Day428 Monday 10/31/11

Billboard in Clovis, New Mexico

ran 3.5 miles
“…President Barack Obama will ‘continue’ to act ‘independently’ without congressional authorization to ‘benefit the American people’ as part of the White House’s ‘We Can’t Wait’ campaign.”

“He [Obama] fully understands that the kinds of things that are contained within the American Jobs Act require congressional action, require laws being passed, and that’s why he’s pressing for Congress to take action legislatively.”

“But he can also act independently or, rather, administratively, and exercise his executive authority to benefit the American people in other ways. And he will continue to do that.”

Nicholas Ballasy of Daily Caller quoting White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

Barack Obama is acting more like a king than a president. While he travels around in his black “Death Star” buses blaming Republicans for obstructing his Jobs Act, it goes right over his head that on November 2, 2010, during the mid-term elections, America fired a large portion of his liberal counterparts and replaced them with Republicans who campaigned on obstructing him from raising taxes and further stimulating the economy, which is what his jobs plan is. Congress is not bullying him. The Americans who put Republicans in office are not bullying him. American voters deemed Barack Obama and what he represents in his first two terms as unacceptable. So now that new members of Congress, and older ones who are no longer willing to put their political careers on the line, defy and block the president from his agenda, they are somehow made out to be the bad guys.

The only thing left for this man, lost, mindlessly roaming the halls of the White House, to do is executive orders that usurp Congress and the natural process of legislation. He is blazing a path in the opposite direction that American voters demanded he follow in November of 2010.

796.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day63.

Day427 Sunday 10/30/11

14 MONTHS!!!

ran 2.1 miles
Today ends week sixty-one of running against Obama. I ran 21.9 miles this week, averaging 3.13 miles per day.

Today also ends 14 months of running against Obama. After 427 days of running against an administration that encourages an abusive reliance on government and discourages the ambition necessary for Americans to challenge themselves, to take some risks, and to ultimately succeed---after 427 days, I find that liberal ideas broadly weaken the morale of the millions of people they affect and when these ideas are unleashed at the height which they currently are under Barack Obama the only rationale and sense that is left is to get angry, violent, and to act like a spoiled child. There you have it. That is my brief description of the liberal mindset. It is playing out right before our eyes.

Barack Obama has not been a successful president. The occupiers in the streets of our cities, who have way too much time on their hands, are costing taxpayers even more money, they are disrespectful to our police officers, and they are serving no real purpose other than to distract the entire country from how miserable of a job President Barack Obama has done and continues to do. The biggest accomplishment our president has, which many consider yet another failure, is his health care bill. America does not want it. Repealing it is on the top of the list for most of the candidates running to replace him. I don’t think he has done anything that we can all agree on. And one of the few things we can all agree on is a good economy.

“It’s the economy, stupid.” That line surfaced while Clinton was running for president and it is being screamed even louder now.

Our president had two years with a Democratic Senate and House. He could have done anything he wanted. He made his choices and they have not only failed but set America that much further back. He has stimulated us to the edge of oblivion with monopoly money that has served no noticeable purpose.

I often wonder where the focus would be right now if these young, restless people weren’t in the streets marching around, distracting. I think the focus would be on a failed president and the excitement involved in getting him out of the White House.

799.7 miles to go.

Day426 Saturday 10/29/11

ran 3.2 miles
Some stats and facts about the state of Utah:

• Utah was the forty-fifth state to join the union on January 4, 1896, eleven years before Oklahoma and six years after Wyoming.

• Population, as of 2010, is 2,763,885.

• Senators are Orrin Hatch (R) and Mike Lee (R).

• Representatives are Rob Bishop (R), Jim Matheson (D), and Jason Chaffetz (R).

• Utah has six electoral votes. The state claimed the third largest population swell over the past decade (nearly 24%) and gained one electoral vote for the next decade. Historically, Utah has not voted blue since 1964. In 2008, McCain defeated Obama by 28%.

This is from an ABC News article, “The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don’t work even harder than we did in 2008, then we’re going to have a government that tells the American people ‘you are on your own’.”
That quote from Barack Obama is the most refreshing thing he has said in three years. “On our own” is what we want. Although the quote was uttered during a fund raising dinner in San Francisco, I don’t think Obama has any clue how successful he could be as a president if he would only phrase those words in a different context. Something to the effect of “We cannot continue spending ourselves into oblivion and we cannot continue encouraging Americans to be so reliant upon the government”.

I can’t understand the sense of entitlement so many people in this country feel is somehow owed to them. Get off your rear-end and move forward. We are all victims of the same circumstances. Things could be better and they could be worse. Some of us choose to achieve, no matter how small or large the task, during these hard times and others choose to do…less, for lack of a better and less severe term. Too many have made their government a sedative to everything America has to offer.

801.8 miles to go.
Here is what happened one year ago on Day61.

Day425 Friday 10/28/11

ran 3.1 miles
This evening, the deadline to appear on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary arrived. The official date of the vote is yet to be determined but it is expected to be January 10. This next bit of information I found to be absolutely shocking. There are THIRTY Republican candidates running in this primary! Who are these people and where did they come from? This total number of candidates surpasses the previous record of twenty-five in 1992. Furthermore, there are thirteen Democrats in addition to Barack Obama.

Here they are:

Republicans

Ron Paul of Lake Jackson, Texas, Fred Karger of Laguna Beach, Calif., Andy Martin of Chicago, Ill., Jon Huntsman of Salt Lake City, Utah, Buddy Roemer of Baton Rouge, La., Herman Cain of McDonough, Ga., Vern Wuensche of Houston, Texas, Rick Santorum of Great Falls, Va., Mark Callahan of Eugene, Ore., Mitt Romney of Belmont, Mass., Hugh Cort of Birmingham, Ala., L. John Davis, Jr. of Grand Junction, Colo., Joe Story of Jacksonville, Fla., Linden Swift of Plainfield, Ind., James A. Vestermark of Taylor Mill, Ky., Jeff Lawman of Derry, N.H., Joe Robinson of Newton, Mass., Keith Drummond of Katy, Texas, Newt Gingrich of McLean, Va., Randy Crow of Kelly, N.C., Michele Bachmann of Stillwater, Minn., Michael J. Meehan of St. Louis, Mo., Benjamin Linn of Milford, N.H., Christopher V. Hill of Prospect, Ky., Stewart J. Greenleaf of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Gary Johnson of Canoncito, N.M., Rick Perry of Austin, Texas, Timothy Brewer of Dayton, Ohio, Kevin Rubash of Wilmette, Ill., Bear Betzler of Philadelphia, PA.

Democrats

Barack Obama of Chicago, Ill., Darcy G. Richardson of Jacksonville, Fla., Aldous C. Tyler of Madison, Wis., Robert B. Jordan of Garden Grove, Calif., John D. Haywood of Durham, N.C., Bob Greene of Mountain View, Calif., Craig Freis of Lake Elsinore, Calif., John Wolfe, Jr. of Chattanooga, Tenn., Randall Terry of Purgitsville, W.V., Ed Cowan of Moretown, Vt., Cornelius Edward O'Connor of West Palm Beach, Fla., Bob Ely of Lake Forest, Ill., Edward T. O'Donnell, Jr. of Wilmington, Del., Vermin Supreme of Rockport, Mass.

I had no idea there were so many candidates. I took the liberty of looking a few of them up and they are a colorful bunch. I had begun listing some details about some of them who I found to be a bit more eccentric than others but then decided against it. If there is one thing I have learned about following the news and blogging everyday it is the fact that we are all very different and very easily offended. What I may find as comical or ridiculous, others might hold in high regard and take quite seriously. I highly recommend Googling every name above you have never heard of.

805.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day60.

Day424 Thursday 10/27/11

ran 3.8 miles

What would be going on right now if this childish, prefabricated parade of whining was not being choreographed and portrayed on the American stage by so many angry and vulnerable malcontents? If Wall Street had never been "Occupied" then our current president would have been that much more exposed for the failure he has been over the last three years. Take away the drama and the masquerading in the streets that is demanding so much of our attention and what do you have left? A failed president who has no leg to campaign on except for the opportunities he seizes in the near future of chaos that is unfolding.

808.1 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day59.

Day423 Wednesday 10/26/11

ran 3.1 miles

811.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day58.

Day422 Tuesday 10/25/11

ran 3.4 miles

Today I stumbled upon a quick, easy test you can take to see how closely you fall in line with the ideas of the presidential candidates. Not only do the results place your likeness with candidates but with members of Congress, as well. The results elaborate on each candidate or member of Congress explaining in what ways your views match or oppose theirs. Not sure where you stand? This test might help.

Coincidentally, if you click on Day57 below there is another quick, informative quiz.

815.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day57.

Day421 Monday 10/24/11

ran 3.2 miles
Some stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 19% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 40% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –21.

Overall, 45% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 54% at least somewhat disapprove. The president earns approval from 80% of Democrats while 91% of Republican voters disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 44% approve and 55% disapprove.

Among American adults, 41% say their views are closer to the Tea Party than Occupy Wall Street while 34% are closer to OWS.

In case you didn't know, our federal government will be turning off all television and radio communications simultaneously on the afternoon of 11/9 for the first time in American history. It will occur at 2:00pm (EST). This shut down is a test for the national Emergency Alert System. Or is it? Remember Egypt's uprising when the government blacked out the internet because the protestors were so well organized and were growing too powerful through the use of sites like facebook? Perhaps this test is filled with innocent, good intentions but we will no longer be curious whether our government has the power to completely cut off communication and news. Pretty scary. Especially when our president is a leader who openly entertains the idea of overriding Congress when he cannot get his way. If this country keeps crumbling in division, potential actions like these become desperate measures for desperate times---and America is getting desperate.

818.4 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day56.

Day420 Sunday 10/23/11

ran 3.1 miles
Today ends week sixty of running against Obama. I ran 28.4 miles this week, averaging 4.06 miles per day.

It appears that Occupy Wall Street is showing early signs of internal frustration and implosion. From www.nypost.com, here are some facts and quotes from Ginger Adams Otis’ article “They want $lice of the occu-pie”.

Occupy Wall Street’s Finance Committee (ironic, right?) has around $500,000 in donations in a bank (ironic, right?) and, as donations continue to grow, different factions of protestors are losing their patience with the Finance Committee’s inability to properly redistribute the donations to meet the needs of every protestor.

One small example, a few protestors with drums were angry after fellow protestors vandalized their drums on Wednesday night. The drummers requested $8,000 for new drums and the construction of a small building to lock their drums in at night. They were turned down by the Finance Committee. These individuals are now threatening to protest elsewhere.

“F--k Finance. I hope Mayor Bloomberg gets an injunction and demands to see the movement’s books. We need to know how much money we really have and where it’s going.” This from Bryan Smith, a Californian who joined OWS three weeks ago. Is he looking for fiscal responsibility and effectiveness? I think I heard hints of a desire for him and his faction of protestors to receive what they worked so hard to earn, rather than work hard for no reason because those who put in so little claim so much. That sounds American, and dare I say conservative?

“The other day, I took in $2,000. I kept $650 for my group, and gave the rest to Finance. Then I went to them with a request -- so many people need things, and they should not be going without basic comfort items -- and I was told to fill out paperwork. Paperwork! Are they the government now?”

Smith went on to explain that the Finance Committee hordes the dollars raised by all occupiers, but doesn’t give it back (that sounds familiar). Bryan Smith’s Comfort group receives an allowance of $150 per day as bigger groups, such as the Kitchen group, get nearly $2,000 each day.

“What can I do with $150?” said Smith. “We have three tons of wet laundry here from the rainstorm -- how do I get that done? We need winter gear, shoes, socks. I could spend $10,000 alone for backpacks people need. We raise all this money. Where is it?”

821.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day55.

Day419 Saturday 10/22/11

ran 5.8 miles

Today was Election Day for Louisiana. In my hometown of Lafayette we voted for nine district councilmen or women, Lafayette City/Parish President, consolidation or de-consolidation, judges were on the ballot, some important amendments were presented, we voted for governor and lieutenant governor, and more.

There is something that irks me throughout every one of these election seasons, though. It’s the signs. These signs are everywhere. Every time I drive by one I want to pull it out of the ground and put it in the yard of whoever's name is on it. Let them collect there instead of on the side of every street we drive on.

The pictures above are from a boulevard leading up to a voting precinct in Lafayette. It looks like a thin, grassy strip of multi-colored vinyl tombstones laid down haphazardly in oddly dimensioned 6’ by 120’ strips. As you drive by you feel you are being screamed at by colors and names that change so quickly you can’t make sense of any of it.

But I get it. It is what it is. We voters are all whimsical subterraneans who lack the ability to form our own decisions within two seconds of pulling into the voting precinct, which those in higher elevations who are running for office find an opportunity to sway we feeble-minded voters. These signs and the abundance in which they are chaotically piled one upon another are ugly and insulting. And, unfortunately, they are obviously effective. Otherwise, the act of putting 800 different signs on a 10’ by 10’ strip of grass would not have endured for as long as it has. It is a reflection of how superficially voters can be swayed at the last second and how predictable those who run for office assume our intelligence to be.

It costs a lot of money to get elected, and the higher the position the more money. We accept this fact because it has been this way for so long, but it is a shame. It is further evidence that money buys all, even though we all know better.

824.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day54.

Day418 Friday 10/21/11

ran 1.7 miles

Democrat Representative Dennis Cardoza of California bitterly announced his retirement yesterday and the five-term congressman also took the liberty of lambasting President Obama on his way out. In a post by Jim Hoft of www.thegatewaypundit.com he elaborates on how Cardoza “issued a scathing parting shot at President Obama’s track record on his way out”.

In a statement describing the reasons for his decision to retire, Cardoza claimed he was “dismayed” by the administration’s “failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis”.

“Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the Administration’s inaction is infuriating,” Cardoza said.

Cardoza is the sixth Democrat to announce intentions to retire. There are many Democrats who are keeping their distance from Obama, and this is most evident in the Senate where Democrats control the majority and even they will not pass his jobs bill. The bill had failed to pass a couple weeks ago and it failed again recently.

830.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day53.

Day417 Thursday 10/20/11

ran 4.1 miles

Gaddafi is dead, as I’m sure you’ve heard. All the way back to the 1980s, Ronald Reagan even waged war on this man, ultimately seeking an assassination. More than two decades later those involved in the United Nations’ efforts to support the Libyan rebels and their cause have successfully eliminated this tyrant. Although it was a collectively international effort, our own president has no qualms about saying “your welcome”.

President Barack Obama might encourage adults to suck off the teat of the government as awkwardly as one may find a twelve-year-old boy being breastfed by his mother, he may discourage hard work and those who are far more enterprising than himself by wanting to tax them into an oblivion that would absolutely stun all of his hungry mouths and the American economy at large, he may constantly contradict himself, as so many American presidents do, but this Nobel Peace Prize laureate is killing the competition. Under his administration we are killing some serious international obstacles.

I am not insinuating anything in particular, but it is sort of ironic that the one crowning achievement our president has, which everyone can agree on, is that, under his administration, our most serious threats are dropping dead at a rate that few other presidents can surpass---and with a Nobel Peace Prize paid forward in the first year of his term.

Ironic.

Speaking in Sirt, marking the twenty-forth anniversary of Reagan’s attack on Lybia, Gaddafi had this to say of Barack Obama:

"At the time, we were the target of the American cannon, the American navy challenged us in the gulf of Sirt and attacked us all along Libya's shores. America tested Libya, and the Libyan people resisted the large country, but today, thank God, the difference is great."

How did that work out for you, Gaddafi?

"Now, ruling America is a black man from our continent, an African from Arab descent, from Muslim descent, and this is something we never imagined – that from Reagan we would get to Barakeh Obama."

One more.

"I urge all peoples to give him this chance and to support this policy, because America is a country that, when its policy is bad – harms the world, and when it is good – it helps the world."

Okay, one more.

"…The dream that Obama has for a world free of nuclear weapons will come true. This is something that no previous American president has proposed. Obama is a man who opposes wars that previous American presidents were entangled in; he has declared that he will withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq – something which has never been proposed before."

I promise, this is the last one.

"The Arabs hate America, there is no doubt. There is not an Arab that loves America, and even the leaders who the United States considers allies or friends – hate it. The external love is merely hypocrisy or pragmatism. The reason for this is clear – Palestine."

Ironic.

832.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day52.

Day416 Wednesday 10/19/11

ran 4.3 miles

I’m going to defer on tackling the news of the day and jump back into history tonight. Something fun and interesting. It is one of many examples of historic global ironies, in which the humble, universal human element is blinded by pride and power.

On this day in history in 1958, the first world’s fair was held since before World War II in Brussels, Belgium. The theme was “A World View, A New Humanism”. Forty-two million people had visited from all over the world. The fair was intended to celebrate the common struggles of the human condition and to move forward with peace. Recently ripped apart by war, the idea of peace and equality was quite popular, yet the nations of the world were now in the grasps of the Cold War.

The United States and the Soviets, the two undisputed world powers at the time found opportunity, however, in exhibiting their own unique world views and inherent greatness. Both sides viewed this world’s fair as a competition with one another, a battle to be won. Located directly across from one another, their exhibits were clearly in direct competition for the approval of the world.

The Soviets focused on technological and scientific feats of their communist state. A full-scale model of Sputnik I, the unmanned satellite launched into orbit by the Soviets in 1957, was the headlining piece of their exhibition. America, on the other hand, depicted the common life of Americans. Voting booths, the latest fashions modeled by attractive women, modern furniture and flashy appliances were all in bulk. The centerpiece for the United States was the full-scale construction of an American “Main Street”.

Here is the irony. This face-off between these two world powers ended with a result of Czechoslavakia winning first place for the best exhibition.

836.3 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day51.

Day415 Tuesday 10/18/11

ran 3.9 miles
I’ve posted quite a few videos on this blog over the last year but this one is the best I’ve seen. The guy talking, Chris Savvinidis, is a machine. I have to admit I am a bit jealous of his ability to wield such concise logic and such an immense amount of useful information at such a rapid and articulate pace. He made more sense than a dozen of any other protestors combined. These people in the streets, far the most part are too blinded with anger and cannot unite, except for the ability to make some clever signs and to rebel for the simple sake of rebelling. If only one-third of them would rally around this guy, who brought some true problems and some crystal clear solutions to the table, they would make a far larger impact. Instead, they walk the streets like incoherent zombies, which, in fact, many protestors dress up as for added effect.

840.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day50.

Day414 Monday 10/17/11

ran 5.5 miles
You rock, Charles Payne!

Much of what these people in the streets are haphazardly protesting and most of the solutions they offer are the same ideas that got so many countries in Europe in the exact economic crises they currently face, and that the whole world is feeling. So the solution is to start trying to do the same thing so many others have completely failed at? It is not seeking such unrealistic answers as these that has made America uniquely strong and united for so long.

844.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day49.

Day413 Sunday 10/16/11

ran 1.9 miles

Today ends week fifty-nine of running against Obama. I ran 18.9 miles this week, averaging 2.70 miles per day.

“As the faith that gave birth to the West is dying in the West, peoples of European descent from the steppes of Russia to the coast of California have begun to die out, as the Third World treks north to claim the estate. The last decade provided corroborating if not conclusive proof that we are in the Indian Summer of our civilization.”

“America is disintegrating. The centrifugal forces pulling us apart are growing inexorably. What unites us is dissolving. And this is true of Western Civilization….Meanwhile, the state is failing in its most fundamental duties. It is no longer able to defend our borders, balance our budgets, or win our wars.”

“[W]hite America is an endangered species. By 2020, whites over 65 will out-number those 17 and under. Deaths will exceed births. The white population will begin to shrink and, should present birth rates persist, slowly disappear.”


“Mexico is moving north. Ethnically, linguistically and culturally, the verdict of 1848 is being over-turned. Will this Mexican nation within a nation advance the goals of the Constitution — to “insure domestic tranquility” and ‘make us a more perfect union’? Or have we imperiled our union?”

“Half a century on, the disaster is manifest. The robust and confident Church of 1958 no longer exists. Catholic colleges and universities remain Catholic in name only. Parochial schools and high schools are closing as rapidly as they opened in the 1950s. The numbers of nuns, priests and seminarians have fallen dramatically. Mass attendance is a third of what it was. From the former Speaker of the House to the Vice President, Catholic politicians openly support abortion on demand.”

“How can Notre Dame credibly teach that all innocent life is sacred, and then honor a president committed to ensuring that a woman’s right to end the life of her innocent child remains sacrosanct?”

“We have accepted today the existence in perpetuity of a permanent underclass of scores of millions who cannot cope and must be carried by society — fed, clothed, housed, tutored, medicated at taxpayer’s expense their entire lives. We have a dependent nation the size of Spain in our independent America. We have a new division in our country, those who pay a double or triple fare, and those who ride forever free.”

Pat Buchanan has written a book, “Suicide of a Superpower”, that hits bookshelves on Tuesday. The above excerpts from the book are intended to scare the reader into a reality few would like to look at or deal with. But it is a reality and the sooner its terms are recognized, the sooner it can be prevented. This book is nothing more than just another man’s opinion, but take a look around for a moment. Hit mute on the television. Silence your cell phone. Close your eyes. Look into the far corners of your mind you have not visited in a long time. Open up the dusty boxes. See what’s inside. What you will find is an abundance of common sense that we have all forgotten about for a long time. This is still our country and there is no politician or government that can legislate the pride and dignity that we all desire.

850.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day48.

Day412 Saturday 10/15/11

ran 3.1 miles

Here is your America, ladies and gentlemen, under Barack Obama. I assure you these challenged individuals did not vote for John McCain in 2008 and they will not be voting for Herman Cain or any other Republican nominee in 2012. Four words for this guy to express himself and the direction he wants America to lead, and this is the best he can do. Go Barack!

Some stats and facts about the state of Texas:

• Texas was the twenty-eighth state to join the union on December 29, 1845, one year before Iowa and nine months after Florida.

• Population, as of 2010, is 25,145,561.

• Senators are John Cornyn (R) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R).

• Representatives are Louis Gohmert (R), Ted Poe (R), Samuel Johnson (R), Ralph Hall (R), Jeb Hensarling (R), Joe Barton (R), John Culberson (R), Kevin Brady (R), Al Green (D), Michael McCaul (R), Michael Conaway (R), Kay Granger (R), William Thornberry (R), Ronald Paul (R), Ruben Hinojosa (D), Silvestre Reyes (D), Bill Flores (R), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D), Randy Neugebauer (R), Charles Gonzalez (D), Lamar Smith (R), Pete Olson (R), Francisco Canseco (D), Kenny Marchant (R), Lloyd Doggett (D), Michael Burgess (R), Blake Farenthold (R), Henry Cuellar (D), Raymond Green (D), Eddie Johnson (D), John Carter (R), and Peter Sessions (R).

• Texas has thirty-eight electoral votes. During the 2010 Census Reapportionment, Texas’ booming population earned the state four more electoral votes through 2020. Texas has gained at least one additional electoral vote in every Census since 1930 and they are second to California’s fifty-five electoral votes. Historically, Texas voted blue with very few splices of red between 1872 and 1976. The streak ended in 1980 and Texas has voted Republican, since. John McCain defeated Barack Obama by a margin of 56% to 44% in 2008.

851.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day47.

Day411 Friday 10/14/11

ran 1.8 miles

Hmmm. No thanks. Sorry, I have to work tomorrow and contribute to society. I’m not very happy about the fact that I have to work tomorrow performing a job that constantly reminds me of how many other things I would rather be doing, but it is something I feel has to be done. It gives me a sense of pride and dignity.

But think of me as your getting your wrists zip-tied by police, and find a way to make your actions fit into your job qualifications for future CORPORATE employers you interview with. Good luck, friend. Wreak havoc. Create chaos. Further remove yourself from all rationality and refuse to gaze into the near future. DO NOT take inventory of how disappointing your future-self will be that you wasted all of this time and how much you cost the taxpayers by being yet another unnecessary burden.

But, yeah man, rock on. Stick it to the man. Wish I could be there!

The poster above comes from the same Warhol piggy-back pop artist who did Barack Obama's "Hope" poster, Shepard Fairey. Sell it, Fairey! Hope you make some honest bucks and spread them around to the Nikes on the ground and the iphones in the air. Don't you get rich on us! I've never been very good with my hands but I've always wanted to be an artist. Can you give me half of your talent because there is no way I will ever achieve your ability. You have so much talent in artistry and I have none. I have no respect or appreciation for the abilities and hard work you possess so why don't you just give me half of what you've got?

Here is the entire, ridiculous invitation to the fool's parade.

855.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day46.

Day410 Thursday 10/13/11

Liar

ran 3.2 miles
A few weeks ago I had submitted this blog to Barack Obama’s ridiculous website Attackwatch.com. This is a website for people who want to turn their neighbors in for speaking negatively against our president. As a consequence to completing the submission I had to give them an email address. I have been receiving mass-emails from Barry and his cronies since. Recently, I posted a few of them to show how ridiculous and fabricated they are. But, the last one I received was a display of pure lies. Here it is:

“Friend --

Last night, the American Jobs Act was filibustered by Senate Republicans. There was no vote on the actual bill.

But it would have succeeded: the American Jobs Act has at least 51 votes -- a clear majority -- to pass the Senate. And a new poll shows that 63 percent of Americans support it, too.”

Liar

There was no filibuster and, furthermore, there was a vote and this liar didn’t even have enough Democratic votes in the Democratic-led Senate to support his Jobs Act stimulus package.

The vote was 51 to 48. Fifty-one votes supported the Jobs Act but this fractional majority was moot as 60 Senate votes were necessary to pass the bill.

Democratic Senators Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) sided with Republicans and voted “No”. A handful of other Senate Democrats, including Jim Webb (Va.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) voted to proceed to debate contingent on the understanding that they would have otherwise voted against the bill itself.

Senate Republicans recently put a bill together, the “Real American Jobs Act”, which includes such measures as

• passing a balanced budget amendment

• repealing health care and financial reform bills

• reducing income tax rates to 25%

• and curbing expensive mandates on states

These ideas are all far too rational and effective to be considered by Barack Obama. They seem more like a sarcastic and condescending response to the unacceptable plan he put on the table, himself. Could you imagine Barack Obama repealing his own legacy health care reform? Won’t happen, but way to further exploit how stubborn and dedicated our president is to leading this nation further to nowhere.

856.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day45.

Day409 Wednesday 10/12/11

Click here for larger image

ran 0.9 miles
Looking for a fresh start? A career change? Aimlessness? Have experience protesting ideas that you do not understand and solutions you cannot articulate into coherent explanations? Have we got the job for you...and it will look great on your resume! Become a protestor since you are probably not doing anything else anyway.

"The WFP is seeking immediate hires.
You must be an energetic communicator, with a passion for social and economic justice.
Only outgoing, articulate dedicated, determined candidates will be considered for the positions.
Compensation: $350-$650 A Week Depending On Responsibility & Length Of Time On Staff"

860.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day44.

Day408 Tuesday 10/11/11

ran 4.2 miles
On this day in history, in 2002, Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize. This is one of many reasons the award, which was established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), has arguably lost much of its integrity as a consequence of some certain individuals whom have earned the award.

Barack Obama also won this award during the first year of his presidency…for reasons I would argue are extremely questionable and borderline nonexistent. Whoever the runner-up was had to have been disappointed because if the only thing they did was walk an elderly woman across a street then they should have been distinguished over Barack Obama.

The award comes with a one million dollar prize, which makes it ironic that both of these individuals were American presidents who had such tunnel visions of humanity and equality that they failed to see how damaging their agendas were to the United States in a larger picture. Spreading their socialistic agendas and selling utopian ideas that only set the principles of a nation like America aside to be ignored earned these two individuals one million dollars each.In Carter’s defense, the man has performed many humanitarian actions and has contributed to the well-being of suffering people…but, his passion and his ideas made him, arguably, one of the worst presidents in history and I think Barack Obama is going to have the same one-term fate and categorically disappointing impact in American history.

860.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day43.

Day407 Monday 10/10/11

ran 3.8 miles
“The gist is this: President Obama has become a lone wolf, a stranger to his own government. He talks mostly, and sometimes only, to friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett and to David Axelrod, his political strategist.”

“Everybody else, including members of his Cabinet, have little face time with him except for brief meetings that serve as photo ops. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner both have complained, according to people who have talked to them, that they are shut out of important decisions.”

These are quotes from a New York Post article written by Michael Goodwin. The title of the article is “Aimless Obama Walks Alone”. Disenchanted, to say the least, Barack Obama is looking less and less like a leader and more and more like a simple Community Planner who is unqualified for the role of President of the United States of America.

Goodwin goes on to say, “Obama conceded in one television interview recently that Americans are not 'better off than they were four years ago' and said in another that the nation had 'gotten a little soft.' Both smacked of a man who feels discouraged and alienated and sparked comparisons to Jimmy Carter, never a good sign.”

“Obama himself is spending his public time pushing a $450 billion “jobs” bill -- really another stimulus in disguise -- that even Senate Democrats won’t support. He grimly flogged it repeatedly at his Thursday press conference, even though snowballs in hell have a better chance of survival.”

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, 42% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 55% at least somewhat disapprove. President Obama earns approval from 39% of men and 45% of women.

865.1 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day42.

Day406 Sunday 10/09/11

ran 3.0 miles

Today ends week fifty-eight of running against Obama. I ran 20.9 miles this week, averaging 2.99 miles per day.

Herman Cain is Someone Else. The Someone Else in 2012 we have all been talking about is Herman Cain. This man is committed to his ideas and I think he strikes the average voter as a candidate who is extremely driven to achieve the needs our country is painfully aching for.

It is very simple to not be Barack Obama. This is the reason that so many American’s want Someone Else. Someone Else, at this point has no name. Someone Else could be a plank of wood or a yo-yo. We just simply want Someone Else.

But, to go beyond that general declaration, that unspecified urgency to get this man out of the White House by any common-sense electoral process possible, Herman Cain is the man for the job. He is the only unwavering candidate out there who is truly criticizing the protestors in the streets and delivering a message of tough love that so many Americans, including myself, need and want to hear.

Barack Obama wants to give Americans money that they did not earn and in many, many cases do not deserve. Herman Cain advocates a far stronger and enduring message that if you want something, no matter how far away it is from your grasps, tie up your red, white, and blue laces, pick up your chin and straighten your back, and go do something with yourself. This has always been America’s one single requirement for anyone to succeed.

Here are a few quotes from Herman Cain regarding “Occupy America” or “American fall” as I like to call it.

“When a reporter asked me the other day, well, what do you think about those demonstrations up on Wall Street, I said, first of all, Wall Street didn’t write these failed economic policies -- the White House did,”

“Why don’t you move the demonstrations to the White House?”

“Wall Street didn’t write those failed policies, Wall Street didn’t spend a trillion dollars,” said Cain. “Wall Street isn’t asking to spend another $450 billion. It didn’t work with a trillion. It’s not gonna’ work with $450 billion. You can demonstrate all you want on Wall Street. The problem is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!”

868.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day41.

Day405 Saturday 10/08/11

Is this what you want America to look like in 2012?

ran 3.1 miles
Remember Wisconsin? It was back in February. Unions organized protestors to wreak havoc on the capitol in opposition to state legislation that cut back their ability to collectively bargain and forced them to start paying more into their pensions, or 401k plans, like the rest of us. That was eight months ago and what have you heard about it lately?

You haven’t heard anything because the protest failed. Protestors trashed their capitol building and forced even more tax dollars into unnecessary expenditure.

The protests going on currently are much of the same. The only thing these people are achieving is to waste more of their own time than they already have by not moving forward in their own lives and to waste more tax dollars to clean up all of their misguided frustration. They are exacting nothing more than wasted time and maybe a picture from the media to remind them for the rest of their lives how they had one single moment fighting everything that keeps this nation moving forward. That’s something to be proud of.

And our president is all for this. He’ll take anything he can get right now because he has no leg to stand on for a 2012 campaign---except for promises to give free money to people who have no desire to sweat or earn the things they own. This practice panned out pretty well for Europe. Cuba is a nice spot to live. And if you really want to feel the adrenalin that the simple freedom to protest can amplify, go to China and stand on a street with a soapbox and a sign. See how that works out for you.

871.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day40.

Day404 Friday 10/07/11

ran 1.4 miles

I am the 53%

875.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day39.

Day403 Thursday 10/06/11

ran 2.8 miles
Here’s something from June of 2011 I had completely forgotten about, but stands out as one of many reasons why Barack Obama is not the right man for the job. And, as an aside, I’m tired of people saying Republicans are blocking Obama from getting anything done---then twisting that into the notion that Republicans are blocking American progress. Barack Obama has been blocking American progress since day one and the reason Republicans are such a barrier to his agenda is because American voters elected so many men and women who are committed to conservative principles in the mid-term elections to do exactly what they are doing. They are performing their jobs, and their task is to control his damage by minimizing it until 2012. Moving forward, do you remember the ATM machines story? Our president dug pretty deep into his bag of unused excuses for this one. Allow me to stir your memory:

"There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don't go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you're using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate."

Lame. That's like blaming Edison for inventing the light bulb while your still dipping wicks in wax to make candles.

And here are just a few other glances back at Barack Obama’s presidency (www.commentarymagazine.com):

• Under Obama’s stewardship, we have lost 2.2 million jobs (and 900,000 full-time jobs in the last four months alone). He is now on track to have the worst jobs record of any president in the modern era.

• The unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent v. 7.8 percent the month Obama took office.

• July marked the 30th consecutive month in which the unemployment rate was above the 8 percent level, the highest since the Great Depression.

• Since May 2009 — roughly 14 weeks into the Obama administration — the unemployment rate has been above 10 percent during three months, above 9 percent during 22 months, and above 8 percent during two months.

• Chronic unemployment is worse than during the Great Depression.

• The youth employment rate is at the lowest level since records were first kept in 1948.

• The share of the eligible population holding a job has declined to the lowest level since the early 1980s.

• The housing crisis is worse than in the Great Depression. (Home values are worth roughly one-third less than they were five years ago.)

• The rate of economic growth under Obama has been only slightly higher than the 1930s, the decade of the Great Depression. From the first quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2011, we experienced five consecutive quarters of slowing growth. America’s GDP for the second quarter of this year was a sickly 1.0 percent; in the first quarter, it was 0.4 percent.

• Fiscal year 2011 will mark the third straight year with deficits in excess of $1 trillion. Prior to the Obama presidency, we had never experienced a deficit in excess of $1 trillion.

• During the Obama presidency, America has increased its debt by $4 trillion.

• That is to say, Obama has achieved in two-and-a-half years what it took George W. Bush two full terms in office to achieve — and Obama, when he was running for president, slammed Bush’s record as being “unpatriotic.”

• America saw its credit rating downgraded for the first time in history under the Obama presidency.

• Consumer confidence has plunged to the lowest level since the Carter presidency.

• The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Obama’s watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

• A record number of Americans now rely on the federal government’s food stamps program. More than 44.5 million Americans received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, a 12 percent increase from one year ago.

All you people protesting in the streets need to quit occupying America and to start embracing America. No government will ever do this for you.

876.4 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day38.

Day402 Wednesday 10/05/11

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

ran 4.6 miles
“I can’t speak for the people out there because I don’t know who they are and exactly what they’re demonstrating against. I can argue the case for their right to express their outright frustration with what’s going on.”

Ron Paul

These guys have every right to dress up like they’re on the video set of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, but it is going to take more substance than this and some worthy ideas beyond Anarchism or Communism to make a real difference. These zombies are focusing frustration on 1% of the nation and casually lumping together the other 99% as have-nots. There is much I do not have and little that I do, but I am proud of how hard I work for that which I do have. I have little in common with the views these protestors share and I think their approach to making a point is both childish and ineffective. I am not 1 of their 99%.

879.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day37.

Day401 Tuesday 10/04/11

ran 2.0 miles

Occupy Los Angeles. Occupy Tulsa. Occupy Houston. Occupy Seattle. Occupy Boston. Occupy New York City. Occupy Denver…

Occupy America.

This is the progressive version of, or solution to, the Tea Party. If you can’t beat them, don’t join them; make your own haphazard party of individuals who have absolutely no solution to any of the problems being protested.

After all of the slander the Tea Party has endured from the left, they continue to seek definitive, well-articulated solutions to the problems they find in the federal government (the Tea Party did not want more taxes so they and others who do not even identify themselves as Tea Party backers put men and women into Congress in 2010 who promised to not raise taxes, the Tea Party wants no part of Obamacare so they and others who do not even identify themselves as Tea Party backers sought law suits and are pursuing an interstate compact to avoid Barack Obama’s legislation, the Tea Party and others who do not even identify themselves as Tea Party backers do not understand why illegal aliens are so entitled when so many perfectly legal citizens are struggling so unfairly...

The list goes on and on, and here is the difference between Occupy America and the Tea Party. One group does not have any solutions for the problems they identify. The other does. One group is getting arrested in the streets by the hundreds. The other is not. One group wants four more years of Barack Obama. The other wants Someone Else. One group wants failed Socialistic governance. The other wants America.

Point is, the Tea Party has and continues to take the necessary steps outlined by the laws we have set in place, through civility, problem-solving, and sheer logic to bring about the changes they and so many others desire from the inner-most cores of their Constitutional hearts.

Occupy America, by the name alone, suggests and has exhibited nothing more than a culmination of the same chaos we have been experiencing for the last three years. Their cause and their inability to even articulate into words what exactly it is that they want is a testimony of how frustrating and unexplainable times are right now in America.

When I was twenty-years-old, I would have loved to have been a part of this movement and to take to the streets with a clever sign and a clenched fist in the air, just to say, “Yeah, man, I was there. It was awesome. We really stuck it to the man!”

But I haven’t been twenty in thirteen years and I no longer have the patience for actions that serve no purpose except to disrupt the progress of an entire nation.

We are one year, one month, and two days away from possibly saving this country. Someone Else 2012!

883.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day36.

Day400 Monday 10/03/11

400 Days!!!

ran 4.0 miles
American country music treasure Hank Williams, Jr. apparently overstepped the boundaries we as a nation have set for being politically correct today. While appearing on a Fox News program this morning Williams made a comment that has gotten him pulled from ESPN’s Monday Night Football opening tonight.

Williams said he thought the so-called golf summit between Barack Obama and John Boehner, which occurred last summer, was “one of the biggest political mistakes ever”.

He went on to say, “It would be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli leader) Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Afterwards, when asked to explain his comment, Williams said Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the “enemy”. He explained that it seemed ludicrous to him that they would play golf together. He claimed Obama and Boehner “are polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will.”

That is a very matter-of-fact observation, in my opinion, but it could have been worded with far more taste. Perhaps a comparison, more sensitive such as “It would be like Nancy Pelosi playing Bridge with Sarah Palin”. No insults on either side of that comparison. Just two individuals I think we can all agree have no desire to sit across from one another at a table.

Here are a few stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 20% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 42% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –22.

• Overall, 44% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 54% at least somewhat disapprove.

885.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day35.

Day399 Sunday 10/02/11

images from LATimes.com and Chicagoist.com

ran 2.9 miles
Protests in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston...the east is taking to the streets with an Arab spring while the west is preparing for an American fall.

Today ends week fifty-seven of running against Obama. I ran 25.0 miles this week, averaging 3.57 miles per day.

889.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day34.