Day374 Wednesday 09/07/11

ran 3.3 miles
Just turned on the Republican debate, taking place at the Reagan library in California. Rick Perry will be making his debut behind the podium tonight. I’m sure Perry and Romney will be pitted against each other and get the most questions. I like everyone on the stage, or, at least I don’t dislike any of the candidates. When it comes down to it, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I would vote for a plank of wood up against Barack Obama in 2012.

All polls aside, disregarding the hype and “X” factor each candidate has, strictly based on ideas and the future of America, I’m a big fan of Herman Cain. I love the idea that he is not a politician, but rather a huge success at turning major corporations over and taking them from borderline bankruptcy to profitable businesses. For all the issues America has, none of them are more important than turning our economy around and to distance ourselves from the cliff Barack Obama continues to push America closer and closer to. The private sector needs to be utterly unleashed and our current president is only loosening its shackles one single chain link at a time. I like Bachmann and I would like Palin if she chose to jump in the race. I am a war-mongering S.O.B. Tea Party member, according to Hoffa, anyway, and these two individuals hold the same conservative values I do and they are not afraid to act on them and they refuse to dilute their beliefs. It is entertaining to watch Gingrich take questions during these debates. He is a free spirit and he frankly does not care what you or I think. He just says what he says and it simply is what it is. You have to admire that quality. And much of what he says makes perfect common sense. Coincidentally, Gingrich just blasted the news media and put his questioner on the spot for asking questions that serve no other purpose other than to turn he and his fellow candidates on one another. That was the best moment of the twenty-seven minutes I’ve watched so far.

Who do you like? Drop me a comment and tell me where you stand. And, as always, thanks for reading and keeping up with the miles!

967.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day9.

Day373 Tuesday 09/06/11

ran 5.8 miles
I couldn’t stop running tonight. A cold front has graced Lafayette with its presence and the weather is absolutely perfect. If you live in Lafayette and you’re reading this then you know exactly what I’m talking about. I haven’t surpassed five miles since…probably February of this year. The only reason I stopped was because there were simply more pressing things that needed to be done. Not enough hours in the day.

Maybe two miles into my run tonight I passed a family taking a walk, four kids, rollerblading and skate boarding along, and the dad asked me, “How often do you run? I see you every week. What? Four or five times a week?”

I replied, “Every single day.” I was wearing a t-shirt, which loudly read “Running Against Obama until November 6, 2012” on the front and “RunningAgainstObama.com” on the back. I told him that I was running against Obama and that I had campaigned 1,100 miles against Obama in the last year. I also told him that I was doing my part to lower health care costs. The man started clapping and his wife cheered me on. It was nice. Every once in a while something like that happens and it makes it all worth it.

In national news today, neither our president nor his counterparts will support or disapprove of Hoffa’s declaration of war against the Tea Party. Way to tone down the rhetoric. And regarding Obama’s big speech this Thursday, over-saturated with low expectations, Congressional Republicans are getting in line to not even attend his hollow, prefabricated attempt to blame everyone but himself for our nation’s woes.

971.1 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day8.

Day372 Monday 09/05/11

ran 3.1 miles
I just typed up over two pages of how disturbing the video above was. More than half of it dealt with the fact that Barack Obama condones this sort of violent rhetoric, yet encourages fair and equal bipartisanship. I deleted it because I refuse to stoop to the level of our president.

I hate to use such an obvious source, but Washington D.C. has convinced half of the people in America that 2+2=5. If you don't know what I'm talking about then put that equation in your google machine and read the book.

976.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day7.

Day371 Sunday 09/04/11

1,100 miles!!!

ran 1.5 miles
Today ends week fifty-three of running against Obama. I ran 20.7 miles this week, averaging 2.96 miles per day.

“Rather than cut, the government needs to spend more money on infrastructure to update crumbling highways, rails and other public entities, as well as to create jobs…the creation of jobs through more infrastructure spending could help bring down the rest of the deficit.”

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

More money for the unions, please, Mr. President. Union boss Richard Trumka thinks that spending more money, on top of what has already been wasted, will magically cure our nation’s economic woes.

Many of the people, organizations, businesses, and much of the Democratic base Obama has been helping so far in his presidency are extremely frustrated with his sudden destructive streak of rationale and logic---in simple terms, to slow down spending or, rather, to just not be quite so prone to waste such vast sums of money all at once. The people he is upsetting cannot comprehend why he is hitting the brakes on crippling America all of a sudden.

In words, which our president will never say directly, his actions reflect the realization that he has made many mistakes and that if he continues them he will be helping his fundamental supporters but enraging the other overwhelming side of Americans who are fed up with his actions and won’t vote for him.

980.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day6.

Day370 Saturday 09/03/11

ran 3.1 miles
Today’s post is a little late due to some technical problems. I think I’ve got it under control now.

I ran a 5k yesterday in South Louisiana while Tropical Storm Lee was passing over our heads. Rain and wind were coming from all directions. The weather was not extremely bad at that point because only outer bands of the storm were reaching us, but it still pummeled us. I enjoyed it. It was a tiny battle in the perpetual war of man versus nature. There were many turns on the route and street barricades wrapped with orange caution tape to help direct the runners were being blown over at every turn. Volunteers were there to help guide, but after the second mile there were no more people to direct and the barricades and tape were tossed all over the intersections. I ended up getting turned around and going in the wrong direction. When you’re running as fast as you can for the fastest possible time, something like that can be sort of frustrating. But I found my way and finished.

On Monday, I’m going to run a 5k in Texas. The weather should be much better and I’m hoping for a better time. I’ll have some pictures from the run in the near future.

981.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day5.

Day369 Friday 09/02/11

ran 2.2 miles

U.S. Public Debt Above $10 Trillion For First Time In American History---Up 59% Under Barack Obama

Recently, our credit rating was downgraded for the first time in America’s history. Here is a another unprecedented bar of utter failure reached by Obama and his administration: according to the U.S. Treasury Department, at the close of business on August 31, 2011, for the first time in American history, the publicly held debt of the federal government surpassed $10 trillion.

“During Obama's presidency, debt held by the public has now increased by $3.71694 trillion--or almost 59 percent from the $6.3073 trillion in debt held by the public that the government owed to its creditors on Jan. 20, 2009, when Obama was inaugurated.”

Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com

Here’s another quote from the same article:

“Also, according to the most recent reports available from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, approximately $6.1 trillion of that debt—or about 61 percent of it—is owned by foreign interests (led by the Chinese and the Japanese) and by the Federal Reserve.”

Here’s what I think. After all of the rhetoric about bipartisanship in Congress spouting from our president’s mouth, Obama’s entire campaign is going to be about blaming Republicans for not letting him do what he wishes. What our president is incapable of understanding is the fact that in November of 2010 America spoke and put representatives into our Congress who would do everything they could to block his agenda. The cause for the “partisan brinksmanship”, as he refers to it, is a result of his own actions. This man has done everything in his undeserving power he could to stifle American progress. He has no legitimate leg to stand on for re-election. The only chance he has is to blame Republicans for everything he has done that has failed and to blame them for every failure they have not let him achieve.

984.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day4.

Day368 Thursday 09/01/11

ran 3.3 miles
I usually elaborate on some stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports on Thursday nights, but Barack Obama’s numbers just keep plummeting and I am growing tiresome in copying and pasting them onto this blog. Confidence in Congress remains at bleak lows. America’s direction is disapproved of by a vast majority of voters.

I suggest tuning in next Thursday when Barack Obama announces his new jobs plan. In the same breath I can honestly say there is no telling what he will propose, yet I think I know already. It is the shock of the reality that he is more than likely going to propose more of the failing ideas he has been implementing so far already. It is shocking the way people in his mindset think. If a stimulus package fails, enough was not spent. If your country is flooded by illegal aliens, pay for their educations and deliver their babies with tax dollars, and make them citizens with no effort to discourage the free ride they get on my and your hardworking buck. And let’s stifle free enterprise. Let’s make it as hard as possible for the private sector, the backbone of the American dream, to succeed.

The only thing the president of the United States of America needs to say next Thursday night before the Saints game is, "In order to create more jobs I am going to unleash the private sector. I am going to take the choke chain off of progress." He will certainly not say that and, while I would love to hear it, he most definitely won't say, "Sorry for the past two and one half years. I now realize that the federal government is the last establishment America needs to repair America."

986.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day3.

Day367 Wednesday 08/31/11

ran 3.0 miles
Here is what happened one year ago on Day2.

One little boy wanted a blue balloon and another little boy wanted a red balloon. They fought and fought. The little boy who wanted the blue balloon called the little boy who wanted the red balloon a poopie head. The little boy who wanted the red balloon called the little boy who wanted the blue balloon a fart face. They pouted and pouted. They simply could not agree. Back and forth, they went on and on.

Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red! Blue! Red!

Back and forth they went.

Something similar to that story was in the news today. President Obama has finally chosen to announce his highly anticipated plan for creating jobs next Wednesday. But, coincidentally, he plans to air it during the Republican presidential debate taking place in California on that same night. This action is both childish and clearly divisive. Partisan brinksmanship, anyone? He is once again saying one thing and doing another.

Here is an article that describes the back and forth between the boy with the blue balloon and the boy with the red balloon. It is too ridiculous to even describe the exchanges that transpired today between Obama and Boehner. Our president was definitely the younger, less mature and ornery of the two children. Boehner was resourceful and more realistic with his arguments. That is a plus for him but it is still absurd that Barack Obama would choose the night and air time of the Republican presidential debate to release what will more than likely be an underwhelming plan for creating jobs.

990.1 miles to go.

Day366 Tuesday 08/30/11

Year 2

ran 3.2 miles
Today is the first day of a new year of running against Obama. I am going to begin adding a link at the top of each post, which will lead to what was posted on that day one year before. It will look something like this:Here is what was happening one year ago today on Day1 of running against Obama.

Thanks again for reading and keeping up with the miles. I am excited about beginning the second year of this campaign and I appreciate your support! There has been plenty to write about on a daily basis so far and I doubt events will get any less exciting.

I feel no different about the reasons I listed on Day1 for running against Obama. Considering how fragile our economy is and how its condition worsens minute by minute in giant strides, it is not only counterproductive but extremely dangerous to the mere $0.60 of each dollar we are able to salvage when things like Obamacare, stimulus packages, and entitlements run-a-muck are devouring our path to progress. We only continue to fall behind. It requires little vision to see where the path we are on will lead if sweeping reforms on how the federal government conducts its wasteful business are not taken.

Regarding the Tea Party, in my opinion, conservatives have the Tea Party and liberals have the unions. If you were to conduct the slightest amount of research into the behavior of these two factions, I think you would find that one represents a bully demanding others’ lunch money and the other represents a simple desire for this country to not go broke and for individuals to try harder to pay for their own lunches. I do not find it necessary to distinguish which is which.

Barack Obama is expected to announce a big jobs plan next week and I think I speak for many others than myself when I say that I cannot wait to see what this long awaited solution will be. My prediction is another stimulus package of some sort followed by random acts of taxation from every direction.

I’ll finish tonight with one of the most dismal statistics I have found: In 2010, close to 47% of households paid no federal income tax. Many of these people even received tax returns…when they paid nothing. One must stand on their head to comprehend this kind of stuff---and there is so much more in Washington D.C. to view from upside down.

993.1 miles to go.

Day365 Monday 08/29/11

ran 4.4 miles
Could Hillary make another run against Obama? That would be the rematch of the millennium (we are only just over a decade into this thousand year period and there’s only so much material to work with so far). What even happens to a president if he or she loses their own party’s primary?

As it turns out, Franklin Pierce, America’s fourteenth president (1853-1857) from New Hampshire, has been deemed by many historians as the worst president in American history. He is the only president who was abandoned by his own party and not re-nominated to run in the 1856 presidential election. He was replaced by James Buchanan.

Historians Philip B. Kunhardt and Peter W. Kunhardt expressed a common sentiment in “The American President” that Pierce was "a good man who didn't understand his own shortcomings. He was genuinely religious, loved his wife and reshaped himself so that he could adapt to her ways and show her true affection. He was one of the most popular men in New Hampshire, polite and thoughtful, easy and good at the political game, charming and fine and handsome. However, he has been criticized as timid and unable to cope with a changing America."

Franklin Pierce did not technically lose a primary, he was simply not re-nominated. He was the only president in American history to underachieve this dishonor but history has a way of repeating itself.

Today marks one entire year of running against Obama!

996.3 miles to go.

Day 364 Sunday 08/28/11

ran 3.4 miles
Last full week of running against Obama for the year! Today ends week fifty-two of running against Obama. I ran 20.4 miles this week, averaging 2.91 miles per day.

I was skimming through www.politifact.com and came across some interesting quotes. I’ll put this thing into a trivia format for you:
“The black unemployment rate (has) increased since the recovery has begun.”

Marc Morial

True. White, Hispanic, and Asian unemployment eased, Black unemployment got worse.

"Fifty-one percent -- that is, a majority of American households -- paid no income tax in 2009. Zero. Zip. Nada."

John Cornyn

True. Nada.

"Who are the most consistently misinformed media viewers? … Fox viewers, consistently, every poll."

John Stewart

False. The data is much more contradictory.

The Medicare proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would "allow insurance companies to deny you coverage and drop you for pre-existing conditions."

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

False. Budget resolution specifically bars the practice.

"We're borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend."

Kent Conrad

True. Living just a little bit outside our means.

"The average unemployed American has been out of work for almost 40 weeks."

Paul Krugman

True. Joblessness is at or near record lengths.

1,000.7 miles to go.

Day363 Saturday 08/27/11

ran 3.1 miles
This is pretty cool. There is a new application available on the iPhone, “Obama Clock”, to count down Obama’s time in the White House or his re-election. The information displayed on the app includes:

• countdown clock

• approval rating

• public debt

• unemployment level

• gasoline cost per gallon

• housing price index

To refresh the data simply press the pin on his left lapel. The Obama Clock has a Facebook page, too. I just purchased it for $0.99. Great idea for an app! It is a bipartisan approach, which our president would appreciate, for now, anyway, to document in a no-nonsense manner that this is our president and he is what he is. There are no opinions are spin on this app, just numbers that are hard to swallow.

1,004.1 miles to go.

Day362 Friday 08/26/11

ran 2.2 miles
I stumbled across an informative article from Big Government, written by Jeannie DeAngelis. “When Obama Loses America Wins” is the name of the article and the content is exactly what the title implies. It is still one of the great mysteries of the universe, for me, anyway, how so many people continue to passionately support the current president of the United States of America after so little hope and change has materialized in the massive wake of spending our country into oblivion. And he’s not done, yet. After almost three years with Obama, imagine a second term with this guy, in which his ideas and actions are not limited by his chances of being reelected. If he makes that second term, that’s it. He would have nothing to lose as he persevered on this destructive path. As an aside, I think liberal ideas have every much of a right to exist as conservative or any other ideas. But this president is failing at an extremely overpriced rate. I’d like to see the Democrats put someone else up to run against him.

Back to the article, here are some quotes:

“According to Barack Obama, if things in America are ‘worse instead of better,’ it’s not because of poor presidential leadership, lack of economic direction, out-of-control spending, class warfare, expanding entitlement programs, or regulations gone awry. Without mentioning them by name, Obama intimated that the situation in Washington DC is the result of rabid Republicans driven by a rowdy band of Tea Party activists who refuse to tax and spend the country into oblivion.”

“Earth to Obama – America already sent a message to Congress; we sent them there to do what they’re doing, attempting to stop you. You’re the one not getting the message.”

“…In a typical attempt to further portray political opposition as the sole obstacle to economic success, President Barack Obama, ever deficient in personal self-awareness, once again projected his own intentions onto the other side: ‘There are some in Congress right now who would rather see their opponents lose than see America win.’”

1,007.2 miles to go.

Day361 Thursday 08/25/11

ran 3.2 miles
Some stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 21% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 45% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –24.

• Overall, 42% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance. During Barack Obama’s presidency, his rating has been lower only once, on June 18, 2010. On that day it was 41%.

• Only 14% of voters believe America is generally heading in the right direction. This is the lowest percentage of the Obama Administration.

• The presidential candidate who polls closest to Barack Obama is Ron Paul. Obama 39%, Paul 38%.

• Among American voters, 71% say too many people receive welfare who shouldn’t.

For you local readers here is some information on the upcoming Lafayette City-Parish Council election on October 22, 2011, courtesy of Tea Party of Lafayette. The page endorses certain incumbents and others who are running. You can find voting records, check out the re-districted map, and research what issues you hold valuable for the future of Lafayette and which candidates represent those values.

1,009.4 miles to go.