Wednesday, April 29, 2009
100 Days of Right Wing Propaganda
I was toying with the idea of marking Obama's 100th day with a list of all of the right wing smears against him over the same period. I quickly realized that this would be a bit too ambitious of a project to fit within the few minutes per day I have to devote to blogging. Fortunately, Media Matters has done the job for me. Be sure to check their website for comprehensive info on how the right wing has behaved since January 20.
I started watching this video and quickly thought that it would become monotonous. But then I realized something. If you relied on Fox as your news source, this is a small sample of what you would have heard day in and day out for the past 100 days. This is an amazing example of propaganda at work.
Pay Per View Waterboarding, Part 2
It's been almost a week and after volunteering to be waterboarded for charity, Sean Hannity still hasn't set a date. Keith Olbermann kept the pressure on Hannity during Monday's show and then went on to say, "I don't think he has the courage to even respond to this, let alone do it."
Do I expect Hannity to actually go through with his promise and submit to waterboarding? Absolutely not. He's just one of the many talentless hacks who get paid to push right wing propaganda to anyone dumb enough to listen.
But I think we need to keep the pressure on here. I really believe that Hannity should be waterboarded (since he's the one who volunteered and he gets paid to tell us that he doesn't believe it is torture) and that it should be done on national television for all eyes to see. Let Americans see for themselves exactly what happens when someone is waterboarded and then we can decide once and for all if it is indeed torture or just "enhanced interrogation".
Who knows? Maybe we'll watch it and say, "that's waterboarding? What's the big deal?" This could be a great opportunity for the right wing to show that they are right about something. Come on, Sean. Do it for your country. Do it for your party. Do it for your owner's ratings. Be a man. Just do it.
Do I expect Hannity to actually go through with his promise and submit to waterboarding? Absolutely not. He's just one of the many talentless hacks who get paid to push right wing propaganda to anyone dumb enough to listen.
But I think we need to keep the pressure on here. I really believe that Hannity should be waterboarded (since he's the one who volunteered and he gets paid to tell us that he doesn't believe it is torture) and that it should be done on national television for all eyes to see. Let Americans see for themselves exactly what happens when someone is waterboarded and then we can decide once and for all if it is indeed torture or just "enhanced interrogation".
Who knows? Maybe we'll watch it and say, "that's waterboarding? What's the big deal?" This could be a great opportunity for the right wing to show that they are right about something. Come on, Sean. Do it for your country. Do it for your party. Do it for your owner's ratings. Be a man. Just do it.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Fox "news" Caught Making Shit Up Again
From Daily Kos:
Media Matters has caught another Fox fabrication.
This time, Fox News 'reporter' Wendell Goler repeatedly aired a video clip in which President Obama seems to declare his support for imposing a "European-style" universal health care system on the United States. Goler used the clip to support Republican attacks on the President's spending policies and his supposedly "European" priorities.
The problem is, President Obama never said any such thing. The clip Goler used was from a March 26 online town hall event, and President Obama was paraphrasing a written question submitted by the audience. In his answer, the President said that while he does support universal health care, he doesn't support imposing a European or Canadian system on the United States.
"I actually want a universal health care system; that is our goal...whether we do it exactly the way European countries do or Canada does is a different question, because there are a variety of ways to get to universal health care coverage... I don't think the best way to fix our health care system is to suddenly completely scrap what everybody is accustomed to and the vast majority of people already have. Rather, what I think we should do is to build on the system that we have and fill some of these gaps."
Despite the plain meaning of President Obama's words, Fox and Goler took them completely out of context to support the President's Republican critics.
It wasn't an accident -- Fox aired at least three different versions of Goler's hit piece. Watch the video, starting with what President Obama actually said.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Pay Per View Waterboarding
So Sean Hannity doesn't believe that waterboarding is torture. No, instead it is "advanced interrogation". Shut the fuck up. Tell that to the Japanese soldiers who were executed for waterboarding American soldiers during WWII. The dumbass goes so far as to say that he would agree to be waterboarded.
I say we jump all over this one. This is a great idea. Let's take these idiot blowhards, who make a living off of keeping the ignorant Fox "news" viewers scared and stupid, and allow them to be waterboarded on live television for the world to see. It will be educational and it will be profitable.
Keith Olbermann has offered Hannity $1000 per second that he lasts while being waterboarded. With the money going to the troops or families of the troops or something. Let's step it up a notch. Let's get as many people as possible to donate dollars per second. Imagine the good we could do while waterboarding Sean Hannity. It would be great.
But let's not stop there. Let's get Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Rove. Hell, there's no end to the number of people we could line up to be waterboarded for charity. Let's turn it into a series of pay per view events. Every Friday night, a different piece of shit gets waterboarded on live TV. We could use the proceeds to pay down the national debt that the Bush Administration created. It's win-win every way you look at it. And I just know they would all agree to do it because they are true patriots and they love their country so much that they're willing to do anything for it.
Plus, it's not torture. These people have told us over and over again, it's NOT torture. It would just be good old fashioned fun. I mean, how bad could it be? They know we're not really going to let them drown, right? And even if it goes too far, we'll have a doctor available to try to revive them. What do you say?
We might also end up with the unintended consequence (if this method of "advanced interrogation" works the way they pretend it does) of actually getting these pathological liar sociopaths to actually tell the truth about everything they've lied about for the past eight years.
Come on wheelers and dealers. Let's make this happen. For America.
I say we jump all over this one. This is a great idea. Let's take these idiot blowhards, who make a living off of keeping the ignorant Fox "news" viewers scared and stupid, and allow them to be waterboarded on live television for the world to see. It will be educational and it will be profitable.
Keith Olbermann has offered Hannity $1000 per second that he lasts while being waterboarded. With the money going to the troops or families of the troops or something. Let's step it up a notch. Let's get as many people as possible to donate dollars per second. Imagine the good we could do while waterboarding Sean Hannity. It would be great.
But let's not stop there. Let's get Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Rove. Hell, there's no end to the number of people we could line up to be waterboarded for charity. Let's turn it into a series of pay per view events. Every Friday night, a different piece of shit gets waterboarded on live TV. We could use the proceeds to pay down the national debt that the Bush Administration created. It's win-win every way you look at it. And I just know they would all agree to do it because they are true patriots and they love their country so much that they're willing to do anything for it.
Plus, it's not torture. These people have told us over and over again, it's NOT torture. It would just be good old fashioned fun. I mean, how bad could it be? They know we're not really going to let them drown, right? And even if it goes too far, we'll have a doctor available to try to revive them. What do you say?
We might also end up with the unintended consequence (if this method of "advanced interrogation" works the way they pretend it does) of actually getting these pathological liar sociopaths to actually tell the truth about everything they've lied about for the past eight years.
Come on wheelers and dealers. Let's make this happen. For America.
Defending the Indefensible, Part 2
From The Daily Kos:
Over the past couple of days, Karl Rove and Fox News have offered a new argument in defense of the Bush administration’s torture policies.
Now, they say, waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) yielded intelligence that led to the disruption of an al Qaeda plot to attack the tallest building in Los Angeles, the Library Tower (which both Bush and Rove called the Liberty Tower, for some reason). There’s just one problem with Rove’s new story: it couldn’t possibly be true.
As Timothy Noah pointed out in Slate, the Los Angeles attack was foiled in February of 2002. KSM was not captured until March of 2003, however — more than a year later.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that timeline is impossible. Perhaps appropriately, then, here’s a video of George W. Bush — in his own words — proving that Karl Rove and Fox News are lying about torture.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Defending the Indefensible
There is a great moment in this video where Paul Begala literally leaves Ari Fleischer speechless when he says, "We, our country executed Japanese soldiers who water-boarded American POWs. We executed them for the same crime that we are now committing ourselves. How do you defend that?" Ari eventually regains his voice and goes into his usual, tired old blah blah blah about how it isn't his buddy Duh's fault and trying to make everything political. Not everything is political, Ari. Sometimes it's just a question of right or wrong.
Ari reminds me of the joke about how everything said by Rudy Giuliani is nothing more than a noun, a verb, and 9/11. That's how Fleischer is every time I see him on TV. He refuses to admit ANY wrongdoing by the Republican party regardless of how big or small and he tries to turn everything around and point fingers at Democrats every chance he gets. It's tired, stale and a bit pathetic.
Torturing BillyO
Watch as BillyO gets increasingly frustrated because the "yes men" that he is interviewing won't go along with his ridiculous claims. Two predictions here. One, whoever booked these guys gets fired and two, these two guys will never appear on this ass clown's show again. Oh, and maybe a third. "Tough guy" O'Reilly will go to great lengths to try to smear these guys over the next week or two while they're not there to defend themselves.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
2009 Boston Marathon
Boston 2009 was all about redemption. I tried to run the race last year with a pretty bad injury and the course just chewed me up and laughed in my face. So I had last year's nightmare hanging over me and to be perfectly honest, the course intimidated the hell out of me. So since last April I spent a lot of time thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for the Boston course so that I might be able to conquer it on my second attempt.
The answer seemed to lie in hill work. I still wasn't 100% healthy so I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do a lot of speed work but I thought that if I could just get comfortable running hills then that would be half the battle. So I incorporated hill work into almost every run. I had to retrain my body (and mind) to accept that hills were a fact of life. I didn't worry about how fast I was running the hills. It was enough just to be running them. Six milers turned into eight milers, then ten milers. In March, I tested myself by running a very hilly half marathon and I came through just fine.
Fast forward to Boston. The plan was to run with my friend Lisa and shoot for a 3:30 or better. Going into the race, I felt that I could hit 3:30 but that it was going to be tough.
The day before the race, Mark, Lisa and I drove out to the Newton Hills to familiarize ourselves with the four big hills that come in the second half of the race. We basically drove (and sometimes walked) the last ten miles of the course. This helped quite a bit.
Race day...cutting to the chase. The plan was to run a very controlled first half of the race, not get carried away, and save our strength for the Newton Hills beginning at mile 16, where the real race begins. Lisa and I did a good job of holding each other back anytime that one of us started running too fast or getting caught up in the pace of the crowd of runners around us. We just needed to run slightly faster than 8 minutes per mile.
Splits:
5k: 24:33
10k: 49:34
1 7:56
2 7:43
3 7:57
4 7:51
5 8:11
6 8:01
Pretty solid through the first 10k, but we were both having a little trouble grabbing on to a pace. This is probably due to the rolling hills that encompass the first half of the course. But our splits were fine and we chugged along. I wasn't totally confident in my ability to maintain this pace at this point but I was determined to keep pushing forward.
The course levelled off over the next few miles and our splits were steady. We really concentrated on not going too fast. Somewhere during mile 11, Lisa made a sudden veer toward the side of the road and yelled for me to keep going. At the time, I thought she saw someone she knew in the crowd or maybe she had prearranged for someone to hand her fluids or a gel or something at a designated point. I kept running and before I knew it I heard the screams and knew that I was close to Wellesley College. I ran through the "Wellesley Wall", which is basically maybe a quarter mile stretch of college women screaming their heads off as the runners pass. Right after Wellesley, Lisa caught up to me and we resumed our push toward Boston.
Splits:
15k: 1:14:07
20k: 1:38:53
1/2: 1:44:16
7 7:55
8 7:53
9 7:53
10 7:58
11 8:00
12 7:53
13 7:54
14 7:53
At this point, I was starting to feel a lot stronger than I had in the early miles and I was actually starting to look forward to the hills. I really wanted to conquer the hills that had so humbled me the year before. Lisa mentioned something about how I had never seen her crash and burn during a race before and at the time I thought it was just her way of getting mentally prepared for what was ahead. I remember her telling me to get ready to mentally toughen up (or something like that).
We finally hit the first hill and it was no problem. Then we hit the second hill and again, no big deal. Then it seemed like forever before we reached the third hill. I remember commenting that I just wanted the hills to get here. We finally reached hill number three and for the third hill in a row, Lisa started ahead of me and then I passed her as we went up the hill. This was surprising to me because when we ran our practice race last month she totally smoked me up the hills. I should have realized that something was wrong at this point but we were in the mile 19 range and the brain wasn't functioning at full capacity.
We crest the third hill and I'm fired up. I notice Lisa is not quite as enthusiastic as me so I try to pump her up a little by saying that we have this and that there is only a little over 10k left to run. We keep pushing and finally we reach Heartbreak Hill. Up and over. I'm working hard but I'm feeling so strong and confident. I've just crested the highest point of the course and I'm still in pretty good shape. I look at Lisa and tell her that we just need to be smart.
As we head down the hill toward Boston College, Lisa suddenly says something about desperately needing fluids. I start looking for the next water station and as we reach it I assume that Lisa will chug some water or Gatorade and be back beside me before I know it. This was the last I saw of Lisa until after the race.
Splits:
25k: 2:03:42
30k: 2:28:34
15 8:06
16: 7;44
17: 7:59
18: 8:07
19: 7:56
20: 8:04
21: 8:25
It takes me a while to realize that Lisa hasn't caught up to me yet and as I head down a long hill I start looking over my shoulder but she is no where in sight. Still, I'm feeling confident that she'll pull up beside me any minute, like she has so many times in the past. I'm still feeling strong and wondering if I can somehow manage to pick up the pace a little and push for a 3:28. Before I know it, runners start passing me and for a moment I'm confused. Then I look at my Garmin and it says my current pace is 8:23 and the sudden realization sets in. I've hit the wall.
I slow down considerably over the last two miles and at this point I start to really worry about Lisa because I'm now running so slow that she should have easily caught me and I realize that something must be wrong. But I'm still thinking that she's going to come breezing by me at any moment. I pass the Citgo sign at mile 25. I'm hurting but I keep on pushing. My hamstrings are threatening to cramp and I mentally try to ward them off. Before I know it I am turning onto Hereford Street and then onto Boylston. As I make the turn, I can see the finish line. I try to give it everything I have left (which isn't much) and both hamstrings cramp simultaneously. I let out a string of expletives and come to a limping, grinding halt. I'm barely moving forward for about ten seconds and then I just started to try to run again and the cramps somehow subsided just enough for me to hobble down Boylston Street to the finish.
I'm wiped out. There's no finishing kick. There's no celebration. I've left it all on the course. I cross the line at 3:32:46, exhausted but happy. I can barely stand up and I pull off to the side and start looking for Lisa. I wait about five minutes and at this point I realize she's not coming and I'm freezing and weak and I need to take care of myself. I head through the chutes and receive my medal. Mission accomplished.
Splits:
35k: 2:53:58
40k: 3:19:56
22 8:01
23 8:15
24 8:14
25 8:30
26 9:07
26.2 3:01 (.33 per Garmin)
Finish: 3:32:46
Lisa did finish in 3:35 and I'm still wondering how I missed her finish. She must have finished on the right side of the road while I was waiting for her on the left. But she overcame some major illness and GI issues and earned some serious hardcore points for sucking it up and finishing strong under some pretty horrible circumstances.
So it's a tale of two races. For me, it was redemption and a strong, satisfying race with an unfortunate, but acceptable fade late in the race. For the person who ran beside me for the majority of the 26.2 miles, it was a difficult struggle and an awful day. But on the bright side, there aren't that many of us who can claim a 3:35 Boston Marathon as our worst race ever.
Thanks for reading.
The answer seemed to lie in hill work. I still wasn't 100% healthy so I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do a lot of speed work but I thought that if I could just get comfortable running hills then that would be half the battle. So I incorporated hill work into almost every run. I had to retrain my body (and mind) to accept that hills were a fact of life. I didn't worry about how fast I was running the hills. It was enough just to be running them. Six milers turned into eight milers, then ten milers. In March, I tested myself by running a very hilly half marathon and I came through just fine.
Fast forward to Boston. The plan was to run with my friend Lisa and shoot for a 3:30 or better. Going into the race, I felt that I could hit 3:30 but that it was going to be tough.
The day before the race, Mark, Lisa and I drove out to the Newton Hills to familiarize ourselves with the four big hills that come in the second half of the race. We basically drove (and sometimes walked) the last ten miles of the course. This helped quite a bit.
Race day...cutting to the chase. The plan was to run a very controlled first half of the race, not get carried away, and save our strength for the Newton Hills beginning at mile 16, where the real race begins. Lisa and I did a good job of holding each other back anytime that one of us started running too fast or getting caught up in the pace of the crowd of runners around us. We just needed to run slightly faster than 8 minutes per mile.
Splits:
5k: 24:33
10k: 49:34
1 7:56
2 7:43
3 7:57
4 7:51
5 8:11
6 8:01
Pretty solid through the first 10k, but we were both having a little trouble grabbing on to a pace. This is probably due to the rolling hills that encompass the first half of the course. But our splits were fine and we chugged along. I wasn't totally confident in my ability to maintain this pace at this point but I was determined to keep pushing forward.
The course levelled off over the next few miles and our splits were steady. We really concentrated on not going too fast. Somewhere during mile 11, Lisa made a sudden veer toward the side of the road and yelled for me to keep going. At the time, I thought she saw someone she knew in the crowd or maybe she had prearranged for someone to hand her fluids or a gel or something at a designated point. I kept running and before I knew it I heard the screams and knew that I was close to Wellesley College. I ran through the "Wellesley Wall", which is basically maybe a quarter mile stretch of college women screaming their heads off as the runners pass. Right after Wellesley, Lisa caught up to me and we resumed our push toward Boston.
Splits:
15k: 1:14:07
20k: 1:38:53
1/2: 1:44:16
7 7:55
8 7:53
9 7:53
10 7:58
11 8:00
12 7:53
13 7:54
14 7:53
At this point, I was starting to feel a lot stronger than I had in the early miles and I was actually starting to look forward to the hills. I really wanted to conquer the hills that had so humbled me the year before. Lisa mentioned something about how I had never seen her crash and burn during a race before and at the time I thought it was just her way of getting mentally prepared for what was ahead. I remember her telling me to get ready to mentally toughen up (or something like that).
We finally hit the first hill and it was no problem. Then we hit the second hill and again, no big deal. Then it seemed like forever before we reached the third hill. I remember commenting that I just wanted the hills to get here. We finally reached hill number three and for the third hill in a row, Lisa started ahead of me and then I passed her as we went up the hill. This was surprising to me because when we ran our practice race last month she totally smoked me up the hills. I should have realized that something was wrong at this point but we were in the mile 19 range and the brain wasn't functioning at full capacity.
We crest the third hill and I'm fired up. I notice Lisa is not quite as enthusiastic as me so I try to pump her up a little by saying that we have this and that there is only a little over 10k left to run. We keep pushing and finally we reach Heartbreak Hill. Up and over. I'm working hard but I'm feeling so strong and confident. I've just crested the highest point of the course and I'm still in pretty good shape. I look at Lisa and tell her that we just need to be smart.
As we head down the hill toward Boston College, Lisa suddenly says something about desperately needing fluids. I start looking for the next water station and as we reach it I assume that Lisa will chug some water or Gatorade and be back beside me before I know it. This was the last I saw of Lisa until after the race.
Splits:
25k: 2:03:42
30k: 2:28:34
15 8:06
16: 7;44
17: 7:59
18: 8:07
19: 7:56
20: 8:04
21: 8:25
It takes me a while to realize that Lisa hasn't caught up to me yet and as I head down a long hill I start looking over my shoulder but she is no where in sight. Still, I'm feeling confident that she'll pull up beside me any minute, like she has so many times in the past. I'm still feeling strong and wondering if I can somehow manage to pick up the pace a little and push for a 3:28. Before I know it, runners start passing me and for a moment I'm confused. Then I look at my Garmin and it says my current pace is 8:23 and the sudden realization sets in. I've hit the wall.
I slow down considerably over the last two miles and at this point I start to really worry about Lisa because I'm now running so slow that she should have easily caught me and I realize that something must be wrong. But I'm still thinking that she's going to come breezing by me at any moment. I pass the Citgo sign at mile 25. I'm hurting but I keep on pushing. My hamstrings are threatening to cramp and I mentally try to ward them off. Before I know it I am turning onto Hereford Street and then onto Boylston. As I make the turn, I can see the finish line. I try to give it everything I have left (which isn't much) and both hamstrings cramp simultaneously. I let out a string of expletives and come to a limping, grinding halt. I'm barely moving forward for about ten seconds and then I just started to try to run again and the cramps somehow subsided just enough for me to hobble down Boylston Street to the finish.
I'm wiped out. There's no finishing kick. There's no celebration. I've left it all on the course. I cross the line at 3:32:46, exhausted but happy. I can barely stand up and I pull off to the side and start looking for Lisa. I wait about five minutes and at this point I realize she's not coming and I'm freezing and weak and I need to take care of myself. I head through the chutes and receive my medal. Mission accomplished.
Splits:
35k: 2:53:58
40k: 3:19:56
22 8:01
23 8:15
24 8:14
25 8:30
26 9:07
26.2 3:01 (.33 per Garmin)
Finish: 3:32:46
Lisa did finish in 3:35 and I'm still wondering how I missed her finish. She must have finished on the right side of the road while I was waiting for her on the left. But she overcame some major illness and GI issues and earned some serious hardcore points for sucking it up and finishing strong under some pretty horrible circumstances.
So it's a tale of two races. For me, it was redemption and a strong, satisfying race with an unfortunate, but acceptable fade late in the race. For the person who ran beside me for the majority of the 26.2 miles, it was a difficult struggle and an awful day. But on the bright side, there aren't that many of us who can claim a 3:35 Boston Marathon as our worst race ever.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Oh No, The Teabaggers Been Done Got Infiltrated
I want to be done with the teabaggers, I really do. But this stuff is just pure gold. Crazy Glenn Beck went on the air last night and talked about how the teabag parties were "infiltrated" by liberals from The Daily Kos and The Huff Post. Not quite sure what his point was other than that maybe not all of those "hundreds" of teabaggers were actually there to support Beck's lunacy.
No, what Crazy Glenn calls "infiltration", sane people would call reporting and documenting. Here is a video by a blogger/"infiltrator" at a Cleveland teabag rally. He captured a lot of good paranoia, racism and ignorance. Enjoy.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I Beck To Differ
I'm sure Beck would feel the same way if there was a Republican in the White House and a Democratic Governor was talking secession, right?
Or would he be going on and on about the Governor being a socialist/communist/fascist traitor to his country and a disgrace to the people who elected him? I'm pretty sure he'd be calling for this guy's head.
And if someone were to say what Beck says in the clip,
"I was quite impressed with Gov. Perry on this statement", then that person would be a traitor too. Right? What exactly "impressed" you about that statement? Was it the lunacy of the statement that was so impressive? The ignorance? Enlighten me.
But the funny part is how serious Beck tries to make it. "I don't think Texans are screwing around. I really don't." Really, Glenn? One yahoo mouthing off in front of a microphone and you're ready to declare that the entire state of Texas is behind him. And that they're serious. You're an even bigger joke than I thought you were.
How much longer until Beck gets his own morning show complete with trailer park transvestites and a live studio audience chanting his name every time a "spontaneous" brawl breaks out on stage?
Teabagging the Teabaggers
Funny how the attitude of the crowd changes when faced with a little dose of truth.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Whole New Kind of Crazy, Part 2
Holy idiot. Even comic strips are making fun of Beck and his Woodrow Wilson fascism "connection". http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2009/04/14/tomo/
Monday, April 13, 2009
Boston Training, Week 17
This was a "better safe than sorry" week. My piriformis was bothering me more than usual and I just didn't want to risk doing anything too stupid.
Tuesday - 8 miles at 8:22 pace on treadmill. Piriformis was sore so I just took it easy.
Wednesday - 3.5 miles at 8:55 recovery pace. Piriformis was sore and tight all day. I considered taking the day off but decided to go out nice and easy and see if it loosened up. I think it actually helped some.
Thursday - 7 miles at 8:15 pace. My 7 year old rode his bike beside me for this one. It was fun, when he wasn't complaining. "I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, my stomach hurts, a mosquito landed on me, I'm getting a cramp, how much further..." But he was also a tough coach, in that he never let up until we passed every person in front of us. Overall, I think he helped me keep my mind off of the pain.
Saturday - 10 miles at 8:15 pace. I just went out at a comfortable pace and didn't worry about it. The piriformis was still pretty sore but it's going to be OK.
That was it for the week. One week to go. I'm just going to do some easy pace runs on Monday and Friday, with a dress rehearsal run on Wednesday that will include a couple of miles at marathon goal pace. Then I'll likely run an easy 2 or 3 miles Sunday morning in Boston to burn some stress and stay loose. Then it's show time. I'm hoping that taking every other day off this week will help me turn the corner on this piriformis issue.
Bottom line is I'll be ready to race. I still have some mental preparation to attend to and I wish I was 5 pounds lighter, but compared to last year, I'm ready to go.
Tuesday - 8 miles at 8:22 pace on treadmill. Piriformis was sore so I just took it easy.
Wednesday - 3.5 miles at 8:55 recovery pace. Piriformis was sore and tight all day. I considered taking the day off but decided to go out nice and easy and see if it loosened up. I think it actually helped some.
Thursday - 7 miles at 8:15 pace. My 7 year old rode his bike beside me for this one. It was fun, when he wasn't complaining. "I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, my stomach hurts, a mosquito landed on me, I'm getting a cramp, how much further..." But he was also a tough coach, in that he never let up until we passed every person in front of us. Overall, I think he helped me keep my mind off of the pain.
Saturday - 10 miles at 8:15 pace. I just went out at a comfortable pace and didn't worry about it. The piriformis was still pretty sore but it's going to be OK.
That was it for the week. One week to go. I'm just going to do some easy pace runs on Monday and Friday, with a dress rehearsal run on Wednesday that will include a couple of miles at marathon goal pace. Then I'll likely run an easy 2 or 3 miles Sunday morning in Boston to burn some stress and stay loose. Then it's show time. I'm hoping that taking every other day off this week will help me turn the corner on this piriformis issue.
Bottom line is I'll be ready to race. I still have some mental preparation to attend to and I wish I was 5 pounds lighter, but compared to last year, I'm ready to go.
Obama, FTW!
This is from Jed at The Daily Kos:
Here's how desperate Republicans are to find a winning issue: conservatives from Newt Gingrich to Glenn Beck to the rest of Fox News all bet against the Obama administration's ability to rescue Richard Phillips, the American ship captain who was taken hostage by Somali pirates last Wednesday.
They must have thought that a tragic ending to the crisis would have been a political opportunity, so they pre-positioned themselves to take full advantage. Except their plan went up in smoke when Navy SEALs -- acting on orders from President Obama -- rescued the captain, killing three pirates in the process.
The loons will certainly deny that they ever made a political bet against the U.S., but they can't run from the video proof.
The Annotated Glenn Beck
I wanted to blog about "crazier than crazy" Glenn Beck's little Thomas Paine skit but it was honestly just too painful ("paine"ful?)to watch more than once. Well, thanks to the good folks at The Daily Kos, that problem has been solved. Sit back and enjoy the annotated version of the skit.
As an aside, wouldn't it be funny if Beck's audience would actually take a moment to read and understand Thomas Paine's writings for themselves? I'm picturing an entire generation of far right wing christian nut jobs reading "Age of Reason", thinking that Thomas Paine is their hero (because "crazier than crazy" Glenn Beck said so) and then being like, "What? Huh? The bible says what?"
Anyway, I'll leave you with a thought to ponder. Who is crazier, Glenn Beck or Timothy McVeigh? And for extra credit, which one is more dangerous to America?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Wow, Just Wow!!!
I've been listening to Glenn Beck's radio show a lot lately. As I've mentioned before, this guy is beyond crazy. He makes crazy look normal. So I've been wondering who in the hell listens to this guy and buys into his ignorant bullshit? After watching this video it has become crystal clear. Or maybe I'm just brainwashed.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Boston Training, Week 16
Week 1 of taper. Just trying to get the piriformis back into shape at this point and avoid doing anything too stupid.
Tuesday - 8 mile hill workout at 8:06 pace. Piriformis was quite sore after this run. The hills seem to be aggravating it again.
Wednesday - 4.1 miles at 9:01 recovery pace.
Thursday - 7 miles at 8:19 pace. Piriformis still pretty sore.
Saturday - 4.1 miles at 9:17 recovery pace.
Sunday - 14 miles at 8:33 pace. Not much energy during this run. Didn't sleep well the night before and the piriformis has been really sore, even when I'm not running.
I'll be taking it easy from here on out and hopefully everything will heal and strengthen. Starting to get excited but still need to settle on a race strategy and get mentally prepared.
Tuesday - 8 mile hill workout at 8:06 pace. Piriformis was quite sore after this run. The hills seem to be aggravating it again.
Wednesday - 4.1 miles at 9:01 recovery pace.
Thursday - 7 miles at 8:19 pace. Piriformis still pretty sore.
Saturday - 4.1 miles at 9:17 recovery pace.
Sunday - 14 miles at 8:33 pace. Not much energy during this run. Didn't sleep well the night before and the piriformis has been really sore, even when I'm not running.
I'll be taking it easy from here on out and hopefully everything will heal and strengthen. Starting to get excited but still need to settle on a race strategy and get mentally prepared.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Strong Language Can Poison Weak Minds, Part 3
I wonder where this kid could have gotten the crazy idea that Obama was going to take away his guns?
And for the record, Obama has repeatedly expressed his support for the Second Amendment and opposes a ban on firearms in the United States. Read that last line until it sinks into your Fox "news" rotted brains.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Strong Language Can Poison Weak Minds, Part 2
I knew that Glenn Beck had been stoking the crazies recently but I didn't know the half of it.
Here is video and background of one of his show last month;
Beck and NRA's LaPierre warn of insidious Obama plot to grab our guns
And I wonder if the right wing Pittsburgh Tribune Review may have had anything to do with this guy's irrational fear of the government taking away his weapons. Maybe this article that appeared three days ago might offer some clues.
It should be interesting to see where the backlash leads.
Here is video and background of one of his show last month;
Beck and NRA's LaPierre warn of insidious Obama plot to grab our guns
And I wonder if the right wing Pittsburgh Tribune Review may have had anything to do with this guy's irrational fear of the government taking away his weapons. Maybe this article that appeared three days ago might offer some clues.
It should be interesting to see where the backlash leads.
Strong Language Can Poison Weak Minds
(the title of this post is borrowed from a quote by Bill Maher)
I really don't want to use the tragic murder of three police officers in Pittsburgh today to score political points but this man's mind was clearly effected by the propaganda of the far right wing, the NRA, and most likely my ass-clown of the week, Glenn Beck.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Mr. Perkovic said Mr. Poplawski was fearful that his right to own weapons would be taken away but he wasn't a member of an organized group or militia.
"He always said that if someone tried to take his weapons away he would do what his forefathers told him to do and defend himself."
"He said he'll be ready if there's ever an invasion of the United States and that he had stockpiled foods and guns for that eventuality."
This is what can happen when people buy into all the bullshit propaganda and lies that Fox "news" and their ilk are constantly putting out there. This man honestly believes that Obama is trying to take away his constitutional rights. This is exactly the kind of nonsense that Glenn Beck has been spouting over the last few months.
This is an isolated incident, right? How about this from today's New York Times:
...the unrelenting meme being pushed by the right that Obama will mount an assault on the Second Amendment has helped fuel the panic buying of firearms. According to the F.B.I., there have been 1.2 million more requests for background checks of potential gun buyers from November to February than there were in the same four months last year. That’s 5.5 million requests altogether over that period.
Clearly, this irrational fear is being vigilantly fueled by these silly fucks. But you know damn well they will never be held accountable.
I really don't want to use the tragic murder of three police officers in Pittsburgh today to score political points but this man's mind was clearly effected by the propaganda of the far right wing, the NRA, and most likely my ass-clown of the week, Glenn Beck.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Mr. Perkovic said Mr. Poplawski was fearful that his right to own weapons would be taken away but he wasn't a member of an organized group or militia.
"He always said that if someone tried to take his weapons away he would do what his forefathers told him to do and defend himself."
"He said he'll be ready if there's ever an invasion of the United States and that he had stockpiled foods and guns for that eventuality."
This is what can happen when people buy into all the bullshit propaganda and lies that Fox "news" and their ilk are constantly putting out there. This man honestly believes that Obama is trying to take away his constitutional rights. This is exactly the kind of nonsense that Glenn Beck has been spouting over the last few months.
This is an isolated incident, right? How about this from today's New York Times:
...the unrelenting meme being pushed by the right that Obama will mount an assault on the Second Amendment has helped fuel the panic buying of firearms. According to the F.B.I., there have been 1.2 million more requests for background checks of potential gun buyers from November to February than there were in the same four months last year. That’s 5.5 million requests altogether over that period.
Clearly, this irrational fear is being vigilantly fueled by these silly fucks. But you know damn well they will never be held accountable.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Whole New Kind of Crazy
I'm in the car this morning and I turn on the Glenn Beck show and he is going on and on about a "wheat dime", making these Limbaughesque leaps in logic and concluding that starting with Woodrow Wilson in 1916, the liberals have had the goal of turning America into a fascist state. His big proof? The back of the wheat dime has a symbol that is similar to a symbol of fascism and since the dime came into circulation during Wilson's presidency then obviously it was Wilson's idea and there is your proof that liberals have been trying to bring fascism to America. Crystal clear, right?
First of all, if fascism has been the goal of liberalism since 1916 then I'd have to say it has been one big huge giant FAIL. But kudos to the liberals for keeping the dream alive through successive generations. I think Beck has been reading too many Illuminati conspiracy books lately.
Anyway, I laughed it off because it was Beck and he's well known for being a complete idiot. But then, I got back in the car nearly three hours later and he was STILL going on about his conspiracy du jour. So I came home and did a little research on the fascist dime and it turns out that Wilson DID design it all by himself and forced it into circulation in 1916. Yeah, right. Type in wheat dime at Wikipedia.com if you want a somewhat more SANE history of the dime.
Then, I found this video of Beck going on about, you guessed it, wheat dimes and fascism on his tv show last night. Which is funny, because Beck never said a word about fascism when Duh was holding prisoners without charging them, torturing them, illegally spying on innocent Americans, ignoring the Constitution, etc.
What it all comes down to is this. The ridiculous "socialist" tag didn't stick. Next on the right wing nut jobs list of propaganda words to march out? You guessed it, fascist. This is what happens when a political party has no ideas and an eight year path of failure directly behind them.
It would be funny if I didn't see people actually buying into this nonsense. I mean we're going to have to invent a whole new word to describe crazy when referring to Beck. You can't just say he's crazy, you have to say he's "Glenn Beck crazy". But what do we call the people who actually believe the ignorance that oozes out of this guys pores?
I'm done.
Major GOP "Issue" of the Day...an iPod.
Hahahaha. Can't stop laughing. Right wingers going nuts (pardon the redundancy) over Obama giving the Queen an iPod. Hahahaha. That's so funny, so inappropriate, what an idiot. What? She requested the iPod? It's something she really wanted? She's happy with it? Oh crap. That's OK, just leave that part of the story out.
Copy and Paste
Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research -- typo and all
Summary: In purporting to "take a look back" at how the economic recovery plan "grew, and grew, and grew," Fox News' Jon Scott referenced seven dates, as on-screen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods -- all of which came directly from a Senate Republican Communications Center press release. A Fox News on-screen graphic even reproduced a typo contained in the Republican press release.
The full report is here.
Summary: In purporting to "take a look back" at how the economic recovery plan "grew, and grew, and grew," Fox News' Jon Scott referenced seven dates, as on-screen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods -- all of which came directly from a Senate Republican Communications Center press release. A Fox News on-screen graphic even reproduced a typo contained in the Republican press release.
The full report is here.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Feeling Minnesota, Part 5
I've been avoiding revisiting this topic but the following tweet from this swine can not go unchallenged.
newtgingrichMy hunch is republican jim tedisco wins in new york special when absentee ballots are counted Republicans have to fear franken like theft
That's right, according to Newt, Republicans have to fear a Franken like theft. A Franken like theft? Newt is referring to the Minnesota Senate race in which incumbent Norm Coleman initially held a slight lead and encouraged Franken to concede in order to "save the tax payers" from having to pay a minimal fee for a recount.
Then a funny thing happened. Once ALL of the votes were counted, Franken had the lead. So of course Coleman did the right thing and conceded, right? I know, I crack myself up. No, instead he has gone legal again and again and again only to be defeated in court again and again and again.
Just yesterday, a three judge panel ruled in favor of Franken. The response from Coleman's camp? “This means we’re going to the [state] Supreme Court and, if need be, the federal courts,” the Coleman source said.
So this is the "theft" that Gingrich and his ilk are afraid of. The kind where all of the votes get counted, the people have spoken, and their candidate loses and they can't find a legal loophole to try to steal a victory. Theft indeed. If you want to see an example of theft, please refer to Bush v Gore.
And the mere fact that the Tedisco race is so close in a district that has been ruled by Republicans since forever, has to scare the shit out of the party of no.
But back to Coleman. Take it to the Supreme Court if you want. It doesn't matter. You will lose. You lost. You are a loser. And a sore loser at that. You lost to a frickin' comedian. And now people are laughing at YOU. But I'm sure you're used to it by now.
newtgingrichMy hunch is republican jim tedisco wins in new york special when absentee ballots are counted Republicans have to fear franken like theft
That's right, according to Newt, Republicans have to fear a Franken like theft. A Franken like theft? Newt is referring to the Minnesota Senate race in which incumbent Norm Coleman initially held a slight lead and encouraged Franken to concede in order to "save the tax payers" from having to pay a minimal fee for a recount.
Then a funny thing happened. Once ALL of the votes were counted, Franken had the lead. So of course Coleman did the right thing and conceded, right? I know, I crack myself up. No, instead he has gone legal again and again and again only to be defeated in court again and again and again.
Just yesterday, a three judge panel ruled in favor of Franken. The response from Coleman's camp? “This means we’re going to the [state] Supreme Court and, if need be, the federal courts,” the Coleman source said.
So this is the "theft" that Gingrich and his ilk are afraid of. The kind where all of the votes get counted, the people have spoken, and their candidate loses and they can't find a legal loophole to try to steal a victory. Theft indeed. If you want to see an example of theft, please refer to Bush v Gore.
And the mere fact that the Tedisco race is so close in a district that has been ruled by Republicans since forever, has to scare the shit out of the party of no.
But back to Coleman. Take it to the Supreme Court if you want. It doesn't matter. You will lose. You lost. You are a loser. And a sore loser at that. You lost to a frickin' comedian. And now people are laughing at YOU. But I'm sure you're used to it by now.
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