Day165 Thursday 02/10/11

ran 4.0 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Index rating shows that 27% of American voters strongly approve of Obama’s performance as president while 36% strongly disapprove, giving Barack Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -9.

• Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance and 50% disapprove.

• According to Rasmussen Reports, only 51% of homeowners believe their home is worth more than their mortgage. This is the lowest since May of 2009.

• Just 45% of voters recognize that America has the world’s biggest economy.

• Only 30% of Americans believe our country is generally heading in the right direction.

• Rasmussen Reports polls 58% of Americans favor the repeal of the health care law.

If you missed yesterday’s post it is worth a glance. Obama plans on making a three-book graphic novel, or comic book, to explain to Americans what is in his health care law, implying that we are all idiots with the intellectual prowess of sixth graders.

Along the same lines of senselessness, all day today chief members of Obama’s staff claimed that the protests in Egypt had been quelled and that Hosni Mubarak would be relinquishing his power today. Contradicting our national media outlets, Mubarak actually got in front of a camera and informed his protesting people that he would not step down, but he would delegate some of his power to his newly sworn in vice president. He expressed that he would not be pushed around by other nations.

Based on the polls and stats listed above, it is fascinating to me how divided this nation is. I don’t claim my political beliefs to be entirely right and I certainly consider the fact that I may be wrong, but when Barack Obama’s approval numbers stay around 50% as they often do, it is troubling to look into the future of America. I am committed to what I believe when it comes to how this nation’s government should be run, but it is so strange to acknowledge that 50% of the people in this country completely disagree with my and so many others’ views. And they think I am just as crazy as I think they are. What is the disconnection? How is it that so many people can be so equally divided? When November 6, 2012 arrives and we elect someone else or reelect Barack Obama for a second term, 50% of Americans are going to be unhappy. With a ratio like that we ought to save the millions of dollars that would be spent on campaigning and just flip a coin. I am being facetious, of course, and would never flip a coin over such an epic matter, but the truth is 1 out of every 2 people in America, statistically, are quite possibly going to be extremely disappointed after the next presidential election. The fact that America is equally divided and has arrived at such a seemingly unbridgeable gap is the greatest setback in this nation since the Civil War.

1,639.6 miles to go.

Day164 Wednesday 02/09/11

Top image: Slublog (via Ace of Spades), featured on Michelle Malkin blog
Bottom image: Boston Herald

ran 3.1 miles

If there is perchance any residue of hope left in you concerning Barack Obama and what he has done over the last two years, that dingy and stubborn particle of resolve is about to be scrubbed away with a highly abrasive pad of reality.

Barack Obama and the health economist behind ObamaCare, Jonathan Gruber, have chosen to write and illustrate a comic book, which will be published in three parts, to help Americans better understand what is contained in the bill. This is real, and this is how stupid Barack Obama and Washington think we are. I cannot possibly think of a worse, more condescending, more insulting executive decision the leader of our nation could make than this.

The comic book is actually a “Graphic novel”, if that helps any. I could rant about how absurd and ridiculous the decision to do this was and how overwhelmingly counterproductive the direction Barack Obama is sending America is, but that would be redundant.

Why now? Nancy Pelosi had the audacity to tell America, “Let’s just pass the bill and then we’ll see what’s in it.” This bill was in the neighborhood of 2,800 pages long and the people we call leaders of our nation did not even read it. Here we are a year later, and Barack Obama wants to explain the bill in a comic book format?

Why now? It would have been equally preposterous, but why not do this before the bill was passed so it could have been passed on its merits? It is because it has no merit or common sense.

Why now? Why would Barack Obama wager such a risky and idiotic campaign now, after the fact that the bill has been passed for such a long time? It is because his health care bill stands a serious threat to be repealed by the American people.

This is an exciting time and Americans have not been this active or united to put the federal government in its rightful place in a very long time.

Alongside the news of Barack Obama’s upcoming comic book release, yesterday’s post thoroughly covers the solution that is at work right now to stop ObamaCare, the Interstate Health Care Compact. The state of Virginia is on the verge of beginning the compact and only one more state is all it will take to allow any other state that does not want socialized health care to design their own unique health care systems.

1,643.6 miles to go.

Day163 Tuesday 02/08/11

ran 2.6 miles
Tonight was the second Acadiana Patriots meeting of the year. I cannot overstate how informative these meetings are and how organized the Lafayette, Louisiana branch of the Tea Party Patriots is. Louisiana state senator Elbert Guillory (District 24) attended and spoke about a project called “The Health Care Compact”. It is a tangible solution to avoiding the destructive health care reform act Barack Obama passed through Congress and then signed into law. “Compacts” have been around for a long time, even longer than our United States Constitution. The Mayflower Compact, for example, obviously distantly preceded any talk of a nation like the United States of America ever even existing. As America had successfully fought and defeated the tyranny of Britain and earned their independence as a nation, free to lead itself, compacts were included in the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 10), as yet another safeguard our forefathers had the foresight to protect citizens with from future forms of tyranny.

A compact is simply a contract between two or more states. The Health Care Compact, as it stands presently, is a potential agreement of more than twenty states, already, which do not believe in Obama’s or Congress’ approach, implementation, or vision of health care for our future. As I type these words, the state of Virginia is already on the verge of being the first state to begin the compact with states like Louisiana, Texas, and others not far behind.

The way this works is, on the state level, if state representatives and senators want to be reelected than they need to see with their own eyes, through letters, emails and phone calls from their constituents exactly how undesirable ObamaCare is to the districts they represent. Through the power of the people, this compact, in each state, makes its way to Congress, and it gets voted on. The best detail of this process, under the United States Constitution, is that it does not have to be signed or approved by Barack Obama. If you ever wanted a realistic chance to put Barack Obama in his place and to show him just how much you disapprove of his legislation, this is the best opportunity you have ever had.

If this compact legally binds it creates a precedent, which will allow any other state to easily become a part of it. There is a lot of momentum nationally and Louisiana wants to be the next state after Virginia to make this compact happen.

The compact is very simple. It allows each participating state to uniquely handle health care the way they want to, under no orders from the federal government. The money spent by the federal government in each state is still given to each individual state but it is spent under the authority of Virginia, or Louisiana, or Texas, or whichever state is a member of the compact.

This is the way America is supposed to be. The federal government was designed with the sole purpose of aiding individual states only when they required need. In what rational mind does it make sense to put a blanket policy of socialized health care, which the government mandates against monetary penalty, over an entire nation the size of America with fifty diverse states? If California, Hawaii, or New York want ObamaCare then they should be able to have it, but not on my Louisiana dime. And if Louisiana has a better solution to its unique position on health care that costs taxpayers across the nation less, then we should be able to do it.

This compact will open a door of precedent into many other issues, too. Imagine something like this applied to immigration, where states can have their own unique laws for their own unique circumstances, such as Arizona currently desires. This compact represents the first time since 1776 that the people could claim their independence and put the federal government back where it belongs. It is nothing less than a revolution and I encourage you to be a part of it.

Acadiana Patriots has useful and concise information and details about all of this on their website.

1,646.7 miles to go.

Day162 Monday 02/07/11

ran 3.6 miles

O’Reilly’s interview with Obama

One of the things that stood out the most to me during last night’s interview, which preceded the Super Bowl, was when O’Reilly asked Obama, “OK. Worst part of this job? What’s the worst, absolute worst part of being president of the United States?”

Obama’s response was, “Worst part of the job is, first of all, I’ve got a jacket on on Super Bowl Sunday…If I wasn’t president, that would not be happening. The biggest problem for me is being in the bubble. It’s very hard to escape. You know, you can’t go to the corner…”

I think his response reflected a selfish weakness and frustration with his tendency to only see short-term goals, which only seem to set America even further back in the long run. And, short-term goals that wreak havoc in the long-term are parallel with every idea set forth by Communism. A “Too good to be true” utopian idea is always followed by a worse circumstance than that which brought it on to begin with. This is not ideology; it is proven history. And in a case, such as health care reform, it looks radiant on the surface, but there is so much more to it that is not being acknowledged.

Here are a few things Barack Obama could have said as the leader of our nation that would have been a little less insensitive than his pouting about having to wear a suit jacket on Sundays:

The worst thing about this job is the responsibility of writing letters of condolence to the parents, brothers, and sisters of fallen men and women who fought so bravely for our country.

The worst thing about this job is enduring that fifty percent of America disapproves of me and that if I had not been so radical and one-sided that perhaps I could have easily won a second term in 2012, by appeasing at least just another ten percent of the public.

The worst thing about this job is having to spend so much taxpayer money, which does not yet even exist, to come through with my farfetched promises I had campaigned on---and to see those dollars go nowhere in proportion to the exuberant amounts that were spent…that is the hardest thing about being president of the United States of America.

How about saying that our unwavering unemployment rate, which he has fought with money from our pockets, and our children’s pockets, to no avail, sets his heart beside itself with the reality that maybe there are some better answers and approaches?

Instead, Barack Obama’s response began with, “I’ve got a jacket on on Super Bowl Sunday,” and it ended with, “It’s very hard to escape.”

1,649.3 miles to go.

Day161 Sunday 02/06/11

ran 2.6 miles
I went from a 10k in Baton Rouge, the Amedisys Mardi Gras Mambo, yesterday, straight to New Orleans. I was able to run this morning in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by houses with unique architecture you can only find so concentrated in New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s a perfect day to be in New Orleans and to watch a Super Bowl.

Today ends week twenty-three of running against Obama. I ran 22.0 miles this week, averaging 3.14 miles per day.

Don’t forget that preceding the Super Bowl tonight, Bill O’Reilly will be interviewing Barack Obama. That ought to be interesting and worth viewing, however, I have a feeling that the only circumstances Obama would agree to such an interview would be under the guise of prewritten and easy questions.

Speaking of Obama, Sarah Palin has submitted her first comments on Barack Obama’s handling of Egypt. Referring to the crisis as Obama’s “3 a.m. phone call”, she said, “It seems the call went right to the answering machine.”

“We need to know what it is America stands for so we know who it is that America will stand with. And we do not have all that information (from the administration) yet.”

Whoever takes over leadership of Egypt will be pivotal in the fate of Israel. Egypt and Israel are our two greatest allies in the Middle East and if the new Egyptian leader is backed by a group such as the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a good chance that America’s relationship with Egypt will be forfeited and Israel will be geographically surrounded by nations who have little interest in their future. In the event that Israel were attacked by one or more of its bordering Muslim nations, America would be obligated to get involved with little chance of successfully intervening. And, any attempt made by America to get involved would effectively make us even more of an enemy to Israel’s surrounding Muslim nation, if that is even possible.

Barack Obama has the option to support a peaceful democracy following Mubarak’s exit, but that democracy does not mean it will represent anything like what we have in America. As I said, if a member of the Muslim Brotherhood were elected president, it could potentially change the world and our relationship to the Middle East for a very long time.

1,652.9 miles to go.

Day160 Saturday 02/05/11

ran 6.2 miles
I ran a 10k today in Baton Rouge and put up a good time. The weather was bitter and cold but it was an awesome run. I ran with some friends and we all beat the times of our last runs. I can’t speak for my friends but I can certainly attribute my own drive and passion for running purely to the pursuit of making Barack Obama a one-term president.

I am absolutely exhausted and it has been a long day. As a final note, I received a lot of comments on my “Running Against Obama” t-shirt and found some new people who are interested in this blog and the future of their nation.

Sorry for the lull, I’ll be back to informing soon. Go Steelers!

1,655.5 miles to go.

Day159 Friday 02/04/11

ran 0.1 miles
I have a good reason for only running 0.1 miles today, which was the act of running a few houses down from mine as I let my dog out after work, and that reason is I am running a 10k tomorrow in Baton Rouge. I’m pretty excited. Although I have run that distance before on my own, I have never run an organized 10k.

I have to go to bed early and wake up early so tonight’s post is short and to the point. Tomorrow morning I am going to run as hard as I can with one single inspiration: the hope of getting America back in November of 2012.

1,661.7 miles to go.

Day158 Thursday 02/03/11

ran 1.0 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Index rating shows that 26% of American voters strongly approve of Obama’s performance as president while 41% strongly disapprove, giving Barack Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of –15. Barack Obama’s Presidential Index rating is dipping back down to the consistency it had held up until a month ago.

• Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance and 53% disapprove. These numbers also reflect a dip in his popularity, which had risen a month ago and seem to be lowering back down to the past year’s levels, week by week.

• Rasmussen Reports finds that 58% of likely voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law, including 47% who strongly favor repeal. Just 38% oppose repeal and only 29% strongly oppose it.

• Rasmussen Reports shows that only 32% of likely U.S. voters say the country is heading in the right direction.

In an article by Dick Morris, “Obamacare: D.O.A.”, Obama’s presidential shortcomings are poignantly listed and put into context of what they mean for 2012. Considering a health care bill that is continuously sloping into landslide disapproval, stimulus packages that have achieved little for the price they had cost, and a general inability to point out anything positive done for this country for any significant majority of people in America, the next presidential election appears to be more and more of a challenge as each day passes for Barack Obama to become a two-term president.

1,661.8 miles to go.

Day157 Wednesday 02/02/11

ran 1.9 miles
From an article by John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, “The decision by Democrats to hold their presidential nominating convention in Charlotte, N.C., is an indication that the party thinks it can’t afford to give up gains made in the South when Barack Obama was elected in 2008.”

The choice to set up camp in North Carolina is a strategic effort to concentrate as much campaigning and attention to surrounding states, which were so instrumental in electing Barack Obama two years ago. Working against Obama’s potential success in 2012, the 2010 Census has shifted several electoral votes from states previously won by Obama to those previously won by John McCain. Barack Obama is not hopeful to win any of the states carried by McCain in 2008. Based on the decision to not host the convention in Missouri, a state Obama lost by less than 4,000 votes in 2008, southern states are obviously more important in the Democratic approach to making Barack Obama a two-term president.

“Should a Republican presidential nominee hold every McCain state and add Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia—all states that voted Republican in every year between 1976 and 2008—that candidate would command 218 electoral votes. If he were able to win Florida and Ohio, which routinely voted Republican during that same period, he would have 265 electoral votes—just five short of an Electoral College majority. Any of several states—Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico—could then make Mr. Obama a one-term president.”

1,662.8 miles to go.

Day156 Tuesday 02/01/11

ran 4.0 miles
In the spirit of Black History Month, also referred to as African-American History Month, celebrated since 1976 in America, Canada and the United Kingdom, I would like to spotlight some contemporary Americans who have contributed everything they could and continue to put forth everything they can to keep America the free, principled nation under God that it was intended to be. Tonight, Alan Keyes, a Republican presidential candidate in 2000, and the man who accepted an invitation from the Illinois Republican Party to run against Barack Obama in 2004 for the U.S. Senate, is the man I would like to spotlight and quote.

“Our first responsibility is not to ourselves. Our first responsibility is to our country and to our God.”

“The income tax is a twentieth-century socialist experiment that has failed. Before the income tax was imposed on us just 80 years ago, government had no claim to our income. Only sales, excise, and tariff taxes were allowed.”

“We must take away the government's credit card. With limits on both tax revenue and borrowing, the Federal government would finally be forced to get serious about spending cuts.”

1,664.7 miles to go.

Day155 Monday 01/31/11

ran 6.2 miles

Here’s something you may not know. In an article written by Anne E. Kornblut and Rachel Weiner, they reported that Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to China has officially sent a letter of resignation to President Barack Obama. It is speculated that Huntsman intends to run against his boss for the position of President of the United States of America in 2012. If that’s not a shellacking to everything Barack Obama represents, I don’t know how much stronger of a message could be sent. He will step down from his post in April, leaving only three months to name and confirm a new ambassador, one of the most important postings in the world.

Appointed by Barack Obama in 2009, Huntsman is a Republican and once held the Governor’s seat of Utah. It will be a difficult task to replace him after the relationships and diplomacy he has successfully established. Huntsman is fluent in Mandarin, possesses extremely productive relations with China, and has been immensely instrumental in Obama’s efforts to make America more competitive and to build a business alliance with Beijing.

Yet another one of Obama’s appointees is jumping ship on his policies. Huntsman stands out uniquely, though, because in his case he did not fail, like his economic advisors and others who had resigned on behalf of the messes they had made. Jon Huntsman is resigning because he, the most knowledgeable man in America on U.S.-Chinese relations obviously disagrees with Obama’s direction and he apparently feels he can do a better job.

1,668.7 miles to go.

Day154 Sunday 01/30/11

ran 2.7 miles

• 21.9 miles run this week.

• Daily running average for the week was 3.13 miles per day.

• Total amount run in the past 154 days is 405.1 miles.

• Daily running average overall is 2.63 miles per day.

Today is the five-month mark of running against Barack Obama, protesting his radical ideas and legislation, and seeking solutions that will get him out of office on November 6, 2012. That date sits far off on a distant horizon that is hard to define, but as we get closer and visibility sharpens, our future will appear before us and we will either reelect Barack Hussein Obama or we will elect Someone Else. We don’t know too much about Someone Else at this point. What we do know is that Someone Else is a man or a woman who will largely oppose the direction Barack Obama has been steering this country. And, in the short-term scheme of things, that is enough for right now.

Having reached the five-month mark today and striding through 400 miles yesterday, I’ve reached a point in the growth of this campaign and protest against Barack Obama that I feel motivated to see how I can make this blog better. I am going to start including images and videos on daily posts, tweak the appearance of the blog, show some new t-shirt designs, and generally do whatever I can to give this blog as much potential as I can.

If you, the reader, have any ideas on what I can do to make this blog more concise, more navigable, or more effective, I welcome any ideas.

And with that being said, I also encourage anyone who feels the way so many of us do about the direction Barack Obama is leading our nation to get involved and to make a difference. In Lafayette, I have met a lot of people and organizations that are working to redefine the wasteful, over-bearing system of government America has had for so long, on federal, state and local levels.

1,674.9 miles to go.

Day153 Saturday 01/29/11

ran 3.1 miles
I hit my 400-mile mark today, and tomorrow will end the first five months of running against Obama. The running has been going smoothly and my distances are increasing. The blog has garnered a following that continues to increase and I’ve had the opportunity to meet some very passionate and involved political minds in Lafayette. The Tea party organizations are extremely friendly and motivating, and their meetings are filled with useful information and notable speakers.

Here is some commentary from www.teapartyoflafayette.com, following the State of the Union Address:

"Mr. Obama is a huge part of our problem, not part of any solution.

After he and his party immersed us all in massive debt and exploded the size of the Federal government, he now wants to arrest the size of that government at its present level.

In the face of this year's deficit of $1.5 trillion dollars and intractable unemployment-underemployment of 16%, he talks of fixing education, doing high-speed rail, and doubling our exports.

The Democrats have been "fixing" education for a long time. The teachers' unions have given that party hundreds of millions of dollars. That's part of the fix.

Doubling our exports will be achieved by continued devaluation of the dollar. That will make the products we still manufacture cheaper for the Chinese, but dollar devaluation will make all our Chinese imports more expensive.

As to the $100 trillion dollars of our unfunded Federal entitlements, Mr. Obama's Social Security solution is to encourage "both sides" to work something out; that's it, that's all he said. On Obamacare, he said he's not going back. Never mind that 26 states are litigating against this highjacking of individual choice, individual responsibility.

Mr. Obama ignores the obvious: the Nation cannot borrow itself out of debt.

Mr. Obama is another Hugo Chavez. As Rep. Ryan said in his response to Mr. Obama's speech, the Nation is at a tipping point. If not fixed now, we become a big Venezuela."

K. Thomas Noell, M.D.

1,677.6 miles to go.

Day152 Friday 01/28/11

ran 2.7 miles

• Maine was the twenty-third state to join the union on March 15, 1820, one year before Missouri and one year after Alabama.

• Population, as of 2009, is 1,318,301.

• Senators are Susan Collins (R) and Olympia Snowe (R).

• Representatives are Chellie Pingree (D) and Michael Michaud (D).

• Maine has four electoral votes. Historically, the state has voted red from the Civil War through the 1980s, only voting blue in 1912, 1964, and 1968. Maine has voted Democratic in the last four elections. Barack Obama won by 18% over John McCain in 2008. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states to not use the “All or nothing” approach to awarding electoral votes. Differing from the other forty-eight states, the winner of the popular vote gets two electoral votes, while one is assigned to the winner of each of Maine’s two congressional districts. This method was established in 1972, and is yet to result in a split electoral vote.

On to more pressing news, Egypt is currently in a complete state of chaos. The dictator they’ve had for the past thirty years has the entire nation at odds with him. Rubber bullets have been replaced with real bullets, curfews and authority are being ignored and overtaken, and earlier today the nation’s internet access was completely disabled by the government. At first glance, you don’t think to consider how much your daily life revolves around the Internet, and the idea that your government could simply pull a switch on its accessibility is even more preposterous.

The truth is, as coincidental as it may seem, that amidst all of the turmoil in our ally-nation of dictator-led Egypt, there is legislation being discussed in Congress right now, which would grant Barack Obama a “Kill Switch” for the internet in America. To even acknowledge this reality is absurd but it is true. Barack Obama wants the power to literally turn off the Internet if he deems it necessary.

Why? I can’t think of a logical reason but after seeing what is happening in Egypt one idea comes to mind. Our world is fomenting into a froth, spilling over the edges of the reality we’ve known for a long time, as a result of poorly led governments around the globe and it will probably get worse before it gets better. The next two years, not even considering the events that will happen in other countries, in America, alone, will be a time that will test your principles and strengths.

So, again, I ask why does Barack Obama want legislation that allows him to cut off 300 million Americans from access to the Internet? I can’t answer that question because it holds no American merit as far as freedom is concerned, but what is happening in Egypt right now is a good start to speculate towards a future that Barack Obama may foresee where he finds it necessary to silence certain Americans who don’t conform to his ideas.

1,680.7 miles to go.