Day420 Sunday 10/23/11

ran 3.1 miles
Today ends week sixty of running against Obama. I ran 28.4 miles this week, averaging 4.06 miles per day.

It appears that Occupy Wall Street is showing early signs of internal frustration and implosion. From www.nypost.com, here are some facts and quotes from Ginger Adams Otis’ article “They want $lice of the occu-pie”.

Occupy Wall Street’s Finance Committee (ironic, right?) has around $500,000 in donations in a bank (ironic, right?) and, as donations continue to grow, different factions of protestors are losing their patience with the Finance Committee’s inability to properly redistribute the donations to meet the needs of every protestor.

One small example, a few protestors with drums were angry after fellow protestors vandalized their drums on Wednesday night. The drummers requested $8,000 for new drums and the construction of a small building to lock their drums in at night. They were turned down by the Finance Committee. These individuals are now threatening to protest elsewhere.

“F--k Finance. I hope Mayor Bloomberg gets an injunction and demands to see the movement’s books. We need to know how much money we really have and where it’s going.” This from Bryan Smith, a Californian who joined OWS three weeks ago. Is he looking for fiscal responsibility and effectiveness? I think I heard hints of a desire for him and his faction of protestors to receive what they worked so hard to earn, rather than work hard for no reason because those who put in so little claim so much. That sounds American, and dare I say conservative?

“The other day, I took in $2,000. I kept $650 for my group, and gave the rest to Finance. Then I went to them with a request -- so many people need things, and they should not be going without basic comfort items -- and I was told to fill out paperwork. Paperwork! Are they the government now?”

Smith went on to explain that the Finance Committee hordes the dollars raised by all occupiers, but doesn’t give it back (that sounds familiar). Bryan Smith’s Comfort group receives an allowance of $150 per day as bigger groups, such as the Kitchen group, get nearly $2,000 each day.

“What can I do with $150?” said Smith. “We have three tons of wet laundry here from the rainstorm -- how do I get that done? We need winter gear, shoes, socks. I could spend $10,000 alone for backpacks people need. We raise all this money. Where is it?”

821.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day55.

Day419 Saturday 10/22/11

ran 5.8 miles

Today was Election Day for Louisiana. In my hometown of Lafayette we voted for nine district councilmen or women, Lafayette City/Parish President, consolidation or de-consolidation, judges were on the ballot, some important amendments were presented, we voted for governor and lieutenant governor, and more.

There is something that irks me throughout every one of these election seasons, though. It’s the signs. These signs are everywhere. Every time I drive by one I want to pull it out of the ground and put it in the yard of whoever's name is on it. Let them collect there instead of on the side of every street we drive on.

The pictures above are from a boulevard leading up to a voting precinct in Lafayette. It looks like a thin, grassy strip of multi-colored vinyl tombstones laid down haphazardly in oddly dimensioned 6’ by 120’ strips. As you drive by you feel you are being screamed at by colors and names that change so quickly you can’t make sense of any of it.

But I get it. It is what it is. We voters are all whimsical subterraneans who lack the ability to form our own decisions within two seconds of pulling into the voting precinct, which those in higher elevations who are running for office find an opportunity to sway we feeble-minded voters. These signs and the abundance in which they are chaotically piled one upon another are ugly and insulting. And, unfortunately, they are obviously effective. Otherwise, the act of putting 800 different signs on a 10’ by 10’ strip of grass would not have endured for as long as it has. It is a reflection of how superficially voters can be swayed at the last second and how predictable those who run for office assume our intelligence to be.

It costs a lot of money to get elected, and the higher the position the more money. We accept this fact because it has been this way for so long, but it is a shame. It is further evidence that money buys all, even though we all know better.

824.7 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day54.

Day418 Friday 10/21/11

ran 1.7 miles

Democrat Representative Dennis Cardoza of California bitterly announced his retirement yesterday and the five-term congressman also took the liberty of lambasting President Obama on his way out. In a post by Jim Hoft of www.thegatewaypundit.com he elaborates on how Cardoza “issued a scathing parting shot at President Obama’s track record on his way out”.

In a statement describing the reasons for his decision to retire, Cardoza claimed he was “dismayed” by the administration’s “failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis”.

“Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the Administration’s inaction is infuriating,” Cardoza said.

Cardoza is the sixth Democrat to announce intentions to retire. There are many Democrats who are keeping their distance from Obama, and this is most evident in the Senate where Democrats control the majority and even they will not pass his jobs bill. The bill had failed to pass a couple weeks ago and it failed again recently.

830.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day53.

Day417 Thursday 10/20/11

ran 4.1 miles

Gaddafi is dead, as I’m sure you’ve heard. All the way back to the 1980s, Ronald Reagan even waged war on this man, ultimately seeking an assassination. More than two decades later those involved in the United Nations’ efforts to support the Libyan rebels and their cause have successfully eliminated this tyrant. Although it was a collectively international effort, our own president has no qualms about saying “your welcome”.

President Barack Obama might encourage adults to suck off the teat of the government as awkwardly as one may find a twelve-year-old boy being breastfed by his mother, he may discourage hard work and those who are far more enterprising than himself by wanting to tax them into an oblivion that would absolutely stun all of his hungry mouths and the American economy at large, he may constantly contradict himself, as so many American presidents do, but this Nobel Peace Prize laureate is killing the competition. Under his administration we are killing some serious international obstacles.

I am not insinuating anything in particular, but it is sort of ironic that the one crowning achievement our president has, which everyone can agree on, is that, under his administration, our most serious threats are dropping dead at a rate that few other presidents can surpass---and with a Nobel Peace Prize paid forward in the first year of his term.

Ironic.

Speaking in Sirt, marking the twenty-forth anniversary of Reagan’s attack on Lybia, Gaddafi had this to say of Barack Obama:

"At the time, we were the target of the American cannon, the American navy challenged us in the gulf of Sirt and attacked us all along Libya's shores. America tested Libya, and the Libyan people resisted the large country, but today, thank God, the difference is great."

How did that work out for you, Gaddafi?

"Now, ruling America is a black man from our continent, an African from Arab descent, from Muslim descent, and this is something we never imagined – that from Reagan we would get to Barakeh Obama."

One more.

"I urge all peoples to give him this chance and to support this policy, because America is a country that, when its policy is bad – harms the world, and when it is good – it helps the world."

Okay, one more.

"…The dream that Obama has for a world free of nuclear weapons will come true. This is something that no previous American president has proposed. Obama is a man who opposes wars that previous American presidents were entangled in; he has declared that he will withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq – something which has never been proposed before."

I promise, this is the last one.

"The Arabs hate America, there is no doubt. There is not an Arab that loves America, and even the leaders who the United States considers allies or friends – hate it. The external love is merely hypocrisy or pragmatism. The reason for this is clear – Palestine."

Ironic.

832.2 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day52.

Day416 Wednesday 10/19/11

ran 4.3 miles

I’m going to defer on tackling the news of the day and jump back into history tonight. Something fun and interesting. It is one of many examples of historic global ironies, in which the humble, universal human element is blinded by pride and power.

On this day in history in 1958, the first world’s fair was held since before World War II in Brussels, Belgium. The theme was “A World View, A New Humanism”. Forty-two million people had visited from all over the world. The fair was intended to celebrate the common struggles of the human condition and to move forward with peace. Recently ripped apart by war, the idea of peace and equality was quite popular, yet the nations of the world were now in the grasps of the Cold War.

The United States and the Soviets, the two undisputed world powers at the time found opportunity, however, in exhibiting their own unique world views and inherent greatness. Both sides viewed this world’s fair as a competition with one another, a battle to be won. Located directly across from one another, their exhibits were clearly in direct competition for the approval of the world.

The Soviets focused on technological and scientific feats of their communist state. A full-scale model of Sputnik I, the unmanned satellite launched into orbit by the Soviets in 1957, was the headlining piece of their exhibition. America, on the other hand, depicted the common life of Americans. Voting booths, the latest fashions modeled by attractive women, modern furniture and flashy appliances were all in bulk. The centerpiece for the United States was the full-scale construction of an American “Main Street”.

Here is the irony. This face-off between these two world powers ended with a result of Czechoslavakia winning first place for the best exhibition.

836.3 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day51.

Day415 Tuesday 10/18/11

ran 3.9 miles
I’ve posted quite a few videos on this blog over the last year but this one is the best I’ve seen. The guy talking, Chris Savvinidis, is a machine. I have to admit I am a bit jealous of his ability to wield such concise logic and such an immense amount of useful information at such a rapid and articulate pace. He made more sense than a dozen of any other protestors combined. These people in the streets, far the most part are too blinded with anger and cannot unite, except for the ability to make some clever signs and to rebel for the simple sake of rebelling. If only one-third of them would rally around this guy, who brought some true problems and some crystal clear solutions to the table, they would make a far larger impact. Instead, they walk the streets like incoherent zombies, which, in fact, many protestors dress up as for added effect.

840.6 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day50.

Day414 Monday 10/17/11

ran 5.5 miles
You rock, Charles Payne!

Much of what these people in the streets are haphazardly protesting and most of the solutions they offer are the same ideas that got so many countries in Europe in the exact economic crises they currently face, and that the whole world is feeling. So the solution is to start trying to do the same thing so many others have completely failed at? It is not seeking such unrealistic answers as these that has made America uniquely strong and united for so long.

844.5 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day49.

Day413 Sunday 10/16/11

ran 1.9 miles

Today ends week fifty-nine of running against Obama. I ran 18.9 miles this week, averaging 2.70 miles per day.

“As the faith that gave birth to the West is dying in the West, peoples of European descent from the steppes of Russia to the coast of California have begun to die out, as the Third World treks north to claim the estate. The last decade provided corroborating if not conclusive proof that we are in the Indian Summer of our civilization.”

“America is disintegrating. The centrifugal forces pulling us apart are growing inexorably. What unites us is dissolving. And this is true of Western Civilization….Meanwhile, the state is failing in its most fundamental duties. It is no longer able to defend our borders, balance our budgets, or win our wars.”

“[W]hite America is an endangered species. By 2020, whites over 65 will out-number those 17 and under. Deaths will exceed births. The white population will begin to shrink and, should present birth rates persist, slowly disappear.”


“Mexico is moving north. Ethnically, linguistically and culturally, the verdict of 1848 is being over-turned. Will this Mexican nation within a nation advance the goals of the Constitution — to “insure domestic tranquility” and ‘make us a more perfect union’? Or have we imperiled our union?”

“Half a century on, the disaster is manifest. The robust and confident Church of 1958 no longer exists. Catholic colleges and universities remain Catholic in name only. Parochial schools and high schools are closing as rapidly as they opened in the 1950s. The numbers of nuns, priests and seminarians have fallen dramatically. Mass attendance is a third of what it was. From the former Speaker of the House to the Vice President, Catholic politicians openly support abortion on demand.”

“How can Notre Dame credibly teach that all innocent life is sacred, and then honor a president committed to ensuring that a woman’s right to end the life of her innocent child remains sacrosanct?”

“We have accepted today the existence in perpetuity of a permanent underclass of scores of millions who cannot cope and must be carried by society — fed, clothed, housed, tutored, medicated at taxpayer’s expense their entire lives. We have a dependent nation the size of Spain in our independent America. We have a new division in our country, those who pay a double or triple fare, and those who ride forever free.”

Pat Buchanan has written a book, “Suicide of a Superpower”, that hits bookshelves on Tuesday. The above excerpts from the book are intended to scare the reader into a reality few would like to look at or deal with. But it is a reality and the sooner its terms are recognized, the sooner it can be prevented. This book is nothing more than just another man’s opinion, but take a look around for a moment. Hit mute on the television. Silence your cell phone. Close your eyes. Look into the far corners of your mind you have not visited in a long time. Open up the dusty boxes. See what’s inside. What you will find is an abundance of common sense that we have all forgotten about for a long time. This is still our country and there is no politician or government that can legislate the pride and dignity that we all desire.

850.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day48.

Day412 Saturday 10/15/11

ran 3.1 miles

Here is your America, ladies and gentlemen, under Barack Obama. I assure you these challenged individuals did not vote for John McCain in 2008 and they will not be voting for Herman Cain or any other Republican nominee in 2012. Four words for this guy to express himself and the direction he wants America to lead, and this is the best he can do. Go Barack!

Some stats and facts about the state of Texas:

• Texas was the twenty-eighth state to join the union on December 29, 1845, one year before Iowa and nine months after Florida.

• Population, as of 2010, is 25,145,561.

• Senators are John Cornyn (R) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R).

• Representatives are Louis Gohmert (R), Ted Poe (R), Samuel Johnson (R), Ralph Hall (R), Jeb Hensarling (R), Joe Barton (R), John Culberson (R), Kevin Brady (R), Al Green (D), Michael McCaul (R), Michael Conaway (R), Kay Granger (R), William Thornberry (R), Ronald Paul (R), Ruben Hinojosa (D), Silvestre Reyes (D), Bill Flores (R), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D), Randy Neugebauer (R), Charles Gonzalez (D), Lamar Smith (R), Pete Olson (R), Francisco Canseco (D), Kenny Marchant (R), Lloyd Doggett (D), Michael Burgess (R), Blake Farenthold (R), Henry Cuellar (D), Raymond Green (D), Eddie Johnson (D), John Carter (R), and Peter Sessions (R).

• Texas has thirty-eight electoral votes. During the 2010 Census Reapportionment, Texas’ booming population earned the state four more electoral votes through 2020. Texas has gained at least one additional electoral vote in every Census since 1930 and they are second to California’s fifty-five electoral votes. Historically, Texas voted blue with very few splices of red between 1872 and 1976. The streak ended in 1980 and Texas has voted Republican, since. John McCain defeated Barack Obama by a margin of 56% to 44% in 2008.

851.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day47.

Day411 Friday 10/14/11

ran 1.8 miles

Hmmm. No thanks. Sorry, I have to work tomorrow and contribute to society. I’m not very happy about the fact that I have to work tomorrow performing a job that constantly reminds me of how many other things I would rather be doing, but it is something I feel has to be done. It gives me a sense of pride and dignity.

But think of me as your getting your wrists zip-tied by police, and find a way to make your actions fit into your job qualifications for future CORPORATE employers you interview with. Good luck, friend. Wreak havoc. Create chaos. Further remove yourself from all rationality and refuse to gaze into the near future. DO NOT take inventory of how disappointing your future-self will be that you wasted all of this time and how much you cost the taxpayers by being yet another unnecessary burden.

But, yeah man, rock on. Stick it to the man. Wish I could be there!

The poster above comes from the same Warhol piggy-back pop artist who did Barack Obama's "Hope" poster, Shepard Fairey. Sell it, Fairey! Hope you make some honest bucks and spread them around to the Nikes on the ground and the iphones in the air. Don't you get rich on us! I've never been very good with my hands but I've always wanted to be an artist. Can you give me half of your talent because there is no way I will ever achieve your ability. You have so much talent in artistry and I have none. I have no respect or appreciation for the abilities and hard work you possess so why don't you just give me half of what you've got?

Here is the entire, ridiculous invitation to the fool's parade.

855.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day46.

Day410 Thursday 10/13/11

Liar

ran 3.2 miles
A few weeks ago I had submitted this blog to Barack Obama’s ridiculous website Attackwatch.com. This is a website for people who want to turn their neighbors in for speaking negatively against our president. As a consequence to completing the submission I had to give them an email address. I have been receiving mass-emails from Barry and his cronies since. Recently, I posted a few of them to show how ridiculous and fabricated they are. But, the last one I received was a display of pure lies. Here it is:

“Friend --

Last night, the American Jobs Act was filibustered by Senate Republicans. There was no vote on the actual bill.

But it would have succeeded: the American Jobs Act has at least 51 votes -- a clear majority -- to pass the Senate. And a new poll shows that 63 percent of Americans support it, too.”

Liar

There was no filibuster and, furthermore, there was a vote and this liar didn’t even have enough Democratic votes in the Democratic-led Senate to support his Jobs Act stimulus package.

The vote was 51 to 48. Fifty-one votes supported the Jobs Act but this fractional majority was moot as 60 Senate votes were necessary to pass the bill.

Democratic Senators Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) sided with Republicans and voted “No”. A handful of other Senate Democrats, including Jim Webb (Va.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) voted to proceed to debate contingent on the understanding that they would have otherwise voted against the bill itself.

Senate Republicans recently put a bill together, the “Real American Jobs Act”, which includes such measures as

• passing a balanced budget amendment

• repealing health care and financial reform bills

• reducing income tax rates to 25%

• and curbing expensive mandates on states

These ideas are all far too rational and effective to be considered by Barack Obama. They seem more like a sarcastic and condescending response to the unacceptable plan he put on the table, himself. Could you imagine Barack Obama repealing his own legacy health care reform? Won’t happen, but way to further exploit how stubborn and dedicated our president is to leading this nation further to nowhere.

856.8 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day45.

Day409 Wednesday 10/12/11

Click here for larger image

ran 0.9 miles
Looking for a fresh start? A career change? Aimlessness? Have experience protesting ideas that you do not understand and solutions you cannot articulate into coherent explanations? Have we got the job for you...and it will look great on your resume! Become a protestor since you are probably not doing anything else anyway.

"The WFP is seeking immediate hires.
You must be an energetic communicator, with a passion for social and economic justice.
Only outgoing, articulate dedicated, determined candidates will be considered for the positions.
Compensation: $350-$650 A Week Depending On Responsibility & Length Of Time On Staff"

860.0 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day44.

Day408 Tuesday 10/11/11

ran 4.2 miles
On this day in history, in 2002, Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize. This is one of many reasons the award, which was established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), has arguably lost much of its integrity as a consequence of some certain individuals whom have earned the award.

Barack Obama also won this award during the first year of his presidency…for reasons I would argue are extremely questionable and borderline nonexistent. Whoever the runner-up was had to have been disappointed because if the only thing they did was walk an elderly woman across a street then they should have been distinguished over Barack Obama.

The award comes with a one million dollar prize, which makes it ironic that both of these individuals were American presidents who had such tunnel visions of humanity and equality that they failed to see how damaging their agendas were to the United States in a larger picture. Spreading their socialistic agendas and selling utopian ideas that only set the principles of a nation like America aside to be ignored earned these two individuals one million dollars each.In Carter’s defense, the man has performed many humanitarian actions and has contributed to the well-being of suffering people…but, his passion and his ideas made him, arguably, one of the worst presidents in history and I think Barack Obama is going to have the same one-term fate and categorically disappointing impact in American history.

860.9 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day43.

Day407 Monday 10/10/11

ran 3.8 miles
“The gist is this: President Obama has become a lone wolf, a stranger to his own government. He talks mostly, and sometimes only, to friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett and to David Axelrod, his political strategist.”

“Everybody else, including members of his Cabinet, have little face time with him except for brief meetings that serve as photo ops. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner both have complained, according to people who have talked to them, that they are shut out of important decisions.”

These are quotes from a New York Post article written by Michael Goodwin. The title of the article is “Aimless Obama Walks Alone”. Disenchanted, to say the least, Barack Obama is looking less and less like a leader and more and more like a simple Community Planner who is unqualified for the role of President of the United States of America.

Goodwin goes on to say, “Obama conceded in one television interview recently that Americans are not 'better off than they were four years ago' and said in another that the nation had 'gotten a little soft.' Both smacked of a man who feels discouraged and alienated and sparked comparisons to Jimmy Carter, never a good sign.”

“Obama himself is spending his public time pushing a $450 billion “jobs” bill -- really another stimulus in disguise -- that even Senate Democrats won’t support. He grimly flogged it repeatedly at his Thursday press conference, even though snowballs in hell have a better chance of survival.”

Here are some stats and polls from Rasmussen Reports:

• Barack Obama’s presidential index rating shows that 21% of American voters strongly approve of his performance while 41% strongly disapprove, giving Obama a presidential index rating of –20.

• Overall, 42% of voters at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance while 55% at least somewhat disapprove. President Obama earns approval from 39% of men and 45% of women.

865.1 miles to go.

Here is what happened one year ago on Day42.