Day86 Tuesday 11/23/10

ran 2.6 miles
On this day in 1749, Edward Rutledge, one of South Carolina’s representatives to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, was born in Charleston. He made a name for himself in American history by being the youngest and one of the boldest signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Going against the grain of the majority of his Congressional cohorts, Rutledge was reluctant to declare independence. In a letter to John Jay, one of New York’s representatives who shared a reticence in rushing into the declaration, Rutledge was concerned whether moderates like himself and Jay could effectually oppose a resolution for independence.

Edward’s brother John preceded him serving as a South Carolina Representative. As the Revolution steamed to a boil among the colonies, it fell on Edward, who was not eager to sever ties with Great Britain, to sign the Declaration of Independence, at age twenty-six, to push the message of unanimity and to bolster the Patriot’s stand.

Having signed the document, Edward Rutledge was the youngest American to risk his life by signing the Declaration of Independence.

It takes a lot of courage and humility to compromise your own beliefs or to sway even a few degrees for the good of a greater picture. I foresee many democrats crossing the aisle for open-minded discussions with republicans over the next two years. It is a shame more did not take the initiative to do this during the first two years of Obama’s presidency. If many had not convicted their decisions to the general belief in liberalism, and instead worked toward an itemized solution to the problems Americans face, many democratic Senators and Representatives would possibly still have their jobs. Their blind commitment to principal and lack of realizing the human element is what separates the men and women who lost their seats on November 2 from men and women like Edward Rutledge who have the sensitivity to make big decisions on behalf of the people they represent and not in the name of their egos or legacies.

1,847.2 miles to go.

Day85 Monday 11/22/10

ran 2.6 miles

Here’s some interesting news you may not have heard about. Today, a thirteen-year-old American boy campaigning to transform the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea into a park that would signify peace attempted to get the Chinese president’s attention. He began a brief protest near Tiananmen Square before swiftly being led away by Chinese police.

The young American, Jonathan Lee, unrolled a sign saying “Peace Treaty” and “Nuclear free DMZ children’s peace forest” as he stood at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. Tiananmen Square was the sight of a student-led pro-democracy movement in 1989, in which hundreds of protesters were killed.

Right now you are probably wondering why and how a thirteen-year-old American boy was in Beijing, China at Tiananmen Square. Apparently, his mother allowed and aided in his protest by informing and planting journalists nearby to witness the Chinese reaction to their son’s message. Within one single minute the boy was escorted away by a plainclothes police officer. The police officer grabbed the boy’s sign and waved away the reporters as four uniformed police officers sped to remove the boy’s mother away from the site with as little commotion as possible.

Police held the two for a few hours before releasing them to their hotel where they met with the boy's father and sister. Soon after, the four headed to the Beijing airport, unescorted, and caught a flight with Korean Airlines to Seoul. The family’s treatment by Chinese authorities was mild compared to the more common rough handling and instant deportations of other foreigners who have protested in China in the past.

The boy, from Ridgeland, Mississippi, is trying to persuade the leaders of North and South Korea, China, and the United States to work together to reunify the two Koreas. His father, Korean-born Kyoung Lee, claims that his son has sent letters to President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, but was unable to send a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao. This is the reason they felt the brief protest in Tiananmen Square was necessary. In August, young Jonathan Lee made a visit to North Korea to propose his idea of a children’s peace forest to Kim Jong Il. The best result he could get was an assurance by North Korean officials that they would give Kim Jong Il his letter.

That is one of the most bizarre stories I’ve read in a while; such a young boy protesting such a huge issue, parents who are willing enough (or perhaps crazy enough) to put their son at the site where hundreds of other young demonstrators were killed not so long ago for protesting their own government, and traveling to North Korea with the hopes of communicating with Kim Jong Il. Absolutely bizarre!

Aside from how unbelievable this young boy and his story is, and how dangerously driven his parents are to see him succeed regardless of how unsafe his circumstances become, Tiananmen Square and what happened there in 1989 stand as atrocious examples of what governments are capable of when they refuse freedom and the ideas of the people it governs. The Chinese students who died during that protest at the hands of their own government live on, at least in my mind, as a reminder of how blessed we are to be citizens of America and how important it is to never even glance, as a nation, at the slightest possibilities of communism, not even the socializing of health care or other major industries.

1,849.8 miles to go.

Day84 Sunday 11/21/10

ran 2.6 miles
Today ends the twelfth week of running against Obama. I have run 227.6 miles, averaging 2.71 miles per day. Nearing the three-month mark of this endeavor, or protest, against the direction our president is leading our country, it is motivating to crunch the numbers spanning this goal and to be almost one-eighth of the way closer to voting Barack Obama out of office in 2012.

I think we all realize, regardless of what side of the aisle we sit on, that America’s future has reached a point more pivotal than in any recent presidential election. Barack Obama has spoken clear and loud volumes of what his intentions for America are in only two years. Now, he will let out some slack and win back the hearts of voters he lost, campaigning for a second term. It is a shame how short-termed our memories are and how easily swayed our ever-present sensibilities are.

When I look at what Barack Obama has done in his first two years, I view his actions as misdirected and unexplainably un-American. And although he fully believes in the decisions he’s made, he will attempt to tread in the aisle over the next two years to manipulate the nation for a second term. And should he succeed…

1,852.4 miles to go.

Day83 Saturday 11/20/10

ran 3.1 miles

• President Obama officially said today, for the first time, that he wants U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. This approximate time is when he and NATO leaders will move the Afghan military into the lead role of fighting the Taliban.

“My goal is to make sure that by 2014 we have transitioned, Afghans are in the lead and it is a goal to make sure that we are not still engaged in combat operations of the sort we’re involved in now,” Obama said in a news conference at the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

So the question is, will the Afghan army be capable of continuing to suppress the Taliban without the help of America are will the insurgencies prevail and turn Afghanistan into a fully chaotic, uncivilized state with the primary objective of training terrorists and planning acts of terrorism? It is a curious act to give your enemy the date when you plan on leaving their country to stop fighting them. Things in Afghanistan will more than likely quiet down and appear to get better over the next two years. But the Taliban has a “Save the date” card sitting on the rocky mantles of their caves, which we sent them.

• President Obama has been globetrotting since the Mid-term elections and holding foreign affairs as a far greater priority than the domestic gridlock of decisions that America needs to start defining as soon as possible. The GOP has criticized most of the issues Obama has been taking on during this lame-duck session, arguing that extending the Bush-era tax cuts should be the top priority.

It stands to Obama’s advantage to reach important decisions on views he deems to be critical in Congress during the lame-duck session because all of the Republicans who were voted in on November 2 have no vote on these issues and all Democrats who were voted out are still in power until the session ends.

• Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and eight other Republican senators who were elected on November 2 composed a letter last week to President Obama requesting a delay in signing the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms treaty until they were sworn into office. The ten Republican senators are backing Arizona Senator Jon Kyl’s demand for a delay due to the fact that no arms pacts with Russia have ever been ratified under a lame-duck Congress.

As usual in politics, allowing the newly elected senators a vote on this important issue would be far too logical, rational and fair, considering they are the voices America just elected to represent them concerning important political issues. Instead, our president wants to cram everything he can into the lame-duck session he can. And most of what he is pushing are obviously issues he will have little confidence in passing once the newly elected officials are in place.

1,855 miles to go.

Day82 Friday 11/19/10

ran 2.7 miles

• Florida was the twenty-seventh state to join the union on March 3, 1845, nine months before Texas and eight years after Michigan.

• Population, as of 2009, is 18,537,969.

• Senators are Bill Nelson (D) and George S. LeMieux (R). Senator LeMieux did not run for reelection and Marco Rubio (R) will fill the seat once he is sworn in.

• Representatives are Jeff Miller (R), Allen Boyd (D), Corrine Brown (D), Ander Crenshaw (R), Virginia Brown-Waite (R), Clifford Stearns (R), John Mica (R), Alan Grayson (D), Gus Bilirakis (R), Bill Young (R), Kathy Castor (D), Adam Putnam (R), Vern Buchanan (R), Connie Mack (R), Bill Posey (R), Thomas Rooney (R), Kendrick Meek (D), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), Ted Deutch (D), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), Ron Klein (D), Alcee Hastings (D), Suzanne Kosmas (D), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R).

• Florida has twenty-seven electoral votes. Historically, the state has voted almost exclusively for Democrats from the Reconstruction period through the mid-twentieth century before becoming a primarily Republican state in 1952. A Democratic presidential candidate won the vote only in 1976, 1996 and 2008. Florida’s population has exploded in the last sixty years. During World War II, the state had only eight electoral votes and now they have twenty-seven, fourth most in the country. Florida has an extremely diverse population, virtually making it a microcosm of the entire United States, and is arguably the ultimate swing state.

Stepping away from facts about the state of Florida and moving on to a completely different topic, I was recently looking through a book I had read a couple years ago, Thomas More’s “Utopia”, first published in 1516, and thought it would be worth recommending. Pertaining to yesterday’s post, I had suggested that freedom and success in America were not so contingent on government as many people seem to believe. Weakness and reliance on government are what lube the gears of their machine.

In “Utopia”, More creates a civilization, which is obviously quite perfect as the name of the book suggests, but what makes it interesting is the fact that he wrote it in the sixteenth century, preceding Karl Marx and his communist ideas in the nineteenth century. “Utopia” is an interpretation of what life could be as viewed through a polished lens of concentrated common sense. But what makes it so interesting is that we naturally cannot escape our own human tendencies, such as greed, corruption, lust and war, among many other weaknesses that define our existence. This book forces you to question everything you think you know about the apparent rational world we live in.

While More was portraying a utopian existence, in which everything was perfect and completely unrealistic, almost in the form of a parody, Karl Marx, three hundred years later, transformed More’s comedy into a serious reality, which has been a cause for war and a source of oppression since “The Communist Manifesto” was printed in 1848.

In an attempt to make a point in comparing these two books, I look at More’s “Utopia” as liberal ideas that serve a great purpose as wishful, wistful hope in terms of “What if…”, but they deny the human element of being fallible and unpredictable. To take it a step further, I view Barack Obama as “The Communist Manifesto” naively attempting to make a reality of these unrealistic tenets. His ideas reek of socialism and our country has sacrificed tens of thousands of lives fighting the spread of socialist governments and policies for decades.

This is an excerpt from Thomas More’s introduction to “Utopia”, which sounds absolutely wonderful and fair but is completely unrealistic in the world we live in. It reminds me of Barack Obama’s campaign trail to the presidency, in which he promised completely unrealistic results that he is now paying a price for as he is unable to deliver the farfetched, farcical products he promoted.

“There is no house which does not have a door opening on the street and a back door into the garden;
Or the selection of candidates for ruler,
For each of the four quarters of the city names one person and proposes him to the senate;
Or the universal work at farming,
Farming is the one occupation in which all of them are skilled, men and women alike;
Or the color of their cloaks,
Throughout the island they are all of the same color, that of the natural wool;
Or the shifting of people to maintain uniform populations,
This limit is easily maintained by transferring persons from households with too many people to those with too few;
Or the distribution of goods,
And when it is distributed equitably to everyone, it follows that no one can be reduced to poverty or forced to beg;
Or the lack of seeking for offices,
Anyone who campaigns for public office becomes disqualified from holding any office at all;
Or their exclusion of lawyers,
They ban absolutely all lawyers as clever practitioners and sly interpreters of the law;
Or the recruitment of soldiers,
In each city they choose troops from a list of volunteers;
Or their strict keeping of a truce,
When they make a truce with their enemies, they keep it so religiously that they do not violate it even under provocation;
Or their withholding of honor and office from those who do not believe in the immortality of the soul, divine providence, and future rewards and punishment,
They bestow no honors on such a person, they assign him to no office, they put him in charge of no public responsibility…”

1,858.1 miles to go.

Day81 Thursday 11/18/10

ran 3.1 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval poll indicates that 25% of the nation’s voters strongly approve of Barack Obama’s performance as president and 42% strongly disapprove, giving President Obama an Approval Index rating of –17, compared to –20 on this day last week.

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

• Only 26% of voters, according to Rasmussen Reports, think the country is heading in the right direction.

• A new Rasmussen Reports survey shows that 58% of voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law and 37% oppose repeal. Also, 46% strongly favor repeal and 30% strongly oppose it.

Thinking back on the subjects I’ve been posting about lately, I feel that I have fallen somewhat victim to the mundane tendencies of routine and habit. It is so easy to slip while climbing a steep mountain. I have a passion for writing my own words and expressing original ideas, as opposed to reporting numbers and paraphrasing current news articles. So here is some raw, opinionated, unsubstantiated free thinking. It is still America, right?

For every three reasons this country is amazing there seems to be some one unexplainable thing that baffles the minds of Americans. In the larger picture, adversity is a good thing and it presents challenges for people to overcome. After all, if everything were perfect, I’m not sure that life would be such an exciting mystery worth pursuing without the challenge of problems and the reward of solutions.

Here is a philosophy everyone can understand, and the common denominator is common sense. Everything we know, whether an idea, something tangible, an emotion, an argument or anything else you can think of, has an equal and necessary opposite. For example, the only thing that allows a right hand to be a right hand is the simple fact that a left hand exists. You cannot have one without the other. To appreciate gain one must fully understand loss just as hot holds no definitive value without the opposite comparison of cold. What opposites offer us, as an inescapable circumstance of life, is a sense of balance, which is constantly shifting, much like our government, year by year. Along this same train of thought, wherever there are problems one will find solutions and wherever there are solutions one will find problems.

There are no absolutes or utopias. Perfection is for the afterlife. We are extremely fallible creatures. But to observe the ebb and flow of times and occurrences among our nation with the understanding that politics simply are what they are and that they will always only make 50% of the people happy, is what brings me to my point. It falls upon you. The prosperity and freedom of America falls on you, me and everyone else in this country. Our government cannot legislate happiness or human spirit. Rather than falling into the trap of obsessing over various news media and the “Story of the day” and talking about it at the water cooler the next day at work, it is important to realize that seizing your own personal goals, no matter how large or small, are the best defense against any power-happy government and the circus acts they perform.

That felt so much more refreshing than writing about George Soros’ advice to progressive donors that Obama’s cause might not be the best investment of money.

1,860.8 miles to go.

Day80 Wednesday 11/17/10

ran 3.2 miles
Sarah Palin has officially said she is seriously considering a run in the presidential race in 2012. In an interview conducted by Barbara Walters, which will air on December 9, Palin responded, “I believe so,” when asked by Walters if she could beat Barack Obama if she ran for president.

"I'm engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with my family, because my family is the most important consideration here."

Rasmussen Reports surveyed likely GOP Primary voters and concluded that Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Sarah Palin of Alaska will be the most likely Republican candidates for 2012. All three weighed in evenly with nearly twenty percent of the votes cast through telephone polling.

One more interesting fact from Rasmussen Reports is that 52% of voters say their views are more like Palin’s than Obama’s.

It is far too early to speculate with any real gravity what will happen over the next two years or which conservatives will emerge as candidates. But what is extremely important right now is to monitor every decision Barack Obama makes and to see in the near future whether or not he intends to repeal some of the radical legislation that he has passed and if he will tone down his radical goals for the future. If he makes no gesture to establish a sense of compromise among his Republican counterparts or the majority of voters who put so many of them in office on November 2, then he is obviously out of touch with the reality before him and he presumably cares more about his own agenda and ego than the wishes of American voters.

1,863.9 miles to go.

Day79 Tuesday 11/16/10

ran 4.0 miles
On this day in 1776, Hessian Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen and 3,000 of his mercenaries alongside 5,000 Redcoats attacked Fort Washington, stationed at the highest point of Manhattan Island.

In a matter of hours, the garrison commander, Colonel Robert Magaw, surrendered. Nearly 3,000 Patriots were taken prisoner and a wealth of ammunition and supplies were seized. A large number of the prisoners died soon after the siege from deprivation and disease locked aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor.

Among the fifty-three dead and ninety-six wounded Patriots leading to the surrender were two individuals who will live forever in American history; John and Margaret Corbin of Virginia. When John died in action, his wife took over his cannon. She cleaned, loaded and fired her husband’s cannon until she was wounded to submission. Earning her place as the first known woman to have fought for the Continental Army, she survived but lost her left arm.

Fort Washington was erected at the current location of Bennet Park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, near the George Washington Bridge, at the corner of Fort Washington Avenue and 183rd Street.

Back to the present, George Bush has emerged in the news lately after laying low for two years to promote a new book, his memoirs. I’ve watched some of his interviews recently and hearing him speak reminded me of the arguable failures and successes of his presidency. Bush’s terms had both strengths and weaknesses just like any other man’s character or any other president’s legacy. But his decisions and actions concerning September 11, I think, are what will be remembered most. He did what he had to do, which was make decisions that best protected Americans at a critical time. Now that so much time has passed, it is so easy and redundant to point out all of the things that went wrong, but the simple fact is that his post-9/11 measures, speculations and actions had to be done. This country was more united than it had been in decades. Everyday people were drawn to one another in a way we have not seen in a long time and even Washington came together and voted “Yes” for something to be done. Eventually, probably years beyond George Bush’s last breath, I think he will be regarded as a successful president who did the best job he could with the moxie he had to do what had to be done.

After reflecting on George Bush’s possible legacy and in what ways history will remember him, I can’t help but think what Barack Obama’s legacy and historical interpretation will be. He will be remembered for passing health care reform, which the overwhelming majority of American’s do not want. He will be regarded as the president that attempted to socialize major private sectors. He will be remembered for outrageous stimulus packages that served no purpose other than to warm up monopoly money presses. He will be remembered as a president who did not believe in American elitism. He will be the president in American history that apologized to the world for being American.

I could go on and on, but if you really think about it, unless Barack Obama corrects most of the decisions he’s made, which he likely won’t, can you imagine what his legacy and his record will look like.

In the most concise and brief terms I can think of as a thorough description of President Barack Obama, I would have to say he is an absolute savior and hero for thirty percent of America. Unfortunately for him, the other seventy percent that don’t need or want his policies or programs are keeping this country moving forward despite all of his efforts to stop us.

1,867.1 miles to go.

Day78 Monday 11/15/10

ran 3.2 miles
Here is something you may not know. USA Today printed an article, “One and done: To be a great president Obama should not seek reelection in 2012”, written by Douglas E. Schoen and Patrick H. Caddell, in which they portray a larger picture of America rebuilding itself and emboldening its future by positing that Barack Obama should take the initiative to choose not to run for reelection in 2012 for the greater good of this nation. In doing this, they suggest it would lead to a real sense of progress, unfettered by the wasted time of exerting energy and taxpayer money into a 2012 presidential election that would be monumentally pricey and time-consuming, leaving little room for any productivity.

“If the president goes down the reelection road, we are guaranteed two years of political gridlock at a time when we can ill afford it. But by explicitly saying he will be a one-term president, Obama can deliver on his central campaign promise of 2008, draining the poison from our culture of polarization and ending the resentment and division that have eroded our national identity and common purpose.”

Douglas E. Schoen has been an effective Democratic campaign consultant for over thirty years. His vast accomplishments include “Pollster of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for work on President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign. Patrick H. Caddell is a public opinion pollster who has worked with George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and Jerry Brown.

There is no way Barack Obama’s ego or political legacy would ever consent to such a winning option for America, but it is interesting to think about. Given our current state of affairs and the political gridlock that will ensue over the next two years, he would be considered a noble and humble hero in history books. But that’s not what he’s after. I think there are very few people who know what Barack Obama’s endgame is, but he does not appear to have a leader’s ability to retreat when a battle is hopeless, or the selflessness to admit he might have been wrong.

Here are a couple more quotes from the article:

“We do not come to this conclusion lightly. But it is clear, we believe, that the president has largely lost the consent of the governed. The midterm elections were effectively a referendum on the Obama presidency. And even if it was not an endorsement of a Republican vision for America, the drubbing the Democrats took was certainly a vote of no confidence in Obama and his party. The president has almost no credibility left with Republicans and little with independents.”

“The best way for him to address both our national challenges and the serious threats to his credibility and stature is to make clear that, for the next two years, he will focus exclusively on the problems we face as Americans, rather than the politics of the moment or of the 2012 campaign.”
Read the full story here.

1,871.1 miles to go.

Day77 Sunday 11/14/10

ran 2.4 miles
Eleven weeks in and I have run over 200 miles strictly motivated by a sense of urgency to contribute whatever little I can to make Barack Obama a one-term president. However small my presence or influence has been in the much larger arena of politics, it is enough for me at the end of each day just to know I can sleep easier and live stronger knowing I am involved and doing something more than remaining silent or speaking only behind closed doors.

As of today I have run 205.7 miles, averaging 2.67 miles per day. Running day after day has become easier and easier, but it still remains to be daunting at times. I am convinced, though, that nothing else in my thirty-two years has inspired and motivated me more to make a stand than the positions our current president has taken regarding our country.

In closing, I’d like to make an interesting point regarding the 2012 presidential election, which is still too far away to touch, yet is worth thinking about, as far as what candidates we are going to have to vote for, or against Obama with. If you know anything about Ronald Reagan it’s that he was a brilliant, effective president who communicated with and worked for the voters of America. He did not propagandize or pander to the desires of special interest groups or big government. He simply did what needed to be done with no wiggle room for excuses. If you don’t know anything about Ronald Reagan, look up his timeline and accomplishments as President of the Unites States of America, and you will see what progress a leader of this country is capable of.

The fact I would like to point out is that Ronald Reagan was a movie star, then a governor, and then President of this country. We certainly can’t all be movie stars, but Reagan showed that anybody worthy of moving this country forward could be president. I see a kindred spirit between Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin. It is uncertain whether she will run for president in 2012, but if she does it will be important to consider that sometimes the candidate who lacks experience and has not rotted in a career of politics could be just the agent needed to break America’s stagnant film on opportunity and strength. Many think Palin lacks experience in politics, especially being so distant from the lower forty-eight states, but I welcome her successes in Alaska and her distance from the disappointing reality of what the lower forty-eight states’ politics have been for so long.

We need something that works and Barack Obama is not it. I’m not necessarily advocating that Sarah Palin is the answer either, but she would be an exciting option, much like Ronald Reagan was. If she does run, she should not be overlooked for presumable inexperience because Reagan was inexperienced, politically, and he proved to be an absolutely fascinating, brave and successful president, at a very challenging time.

1,874.3 miles to go.

Day76 Saturday 11/13/10

ran 2.6 miles
Here is an interesting trivia question. What president placed “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trust” the national motto? I’ll give you a small hint---he was a president from the twentieth century.

The original Pledge of Allegiance was written in September of 1892 by Francis Bellamy for “The Youth’s Campaign” magazine in Boston. The pledge was printed on leaflets and sent to schools across the United States.

“Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 by President Eisenhower who claimed, “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”

“In God We Trust” was first printed on a two-cent coin in 1864. These four words were taken off of and put back on certain coins over the next fifty years. “In God We Trust” has continuously been engraved on the one-cent coin since 1909, on the ten-cent coin since 1916, and appeared on gold coins, silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins, and quarter-dollar coins since 1908.

On July 30, 1956, a law passed by the eighty-fourth Congress, approved by President Eisenhower, enacted a Joint Resolution declaring “In God We Trust” the national motto of the United States. The motto was first used on paper money in 1957.

1,876.7 miles to go.

Day75 Friday 11/12/10

ran 2.6 miles

• Delaware was the first state to join the union on December 7, 1787, only five days before Pennsylvania.

• Population, as of 2009, is 885,122.

• Delaware is the second smallest state next to Rhode Island.

• Senators are Thomas Carper (D) and Edward Kaufman (D).

• Representative is Michael Castle (R).

• Delaware holds three electoral votes and has participated in every single presidential election. The state has held three electoral votes throughout its history except for 1812 and 1820, when it contributed four electoral votes. Historically, Delaware has voted Republican through most of the twentieth century and, like many other northeastern states, they have voted Democratic in the last five presidential elections. Barack Obama garnered 62% of Delaware’s popular vote against John McCain in 2008.

Looking over facts and history about Delaware, realizing the importance of its status as the first state to join the union, the first state to ratify the United States Constitution, it is an exceptional namesake to have in American history. If you can imagine the circumstances of what thirteen American colonies were trying to do against the British Empire, with all odds against them, to sign the Declaration of Independence, which was an action punishable by death had America not gained its independence from England, and then to finally be victorious and to begin the knitting together of this nation, colony by colony, state by state, until it became the amazing nation we’ve known it to be since we were children, our parents were children, and all the way back, generation by generation, that helped forge and maintain the integrity of what this country is intended to be.

Imagine these thirteen colonies in 1787, discussing their futures and what they want to do with their newly earned freedom. The thirteen colonies joined the union in a rapid succession spanning only three years and many colonies joined within days of one another. But you can almost sense a feeling of trepidation, as though the individual colonies were thinking to themselves, “So what do we do now?” That is where Delaware came in, as a leader, and made the first move to get America rolling. It really is something to be proud of.

America fought for their independence from England primarily to end excessive taxation on the colonies. The circular path of history has once again made its loop right here to 2010. America’s economy has weakened, certainly not beyond redemption, but it has weakened to an alarming status. Today, at the G-20 summit, Barack Obama took some general press questions and made a response to one particular question that he intended to work with Republicans and Democrats to extend the Bush tax cuts for middle-class Americans but that he was adamant to end tax cuts for high-earning Americans. What that means is, if your household income is $250,000 or more you will be paying a lot more taxes, the upper-middle class will continue to tread in cold, murky waters of uncertainty, and lower-middle class and financially challenged individuals will continue to pay no taxes. Raising taxes on the wealthy is one of the most irrational, incomprehensible ideas anyone could possibly construe at an economic time like this.

“Who buys more products from small businesses and large corporations than anyone else?”

“Who sells you more products than anyone else?”

“Who donates money to charities, which support worthy causes and employ thousands?”

“Who invests sums of money that people like me cannot even begin to comprehend the value of into businesses and the general commerce that keeps America thriving?”

I could go on and on with these rhetorical questions, but the obvious conclusion is that wealthy Americans are responsible for all of these actions on a large scale. If a government over-taxes the wealthy, the wealthy will stop spending money and put their heads in their shells like turtles until spending money seems like a fair deal again at some indefinite point in the future. It is a trickle down effect that only hurts everyone else except the wealthy. It is the worst possible option at this point in time and it is stunning that our own president feels passionate and justified in pursuing such detriment to this country.

Furthermore, anyone who is angry with or jealous of other people who are rich, and feel that because a man or woman is rich they are somehow obligated to give some of their money to you because they have too much, and you feel it is unfair for them to live like “That” when you live like “This”, I have one thing to say, “Take a look in the mirror, mull things over, and remind yourself that you live in America and whether you want to live as a pauper or a prince, this country allows you to succeed if you have the determination."

1,879.3 miles to go.

Day74 Thursday 11/11/10

ran 3.7 miles

• Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval poll shows that 25% of American voters strongly approve of President Obama’s performance and 45% strongly disapprove, giving Barack Obama an Approval Index rating of –20, compared to –16 on this day last week.

• Barack Obama continues to get strong polling from Democrats; however, few Republicans offer approval and 52% of undeclared voters strongly disapprove.

• Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance and 54% at least somewhat disapprove.

• Rasmussen Reports first polling following the Midterm Election indicates that only 28% of American voters say the country is heading in the right direction.

• Only 21% of Americans agree that the government has the consent of the governed, according to Rasmussen’s Reports.

“For the Republicans who are looking to celebrate, it’s really important for them to remember they didn’t win. The other team lost.”

Scott Rasmussen

Taking on this blog and running all of these miles is a two-year long protest against our government, which is a last resort effort as I can find no other way to be heard when I ask the question so many of us would like to know, “Why does our government not obey the wishes of its people?” To seek a logical approach to why such an overwhelming majority of people is simply ignored by the leaders of their nation, I can only imagine that they have a plan, which does not include the opinions of the people they govern. And if that is the case, it is unconstitutional and it contradicts every purpose this country was intended to serve.

The Midterm Elections were a monumental victory but there is still a multitude of tasks yet to be done. America is losing its posture and hunching over like a tormented man beaten by no one but himself. Washington is behaving like children attempting to settle a schoolyard dispute. And the irony of all this circumstance is that our own president is the source of so much of our economic turmoil.

Socialization of health care, alone, has been a decade-old goal of liberal politicians and there is a reason it has only been discussed in the past and not actually acted upon. It doesn’t work. Europe is rioting right now because of big government and its control of industries that would be better left to free enterprise. Given the state of the economy, which Barack Obama has blatantly pointed out as being absolutely devastated by the actions of his predecessors, who in their right mind could make a decision to do something so radical, costly and risky as socializing health care at a time like this? It makes no sense. He naively promised America “Hope” and “Change” he could not deliver and if he hadn’t passed some of the radical legislation he did then the other twenty-something percent of people who strongly agree with his actions would be severely disappointed in his job as president, as well. Barack Obama’s ego and his legacy desired this health care bill and the indisputable majority of America wants nothing to do with it. If he has the power to glide freely against the grain of such an extensive American landscape within two years of his presidency, imagine what he will do to reform, or cripple, this country with another four-year term.

1,881.9 miles to go.

Day73 Wednesday 11/10/10

ran 2.6 miles
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to spend $600 billion more dollars purchasing government bonds has lowered the expectations of this week’s G20 summit of leaders hosted by South Korea. The hierarchy of world economics and leadership seems to be shifting in different directions as China is thrusting itself into a potential position of world power, unlike America, which is spending money it does not have, affecting the entire world’s economies, in an attempt to both stay afloat and remain the economic world beacon and currency standard.

Regarding the G20 meeting, Barack Obama seeks to return the focus to global imbalances and insists that America is not the only nation that needs to change its ways.

“Just as the United States must change, so too must those economies that have previously relied on exports to offset weaknesses in their own demand,” President Obama said indirectly making reference to China.

China is emerging as a real contender for the world position of economic leader as indicated by Forbes recent list of “World’s Most Powerful People”, in which Chinese president Hu Jintao made his way to first on the list, bumping Barack Obam to the second spot.

1,885.6 miles to go.