Thursday

Morning Run

Evening:
7 rounds of:
66 yards
25 pushups
12 flutter kicks

Wednesday 5/28

Morning:
1.5 mile warmup
Tabata treadmill 12% grade 10mph
1 mile @ 7:30
1/2 Tabata 12% 10mph
1/2 mile at 5 min pace

Evening:
5 rounds of:
5 press
10 push press
15 push jerk
@95 lbs.

Time 15:27

Aaron Dial did 10 mins and JD did 9 mins.

Posting this two days later, my shoulders hurt.

Good Article

The President Has Kept Us Safe

By THANE ROSENBAUM
May 30, 2008

With President Bush-bashing still a national pastime, it's notable how much international terrorism has been forgotten, and how little credit the president has received for keeping Americans safe.

This is a difficult issue for me. I didn't vote for President Bush – twice. And as a human-rights law professor, the events at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, along with various elements of the Patriot Act and the National Security Agency's wiretapping of Americans, are all greatly troubling to me.

David Klein

Yet I live in Manhattan and I was present on Sept. 11, 2001 – admittedly 100 blocks from the murder scene, but I was here, trembling along with the rest of America. Remember those days?

Everyone on 9/12 and thereafter – here in New York City and in cities across America – was quite certain that the next terrorist strike was imminent. The stock market collapsed on such fears, and Las Vegas odds makers weren't betting on safer days ahead. We endured interminable delays at airport security checkpoints. Even grandmothers were suddenly suspects.

Sarin and anthrax – the nerve gas and poison, respectively – entered our national vocabulary. Venturing into subways and pizza shops became a game of psychological Russian roulette – with an Islamic twist. Macy's and Zabar's seemed like inevitable strategic targets. Our fears were no longer isolated to skyscrapers – from now, all aspects of daily life would evoke terror.

We would come to familiarize ourselves with the color-coded scale of threat conditions issued by the Department of Homeland Security. (Was it safe to go out on orange, or did we have to wait until yellow?)

Each American city adopted its own visions of trauma. There were new categories of vulnerable public spaces. Our worst terrorism nightmares were projected onto local landmarks: Rodeo Drive, the Sears Tower, the French Quarter, River Walk, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Space Needle. Suddenly, living in rural, outlying areas seemed like a sensible lifestyle choice.

We all waited for terrorism's second shoe to drop, and, seven years later . . . nothing has happened.

Other cities around the world became targets: Madrid, Glasgow, London and Bali; the entire nation of Denmark; and, of course, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Here in America, however, the focus moved from concerns over counterterrorism measures and the abuse of presidential authority to the war in Iraq, the subprime mortgage crisis, the failing economy, the public meltdown of Britney Spears, and now, the presidential elections.

All this time Americans have been safe from suicide bombers, biological warfare and collapsing skyscrapers, while the rest of the world has been on red alert. And yet President Bush is regarded as the worst president in American history? Sorry, I must be missing something here.

Yes, there are those who maintain that our promiscuous misadventures in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel have rendered America even less safe. That the president has further radicalized our enemies and alienated our nation. That the animosity for America now, improbably, runs even deeper. Whatever resentments and aspirations gave rise to 9/11 have grown and will not be easily dissipated. For this reason, no one should draw comfort in the relative safety of our shores.

Maybe so. But when a professed enemy succeeds as wildly as al Qaeda did on 9/11, and seven years pass without an incident, there are two reasonable conclusions: Either, despite all the trash-talking videos, they have been taking a long, leisurely breather; or, something serious has been done to thwart and disable their operations. Whatever combination of psychology and insanity motivates a terrorist to blow himself up is not within my range of experience, but I'm betting the aggressive measures the president took, and the unequivocal message he sent, might have had something to do with it.

Americans, admittedly, have short time horizons and, perhaps, even shorter attention spans. Our collective memory has historically been poor. But had there been another terrorist attack or, even worse, a dozen more in cities all over America – a fear that would not have been exaggerated on 9/12 – would we have allowed ourselves the luxury of quarreling over legally suspect counterterrorism measures, even though such internal debates are credits to our liberal democracy and constitutional freedoms?

Terrorism is now largely off the table in the minds of most Americans.

But in gearing up to elect a new president, we are left to wonder how, in spite of numerous failed policies and poor judgement, President Bush's greatest achievement was denied to him by people who ungratefully availed themselves of the protection that his administration provided.

Mr. Rosenbaum, a novelist, essayist and law professor at Fordham, is the author of "The Myth of Moral Justice" (Harper Perennial, 2005).

Tuesday

We went to the beach.

5 rounds of:
Clean 50lb. dumbbell, followed by a throw. Did this for about 25 yards 5 times. 15 pushups at the end of each round. Took about 4 minutes.

Overhead lunges with the 50lb. dumbbell
short sprint
Overhead lunges back.

3 rounds of sprints.

Great workout.

He is right when he says, "To fight a long war, the president has to ensure he can preserve public and congressional support for the effort. It is not an overstatement to say that the president's shift in rhetoric nearly cost the U.S. the war. Victory or defeat can hinge on the president's words as much as on the military plans of his generals or the actions of their troops on the ground."

He had the congress and a good portion of the people of the United States behind him when he invaded. I myself thought it foolish, but once again, nobody listened to me. That's why I scoff at current critics, politicians, newspapers, etc. Hey, even if you didn't support the war in the beginning, what did you do to stop it? MAybe you should have yelled just a bit louder?

They never planned for what to do after taking the country. Or at least it didn't show. LEt's say there had been nuclear weapons. We found them. Great. That wouldn't change the current situation in Iraq. It might lend our country more credibility, but there would still be chaos in Iraq.

Why this article is important is because of the last passage I pasted above. Go read The Best and the Brightest as well as War in a Time of Peace, both by Halberstam as well as Truman, which I will bring you Sunday. Foreign policy is merely a reflection of our domestic policy. This idea that the two are separate, that a President such as Clinton or Bush can be a "Domestic" policy President or a "Foreign" policy President is a myth and woe to the voter that casts their ballot thinking they are voting for a President based on the candidate's strength in one field or another.

The President successfully sold the US into war. He never carried it. It's not enough to get into the war, you have to sell it all the way. This has always been the case and has always been a problem for Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Clinton and Bush. I know this. Unfortunately, I'm one of the few people who sits down to read thousand page biographies and other really long books with few pictures and no bags of candy attached to them.

Monday

Diane

21-15-9
225lb Deadlift
Handstand Push-up

Time: 12:40

I was the last person to finish this, but aside from one monster that did it in 6:10 as Rx'd, I was the only one to do it close to Rx's. I kicked my legs up and used a cross beam to help do the push ups. I need to work on those. There is a lot I need to work on.

McCain, Bush say "What's In It For Me?"

I don't think I can vote for John McCain. I've come to this conclusion after recognizing that he doesn't think balancing the budget and paying down the debt is at all important (based on the fact I never hear him talk about it). He would prefer to spend that money on ridiculous waste such as prolonged occupations and wars without any goal. He would prefer to spend that money rather than invest it in some of the best people this country has to offer.

Too often, I have heard people say that joining the military is stupid. "People only join the military because they can't get into college," or "that's all that is available to some people. If they aren't smart enough to get into college or get a real job, that's where they go." Obviously, anybody reading this knows how incensed I am by such comments. What staggers me are the people that make these comments. Educated, productive people who, while very competent in their own little world, have absolutely no real world experience. Working in an investment bank, in my opinion, is not real world experience. Working with people that speak different languages, that come from different countries and different economic strata is real world experience. Without that kind of interaction, you might come to conclusions like the ones above.

Now, I feel John McCain has become one of those people.

Mr. Bush and the G.I. Bill

President Bush opposes a new G.I. Bill of Rights. He worries that if the traditional path to college for service members since World War II is improved and expanded for the post-9/11 generation, too many people will take it

He is wrong, but at least he is consistent. Having saddled the military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers’ lives and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform. He does this on the ground that the bill is too generous and may discourage re-enlistment, further weakening the military he has done so much to break.

So lavish with other people’s sacrifices, so reckless in pouring the national treasure into the sandy pit of Iraq, Mr. Bush remains as cheap as ever when it comes to helping people at home.

Thankfully, the new G.I. Bill has strong bipartisan support in Congress. The House passed it by a veto-proof margin this month, and last week the Senate followed suit, approving it as part of a military financing bill for Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Senate version was drafted by two Vietnam veterans, Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, and Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska. They argue that benefits paid under the existing G.I. Bill have fallen far behind the rising costs of college.

Their bill would pay full tuition and other expenses at a four-year public university for veterans who served in the military for at least three years since 9/11.

At that level, the new G.I. Bill would be as generous as the one enacted for the veterans of World War II, which soon became known as one of the most successful benefits programs — one of the soundest investments in human potential — in the nation’s history.

Mr. Bush — and, to his great discredit, Senator John McCain — have argued against a better G.I. Bill, for the worst reasons. They would prefer that college benefits for service members remain just mediocre enough that people in uniform are more likely to stay put.

They have seized on a prediction by the Congressional Budget Office that new, better benefits would decrease re-enlistments by 16 percent, which sounds ominous if you are trying — as Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain are — to defend a never-ending war at a time when extended tours of duty have sapped morale and strained recruiting to the breaking point.

Their reasoning is flawed since the C.B.O. has also predicted that the bill would offset the re-enlistment decline by increasing new recruits — by 16 percent. The chance of a real shot at a college education turns out to be as strong a lure as ever. This is good news for our punishingly overburdened volunteer army, which needs all the smart, ambitious strivers it can get.

This page strongly supports a larger, sturdier military. It opposes throwing ever more money at the Pentagon for defense programs that are wasteful and poorly conceived. But as a long-term investment in human capital, in education and job training, there is no good argument against an expanded, generous G.I. Bill.

By threatening to veto it, Mr. Bush is showing great consistency of misjudgment. Congress should forcefully show how wrong he is by overriding his opposition and spending the money — an estimated $52 billion over 10 years, a tiniest fraction of the ongoing cost of Mr. Bush’s Iraq misadventure.

As partial repayment for the sacrifice of soldiers in a time of war, a new, improved G.I. Bill is as wise now as it was in 1944.

Saturday

Crossfit AM
7 Rounds of:
Short sprint
10 kettleball swings 54lb
6 pullups
About a minute rest in between, my swings are slow relative to others. My times stayed consistent. I could have maintained the same time indefinitely.

Crossfit afternoon:

Fight Gone Bad
Push Press: 42, 28, 21 - 91
Box Jump: 32, 33, 31 - 101
SDHP: 24, 21, 16 - 61
Wall Ball: 19, 18, 19 - 56
Row: 18, 18, 17 - 52
Total: 361

I can only be happy about this as my prior score was 316. I did this after the morning workout and after drinking a significant amount Friday night, the effects of which I was still feeling. 400 is within reach. I would look to improving the endurance of my shoulders to achieve a higher push press total and probably could up the box jumps as well by a few points.

Thursday

8-9 mile run. Mild pace.

Lower body feeling wrecked. That night did 100 pullups and 150 pushups for time. Warmed up with the group and went home.

Whores and Cougars

These people are all whores. I should know. I drive a very dirty Cougar.

I understand that the art of politics is often times a matter of expediency and the one allure that Romney holds is that he might govern and administer somewhat similar to the way he created an effective and PROFITABLE company. This is an allure that McCain definitely lacks.

But I can't help but scoff at two politicians who, during the primaries, did not demonstrate a large degree of like for one another. Now, to get what they want, they'll walk around with one hand down each other's pants. Dirty business this game. Dirty cougars.

Romney Rides McCain's Bus Now

Ex-Rival Discusses
Middling Prospect
Of Place on Ticket

By ELIZABETH HOLMES
May 22, 2008; Page A5

BOSTON -- In the three months since Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign, the former Republican candidate has reshaped himself again, this time into a fervent supporter of former rival John McCain.

During an interview Wednesday in his sun-drenched corner office at the campaign's old headquarters here, Mr. Romney reflected on his failed White House bid, as well as his political future, including his chances to become Sen. McCain's running mate. He professed both low interest and low probability -- though he and his wife, along with some other vice-presidential prospects, will be joining Sen. McCain for a Memorial Day barbecue at the candidate's Arizona ranch. (A McCain aide said the event was "entirely social," and not a vetting event.)

ROMNEY ON THE CAMPAIGN

Mitt Romney sat down with The Wall Street Journal to discuss his failed White House bid and his political future. Along the way, he talked about his new political action committee and how funny he finds Fred Thompson. Read excerpts from his interview with Elizabeth Holmes.

Although Mr. Romney's schedule has calmed since the primaries, he is ramping up his political activities again as he seeks to build goodwill among Republicans around the country. He has created a political action committee with a staff of eight and set plans to help as many 40 Republicans running for office. He will campaign for two House candidates in Florida next week. The following week he will head to Virginia to stump for the lieutenant governor's re-election in a longtime Republican state that appears to be moving Democratic.

The former Massachusetts governor says his top priority is to speak on behalf of Sen. McCain and raise funds for him. In between appearances on cable news, Mr. Romney will host a fund-raiser at his Utah home for Sen. McCain on May 28, with President Bush attending. Mr. Romney will join another big-ticket event in Austin, Texas, two weeks later.

All this is happening even though the Arizona senator's attacks in January played a big role in sinking Mr. Romney's campaign. "I'm a big boy. I understand how politics works. Sen. McCain won fair and square," he said.

Mr. Romney played down the notion that his vigorous support for Sen. McCain was part of an effort to win the vice-presidential nod. "I think my run at public office is over," he said, but added: "Time will tell."

BACK ON THE TRAIL

• What's New: Mitt Romney has created a political action committee and is campaigning hard for John McCain and other Republican candidates.

• Vice President Talk: Romney says he doubts he'll be McCain's choice for No. 2 on the ticket.

• Lessons: Romney says humor is dangerous in a presidential campaign.

He said he doesn't expect Sen. McCain to choose him. "I think that call is very unlikely," he said. "My plans are consistent with being a supporter of the ticket, not a member of it."

Political analysts say Mr. Romney may be a contender for the No. 2 slot, though he usually comes lower down on the short list. Among the other rumored contenders are a trio of sitting Republican governors -- Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty; Florida's Charlie Crist; and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal -- as well as Rob Portman, the former congressman and White House staffer who hails from the crucial battleground state of Ohio; and John Thune, a senator from South Dakota who is a favorite among conservatives.

Mr. Romney said he's only doing what the McCain campaign asks. "I'm not doing TV appearances other than those that they ask me to do. I'm not doing events around the country other than those he asks me to do," he said. "I think the VP talk is missing the mark. We're trying to get John McCain elected."

Mitt Romney (right) has recast himself as a strong McCain supporter.

A McCain-Romney ticket could be a hard sell to voters after their primary-season battles. Sen. McCain spent the primary season painting Mr. Romney as the antithesis of himself. In the senator's depiction, Mr. Romney was a flip-flopping party newcomer who would do or say anything to get elected. During the campaign, Mr. Romney, who had taken socially moderate stands as governor of Massachusetts, recast himself as a solid social conservative.

However, Sen. McCain's backers were grateful when Mr. Romney pulled out of the race Feb. 7, just a day and a half after Super Tuesday results were tallied. The exit, in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Convention, cleared the way for Sen. McCain to effectively wrap up the nomination, without a bitter fight like the one on the Democratic side between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Romney says he left the race for two reasons. "It looked like I lost, or nearly lost, and the prospects for winning were remote." He also feared a fractured party would hurt chances come November. Mr. Romney's endorsement of Sen. McCain, which came a week later, was never in question. "I wasn't getting out to say, 'Hey, let's see how it works out between Mike Huckabee and John McCain.'"

Now, Mr. Romney is building on whatever goodwill he earned through his departure with his new political action committee, dubbed "Free and Strong America," a line from his "Faith in America" speech last November about his Mormonism. Through the committee, Mr. Romney will campaign and raise funds for candidates in key races around the country.

Reflecting on the lessons of his failed presidential bid, Mr. Romney said he "learned that humor is one of the most dangerous things you do in a campaign." He said several comments he made that were meant to be light were taken otherwise by the media. One example was the time he told a town-hall audience that his five sons were serving their country by working on his campaign. "Well, that was meant to be sort of a funny line, but when it's read as a serious line, that can be a problem," he said.

Mr. Romney and supporters of his presidential bid gathered May 9 in Houston for a party. Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, danced and sang along with the Beach Boys among a crowd of roughly 2,000. One top aide described the evening as "closure."

Early the next morning, Mr. Romney's top fund-raisers and his strategist gathered to meet with Sen. McCain. Mr. Romney said they gave Sen. McCain a standing ovation. "If I'm not gonna get elected, they want him to be the next president," Mr. Romney said, adding, "as I do."

Write to Elizabeth Holmes at elizabeth.holmes@wsj.com

Wednesday Evening

Push Press Fest '08

135 lbs overhead from the shoulder rack position as many times as you can in 5 minutes. I went 35. My shoulders were not my limiting factor, it was my legs from the afternoon workout. Shaking. Really tight.

Wednesday Lunch

21 squats in a row with 185lbs.

Tabata Run 12% grade at 10mph. Ran 1.5 miles warmup and 1 mile quick after. Then did 2 more iterations just to see what it would feel like.

Tuesday

Monday was spent recovering from Bay To Breakers.

Franken Chipper
500m row
hydrant run
21 Kettlebell swings 54lbs.
50 thrusters, 45lbs
3 rounds of Cindy
30 box jumps
21 handstand pushups
30 Knee To elbows
30 Double Unders

Saturday

We did 9-1 of Push Press followed by Out and Backs (sprints). I used 135lbs. It was hard and left most of my upper body sore.

Politics

SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! That's how you win an election. These assholes have the playbook down pat. Let's offer subsidies to everyone! We'll pay them to vote for us! What a concept! There is no deficit. There is no debt. This is the United States! We never run out of money. We can just print it!!!!!!! And then, other countries will just give us stuff for it!@!!@!#$!@ This is great!#$!@$!~#@!~#!~@#

This is a story from the New York Times, so God only knows how accurate it is. I think my 6 year old nephew might do a more accurate job of reporting, but in any case, while providing food for the poor is a good thing, I'm sick of seeing all these spending measures pass. When are they going to start cutting things? I mean, we're spending a lot more money than we take in. We just have to pay for it later. China owns half our debt. Do you know what people do to other people when they can't pay their debts? It's not pretty.

Defying President Bush, Senate Passes Farm Bill

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By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

Published: May 15, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a five-year, $307 billion farm bill, sending it to President Bush for what is expected to be his futile veto.

The 81-to-15 Senate vote, like the 318-to-106 House vote on Wednesday, attracted broad bipartisan support and received far more than the two-thirds that would be needed to override Mr. Bush’s veto, should he keep his pledge to wield his pen.

Mr. Bush has said he wants to sharply limit government subsidies to farmers at a time of near-record commodity prices and soaring global demand for grain. Most legislators were not swayed by Mr. Bush’s description of the bill as bloated, expensive and packed with “a variety of gimmicks.”

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, defended the measure as “one of compromise.”

“That’s what legislation is all about,” Mr. Reid said just before the vote.

The bill includes a $10.3 billion increase in spending on nutrition programs, including food stamps, that supporters called “historic,” as well as increases for rural development and land conservation programs.

It also extends many existing federal subsidies that the president and other critics say are difficult to justify in such flush times for agricultural producers.

Mr. Bush had sought an adjusted gross income limit of $200,000 above which farmers could not qualify for any subsidy payments. The bill passed by the Senate and House, however, allows farm income of up to $750,000 and nonfarm income of $500,000 per individual.

That $750,000 limit applies to only one subsidy program, so-called direct payments that are disbursed based on land acreage and regardless of current market conditions or even whether the land is still actively farmed.

While Mr. Bush has long called for curtailing subsidy programs, the farm bill is viewed as vital legislation both across rural America and in impoverished urban centers.

Only two Democratic senators, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both of Rhode Island, voted against the bill. The 13 Republicans who voted against it included Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, a former chairman of the Agriculture Committee, who has called the measure fiscally irresponsible.

The three presidential candidates, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, both Democrats, and John McCain, Republican of Arizona, were absent. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, also did not vote.

The willingness of so many Republicans to break with the White House reflected both the strong support for the bill and a growing alarm among many lawmakers about their election prospects in November.

Mr. Bush himself made a similar political calculation in 2002, ultimately deciding to sign the farm bill that year even though he had strongly opposed it. A senior official at the time said the White House had concluded it would be “political suicide” in the midterm elections to veto the bill that year.

This year, though, Mr. Bush seems intent on refusing to sign the bill. He has criticized it for months, and on Wednesday he issued a forceful veto threat. He urged Congress to approve a one-year extension of current law, which he said would be better than adopting the new measure.

“Today’s farm economy is very strong, and that is something to celebrate,” he said. “It is also an appropriate time to better target subsidies and put forth real reform.” The bill, he said, “spends too much and fails to reform farm programs for the future.”

On Wednesday evening, Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman, reiterated the president’s opposition. “With its massive expansion of subsidies, special interest earmarks and budget gimmicks, this bill is wrong for American taxpayers,” he said. “The president will veto it.”

But in debate on the House floor on Wednesday, some Republicans were just as forceful in pledging to defy Mr. Bush should he use his veto pen.

“I know there is a veto threat from the White House,” said Representative Robin Hayes, Republican of North Carolina. “If the president decides to follow through I will be there voting to override him because we need this update for our nation’s policies.”

Should it reach that point, it would be only the second veto overriden during Mr. Bush’s presidency. The first was in November when Congress overwhelmingly rejected the president’s veto of a $23.2 billion water resources bill that authorized popular projects around the country.

In the House chamber on Wednesday, longtime critics of farm subsidies in both parties echoed Mr. Bush’s complaints about the current bill.

“Where’s the beef?” asked Representative Ron Kind, Democrat of Wisconsin, standing in the House floor next to a poster showing sharp increases in commodity prices — 126 percent for wheat, 57 percent for soybeans, 45 percent for corn. “Where’s the real reform?” he said.

Some critics have also pointed to earmarks in the bill, including a tax break for racehorse owners added by the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and $170 million to benefit the salmon industry inserted by House Democrats from the West Coast.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, in her own speech on the House floor, responded directly to Mr. Kind, whose proposals would drastically overhauling farm subsidies she had supported before the Democrats regained control of Congress in 2006.

Although the legislation is universally known as the farm bill, it actually directs far more money to feeding the poor than it does to helping farmers — about $209 billion for nutrition programs like food stamps, according to the Congressional Budget Office, compared with $35 billion for agricultural commodity programs.

In her speech, Ms. Pelosi praised the bill and said the increase on food stamps alone was reason to support it. She said that while more change would be needed, the bill made important improvements to farm policy.

“With this legislation we will help families facing high food prices,” she said.

At a news conference, the Agriculture Committee chairman, Representative Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota, said he expected the bill to reach the president by May 20 and a veto override to be approved before Congress leaves for a Memorial Day recess.

Both Mr. Peterson and the committee’s senior Republican, Representative Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, said the bill represented a strong bipartisan compromise.

“I am very pleased that both parties cast a majority of votes for this farm bill,” Mr. Goodlatte said. “We don’t have a two-to-one majority. We have a three-to-one majority.”

He added: “I believe that we now have the opportunity to say to America that this is a farm bill that truly does assure that we continue to have the safest, most affordable, most abundant food supply in the world. We have addressed the needs of America’s farmers and ranchers.”

Wednesday

Still a little under the weather, decided to head on down and regretted it. We did Elizabeth.
21-15-9
Squat Cleans
Ring Dips

I used 115lbs. The prescribed weight is 135. It took me 14 minutes flat. No doubt I can go faster and probably can go faster with the heavier weight, but I felt sooooooo weak. Oh well.

Tuesday

Despite reeling from the flu/disease that I had since Thursday and made worse by trying to do a 50 mile race, I just HAD to get out of the house. So I did crossfit and we did a Front Squat max. I got 215lbs, which is a 35lb improvement for me I think. Still exhausted.

Lions For Lambs - Review

I saw this movie while recovering from the disaster at Quicksilver. Several people have mentioned it to me, saying that it reminded them of me.

It's a fairly shoddy movie. Too many plot lines running around and not very engaging. That's the end of the formal review.

Now I rant! Move over Bill O'Reilly.

However, the points that Redford is trying to make have never been truer. Unfortunately, I think most Americans are:
1. Too stupid to understand the points that Redford is making
2. Could care less (the majority fall in this category)
3. Unwilling to step up to the plate
4. Don't like being lectured by Redford (nor do I, but I can't deny the validity of his claims)

"Rome is burning!" Redford exclaims. You're damn right it is. And nobody is doing anything about it. I've heard several references to The Rise And Fall Of the Roman Empire in the last couple of weeks, alluding to the United States' difficulties.

In the film, two college students volunteer for the Army. One person commented that they should not have done that, implying that most people who join the Army have no other opportunities available to them. Now, certainly, the Army can be an opportunity for many people that don't have many options available to them. But to claim that those with opportunities (and that probably means job opportunities), should not join the Army is indicative of exactly what Robert Redford is talking about in this movie. Personally, if anyone I knew (or didn't know) told me they were trying to join the Army, I would try to talk them out of it, but not for the reasons you might think. I still admire people that lay it on the line.

Here is my response to the person that says the two characters in the film should not have joined the Army. I changed the name of the person.

"Well, Amanda's comments are unfortunately reflective of most of the country, which is why our country is fucked. Unfortunately it won't be until 20 years from now when her children are starving or getting beheaded that she thinks back and wonders if maybe some real people with smarts actually started caring about what was going on, that things might have been different. In this day and age, it's all about looking out for #1 and how much money do I get. Me, me, me. Very few people sacrifice for something other, bigger than themselves. The question Redford referred to, "What have I contributed?" is a hard question only I don't think many people are even asking themselves that let alone being troubled by the answer. I'm stereotyping, but I don't see a lot of soul searching going on at Balboa Cafe or anywhere else in the Marina or the San Francisco Bay Area. What could possibly happen to these people? These wealthy, highly educated, morally bankrupt people? As long as they continue to look out for themselves, probably nothing. They can surf on others peoples backs.

But yeah, maybe those two shouldn't have volunteered. I mean, I am totally cool with societies that stone people to death, kill women for leaving the house without permission or not wearing the appropriate attire, and take advantage of poor people by telling them who to blame for their state and having them commit suicide to kill others. Those two, dying for something they believed in, they mustn't have gotten the memo because a $100k job was waiting for them shuffling paper somewhere. Hell, they may have ended up working for a big investment bank adding real value to the world like advising clients on wonderful transactions like the AOL-Time Warner merger. That was a doozy. But hey, they'd make out and that's all that matters.

Nor should George Washington have volunteered to command the army in 1776. What a worthless cause that was. Chump. How much more money could he have made running his plantation? Didn't he know the English put a bounty on his head? Who would volunteer for that? And that American army. So pesky. So unorganized and unfunded. And the soldiers were fighting for FREE! Because Congress couldn't authorize enough money. Many deserted, but many stayed. I sure do applaud those deserters. At least they were smart. They didn't need the Army. They had other things they could do with their lives. Something other than fight for a country that didn't even have a name.

John Adams walked away from a really high paying job offered by the English government to join a terrorist group. What an idiot.

Thomas Jefferson-what a fucking dilittante. Same thing for him and his plantation. What did he get out of working in government except criticism? Fool.

Abraham Lincoln left a perfectly successful law practice to become a politician and he ended up dead. What a moron!

And Col. Joshua Chamberlain volunteered for the Civil War (not even pressed into service!) and commanded the 20th Maine regiment on the left flank of the Union Army at Gettysburg, ordering a bayonet charge at the desperate moment, saving the flank, the Union army and perhaps the Union itself. What an idiot. I wished he had stayed home because frankly my room is messy and I need me some slaves up here to clean it. He lived up in Maine. Maine! Like the confederacy ever intended to go all the way to Maine. He was perfectly safe and sound. Might have well been living in the Marina.

And the average 900 Americans that died every day during WWII. Wow, if only some of them had used their connections to get less dangerous jobs, they wouldn't have been killed. Losers. Like Auschwitz ever happened. And that whole idea that Stalin let 40 million people die of starvation.....That's just an exaggeration. we should have just let him take Europe.

When I flew Americans in body bags back from convoys that got attacked, all I could think was "fucking idiot." When I went after the Apache helicopters that crashed because of bad weather and there were Taliban moving on them, all I could think was, "Why didn't they just fly some news helicopter? We need some more traffic news back home. The NEWS BITCHES!"

I am disappointed when smart people like Amanda, and she is so far from alone, make comments like that. I'm also a bit irritated.

Saturday 5/10/08

Quicksilver 50

Fighting a bug after a trip from Detroit, I wasn't sure if I should even attempt this race, but I told myself I could always drop out. I did drop out at mile 19. I felt such low energy from the beginning that I was fairly miserable, but it was a strained tendon running along the top of my foot that was causing me to limp that sealed it for me. I didn't want to add any injuries to my list. Never had this problem before and not sure if it is related to my flu-like illness or if it's from being tight from sitting on the plane earlier in the week, which has happened before. I walked most of the last 4 miles and still was on a 9:30 pace, which is pretty good had I been able to maintain that for 50. I feel trashed. I got home and felt feverish, wrapping myself in blankets, yet unable to not feel cold. That seems to have past now as I'm writing this and am looking for social activities for the evening. The blister that I blogged about a couple weeks ago also was slowly becoming a problem. I had forgotten about it as I have gone on several runs since then without it being a problem. I will duck tape it for the next run. Am looking for another 50 to attempt.

Tuesday 5/6

~6 mile treadmill run.

Monday 5/5

21x195lb. squats
Tabata treadmill run.

Saturday 5/3/08

3 rounds of 12 power cleans. Each round for its own time.

12x135lb - 1:37
12x155lb-2:08
12x95lb-:37

IDIOTS!

Morning Workout:
3 rounds of:
800m Run
30 kettleball swings (50lb)
30 pullups

The following people are idiots:

Obama Says Clinton, McCain
Are Wrong on Gas-Tax Plan

Associated Press
May 2, 2008 1:20 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Sen. Barack Obama said Friday a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax could cost 6,000 jobs in next week's primary state of Indiana, and accused Hillary Clinton and John McCain of "reading from the same political playbook" by endorsing it.

"This is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months. That is unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap," the Democratic presidential contender said.

Associated Press

Sen. Barack Obama criticized the idea of a federal gas tax holiday, during a news conference in Indianapolis Friday.

At a news conference, Sen. Obama also disputed suggestions that he is an elitist.

"In fact, our lives when you look over the last two decades more closely approximate the lives of the average voter than any of the other candidates," the Illinois senator said.

"We've struggled with paying student loans. We've tried to figure out whether we have adequate daycare. I've actually filled up my own gas tank."

Sen. Obama and his wife Michelle reported income of $4.2 million last year, much of it in book royalties. But he often tells campaign audiences that until fairly recently, they struggled with bills.

Sen. Clinton and her husband, the former president, have reported income of more than $100 million since he left the White House in 2001. Sen. McCain's wife, Cindy, inherited a beer distributorship from her father.

The proposed federal gas tax holiday is a rarity in the marathon battle for the Democratic presidential nomination -- a clear-cut policy difference between Sens. Obama and Clinton, and it is playing out in the final days of primary campaigns in Indiana and North Carolina.

CAMPAIGN 2008

• Discuss: Is a gas-tax holiday a good idea?

• Will Voters Accept Obama's Gas Plea?

• In Indiana, Democrats Go Afield

• Hunt for Delegates Reaches Guam

• Washington Wire: Ex-DNC Chief Lines Up Behind Obama | All posts

• Political Perceptions: The Words Obama Won't Speak

• The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll (PDF)

• Data Drilldown: The Democratic Race

• Campaign 2008: See complete election coverage

Sen. Clinton reiterated her support for the gas tax suspension at a John Deere tractor dealership in Kinston, N.C., her first event in a two-day campaign swing across the state. The New York senator planned to introduce legislation with New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to levy a windfall profits tax on oil companies to fund the tax suspension.

"All I hear about is gas prices. Gas and diesel, everywhere," she said. "Some people say we don't need to get a gas tax holiday at all, it's a gimmick .. I want the Congress to stand up and vote. Are they for the oil companies, or are they for you?"

Sen. Clinton has criticized Sen. Obama for opposing the measure, and he has dug in, as well.

"At best, this is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months; that is, unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap, which is just what happened in Illinois, when we tried this a few years ago," he said.

Meanwhile, unless you can magically impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies overnight to pay for the holiday, it could imperil federal highway funding, and cost Indiana more than 6,000 jobs.

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Sen. McCain, the certain Republican presidential nominee, criticized Sen. Obama in return.

"Barack Obama has absolutely no plan to fight record gas prices this summer, and only he'd be talking about a political playbook when the real issue is hurting American families and their pocketbooks," he said.

Money from the tax goes into a fund that pays for highway and bridge construction. Sen. Obama once supported a temporary lifting of the tax while in the Illinois legislature, but has since said it does not make sense.

Split Jerk

I maxed at 185 on the split jerk on Tuesday night. I don't think the weight was a factor. With time and practice I could probably easily put up 205, but getting under the weight is kind of frightening. I felt it the next morning.

21 Squats

I got 21 squats at 185lbs. It hurt. I did it alone at the Club, so, no support in a horrible environment for working out. Pretty happy with it.

That night, with Adrian, did 5 rounds of:
7 Dumbbell snatches in each hand
20 double unders


That combined with the squats left a pretty beat up body.

Thursday I did nothing. Sucked.