Day192 Wednesday 03/09/11

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,533.6 miles to go.

Day191 Tuesday 03/08/11

ran 3.3 miles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,536.6 miles to go.

Day190 Monday 03/07/11

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

ran 8.0 miles

Here are a few things you may have missed today.

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

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

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

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

1,539.9 miles to go.

Day189 Sunday 03/06/11

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,547.9 miles to go.

Day188 Saturday 03/05/11

ran 2.6 miles

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

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

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

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

1,552.0 miles to go.

Day187 Friday 03/04/11

ran 2.7 miles

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

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

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

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

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

Obama Doctrine of Humility and American Unexceptionalism

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,554.6 miles to go.

Day186 Thursday 03/03/11

ran 3.8 miles
Polls from Rasmussen Reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,557.3 miles to go.

Day185 Wednesday 03/02/11

image from ivillage.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,561.1 miles to go.

Day184 Tuesday 03/01/11

ran 3.8 miles

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

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

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

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

1,564.9 miles to go.

Day183 Monday 02/28/11

ran 3.3 miles
If you have the ability to read between the lines of the media and the words of Barack Obama, it is clear that today he was pressured into taking an action he had no desire to perform. Leading up to the midterm election, Barack Obama had this to say about the GOP joining Democratic goals for reform: “They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in the back.” Following his schoolboy, pep rally tone and attitude he had his rear-end handed to him on November 2, 2010. Mere months later and now he is offering concessions on his health reform legislation. He is not doing this because he wants to but because if he doesn’t it will only hurt him for reelection. Simple textbook political posturing. Barack Obama has finally accepted the fact that judges are overturning his health care law because it is deemed unconstitutional and that the majority of our states are burning midnight oil to pass the Health Care Compact, which would give individual states sovereignty to design their own unique statewide health care laws.

Predictably, Barack Obama is now announcing that states will have the right to their own state health care as long as it reaches the federal government’s standards. Originally, states were going to be granted this option in 2017. Obama decided to bump down the privilege of avoiding the federal government’s overbearing power on states to 2014. This is a moot gesture and it is not even a speed bump worth braking for on the road to the Health Care Compact or the possible overturning of the law in the Supreme Court. But it is Barack Obama publicly displaying the acknowledgment that he has to face a country who does not want his legacy legislation, health care reform.



Another topic of interest is the recent news with workers’ unions in Wisconsin, which is trickling to other states, as well. AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka is a bottomless well of controversy regarding Barack Obama’s relationship with the unions. Trumka has a handful of videos floating around, in which he has no shame in revealing how instrumental he is in the White House. As a consequence to the Democratic party, any power the unions lose in Wisconsin or other states will directly weaken the liberals in terms of campaign financing and voter demographics. Trumka toots his horn about how often he is contacted by the White House in contrast to the fact that many Cabinet members Obama had appointed were never even contacted by the president in the first two years of his term. Literally, not one single time. These Cabinet appointees are placed in particular offices for the sole purpose of advising the president on his decisions. Richard Trumka is called upon to offer his input to the White House two or three times a week.



1,568.7 miles to go.

Day182 Sunday 02/27/11

image from andyeklund.com

ran 1.1 miles
Today ends week twenty-six and the end of the first six months of running against Obama. We are that much closer to November 6, 2012, the day we elect Someone Else. It may seem shallow and presumptuous to suggest that anyone, almost regardless of who it is, would be better for this country than Barack Obama, but I genuinely believe that is the case. For Someone Else to defeat Barack Obama, they will have to campaign on a platform that completely contradicts everything our current president has done from Day 1 (his first order as president was to seal his private records), therefore pointing this country 180 degrees from the direction it is heading now. It is a win-win situation for the short-term period of reversing as much of the damage that has been done, and will be done, as possible.

There are many more things to consider before that day arrives, so, one day at a time. For now, I ran 29.3 miles this week, averaging 4.19 miles per day, and here is some current news about the CEO of 3M blasting Obama for being anti-business in America.

Add diversified manufacturing to the list of economically productive enterprises Barack Obama has little interest in to bolster our economy. File it under drilling for oil. George Buckley, CEO of 3M, was quoted in an interview with the Financial Times saying, “We know what his instincts are (Obama)---they are Robin Hood-esque. He is anti-business.”

"Politicians forget that business has choice. We're not indentured servants and we will do business where it's good and friendly. If it's hostile, incrementally, things will slip away. We've got a real choice between manufacturing in Canada and Mexico -- which tend to be pro-business -- or America."

1,572.0 miles to go.

Day181 Saturday 02/26/11

image from photo-pluis.net

ran 2.7 miles
Friday, March 4, threatens to be the first government shutdown since 1996. The current budget will expire if Democrats and Republicans fail to agree on spending cuts in the next few days.

Barack Obama says, “For the sake of our people and our economy, we cannot allow gridlock to prevail.” Yet, the spending cuts he wants have no momentum in working to slash our debt and they suggest no sense of urgency toward the weakened state of our economy. Obama threatens to veto any rational proposal Republicans submit.

House Republicans proposed $4 billion in cuts as part of legislation to keep the government running through March 18. Democrats want a short-term extension at current spending levels to allow more time to negotiate the best and most effective ways to attack our trillions of dollars in debt. Basically, Republicans want to extend the deadline for more debate while also effectively tightening the budget for the duration of the extension and Democrats want more time to debate with absolutely no tangible effort to tighten the budget until an agreement is made.

House Speaker John Boehner insists that a short-term bill without spending cuts is unacceptable.

The liberal interpretation of the fact that America’s economy is suffering and needs to be repaired seems to be delusional and misinformed based on their actions, or inactions. The conservative perception of our economy seems to be fully aware of the crisis America’s future faces and they seem to be the only side willing to make the hard decisions the majority of Americans want.

"Our goal as Republicans is to make sensible reductions in this spending and create a better environment for job growth, not to shut down the government. Getting our debt and deficits under control is the first step we can take, and the single most important step Washington can take, to get our economy moving and create the jobs we so badly need."

Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

1,573.1 miles to go.

Day180 Friday 02/25/11

ran 3.3 miles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,575.8 miles to go.

Day179 Thursday 02/24/11

500 miles!!!

ran 4.2 miles
Some polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 26% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 40% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a regressing presidential approval index rating of –14.

• Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance and 53% disapprove.

• Falling to the lowest levels since Obama took office in January of 2009, only 37% of likely U.S. voters say Barack Obama is doing a good or excellent job as a leader.

• Among likely U.S. voters, 48% back GOP Governor in Wisconsin and 38% support the Unions.

• A large majority of Americans, 67%, say the United States should leave the turmoil in the Arab countries alone.

• Only 26% of Americans believe our nation is heading in the right direction.

• Among likely U.S. voters, 56% favor repeal of the health care law, including 43% who strongly favor repeal.

I ran my five hundredth mile today! I’ve been running against Obama for nearly six months and in that time I have gotten involved with some local political organizations and met some inspiring people. Following current events closely and discussing them with others at local, state and federal levels has been extremely eye opening. I found it nearly effortless to passionately disagree with Barack Obama’s agenda when I began running against him. Having a virtually nonexistent interest in politics until recent years, getting involved and listening to others who have so much more experience and knowledge to offer has been the greatest opportunity of this small campaign to contribute whatever I can to restore America, which starts with making Barack Obama a one-term president.
Looking toward my seventh month of running against Obama and seeking more traffic from like-minded others who agree with the message of this blog, if you follow these posts regularly or just happened to have stumbled upon the blog and like the content and agree with the campaign to make Obama a one-term president, check out runningagainstobama on Facebook and give it a “Like”. Or you can become a “Follower” on the top of this page.

Thanks for following the first five hundred miles!

1,579.1 miles to go.