S. involvement in Libya.

• Republicans are trusted more than Democrats on nine out of the top ten issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.

There is much more to America than this.

1,487.7 miles to go.

Day206 Wednesday 03/23/11

ran 4.2 miles
I’m going to introduce something new to this blog today. To add some variety to the weekly topics and a different perspective on current events I am going to begin posting a chapter each week from a novel I have been working on. This novel has been collecting dust for nearly two years and all it needs is an ending. Posting the chapters each week will bring me closer to where I left off and push me to finish. And I can share it with you and others, who I am extremely grateful to have following this blog, as a piece of fiction to break away from the curious and contradicting current events of the day.

I’m not going to say anything about this novel except that it is a book of fiction and all names, characters, places and incidents that bear any resemblance to actual events or locations or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The name of this unfinished book is “I am Erica”.

i am erica

by michael dimiterchik

a tale of one of many possible outcomes,
a love story punched in the stomach,
and a man who chose to choose.

prologue

They were many and he was one. They mattered and he did not. They were a machine and he was a gear. They were a sum and he was a number. They had an answer for every question and he had a question for every answer. They were ruthless with what they aimed to achieve and he was patient with what he chose to find. They wanted everything and demanded to be followed. He wanted nothing and refused to be led.

He walked stolidly up a broken street in a nameless city in a forgotten country. Like a monk lighting himself on fire, he showed no emotion for the burns he felt. Steadily, he refused to look back and ignored what was in front of him.

Stolidly, he wanted to throw a rock through the glass ball of night that surrounded him.

He went in through her bedroom window long after her parents had fallen asleep. She had not been expecting him. She greeted him with a tired smile, eyes matted shut with sleep, and asked him what was wrong.

“I’m leaving,” he whispered. “I wanted to tell you goodbye.”

Unable to respond she shook off the residual sleep from her numb body. Her senses slowly crept to attention as a final yawn escaped her.

“I don’t know where I am going and I don’t know where I will end up. What I do know is that my actions will be my own and that I will be free for the first time in my life.”

She was not shocked at his words nearly as much as she was frightened by the severity of the moment, which she had seen coming for so long. She knew his spirit was arrested. His fierce soul paced madly inside a prison of bone and skin.

“You are the only person I am saying goodbye to and the only one who knows I am leaving. You are the only one who understands why I have to do this. I am not sure what I am trying to accomplish but until I remove myself from this…this silence, this destructive quiet, I am certain I will achieve nothing.”

She made every argument she could think of to convince him not to leave. None of it had mattered, though. His mind had broken out of its cell and had found its freedom.

“I will see you again.”

He said this as he stepped outside through the window frame and into his new wilderness. He took a step forward and a look back smiling with certainty that he had made the first right decision of his life.

“Goodbye, Carmen.”

“Goodbye, Jonas.”

1,490.6 miles to go.

Day205 Tuesday 03/22/11

ran 3.6 miles
Democrats and Republicans are agreeing more and more on behalf of President Obama’s unorthodox methods of making decisions. And by “unorthodox” I am referring to the understatement that he is behaving in a manner far too independent of the American Constitution, often turning a deaf ear to mass numbers of Congress members from both sides of the aisle, and he appears to be extremely unconcerned with the judgment of the people or their interpretation of him.

As of late our president has shown staggeringly little involvement in our nation’s highly important matter of agreeing on a budget. And now it’s Libya underscoring Barack Obama’s audacious ability to behave in a way that suggests he may believe he is higher than the law and our constitution.

Obama’s sole authorization of military strikes on Libya without seeking the consent of Congress was unconstitutional and Democrats and Republicans, alike, are in an uproar. The issue here is not a matter of whether we should be involved with Libya’s affairs or not. It is the simple act that our president made to take military action without first presenting it to Congress for a vote. Presidents, according to Article 1, Section 8, cannot simply declare war on another nation. “Congress shall have power to declare war.”

Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio pointed out that President Obama’s action could be an “impeachable offense”.

“It is alarming how casually the administration talks about initiating acts of war, as though Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution does not exist. Frankly, it is not up to the president whether or not we intervene in Libya, or set up ‘no-fly’ zones, or send troops. At least, it is not if we follow the Constitution.”

Tea Party freshman Representative Rand Paul of Kentucky

"President Obama moved forward without Congress approving. He didn't have congressional authorization. He has gone against the Constitution, and that's got to be said."

Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio

“The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

Barack Obama in an interview with the Boston Globe in December of 2007

1,494.8 miles to go.

Day204 Monday 03/21/11

ran 3.1 miles
I just got home from a long awaited vacation in Santa Rosa, Florida with my wife and her parents. The weather was perfect and the beach was amazing. I paid as little attention to news as I could for a few days, which was close to none. So, that being said, I continued to run each day, which was an entirely new and scenic experience. I didn't want to stop. It's easy when something so majestic is right next to you.

A lot happened this weekend in Libya and our president is in the 99th percentile of ESPN brackets for March Madness. Those are the two press-breaking stories I vaguely heard about this weekend as I tried to ignore as much as I could...

So, today's post is not worth commenting on but I'll be back on top of things tomorrow.

1,498.4 miles to go.

Day203 Sunday 03/20/11

ran 2.9 miles
Today ends week twenty-nine of running against Obama. I ran 23.8 miles this week, averaging 3.40 miles per day.

In case you may have missed this breaking news, Barack Obama lost one of his Final Four teams Saturday when Butler upset top-seeded Pittsburgh.

Obama accurately predicted Florida, San Diego State, BYU and Kentucky to advance to the Round of Sixteen after filling out a bracket for ESPN for the third straight year. He was in the 99.8th percentile among 5.9 million participants on ESPN.com.

Alongside an eliminated Pittsburgh, Obama also picked Kansas, Duke and Ohio State to reach the Final Four, with Kansas to win it all.

Meanwhile, in less important news, an extension has been put on the federal government's already existing extension to reach an agreement on how little they can slash from our nation's deficit. Stay tuned for more news on March Madness and Barack Obama's trip to South America. The urgent crisis our nation's economy faces and our president's and Congress' inability to make useful decisions for the economic future of our country have made no real progress worth reporting.

Go Kansas!

1,501.5 miles to go.

Day202 Saturday 03/19/11

ran 2.8 miles
The Health Care Compact is gaining momentum as more and more states work toward passing legislation through the House and Senate at the state level. Here is some recent progress from states uniting to fight ObamaCare.

• In Arizona, Senate Bill 1592 has passed the full Senate and House Bill 2688 has passed the House Health and Human Services Committee.

• In Georgia, Senate Bill 177 has passed the full Senate and House Bill 461 passed the full House on March 16.

• In Montana, House Bill 526 passed the full House in February and passed the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee on March 16.

• In Oklahoma, Senate Bill 722 passed the Senate on March 15 and was referred to House Judiciary Committee on March 17.

• In Tennessee, Senate Bill 326 passed the Senate Government Welfare, Health, and Human Resources Committee on March 16. House Bill 369 is before the House Health Care Committee and is scheduled for a hearing on March 22.

• In Missouri, House Bill 329 passed the Rules Committee on March 14. Floor action on the bill is expected soon. Senate Bill 367 is on its second reading in the Senate Health, Mental Health, Seniors, and Family Committee.

• In Texas, there was a public hearing for House Bill 5 in the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty on March 17. Senate Bill 25 is in the State Affairs Committee awaiting action.

The Health Care Compact has been introduced in twelve states. In thirty-six states, citizen groups and state legislators are considering the Health Care Compact with legislative activity expected in the coming weeks.

This united goal of so many states to form the Health Care Compact is a definitive example of the expression “actions speak louder than words”. Our politicians in Washington have a lot to learn from the Representatives and Senators at state levels. Bickering words and endless contradictions are what we have in Washington with little action. As a result, states are being forced to take matters into their own hands. The message this sends to Barack Obama and Washington as a whole is a testimony to the fact that the majority of people in this country want to be left alone by the federal government and that we have little to no confidence in Washington’s ability to take on something this big.

These are two extremely informative articles about the Health Care Compact published this week. Houston Chronicle, March 17, 2011 and The Missoulian, March 14, 2011. And check out the Health Care Compact on facebook.

1,504.4 miles to go.

Day201 Friday 03/18/11

AP Photo

ran 1.9 miles

• Missouri was the twenty-fourth state to join the union on August 10, 1821, fifteen years before Arkansas and one year after Maine.

• Population, as of 2010, is 5,988,927.

• Senators are Roy Blunt (R) and Claire McCaskill (D).

• Representatives are William Clay (D), Todd Akin (R), Russ Carnahan (D), Vicky Hartzler (R), Emanuel Cleaver (D), Samuel Graves (R), Billy Long (R), Jo Ann Emerson (R), and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R).

• Missouri has ten electoral votes after losing one during the 2010 Census. Missouri is a definitive swing state with incomparable historical accuracy at voting for the ultimate winner. Since 1904, the state only got it wrong twice (Adlai Stevenson over Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 and John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008). John McCain defeated Barack Obama 49.4% to 49.3%, a margin of around 3,900 votes.

Barack Obama is taking another globe trot, this time to South America with multiple destinations, at what appears to many as an incredibly inconvenient time. This is what presidents do and it is important to maintain and increase good foreign relations, but the timing of this is yet another straw on the back of a camel with buckled knees that are begging for mercy.

The budget debate has been further extended as Obama has proved to be as useful here as he will be in Brazil. And it’s not just the budget…now that Libya has nearly successfully crushed its rebels, Obama now backs a no-fly zone. And Japan…Obama obviously can’t snap his fingers and undo the natural disasters in Japan, but to have his press secretary say “It is a crisis in Japan. It is not a crisis in the United States,” when asked whether a looming nuclear disaster warranted a postponing of Obama’s trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador is simply cold and completely detached.

I can’t argue that President Obama has not accomplished much in his two years. What he accomplished is up for interpretation and importance of where he devotes most of his energy is arguable, but right here and right now, our country is teetering on an economic disaster and he is doing little to lead an agreement on the government’s budget.

“Why are we doing all this when the most powerful person in these negotiations – the President – has failed to lead this debate or offer a serious proposal for spending and cuts that he would be willing to fight for?”

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D)

1,507.2 miles to go.

Day200 Thursday 03/17/11

ran 3.9 miles
Today marks 200 days and 570.9 miles of running against Obama. Throughout this campaign of running for the sake of making Barack Obama a one-term president, my key arguments have dealt with his socialistic health care law, spending money that does not even exist on bailouts and stimulus packages, an idle stance on tightening immigration laws and addressing the paper-thin walls on our southern border, and his general disinterest in slashing our deficit combined with his inability to stop spending more “monopoly” money. How do you drain a deficit by pumping more debt into a budget?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Enjoy the video above and just imagine how much more debt we still have time to build up over Obama’s remaining two years. Want him for another four years after that?

Here are some stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 21% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 41% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –20.

• Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Barack Obama’s performance and 55% disapprove.

• Only 22% believe America is heading in the right direction. That is down 5 points from a week ago and the lowest total since Obama took office.

• Reaching its highest level since May of last year, 62% favor repeal of the health care law, including 51% who strongly favor repeal. Only 33% oppose repeal, with 24% who are strongly opposed.

1,509.1 miles to go.

Day199 Wednesday 03/16/11

ran 3.6 miles

Mitt Romney recently defended his efforts at health care reform during a speech in New Hampshire. He said his reform plan for Massachusetts, which included a mandate that required people to buy insurance, was a modest success. “Some things worked, some things didn’t, and some things I’d change,” he said. He also vowed to repeal President Obama’s health care bill if he ever got the chance.

Mitt Romney’s is a unique case as far as 2012 presidential candidates go. In one breath he vows to repeal ObamaCare but in the other he discusses the pros and cons of his own state’s health care system he had implemented, which is largely similar to Obama’s plan. In his defense, something similar to ObamaCare may be conducive to the individual needs of his state. But it is not hypocritical for him to criticize Obama’s health care plan for the single reason that Obama is attempting to put a blanket law over fifty states, which all have different circumstances. There is no universal health care template for all of our fifty states and it is absurd to assume there is. Each state should have its own ability to design a system that fits its own needs.

Barack Obama only recently conceded to this fact by suggesting that states could possibly create their own health care plans around the federal government’s requirements. This notion of “one size fits all” for something as big as health care is a mistake. And the proof of that mistake resonates in Barack Obama’s concession for individual states to design their own programs.

Presidents don’t admit fault and they do not apologize for decisions they make. For President Obama to come forward and make a concession, might I add a big one, about his legacy legislation, his health care bill---he had no desire to say those words. But, when judges are ruling his bill unconstitutional, when more than half the states in America are racing to form a health care compact to avoid ObamaCare, when more than fifty percent of Americans don’t want this reform, and when high temperatures like these reach their boiling points, the least a president can do is offer a concession on his decision. That’s all he gave, but the fact that he offered it was a symbolic acknowledgment of the widespread disappointment people have in his health care bill.

“The federal government isn’t the answer for running health care any more than it’s the answer for running Amtrak or the post office.”

Mitt Romney

1,513.0 miles to go.

Day198 Tuesday 03/15/11

ran 4.2 miles
I came across a really insightful blog recently that I’d like to recommend. It covers a broad field of politics and current events from the minds of conservative thinkers---not overwhelming and very concise. The blog is www.theabsurdreport.com. I’ve been checking it out daily since I’ve found it.

In fact, one of The Absurd Report’s posts today coincides with something I wanted to post about. A death threat was sent to Republican state senators of Wisconsin a few days ago. I’m not going to post it because it is longwinded, demented and graphic, but here it is if you are interested in reading it.

Without labeling an entire party of political thought, this is, after all, only one person’s or one small group’s collective act of threatening death upon elected officials, it is important to note that after the Tucson shootings there was a united, national call for civility, led by Barack Obama. As our president, this was obviously the right and noble statement to make. But, one month later the DNC and OFA, websites that are obviously influenced by Barack Obama and utilized for liberal causes, were helping to organize and encourage the protests in Wisconsin. While a single individual’s pebble of action, or a small group of people’s stone of action cannot represent an entire mountain of political belief, I think it can be agreed, regardless of political affiliations, that if it were Republicans promoting violent protests fueled with vandalism and slander in Wisconsin, our newspapers would have been filled with very different headlines. They would have been filled with utter condemnation of the entire Republican Party.

Since the unions and Democrats have been longtime bedfellows, however, many headlines pointed out such ideas as the speculation that GOP Governor Scott Walker hated middle class families and that he was comparable to Hitler. Governor Scott Walker, in my eyes at least, is a bold pioneer, which many others will follow, in the new frontier of politicians doing what is right for their city, state or nation. Wisconsin, like many other states, has a nearly irreconcilable deficit and something had to be done. He could have kept the façade of budget stability going as others in every state have for so long, but he chose to take this monster on and it had to start somewhere. Ultimately, teachers lost collective bargaining and they received an 8% pay cut, which will go toward their pensions and health care. Last I checked, I and most of the other people in this country have no right to collectively bargain, we pay into a 401k, we pay a hefty premium on our health care, our pay is not given to us from tax dollars, and we don’t get a summer off each year. I love teachers and I hold them as immeasurable necessities for the education and development of our young, but if they are placed in the same circumstance the rest of us are already in, I’m okay with it for the collective good it will do for Wisconsin’s budget.

The Absurd Report summed up what happened in Wisconsin with this quote:

“There is no excuse for what has happened in Madison other than to say while they protest for their rights they have trumped the rights of the people at the ballot box.”

Check out the post at www.absurdreport.com.

1,516.6 miles to go.

Day197 Monday 03/14/11

ran 4.5 miles
On a local level, the Tea Party of Lafayette, Louisiana earned an impressive victory recently by putting a stop to a potential TIF (Tax Incremental Finance) district on Kaliste Saloom Road and Camellia Boulevard. Developer Glenn Stewart and Lafayette Economic Development Authority pulled the plug on this TIF District because people became involved and spoke up to stop it. In an article written by Real Estate Investor Jeremiah Supple at teapartyoflafayette.com he explains what a TIF is and outlines how unfeasible this particular proposal was.

A TIF, as described by Mr. Supple, can be used as a ‘loop hole’ around the laws that prohibit a parish to raise taxes without a vote of the public. The taxes on a TIF typically go to reduce the developer’s cost to develop the project. In that respect, tax dollars go to the developer. In a TIF, it is the Council, instead of the public, that determines the taxes paid and who will receive it. In the case with Parc Lafayette, the developer, Glenn Stewart, said he needed another $20 million from tax dollars to change his project of building a Boutique Hotel into a 300-room 5-star hotel.

These are the numbers Mr. Supple used to back up his argument that this TIF was a bad idea and a potential added burden to taxpayers of Lafayette.

• It takes 65% occupancy to break even on service debt in a new hotel in Lafayette, The market is 52%, with 500 more rooms coming on line this year.

• It takes $22 to $24 dollars per square foot to service debt on a new retail center, the market is $15.

• It takes $28 to justify new construction on Office space the market is $17.

Congratulations, Tea Party of Lafayette, for standing up and telling local government that more taxes for expansion we cannot afford is unacceptable. The disappointment in local government that this TIF was even proposed is far outweighed by the proud act of watching people come together to exercise their rights and to express their disapproval of any new taxes that cause more harm than good---especially loop holes that the people who are taxed do not even have the ability to vote for.

Become involved in Lafayette and make a difference! Check out teapartyoflafayette.com and acadianapatriots.com.

1,520.8 miles to go.

Day196 Sunday 03/13/11

ran 2.3 miles
Today ends week twenty-eight of running against Obama. I ran 22.6 miles this week, averaging 3.23 miles per day.

"But as we cut through all the talk and the politics in the energy debate, we can see what the debate is really about. We see the family that thinks twice about what they'll spend at the grocery store this week, because they've been paying $40 to fill up the tank for the last month. We see the grandmother who isn't sure how she'll make her Social Security check cover January's heating bill. The autoworker that isn't sure what the future at Ford holds for him. And the mother who sees turmoil in the Middle East and worries that someday her son might have to fight to secure our oil supply. Ultimately, we see a nation that cannot control its future as long as it cannot control the source of energy that keeps it running."

Barack Obama, 2005 at a meeting of Resources for the Future

The Barack Obama we now know as our president is unwavering in his agenda to do as little as possible to slow the soaring price of gas. Since the Horizon accident last year, only two permits have been issued (both within last month) to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, which supplies one-third of U.S. oil and natural gas needs. Obama has also withdrawn permits that had been issued for drilling in Alaska and made millions of acres of federal land in the lower forty-eight states untouchable for future oil exploration.

In 2007, the Energy Information Administration projected that 700 million barrels of oil would be produced offshore in 2010; the actual number was 600 million. The EIA also predicted 133 million barrels onshore and it was actually 114 million. Currently, they project total U.S. oil production to go down 250,000 barrels per day next year.

This past week, at a CERA (Cambridge Energy Research Associates) event, where Bill Clinton and George Bush were both speakers, they each expressed disappointment in Barack Obama’s slow process of issuing drilling permits and they agreed that in this economy it was an unnecessary burden. Bill Clinton said that under Obama there are “Ridiculous delays in permitting when our economy doesn’t need it”.

1,525.3 miles to go.

Day195 Saturday 03/12/11

ran 1.4 miles
Americans for Tax Reform, you can check them out at www.atr.org, highlighted President Obama’s initial budget proposal from mid-February with some disappointing numbers. This information was published on February 14, 2011. Since then an extension favoring the GOP’s more realistic agenda of spending severely less money was passed. Although these numbers will more than likely not apply to the budget, should Congress ever concur on a plan, it is important to note that this is what Obama wanted and brought to the table as a solution to tackle our overwhelming deficit.

Tax hike “lowlights”, as ATR referred to them, include:

• Raising the top marginal income tax rate (at which a majority of small business profits face taxation) from 35% to 39.6%. This is a $709 billion/10 year tax hike

• Raising the capital gains and dividends rate from 15% to 20%

• Raising the death tax rate from 35% to 45% and lowering the death tax exemption amount from $5 million ($10 million for couples) to $3.5 million. This is a $98 billion/ten year tax hike.

• Capping the value of itemized deductions at the 28% bracket rate. This will effectively cut tax deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, property taxes, state and local income or sales tax, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and unreimbursed employee business expenses. A new means-tested phase-out of itemized deductions limits them even more. This is a $321 billion/ten year tax hike

• New bank taxes totaling $33 billion over ten years

• New international corporate tax hikes totaling $129 billion over ten years

• New life insurance company taxes totaling $14 billion over ten years

• Massive new taxes on energy, including LIFO repeal, Superfund, domestic energy manufacturing, and many others totaling $120 billion over ten years

• Increasing unemployment payroll taxes by $15 billion over ten years

• Taxing management capital gains in an investment partnership (“carried interest”) as ordinary income. This is a tax hike of $15 billion over ten years

• A giveaway to the trial lawyers---not letting companies deduct the cost of punitive damages from a lawsuit settlement. This is a tax hike of $300 million over ten years

• Increasing tax penalties, information reporting, and IRS information sharing. This is a ten-year tax hike of $20 billion

All together, this budget is a ten-year, $1.5 trillion tax hike over present law. The “tax relief” in the budget is essentially an extension of present law, and also some refundable credit outlay spending in the tax code. There is virtually no new tax relief relative to present law in Barack Obama’s budget.

There is little surprise House Republicans found this proposal appalling. And it is very surprising that our president would submit such a proposal that calls for higher taxes to pay for more government spending at a time like this. Under this budget, tax revenues would grow from 14.4% of GDP in 2011 to 20% of GDP in 2021.

1,527.6 miles to go.

Day194 Friday 03/11/11

ran 1.4 miles

• Mississippi was the twentieth state to join the union on December 10, 1817, one year before Illinois and one year after Indiana.

• Population, as of 2010, is 2,967,297.

• Senators are Thad Cochran (R) and Roger Wicker (R).

• Representatives are Alan Nunnelee (R), Bennie Thompson (D), Gregg Harper (R), and Steven Palazzo (R).

• Mississippi has six electoral votes. The state had seceded from the union during the Civil War and did not participate in the 1864 or 1868 presidential elections. Mississippi had voted almost exclusively with the Democratic Party from reconstruction through the early 1960s. Since 1972, the state has voted Republican, except for 1976 (Jimmy Carter). Three times since World War II, Mississippi voted for third-party candidates, more than any other state. John McCain beat Barack Obama 56% to 43% in 2008.

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Those were Rahm Emanuel’s words back in 2009. With that in mind, thank you Huffington Post for using shallow scare tactics to move your political vehicle forward on the axles of Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Directly under an image of Japan torn asunder and engulfed in flames reads the headline “Tsunami Relief And Preparedness Cut In GOP Budget Proposal”.

Thoughts and prayers with those who suffered the disaster in Japan.

1,529.0 miles to go.

Day193 Thursday 03/10/11

ran 3.2 miles

Some polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 23% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 39% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –16.

• Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Barack Obama’s performance and 52% disapprove.

• The Rasmussen Consumer Index shows consumer confidence has fallen to the lowest levels of 2011. Only 33% of American adults rate their own personal finances as good or excellent. That’s down from 43% the night before Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. It’s also down from 38% on the night President Obama was elected and 35% the day he was inaugurated.

• Among American voters, 27% believe the United States is heading in the right direction.

• Among Wisconsin voters, 48% think that increases in public employee pension benefits should require voter approval before implementation.

• Among likely Wisconsin voters, 34% strongly approve of the job Governor Scott Walker is doing and 48% strongly disapprove.

Speaking of Wisconsin, unrest has lost no momentum in the streets and inside the capitol, where hordes of protestors refuse to accept their state government’s decision to curb collective bargaining. Reverend Jesse Jackson has weighed in on the opportunity to stir the pot saying, “So they’re going to escalate the protests---you will either have collective bargaining through a vehicle called collective bargaining or you’re going to have it through the streets. People here will fight back because they think their cause is moral and they have nowhere else to go.”

1,530.4 miles to go.

Day192 Wednesday 03/09/11

ran 3.0 miles
The Wisconsin tug-of-war over union rights officially ended today. Despite the absence of fourteen Senate Democrats who had fled to Illinois and have been hiding from reality for nearly three weeks, the Wisconsin Senate voted to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers. Up until today, the Democrats hiding in the shadows of Illinois were preventing the chamber from having enough members present to vote on Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill (a solution to plug a $137 million budget shortfall).

Discovering a way to overcome the chamber’s aloof Democrats, Senate Republicans split the proposal to reduce union rights from the legislation, effectively avoiding a quorum (a fixed number of members in a legislative assembly required to be present before certain legislation can move forward), which is required to take up any measures that spend money---reducing union rights spends no money. The bill was passed shortly thereafter.

The one Democrat present on the special committee, Peter Barca, shouted that the meeting was a violation of the state’s open meetings law. Republicans voted over his protests, the Senate convened within minutes, and the measure was passed without debate.

“There is nothing Democrats can do now to stop the bill.” Those were the words of Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller in an interview with The Associated Press.

After pointing out that Democrats had nearly three weeks to debate the bill and were offered repeated opportunities to come back, Walker stated, “I applaud the Legislature's action today to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government.”

Walker’s measure prevents most government workers from collectively bargaining for wage increases beyond the rate of inflation, requires public workers to pay more into their pensions, and it doubles their health insurance contribution. Police and firefighters are exempt.

“The people of Wisconsin elected us to come to Madison and do a job,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said in a statement following the vote. “Just because the Senate Democrats won’t do theirs, doesn’t mean we won’t do ours.”

Wisconsin has a $3.6 billion deficit and something had to be done…something big. Rather than pussyfooting around the very important decision of whether it is a better idea to pretend the deficit will magically go away, much like the federal government, or making some tough and effective decisions right now that will strengthen the immediate future, Governor Walker chose the latter. Furthermore, whatever raging quotes or bitter disgruntlements we may read or hear in the coming days from the fourteen Senate Democrats who fled Wisconsin ought to be automatically dismissed as words from individuals who lack all credibility. Their act of running away from the legal lawmaking process because they could not have their way will stand out, at least in my mind, as one of the most ridiculous, unexplainable, desperate measures I have lived to see. They refused to take part in this legislation. In refusing to return to Wisconsin, they forfeited their involvement and their opinion on this issue. If they didn’t have anything to say on the Senate floor for the past three weeks, they certainly don’t have anything worth hearing now.

1,533.6 miles to go.

Day191 Tuesday 03/08/11

ran 3.3 miles

In an op-ed piece in the Boston Herald, Mitt Romney held nothing back today in criticizing Barack Obama’s economic policy. Obama was actually in Boston today, giving Romney’s op-ed an even more direct effect. Romney expands on an interesting term he coined over the weekend in New Hampshire, the “Obama Misery Index”. In 1980, Ronald Reagan placed a Misery Index on Jimmy Carter consisting of the sum total of unemployment and inflation. Presently, the new equation includes unemployment, debt, home foreclosures and bankruptcies. Here are some quotes from the op-ed:

“Turnarounds work when the leader focuses on what’s most important. President Obama did just the opposite: he delegated the jobs crisis to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and he went to work on his own priorities, like cap and trade and government-run health care.”

“Our out-of-control fiscal policies are also impinging directly on the labor market. The failed stimulus program cost around $800 billion. Obamacare is going to cost another trillion. The denizens of the White House appear not to know it, but employers and entrepreneurs worry a good deal about the federal deficit and the federal debt. They look at the future and see that the government’s spending binge will mean higher taxes, higher interest rates, and a much weaker dollar.”

“President Hoover once ruefully complained, 'I’m the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him,' (Hooverville). Obamanomics, which at extraordinary cost has accomplished extraordinarily little, is earning our president his own dubious place in our history books.”

Entering office in the middle of an economy run-a-muck and choosing to pursue something as large as his idea of health care reform, in tandem with an exorbitant stimulus package, is something that instantly burned a sense of disappointment in Barack Obama's direction. I agree with Romney that Barack Obama’s priorities have been a puzzle with odd pieces forced together in places they don’t belong. It’s a puzzle. It makes a recognizable picture. Start with the pieces that can easily be built upon.

Running alongside Romney’s op-ed was another by Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.), in which he discussed America’s corporate tax rate, the second highest of any industrialized country, behind Japan. Here are some quotes from the op-ed:

“Higher taxes mean fewer jobs, and America has the second-highest corporate tax rate of any industrialized country. When Japan reduces its tax rate, we’ll have the dubious distinction of being number one. We need to improve the incentives for businesses to create jobs here in America. A bipartisan bill I’ve introduced, the Brown-Klobuchar Innovate America Act, would cut through the red tape that’s holding back our manufacturers and boost science and technology innovation.”

“Growing our economy will require Washington to stop its binge spending habits. At every level — local, state, and federal — the government is saddled with too much debt, and more borrowing goes on the national credit card every single day. You said that you would veto bills containing earmarks, and that’s a good start. But unfortunately, old Washington habits are hard to break. The budget you proposed in February would almost double the debt in 10 years to $27 trillion. By 2025, tax revenues will only cover interest payments, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Every other federal government activity — from national defense to education — will have to be paid for with borrowed money, which will be added to the tabs of our children and future generations.”

“I just introduced a bipartisan bill with Senator Bill Nelson of Florida that would require the IRS to provide an itemized “receipt’’ showing taxpayers exactly how the federal government spends our money every year and how much new debt we’re putting on the national credit card. This effort will lead to more government transparency.”

The campaign trail to the 2012 election for Barack Obama, as well as, Senators and Representatives will be in full effect soon. Obviously, there are some sleeves being rolled up, hands tightening into fists, and candidates are stepping into the ring. Barack Obama’s first two years as president cost an overwhelming number of senators and representatives their jobs on November 2, 2012.

One particular Democrat, freshman Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, tore into Barack Obama today concerning his budget proposals. Manchin voiced that Obama was failing to lead the way in reducing spending. He also argued that the Republican budget proposals were unrealistic. He and others clearly want some decisive results, as they will be facing tough reelection races in November of 2012. And if issues like these cannot produce timely results over the next two years, one side or the other stands to be shellacked in the next election.

1,536.6 miles to go.

Day190 Monday 03/07/11

Charles Dharapak/Associated Press. President Barack Obama with
China’s Ambassador to the U.S., Zhou Wenzhong, left, and U.S.
Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman on the Great Wall, November 2009.

ran 8.0 miles

Here are a few things you may have missed today.

• President Obama will likely nominate Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be his ambassador to China. This nomination arrived on the heels of Jon Huntsman announcing his resignation from the current position of ambassador to China. Huntsman is aiming to explore a presidential nomination on the Republican ticket in 2012. That’s awkward. The current tension between the U.S. and China continues to build over concerns from Congress and the White House that the yuan is intentionally undervalued, giving China an unfair advantage in world economics.

• Rising gas prices due to crises in North Africa and the Middle East are posing the question of whether Obama should tap America’s 727 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve to quell the inflation of gas prices. Industry insiders and pundits feel doing so would be a bad idea and that the reserve should only be used for real emergencies, while certain Senators and Representatives fear the return of a recession and advocate the use of the reserve. It’s no quick fix, but how about letting America drill its own resources again. Mass transit and green energy are modern technologies with much future potential, but to halt the ability to drill our own natural resources and at the same time import oil from volatile countries that make our energy prices contingent on whether these countries are overthrowing their leader or having a civil war is extremely unreliable and very stressful on an economy. Our lack of energy stability in proportion to the fact that America is fully capable of supplying its own gas and oil needs has always been an unexplainable curiosity of mine. Why have we been using so much oil from so many countries that don’t even like us when we could supply ourselves---creating jobs, bolstering the economy, and being secure in ourselves. Green energy still requires quite a bit of developing at the intended mass scale and ideas like high speed rails, or mass transit, are obviously not feasible at this point because states have been turning away federal money for such projects. In the mean time, and it will be a long “Mean time”, there is every reason to drill. A few permits have been issued recently, but in the full spectrum of opportunity, they are hardly worth mentioning.

• The total number of ObamaCare waivers issued by the Department of Health and Human Services reached 1,040 on Friday. These organizations were given a one-year exemption from a new coverage requirement included in the health care reform law. First thing that comes to mind is how are these companies that received waivers going to afford the costs they are averting now when next year arrives? And the year after that, once this thing really cranks up?

• Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker received a letter today from Democratic escape specialist/state Senate leader Mark Miller suggesting a meeting “Near the Wisconsin-Illinois border” to discuss the state’s budget impasse. As would anyone who was in their right mind, Walker dismissed it as “Ridiculous”. Miller has been MIA since February 17.

1,539.9 miles to go.

Day189 Sunday 03/06/11

ran 4.1 miles
Today ends week twenty-seven of running against Obama. I ran 24.1 miles this week, averaging 3.44 miles per day.

Recently, a friend of mine brought an important fact to my attention, which I need to address concerning some misinformation on this blog. I try diligently to cite verifiable facts when the need arises to back up my opinion but I failed in this particular case. It was not my intention to exaggerate any truths or to blatantly post something false under the guise of factuality and, with that being said, while my opinions are up for interpretation, facts are not.

Here is what happened. On Day141 and Day184, I listed what I thought were some facts regarding ObamaCare. To my fault, I did not dig deeply enough to verify the integrity of my source. The information is presented as an outline drafted by Judge David Kithil of Marble Falls, Texas in which he assumingly points out facts about the health care bill, itemized by sections and page numbers. After doing some research I can officially say it is indeed misinforming.

If you’re interested in learning more about Judge Kithil’s outline of ObamaCare, start here to see his list. Click here to see to what degree aspects of Judge Kithil’s claims are false or true.

I apologize for the misinformation and I will use more scrutiny in verifying my sources in the future. The last thing I want is to lose credibility from people who support or oppose the views expressed in this blog. I am passionate about this nation and I am passionate in my belief that Barack Obama is leading America in the wrong direction, but there is no excuse to purposely misconstrue facts to prove that point. That was not my intention and I will correct the mistake by denoting on Day141 and Day184 that Judge Kithil’s outline of ObamaCare does not accurately reflect the actual text of the health care bill.

Using this source was unfortunate, but I am in no way deterred from my opinion that ObamaCare is a severely flawed plan that has been tested in other countries and proven to fail. Obama is finally offering concessions for states to model their own health care plans based on federal requirements after realizing how absurd it was to create a blanket health care plan for fifty diverse states. But, even with this concession, states are still banding together to avoid the federal government’s grip on health care entirely. That is a big statement and it is also a fact.

1,547.9 miles to go.

Day188 Saturday 03/05/11

ran 2.6 miles

In an interview on MSNBC, hosted by Cenk Uygur, Washington Democrat Representative Jim McDermott supported a theory from Uygur that the GOP-lead House is determined to sabotage the American economy in an effort to defeat Barack Obama in 2012 by refusing to budge on cutting government spending.

“Well, Cenk, you’ve pulled the curtain away from what their hidden agenda is. You have to remember one thing, if you just remember this for the next twenty-four months you will understand what’s going on. They want to defeat Barack Obama in 2012. Everything they do is directed at that and what’s happening right now is their worst nightmare. Here we’ve got more jobs, and they say the only thing we should be doing is cutting spending. And everybody says, ‘No, no that is the wrong thing. You’ll lose 700,000 jobs.’ Goldman Sachs is saying it’s a bad idea. They simply only have one note and that note is beat Barack Obama in 2012. If it costs the economy, if it costs the taxpayers, if it costs the workers---we don’t care, as long as we beat him in 2012.”

The people who pump money into the economy, the taxpayers and the workers, are the people who put these Republicans in the House and they are doing exactly what they campaigned on. There is no hidden agenda. Do many Republicans want Obama out? Yes. Would many Democrats do anything in their power to block a conservative agenda if the tables were turned? Yes. In fact, Wisconsin is a perfect example of how spineless certain politicians can be. Many of the liberal Senators fled their state to avoid the constitutional process of lawmaking. But the current actions of U.S. Republican House members possess no hidden agenda. They are simply representing the constituents who put them in office on November 2, 2011.

McDermott describes the Republican House as a plotting, secretive panel of lawmakers harboring conspiracies that are detrimental to the American people. There is no plot and there is no conspiracy. Look at the polls. Look at what happened on November 2, 2010. Look at the majority of states who are fighting to avoid Obama’s health care. Look at our deficit. Look at the ramifications of what will happen to America if we lose the position of world currency holder. Look who the most influential man in the world is; it’s not Obama, it’s Chinese president Hu Jintao. There is no plot or conspiracy. Conservatives are simply representing the ideas and desires of the people who voted for them and put them in office.

1,552.0 miles to go.

Day187 Friday 03/04/11

ran 2.7 miles

• Minnesota was the thirty-second state to join the union on May 11, 1858, one year before Oregon and eight years after California.

• Population, as of 2009, is 5,266,214.

• Senators are Al Franken (D) and Amy Klobuchar (D).

• Representatives are Timothy Walz (D), John Kline (R), Erik Paulsen (R), Betty McCollum (D), Keith Ellison (D), Michele Bachmann (R), Collin Peterson (D) and Chip Cravaack (R).

• Minnesota has ten electoral votes. Pieced together from part of the original United States, land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase and land attained from Great Britain in 1818, the state voted Republican from 1860 through the onset of the Great Depression, except for 1912 (Theodore Roosevelt). From 1932 onward, Minnesota has voted Democratic except for 1972 (Richard Nixon). In 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain by 10%.

Obama Doctrine of Humility and American Unexceptionalism

In an article by Mark Whittington, he examines the “Obama Doctrine”. What is behind his conviction to refuse to embrace the exceptionalism that America has earned and desires to maintain?

Following our president’s unimpressive and ineffectual response to the current Libyan Civil War, as one example, it seems his passive policy on foreign affairs manifests itself from a unique and unsettling view of America; one that finds strength in weakness. He believes America has been too prideful, has “Shown arrogance”, a phrase he’s used, and needs to be humbled.

While campaigning, Obama shunned the idea of American exceptionalism. He seems to believe that America throws its weight around when it should instead sit idly by rather than attempting to make the world in its own image.

Regarding Libya, another president would have had battleships off the coast of Libya as soon as possible. But that action would have contradicted his defeatist attitude because being the first international country to show up would have displayed way too much power in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Even canceling the U.S. Space Program is suggestive of America disinheriting its superiority. Whittington suggests that “Too much chest thumping arrogance, rubbing the world’s nose into American technological superiority” would be far too immodest.

Other countries welcome our new strategy of humility and they are laughing at us. When Obama does make a demand or gently pose a threat, there is little force behind his words and even less in the ears that receive them.

1,554.6 miles to go.

Day186 Thursday 03/03/11

ran 3.8 miles
Polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 25% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 41% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –16.

• Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Barack Obama’s performance and 54% disapprove.

• Among likely American voters, 66% believe the private sector works harder than government employees, but that government employees have more job security.

• Only 27% of Americans believe the U.S. is generally heading in the right direction.

• Concerning Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s standoff with the unionized public, 48% of likely American voters back the GOP governor and 38% agree with the unionized public employees. Also, 38% of voters think teachers, firemen and policemen should be allowed to go on strike while 49% do not believe they should have that right.

• Among American voters, 58% say it’s better to have a partial shutdown of the federal government until Democrats and Republicans can agree on what spending to cut.

While Wisconsin is a steaming cauldron of controversy over unionized collective bargaining with no end in sight, a similar measure in Ohio is moving rapidly toward passage. As the distance shortens to lightening what many Americans view as labor’s heavy thumb on public agencies, passing this legislation in Ohio speedily will empower other states to do the same if it is necessary to the budgeting of their own out of control deficits.

The bill was passed in the Ohio Senate and could go the House committee hearings next week awaiting strong support from the full chamber.

1,557.3 miles to go.

Day185 Wednesday 03/02/11

image from ivillage.com

ran 3.8 miles
Tomorrow, from 1p.m. to 4p.m., Muslims will meet outside the White House, led by radical Islamic jihadist Anjem Choudary, to protest American culture at America’s capitol. They are calling on Obama to bow to Islam and for America to accept the rule of Sharia law.

As quoted from shariah4america.com (you have got to see this site to believe it!), “We hereby call upon the Muslims in the US, particularly in New York, Michigan, Chicago and Washington DC to take lessons from their Muslim brothers and sisters in North Africa and the Middle East and rise to implement the Shari’ah in America."

The rally will be sponsored by the Islamic Thinkers Society (a group of radical Muslims based in New York), who have invited other high-profile Imams and Clerics from the United Kingdom, as well…one of which is Abu Izzadeen. Izzadeen was convicted of raising money for terrorist organizations and encouraging terror attacks overseas. Released in May of 2009 from a British prison, there is a good chance he will be on Pennsylvania Avenue tomorrow.

Here’s a quote from Anjem Choudary posted yesterday on World Net Daily, "I do believe that as a Muslim every part of the world will be governed by the Sharia," he said. "So symbolically the flag of Islam will fly from every single country, every single nation."

If you don’t know what Sharia law is or how inhumane and absurd its tenets are, you can read about it here.

It seems too ridiculous and farfetched to truly grasp that tomorrow Muslims from America and across the world will be setting up camp in Washington, D.C. to ride the wave of government protests in Africa and the Middle East in order to demand our president to convert our nation to Sharia Law, but there it is. A couple of thoughts---would they be doing this if Someone Else were president or does Barack Obama have a certain entitling appeal for all things un-American? And what will his response be tomorrow? Anything short of “Thank you, but we are not interested in what you are selling, now get off my lawn” is unacceptable…or is it?

1,561.1 miles to go.

Day184 Tuesday 03/01/11

ran 3.8 miles

• Georgia is the latest state to propose legislation questioning whether Barack Obama was born in the United States, alongside ten other states that are seeking more proof before his name is put on the 2012 ballot. The other states with pending bills include Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Connecticut, Indiana, Tennessee and Maine. The measure has failed this year in Montana. It may seem like kicking a dead horse but Obama brought this speculation on himself. All he had to do was present his birth certificate when it was requested. Anyone else who had nothing to hide would have.

• Barack Obama finally conceded to offer some wiggle room with his overbearing, socialistic health care reform bill. His offer, available in 2014 instead of the intended 2017, would allow individual states to design their own health care programs contingent on the fact that they reach the requirements of the federal government. That concession holds as much opportunity as getting four $5 bills instead of two $10 bills in exchange for a $20 bill. Will each state also have to provide insurance to all non-U.S. residents, even if they are here illegally (page 50/section 152)? Will each state have to allow the government real-time access to individuals' bank accounts with the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts (page 58 and 59)? Will each state be forced to subsidize their plan for all union members, union retirees and community organizations; organizations like ACORN (page 65/section 164)? Will each state force all doctors to be paid the same regardless of specialty, and does each state set all doctors’ fees, the way the federal government intends to (page 241 and 253)? Will each state be forced to ration cancer care according to the patient’s age (page 272/section 1145)? Will each state have to administer “End-of-life planning” seminars, or Death Counseling, every five years for those on Social Security (page 425, lines 4-12)? Will each state specify which doctors can exclusively write an end-of-life order (page 429, lines13-25)? When Barack Obama makes a vague, blanket concession to his health care law, with items like these on the bill, it allows you to see how absolutely worthless and disingenuous the action was.

The cited sections above are a false representation of the health care law and should not be taken seriously. I discovered this fact on 03/06/11 and want to point out that it should not have been used as a news source. See Day189 for details surrounding what is true and false from these sections.

• A small victory today for House Republicans. Avoiding a government shutdown, the House passed emergency short-term legislation to cut federal spending by $4 billion. The bill passed 335 to 91, creating a two-week period of time for the White House and lawmakers to negotiate a follow-up bill to set spending levels through the September 30 end of the current budget year.

1,564.9 miles to go.