10/25 my weight was under 205, my 3m was about to go under 9m/m, my spee work had plateaued but I was adding some weight/core work to bust through, and I was mentally prepping for the approaching Halloween / Thanksgiving / FFL Playoff / Anniversary / Final Exams / Bowl Season / Christmas / NYE draw down.

Then I popped a gastrock.  And fell off the roof cleaning guttars.  And picked up four consecutive w/e driving gigs.  So November was a TOTAL waste and I'm back to square one kinda. 

I've made a few discoveries that I won't hafta go through again, but I'm back to r1w1 distance (sticking at 3m, not going to 1m) and I've stayed under 210 so things are good.   I'm basically back to where I was last June/July.  Ten days in Hawaii might help!  And we'll see where January takes us.

Haven't dealt with this much .... here's a catch up since the NYT is surprised. 

There is no oopsie here as the morons at hot air would have you believe. This is Obama's foreign policy. Consistent and pro-jihad.  Here's a year and half old coverage....

Back in March 19 2011 : President Hussein Backs Al Qaeda in Libya - Atlas Shrugs

March 26, 2011:  Troops join Al Qaeda, Rebels in Libya - Atlas Shrugs

March 27, 2011: "Al-Qaeda snatched missiles" in Libya - Atlas Shrugs

March 21, 2011: FOX Nation: "Geller: Obama is 'Essentially Backing Al-Qaeda in Libya

May 24, 2011: Contacts between insurgents and  al Qaeda for the announcement of jihad in Libya 

July 21, 2011:  Al-Qaeda Part of New Libyan Government Recognized by Obama 

October 30, 2011: Al-Qaeda Flag Flies Above the Libyan flag in Libya

October 15, 2011: Obama's Disastrous Foreign Policy: Missing Libya Missiles Turn Up in Gaza

Obamacare has been passed and pheld, once, by the Supremes.  But the fight isn't over.  As posted here previously I thought there might be a valid originations clause attack.  Sadly and disingenuously, that won't fly.   But HERE's one that's working it's way through the system:  The Unifomrity Clause. 

The Constitution's "Uniformity Clause" (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) requires the tax to "be uniform throughout the United States." The Framers adopted this provision so that a group of dominant states could not shift the federal tax burden to the others. It was yet another constitutional device that was simultaneously designed to protect federalism and safeguard individual liberty.

Rather than strike down the law, the court construed the insurance-purchase mandate and its penalty as a "tax" on the failure to have health insurance. The justices also interpreted the Medicaid-expansion requirements as optional—permitting states to opt out of these provisions while staying within the traditional Medicaid program. Given that interpretation, the court's majority upheld the statute as constitutional.

The opt out clause means the tax will NOT be uniform ... and thus unConstitutional.  Time will tell.

Writing in The New York Times, Timothy Egan celebrates Barack Obama’s reelection as the dawn of a new progressive golden age. There’s a lot to debate in the piece. To set the stage, first here’s the offending passage from Egan:

The Progressives of the early 20th had an amazing run — direct elections of senators, regulation of monopolistic trusts, modernization of public schools, cleaning up the food supply — with only one major blooper: Prohibition.

George Mason University law professor David Bernstein observes, Egan’s historical illiteracy is particularly egregious.

I’m not a big fan of either the Seventeenth Amendment or of antitrust law, but put those aside; what about, among other things, residential segregation laws in the South and border states (fortunately invalidated by the Supreme Court, much to the dismay of Progressive commentators), eugenics legislation, hostility to the Equal Rights Amendment/support for “protective” law for women only, support for American imperialism (at least via one of the Progressives’ great champions, Theodore Roosevelt–and Woodrow Wilson didn’t exactly distinguish himself with American intervention in World War I, which may be the single greatest “blooper” in American history), and support for state legislation monopolizing certain fields on behalf of incumbent businesses (see, e.g., New State Ice v. Liebmann)? Do these count as only minor bloopers, or has Progressive support for these policies slipped down the old memory hole?

it just seems that way sometimes.  Was recently reminded of the Constitutional Convention debates regarding the composition of Congress and the election of the President.  Several plans were put forth.  The winner, obviously, is the one we have.  But oft forgotten is the New Jersep plan put forth by William Paterson. 

It was the small-f federal option at the Constitutional Convention. It is the great decentralist what-might-have-been. The New Jersey Plan provided for a unicameral Congress with an equal vote for each state, and copresidents chosen by Congress for a single fixed term and removable by Congress if so directed by a majority of state governors.  This would have saved us from the cult of the presidency, the imperial presidency, the president as the world’s celebrity-in-chief—the whole gargantuan mess. 

Obviously one cannot reverse history, but one wonders whether it might be possible even now to recognize the key anti-federalist insights and to implement reforms that might curtail the powers of an imperial presidency.

NYT headlined a recent article "Complaints Aside, Most Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the Reagan ’80s."

Read the article.  Headline is EXACTLY correct.  If by "Reagan" you mean "Carter" and if by "80's" you mean "80".

But other than that it's SPOT on.

AFC East - Patriots, who looked VERY good last night

AFC West - Broncos.  Them or the Texans against the Pats?

AFC South - Texans.  Watch the film

AFC Central - Ravens

wild cards:  Bengals (really blew a golden opportunity this weekend) and Steelers.

NFC West - 49ers.  Look solid.

NFC East - Giants.  Are solid

NFC Central - Bears.  Somebody HAS to win it!

NFC South - Falcons.  see Central

Wildcards - Seahawks ... and you do NOT wanna play them in the first round!  and Packers.  Same.

Niners over the Giants.  Patriots over the Broncos.  

Niners get the Lombardi.

No, I haven't won any.  Not even the tasty little $5 prize.  But when/if I DO win one of the FIRST thinks I will do is visit all of my favorite blogs and hit the tip jar.  On of those sites will be the recently discovered (by me) Diplomad.  Go read this NOW:

yes another D III ... cause I LOVE those folks.

Some boring: Buccaneers, Rams, Vikings

Some borderline:  Red Hawks, Green Knights, Fighting Scots

But to make my list:  TWO Pioneers, Blue Boys, Prarie Fire,  and Foresters

The Midwest Conference