23 December 09, midday
It is rainy and nasty outside, though much if not all of the snow is gone. 
Workout notes the pool was closed (no lifeguard), so I did weights, 1.25 miles of running, and about 6 miles of elliptical/stair master stuff.
Breakdown: weights: dumbbells: curls: 2 sets of 10 with 25, military: 10 with 35, 10 with 40, bench: 10 with 50, 10 with 55.
Lat pulldowns: 2 sets of 10 with 120
Pull ups: 2 sets of 5
Bench press (barbell): 5 x 135, 2 x 155, 1 x 175 (not easy).
I am weak.
Then I did some yoga stretches.
Then 12 minutes on the treadmill (1.25 miles; varied the speed from 10 mpm to 8:57 mpm)
2.05 miles on the elliptical, 2.20 miles on the stairmaster (really focused on “no rails” as much as possible on the first 10 minutes), 1.6 miles on the elliptical (“gluteal” program)
Injury: some slight pain at the end of the stairmaster; it went away with stretches.
Comment:
(hat tip: Alan Colmes)
End of the Year Posts: Favorite Issues Blogs
Ok, the grades are in, the family is away and so I can just type some silly posts (yes, I will get some research done this break!)
This post will be the first in the series of “the best X” of the year.
Blogroll These blogs/websites were my favorites of the year (in no particular order)
Daily Kos. Yes, my fellow progressives sometimes have me reaching for the pink bismuth; you do get a lot of noise from those who have never faced the challenges of holding elective office. But it is also the kind of place where you can make a quantum mechanics joke…and not only will some others get it, others might even correct you on a nuance!
As far as the politics, this is an example of Daily Kos at its best.
Paul Krugman Hard hitting and insightful. Here is one of his articles on economics in which he blisters the….over-reliance on mathematical models!
Robert Reich No, he doesn’t write as much as Krugman does, but his articles are well worth reading. Here is one example. Yes, it is critical of President Obama’s caution on economic matters.
Legal Satyricon Yes, this civil liberties attorney uses over the top language, and it is very easy to end up on his “asshat” list. But he does a great job of explaining the legal issues to the lay-person and of pointing out the harm that well intentioned censorship can cause. Here is an example of his discussing obscenity laws.
Why Evolution is True Jerry Coyne is a world class scientist and a best selling author. His blog keeps you up to date on new discoveries in evolution and new results in zoology. He also pulls no punches on his assault on superstition.
The Conservation Report: not updated all that often but the Animal Camouflage series is fun!
Cosmic Variance: great updates on cosmology and astronomy, with an occasional dash of humor.
538.com: Nate Silver’s excellent statistics and politics blog. This is a sample of the well thought out, evidence based ideas that you’ll find here.
3 Quarks Daily: ok this is a link dump, but it provides links to a wide variety of articles on a variety of topics:
example one, example two, example three. They also have stuff on the arts (which I usually skip over); this is sort of like a Utne reader of the internet.
Schneier on Securty I am not a security professional, but most of these articles are interesting to read. Here is the article that lead me to his blog to begin with.
Fail Blog: good for the belly laugh.
Of course, these aren’t the only blogs that I read and follow.
Contestant Fail « FAIL Blog: Epic Fail Pictures and Videos of Owned, Pwnd and Fail Moments
Health Care Reaction: Circular Firing Squad at Daily Kos
During the campaign for President, then Senator Obama did put out his plan, which you can read here:
Quality, Affordable Choices
If You Don’t Have Insurance, the Obama Plan:* Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.
* Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.
* Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.
* Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.
* Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.
Looking at the bills in Congress, it appears that the Senate bill has 4 out of 5 elements, whereas the House has 5 out of 5 (albeit a weak public option).
When asked about criticism of the Senate health care bill, the President had this to say:
Although Obama noted in the interview that “the most important thing we did this year was to ensure that the financial system did not collapse,” health-care reform dominated his agenda and will stand as at least one pillar of the legacy he leaves behind. He has come under sharp criticism for the size and shape of the legislation, including from former Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean, who has said he would prefer that the Senate defeat the bill rather than pass what he considers weak legislation.
In the interview, Obama vigorously defended the legislation, saying he is “not just grudgingly supporting the bill. I am very enthusiastic about what we have achieved.”
“Nowhere has there been a bigger gap between the perceptions of compromise and the realities of compromise than in the health-care bill,” Obama said. “Every single criteria for reform I put forward is in this bill.”
In listing those priorities, he cited the 30 million uninsured Americans projected to receive coverage, estimated savings of more than $1 trillion over the next two decades, a “patients’ bill of rights on steroids,” and tax breaks to help small businesses pay for employee coverage.
Those elements are in the House and Senate versions of the legislation; their competing proposals will have to be reconciled in conference committee next year. The House bill includes a government-run insurance plan favored by progressive Democrats; the Senate version does not. “I didn’t campaign on the public option,” Obama said in the interview.
Throughout the health-care debate, the president has declined to weigh in with specific preferences. The tactic has exasperated his supporters, but his advisers have deemed it key in keeping the bill moving through a balky Congress. Obama called the public option his preferred choice to ensure broad coverage and provide cost-cutting competition to the private insurers. But he has never demanded that it be part of a final bill.
“We don’t feel that the core elements to help the American people have been compromised in any significant way,” Obama said. “Do these pieces of legislation have exactly everything I want? Of course not. But they have the things that are necessary to reduce costs for businesses, families and the government.”
So, what we see here is a President who made health care reform a big part of his platform, put out the plan that he would push for, and now we see the plans that Congress has came up with.
Sure, one can criticize the plans, or say that the President didn’t do a good job (though I wonder how he was to get conservative Senators to vote like liberals or to use reconciliation measures on a bill that was losing popularity but never mind).
Surely, people knew that the plan he proposed as a candidate was just that: a plan; what he was going to strive for, right?
But oh no; now we have the liberal circular firing squad at Daily Kos screaming that the President is lying, sold us out, or whatever.
There are scattered voices of reason here and there:
A candidate does not “campaign on” every single detail in every policy position paper they put out in a campaign, or mention in a debate. They campaign on the things that they present as their major priorities and reasons for running. Barack Obama did not run for president to establish a public option, and it was not a central plank in his campaign. So he is being entirely truthful.
As for the observation that every single priority he stated was in the bill, that’s true. Not everything he proposed in the campaign was one of his priorities for health care reform. These are the principles he stated as priorities. The public option was not one of them.
But when I get disgusted with people at Daily Kos…I see this:
22 December 09 (noon)
I thought that I’d be getting more done, but I spent much of the morning hassling with travel plans, health ID cards and getting my teeth cleaned.
Workout notes Squats: 45, 95, 95 without the Smith Machine, then 135. I am still slightly sore from Sunday and so I took it easy.
Then 1.2 miles of running on the treadmill, then 5 miles on the AMT.
Yoga afterward.
Note: when I woke up this morning, my right calf was stiff.
NFL The Dallas Cowboys cut their struggling kicker. They picked up the kicker who missed a key field goal that would have all but won the Redskin-Saints game…..and who missed a 39 yarder that could have won the first Cowboy-Redskin game (ended up 7-6, Dallas). Note that the kicker they picked up is 18-21 this year which is an outstanding percentage; his 3 misses: 2 against Dallas, one against the Saints.
Kickers are held to a different standard than everyone else.
Other stuff
I finished Gwen Ifill’s Book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama and might write a detailed review later. For now, I’ll say that it was an interesting commentary on African American politics in this day and age with the tension between the old, civil rights oriented people and the newer generation (who are seeking more or less what most other politicians are seeking). One of the quotes from the book (paraphrased) says it best: “In days past, we wanted to be able to eat at the diner. Now, we want to be able to own the diner.” She uses the term “sandpaper politics” as a metaphor for the abrasiveness and the rubbing of old wounds.
One “obvious” point she makes is that the current Republican Party is way out of touch with African Americans. Here is an example:
Did you catch that? If you did, you are probably not a conservative; conservatives wouldn’t see what was wrong with what Senator Graham said.
But liberals, especially non-white liberals would immediately zero in on his remark:
I have 12 percent unemployment in South Carolina. My state is on its knees. I have 31 percent African American population in South Carolina.
You see: having blacks in your state is listed as being a part of a problem!
Sure, you might reply “aren’t African Americans, on the average, poorer than others and hence wouldn’t they make up a proportionally larger slice of those eligible for Medicaid”? That may be true (I haven’t checked the numbers) but HOW someone says something makes a big difference: they way he said it implied that African Americans were the problem instead of poverty.
Had he said “my state has X percent who would be eligible for Medicaid” or “my state has a poverty rate of Y” it would have been fine. But he had so single out African Americans.
21 December 09
Workout notes 2200 yard swim; 500 of back/free, 500 of side/free, 500 of drill/swim (fins). Then I tried some 100s on the 2: 4 in 1:39, last in 1:42. I just “didn’t have it”. Then 200 cool down.
Next, weights (no squats; still sore); dumbbells: curls: 2 x 10 with 25, military 10 with 35, 8 with 40, bench press: 10 with 50, 8 with 55. Then lat pulls (2 sets), pull ups (5 reps, two sets).
Then 12 minutes running on the treadmill (1.2 miles), 12 minutes AMT (1 mile), 10 minutes elliptical (1.15), 10 minutes stairmaster (1.05).
I also did some light stretching and yoga.
I can’t make too many excuses as Sunday’s swim was faster; the weights went ok though, as did the run. My blood volume is still down from the donation; I can tell because my hands get cold easily.
Injury wise: I was stiff after the run section but the AMT loosened it up.
Other Stuff
Those who know me and have known me probably remember this:
(background: go here)
Well, the person behind this didn’t bother me further but ran into trouble with the law. First, he was taken to Chicago to face federal charges (for intimidation of a juror in the Matthew Hale case); those charges were eventually dropped. He then was taken to Roanoke, Virgina to face other charges.
You can read the whole series of articles here. None of this involved me.
Well, this time a jury found him guilty of four of seven counts:
Done in by his own words, Internet hatemonger William A. White was convicted Friday of threatening people from Virginia Beach to Canada.
The verdict, however, was not a total repudiation of White’s assertion that the First Amendment should protect his incendiary speech. Of seven counts against White, the federal jury acquitted him of three.
White, who will be sentenced later, could face up to 35 years in prison. [...]
From the defendant’s e-mails, letters, telephone calls and online postings, the jury heard time and time again the graphic and racist rhetoric that spewed from the 32-year-old’s home computer and cellphone.
Dressed in the same black, three-piece suit that he had worn throughout the trial, White showed no emotion as the verdicts were read.
At least for now, the convictions will silence a man called “possibly the loudest and most obnoxious neo-Nazi leader in America ” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.
They also were met with “a sigh of relief” from a community that has been dealing with White’s campaign of harassment since 2004, said Brenda Hale, president of Roanoke’s NAACP chapter.
“At last, justice has been served,” said Hale, whom White once referred to as a “n—-r in need of lynching.”
In closing arguments to the jury, Justice Department attorney John Richmond spent more than an hour recounting the personal attacks and death wishes that White leveled against a bank employee from Missouri, a nationally syndicated columnist from Maryland, a university administrator from Delaware, a small-town mayor from New Jersey, a human rights lawyer from Canada and two tenants of an apartment complex in Virginia Beach.
“Defendant White does not get the last word,” Richmond told the jury. You all do. And the last word is guilty.”
However, White was found not guilty of making threats against Leonard Pitts, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald, and Charles Tyson, the former mayor of South Harrison township in New Jersey. [...]
The third count that White was acquitted of was a charge of threatening a bank employee with the intent to extort. While the jury convicted White of threatening Citibank employee Jennifer Petsche, it found the evidence lacking on a second charge alleging he did so to resolve a dispute with the bank over his credit card account.
During the eight-day trial in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, the jury heard testimony about six incidents that fit the following pattern: White would learn of a controversy that involved race in the news, look up the telephone numbers and addresses of the people involved, and then send them e-mails with hateful commentary calling for their demise in one way or another.
He often followed up by posting the information on overthrow.com, a Web site with a following of like-minded racists.
For example, when White became enraged about a diversity awareness program at the University of Delaware, he called the office of an administrator and identified himself as the commander of the American National Socialist Workers Party. He them told the assistant who answered the phone that anyone who thinks the way Kathleen Kerr did should be shot, and that he would hunt her down.
And when black residents of a Virginia Beach apartment complex filed a housing discrimination lawsuit against their white landlord, White waded into the dispute with a letter to the residents addressed to “Whiny Section 8 n—-rs.”
“You may get one over on your landlord this time, and you may not,” he wrote. “But know that the white community has noticed you, and we know that you are and never will be anything other than a dirty parasite — and that our patience with you and the government that coddles you runs thin.”
One resident of the apartment complex testified that White’s comments frightened her so badly that she packed her belongings in 15 minutes and fled her home.
Interestingly enough, it appeared to me that the jury took into account the reaction of the victims more than what the defendant actually did; that is why the conviction on the apartment complex issue surprised me a bit.
Bottom line: there is a line between making threats and free speech. What the defendant did to me (passing out flyers) was clearly free speech; after all, I do much the same thing when I work on a political campaign (though I hope that what I pass out isn’t full of lies and falsehoods, as this flyer was.)
In case you are wondering what the line is, here is the set of instructions from the judge to the jury:
Jury instructions for true threat definition:
For you to find the defendant guilty of each count, you must find that the communication issued in that count contains true threat. The First Amendment does not protect true threat. Whether a communication in fact contains a true threat, is determined in accordance with the interpretation of a reasonable recipient familiar with the context of the communication.
The government does not have to prove that the defendant subjectively intended for the recipients to understand the communication as a threat. The speaker need not have intended to carry out the threat or have the ability to carry out the threat. The government does not have to prove that the person who received the threat was actually placed in fear of harm.
On the other hand, a statement does not become a true threat simply because it instills fear in the listener. You may, however, consider the reaction of any recipient in determining whether a reasonable person would consider the message a true threat. A true threat is a serious expression of an intent to injure the person of another or to commit an act of unlawful violence against a particular individual or a group. A true threat is a serious threat as opposed to mere idle or careless talk, exaggeration or something said in a joking matter.
A true threat is more than mere political hyperbole or vehement caustic and unpleasantly sharp political attacks or crude offensive and abusive methods of stating political opposition. Identifying and providing personal information on a Web site standing alone, while it may be offensive or disturbing to those listed, is protected by the First Amendment. The mere advocacy of the use of force or violence does not remove speech from the protection of the First Amendment. To be a true threat the communication does not need to be directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action.
You may find that a particular statement is a true threat if you find that the statement was made under such circumstances that an ordinary reasonable person who was familiar with the context of the communication would interpret it as an expression of an intent to injure the recipient or injure another person.
Rep. Randy Forbes’s hero (R-Va): a Mass Murderer
Joshua 6:20
20
2 As the horns blew, the people began to shout. When they heard the signal horn, they raised a tremendous shout. The wall collapsed, and the people stormed the city in a frontal attack and took it.
21
They observed the ban by putting to the sword all living creatures in the city: men and women, young and old, as well as oxen, sheep and asses.
Joshua 8: 15-25
The king of Ai saw this, and he and all his army came out very early in the morning to engage Israel in battle at the descent toward the Arabah, not knowing that there was an ambush behind the city.
15
Joshua and the main body of the Israelites fled in seeming defeat toward the desert,
16
till the last of the soldiers in the city had been called out to pursue them.
17
Since they were drawn away from the city, with every man engaged in this pursuit of Joshua and the Israelites, not a soldier remained in Ai (or Bethel), and the city was open and unprotected.
18
Then the LORD directed Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your power.” Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city,
19
and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose from their post, rushed in, captured the city, and immediately set it on fire.
20
By the time the men of Ai looked back, the smoke from the city was already sky-high. Escape in any direction was impossible, because the Israelites retreating toward the desert now turned on their pursuers;
21
for when Joshua and the main body of Israelites saw that the city had been taken from ambush and was going up in smoke, they struck back at the men of Ai.
22
Since those in the city came out to intercept them, the men of Ai were hemmed in by Israelites on either side, who cut them down without any fugitives or survivors
23
except the king, whom they took alive and brought to Joshua.
24
All the inhabitants of Ai who had pursued the Israelites into the desert were slain by the sword there in the open, down to the last man. Then all Israel returned and put to the sword those inside the city.
25
There fell that day a total of twelve thousand men and women, the entire population of Ai.
Most of the book goes on in a similar manner…this is who these superstitious clowns see as a hero.
Senator Coburn: people ought to pray that someone can’t make tonight’s vote
Now exactly why are we supposed to take people who think like this seriously?
20 December 09
Workout notes First, 3100 yards of swimming. 500 warm up, 500 of drill/swim (fins), 5 x 200 on the 3:30 (3:19, 3:16, 3:15, 3:16, 3:15), 100 back, 5 x 100 IM, 5 x 100 (alternate paddle/free).
Then I jogged 1 mile on the treadmill (12 minutes, 1.15 miles), then did 6 miles on the elliptical. I had to force myself to quit the workout; it is almost as if I feel that “if I didn’t aggravate the injury, I didn’t do enough”.
I got to talk to a couple of friends while I was on the elliptical.
Injury wise: I felt some stiffness at first but not much more than that; however my feet hurt just a bit. I need to wear good running shoes again.
In the pool, I was a bit surly when a couple of people appeared to challenge me: one person with fins, another who kept up with me and actually passed me…for all of 1 length.
There was one kick-butt swimmer and another very attractive young woman who swam as if he hates the water and wants to beat it up.
Then there was this old guy in the far lane who usually swims for about an hour straight on the weekend; I doubt if he covers much more than 1000-1500 yards. He lifts his head, “plunks” his arm into the water and mostly just splashes in place. But he is ever faithful; there almost every weekend.
Attitude I’ve been told by more than one person that the Rat character reminds them of me???
Social Did you know that 1 in 8 Americans are on food stamps?
With food stamp use at record highs and climbing every month, a program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children.
t has grown so rapidly in places so diverse that it is becoming nearly as ordinary as the groceries it buys. More than 36 million people use inconspicuous plastic cards for staples like milk, bread and cheese, swiping them at counters in blighted cities and in suburbs pocked with foreclosure signs.
Virtually all have incomes near or below the federal poverty line, but their eclectic ranks testify to the range of people struggling with basic needs. They include single mothers and married couples, the newly jobless and the chronically poor, longtime recipients of welfare checks and workers whose reduced hours or slender wages leave pantries bare.
So, has the stigma gone down? Well, it depends…on whether YOU are the ones using them or if someone else is using them:
Two profiled users, both fathers and husbands, admit to using the stamps in desperation but one is too ashamed to tell anyone and the other sees his situation as different from the irresponsible, freeloading poor (women) who are relying on the benefits. We’ve got a long way to go to help these men hold their heads up high and see the solidarity with other Americans struggling to get by.
Check out the following quotes:
It’s embarrassing,” said Mr. Dawson, 29, a taciturn man with a wispy goatee who is so uneasy about the monthly benefit of $300 that he has not told his parents. “I always thought it was people trying to milk the system. But we just felt like we really needed the help right now.” [...]
Like many new beneficiaries here, Mr. Dawson argues that people often abuse the program and is quick to say he is different. While some people “choose not to get married, just so they can apply for benefits,” he is a married, churchgoing man who works and owns his home. While “some people put piles of steaks in their carts,” he will not use the government’s money for luxuries like coffee or soda. “To me, that’s just morally wrong,” he said.
See: if it happens to me, it is different! I kind of wonder what “churchgoing” is supposed to represent.
Of course, there are some that abuse the system; surf to the article for an example.
About Blueollie
(click to go to whitehouse.gov)
President Obama’s address to the National Academy of Science.
President Obama takes on Republican questions.
(Yes, that is part of President O too….grumble…)
How well is President Obama doing at keeping his campaign promises? Here is an even handed running assessment.
This is my online diary. My facebook stuff is here.
I use this blog for the following purposes:
- To keep track of my training. I train for ultramarathons (I usually walk these) and sometimes do running races, bicycle rides and open water swims for variety. My best ultra accomplishment was walking 101 miles in 24 hours in 2004. There was a time when I could run a sub 40 minute 10K (did that once), but that was another lifetime ago; these a days
2427-28 minutes for a 5K would be more like it. I also have an off and on interest in yoga. - From time to time, I post what I am thinking about mathematically
- I often post links to science articles, especially articles about cosmology and evolution.
- I am very sympathetic to the “new atheist” movement, though some might consider me to be an agnostic. I reject any notion of a deity that interferes with physical events, but remain agnostic to the idea that there might be something “grand and wonderful” (Dawkins’ phrase) outside of our current spacetime continuum.
- I am a liberal Democrat who thinks that the current social atmosphere is tilted way too far toward the interests of big business, and I reject the idea that a “free market” cures all ills, though pure socialism doesn’t work either. I am also a believer in the freedom of speech, including speech that I might not like. Also, I’ve been involved (to a moderate degree) with political campaigns, ranging from City Council races up to Presidential races.
- Since being targeted by neo-nazis, I’ve started to identify with the anti-racist and the anti-fa movements.
- I like to post photos of trips and vacations.
- I sometimes blog about boxing matches and football games.
- I like women in spandex.
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sidebar
This is where the old blog blueollie migrated to. My old posts can be found here.
Who links to me?
My Liberal Identity:
Ollie is a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
The above refers to me; the below refers to Barbara (my wife)
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Barbara is a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. She believes in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
Note about my blogroll: there are many types of blogs here; they range from humor, science, religion, politcs and endurance sports.-
Created by OnePlusYou Blog Roll Notes
As of March 20, 2010, I went through my longer blogroll and deleted links that no longer work. Be advised that some blogs have not been updated and others have been moved, but you can get to the new address via the old one. I've read and visited all of these sites at one time or another. However, I've decided to post a separate list of those blogs which I read regularly (some daily, others periodically).
My list of my regular reads HumorLink Dump
3 Quarks Daily Links to Interesting Articles.
Politics
538.com Politics Analysis via Statistcs
Robert Reich Mostly economic policy issues
Paul Krugman Mostly economic policy issues
Democratic Convention Watch Democratic Politics
Dick Morris Conservative Republican (populist) politics
Sagacity: personal blog (Democratic)
Peoria Pundit Mostly Peoria area politics and issues
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub Social issues, general interest
Brother Peacemaker Social issues; often African American issues
Trends by Mindbridge Current events; detailed entries.
History
Edge of the American WestHistory, some politcs, some social issues
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Legal Satyricon First Amendment Issues and Law
Schneier Securty Blog Security issues, some codes/ciphers
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Miranda Celest Hale's blog Rationalism; literature also
Science Avenger Pro-rationalism
Science (some of these deal with religious issues as well)
Richard Dawkins Science and Reason
Recursivity Mathematics and Rationalism
SandwalkEvolution, science and rationalism
Conservation Report Nature, environment, some politics
Cosmic Variance Physics and Cosmology
Mano Singham Science (physicis), science/rationalism
PharyngulaEvolution, atheism, rationalism
AnthropologyAnthropology, human evolution
Why Evolution is True science, rationalism
Doctor Andy Science and medicine; some social issues, some endurance sports
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Nikkie's Nest Anti Racism
Education
Rate Your Students Where professors blow off steam
Personal (endurance athletes)
Tammy Racewalker, up to marathon
Damon Ultrarunner
Wild Celtic Rose Artist and triathlete (photos)
Ray Racewalker, ultra walker
Poe (satire)
Note: very rough language; not for the sensitive or for the easily offended:
Spandex
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