Day733 Friday 08/31/12

ran 3.6 miles

(Check out interactive painting here)

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 218.6 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day368.

Here is what happened two years ago on Day2.

Day732 Thursday 08/30/12

2 YEARS!!!

ran 3.7 miles

It was on August 30, 2010, that I ran my first mile against Barack Obama. Today marks two years of achieving something I never expected to be capable of doing. I've run 2,295 miles against this man, averaging 3.14 miles per day, and every single step has been a demonstration and a protest against what he and his administration have done to undermine what I believe to be the defining characteristics of America, as it was intended to be.

Here is a look back at Day1 and the first mile run against President Obama:

"I just made my first run in my hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana. As you read further you will begin to understand that this is the first of many important runs I will have coming my way until November 6, 2012. This day will be a Tuesday and more importantly it will be Election Day for the next president of the United States of America. It will either be Barack Obama or someone else. To get right to the point of what this blog is about I am determined to help someone else win by personally running against Barack Obama for the next two years. I am going to run every single day regardless of what state or city I am in or what street I am running on. Weather will not stop me and illness will not deter me in any way from accomplishing this goal that I have.

I am running against Barack Obama because I am not a politician. I am running against him because I have an average job and no money to campaign with. I am running against him because this is the only thing I can think of to do to try to strengthen the point that there are millions upon millions of other people in this country that feel the way I do and that our united voice is constantly ignored on extremely important issues that our government keeps locked away in a suggestion box our leaders and representatives refuse to open.

Running and blogging are the tools I am going to use for this campaign and my platform is to get Obama out. I will attend no caucuses and my pundits will be few. Mudslinging will be self-inflicted from the heels of my shoes. The only primary I will participate in will be running myself into exhaustion everyday for the next two years and blogging about it.

It is out of belief and admiration in this country and all of the brave history I have read about it since its conception that I feel drawn to do this. It is from two years of talking with family and friends, eavesdropping on others at coffee shops and malls, listening to their discontentment in American politics, and generally feeling that so many others simply must feel the way I do…that so many things just seem wrong. Yet, what can you do to really make a difference? It is a helpless and desolate feeling, especially at this point in time with so much at stake. That is why I am doing this. If only a handful of people ever trip over this blog then I will be happy. I am tired of saying the same things over and over, hearing other people complain about the same stuff over and over, and nothing being done. There is one simple fact that our government cares as little about as the masses of people in this country fail to consider. We have numbers. We have an astronomical amount of numbers compared to what any government can successfully deceive or manipulate. But, like ants in a kicked over anthill, we all seem to run outside and make a fuss only to scurry right back into our homes and forget. This trait is one of our weakest contemporary shortcomings. We have grown to accept that politics are politics and that things are what they are. That is not how this country was founded and it is certainly not why you are so happy to be a citizen of it. We are different here compared to the rest of the world and things are not what they are.

Each day from this day forward I am going to run whatever formidable amount of mileage I can endure, regardless of weather or illness, until I reach or break my goal of 2,080 miles. I chose that number because it is the distance from my home in Lafayette, Louisiana to Washington, DC and back. Just to give you an idea of my daily quota for running, it will be a rough average of 2.62 miles a day everyday for over two years. And everyday that I run I am going to post on this blog. My reward is good health and a creative outlet in exchange for the frustrating and senseless governing our government has shut its people up with over the past two years. And as time will tell, it is not only Obama, or either of the two parties as a whole, that consume the political arena of senselessness. The emergence of tea parties across the American landscape was a huge message not only to our current president but also to the American Government in general. And this was a long inevitable process over the last few decades in American history, seeing what the American peoples’ breaking point was. Barack Obama just happens to be the proverbial straw that could possibly break America’s back. His ideas and motives are so radically life-changing in America for me as I interpret his direction, that another term would give him the opportunity to do what he really wants to do, without the consequence of having to earn another term by being only mildly as extreme as he is now.

It is our constitutional right to weigh our government on a scale and to write that weight down. And it is our government’s obligation to eat more, trim some fat or to continue its diet based on that number.

I ran 1.3 miles today. It was hot, humid and awesome to get this blog started. The idea of doing this occurred to me in July of 2010. Just as I was about to start stomping the pavement some unexpected travel came up with my job. Then my wife, Lindsey, and I took a small vacation when I got back. After a brief postponement of getting this thing started, the idea was ready to be taken out of the back of my mind and polished up. I discussed it with my wife and she agreed that someone else would indeed be the better candidate and that I should do this. After all, in order for someone else to win he or she will have to contradict most of the ideals that Obama believes in, so for the short term that has to be the indisputable option, at least for now."

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 215.0

Here is what happened one year ago on Day367.

Here is what happened two years ago on Day1.

Day731 Wednesday 08/29/12

ran 3.3 miles

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Some of you may know, the last time I spoke at a convention, it turned out I was in the wrong place. So, Tampa, my fellow Republicans, thank you for welcoming me where I belong.”

Former Representative Artur Davis (D-AL) gave a nomination speech for President Obama at the DNC back in 2008. He is now a Republican living in Virginia who changed parties based on the direction Barack Obama is leading our nation.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 211.3

Here is what happened one year ago on Day366.

Day730 Tuesday 08/28/12

ran 3.6 miles

Short post tonight. Preparing for this hurricane. I'm in Lafayette, LA, which is about 2 and 1/2 hours northwest of New Orleans. Not expecting it to be too bad but always best to prepare for the worst. I'm not expecting many trees to fall over but any other objects that lack roots will be in a different spot by tomorrow morning if not moved tonight.

This is a video that caught my eye from the Republican National Convention. Mia Love. She is the current mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, and she is running for a spot in the House of Representatives in 2012. She is also aiming to earn the title of first black GOP congresswoman. Here is what she had to say.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 208.0

Here is what happened one year ago on Day365.

Day729 Monday 08/27/12

ran 4.9 miles

Feds: "Too few Americans turn to government for assistance."---our government took a poll and concluded that only 15% of Americans were turning to the federal government for help in tough times. This is another example of our government calling us stupid. Look around. If our government can get away with making such a foolish statement then what do they truly think of our intelligence?  The number of people who receive federal aid in some form is more like one in every four people you know.

“Given that only 15 percent of you turn to government assistance in tough times, we want to make sure you know about benefits that could help you."

USA.gov

Our government created a website to inform its voters of how unbelievably easy it is to get unearned tax dollars and to suck on that teat for as long as possible. Thank you, federal government. I hope that bodes well for you on November 6. 

These were their findings:

The question posed was, "What helps you the most during tough times?"

• Savings: 44%

• Family: 21%

• Credit cards/loans: 20%

• Government assistance: 15%

It's laughable, yet this is a page with "gov" at the end of its web address. So, by all means, peruse this site and find yourself a way to feel like a victim. Pick it up off the wireless shelf and plug it into the spot left vacant by every dream and ambition you once had.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 204.4

Here is what happened one year ago on Day364.

 

Day728 Sunday 08/26/12

ran 2.3 miles

Today ends week 104 of running against Obama. I ran 24.3 miles this week, averaging 3.47 miles per day.

I tried going to a 2:10 showing of "2016: Obama's America" but was told that the show was sold out. I went back at 4:45 and the theater had to have been at full capacity...and this is the third day since the documentary hit theaters. This film has shattered box office records in the genre of documentaries and is competitive in the arena of mainstream Hollywood films. It ranked fourth overall in ticket sales on its opening night.

Barack Hussein Obama and his presidency have disturbed and motivated me enough to run over three miles per day for nearly two years against him. It doesn't take much googling or common sense to realize how much of a threat this president is to what America was intended to be, but this documentary lays everything on the table and consolidates it with such an overwhelming, gut-wrenching succession of reasons why he is a threat that...to be quite honest, it almost makes you want to cry. I don't know if you have children or ever really think about how much longer you have to spend on Earth in the United States of America, but Barack Obama is no savior and he is no leader. 

I could go on for hours, and I would like to, describing how ridiculous and deceitful this man's rise to power was but I will leave it at this: See the movie. If it's not in your city drive to a city it is in. I have run 2,279.5 miles against this guy over the last 728 days and I have spent a lot of time researching him and following his decisions and the disappointing outcomes he has derived---and this movie still managed to drop my jaw. 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 199.5

Here is what happened one year ago on Day363.

Day727 Saturday 08/25/12

ran 0.2 miles

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 197.2

Here is what happened one year ago on Day362.

Day726 Friday 08/24/12

ran 4.1 miles

This is one of the most bizarre and backwards ads I've seen so far in this campaign. Its lunacy doesn't require much explanation, but I would like to point out how many other important issues there are concerning American women that the Obama campaign has little interest in addressing.

“If you’re a conservative woman, and you believe in small government, then Barack Obama is your candidate."

Really???

Here are a few other pressing issues, from an article by Meredith Jessup, women in America face, which have lost their importance to contraception and abortion:

• 17 million women are living in poverty today — up 800,000 since President Obama took office.

• 7.5 million women are living in “extreme” poverty.

• Women working in President Obama’s White House are paid 18% less than his male employees. 

• Women don’t want $4/gallon gasoline prices.

• Unemployment among women has gone up 15 percent since President Obama was inaugurated Women are gaining jobs at 1/4 the pace of men.

• Women want the nation’s economy to grow more than 1.5% annually.

• Women don’t want to pass on trillions of dollars in debt and deficits to their children.

• Women want to retire someday, hopefully before Social Security goes bankrupt.

• Women want stability in the housing market, not continuing record numbers of foreclosures and declining home values.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 197.0 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day361.

Day725 Thursday 08/23/12

ran 4.2 miles

Above is a 2012 electoral map predicted by Michael Berry and Ken Bickers. Who are they? They are Professors at the University of Colorado and they have a reason to be taken seriously. They have designed a state-to-state voter equation that has successfully predicted every presidential election since 1980.

Their latest electoral vote prediction:

Romney 320, Obama 218

(Here is how the model works)

This outcome seems perfectly logical to me but I am certainly not going to hold my breath. This is what I find interesting---Berry and Bickers have picked the past seven elections, a couple of which have been curve balls, and they have earned an elite degree of respect for the formula they use, but...Barack Hussein Obama and Chicago politics are a variable they have never had to define and spread across the board of fifty states. Barack Hussein Obama is an "X" factor and these two professors cannot possibly know what values to assign to him because America has not had a man like this in the Oval Office  since they began predicting presidential elections with Jimmy Carter in 1980. We have come full circle.

That being said, if we wake up on November 7 to a second Barack Hussein Obama term, a second term won by the skin of his teeth, it will be evident that he has found a loophole to 32 years of indisputable mathematical evidence that Michael Berry and Ken Bickers of the University of Colorado have used to successfully call elections. But, it would be no surprise.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 192.9

Here is what happened one year ago on Day360.

       

Day724 Wednesday 08/22/12

ran 4.3 miles

In case you didn't know, according to the IRS, 81,890,189 tax returns were filed in 2009 that reported taxable income. Let that number sink in. That means a lot of different things.

For starters, there are 314-something-million people in America. That means only one out of every four people you share this nation with even file income taxes. The other three pay nothing...and that was 2009.  It's obvious why Barack Obama has the unexplainable momentum he does---he has numbers on a side this nation did everything it could think of to prevent when its Constitution was written.

Second, the burden of our national debt has been expanded by our Oval Office Food Stamp King by $5,258,977,706,438.39.  What does that mean to you if you happen to pay taxes? You just inherited a $64,000.00 obligation for your nation. Add those fifteen digits to the fifteen digits of debt that Barack Obama swore his presidential oath on and we are at $15,885,854,755,351.47.  Now, if you happen to earn enough to pay taxes, your national debt burden is $193,000.

Lastly, here is a fresh perspective to interpret your tax dollars at work. If you work and pay taxes the way one in nearly four of us seem to do at a tax rate of, let's say, 20%, among the whole spectrum of local, state, and federal taxes, you are basically working for free from January 1 to March 15 of every single year. 

That stings...not because I have a problem with paying into the collective but because so many others do have a problem with it...and, they feel entitled to the collective they do so little to earn a piece of. This is not America.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 188.7

Here is what happened one year ago on Day359.

Day723 Tuesday 08/21/12

ran 5.0 miles

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 184.4

Here is what happened one year ago on Day358.

Day722 Monday 08/20/12

ran 4.2 miles

Did Newsweek just now get the memo? Where were they in 2008 when this guy was freed of all charges our national media traditionally alleges on all presidential candidates? Newsweek, you were once a beacon for political discussion and insightful commentary but you and other media sources are beyond forgiveness for how unscrupulously you've perverted the integrity of journalism. Journalism died in 2008 and Barack Obama's presidency is proof of it, as you mention on your cover above...but, here's the thing---after what you did, or didn't do, in 2008, you have not earned the right to print a cover like this. 

These are your 2008 covers back when you were worshiping this guy despite his numerous questionable associations and utter lack of experience:

You were wrong. Printing a cover like this only shows how meaningless your words were then and how insincere your message is now. You sensationalized this man for every penny he was worth, but now that he has been deemed and appraised valueless you want to get every penny you can for his worthlessness.

Thanks for nothing, Newsweek.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 179.4

Here is what happened one year ago on Day357.

   

Day721 Sunday 08/19/12

ran 3.4 miles

Today ends week 103 of running against Obama. I ran 24.8 miles this week, averaging 3.54 miles per day.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 175.2

Here is what happened one year ago on Day356.

Day720 Saturday 08/18/12

ran 2.6 miles

Thank you, KOBFM-New Mexico, for sharing the opportunity to speak with the president of the United States of America and asking him the most irrelevant possible questions you could possibly think of during one of the most critical points in America's modern history. This interview is no different than having a comedian on the other side of the phone line and asking him what his thoughts are on America's stubborn unemployment, devastating national debt, skyrocketing food stamp program, failed health care, Israel, and what exactly he plans to do for the next four years that he hasn't royally screwed up already.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 171.8

Here is what happened one year ago on Day355.

Day719 Friday 08/17/12

ran 4.5 miles

Because Barack Obama has nothing better to campaign on he is continuing to kick the dead horse that is the release of Mitt Romney's tax returns. Obama campaign manager, Jim Messina, offered a schoolyard challenge to Romney campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, today suggesting that if Romney would release the past five years of his tax returns then maybe (fingers crossed) he would no longer antagonize him over it. The proposition was pretty much a lunch time "twinkie for an apple" sort of deal followed by a punch in the face by the biggest bully in Chicago---and, by the way, President Obama, why don't you release your college transcripts, which you have paid for to be locked away?

Here's the offer:

Dear Matt:

I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns, but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide. So I am prepared to provide assurances on just that point: if the Governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more — neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign.

This request for the release of five years, covering the complete returns for 2007-2012, is surely not unreasonable. Other Presidential candidates have released more, including the Governor’s father who provided 12 years of returns. In the Governor’s case, a five year release would appropriately span all the years that he has been a candidate for President. It would also help answer outstanding questions raised by the one return he has released to date, such as the range in the effective rates paid, the foreign accounts maintained, the foreign investments made, and the types of tax shelters used.

To provide these five years, the Governor would have to release only three more sets of returns in addition to the 2010 return he has released and the 2011 return he has pledged to provide. And, I repeat, the Governor and his campaign can expect in return that we will refrain from questioning whether he has released enough or pressing for more.

I look forward to your reply.

Jim Messina

Obama for America Campaign Manager

Here's the response:

Hey Jim,

Thanks for the note.

It is clear that President Obama wants nothing more than to talk about Governor Romney’s tax returns instead of the issues that matter to voters, like putting Americans back to work, fixing the economy and reining in spending.

If Governor Romney’s tax returns are the core message of your campaign, there will be ample time for President Obama to discuss them over the next 81 days.

In the meantime, Governor Romney will continue to lay out his plans for a stronger middle class, to save Medicare, to put work back into welfare, and help the 23 million Americans struggling to find work in the Obama economy.

See you in Denver.

Thanks,

Matt Rhoades

Romney for President

Campaign Manager

And, just for kicks, here is our vice president in campaign mode: 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 169.2

Here is what happened one year ago on Day354.

Day718 Thursday 08/16/12

ran 3.4 miles

Above is the average amount of tax dollars you stand to lose in 2013, depending on what state you're in, if the Bush tax cuts expire.

I took the liberty of adding up the sum of money the average individual in each of the fifty states and Washington D.C. stands to lose ($120,214) and divided it by 51. That number is $2,357. If you multiply that number by a rough population of 314,159,265...let's make this easier with round numbers---lets round all the way up to $3,000 and all the way up to 315,000,000 Americans. That would give the federal government 945 billion more tax dollars. Even if Barack Obama ended the Bush tax cuts completely across the board of earners it would still only be enough to knock out a mere 16.93% of our national debt. Obama's stimulus package was nearly $800 billion---only $145 billion short of taking every single federal tax dollar we are saving from the Bush tax cuts in the entire country for a year and spending it on something that had so few results. And this is not even considering the hundreds of other things tax dollars get spent on from welfare programs all the way up to national defense.

Point is, why are we arguing about who should be taxed more and how much they should be taxed when it clearly makes no difference in contrast to how far behind our nation has slipped economically. Our national debt is out of control and our president is doing nothing to stop it. His latest budget did not receive one single vote in the Senate---and the Democrat-led Senate has not even made a budget in over three years. Who lives like this?

The government doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 164.7

Here is what happened one year ago on Day353.

Day717 Wednesday 08/15/12

ran 3.3 miles

Following the news each day for the past couple years, and especially now that we are getting close to the election, the news stories get more and more ridiculous. What is the Obama administration and our government doing to our nation right before our eyes? If there is one thing I can say with certainty throughout this experience of running against Obama it is this:

If I were ever given the task to divide and conquer America then I would do exactly what Barack Obama has done. First, I would make a sweetheart out of national media. I'm not sure what methods would be necessary to seduce and coerce such a powerful entity into my bedroom, but our president knows. Then I would capsize our economy with out of control spending and finish it off with a sharp elbow of health care reform from the top ropes (which a majority nearing 60% of Americans do not even want). In between I would not only grant amnesty to illegal aliens but I would have tax payers finance their educations and opportunities while the tax payers themselves are already struggling to make ends meet. I would treat illegal aliens with more respect and grant them more government help than I do United States veterans. As the election for a second term neared, knowing I had done much to infuriate a majority of this nation, I would play the old reliable race card and convince the courts that being illegal, deceased, are voting numerous times, due to not having identification or laws demanding it be presented, had nothing to do with voter fraud (even though the Washington Post conducted a poll yesterday resulting in 75% of Americans wanting voters to present identification at the ballot boxes---how is this even an argument for Eric Holder and the Department of Justice?). These are just a few of the things I would do. And once I did get that second term, well...

Or, if I were assigned the task of waking America up to how much they have forgotten about their nation's history, I would do exactly what Barack Obama has done. If I were told to make Americans once again appreciate so much what they have neglected and forgotten, I would do exactly what Barack Obama has done. If I were told to remind Americans about our Constitution and how fed up we are with our federal government, I would do exactly what Barack Obama has done.

This man, through the actions of his first term, has woken up a sleeping giant and that giant is the American people. 

I'll leave you with a trailer for an upcoming movie. This is a documentary filled with enraged ex-SEALs, CIA agents, and Generals, who all have something to say about the Intel Leaks that have been casually slipping through the cracks of the White House under the Obama administration.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 161.3

Here is what happened one year ago on Day352.

Day716 Tuesday 08/14/12

ran 3.4 miles

Erskine Bowles, Clinton White House chief of staff, praising Paul Ryan nearly one year ago at the University of North Carolina. This video could be the most inexpensive ad for Republicans in presidential campaign history. It speaks for itself. 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 158.0

Here is what happened one year ago on Day351.

Day715 Monday 08/13/12

ran 4.2 miles

On April 4, 2011, President Obama signed the proper paperwork to begin his re-election run and, since then, here are a few of his crowning achievements:

• 200 fundraising events (George W. Bush had 88 at this point in his re-election)

• 45 rounds of golf (this is an awesome site that has taken the liberty of itemizing each of his numerous golf outings with locations and timelines)

• Unemployment has remained above 8% for this period of time (although it has been above 8% beyond April, 2011)

• Barack Obama has met with his Jobs Council one single time since then, in January, 2011

I'm sure there are many other notable achievements but these are some of the highlights. Check out more here.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 154.6

Here is what happened one year ago on Day350.

Day714 Sunday 08/12/12

ran 3.2 miles

Today ends week 102 of running against Obama. I ran 23.6 miles this week, averaging 3.37 miles per day.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 150.4

Here is what happened one year ago on Day349.

Day713 Saturday 08/11/12

ran 3.1 miles

Romney and Ryan it is. I was taken aback at first but this is the decision that was made and that reality makes it easier to rationalize all the different things this means. I knew Ryan was on the Veep short-list but he struck me as a man who would energize the Conservative base. The thing is the Conservative base doesn't need any energizing. I think most Conservatives would vote for a plank of wood running against Barack Obama. So why Ryan?

It is common knowledge that approximately 45%-47% of Americans on each side of the aisle know exactly who they are going to vote for and they cannot be dissuaded. I am one of them. That leaves 6%-10% who are undecided and they are the individuals who are going to decide this election. So, again, why Ryan?

As a side note, this small fraction of individuals who comprise the undecided votes of America are a mystery to me. How someone can be on the fence about two such extreme directions in government and the future of America is incomprehensible to me. It's like arriving at the most important fork in the road of your nation's modern history and long-term future and genuinely being baffled as to whether you should turn left or right. Indecision like this is usually left to children who can't decide whether they want blue shoe laces or red shoe laces. 

Why Ryan? The first thing that comes to mind is Florida and Rubio. Florida is a critical state to win and Rubio would have energized Florida the same way Ryan will energize Wisconsin. Perhaps Romney is confident in Florida---and Wisconsin is the controversial state Scott Walker governs and has recently succeeded in overcoming a recall election fueled by the heavy union presence in the state. Wisconsin is about as divided as a state can be, but Florida still seems more critical to win.

These next three months will unravel and what will be will be. I'm a big fan of Paul Ryan, always have been, but my only concern is that he simply makes way too much sense and employs far too much rational logic to the problems America faces to appeal to the short-term memory and low attention span of the average voter, which is a really big slice of the demographic pie. His ideas are just too realistic for our federal government.

That being said, as it sinks in I am getting excited about this guy. As I stated above, I assumed Romney would have picked someone who would persuade some of the undecided fence hoppers to join his side. Instead, he chose one of the most fundamentally fiscal conservatives in Congress. It was a bold decision and I like the idea of not settling for a running mate strictly based on his or her ability to finagle a few extra blocks of voting support from people who are too indecisive to pick what pair of socks they want to put on their feet each day. America's bigger picture is much larger than these decision-challenged individuals who keep leaving every presidential poll within its margin of error with their 6%-10% of uncertainty.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 147.2

Here is what happened one year ago on Day348.

Day712 Friday 08/10/12

ran 3.6 miles

In 2008, Goldman Sachs financial services companies gave three-fourths of their campaign donations to Democratic candidates, committees, and Barack Obama's campaign---$6.1 million to be precise. 

Then Barack Obama got elected and here we are four years later. Employees of the New York-based Goldman are now giving 70% of their donations to Republicans. So far, Goldman employees have given $4.9 million to Republican candidates, committees, and Mitt Romney's campaign. An unprecedented reversal among the 25 companies whose employees have given the most to candidates and parties of interest since 1989 is unfolding in this 2012 presidential election. 

Some of the more recognizable companies include Goldman, Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (four of the top five financial institutions), Citigroup Inc., and UBS AG (UBSN).

(SOURCE)

That's a big statement. No doubt this will be fodder for Obama's ruthless campaign team to push the OWS agenda, but he sure wasn't complaining in 2008 when he was receiving the money and it was yet to be determined how much of a failure he would become.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 144.1

Here is what happened one year ago on Day347.

Day711 Thursday 08/09/12

ran 3.0 miles

Over 110,000,000 Americans are currently receiving some form of government welfare. This is not even including Social Security and Medicare. That is more than a third of our entire population. Under President Obama welfare programs have exploded and are projected to grow exponentially ($800 billion on food stamps alone in the next decade).

The numbers in the chart above represent not only American citizens but non-citizens, as well. In case you didn't know, America has partnered with Mexico to boost food stamp enrollment among non-citizens, migrant workers, and foreign nationals.

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), or the food stamp program, has expanded from providing for 17 million in 2000 to 45 million in 2011.

(SOURCE)

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 140.5

Here is what happened one year ago on Day346.

  

Day710 Wednesday 08/08/12

ran 3.5 miles

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 137.5

Here is what happened one year ago on Day345.

Day709 Tuesday 08/07/12

ran 3.7 miles 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 134.0

Here is what happened one year ago on Day344.

Day708 Monday 08/06/12

ran 3.5 miles

Here are 70 facts about America's economy that President Obama will definitely not be campaigning on. It is frightening how far we as a collective nation have let America slip. This list puts into perspective how petty most of the news that is gathered for us and distributed in mass quantities is. 

Why are we talking about things like Chick-fil-A and Mitt Romney's tax returns? Chicken, gay rights, personal beliefs, and the obvious fact that Mitt Romney is filthy rich can't hold a candle to the more important issue of what we are going to do with our economy and how we are going to take on this national debt.

Here are a few examples from the list:

• The price of gas – When Obama took office, a gallon of gas cost you $1.85. Today, it's up to $3.59 per gallon.

• 71% of small business owners believe we’re still in a recession — Despite government claims that the recession actually ended years ago.

• You have to work 107 days each year just to pay Federal, State, & Local taxes – That means you don't earn a penny until April 18.

• More than 30% of unemployed Americans have been out of work for more than a year–In 2007, that number was 10%.

Many more disappointing statistics here.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 130.3

Here is what happened one year ago on Day343.

Day707 Sunday 08/05/12

ran 3.2 miles

Today ends week 101 of running against Obama. I ran 22.6 miles this week, averaging 3.23 miles per day.

Special treat for you today. The following is a cartoon from over fifty years ago warning Americans of that time, and future generations, of the exact dangers that have befallen us presently. Apparently, not enough of us saw this prophetic cartoon in time. Highly recommend checking it out! Our modern state of affairs have made a fortuneteller of this cartoon. 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 126.8

Here is what happened one year ago on Day342.

Day706 Saturday 08/04/12

2,200 miles!!!

ran 3.7 miles

The RNC sent the Democratic National Committee a birthday cake for President Barack Hussein Obama today. The DNC must not have appreciated the gesture because they sent it back to the sender. 

“Since President Obama’s birthday is tomorrow, we actually wish him a happy 50.99726 years with this ‘you didn’t bake this’ cake.” (mocking the fact that yesterday the White House actually clarified that unemployment had not risen to 8.3%, but 8.254%, as though that is some sort of consolation prize worth mentioning)

RNC spokesman Tim Miller

Here are some birthday cards for President Obama the RNC took the liberty of designing:

On to more serious matters, Gallup has just released a state by state job approval poll for Barack Obama spanning the first half of 2012. In 37 states his job approval is below 50%. Here is how it breaks down:

• Top 10 states (Washington D.C., 83%):

Hawaii, 63%

Rhode Island, 58%

Vermont, 56%

New York, 55%

Massachusetts, 55%

Maryland, 55%

New Jersey, 53%

Connecticut, 53%

California, 52%

Washington, 51%

• States just above 50%:

Illinois, 51%

Delaware, 51%

Minnesota, 50%

• Ten states with lowest approval:

Utah, 26%

Wyoming, 28%

Alaska, 29%

West Virginia, 31%

Idaho, 31%

Montana, 34%

Oklahoma, 35%

Alabama, 36%

Tennessee, 37%

North Dakota, 37%

• States just below 50%:

Michigan, 49%

Wisconsin, 49%

Maine, 47%

Oregon, 47%

Iowa, 46%

Florida, 46%

Virginia, 46%

Pennsylvania, 46%

“Presidents with approval ratings below 50% have more uncertain re-election prospects. Historically, two presidents below 50% in their final approval rating before the election — George W. Bush and Harry Truman — won, and three, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush, lost.”

Gallup

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 123.6

Here is what happened one year ago on Day341.

Day705 Friday 08/03/12

ran 4.2 miles

The lunatics are taking over the asylum. This video perfectly illustrates how ridiculous maneuvers in the political arena can be and, consequently, how uninformed and challenged by immense lapses of attention span an overflowing handful of American voters are. Harry Reid and his counterparts want Mitt Romney to release more of his tax information than he has already divulged. Well, why does Mitt Romney not bully back and demand that Barack Obama release his college transcripts? Why does he not elaborate on how miserable, and unsuccessful of a first term Barack Obama has had (the numbers are there to prove it---this guy is breaking records). Why not itemize those failures and take inventory of them day in and day out from failed green projects funded by tax dollars to the refusal of the Keystone pipeline---from unprecedented debt building to unemployment numbers that refuse to budge?

It is because our agenda-bent media is delivering to us the greatest disservice possible at the most critical time possible. They misinform and they might as well wear "Obama/Biden 2012" buttons on their lapels and blouses. If your immediate thought is that Fox News takes the same slant for the opposite side, then fine, but they stand alone fighting the other networks. Are they biased? Yes. They are somewhat subtle about it, but how else can they fight the gang of networks they are up against, which, coincidentally, they absolutely smash in the ratings department. 

Unemployment has been above 8% for 41 straight months. As of today it is up 8.3% from last month's 8.2%. Running out of ideas today for damage control, the White House took the measure of clarifying that unemployment was actually only up to 8.254% from 8.214%.

If that is the best they can do to find a silver lining in their failures then things are obviously pretty bad. Once again, the lunatics are taking over the asylum.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 119.9

Here is what happened one year ago on Day340.

 

Day704 Thursday 08/02/12

ran 4.0 miles 
Trickle down tax cut fairy dust?

I thought fairy dust was one of the tools in Barack Obama's own presidential utility belt along with unicorn horn shavings, phoenix ashes, and griffin talons.

It is as simple as this---trickle down economics is highly effective, far more effective than the Keynesian approach our president applied early in his term by stimulating the economy and far more useful than the idea of wealth redistribution he is currently advocating, but when our nation has a president that does everything in his power to convince the people in this nation that the government will take care of them and that they have no need to do things for themselves---when he makes them feel like they are victims and that they are treated unfairly, well, as we can see, many people unfortunately believe him. And, in this belief and this false justification to find a source of blame for their circumstances, they are robbed of everything that makes being an American special and something to be proud of. 

The thing about the trickle down theory is that its results are based on an unleashed private sector and a government that gets the hell out of the way. Our current president has little interest in either of these two variables of the American equation. 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 115.7 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day339.

Day703 Wednesday 08/01/12

ran 0.9 miles

Yesterday would have been the 100th birthday of Nobel Prize-winning conservative economist Milton Friedman, were he still with us ("Nobel Prize-winning" doesn't seem to carry the same weight it once did since Barack Obama won the award for doing absolutely nothing). Here are a few of his most memorable quotes:

"Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it."

"Governments never learn. Only people learn."

"Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government."

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand."

"I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it is possible."

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 111.7

Here is what happened one year ago on Day338.