10 August 2011 pm

Workout notes Cornstalk course “run” (4.2 miles) in 44:04 (felt better toward the end; I was stiff and sluggish for the first 38 minutes or so!). The weather was cool.

Then: weights at the University gym:
rotator cuff and four sets of lunges
Bench press: 2 sets of 10 x 135; note I needed a 10 x 65 warm up.
Incline press: 2 sets of 6 x 130
Military press (standing, dumbbells); 3 sets of 12 x 40
Assisted pull ups; 2 sets of 6 (with 25 lb.)
Rows (Hammer); 3 sets of 10 x 200
Pull downs: 3 sets of 12 x 140
Curls (dumbbell) 6 x 30, 8 x 30, 4 x 25, 12 x 25. I was a bit off on my form with the 30′s.
Hip adduction: 3 sets of 10 x 170
Hip abduction: 3 sets of 10 x 170
Butt push-backs: 3 sets of 10 x 110
Sit ups: 4 x 25

Posts
Nah.

click to see at the source.

More political humor (?)

WASHINGTON—Calling a GOP victory in the 2012 presidential election antithetical to the party platform, top Republicans revealed a new long-term political strategy Tuesday: reelecting Barack Obama and making his life even more of a living hell than it already is.

“For three years, the Republican Party has coalesced around the single goal of making President Obama’s every waking moment sheer and utter torture,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters. “But we can’t continue to do that if he’s not in office.”

“If we are going to make the president a haggard shell of a human being by the time he leaves the White House, we need four more years of never compromising, four more years of miring every piece of legislation in unnecessary procedural muck, four more years of pretending we want to work with the president and then walking away from the table at the last second,” McConnell added. “Four more years! Four more years! Obama 2012!”

(yes, it is from The Onion)

Unfortunately, political factors APPEAR to be trumping policy factors:

Americans are deeply confused about why the economy is so bad – and their President isn’t telling them. In fact, the White House apparently has decided to join with Republicans and blame it on the long-term budget deficit.

Before I turn to the President, though, let’s be clear: The lousy economy is due to insufficient demand. Consumers – who are 70 percent of the economy — can’t and won’t buy because they’re running out of cash. They can’t borrow against homes that are worth a third less than they were five years ago, and most consumers are bad credit risks anyway because they’re losing their jobs and their wages are dropping. They also have to start saving for the kids’ college or for retirement, which will cut their spending even more.

Without enough consumers, businesses won’t hire enough people and pay them enough to reverse the vicious cycle. So we’re dead in the water. Even the stock market has caught on to the truth.[...]

Which gets me to the President. Even though the President’s two former top economic advisors (Larry Summers and Christy Roemer) have called for a major fiscal boost to the economy, the President has remained mum. Why?

I’m told White House political operatives are against a bold jobs plan. They believe the only jobs plan that could get through Congress would be so watered down as to have almost no impact by Election Day. They also worry the public wouldn’t understand how more government spending in the near term can be consistent with long-term deficit reduction. And they fear Republicans would use any such initiative to further bash Obama as a big spender.

So rather than fight for a bold jobs plan, the White House has apparently decided it’s politically wiser to continue fighting about the deficit. The idea is to keep the public focused on the deficit drama – to convince them their current economic woes have something to do with it, decry Washington’s paralysis over fixing it, and then claim victory over whatever outcome emerges from the process recently negotiated to fix it. They hope all this will distract the public’s attention from the President’s failure to do anything about continuing high unemployment and economic anemia. [...]

There’s still time for political operatives in the White House – and the person they work for – to change their minds. If economic stresses increase, Americans may insist on government doing more. A CNN poll released Monday found 60% believe the nation remains in an economic downturn and conditions are worsening. Only 36% believed that in April.

But for now the President is being badly advised. The magnitude of the current jobs and growth crisis demands a boldness and urgency that’s utterly lacking. As the President continues to wallow in the quagmire of long-term debt reduction, Congress is on summer recess and the rest of Washington is asleep.

The President should present a bold plan, summon lawmakers back to Washington to pass it, and, if they don’t, vow to fight for it right up through Election Day.

Surf to Robert Reich’s article to read more; I’ve only reproduced a bit. I agree with him here.

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