Day594 Saturday 04/14/12

ran 3.2 miles

It was in February of last year that Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin became a household name to represent the message of conservatives across the country.  This man shrugged union intimidation and liberal numbers from every corner of America.  He pressed his shoulder to the wheel and drove the economic reform he campaigned on to bring the state of Wisconsin closer to a budget that could breathe above the surface of deficit.  He succeeded.

For this, he is forced into a recall election.  Those who signed the petition to have him recalled would argue that he is robbing them of their pensions, their health care, and the promises that were made to them.  I, and many others like me, would argue that he is slowly decompressing a rupturing bubble in Wisconsin that will inevitably pop, sooner rather than later, to avoid the catastrophe of not facing the ugly economic truth before Wisconsin, and so many other states.

250.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day229.

Day593 Friday 04/13/12

ran 3.5 miles

Stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 24% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 41% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of -17.

• Overall, 46% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 51% at least somewhat disapprove.

• On economic issues, 49% of voters trust Romney while 39% trust Obama.

• In a hypothetical 2012 matchup, Romney earns 48% and Obama attracts 44%.

• Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 45%, Democrats 40%

253.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day228.

Day592 Thursday 04/12/12

ran 3.7 miles 

"Sustained high rates of government borrowing would both drain funds away from private investment and increase our debt to foreigners, with adverse long-run effects on U.S. output, incomes, and standards of living. Moreover, diminishing investor confidence that deficits will be brought under control would ultimately lead to sharply rising interest rates on government debt and, potentially, to broader financial turmoil. In a vicious circle, high and rising interest rates would cause debt-service payments on the federal debt to grow even faster, resulting in further increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio and making fiscal adjustment all the more difficult." 

Ben Bernanke addressing Budget Committee earlier this week 

(Source)

Raising taxes on every household that makes $250,000 or more per year, then exponentially raising that tax rate for millionaires and billionaires is not going to solve our problems. The money would go to the federal government, which has already proven that they would run out of sand within five years if they were given control of the Sahara Desert. It would put a band-aid on the widest fracture of the debt dam but it ultimately serves no purpose. You can not put into words or even draw a picture of what $15, $16, or $17 trillion of debt looks like. Give Barack Obama another term and maybe you will have better luck with what $24, $25, or $26 trillion of debt looks like. 

I'm not sure what the solution is but I know introducing nationalized health care at a time like this is a proverbial nail in a coffin that has already been sunk three quarters of the way (just waiting on the Supreme Court). 

257.2 miles to go. 

Here is what happened one year ago on Day227.

Day591 Wednesday 04/11/12

ran 3.6 miles 

This is what we are up against. These are members of the "Occupy" movement that are widely supported by Liberals and have been encouraged by Barack Obama. The individual engaging the Anarchist and Communist "Occupy" camp in the video above is named Vladimir and he spent the first twenty-nine years of his life in the U.S.S.R and has lived in America for the last twenty-three years. This guy knows a thing or two about Socialism and effortlessly explains why it is a bad idea.

260.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day226.

Day590 Tuesday 04/10/12

ran 3.5 miles

"So these investments -- in things like education and research and health care -- they haven't been made as some grand scheme to redistribute wealth from one group to another.  This is not some socialist dream."

Barack Obama, 2012

"I’m gonna cut taxes a little bit more for the folks who are most in need and for the 5 percent of the folks who are doing very well – even though they’ve been working hard and I appreciate that – I just want to make sure they’re paying a little bit more in order to pay for those other tax cuts...I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."

Barack Obama, 2008

(Source)

In 2012 our president acknowledges that redistributing wealth from one group to another is a "socialist dream", but in 2008 he proposed the idea without acknowledging it was a concept straight out of Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto".  I think, in not so many words, he has just insulted the American people once again by calling us stupid.

I've mentioned this in many past posts and I will mention it in many more in the future.  Remember the midterm elections?  On November 2, 2010, Obama, in his own words, got "shellacked".  Republicans claimed the House and nearly took the Senate, all as a result of voting out as many Congressmen and women who aligned with Obama on the two hot topics of that time.

ObamaCare and the stimulus package.  These two pieces of legislation were so disappointing that it cost Barack Obama the numbers he needed to continue deconstructing America through piling on incomprehensible amounts of debt.  So the question is, what has changed?  Our president's power was chopped in half and since then all he has done is present the same alleged solutions that are exactly what got he and his party shellacked in 2010.  His argument is that he has a "do nothing" Congress but I would argue that they are doing exactly what the people who elected asked of them.  Namely, stop spending.  Most of the goals on Obama's path come at the cost of redistributing wealth or running up our national debt.  That is not progress and his spots have not changed since November 2, 2010.

The global economy is in a tailspin and our president regrets not having spent more on stimulus and he is currently awaiting a verdict from the Supreme Court on whether ObamaCare is constitutional or not.  Something as expensive as Obama's health care law could not come at a worse time and a substantial majority of Americans don't even want it.  Something that big with such division among Americans speaks for itself as a bad idea.

264.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day225.

Day589 Monday 04/09/12

ran 0.9 miles

 O'Keefe strikes again!  

While Attorney General Eric Holder ignores how much of an injustice and a threat voter fraud is, O'Keefe comes through big once again showing that even Holder's vote can be claimed by anyone regardless of what state they live in or what identity they presume.

"There is no statistical proof that voter fraud is a big concern in this country."

Eric Holder

Here is your statistical proof, Mr. Holder.

This is James O'Keefe's website, ProjectVeritas.com.  Preceding the Washington, D.C. video above, ProjectVeritas exploited voter fraud in the New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Vermont Republican primaries.  Soon after, Voter ID laws were passed in two of those three states.

268.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day224.

Day588 Sunday 04/08/12

ran 2.3 miles

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

I think it might be about time to wipe the grins of ignorance and denial off our faces.  There is a blatant reality before us regarding Barack Obama, the 2012 election, and the long-term future of America.  The election is only seven months away, and regardless of how farfetched you may find the possibility that this guy could actually be reelected, the threat is real.

Ever just step back and really take inventory of who Barack Obama is and what these past four years have been defined by?

This guy is the shadiest, most questionable president to ever sit in the Oval Office.  If Bush, Romney, or anyone else you can think of who has served as President or ran for President, had held the associations and the concealed past our current president possesses then they would have been dragged through the coals, turned to ash, and their political aspirations would have ceased to exist.  But not Barack.

This president represents every fiber of what America's Founding Fathers despised and so adamantly planned to avoid when they wrote our founding documents.  His most recent child-like insubordination to the ultimate authority of the Supreme Court regarding ObamaCare defines exactly who he is.  Making threats to the justices, or ultimatums, is uncouth for any President of the United States of America.  But he certainly has no problem doing it.
Four more years?

268.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day223.

Day587 Saturday 04/07/12

ran 2.1 miles

271.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day222.

Day586 Friday 04/06/12

ran 3.3 miles

Short post tonight---just some stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 26% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 42% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of -16.

• Overall, 47% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 52% at least somewhat disapprove.

• Obama 46%, Romney 46%

• Obama 47%, Santorum 41%

• 29% say U.S. heading in right direction.

• 6% rate Congress’ job performance as good or excellent.

273.3 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day221.

Day585 Thursday 04/05/12

ran 3.2 miles

http://youtu.be/L4OzabHa-Do

Above is a link to a video of White House press secretary Jay Carney answering questions about what was perceived by many to be an intimidating and threatening message to the Supreme Court justices regarding the constitutionality of ObamaCare.  I would have embedded the video in the same way I have embedded videos over the past year and seven months of running against Obama, off of YouTube with no problem on any other given day, but for some peculiar reason every submission of this video I can find blocks me with the message "Embedding disabled by request".

All the more reason to click on the link above.  Somebody doesn't want you to see it.  Watching Jay Carney attempt to keep his neck above the waters of Barack Obama's actions is entertaining in and of itself.  This guy is half-decent.  Our president gives this guy a sack of rocks and tells him to knead them flat like dough and he nearly does it.  Carney takes crumpled up balls of aluminum foil and turns them into nuggets of fool's gold.

It's just fortunate for our president that the vast majority of Americans don't catch these press conferences.  They are constant reminders of just how stupid, gullible, and incapable the current administration thinks we are.

276.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day220.

    

Day584 Wednesday 04/04/12

1,800 Miles!!!

ran 4.6 miles

This map speaks for itself. 

The only thing I am going to say is that Americans in every single state have to show their driver’s license for a multitude of different reasons that serve logical purposes but, when it comes to voting, twenty states require no identification to vote.  This policy reeks of liberalism and accordingly makes absolutely no sense.  I’d venture to say that if every state did require a driver’s license, which is not that farfetched of an idea, or some sort of identification then liberalism would be forced to completely redefine its platform of ideas in order to avoid ceasing to exist.  The Democratic Party would have to employ ideas like personal responsibility, common sense, and the message that if you are an American and you are proud of it then you should be able to proudly present a form of identification in order to vote in an election in the greatest country on Earth. 

This is how Republicans think, though, and while conservatism is far more logical and enduring for the principles and the longevity of this nation, Barack Obama advocates the idea that being asked to show identification to vote for the President of the United States of America is a form of intimidation or racism.  It is a shallow puddle this man gathers his ideas from and the map above is proof of how soft this country has gotten when it has been convinced that not providing identification to vote in twenty states is acceptable.

279.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day219.

Day583 Tuesday 04/03/12

ran 3.2 miles

President Obama has been publicly inserting himself into the Supreme Court discussions regarding his Affordable Health Care Act.  Making indirect threats to the justices and imposing his influence on something that, while the origins of this law do have much to do with him, its deliberation has absolutely nothing to do with him or his opinion or his threats.  Tactless behavior for a president of the United States of America.

The mockery the justices made of ObamaCare and his individual mandate suggest the law will be overturned, but it would not at all surprise me if they ruled it constitutional.  The only reason I think it may be ruled constitutional is because so many millions of Americans who had preexisting conditions are now insured and because the age limit of Americans in their twenties who were uninsured can now stay afloat on their parents' coverage.  To overturn the mandate, which I think is the constitutional thing to do, would be devastating to those who would have that insurance ripped away from them.  Our president would blame the justices and Republican ideology for being basically heartless, but I would argue that our president anticipated this exact scenario to be the gravity to keep his unconstitutional law firmly in place.  Let's assume for argument's sake that the millions who currently have insurance who did not have it before due to ObamaCare were not entitled to it until later in the near future.  This law would be thrown out in a heartbeat.  This is the use of leverage in its most potent form. 

Our president has been inserting himself into the Supreme Court case with the argument that elected officials passed this law with a "large" majority of Congress and so it should not be overturned.  Not true. 

When it comes down to it, the Senate sneakily passed this sweeping, unconstitutional monstrosity on Christmas Eve in 2009.  Any time something gets passed in Washington on Christmas Eve, fear it.  The vote was 60-39.  While that seems like a large majority at first appearance, which is what Barack Obama is referring to, the law actually passed by one single vote (Thanks a lot, Arlen Specter).  In the case of the Affordable Health Care Act the Senate had to have 60 votes to enact the law (normally 51 votes does the job, but after Republican filibustering a vote of cloture was made, requiring a two-thirds vote for the bill to pass) .  So, ObamaCare passed by only one vote.  59-41 is one vote short.  This bill passed by the skin of its teeth.

In March of 2010, the House passed it by a vote of 219-212.  Not one single Republican voted for it and 34 Democrats voted against it.

This is not a large majority, Mr. President.  This is the dividing of a nation.  And, not that it matters, because ordinary people can't think for themselves according to D.C., but on any given day polls show that 60% to 70% of Americans do not want ObamaCare.

Coincidentally, in November of 2010, during the midterm elections Americans went to their precincts and voted out an overwhelming number of those Senators and Representatives who sided with Barack Obama, his health care law, and his stimulus package.  Yet, our president stands in front of the camera, confidently insisting that the Supreme Court will uphold his law, as though there is not a shred of doubt among him or the hundreds of millions of Americans (and illegal aliens) he leads.

284.4 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day218.

  

Day582 Monday 04/02/12

ran 3.3 miles

“You know, each of us is only here because somebody somewhere felt responsibility, yes to their families, but also to their fellow citizens.  Also to our country’s future.  That’s the American story.  The American story is not just about what we do on our own.  Yes, we’re rugged individualists, we expect personal responsibility and everybody out there has got to work hard and carry their weight…

…We also have always understood that we wouldn’t win the race for new jobs and businesses, and middle class security if we were just applying some ‘you’re on your own economics’…

…It’s been tried in our history and it hasn’t worked.  It didn’t work when we tried it in the decade before the Great Depression.  It didn’t work when we tried it in the last decade.  We just tried this.  What they’re peddling has been tried---it did not work!”

Barack Obama speaking at a fundraiser at the University of Vermont

It’s no longer disappointing to hear such Communist rhetoric from our president compared to the disappointment that nearly half this country actually accepts and wants to adopt these ideas, which have been proven to fail over and over again in other countries across the world and throughout time. 

Whether you start with Karl Marx and the “Communist Manifesto” or dig deeper into history, big government and its appetite for unlimited power have been suffocating freedom, individuality, and everything that has defined America for nearly two and one-half centuries.

I am making the exact opposite and equal argument our president is making.  Essentially, he claims America is a failed system and that we, as a nation, need to purge our “rugged individualism” and live collectively.  We all need to pull our own weight, but no need to pull too much weight at once. 

“Look around,” he might say.  “No one else is working nearly as hard as you.  Ignore your determination.  Let your goals go.  There is no need to work this hard.  You are making the others uncomfortable.  With everyone united together and pulling their own weight, it is not necessary for you to work harder than others.  There is no real reason for you to be competitive with others.  In fact, if you don’t slow down and quit being so selfish with your talents and your perseverance I may be forced to have you psychologically examined to determine your defect.”

This is the direction we are heading in.

“You’re On Your Own Economics”---Our president says it’s been tried in our history and it hasn’t worked.  Did he grow up in this country?  Is he aware of our story? 

(rhetorical questions, of course---I am beyond the “birther” stuff---I don’t care whether Barack Obama was born in America or Timbuktu and his intentions for the future of America speak for themselves---there is plenty of material to make arguments against him regardless of what hospital he was born in)

America has faced some of the greatest adversities on the face of this Earth and we are here today because we are fiercely competitive and we refuse to lose.  We pay taxes to fund everything from the title of the most powerful military on the face of the planet to generously aiding those who are in hard times, and even those who, for whatever reason, absolutely refuse to contribute to society in any way.  Our tax dollars offer a teat for anyone’s sustenance, but the responsibility lies in each individual to release their lips from government codependence when the time is right.  Comparatively, a baby is weaned from its mother’s breast within a year, maybe two, on average.  Why is it that adult-aged men and women, like children who have been fooled by the teat that feeds them for far too long, continue to suck, and suck, and suck.  They are being denied the opportunity to adapt in the real world and to embrace and act upon whatever goals and dreams they may have. 

This is, in my opinion, the self-destructive societal direction President Barack Obama is steering America in.  His ideas grow more optimal with every individual who gives up and sells themselves to the notion that they are entitled to the rewards of other people’s hard work rather than earning the dignity they deserve, but policies like Obama’s discourage.

One last, separate issue to touch on---our president declared today that the Supreme Court could not legally overturn ObamaCare because he’s “confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

It was not a strong majority, Mr. President.  However, there is a strong majority of Americans who want the law repealed.  And why all of a sudden is Congress so important?  According to our president, Congress no longer has the right to vote on war acts.  American military involvement now passes through United Nations.  Check your premise, Mr. Obama.  You cannot pick and choose principles only when they are convenient for you.

287.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day217.

Day581 Sunday 04/01/12

ran 3.1 miles

Today ends week eighty-three of running against Obama.  I ran 25.0 miles this week, averaging 3.57 miles per day.

This video won’t make you any smarter or more informed, but it is one of the most ridiculous journalist face-offs I’ve ever seen.  Regarding the Trayvon Martin case and all of the hoodie-hype surrounding it, these two guys look like they should be on the set of SNL.  Piers Morgan rightfully blasts this guy, Toure, and I think it is a perfect example of the liberal/conservative double standard that holds way too much authority in this country. 

The video gets really good at the beginning of the eleventh minute, but if you watch the whole thing listen to the message from each side and imagine if each man’s words were coming out of the other man’s mouth (role-reversal).  Piers Morgan would no longer have a job at his network and Toure would have used an excessive amount of common sense that would have left his listeners nothing more than confused.

Example:  At one point, Toure expressed to English-American Pierce, who has been in America for six years, that he had not been in America long enough to understand America and the American soul.  Now, for argument’s sake, if Toure happened to be an African, who had been in America for six years, and Pierce had told him that he was incapable of understanding America or being able to fully embrace everything this country stands for, I think it is safe to say he would have been fired.

290.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day216.