Day549 Wednesday 02/29/12

18 months of running against Obama!!!

ran 3.0 miles
Barack Obama’s Secretary of Energy, Stephen Chu, put his foot in his mouth today claiming to a House committee that the Obama administration has no interest in lowering gas prices.

Our president, making the best of a good crisis, seems to look at $5.00/gallon gas as a plus, $8.00 and $9.00/gallon gas even better, which he believes creates incentive to utilize alternative energies, an obvious agenda of his. When asked about the inflation of gas prices recently our president responded by recommending that we incorporate pond scum, or algae, into the American energy plan.

The denial of the Keystone pipeline was a monumental mistake that forfeited tens of thousands of jobs, tax revenues, and a broad step further toward energy independence.

Our president has no interest in lowering gas prices. For him, the higher the cost the better to push his agenda. Yet, the importance he gave to the payroll tax cut extension, which gives an average of forty extra dollars to American households per month, was treated with severity.

How much money would you save per month if gas was $2.50/gallon again? I can tell you I would save about…$53.00/month, and my trip to work each day is less than ten miles. If you’re a commuter than this payroll tax extension is even further insignificant to the larger priority of lower gas prices.

Hurry up, November!

396.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day184.

Day548 Tuesday 02/28/12

ran 3.3 miles
This is the best idea I have seen in a long time and the first thing I am going to do tomorrow is purchase a few stacks of post-it notes. I am going to scribble and stick these things everywhere and I encourage you to do the same.

This is as grassroots as it gets. If you want to get involved, remain anonymous, and express how you feel, go to a store and buy a pad of post-it notes and stick them on anything that moves you.

Gas stations, grocery stores, libraries, malls, restaurants…there is no end.

And, just to fully convey to what extent how disappointing the direction our country is heading under Barack Obama, what sort of message would his supporters write on these post-it notes to promote his re-election?

I can’t think of one.

399.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day183.

Day547 Monday 02/27/12

ran 3.6 miles
Stats and polls from RasmussenReports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 26% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 42% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of -16. This is the lowest rating in over a month.

• Overall, 45% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 53% at least somewhat disapprove.

• Romney 45%, Obama 43%

• Paul 43%, Obama 41%

• Obama 45%, Santorum 43%

• Obama 49%, Gingrich 39%

In a poll conducted today from TheWashingtonFreeBeacon, they found that an overwhelming majority of voters think the rich already "pay their fair share".

“The big majority opted for a lower tax bill when asked to choose specific rates; precisely 75 percent said the right level for top earners was 30 percent or below. The current rate for top earners is 35 percent. Only 4 percent thought it was appropriate to take 40 percent, which is approximately the level that President Obama is seeking from January 2013 onward.”

The Associated Press and a Pew poll surveyed the same topic recently and found a completely contradictory result. November 6, 2012, will be the only way to settle these opposing numbers.

403.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day182.

Day546 Sunday 02/26/12

ran 3.2 miles
Today ends week seventy-eight of running against Obama. I ran 21.1 miles this week, averaging 3.01 miles per day.

Unbelievable.

How about “Whites for Paul”? Or “Caucasians for Romney”? What about “Americans of European Descent for Santorum”? Or “Anglo-Saxons for Gingrich”?

This is the battle we are entrenched in. Our president has been shamelessly engaging in class warfare and now he is deploying racial warfare on a one-way road. None of the Candidates in line to win a shot at Barack Obama would ever ask an entire minority or majority to vote for them. Everything about this is wrong, yet our president employs these un-American, desperate tactics to ensure his journey to his cliff’s edge.

America has been divided right up the middle under Barack Obama. Along the lines of figuratively examining this end he is after, to divide America, let’s assume we could literally divide this country in half. Everyone who plans on voting for Obama gets one side and everyone who plans on voting for anyone on Earth besides Obama gets the other half. What side would you want to be on?

On the one side, Barack Obama could take all the money from the wealthiest who chose to be on his side and redistribute it properly to those who voted for him, they could manufacture solar panels and electric car batteries, refine algae for energy, and they could live happily on their twenty-five state unicorn farm. On the other side, those who would be happy to elect anyone else but Obama could happily live their lives in the other twenty-five states without the infection of communism.

Just wishful thinking, but it goes to show that if you could divide America in two and compare Barack Obama’s half to anyone but Barack Obama’s half, one side would clearly thrive and the other would not. Does it take that much common sense to figure out who is who?

406.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day181.

Day545 Saturday 02/25/12

ran 6.2 miles
Another green company, A123 Systems (an electric car battery company), has recently laid off 125 employees after receiving $390 million in government subsidies. That is not very surprising, but what is disappointing is that the company is handing out raises to the company executives at the same time.

Just one more small notch on the giant chart of things in America that make absolutely no sense.

I ran a 10k in Houston today and got my best time ever. 6.2 miles in 44:52 (7:13 per mile). Better than some, worse than others, but I am very happy with it. And it helps when I have a cause to run for like the removal of Barack Obama from the White House.

410.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day180.

Day544 Friday 02/24/12

ran 0.1 miles
It looks like America’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling might be hitting the fan earlier than our president expected. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center the “debt-limit doomsday” appears to be edging closer to somewhere between November of 2012 and January of 2013. Last summer’s deal to lift the debt ceiling pivoted on the certainty that this problem would not resurface until deep into 2013. They planned poorly and this hot issue might end up surfacing right in the middle of millions of Americans heading to their local voting precincts.

That’s all for tonight. Big race tomorrow. I’m in Houston and tomorrow morning is the ConocoPhillips 25th Annual Rodeo Run. 6.2 miles first thing in the morning. Can’t wait!

416.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day179.

Day543 Thursday 02/23/12

ran 1.4 miles

On Saturday, I’m running the 25th Annual ConocoPhillips Rodeo 10k. It’s in downtown Houston and it wraps up at Minute Maid stadium. This run draws nearly 16,000 people and along the race route are bandstands with six or seven different bands playing as the runners go by. Beyond the 16,000 race participants, tens of thousands more show up for the music, parades, and rodeo. To say that I am excited about this 10k would be an exaggerated understatement.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama suggested we utilize algae as an energy resource to lower gas prices today. Reminds me of 2008 when he suggested that if only we all kept our tires inflated and performed regular tune-ups then we could all be part of an epic solution to curbing gas prices---that, or investing hundreds of billions of tax dollars into solar companies that are going bankrupt---that, or investing in the technology that gave us the Chevy Volt, which no one seems to want to purchase, and the few that did were recalled because they caught on fire. Algae sounds promising.

In a Univision interview today Barack Obama asserted that he had another five years left. Five years of what, I’m not sure. It will either be five more years of marring this country from its own identity or five more years of being closer to holding the title for worst president in American history. Let’s face it, if this guy does not get a second term to either continue deconstructing America or to rebuild America, depending on whose side you’re on, he will far surpass Jimmy Carter as the worst occupier of the Oval Office ever.

President Obama apologized today to Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the burning of a couple of Korans by U.S. soldiers. This after two U.S. troops were shot and killed during the riots that have been persisting in Afghanistan over the past three days. They are burning effigies of Barack Obama, they killed two of our troops, and our president is apologizing. Our president assured Karzai that those who were responsible for burning the Korans would be reprimanded and that he was severely apologetic. Maybe we’ll give them an extra few hundred million dollars this year on top of what we already give them just to smooth things over.

This is wrong in so many ways. One thing I would like to mention is that as this story is new and developing, one thing I keep hearing over and over is that the Korans that were burned had an abundance of handwritten notes in them expressing incendiary, violent ideas and messages. And, regardless of the content of what was written, it is a well-known fact in the Muslim world that if any word, or even a scribble, is written in a Koran, that Koran should be purified by burning it. This story is a testament of how little respect these people hold for America, how unhappy they are with our presence there, and how curious it is that a leader of America can so easily stand upright without a spine. A book being burned versus two of our troops dying for that book being burned---and our president apologizes for the book?

416.3 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day178.

Day542 Wednesday 02/22/12

ran 3.5 miles

417.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day177.

Day541 Tuesday 02/21/12

ran 3.3 miles
Greece was rescued today in the form of $172 billion by the European Union. This was the reason our stock market hit heights today it hadn’t seen since 2008. Enjoy the glimmer while it lasts.

Had this bailout not occurred a wake of economic disruption would have rolled up on many other nations’ shores, including our own. Think about it. Do you honestly believe that every country in the European Union actually wants to throw away money at a nation that naively promised its people the impossible? It’s like having a cousin who lacks all responsibility, hope for a future, and is involved in things that serve no real purpose for his own well-being. Ultimately, every member of this individual’s family, all the way to the most distant relative, is affected.

The EU is not letting this rapidly growing bubble pop. They are only buying time from inevitability at the price of greater disappointment.

Speaking of bubbles, there is an American bubble that will be popping soon and it is Barack Obama’s spending.

The American housing bubble that popped in recent years is similar to what happened in Greece. The banks that financed the loans for people who could not afford the payments to live in the houses they purchased are being blamed; in fact they are in the process of shelling out a few thousand dollars to each of the hundreds of thousands of those who received bad loans.

Bad loans?

There is a certain amount of common sense that is expected to function in American society and purchasing a house that is way out of your means lacks common sense. Shame on the banks, but shame on the unrealistic perception of one’s own financial situation, as well.

America, as a whole, has a bubble that is swelling to a devastating state It is our national debt. Just as Greece unrealistically promised its people golden pensions, unrealistic minimum wages, excessive vacations, and everything else utopias have to offer, Barack Obama is following this same path regardless of the warning signs, one after another.

Americans living in houses they know they cannot afford, the sense of “getting away with it” that they felt, Greece actually believing they could get away with the unrealistic way of life they were promised, and, back to America, the idea that so many believe we are moving forward under Barack Obama when we are only further ensuring a rapture of economic regression---there is a larger picture here.

Barack Obama is obviously not going to campaign on “hope and change” again in 2012 because "hope and change" failed. Fortunately for him, the average voter has the memory of a goldfish, so now he will campaign on something entirely less optimistic and more disparaging. His theme will be about fair shots and everyone getting a square amount. But it will be fresh and new and distracting and that’s what counts.

America is on Greece’s path and the current administration shows no apparent restraint from that course.

421.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day176.

Day540 Monday 02/20/12

ran 3.4 miles
As deciphering news often becomes confusing and contradictory, even more so when it is in the form of words coming out of the mouths of politicians, particularly our president, it is important to remember to go with your common sense. It is the most vital tool you can rely on.

For example, Barack Obama often stands in front of thousands of people, or in front of a camera, speaking to millions of people, and he smiles and says America is moving in the right direction, that our economy is moving forward, and that he deserves four more years. My gut and my common sense tell me otherwise. Most arguments he makes to showcase what he refers to as progress are at the peril of stacking up national debt to a level that is simply unsustainable. Any one of us could grin and lie about anything we wished if we too had a stack of blank checks or a credit card with no limit. But we don’t and that is because things like this do not exist. Our president thinks otherwise.

Here you go. You be the judge. Here are eighteen facts with sources affirming that the economy has not improved, but exponentially worsened, since Barack Obama became president. Somebody is lying here. It’s either our president or the eighteen different sources that these statistics came from. Here is the story.

• 88 million working-age Americans that are not employed and are not looking for employment (all-time record high).

• When Obama was elected, 15% of unemployed Americans had been out of work for 52 weeks. Today it is above 30%.

• 1.2 million fewer jobs in America today than before Obama was sworn in.

• The number of long-term unemployed workers before Obama was 2.6 million. Today, the number is 5.6 million.

• Average duration of unemployment in America is close to an all-time record high.

• Under Obama, worker’s health insurance costs have increased 23%.

• 90% increase in the price of gas.

• Home values in America have declined 13% under Barack Obama.

• New home sales in America set a new all-time low in 2009, again in 2010, and once again in 2011.

• 6 million more Americans in poverty under Obama.

• Number of Americans on food stamps has increased from 32 million to 46 million.

• Amount of money the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32%.

• Percentage of Americans in “extreme poverty” is now at an all-time high.

• When Obama took office an ounce of gold was worth about $850. An ounce of gold is now worth more than $1700.

• U.S. national debt has increased 44% under Barack Obama.

• During Obama’s first two years, our government added more to our national debt than the first 100 U.S. Congresses combined.

• Under Obama, our government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time of George Washington all the way through Clinton.

• U.S. national debt has been increasing by an average of more than $4 billion per day since Obama was sworn in.

Things will all be fine very soon, though. Give this guy another four years and see.

424.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day175.

Day539 Sunday 02/19/12

ran 2.7 miles
Today ends week seventy-seven of running against Obama. I ran 24.7 miles this week, averaging 3.53 miles per day.

In news today one of the big headlines on DrudgeReport is “Iran Cuts Oil To UK, France”. At first glance, it looks like a severe measure taken by a nation that is constantly in the news demonizing and threatening other nations around the globe, particularly our own and our long-time ally, Israel. But what about this…

What if we let them stick a cork right in their Strait of Hormuz, as they keep threatening to do, and just say “fine”.

What if America said, “Okie-dokie. Don’t really need you and we also don’t appreciate your hate-mongering. We can refine our own resources. Good luck financing the nuclear projects we and other countries you export oil to are paying for.”

Two things wrong with that approach. The first, we currently have a president who has little interest in America relying on itself for its own natural resources. His alternative energy companies he invested in with our tax dollars are going belly-up monthly (I think it was four in the past one or two months) and his decision to turn down the Keystone pipeline speaks for itself. And, secondly, that is way to simple of a solution. Decisions need to make as little sense as possible to at least fifty-percent of our nation in order to pass in Washington.

Here is why Iran’s decision to cut oil to UK and France is hardly newsworthy. In a story from Reuters, “The European Union in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this.”

Iran chose to cut off UK and France but the entire European Union was planning to cut Iran off in July. Iran has been in the process of getting phased out due to their controversial nuclear research and they simply cut the cord early out of spite. EU’s sanctions on Iran far exceed the U.N.’s including a ban on dealing with Iranian banks and insurance companies.

Why isn’t America leading this effort with the most extreme sanctions and bans? Our largest obstacle is a president who has so little interest in domestic oil and so much in failed green companies.

427.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day174.

Day538 Saturday 02/18/12

ran 2.5 miles

“There are elements in our society and they are predominantly on the hard left that say it’s no longer enough to challenge and contradict or defeat or fight these fellas in arguments. We’ve got to smear them, stigmatize as racist or homophobic and then we’ve gotta silence and censor them and the way we do it is go after the media outlets that put them on the air…this is un-American what is going on right now.”

Pat Buchanan

430.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day173.

Day537 Friday 02/17/12

ran 3.6 miles
Unbelievable. Just look at Tim Geithner. He looks like an eight-year-old trying to convince his parents otherwise of a blatant truth only adults would understand. Head leaning forward, shoulders raised and clenched in guilt, little and sporadic eye contact, sarcastic grins, so desperate to defend himself that he only achieves making himself look that much less credible. And, through and through, Ryan sits across from him calmly explaining how ineffective and destructive his budget is. I actually felt a tiny bit sorry for him. But, as Paul Ryan pointed out, he is the Treasury Secretary and he deserves every belittling comment Ryan so easily threw at him.

This stuff isn’t hard to grasp. Our national deficit and the budgets our leaders draft each year are leading us further and further to the edge. Even if this edge has ten years of distance before it ends and drops off into an abyss, it is simply irresponsible to appease the short-term interests of our nation while jeopardizing the long-term potential of America.

433.1 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day172.

Day536 Thursday 02/16/12

ran 3.5 miles
Spending like this cannot last forever. I’d venture to say it couldn’t even last another five years. Yet, our president does not address the unacceptable state of our national debt. He keeps adding to it. The messages expressed in the videos above are a clear statement of how broken America’s compass is and how obvious it is that we are heading in the wrong direction.

What is the end game here? If I wanted to deliberately lose everything I have worked so hard for, let down my entire family, and abandon all sense of hope, I think the easiest way to do it would be to follow the template of living extraordinarily out of my means with absolutely no regard for the fact that the money I am wasting will eventually have to be paid back. This is what our government is doing, and should a government not lead by example?

436.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day171.

Day535 Wednesday 02/15/12

ran 4.5 miles
Barack Obama did something today that I never would have expected. He exhibited the virtue of humility. He held himself accountable. He did not blame someone else. When asked why he did not reach his promise of having the national deficit cut in half by the end of his term, his response was:

“Well we’re not there because this recession turned out to be a lot deeper than any of us realized.”



This might be the first time since he was inaugurated that he accepted blame, even if only a fraction.

Hang on, just found another one. July, 2011:



One last thing, here is something I found today on Snopes that I thought was interesting and serves to encapsulate the essence of the liberal agenda. And, it was written 63 years ago.
The ideas Barack Obama represents were a bad idea in 1949 and they are a bad idea in 2012.


440.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day170.

Day534 Tuesday 02/14/12

ran 4.6 miles
I stumbled across an interesting article today at InfoWars, written by Kurt Nimmo. The article, “Active Duty Troops to March on White House”, claims that over 1,000 veterans and active duty troops supporting Ron Paul will be marching to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on February 20, 2012. Protesting the “unconstitutional forever war agenda of the establishment”, the veterans and troops will do an about face and salute a folded American flag for the same amount of seconds as the number of troops who have died since Obama has been president.

We don’t hear about it much in the news but Ron Paul has been receiving an overwhelming majority of donations from active duty members of the service. This same trend existed in 2008, as well.

Regardless of how you feel about Ron Paul, the pie chart above makes a loud statement. Those of us who never joined the military have many opinions about issues that directly affect servicemen and women, but they are the ones who are in the middle of those decisions fighting for their lives and seeing firsthand the results of war. The fact that 71% of these brave men and women support Ron Paul is a fact that is hard to ignore.

444.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day169.

Day533 Monday 02/13/12

ran 3.3 miles

Our president released his election-year budget plan today. From an AssociatedPress article, written by Andrew Taylor, “Taking a pass on reining in government growth, President Barack Obama unveiled a record $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan Monday, calling for stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and tax hikes on the wealthy to help pay the costs. The ideas landed with a thud on Capitol Hill.”

The Obama administration’s expectation is that the deficit will sink to $901 billion next year (this still requires our federal government to borrow $0.24 on every dollar we spend) and will make its way down to somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 billion by 2015. I'm sure that'll go just as planned. Have to spend money to save money, right?

Taylor went on to state, “The deficit for the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30, would hit $1.3 trillion, a near record and the fourth straight year of trillion-plus red ink.”

As the video above depicts, there is no guesswork and there is no need to get a general feeling of direction by studying the needle on a barometer. As Hannan said, “Just look outside your window.” Barack Obama’s destination is just across the pond in Europe. As we all watch how that is unraveling for them, our president continues to push in that direction regardless of all the warnings.

449.3 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day168.

Day532 Sunday 02/12/12

ran 2.1 miles
Today ends week seventy-six of running against Obama. I ran 22.2 miles this week averaging 3.17 miles per day.

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

That was the oath our president took when he was sworn in. Yet, so many of his legislative actions have teeming numbers of states appealing his actions to higher courts. Or they seek interstate compacts to avoid some of his decisions, which have been deemed unconstitutional by Americans.

No president in history has ever been so limited by the Constitution to reach his goals as Barack Obama, yet he swore to defend it. Our president challenges it constantly. On Day526 I posted a quote from an interview Barack Obama had with NBC:

“What’s frustrated people is that I’ve not been able to implement every aspect of what I said in 2008. Well, it turns out our founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than I would like sometimes.”

They designed a system to prevent people like you from violating it, Mr. President. After citing the oath you took, after the actions you’ve made, and after the idea that you suddenly discovered it turns out that our founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than you would like, I have one question:

How do you swear one thing and at the same time do another?

The oath does not state, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, disregard, destroy, and redefine the Constitution of the United States.”

452.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day167.

Day531 Saturday 02/11/12

ran 2.0 miles
Sarah Palin’s speech at CPAC has turned out to be the most highly anticipated and received message at the Conservative Political Action Committee’s conference. After instantly silencing a few Occupy Wall Street hecklers she went on to raise multiple standing ovations with her words. The video speaks for itself.

I am almost through with my list of our fifty states and the important stats and presidential voting histories they each have. I wanted to compile this list as a key to quickly reference when the election arrives, rather than having to listen to five different news stations all reporting different things about which directions different states will be likely voting. So, here is the second to last one. Click on “States of the Union” to the right to view more information on other states.

Stats and facts about the state of Wisconsin:

• Wisconsin was the thirtieth state to join the union on May 29, 1848, two years before California and two years after Iowa.

• Population, as of 2010, is 5,686,986.

• Senators are Ron Johnson (R) and Herb Kohl (D).

• Representatives are Paul Ryan (R), Tammy Baldwin (D), Ronald Kind (D), Gwen Moore (D), James Sensenbrenner (R), Thomas Petri (R), Sean Duffy (R), and Reid Ribble (R).

• Wisconsin has ten electoral votes. Historically, the state voted primarily red through 1928. Wisconsin turned blue, like many other states, during the Great Depression and World War II. From 1944 to 1984 the state was unpredictable and swung in both directions from election to election. However, Wisconsin has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every single election since 1988. Barack Obama defeated John McCain 56% to 42% in 2008.

454.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day166.

Day530 Saturday 02/10/12

ran 4.3 miles

I don’t know about you but I missed the memo that we recently declared war on Iran.



I do recall that a couple weeks ago our president was self-aggrandizing his accomplishment of pulling troops out of the Middle East and bringing them back home. I recall very recently that he claimed we had achieved what we had set out to do in that region, and that we were close to the end. I didn’t believe it but those are the sorts of things presidents say. I remember he cut a substantial amount of funding to the Pentagon, as well.

But to hear that we have officially declared war on Iran seems counter-productive to the above-mentioned alleged achievements.

On February 5, 2012, President Obama invoked, fresh out of the box, the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), issuing an executive order declaring the threat of Iran to be a National Emergency. Iran’s threat to sever oil supplies is the basis of the declaration.

From InfoWars, “The executive order directs all government agencies to respond immediately to the threat. It further invokes the authority of the 2012 NDAA, which gives the President the power to launch military action against any nation without the approval of Congress. Ironically, the State of Emergency order also accuses the Iranian central bank of deceptive banking practices.”

By the way, NDAA is the active legislation you’ve been hearing about that allows indefinite detainment without trial of American citizens. And, coincidentally, there are hundreds of active FEMA detention camps set up across the American landscape.

But, back to Iran. It wasn’t that long ago that our president was advocating the idea that Israel should revert back to 1967 borders, which would have been devastating to Israel and advantageous to countries like Iran who openly seek to destroy the Jewish nation. Mere months later our president is declaring war on Iran, the nation that would have been directly empowered by 1967 borders? But, here’s the thing. The reason this story isn’t resounding is because at first glance war is not being declared. But, technically it is. Our Constitution, up until NDAA, required war to only be declared when there was a direct threat upon Americans on American soil. Once a threat was deemed reasonable, contingent on the approval of Congress, war could be declared. That no longer exists as of very recently. Congress tolled much disapproval when Barack Obama ordered military operations in Libya because he circumvented their authority and their approval. Their authority and approval no longer apply.

That is a lot of lumpy and abrasive information to pass through the smooth and fine interpretive conduits of our collective American minds, but here’s the point. Having no ability to run on his record, Barack Obama has no choice but to create distractions and to fabricate situations if he wants to be re-elected. If the election were tomorrow, I don’t think he would stand a chance. In a figurative world, where you wake up tomorrow and hear that you have to spontaneously vote on that day, what would you do? It is only my opinion, but I don’t think Barack Obama would stand a chance today or tomorrow. Put any one of the four candidates against him. If you feel the same way, then what is his only option to change the mood and reason of voters between now and November? It’s nothing that his record can speak for. He would have to do something monumental and distracting enough to make a large amount of voters completely overlook the first three years of his presidency in exchange for whatever plan he concocts.

456.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day165.

Day529 Thursday 02/09/12

ran 4.2 miles
Regardless of where you stand on this issue, this is the American government overstepping one of the most important constitutional boundaries ever drawn. If they can do this, what else is possible? It is unbelievable that our president is pursuing such a controversial, direct violation of everything America stands for less than one year before the next presidential election.

461.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day164.

Day528 Wednesday 02/08/12

ran 3.1 miles
Obama’s contraceptive mandate has been the big issue the past few days. In usual form, he had assured that he would not enforce such a radical measure (as he is currently imposing on America) back in 2009 when he had signed his health care act.

Last night I posted about Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Penn) who was one of many members of Congress that were fired in 2010 during the midterm elections for siding with Barack Obama over issues like health care reform. She has recently come out and said she would never have voted for Obamacare had she known the final version of the bill would “force Catholic hospitals and Catholic colleges to pay for contraception”.

Along those same lines, author Eric Metaxas was on an MSNBC program today and he compared Obama’s contraceptive mandate to Germany’s holocaust policies (story from TheBlaze).

Metaxas’ book, which he had the opportunity to hand to Barack Obama personally, is named “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy”. The book describes the life of Bonhoeffer, who was hanged after being exposed in an elaborate plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

From TheBlaze’s article, written by Billy Hallowell, “Leading up to the Holocaust, conditions became less favorable to faith groups, yet no one stood up to prevent the downward spiral that would inevitably end in genocidal chaos. He then connected these small pre-Holocaust signs to the situation we’re seeing with the contraceptive mandate here in America.”

“In the early 30s, little things were happening where the state was bullying the churches. No one spoke up. In the beginning, it always starts really, really small. We need to understand as Americans — if we do not see this as a bright line in the sand — if you’re not a Catholic, if you use contraception — doesn’t matter. Because eventually, this kind of government overreach will affect you.”

Eric Metaxas

I don’t think our president is concerned with those who “cling to their bibles” and he appears to be achieving even more division among Americans than he has already created. He is running on thin fumes of desperation and it is simply disappointing that so many Americans continue to stay on this guy's ship as it sinks deeper and deeper.

465.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day163.

Day527 Tuesday 02/07/12

ran 2.4 miles
It is still very early but Rick Santorum is leading by double digits in all three states' races right now (8:47 p.m. here in Louisiana). Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota. Gingrich has the two-spot in Colorado and Missouri, and Paul is second in Minnesota. Romney is suffering third in all three states. Didn’t see that coming, but I like it. Still very early, though.

One story I wanted to point out tonight was the contrast of California's beloved Nancy Pelosi (District 8) to a quote from ex-Representative Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Penn). Dahlkemper was one of the many 2010 midterm election Representatives who was fired by her district for supporting Barack Obama’s health care plan, stimulus package, and all together generally unapproved actions.

As quoted by Dahlkemper:

“I would have never voted for the final version of the bill if I expected the Obama administration to force Catholic hospitals and Catholic colleges and universities to pay for contraception.”

Furthermore:

“We worked hard to prevent abortion funding in health care and to include clear conscience protections for those with moral objections to abortion and contraceptive devices that cause abortion. I trust that the president will honor the commitment he made to those of us who supported final passage.”

In contrast, what was it Nancy Pelosi had said?

“Let’s pass the bill so we can see what’s in it.”

This is just the beginning of surprises to come.

I have to believe that unemployment numbers are as easy to manipulate as presidential approval numbers because I cannot wrap my head around the polls I read when they say that Barack Obama has 50% of America convinced that he is working in our best interests.

468.3 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day162.

Day526 Monday 02/06/12

ran 4.1 miles
Here is a small excerpt from Barack Obama’s NBC interview yesterday on the “Today” show.

“What’s frustrated people is that I’ve not been able to implement every aspect of what I said in 2008. Well, it turns out our Founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than I would like sometimes. But what we have been able to do is move in the right direction.”

I firmly believe a majority of American voters are grateful that our president has not been able to implement his objectives more broadly and it is our president who is frustrated with his inability to defy our Constitution more thoroughly.

Look at what he said about the founders of this nation---they designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than he would sometimes like because they anticipated leaders like Barack Obama who would hold little regard for the ideas that have made America the strongest, most prosperous and free nation on Earth for over two centuries.

Our president certainly doesn’t hide his intentions. The quote above plainly conveys the message that if it were within his power he would compromise the ideas and the principles of our founders, who are the designers of what has been such an amazing and free country for nearly 250 years.

470.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day161.

Day525 Sunday 02/05/12

ran 2.8 miles
Today ends week seventy-five of running against Obama. I ran 23.7 miles this week, averaging 3.39 miles per day.

Nevada has spoken and they want Mitt Romney. Romney had a landslide victory winning nearly half of the vote, just as he had achieved in 2008. The next few states the candidates will be visiting have Romney polling on top and it is looking more and more like he will be the candidate to face Obama. That being said, though, nothing would surprise me as this year continues to unravel.

I will take any one of these guys we have to choose from to go head to head with Barack Obama. Romney is not my first choice but I will take anyone but Obama. My first choice is Ron Paul and here is my logic. The most efficient way to counteract someone as radical as Barack Obama is to replace him with someone equally radical in the opposite direction. I don’t think Paul stands a good chance of being the final nominee, but that is where I stand.

The general consensus is that Romney has the best chance of defeating Barack Obama, but it is an unpleasant reality we face that our candidates’ ideas are compromised by the notion that they don’t stand a chance against Barack Obama. Even more unfortunate is the idea that Barack Obama is such a threat. I would put a plank of wood up against this president and vote for it, but there are plenty of others who feel very differently.

474.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day160.

Day524 Saturday 02/04/12

ran 2.2 miles
According to a story from TheGuardian, written by Tania Branigan, China recently cut off Internet connections and mobile phone signals with the simple flip of a switch on a specific thirty-mile area in Sichuan. This area in Sichuan was the site where two Tibetan exiles were shot and killed during a protest. As a result, an uprising is surfacing that the Chinese government would like to quell. The Chinese government claims that Tibetan monks were attacking the Chinese police and that they responded in self-defense. However, the monks claim they were holding a peaceful protest.

I tend to believe the monks. The reason I am sharing this story is because I think it is important to realize that this sort of thing can happen to us right here in America. Remember Egypt? The beginning of the Arab Spring? The Egyptian government flipped the switch on the Internet to prevent its people from organizing through social networking. As you read these words our American government is discussing numerous forms of Internet censorship and our president also has a kill switch for the Internet. As issues continue to escalate around the world and right here in our own country, it is frightening to imagine waking up one day in the middle of a science fiction novel like “1984” or “Brave New World”.

If you have ever read George Orwell’s “1984” then you are familiar with the formula 2+2=5. If have not read the book, and I highly recommend it, "2+2=5" is a conclusion that the books fictitious government convinces the lead character, Winston, to understand and accept as a logical sum of two and two. As ridiculous as that sounds, the novel was far ahead of its time, as science fiction tends to be, but here in reality, in the year 2012, here is an explanation from the mind of a government proving in their eyes that two plus two can indeed equal five.

These are some quotes from CMP (Connected Mathematics Project) textbooks. These textbooks are not widespread but they have been in circulation since the nineties and they are the product of the "New World Order" that our government and many other governments have slowly been working toward since the first Bush. The Agenda 21 story you may have heard about represents an effort to create a global village in which constitutions and history are done away with and the entire earth is governed by one united entity. Their vision is one where everything is miserably fair and oppressively equal. One of the first things necessary to perform a task of this gravity is to dumb-down an entire generation of human beings; hence, Connected Mathematics.

"They learn that mathematics is man-made, that it is arbitrary, and good solutions are arrived at by consensus among those who are considered expert."

Basically, humankind arrives at a state of idiocracy in which they do not have the desire to question how two apples in one hand and two apples in the other hand make five apples, but experts, or their government, tell them there are five and they simply nod.

"Because the curriculum does not emphasize arithmetic computations done by hand, some CMP students may not do as well on tests assessing computational skills...We believe such a trade-off in favor of CMP is very much to students' advantage in...the world of work."

???!

Here is another example of two plus two equaling five.

"Generally, more highly educated people, who have higher incomes, consume more resources than poorly educated people, who tend to have lower incomes. In this case, more education increases the threat to sustainability."



Global sustainability. Global equality. Global utopia. This stuff sounds farfetched but it has been permeating through the cracks of our American pride and beliefs for two decades and we are beyond the point of simply closing our eyes and just hoping that it goes away.

I can tell you this. Freedom, liberty, and capitalism have never been the result of a human conditioning process. They do not require textbooks, propaganda, or convincing. I'd venture to say they are human elements. They are inherent and instinctive. Yet, right before our eyes, we all apparently need to be re-educated.

477.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day159.

Day523 Friday 02/03/12

1,600 miles!!!

ran 3.7 miles
Today was a big mile marker and just a few days ago I finished the seventeenth month of running against Obama. It’s still hard many evenings, running and getting caught up in all of this news on a daily basis, but I feel it is important. There is a questionable sense of navigation steering our American ship and it is often difficult not to question the validity of our nation’s compass.

Now that Barack Obama’s presidential term is culminating we can only review what has happened in what will soon be the past four years and attempt to filter his actions into a more concentrated conclusion.

In 2008, we were already $9-plus trillion in debt, Barack Obama was running for president, blaming George Bush for every problem we had, and even claiming that it was unpatriotic for Bush to raise the debt ceiling, further increasing our national debt---an action Obama would go on to outperform. America was in an official recession and our president decided to sign sweeping legislation to reform health care, which would cost hundreds of billions of nonexistent tax dollars. He signed a stimulus package teetering on one trillion dollars that went on to reveal its greatest accomplishments in the form of bonuses for bankers and bankrupted alternative energy corporations. Then the mid-term elections arrived. Americans spoke up by firing many of the Democrats who voted for Obama’s ideas. The House of Representatives acquired an eclipsing majority and nearly claimed the Senate. From that point forward, Barack Obama increased his executive orders, deflected all blame onto his Congress, and, coincidentally, Occupy Wall Street emerged. As an aside, here is why I think OWS was a completely orchestrated, well-organized plot to stir class warfare in America. If nothing else, America is original. We are pioneers of social and political movements. OWS showed up to the international protest party way too late. But, on the other hand, the Tea Party was responsibly and effectively creating real change before the Arab Spring or the unoriginal, uninspiring Occupy Wall Street group showed up. Our president currently blames Congress for all of our problems and his reason is because they refuse to cooperate with his vision. But the members of Congress he is referring to were put into office by Americans from numerous different states that wanted to put the brakes on his motives. They are simply performing their job description as assigned by the people of America who voted for them.

So here we are. It’s a full-blown battle of money and mudslinging to win the votes of hundreds of millions of Americans. Our electoral process is unscrupulous and seems to deviate from everything that would normally define logic, but it is what it is.

When November arrives this year and you cast your vote, remember that everything Barack Obama has achieved, whether he has made your life better or worse, has been on the backs of unborn Americans in the form of national debt that shows no signs of decreasing any time soon.

479.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day158.

Day522 Thursday 02/02/12

ran 3.5 miles
WWJD? Remember that? What would Jesus do?

Apparently Jesus would like Barack Obama to raise some serious taxes and to redistribute wealth. Today, Barack Obama successfully achieved channeling not only Jesus, but also Muhammad, Moses, Plato, any one of the numerous Hindu deities, and a few other Gods, saviors, and prophets and they all seem to concur that they want our president to raise taxes and to redistribute wealth at a scope never before conceived in American history.

WWBOD?

How does this man push legislation encouraging abortion and gay marriage and in the same breath cite the Bible and refer to the Koran. Choose one or the other because you cannot have both, Mr. President. The American bible-thumpers see right through you and we all know how Muslims feel about homosexuality. As a side note, I am not conveying a position with either abortion or homosexuality. I am just pointing out how oblivious our president is to the contradictions that are coming out of his mouth and how desperate he must feel to make reference to as many religious and philosophical figures he could think of in one breath---all agreeing that his idea is the most illuminated one out there. His idea has been tried many times and has failed an equal number of times.

483.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day157.

Day521 Wednesday 02/01/12

ran 4.8 miles

There is a refreshing glimpse of what could be.

The WashingtonExaminer reported Gallup’s annual state-by-state presidential approval numbers yesterday in an article written by Conn Carroll.

According to Gallup:

“Overall, Obama averaged 44% job approval in his third year in office, down from 47% in his second year. His approval rating declined from 2010 to 2011 in most states, with Wyoming, Connecticut, and Maine showing a marginal increase, and Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, Arizona, West Virginia, Michigan, and Georgia showing declines of less than a full percentage point. The greatest declines were in Hawaii, South Dakota, Nebraska, and New Mexico.”

We often hear that President Obama is a huge threat to win a second term and that only this candidate or that candidate can beat him, but then you see Gallup put out a prediction of a humiliating defeat as the map above indicates and one can’t help but wonder why there is so much contradiction in the information that constantly cascades through the minds of every one of us.

My point is, that map above is one that I hope becomes a reality in November, but it could reflect a completely opposite outcome and I would be equally indifferent to its message. Our news sources are all over the place and equally abundant are their contradictions with one another. News is good but it is up for interpretation.

The question of whether Barack Obama deserves a second term or not has little to do with all of the debatable information our eyes and ears gather sitting in front of computers, radios, computers, newspapers, and magazines. This guy has not been walking a tight rope between two political sides in which arguments can counterweigh one another to maintain a sense of balance. There is no aisle. The aisle is a wall that Barack Obama built with his decisions.

My biggest concerns are the strength of our economy and the decimating of our national debt. Everything else dovetails right into the empowerment derived from these two issues being dealt with directly. Our president is achieving nothing, regardless of unemployment numbers, gas prices, house values (none of which are anything to brag about), or anything else you can think of, as long as he keeps building all of his (arguable) successes on piling up debt that is the product of spending money by the trillions that simply does not exist.

487.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day156.