Day676 Thursday 07/05/12

ran 2.6 miles

Stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 25% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 43% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of -18.

• Overall, 48% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 53% at least somewhat disapprove.

• Mitt Romney: 47%, Barack Obama: 44%, Other: 4%, Undecided, 5%

• From the Declaration of Independence, "governments derive their only just powers from the consent of the governed." 70% of American adults agree with the statement (66% agreed last year and 56% agreed in 2008), 13% disagree, and 17% are undecided.

• Only 22% of the nation’s likely voters believe the government today has the consent of the governed.

• 52% favor repeal of Barack Obama's health care law.

• 30% say America is better off today than four years ago.

• 58% say a government with too much power is a bigger danger than a weak one. 

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 26.4

Here is what happened one year ago on Day311.

Day675 Wednesday 07/04/12

ran 3.4 miles

Happy Fourth of July!

This is the same post I did last year for Independence Day. I thought it would be worth mentioning once more just how much was risked for America to gain its independence and how much we have to be thankful for through the sacrifices of the men and women of that time who dared to challenge the severe consequences awaiting them should they have failed. I am doubtful that the men who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence would be proud of their nation over two hundred years later considering how much our current president disapproves of their ideas.

Here is some history about Independence Day:

Today is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, our founding fathers came together, despite numerous fears and differences, and forged the document that has guided our nation to the freedoms and opportunities we all experience 236 years later.

There are many interesting details and stories surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but these are a couple of lesser known facts you may not realize. For one thing, when those men decided to sign that document they made a decision that would have had them shot or hung if they were unable to win the Revolutionary War they were currently fighting. It was a gamble and, while the odds were not on their side, providence and destiny were.

Ask yourself if you would have done it. Would you have signed a document that utterly defied the King of what was arguably the world power at the time? Could you have placed such a wager on your own head, on your family, on your fellow men and women, to risk everything for an idea you passionately believed in?

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence figuratively signed their names in blood, and if America had not won the Revolutionary War then the signers of that monumental document would have been hunted down and made examples of.

But we did win, with all odds against us, and I firmly believe it was providence and not chance.

One other interesting piece of history surrounding the Declaration of Independence is the final days surrounding the lives of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. It was on this day in 1826, the fourth of July, the anniversary of the day both of these men had signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, that they both died within five hours of one another.

Jefferson and Adams were the final surviving members of the original American revolutionaries who signed the Declaration of Independence. They shared a common cause in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; however, as time went on they differed more and more on how to achieve the American vision. Both men having served as presidents, Adams believed in a strong centralized government and Jefferson believed in a weaker federal government with more rights deferred to individual states.

Through years of heated arguments and differences, an animosity that had led to years of silence between the two ex-presidents, John Adams made the decision to contact Thomas Jefferson in 1812, wishing him many happy years to come. Thomas Jefferson responded with kind words and the two founding fathers looked past their differences and rekindled the friendship they had once had.

On July 4, 1826, at the age of 90, John Adams died. His last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives”. But he was mistaken. Jefferson had died five hours before in Monticello at the age of 82.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 23.8

Here is what happened one year ago on Day310.

Day674 Tuesday 07/03/12

2,100 miles!!!

ran 3.4 miles  

Should America ever find itself with an overwhelming majority of people who think the way this arrogant, condescending, pompous bag of hot air does, then we will all know that this nation has officially had its identity stolen and that it will never be returned. This guy needs to sell his unicorn farm and buy an American History text book with his profits. Fifth grade level will do. Anything more advanced might be a bit too shocking to his complete disapproval and spite for everything the Constitution of the United States of America stands for. 

On the other hand...
 

...this man, Allen West, represents an entirely different message. Should America ever find itself with an overwhelming majority of people who think the way this common sense, constitutionally derived, beacon of truly American intentions does, then we will know that Barack Obama has certainly been voted out of a second term and that America is ready to be restored.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 20.4

Here is what happened one year ago on Day309.

Day673 Monday 07/02/12

ran 3.3 miles

It's official. The number of workers on federal disability now surpasses the population of New York City. 

8,733,461.

The population of New York City was 8,244,910 according to the latest Census Bureau estimates, and that was in July of 2011.

June, 1992---118,419,000 people employed in America; 3,334,333 workers taking federal disability payments. That is one person taking disability payments per 35.5 working Americans.

January, 2009 (Obama's inauguration)---142,187,000 people employed in America; 7,442,377 workers taking federal disability payments. That is one person taking disability payments per 19.1 working Americans.

May, 2012---142,287,000 people employed in America; 8,707,185 workers taking federal disability payments. That is one person taking disability payments per 16.3 working Americans.

Federal "Disability" is a necessary safety net in America and for many individuals it is certainly deserving, but these numbers are clearly an abuse of the system.

(On a separate note, did you happen to pick up on the fact that since Barack Obama was inaugurated to a point of three years and five months into his presidency only 100,000 more people are working, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Social Security Administration? And where is the other half of America? There are over 300 million people in this country. If only 142,000,000 Americans are working then what is the other half doing? The other half is not aged entirely from infant to teenager or in the retiree bracket, incapable of playing a role in these working/disability numbers. So, when you see unemployment numbers and other jobs statistics in the news, know that they are extremely misleading. The numbers above prove that.)

It gets better. In the month of June, not only did 8,733,461 Americans take federal disability payments, but 165,469 spouses of disabled workers and 1,899,756 children of disabled workers took disability payments. That ups the number to 10,798,686; one person taking disability per 13.2 working Americans.

8,733,461 federal disability payments were made in June at an average of $1,111.42 per person. At the rate federal disability is accelerating, it will not be long before the working American ratio versus disability will be 1:8 or 1:9. Numbers like these are unsustainable.

(SOURCE)

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 17.0

Here is what happened one year ago on Day308

Day672 Sunday 07/01/12

ran 3.1 miles

Today ends week ninety-six of running against Obama. I ran 23.2 miles this week, averaging 3.31 miles per day. 

I came across this video yesterday and was impressed with the below rendition of our beloved "Star Spangled Banner". The name of the band is "Madison Rising" and this is their website. They have made a goal to get one million YouTube views of their video by November 6, 2012. Check them out! 2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 13.7

Here is what happened one year ago on Day307.

Day671 Saturday 06/30/12

22 Months Of Running Against Obama!!!

ran 3.3 miles

If you see smoke billowing out of a building then there is probably a fire inside. It does not require much common sense to connect those dots and to respond accordingly. So, why is it that our federal government, from both sides of the aisle, is straining our liberties through an unconstitutional sieve of frightening proportions and we for the most part do so little about it or completely ignore it?

All the signs are there. Smoke is billowing. Fire is blazing. And we all sit back and watch it assuming someone else will take care of the catastrophe. This is America. Someone will take care of this, right?

It is a feeling of helplessness. What can you actually do that would make a real difference? I don't have an answer for that. But, that is why I run all these miles. I was tired of feeling helpless and this was the only thing I could think of to do. I feel free again and the shackles of helplessness have broken away from my wrists.

Here is a glance at some controversial legislation, or billowing smoke,  that has been passed by our federal government and actions they have approved of in the last decade. As you read through them, ask yourself what is really going on here? The smoke is rising and they continue to tell us it's not there.

• The Patriot Act---passed in 2001 and extended in 2011 with additional controls, expands law enforcement powers and removes civil liberties and constitutionally guaranteed rights.

• The National Defense Authorization Act---passed on 31st December, 2011, allows the indefinite imprisonment by the military of any “suspects” (including American citizens on American soil) without allowing due process of law.

• The MAP-21 Bill--- allows the Internal Revenue Service to suspend the passport rights of Americans, based on the premise that their tax obligations may be unfulfilled.

• The National Defense Resources Preparedness Order---created in March, 2012, allows the President to take over control of all food, water, labor and industry in the US, “to promote national defense.”

• 30,000 Drones to fly over the U.S.---allowed by executive order, February, 2012, providing the government with an Orwellian surveillance ability and a killing capacity ranging from selected individuals to entire communities.

• FEMA Interment (Detention) Camps---to be constructed in every state, with 3 – 15 in each state, for an undisclosed purpose.

• Compounds to store "disposable coffins"---each with hundreds of thousands of 4-5 person coffins stored near city centers around the country.

• 450 million hollow-point bullets ordered by the Department of Homeland Security---to be used domestically. (The DHS is not responsible for addressing national invasions or overseas wars; it exists solely for the control of internal disorder. Hollow point bullets are not intended for sharpshooting – they are designed specifically to maximize tissue damage.)

(SOURCE)

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 10.6 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day306.

Day670 Friday 06/29/12

ran 3.6 miles 2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 7.3 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day305.

Day669 Thursday 06/28/12

ran 3.4 miles

I was certainly blind-sided today by the Supreme Court's response to ObamaCare. That's an understatement, actually. It was more like getting hit by a train pulling one hundred box cars of chaos and confusion. First, I was in shock trying to piece together the events leading up to this day (Barack Obama clearly stated in the recent past that the mandate is not a tax, yet SCOTUS upholds the health care law in its entirety through the lens of the mandate not being a mandate, because that would be unconstitutional, but the mandate being a tax, which our federal government has the power to levy upon its people through the proper channels of Congress, but Obama did not recognize the mandate as a tax, but the Supreme Court did recognize the mandate as within the constitutional boundaries of taxation)---three days of oral arguments in which right-leaning justices absolutely humiliated the lawyers representing ObamaCare, often leaving them in a mumbling stupor unable to grasp one single fiber of argument to support this law. It was like watching a Jimmy Kimmel roasting where you can't help but laugh at the stutters, "if"s, "but"s, and "um...um...um"s these guys had loaded in their pea shooters of reason. And now they actually passed it? 

I'm not sure who said it first but this is a good line to live by, "I don't believe anything I hear and I only believe half of what I see".

After the initial shock of this verdict, I began looking for a logical approach to why ObamaCare was upheld in its entirety. This is the best I could come up with. It is mere speculation, but I am actually beginning to like this outcome. I am not endorsing the idea that perhaps the conservative seats on the bench did not want to make this decision and preferred to put it in the laps of the American people at large during the 2012 presidential election. But, that is the outcome we are left with and I prefer a collective American decision over the collective decision of only nine individuals. If you vote for Obama in November then you are voting for a full-blown, American-revolutionizing, point of no return, socialistic health care program, not much unlike exactly what is going on in a flailing Europe. If you vote for Romney then you are voting for a man who has made it his priority to remove Obamacare from existence. It is a gamble but if ObamaCare is something you would like to do without then Romney is a far better bet.

I believe if SCOTUS had struck down even only the mandate then that would have actually been a better predicament for Obama. This guys in a pickle and if he does get reelected it is going to be by the skin of his teeth. He has nothing to run on and throwing fuel on fire is his best campaign tool. The only thing he does have to run on is hope, which he has proven to be far overrated, and this health care law that the Supreme Court just handed him. But here's the thing. In recent months, Rasmussen Reports (the proven most reliable and accurate polling organization) has Americans at a consistent high fifties and low sixties disapproval rating regarding ObamaCare. His health care legislation is working against him more than it is for him and SCOTUS may have possibly returned a verdict that called Obama's bluff. I have every confidence that Barack Obama wanted his health care law to be deemed unconstitutional because that would have given him ammunition, and firing blame in all direction is the bedrock of this president's reelection platform. 

Whether it was intentional or inadvertent, I think the conservative Supreme Court justices may have just served Obama a worst case scenario for his upcoming election. The 55%-60% of Americans who oppose ObamaCare were already mad, but I think they are furious now. They are the one's who are left with political ammunition and it is Barack Obama and his Democratic counterparts who are left having to defend and campaign on something that America, as a majority, does not want.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 3.7

Here is what happened one year ago on Day304.

Day668 Wednesday 06/27/12

2,080 MILES!!!

ran 3.4 miles

Goal accomplished! Today I ran mile 2,080, the distance from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back. I ran these miles to protest President Barack Obama's policies and to campaign against him leading into the 2012 presidential election. I may not have even caused the slightest ripple in the vast, murky ocean of politics but I created a tidal wave within my own conscience and made use of my freedom of speech, while it is still around, out of love for this country and every fiber of my being that firmly believes Barack Obama is the biggest, most orchestrated hoax in the young, impressionable history of twenty-first century America. 

That being said, my original campaign goal was to run an average of 2.60 miles per day, every single day. I am currently averaging 3.11 miles per day. I am 343 miles and 133 days ahead of schedule. I am going to continue to run until Day801, the presidential election on November 6. Our federal government is not familiar with this term but that is what you call a surplus.

2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 0.3

Here is what happened one year ago on Day303.

  

Day667 Tuesday 06/26/12

ran 3.1 miles

This president is an incorrigible violator of our Constitution and he is not leading, but ruling like a king. There is no place for a king, or a dictator, in America. Shamelessly and self-righteously he treats Congress like an insignificant branch of government with an opinion that only carries merit if it is in his favor. And, as of lately, he has proven that he has no respect for our Supreme Court or the decisions they make unless they, too, align with his interests. He is like a spoiled child who has zero tolerance for obeying rules. The president, Congress and the Supreme Court were intended to serve as watchdogs over one another. Since Barack Obama has been president, he has usurped every dimension of government to fit his own ends. When his health care legislation passed by one single vote he praised and esteemed Congress and the process by which American citizens elect Senators and Representatives to steward their interests. Now that the Supreme Court is likely going to strike down his legislation and now that it is common knowledge that a significant majority of Americans do not even want ObamaCare, he persists and blatantly states that the American people want "this" and that the American people want "that". Who is he talking about? And Arizona...the Supreme Court rules in their favor to tighten the screws on their illegal immigration problem and within three hours the Obama administration denies the state of Arizona the federal assistance that is necessary for them to see their law through. And this on the heels of legalizing approximately 800,000 illegal aliens by executive order and with no consent of Congress.

Two more days. SCOTUS is going to deem ObamaCare and the House of Representatives is going to vote on whether to hold Eric Holder in contempt. I cannot wait to see what unbelievable words come out of our president's mouth and what undermining actions he will take to get his way with these two matters.   

3.1 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day302.

Day666 Monday 06/25/12

ran 3.3 miles
"Fashionable right now for people to be cynical?"

What was it in 2008 when Barack Obama got elected? That was fashionable. That was a fad that sold a lot of t-shirts, books, hope, and change---none of which are problem solving commodities or actions.

Cynicism in America is not fashionable. It is a product of this man standing behind a podium speaking in the most vague possible generalities about how "There is no problem out there, no challenge we face that we do not have the capacity to solve. We are Americans and we are tougher than whatever tough times bring us." Sounds like the pep talk a coach gave his basketball team of eight-year-olds before they got on a court against a team of teenagers he knew his squad could not beat. His words are like those a leader would say to his people at a time when they were facing impossibility. The man has hope. I'll give him that. But his hope is just so empty and lacks such an unbelievable amount of substance.

This Thursday the House of Representatives will vote on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. Also, the Supreme Court will rule on ObamaCare the same day. Both of these events are highly likely to be a thorn in the Obama administration's side.

The most notable legislation Barack Obama signed in the first half of his term stands to be overturned and deemed unconstitutional in a few days, unemployment remains fixed (yet he shrugs opportunities like the Keystone Pipeline), the "Fast and Furious" scandal is casting a dark shadow on his administration, SCOTUS upheld the primary piece of Arizona's immigration law enforcement today (allowing police officers to ask for proper immigration documentation if suspicion arises), which the federal government has been battling Arizona over in the courts, the housing market is stuck in a tar pit, the Muslim Brotherhood just won the election in Egypt, our president intervened with Libya (minus Congress' consent), but won't in Syria where the brutal killing of civilians is far more numerous, and someone in the White House is leaking vital, secret information, which makes America look suspect and untrustworthy to other nations who may have once invested more stock in our government's ability to keep secret information secret. 

And Barack Obama casually stands behind a podium and has the audacity to belittle the genuine problems we as a nation face by suggesting that it is "fashionable right now for people to be cynical".

6.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day301.

Day665 Sunday 06/24/12

ran 3.4 miles

Today ends week ninety-five of running against Obama. I ran 27.6 miles this week, averaging 3.94 miles per day.  

This has to be one of the worst, most poorly executed messages for a campaign ad, ever. Whoever is running against this Ryan Combe for a seat in the Utah House should make a sequel to this ad. They should call it "Reality". Have the parents immediately kick their son out of their house (they are, after all, depicted as heartless) and force him to make ends meet on his own while continuing to be so compassionate and intellectual. By the time thirty seconds is up the prodigal son can walk back into his parents house, apologize, and change the party on his voter registration card to "R". 

Here is the source for the video above. The article elaborates much further on everything that is wrong with this video. 

9.5 miles to go. 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day300.

Day664 Saturday 06/23/12

ran 4.1 miles

Just imagine. In only 137 days President Barack Hussein Obama could be voted out of office like a lemon being returned to a dishonest car dealership. Fed up and disappointed in their purchase, a collective America could march into his office and tell him that the moment they started the car he had sold them the wheels fell off, the muffler was rusted and detached after hitting a bump on the road, and the spark plugs were not sparking. We won't be able to get our money back but we can certainly make Barack Obama drive the sorry car he sold our nation right out of his office and into the history books as the worst president in modern American history.

In nineteen weeks and four days we can fire this man. He is our leader and we have been led astray from what America represents and what it demands to maintain. Now that Barack Obama's first term is nearing an end he is finally being vetted and I think we can all agree that if the media would have done its job in 2008 then he would never have even been elected or even stood a chance in the primaries.

In only four months and fourteen days this nation is going to make a decision that will impact America for generations. We can either shred our Constitution and tear every fiber of freedom, religion, opportunity, capitalism, and success that has defined America for over two hundred years, or we can give America a swift kick in its rear end to wake it up and remind its people of everything we stand for that has obviously been forgotten.

I've been following the news and posting on this blog every single day for nearly two years. I have ran over three miles every single day for 664 days just to avoid periodic combustion due to how inexplicable the actions of our president are. The simple fact that he was ever even elected to sit in the Oval Office is an outcome I will never understand.

Over the past two years I have received a lot of oppositional comments about my views and what I am doing from individuals who support Obama. Whether it is email, blog comments, or facebook posts, the large majority of these people send messages hoping that I get hit by a bus or that I don't stop running once I hit D.C. and continue straight into the Atlantic Ocean. They suggest I should not have children. They call me a racist for being dedicated enough to run everyday for an America I believe in. Running is now racism, in case you didn't know. They troll and troll and troll away at me with the most ignorant accusations and falsehoods they can create.

After doing this for nearly two years, I can tell you this. I think both Republican and Democratic politicians are egomaniacs who do not have our best interests in their hearts. I can tell you that Mitt Romney only scares me slightly less than Barack Obama, and for that reason he has my vote. And I can tell you that neither of the two candidates you vote for during any election cycle have anything to do with what you were put here on Earth to perform. The power is in the people and it has been that way since day one of America. Our federal government, our presidents, particularly Barack Obama, have been increasing the size of government and people's dependency on it for a long time. These actions equate to less freedom and less opportunity to perform the tasks we are driven to do on our own.

What value is it to set a goal to run 1,000 miles in a year if people who are determined to run more than 1,000 miles in a year have to redistribute some of their miles to others who are not driven to run even 10 miles in a year? Am I lucky because I can run 1,000 miles in a year? Barack Obama would say I am, but I am not. I am determined. I want the reward of succeeding in difficult tasks I set for myself. I don't want a hand-out or a mile voucher that gets me out of the obligation of running each day. It's hard. It's challenging. But the reward is worth it. That reward is unfiltered freedom to make my own decisions, to successfully follow through with them, and to not have to depend on anyone else or any government to get me through each day.

We were not put on Earth to sit back and vote for some guy who campaigns on redistributing self-worth and sustenance just so we can rest our bodies on government subsidized recliners and achieve absolutely nothing at the cost of those who actually deserve self-worth and sustenance. We were put on Earth to achieve and to pave our own ways to happiness, not to sit idly by and let governments choose our ways for us. 

12.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day299. 

Day663 Friday 06/22/12

ran 4.0 miles

President Barack Obama and his campaign team continue to sink even further into desperation and the reproachable depths of tactlessness. Just when our president hits a new level of absurdity that could not possibly be outdone, he completely surpasses our expectations...every few days, lately. 

Now, instead of receiving wedding gifts to hold onto for the rest of your life as mementos for the one special day of your life that you are eternally bonded with the one individual you love, our pompous president suggests you forgo these less important commodities and keepsakes and turn them into campaign contributions. 

Birthdays? Anniversaries? You can give your gifts to Barack Obama for these occasions, too. Forget about your special day...Barack Obama needs a second term. 

(More about the "Obama Event Registry") 

17.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day298.