June 21, 1964

James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were lynched by the Ku Klux Klan for their efforts in registering black voters in Mississippi.

I grew up in the deep south. While I haven’t spent much real time there in almost 20 years, I can say that the attitudes that lead to this lynching were still prevalent when I was growing up.

We’ve made much progress in this area, but we also have so much farther to go. Sadly, today, we have people that use events like this to promote more racial discord rather than to end it.

I can only hope that these people, who often pretend to be part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, will actually remember his words from Aug 28, 1963:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

Wide Receiver Is Not Fast And Furious

President Barack Obama’s (D-USA) administration and Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is deliberately being confusing and obfuscating the truth over the two ATF programs named Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious. Sometimes they pretend they’re the same thing. Sometimes they tell us that when individuals mention one, they in fact mean the other. Sometimes they pretend that Wide Receiver never existed, and there’s only been one program, Fast and Furious, and that it’s been going on for years.

It’s all smoke and mirrors.

Wide Receiver was an ATF program run during the administration of President George W. Bush (R-USA). It was a gunwalking program, with the apparent goals claimed by Fast and Furious. However, there are some key points worth noting about Wide Receiver. The goal was apparently to “catch some big fish” in Mexican drug cartels who were using U.S. manufactured guns in their operations. This program was done with the consent and participation of the Mexican government. It involved a fairly small number of weapons, which were carefully tracked, often even with electronic tracking equipment.

Of course, what happened next will be surprising to no one. Despite the careful tracking, ATF lost some of the guns. When that happened, the program was shut down. You can certainly argue that this was inevitable from the beginning, and the entire program should have never been implemented. I might even agree with you.

Fast and Furious was an ATF program run during the administration of President Barack Obama (D-USA). The claimed goals were the same as Wide Receiver, but there were some significant differences. (And remember, Wide Receiver had already been shut down by this time, due to the inherent and somewhat obvious problems with the program) The differences included, but were not limited to the following. The Mexican government was not involved, and in fact was unaware of the program. The gunwalking was on a much larger scale, and the guns were not tracked (at least as far as we can tell) at all once they left the point of sale.

These differences are significant and are at the heart of the problems with Fast and Furious.

Now, you are probably asking yourself why would someone start a program that’s clearly an expansion of Wide Receiver and without Wide Receiver’s controls, after the failure of Wide Receiver? Or you might be asking yourself, how the people in charge expected it to succeed at the stated goals when the guns were not tracked at all?

Those are the two key questions regarding this program. And, of course, there others, such as, who was in charge of this program, and who approved it? And, if there was a cover-up afterwards, as now appears likely, who ordered the cover-up?

I’m sorry this post is not littered with links as is typical for my posts, but all of the information and much, much more is available in Katie Pavlich’s excellent book, “Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up”.

I’m Thrilled That Obama Has Asserted Executive Privilege Over Fast & Furious Documents

Yes, you read that right. For the first time in two years, thinking about Fast & Furious is bringing a smile to my face, rather than raising my blood pressure.

I have said all along that this scandal is bigger than Watergate. And it has infuriated me to no end that it’s been continually brushed under the rug and ignored by the MSM. Attorney General Eric Holder’s stonewalling, lying, and obfuscation over the issue has been making me pull my hair out. As has the long slow slog by Congress to proceed with contempt charges against Mr. Holder.

So, why am I happy today?

President Barack Obama (D-USA) has officially involved himself in this mess now. By asserting executive privilege on the subpoenaed documents, he now owns it. Obama’s ace in the hole this entire time has been that the lapdog media is willing to cover for him. To say that they have not pursued this topic with any diligence is the understatement of the year. NBC Nightly News first mention ever of the scandal was on June 12, 2012! For those keeping score, that’s a mere 545 days after the murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry.

That’s pathetic. It’s beyond pathetic. Its disgusting.

But now, with contempt charges looming against the U.S. Attorney General, and with Obama’s assertion of executive privilege, it will be much harder for the MSM to ignore. We’ve been told for months now that Fast & Furious was a regional program, and that no one at the White House or the upper echelons of the Department of Justice really knew anything about it. That’s been obviously false for some time, but that hasn’t kept Holder from repeating it. But the assertion of executive privilege makes it more difficult for Holder now. If Holder’s been telling the truth, executive privilege wouldn’t be necessary, and in fact, wouldn’t even apply.

This is a big, big problem for Holder and Obama now. And while we still have a lapdog media, there are a few that still try to do their jobs. There are more still that may be biased, but also will smell blood in the water. Another of the many infuriating pieces of this whole story is how Holder and the DoJ have shut down access to the people with firsthand knowledge. You can do that merely by preventing them from appearing before Congressional inquiries, but only if there are no (or few) nosy reporters poking around.

There are going to be more nosy reporters poking around now. And, if there’s anything to find, they’re going to find it. Or they’re going to eventually convince one of these people to talk. And then a second will talk. And then a third. And every time one of these people talks, it’s going to be the lead story of the day. Don’t believe me? Go read “All the President’s Men”. That’s exactly how it went down.

As I keep saying, this is bigger than Watergate. I’m not the only person making that comparison, and after today’s assertion of executive privilege, even more will do so. When people think of executive privilege and scandals, they think of Nixon. That’s not a comparison Obama wants anyone to make.

Again, don’t believe me? Here’s what’s on Drudge right now.

President Obama today just made Fast & Furious a legitimate election issue. It may turn out to be the second biggest issue after the economy. I couldn’t be happier.

Microsoft Surface: Fizzle or Flash?

Unless you were out having a life or something, you know that Microsoft yesterday unveiled their new tablet, the Microsoft Surface. You can watch the presentation video below:

There are two models, called Surface and Surface Pro. I’ll go into the differences in a little bit.

There are some impressive features. The integrated kick stand, and their keyboard cover are wonderful. In fact, I’ll admit it. I’m drooling over the keyboard cover. This is without a doubt the best keyboard for a tablet that’s available, anywhere. It is one of the best keyboards, period, available anywhere. Their claims about the dual wifi antenna are impressive. They’ve angled the cameras so that they’re automatically pointed in the right direction when using the kickstand. That’s also impressive. As is the camera integration with Microsoft Office. I’m thrilled about the stylus and digital ink. My iPad still sucks when it comes to writing anything.

And, this device shows off the biggest strength of Windows 8, Microsoft’s ace in the hole. What is that? Enterprise support, and the ability to run essentially the same OS across the desktop, tablet, and phone spaces. That’s a huge deal for business consumers. Tell me that I can run Microsoft Office on my tablet, and interact with my Word and Excel docs in the same way as I do sitting at my desk, and you’ve just made my day. Apple can’t compete with that. Google can’t compete with that. iOS and Android may be nice, but they’re different. I have to relearn how to use Pages. It’s not the same as Word. It doesn’t display quite the same way. Make no mistake about it. This will be a very big selling point for the boys in Redmond.

So, is the Surface an iPad killer? (I’ll discuss Surface Pro in a minute)

In a word, no.

It’s an iPad competitor. It’s got some features that the iPad doesn’t have, that’s for certain. It has ports for one thing. But the Surface is not head and shoulders better than the iPad. And it runs Windows 8, rather than iOS. Windows 8 definitely has some issues. I think it’s a reasonable first attempt at a tablet oriented OS (and make no mistake, that’s what Windows 8 is), but it’s going to need an iteration or two to work out the kinks.

As an iPad competitor, it’s not much competition. Not because it’s not impressive. It is. But because, let’s face it, Apple owns this market. Unless it’s much better (it isn’t), or much less expensive (it won’t be), it’s going to have a hard time competing with the iPad, in terms of sales. At least initially.

So, the folks in Cupertino aren’t worried about the Surface, but what about the folks in Mountain View?

They should be terrified this morning. It’s no secret that outside of the Kindle Fire, that Android tablets have not exactly been flying off the shelves. If the Microsoft Surface can be cost competitive, or even close to it, to Android tablets, Google is in trouble. There’s no way I’d even consider an Android tablet over this device. I wouldn’t even look at one. Game over.

Now, I have been talking about Surface, not Surface Pro. What’s the difference? Well, the Surface runs on an ARM chip and runs Windows 8 RT. That means you live in the Metro UI all the time. That’s where Microsoft wants you to live regardless, but they know they have to care about backwards compatibility. That’s where Surface Pro and Window 8 (non-RT) come into play. In addition to the Metro UI, there’s a traditional Windows desktop, and you can run all your old Windows apps. As time goes by, you’re not going to run many old apps on your Windows 8 devices. But initially, these Metro apps will be limited. You’re going to want/need that backwards compatibility.

So, the Surface Pro is just Surface with backwards compatibility? No. It’s a more powerful environment. This will be something not just on the same plane as the iPad, but clearly superior. It's a desktop computer disguised as a tablet.

So, the Surface Pro is an iPad killer??

In a word, no.

It’s a MacBook Air killer.

The Surface Pro will be more expensive than an iPad, thus out of the price range to be an iPad killer. But it makes the MacBook Air look big, clunky, and twentieth century. Again, unless I really had a need for MacOS, there’s no way I’d consider a MacBook Air over the Surface Pro. I’ve been looking at the Asus Zenbook, and the Dell XPS Ultrabooks. They’re without a doubt the best Ultrabooks available on the market. I’ve been holding off buying one because I wanted to see a real Windows 8 Ultrabook. I knew they’d be a lot better. The Surface Pro is that Ultrabook, and looks like it should blow the doors off the Zenbook and XPS.

So, fizzle or flash? Flash. Definitely flash. But the cost, and the apps will decide everything. Without great Metro apps, it’ll be an uphill climb for Microsoft. Still, they showed yesterday why they’re still the elephant in the room, or the sleeping giant, whichever metaphor you prefer.

Here’s a short summary on specifics on the Surface and Surface Pro from Engadget. Read.

P90X Days 49-52

Yes, yes, I know. I’ve got to get back to daily updates. I promise I will. Tomorrow.

Day 49: X Stretch

Well, it’s X Stretch. But it’s also the last “real” day of Phase II. There’s a funny line in X Stretch. At one point Tony asks, “Why do we stretch?” And then he gives several answers, one of which is “to reduce pain”. Of course, he asks this during the most painful stretch of the day (Bow), and I’m always thinking to myself, “reduce pain? riiiiiiight”. Still, I know what he means.

Day 50: Yoga X

And I’m still hopeless at Half Moon and Twisting Half Moon. Maybe not quite so hopeless at Twisting Triangle, although I don’t look much like the people in the vid. I’m starting to almost like Yoga Belly 7. Almost. At least I don’t hate it as much as Ab Ripper X.

Day 51: Core Synergistics

This is a very hard workout. I enjoy it, for the most part, but as I have said before, it is probably the most complete workout in all of P90X. And there were a couple exercises that I figured out that I wasn’t doing correctly last time. Yes, that was 4 weeks ago. I did them better yesterday. And ended up cutting my reps. I hate to do that, but doing the exercise right it was just too hard to match my reps from before. Especially with the pace they set on this video. It goes just too fast. And there’s not enough time between the exercises. There are three places where I have to pause the DVD, not because I need a break, but because they’re moving on to the next exercise, and I’m not finished with the current one yet. I push every single exercise as far as I can take it, and I don’t reach the breaking point on those quick enough. Possible my form isn’t the best, so I need more reps. Will have to watch more closely next time.

Day 52: Kenpo X

Punch. Punch. Kick. Kick. Well, again I’m having a little trouble getting my heart rate up really high. Better reason now, though. My resting heart rate is a lot lower, so I have farther to go. I’m probably getting “in the zone” now at a lower heart rate. That’s nice. Before I started P90X I measured my resting heart rate at 69. I checked it again today, just for fun. 57. It’s never been anywhere near that low in my entire life. I’m beyond thrilled with that number.

Tomorrow is Stretch X again. I also plan on doing a post on diet again either later tonight if I have time (ha!) or tomorrow. Stay tuned.

P90X Days 46-48

Yes, I’ve been really bad this week doing my updates.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is the last “real” week of Phase II. Saturday starts the “Recovery & Ab Focus” week. Actually, you could even include tomorrow in that since it’s “Rest or X Stretch”.

Day 46: Yoga X

Those last few minutes of the movement part still get me. Not sure if I’ll ever be able to do those well. The last few minutes of the second part is bad too. Tony calls it “Yoga Belly 7”. We don’t do Ab Ripper X on yoga days, but Yoga Belly 7 will make you feel like you did. It’s Ab Ripper, yoga style. Honestly, what gets me through it is that I know it’s the very end. And I count it out. It’s called Yoga Belly 7 because there are 7 exercises. And I will be going through it, and I’ll tell myself…”Ok, that’s two. Now three.” until the end. I do that now in Ab Ripper X as well. It’s 11 exercises, though, and you move so fast through it, that it’s easy to lose count.

Day 47: Legs & Back

This is just a brutal workout. The leg exercises are just downright painful. There’s no other way to put it. And when you’re not doing the leg stuff, it’s off to pull up world. I was telling a friend at work today, that I’ve grown to hate the pull ups with a passion. In fact, I hate them more now than I did 7 weeks ago. At least the first week, I have no baseline to go against. And when I can only do 2 or 3, or whatever, at least it’s over quickly. Now I’m getting up to a few on most of them. So I’ll look at my sheet from last week, and it’ll say “9”. Then I’ll wander over to the pull up bar, dread in my heart. I start the pull ups, and I whip out 2 or 3, maybe even 4, pretty quick. If I’m lucky I make it to 6 before I need a break. But whenever it is, I take that break, and then remember that last week I did 9. And there’s no way I’m going to do less than 9 this week. In fact, I try to always exceed last week by 1. I don’t always do it. But that’s my goal. I never do fewer than the last week. That means you really have to push yourself. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t pushed so hard in previous weeks. Then I wouldn’t have to push so hard this week to match or exceed it. That’s the thing about P90X. Most of the exercises don’t really get easier, even as you get better. You can always do more pull ups, or push ups, or use heavier weights, or get down lower in your squats, or jump higher, or farther, or reach farther in your stretches. In a lot of ways, P90X seems to actually get harder as you go through it. Isn’t that a comforting feeling?

Oh, yeah, Ab Ripper X was yesterday too. Well, I don’t have to do it again for another week and a half. Yes, I’m going to miss it terribly.

Not.

Day 48: Kenpo X

More punching and kicking at air. I was tempted to not wear the heart rate monitor today. In fact, I planned on not wearing it. Early on, sometimes my heart rate was low because I just wasn’t doing an exercise right. But I pretty much know what I’m doing now, so that’s not an issue. I still worry about slacking off though, and just going through the motions. The monitor will let me know if I’m doing that. So, in the end, I put the thing on again.

Tomorrow, X Stretch, and then on to the Recovery week. If you recall from last time, I didn’t think Recovery week was all that easy. Guess we’ll see how I feel about it this time in a couple days.

Jobless Claims

Something has been bothering me for a while about the jobless claims reports, so I went back and checked the data. For once, I’m not going to opine. I’m just going to present the numbers, and let you draw your own conclusion. I report, you decide.

UPDATE 5/18/12: I found the last week that claims were not revised upwards. 6/19/11

Week	Jobless Claims	Headline	Revision after 1 week
7/14/12	386,000	Weekly Claims Post Rebound; Jobs Market Still in Doldrums
7/7/12	350,000	Weekly jobless claims drop sharply to lowest level in four years	352,000
6/30/12	374,000	New unemployment claims drop; key report projects stronger job growth	376,000
6/23/12	386,000	Jobless Claims in U.S. Hovered Last Week Near 2012 High	388,000
6/16/12	387,000	US jobless claims fall, but 4-wk avg at 6-month high	392,000
6/9/12	386,000	Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Rose Last Week	389,000
6/2/12	377,000	U.S. jobless claims fall by 12,000	380,000
5/26/12	383,000	Weekly unemployment claims rise modestly	389,000
5/19/12	370,000	U.S. weekly jobless claims dip slightly to 370,000	373,000
5/12/12	370,000	Jobless claims steady; Mid-Atlantic factories sag	372,000
5/5/12	367,000	Jobless claims fall marginally last week	370,000
4/28/12	365,000	Weekly Jobless Claims Ease; Productivity Drops 0.5%	368,000
4/21/12	388,000	Jobless Claims Fall 1K to 388K	392,000
4/14/12	386,000	Jobless claims –2K to 386K	389,000
4/7/12	380,000	Jobless claims unexpectedly rise	388,000
3/31/12	357,000	Jobless claims fall to lowest since 2008	367,000
3/24/12	359,000	US jobless claims fall to 4 year low in latest week	363,000
3/17/12	348,000	US jobless claims at 4 year low, lift recovery hopes	364,000
3/10/12	351,000	Jobless claims back at 4 year lows	353,000
3/3/12	362,000	US Jobless claims rise, but labor market healing	365,000
2/25/12	351,000	Jobless Claims fall by 2,000 to 351,000	354,000
2/18/12	351,000	Jobless claims hold steady at 4-year low	353,000
2/11/12	348,000	Jobs, factory data strengthen growth outlook	351,000
2/4/12	358,000	Jobless claims drop brightens labor market picture	361,000
1/28/12	367,000	Jobless claims fall, jobs market slowly healing	373,000
1/21/12	377,000	Jobless claims rise in latest week	379,000
1/14/12	352,000	US jobless claims near 4 year low	356,000
1/7/12	399,000	US jobless claims rise	402,000
12/31/11	372,000	Private hiring soars	375,000
12/24/11	381,000	--	387,000
12/17/11	364,000		366,000
12/10/11	366,000		368,000
12/3/11	381,000		385,000
11/26/11	402,000		404,000
11/19/11	393,000		396,000
11/12/11	388,000		391,000
11/5/11	390,000		393,000
10/29/11	397,000		400,000
10/22/11	402,000		406,000
10/15/11	403,000		404,000
10/8/11	404,000		409,000
10/1/11	401,000		405,000
9/24/11	391,000		395,000
9/17/11	423,000		428,000
9/10/11	428,000		432,000
9/3/11	414,000		417,000
8/27/11	409,000		412,000
8/20/11	417,000		421,000
8/13/11	408,000		412,000
8/6/11	395,000		399,000
7/30/11	400,000		402,000
7/23/11	398,000		401,000
7/16/11	418,000		422,000
7/9/11	405,000		408,000
7/2/11	418,000		427,000
6/25/11	428,000		432,000
6/18/11	429,000		429,000

 

Getting too hard to find the articles this far back. But you get the point. Every single jobless claims report this year has been revised upwards the following week. And in just about every case, Reuters headline was either negated by the revision, or proven optimistic the very next week.

Here are the 4 week moving averages, as initially reported, and after revised.

Week	Initially reported 4 week average	After revision
7/14/12	375,500	--
7/7/12	376,500	377,000
6/30/12	385,750	386,250
6/23/12	386,750	387,250
6/16/12	386,250	387,500
6/9/12	382,000	382,750
6/2/12	377,750	378,500
5/26/12	374,500	376,000
5/19/12	370,000	370,750
5/12/12	375,000	375,500
5/5/12	379,000	379,750
4/28/12	383,500	384,250
4/21/12	383,000	384,000
4/14/12	376,000	376,750
4/7/12	368,500	370,500
3/31/12	359,250	361,750
3/24/12	360,250	361,250
3/17/12	355,000	359,000
3/10/12	355,750	356,250
3/3/12	355,000	355,750
2/25/12	354,000	354,750
2/18/12	359,000	359,750
2/11/12	365,250	366,000
2/4/12	367,750	368,500
1/28/12	376,000	377,500
1/21/12	377,500	378,000
1/14/12	379,000	380,000
1/7/12	381,750	382,500
12/31/11	373,250	374,000
12/24/11	375,000	376,000
12/17/11	380,250	380,750
12/10/11	387,750	388,250
12/3/11	393,000	394,000
11/26/11	395,500	396,000
11/19/11	394,250	395,000
11/12/11	396,750	397,500
11/5/11	400,000	400,750
10/29/11	404,000	404,750
10/22/11	405,000	406,000
10/15/11	403,000	403,250
10/8/11	408,000	409,250
10/1/11	414,000	415,000
9/24/11	417,000	418,000
9/17/11	421,000	422,250
9/10/11	419,500	420,500
9/3/11	414,750	415,500
8/27/11	410,250	411,000
8/20/11	407,500	408,500
8/13/11	402,500	403,500
8/6/11	405,000	406,000
7/30/11	407,750	408,250
7/23/11	413,750	414,500
7/16/11	421,250	422,250
7/9/11	423,250	424,000

 

The short? Jobless claims are lower than they were at the beginning of the year, but the rolling average has been trending the wrong way for the last several weeks. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that from the Reuters reports, would you?

UPDATE: Added new data from week of 4/14 on 4/19

UPDATE: Added new data from week of 4/21 on 4/26. Also, you may notice that my 4 week rolling averages are slightly different than the released averages. Why? Because I actually take a 4 week average of the released numbers. Imagine that. BLS seasonally adjusts the averages. Of course, the numbers themselves are seasonally adjusted, so doing a second seasonal adjustment after averaging seems like fudging the data to me, but YMMV.

UPDATE 5/3: Added new data from week of 4/28. Big drop this week. But rolling average still going up. And last week’s revised upwards. Again.

I’ve been meaning to include this for the last couple of weeks. This is from ZeroHedge, who noticed not only the upward revisions, but their size:

Times Three: That's How Much The BLS Upwardly Fudges Data During An Election Year

Indeed, the most recent revision was the fourth largest on record.  If one only read the headlines this year (at such blogs that specialize in architectural billings, deliveries by canoe, and what not), one would have the impression that Initial Claims have fallen nearly 25,000 this year.  The revised reality? Barely over 10,000.  And that’s a 10,000 improvement against a number that has been revised upward by 50,000.  So, yeah.

Stay tuned for next week’s update.

UPDATE 5/10: SSDD. At least the 4 week rolling average went down this week. That’s the only silver lining in this week’s report. Well, I suppose there’s one more. This is two weeks in a row we’ve been in the 365k-370k range, a decent improvement from 380k-390k, which is where we were the previous month.

UPDATE 5/17: Repeat of last week. Again, the 4 week average dropped a bit. But it’s still a good 15-20K higher than it was two months ago. And that’s still not good.

UPDATE 5/18: I added a lot more rows to the tables. Last week claims were not revised upwards was 6/19/11. Initial report for that week was 429,000. After revision, 429,000. You’ll notice that it still wasn’t revised downwards. Average revision in the 46 weeks since then: ~+4,000 (3,978.26).

UPDATE 5/24: Ditto on my update of 5/17.

UPDATE 5/31: 48 weeks in a row. Also, a rather large jump over the last month. The last report in April is 365,000. Last report in May is 383,000. And the 4 week rolling average ended it’s three week run of dips.

UPDATE 6/7: 49 weeks in a row. Pretty big upward revision too. Starting next week, the Department of Labor is making some disturbing changes to the way this information is disseminated. But, I’m sure it’s entirely innocent.

Update 6/14: 50 weeks in a row.

Update 6/21: 51 weeks in a row. Oh, and the DoL has decided not to change their rules on publishing their information. For the time being.

June 12, 1987

Tear down this wall!

President Ronald Reagan (R-USA) spoke these famous words while standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall.

Much of Reagan’s senior staff was against the inclusion of this phrase in the speech:

Several senior staffers and aides advised against the phrase, saying anything that might cause further East-West tensions or potential embarrassment to Gorbachev, with whom President Reagan had built a good relationship, should be omitted. American officials in West Germany and presidential speechwriters, including Peter Robinson, thought otherwise. Robinson traveled to West Germany to inspect potential speech venues, and gained an overall sense that the majority of West Berliners opposed the wall. Despite getting little support for suggesting Reagan demand the wall's removal, Robinson kept the phrase in the speech text. On May 18, 1987, President Reagan met with his speechwriters and responded to the speech by saying, "I thought it was a good, solid draft." Chief of Staff Howard Baker objected, saying it sounded "extreme" and "unpresidential," and Deputy National Security Advisor Colin Powell agreed. Nevertheless, Reagan liked the passage, saying, "I think we'll leave it in."

Reagan understood the power of words. While many criticized him for being overly antagonistic towards the Soviet Union, he knew that to change the direction of history, he needed to make the entire world understand the clear differences between the United States and the Soviet Union. This speech was one of many attempts to do just that.

Those are the most famous words from the speech, but they weren’t given in isolation. The final paragraph builds up to it. The whole paragraph is a masterpiece of wordsmithing.

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Twenty-nine months later, on my birthday, the gate was opened, and a few months later, the final dismantling of the Berlin Wall began.

Listen to the speech.

P90X Days 42-45: Halfway Home!

Ok, my self-imposed hiatus on Friday turned into a whole weekend spent mostly away from the computer. But, I did do the workouts and have a bit to say.

Day 42: X Stretch

As I said, I got up very early in the morning to do my stretches before starting out on my trip to Chicago. You may recall I mentioned back in week 4 how awful it was when I did Yoga X first thing in the morning. Same here. Stretching that early just doesn’t work for me. I can’t hardly stretch at all. Or maybe that’s a sign that I really need to do it then, and every day. I don’t know. I should probably do some research.

Day 43: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

I’ve told you the last two weeks that this is a brutal workout. I also mentioned that last week I hurt my shoulders doing it. I did it again, only just the left one, and not nearly as badly. I think it’s the 10th exercise in the series, “Two Twitch Speed Push-up” that’s causing my problems. You’re supposed to do four very fast push-ups followed by three very slow ones. Then repeat that as long as you can. I think I’m pushing myself too hard on this one. Male pride. Need to watch it next time. However, that next time won’t occur for several weeks. And, of course, I forgot about Ab Ripper X. Again. You have no idea how deflating it is when you think you’re all finished, and then the music starts again.

Day 44: Plyometrics

This workout continues to be brutal. But, I continue to do better at it. In fact, if you look at things merely in terms of achieving correct form and doing the required number of reps, this may be the easiest workout. I look pretty much like the people in the video during each exercise. And I manage to do all the exercises for the full 30 or 60 seconds. Now, I’m out of breath between exercises, and bent over with my hands on my knees. So, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I just waltz through this one like I’m Joe Plyometrics. It wipes me out, and does so almost from the very first exercise. All I’m saying is that I’m able to keep up with the people in the video. This may be the only workout where that’s true from beginning to end. Even Kenpo X I struggle with. My legs are so tight that the side kicks are pretty ugly.

Day 45: Back & Biceps

I didn’t show much improvement on this one over last week. For several of the exercises, I was only able to do the exact same number of reps. I think my form was a little better throughout, though, so I’m not upset about it. I also finally found the correct weight for me for the Lawnmower exercises, which I’ve been doing since week 1. The very first week I used resistance bands. In week 2, I used 20 pound weights. This week I used 50 pound weights. To be completely honest, 45 might be the right number. I think I got a little sloppy at the end using the 50s.

Tomorrow is Day 46. This means I’ve made it half way through P90X. I’ll officially be on the downside starting tomorrow. What an amazing feeling. I’m also in the last “real” week of Phase II. Next week is another “Recovery and Ab Focus” week. After that, it’s on to the final phase, Phase III. When I start it, I’m going to up my caloric intake slightly, again. I’ve started losing weight again (not much—I’m talking ounces here, not pounds). I’m not quite at my fat percentage goal, so that doesn’t bother me too much. But, I’d prefer to be gaining weight at this point, not losing it.

Tomorrow is Yoga X. I actually enjoy this workout except for about the last 5-8 minutes of the movement phase. That sequence starting with the Warrior 3 pose and ending with the Twisting Half Moon just kills me. I have to be honest. I don’t know if I’ll ever be good at that part.

P90X Day 41: Kenpo X

Yesterday, I said that I expected to be disappointed with the results of Kenpo X today. I was wrong. It was another great workout. My side kicks still need work, but that will come in time as I increase my flexibility. Heart rate was good throughout though. That makes it six days in a row now that I've been pleased with my workout. That must be some kind of record for P90X.

Really don't have much else to say. It's still an hour of punching and kicking at air. Nothing's changed since last week. :)

Tomorrow, I'm making a quick trip to Chicago and back. I'll be leaving here around 5:30 in the morning, and likely won't be back until after 10:30 at night. Tomorrow is "Rest or X Stretch" though. I suppose I could take advantage of my scheduled day of rest. That would be the easy way out, and perhaps the smart way as well.

But there's that calendar staring me in the face. The last day that I did no workout whatsoever was December 25, 2011. That's 166 days ago. I don't want my streak to end. So, I'll be getting up an hour earlier in the morning so I can do the X Stretch before I go.

I told you I was crazy.

I likely won't post tomorrow due to my other commitments, and I am participating in the National Blogger Day of Silence in support of Aaron Walker and other bloggers who are being silenced by Brett Kimberlin and his cohorts.

See you Saturday.