I declare war on President Obama and his failed policies of the past.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats. -- H.L. Mencken

President Barack Obama has come out of the closet and shown himself to be a flaming liberal bent on destroying the works of President Ronald Reagan, and that, my friends, is a call to arms.

I knew we were in for some trouble, but drew a sigh of relief at his cabinet picks and had no concrete reason for high alarm due to his broad and general campaign outline of himself that he drew and my natural optimism and willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt. But, with announcing his disdain for the free market and his incredible new New Deal programs he outlined Thursday night, he has shown himself to be the quintessential, far left, liberal, big goverment, tax and spend politician on an even grander scale than LBJ.


This is going too far. This is reason to sit upright and pay strict attention. This is a man intent on stealing from the riches of America relying on the old, failed policies of the past, that have done nothing but bring destruction and financial ruin to millions of Americans. And I will use every last ounce of my political strength to oppose my president. This is war.

President Barack Obama is showing himself to be cruel to the poor, and the middle class. For his policies will bankrupt this nation and lead to quadruple the economic turmoil we have seen in the past 18 months. It will devastate the nation and then the world. Freedom is at risk here, prosperity is at risk here. Our very way of life is at risk here.


And I'm not alone in my dire assessment of our new president. There are literally millions of Americans out there who remember the blessings that Reaganism brought to our great nation, who will not sit idly by while the American way is trampled by the lousy tenants of liberalism. This will be a grassroots uprising of the highest order and we will take no prisoners. This is war and the vast majority of Americans will stop this horrible political agenda. Rise up, my brothers and sisters, now is the time, our time to put this Anti-Reagan president and his congressional ilk where they belong: in the ash heap of history.

Slash and burn.

Guest Blogger: What is the most important thing in life?

Here is one of my Twitter friends answering my very important question...


A Reflection on Parenting

by

Vered (aka v_a_k on twitter)



During one of my first wanderings out and about in Twittervile, I came upon Timaay's question: "Ok, tweeps, in one word, what is the most important thing in life...". .. With hardly a pause, I replied "Parenting". Upon further reflection and the need to elaborate on this without the 140 characters twit-limit, I am happy to endorse that knee jerk response.


Beyond the fact that...

-- giving birth to my son was the single most sensation-packed event I have experienced to date - physical and emotional,

-- becoming a mother has brought about in me a transformation not equaled by any other, redefining the relationship with my own parents and giving me a new perspective on my priorities,

-- the feelings - joy and pain, pride and guilt, love (and yes, even sometimes hate) - are most intense within the relationship with my son...


Beyond all else, I realize that by producing life and nurturing it, I have been granted the opportunity to have a concrete and meaningful impact on the world.



Few of us are born with a gift that allows us to paint "Starry Nights", to compose "The Four Seasons", or to write "The Great Gatsby" - masterpieces that acquired a life of their own and have transcended the lifetime of their creators. But by setting forth and multiplying, each one of us can create an equally, if not more beautiful masterpiece.



As I at times struggle with the desire to "make a difference" through either work, socializing or political activism and the need to tame this desire on account of my shortcomings and the limits of the energy I can muster, I ultimately recognize that my most important sphere of influence is my home and my family. By creating an environment wherein my child can grow to be a productive, responsible, kind and caring person, I make all the difference in the world. And if I am blessed and he grows and matures in such a way as to choose and be able to set forth and multiply as well, then the impact lingers. My essence, my soul - and those of my fore-bearers, manage to survive yet another day, and we will exist in a future in which our names have been long forgotten.


Life persists and I have done the work of God. What more can I ask for?


For comments and more writings visit the Crimson Court
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http://vakoriski.livejournal.com/

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Touching Eternity

How the mystery of God enters my mundane and profane life...


Sometimes when I say the last amen of the Rosary prayer I feel I'm at one with God & the universe. It started in my early days of praying this repetitious prayer when I used a small software application on my home computer that I downloaded for free after a google search. Its amazing the doors that Google unlocks for you...

The application had you hit the amen button as you got to the end of the Rosary and it would take you to the next prayer. When I hit the final amen of the concluding prayer the entire application would disappear, leaving me with my simple PC desktop. The suddenness of that act would transport me to a place where I immediately felt the peace of God and the curious sense of being wonderfully in touch with his presence. I would feel a deep sense of well being and that I was in touch with the entire universe, at one with it, and with its creator.

The feeling often pervades my senses even when I haphazardly pray the Rosary at work in my casino on a dead game where I'd have plenty of time to muddle through what I could remember of the mysteries of that particular day. I'd be standing there at the prayer's conclusion feeling my invisible senses expanding out to the entire universe.

All this sounds grand and wonderfully full of mystery but its always quite subtle and often missed as the profane concerns of my work day would block me from contact with the invisible world. But on occasion, I'd be wrapped in the mystery and sublime beauty of prayer, in touch with my spirit and all of creation.

What this all means in the long run of my stumbling, sinful life I'm not quite sure, but I'm grateful that a little bit of heaven can pervade my earthly life by praying the simple, repetitious Rosary.
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I think I have a chance, folks, for a real good job...

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My career coach/sponsor, aka my mom, just had lunch with some potential "juice." Telling her about me, an aspiring dealer. That's the most my mom had done to advance my career since I started this Vegas Baby dream.


It is a bit less immediate than I'd prefer in a couple ways. The contact isn't one in a real position of authority, she's a dealer at my fave casino, and the job opening won't appear until at least next December. Sooo, its not like a VP is gonna recommend me for a position, but, another dealer got hired via my mom through this gal merely by listing her as a personal reference on her job application and once the casino at City Center opens up it will be a rather high paying job.


I remember this MGM Grand dealer, with an incredibly extroverted personality, when I was a pit clerk almost two years ago whom I had told of my dealing ambitions, would constantly tell me we would work together at City Center, once it opened up. Well, maybe, that dream will come true. My Vegas Baby ambitions... siiiigh, that would be nice to realize!

Ok, my FIRST EVER New Year's Resolutions

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Folks, I have never made New Year's Resolutions. They always seemed silly to me, knowing how many times they are broken. But also, I think it's a feature of my ADD, meaning the difficulty we have with long or medium range goals- for our brains they are veeery difficult.

But having successfully reached my half marathon goal with months of preparation and lots of hard work over a sustained period of time I now feel confident that I can make and keep them.

Soooo, the other day I tweeted two resolutions. To run at least two half marathons if not a full, and to lose another 17 pounds. My weight goal is designed to bring me to a BMI rating of normal weight by age 50, 18 months from now. I told a friend at work that by age 50 I want the body of a 30 year old....

And, by God, I think I will do it. I originally decided to run a marathon to build my character, to gain control over my body and strengthen my soul and it is working! Woo hoo! I am so excited and deeply moved.

For a man who's neurological makeup makes things like organization and planning nearly impossible without lots of coaching, this half marathon achievement is revolutionary in my life and how I view my abilities. A few years ago I had a rush of insight and blurted out to my mom, as she saw some employment success building in my life (after 25 years of floundering in the work force), that I was a "late bloomer." The recognition of truth made her laugh out loud.

It takes me a while to get some things right, but I have learned, that at times, I am very persistent and things are starting to come together for me I am happy to report.

There's something else cooking in the back of my mind. I just read with misty eyes a Runner's World article about a gal who started a program for homeless men to improve their lives by running a half marathon. Being one who's life is being enhanced by endurance running and one who volunteers a couple times a week for the Las Vegas Catholic Worker which serves the poor and homeless, where I also live and am taking a greater role in its operation lately, this has profound meaning to me. Perhaps I may inspire some homeless men to overcome their demons the same way I overcame some of mine. We'll see...
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My first half marathon- the longest 3 hours and 17 minutes of my life UPDATED

Well, after 6 months of training (and 15 pounds), I finished in 6,942nd place in the Las Vegas Half Marathon in less time than I was predicting. That surprised me because I walked miles 11 and 12. Aside from my calf not causing a problem I am most happy that I actually ran the last mile and finished with a relatively strong kick. I must have recalled a first marathon story where the writer said she thought all the people she was passing on the last mile were stupid for not walking the previous mile so they would be fresher for the finish where all the spectators were, because that's exactly what I did.

I set everything up before I went to sleep to make sure I forgot nothing- easy to do when you have ADD.
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I am convinced that running slowly, a 14 minute per mile pace, is more painful than running my natural pace of about 10 minutes per mile. I feel each step much more when I am just jogging. It would feel much better if I actually ran the race.

A few minutes before the start.

I was dreading the cold, having seen the erroneous forecast of 38 F. It never got below 43 and there was absolutely no wind, although it was overcast I saw once the sun rose. I had complained for weeks about the marathon being started so early. The New York Marathon started at 10 am which is perfect for a cold winter-like day. I moaned that the Las Vegas Marathon was only doing this so they could do the fireworks thing and castigated it to be mere Las Vegas hype. But running at that temperature wasn't half bad. I did hear, though, that last year it was too cold.

The start was nicer for us Las Vegas Roadrunners because we were given head of the line privileges. They had a ballroom just for us to gather in and 15 minutes before the start they marched down to a corral just behind the elites and, of course, in true Las Vegas style, the Running Elvi.

I was amazed that I ignored the excitement of the start and the million runners passing me by as I jogged my tortoise pace even during the first mile. I jogged from mile 2 to 5 with my young padawan co-worker/running partner, Missy. She also has ADD and was chomping at the bit to go faster than my tortoise jog. I was convinced she needed to stay at my pace because she had never ran farther than 5 miles and she had cheap running shoes. After 4 miles of me chiding her I told her to go ahead but to walk for a minute every mile marker and not run too fast. She did fine though, finishing 17 minutes ahead of me.



The first two miles it seemed everybody was passing me up. But after six miles there were a lot of walkers and I was passing quite a few half marathoners to my great relief. A middle aged man doesn't need constant reminders of his weaknesses. I was taken back by how this one older man was walking almost as fast as I was running. I called out encouragement to him and he promptly picked up his pace and left me behind- not so good for my male ego.

At around 6 miles I also saw a gal who had a horrible pigeon-footed stride and asked her if she had the right running shoes for her overpronation. She said she did but that these were her "comfies." I hoped they didn't hurt her too much by the end of the 13 miles.

I saw a guy about my age who had medicated pain reliever patches on his calves and asked him about his calf problems. He had tightness like I did. A mile later a younger gal overhead me commenting about my calves and indicated she had the same problem and that was why she was walking. I am trying to find a definitive solution to my too tight right calf.


My best friend, Mark, was the only one to come out and support me. He is the one I think about when reflecting on the proverb about a friend who sticks closer than a brother. After a couple of phone calls (yes, I used my smartphone extensively on my run) I told him to forget about trying to see me both halfway in the run and at the finish line. I did make my mom promise after the run was over to come see me if I run the LV full marathon next year.

While I was walking I met a young Canadian gal who was limping. She told me she had IT band problems and it went out on her at mile 10. I asked if she was doing treatment for her and she assured me that her physical therapist who does this fancy metal device therapy on her (she showed me the big bruise on her thigh to prove it) told her she would be just fine. Poor honey....


I had used electrical tape to print TIMAAY on my shirt and got a few shout outs. Well, this pair of girls shouted it out to me and they looked remarkably familiar. I wracked my brain and then recalled they were two very fun customers of mine on the blackjack table the previous Friday night! Such a coincidence! They were there supporting one of their mothers' who had just passed them doing the full marathon. We walked together for a few minutes laughing about their time at my casino and how one of them got kicked out of Harrah's because she resembled a prostitute Security had previously busted.



So, after 30 minutes of doubt-filled walking at miles 11 and 12 about my ability to continue running I took my last of 4 gels and started running again for the last 1.1 miles. I slowly built up my speed closely monitoring how my calf felt and since it was not tight at all at this point I ramped up to a 10 minute mile. That went so well that once I turned the last corner at the rear of Mandalay Bay with the highly motivating Japanese taiko drums doing a hundred BOOMS a minute, I turned it on full bore for a healthy kick.


I high-fived 6 Running Elvi and promptly went way over to the left just next to the drummers, my heart pounding and pace picking up. I searched for where Mark said he would be, about 50 feet after the taiko drummers and it seemed like I searched every face for 200 feet and I wondered if he had turned away from the exact minute that I approached. But then I saw him and high-fived him too with a big grin on my face.

I turned it up even higher as I was about 50 yards from the finish line and stared at the digital clock readout as I crossed that was shining 3:17:05. I crossed myself like I saw the Kenyan runner who won the Beijing Olympic Marathon and slowed down to get my medal.

When I was walking those two miles with aching feet, a sore back and heavy fatigue I sent a twitter update wondering how on earth people did this for over 26 miles. But it was only a few minutes later that my mind was devising a strategy of how I could train to overcome my specific challenges for a full marathon. I truly believe that endurance athletes are a bit unhinged.

That reminds me of one of my favorite parts of The Spirit of the Marathon documentary, that I drove to LA to see, where this lady is standing at about the 25th mile with a big sign reading, YOU ARE ALL CRAZY.

So Mark and I went to have breakfast and then I came home with 2 bags of crushed ice and took a way-too-cold ice bath. I really felt I was crazy as I was preparing the tub for an icy dip. I promptly learned that while 10 lbs of cubed ice is not enough, 20 lbs of crushed ice is far too much. Parts of my anatomy were in physical pain! UPDATE: But let me tell you about the advantage this gives a runner. The next day my legs were only a little stiff, no pain or fatigue at all. Not one bit. I see now that my legs feel better after a 13 mile run with an ice bath than they do after a 5 miler with no ice bath. Apparently the cold not only reduces inflammation but it forces out the lactic acid filled blood and then when the muscles warm up only fresh, clean blood fills them up. A neat trick, I am toying with the idea of an ice bath even after my 5 milers. They felt that good.

So, my running team is gonna meet for another round starting Sunday, January 4th, and I'm thinking about running the full marathon for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon on the last day of May.

Here we go again....

UPDATE: Oh, and the man who sold me my awesome running shoes introduced me to the idea of opening up an Athlete's Foot franchised store here in Vegas. He says the valley is crying out for three more stores. Folks, the first job I ever loved, and there are only two, was running a specialty retail store. So, I am dreaming a bit about becoming a Las Vegas merchant of athletic wear. Hmmm....
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Counterattack

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Well, I really have to congratulate Barack Obama on a clear victory last night. And to all his supporters, especially to black Americans, this can do nothing but make them feel they are a solid part of the American story.


I was dismayed when I saw that McCain lost and was getting close to panicking when I heard two co-workers say it was a landslide. For a couple hours the implications were staggering me. But I looked it up in Wikipedia when I got home and was relieved to find out an electoral landslide was more like Reagan's 489 to Carter's 49, much different from Obama's current 349 to McCain's 161.

Whew, so, America is not giving the Democrats a mandate from the people. They haven't totally repudiated conservatism, the Republican Party and Sarah Palin completely.


Then the fears swirled around in my head: economic ruin, military defeats, no freedom of speech from the fairness doctrine, self-prostituting judges, 24 hour Chris Matthews and a return to partial birth abortions, among others....

Then came the impulse to declare myself as Obama's loyal opposition, veeeery loyal to him and veeeery opposed to his every liberal thrust. That brought me to thinking more and more about the future which caused me to consider the past. What's the best thing to do when losing a battle? Counterattack!


In my opinion, the best response we could take following a disaster of a liberal presidency after he totally tanks the economy- and I'm not talking 6% unemployment and one quarter of economic downturn, like we have now, I'm talking about double digit unemployment, widespread company bankruptcies, quarter after quarter of negative growth, sort of like stagflation under Jimmy Carter, where the whole country is dominated by a general malaise, then it would be up to us to reassert conservative principles into the public narrative.


So, God help us, true Republican reformers in 2012, like Sarah Palin, people who have already KICKED corrupt Republican ASS, can lay into the Republican leadership and the Democrats too, reform government on the federal level and usher in a new Reaganism, that may just provide decades, once again, of freedom and economic prosperity. It could just happen.




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