rest is needed

Www.crossfitstickers.com

Linda, Filthy Fifty, and Cindy were a most beautiful threesome. Well deserved rest for me!

Given how this week was going I was half expecting FGB.

As rx'd!

Awesome interview, nicely done Freddy, thanks for talking to us Phil.

Free trade - you and I agree to exchange on terms we each benefit from. Both walk away winners. This is the most powerful force for good on the planet.

Only alternative - coercive terms of exchange, either due to the lack of rule of law or due to govt coercion.

The degree that trade is free determines the standard of living world wide. The only nations that have moved from 3rd world status in the last fifty years did so because they had enough govt to have rule of law (property rights), and economic liberty (right to arrange their terms of exchange without govt intervention).

If you want to help people escape from poverty, help them engage the global system of trade. All the charity that has been dumped in Africa hasn't had a tenth of the positive impact of the free trade that raised those in Taiwan, S Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan out of poverty simply by their ability to participate in the global system of trade. In the mean time, trade with those nations raised the US standard of living, too. Win win.

The question now is will the general ignorance of these simple facts lead the US to kill the golden goose ...

Paul

I like the picture of the CrossFit kids seminar. In high school I was the only obese kid and it sucked. Now on my way to college, I drive by a high school and have to stop at the crosswalk and wait for the kids to cross. Each day I count the amount of overweight kids and I am amazed at how many I can count.

Makes me wonder how inshape these crossfit kids are going to be in 5 or 10 years.

I lost 100 pounds from Sept 13, 2001 to Aug 2 2002 and each day I think back to how much it sucked to be so obese.

re: the article.

Perhaps what the Dem candidates are going to realize sooner rather than later and, by consequence the US as a whole, is that perhaps there are disadvantages to NAFTA, for all countries, but the advantages are too many to list. The main one is oil. The number 1 supplier of oil to the US is Canada. As part of NAFTA, the US has equal access to our oil as does Canada. Meaning, if we start cutting supplies to the US, by law of NAFTA, we have to cut an equal proportion of supplies to the the Canadian public.
So, if the Dems want to keep up the rhetoric, we will definitely have our demands on what we don't like about it. Oil is the new black and is the trump card in everything. Fortunately/unfortunately, we have the trump card.

Great interview Phil and Freddy! That must have been incredible to do workouts with Coach every day.

SOOO need this! Did Angie on Saturday instead of Sunday, so four days of burn! Good times

Just watched Nicole's class from Cfit Journal.

Outstanding! is the only word that comes to mind

Thankyou Crossfit

looking foward to a rest day, this was a rough cycle. Thanks Coach!

The Kids Cert at CrossFit Brand X was awesome. Jeff and Mikki did an outstanding job with teaching us how to teach little kids. The cue's are so helpful, even with adults. If you are considering teaching kids, defintetly attend one of these certs. It's so worth it.

To all of the kids who demo-ed, awesome job! You guys are great!! Duncan I hope I am as strong as you when I grow up! You little handstand push up stud! Connor and David you guys are seriously legit. Keep it up.

Thanks again to Mikki, Jeff, Cyndi and crew for having the cert and making this all happen.

1st post - Since stumbling onto CrossFit I can say with unwavering certainty that I will never resort back to conventional 'lifting' again.
I have a question for the Zoners out there in CF blog land....being a M/30/180#/6'3" with an athletic build, should I employ a 4 block or 5 block diet scheme? I've been implementing a 5 block diet the best I can but I sometimes feel that may be to much and at others, not enough. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help!

By-the-by....I am insanely jealous of all you fortunate infidels that have a CF to call home where you routinely test the paper-thin threshold between self-inflicted physical punishment and the drive to succeed at any cost.

behind on the workouts and playing catch up.

angie as rx'd: 14:49 pr

pull: 15 10 7 bunch of 5s and 7s (5:22)
push: 40 all 5s
sit: 60 10 10 5s
sqt: 70 10 10 10

Imagine training along side BJ Penn while being coached by Coach. Greatly enjoyed having a glimpse into the early days of this thing we call CF.

Ken C- How in the frik did you do 70 squats without rest. I'm doing good to get thirty!

It is not often that i feel a rest day is needed, however this rest day will be spent wisely.

My first 3 days with crossfit are done, I hurt everywhere. Looking forward to a day of rest, but looking more forward to friday.

Judging by the boards there's a lot of people like me mixing SS with CF workouts, so I wanted to share my workout experience today. I did Angie on Saturday, first time doing that workout and first time doing anywhere near that many pullups in a session. The pushups felt like the most intense part of the workout, though, mainly because my grip was the limiting factor in the pullups.

Anyway, I did squats, presses, and cleans on Monday, took Tuesday off, and today I faced my bench press workout where I've been stuck for a couple weeks. Started off with OHS and did about three sets of those - a little wobbly because I'm new at them but I love how they force you to stabilize. Moved on to bench and the planned 3 sets across at 175. Started with 135 and it felt strangely light in my hands. 155 went easily as well. Got to 175 and did 5, 5, 6 for the third set, and one more set of 4 for good measure.

My workout partner had to run to the john, so I took the opportunity to do a few pullups. By the time he got back I'd done 75, so he had to do a few as well while I worked my way to 100.

I guess what I'm taking from this is that the intensity from a crossfit workout can really push you through barriers that might otherwise take a long time or never get crossed. I'm sure this isn't news to very many here but for those just stumbling in I'd say don't be intimidated, just do the damn workout and see what comes out the other end.

Adam C Verez- When you comming to hit a WOD with us. Got three guys who xfit in college station. email me at pjpound83@gmail.com that goes for anyone in the bryan/college station area. We'll be here all spring break. Looking foreward to hearing from you.

Todd- Welcome to the pain train. woot woot

raze-

ken c can do 70 squats without rest because he is a badass; trust me i have seen him in action!

fun interview, interesting story and freddy c is a great interviewer!

Can anyone recommend any other diet plans besides the Paleo or Zone???? that you have used and had successes with?

The video is a nice step back into CrossFit history. It's a pleasure watch people who love what they are doing. Freddy's smile is contagious.

The video clip from the CrossFit Journal of Nicole doing the Nutrition Teeter Totter Lecture was more than a pleasure to watch. Nicole obviously knows the topic well and her passion for it comes through in her delivery.
Beautiful!

Thanks

Quietly waiting for Daniel to comment on article to spring on him.

Great interview Phil & Freddy. It's interesting to hear where CF started and where it's going.

#20 Jakers

lmao. I'm waiting for him too.

I have just found this crossfit deal. I wish I had found this years ago. I have been teaching TaeKwonDo for 28 years. Now adding Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (I wish I had found this a while back as well). These movements I see bring back memories of long ago. I believe alot of people are "begging" now to have their butt's kicked in a workout like in the old days. That being said, where do I start? I am in the gym 4 days a week and I teach and train almost every day. But the "nasty girls" video almost killed me just watching it. So any kind of direction will help. Thanks M. Smith

I am in desperate need for rest. Thank you!!!

Mariah, Nat and Mav, I miss my girls. Bring your Mom and Dad up here to Santa Cruz.

Thank you to CFK HQ for a great Cert. and invaluable information reguarding teaching kids. The kids cues alone are so important to getting the kids to understand what they need to be doing. This is a must to anyone who is going to be teaching kids.

Regarding the Article:

"Since 1994 there has been a net creation of about 23 million jobs."

Nice of Mr. Gordon to give credit where its due:
(in millions)
Jobs created by evil Protectionist traitor Democrats in BC's first term: +11.5
Jobs created by Terrorist loving Communist sympathizing Dems in BC's second term: +11.2

Jobs created by enlightened Free trader Bush in first term: -0.01
Jobs created (as of Oct 2007) by mr "Mission Accomplished" in second term: +5.8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_created_during_U.S._presidential_terms

Let the excuses begin.

So obviously if you want jobs in America you have to vote against the Dems. I mean, what do they know?

No argument that NAFTA has benefited the Wall Street set in our country, but look at the median income for people who actually work for a living. It has remained stagnant for the past eight years!

Don't care about the average consumer? Well you better because their spending makes up 2/3 of our economy and if they don't keep buying crap we are all in big trouble. And with oil at $103 per barrel and gas heading for $4.00 a gallon, people who drive themselves have less and less discretionary income to keep this economy going.

I think Huckabee was right, instead of borrowing from the Chinese and promising that our grandkids will pay it back and then using that to pay Dubai based firms like Haliburton to not build infrastructure in Iraq, maybe we should borrow money from the Chinese, promise our grandkids will pay it back and pay American firms to ACTUALLY rebuild infrastructure here at home! Put people to work, check their papers first of course, pump money into local economies, and speed the delivery of goods and services right here at home. Plus we can maybe avert some bridges falling down and killing people in towns where the Republicans are holding their conventions.

Guess that makes me unpatriotic huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlI-N1b-ZK8

a rest day bit of fun.

#18 Montez:

Just curious, why are you looking for a diet other than Paleo or Zone?

The combination of the two is in my opinion the ideal way to eat whether you're trying to achieve or maintain the ideal weight for your body type.

Eat lean meats, fish, vegetables, little fruit, nuts, and seeds in the correct proportion of F,C, and P. No way you can go wrong there and no way to improve on it (at least I haven't found a way yet. But I'm still young : )

The CFK cert is one amazing piece of work put out by Jeff & Mikki Martin, Cyndi Rodi, and Nichole Deheart. Frankly, the kids cert will help individuals train people of all ages and all walks of life. It's not just the philosophy of training children and young adults. The simplified cues, fundamentals, and conceptual knowledge are so comprehensive in this cert that some of it can and should be adopted into the regular certs. If you're not jumping on the train, you will surely be left behind.

Re: 'Mary' yesterday, I'd love to see a demo video including/on 'pistols.' The videos rip!!

#31 jt

there is a vid of Rob Miller doing it in Denver at 7000ft.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_MillerDoesMaryAt7000.wmv

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_MillerDoesMaryAt7000.mov

sorry....that was Flagstaff, not Denver

My bad.

f: 35/5'7/60 kg (132lb)

Cindy

as rx'd

8 rounds & 4 pull ups

1st time I can record 'as rx'd'.

pain-progress-pain-pain-progress-pain-pain-progress-rx'd

thank goodness for the rest. Between Monday and today I have one blister, a callus that was torn off and two spots where the new bar I had to use rubbed my hands raw.

Oh and did cindy for 13. 5 more than my first time

Great video-Andrew Stemler (crossfit london)said that training at a cert with Coach was like going back in time and training with Bruce Lee! cant wait!
Good work Helzy-nice to see people from the UK posting too.

raze

just pound them out brother. with fresh legs, 50 is not much of a problem. between 50 and 70 kinda sucks though. your size might be a factor for you on these. you're moving a whole lot of mass up and down with a very long axis. but hey, you got me beat on the crossfit total by a mile. glad to have you back on the board. keep up the good work.

Thank you Coach and Lauren for seeing more than a vision of health, fitness and wellness by including our minds into the equation. The rest day artilcees are appreciated.

"be mindful of the sound warning tendered by the 19th-century French economist Frédéric Bastiat: 'Where goods do not cross frontiers, armies will.'”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not my rest day and the PT schedule had a 1/2 Murph for our section to do. I figured why dishonor the man and do 1/2 when you can suck it up and do the whole thing? Easy to say since this was my first Murph.

Anyway,

"Murph" as rxd 56:07 (that was a looooong 56:07!)

I wanted to quit at the half way point when the rest of the guys took off to do their second run. I pushed passed that and finished as rxd. Pull ups were the biggest obstacle since I was doing them one at a time towards the end.

43/M/75"/200

Just got my 1st set of rings. OMFG! Couple sets of chins,dips, and pushups, and I'm all swoled up. I'm stoked. Anyother "playing around things I can do to get used to them and move on to muscle ups?

Rhowk, I'll bite. Here is a paragraph from your own reference.

Controversy
The exact usefulness of these numbers is debated. They only include nonfarm payroll employment, which excludes certain types of jobs, notably the self-employed. Additionally, for at least the first eight months of a President's term, he inherits a budget proposed and implemented by his predecessor (as well as an overall economy which may be in decline or recovery). Moreover, according to the United States Constitution, the United States Congress is responsible for government spending and thus, regardless of Presidential advocacy, bears constitutional responsibility for such things as spending and tax policy that have enormous effects upon the economy. Furthermore, it is debatable how much effect any President realistically could have on a system as large, diverse, and complex as the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, the nonfarm payrolls number is the one most frequently used in the media and by economists.

For information about the controversy surrounding the accuracy of this survey, see here.

OMFG! You have to check out this video of Robbie in Flagstaff.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_MillerDoesMaryAt7000.wmv

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_MillerDoesMaryAt7000.mov

This is one of the most amazing CF accomplishments I've seen. I can only dream of such a feat. Great example of a kipping HSPU that Eva T. taught Robbie. Gives me a technique and some hope that I can actually do ONE HSPU!!

19 / F / 142 / 5'7"

Made up Linda from a few days ago.
Linda
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Dead-Lift: 55 kilos (= 121 pounds)
Bench: 85 pounds
Clean: 35 kilos (=77 pounds)
Time - 42:45

I haven't blogged in a few days so now is a great to catch up.

28/m/220

Linda as rx'd

DL: 335
BP: 225
CL: 165

48:20

"The Filthy Fifty"

38:00

"Cindy"

25 Rounds

CCTJOEY -
Grain of salt taken, but it goes both ways. Either party crowing about how their party's president will enliven the economy and the other will destroy it needs to be viewed skeptically. The point of the article seemed to be that a Democratic President would mean fewer jobs, and historically that isn't true, not by a long shot. In fact, if you want less Fed Spending, less deficit spending, Greater GDP, and more jobs created Democratic Presidents have beaten the Republican Presidents hands down! I know this runs counter to common Right wing mythology, but the numbers are there for anyone to see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms

For my own part, I try to look at the person more than the party. I agree that protectionism is generally bad and free markets are generally good, but we need to negotiate trade agreements on behalf of ALL Americans not just the billionaires. And NAFTA is doing a lot more for the billionaires than for the mechanics, the nurses, and the shop owners in the this country.

Let's not scrap NAFTA lets just get a better deal for the people fueling 2/3 of the economy.

Did not know it was a rest day untill I got to the office. Ran fast 5k this morning. Oh well.
Last three WOD's were a blast! Thanks coach.

Great interview, nice job Freddy, and thanks for sharing Phil. Having been around here since Spring of '04 it was great to hear a lot of those names thrown out, I often wonder what happend to some of the early crew.

What is going on? That picture wasn't the least bit sexual or controversial. What am I going to do with the rest of my day at work if not listen to people bicker about boobs on women and in the White House. Go McCain!!

Why are all the articles posted to read always from the conservative viewpoint?

On free trade, neither side has a monopoly on the proper policies. In fact, this author is flatly wrong. There are many conservatives that are against free trade, as there are many lefties who are all for it.

I think "fair" not "free" is the way to go. We should hold both sides of an agreement to certain environmental, labor, salary(adjusted), and ethical standards. Those countries that can't compete in that arena will lose out. I bet if we return to government that believes the government if for the people, and not for the corporations, our economy and trade balance will improve, and benefit both the citizens and the corporations.

I'm so obsessive compulsive! My rest days are on Saturdays, so I'm going to hit up "Helen" or some KB.

#30-
Excellent post.

#44-
True Congress sets spending, but for the majority of Bush's Presidency it was a Republican Congress and Bush didn't issue a single veto.

a couple days behind with my post--
3 bars of death tuesday
dl 245
bp 185
pwr cln 135
35:28

filthy 50 last night 31:34, about 7 min faster than the first time.

hoping to get 'cindy' in tomorrow in the hotel gym in vegas...

Yeah, Any GOP supporters out there should be ashamed of what is going on now. Bush is a spending fanatic. The only difference is he doesn't raise taxes to pay for it like liberals. But you can't have your cake and eat it too. I am a GOP supporter myself, but this adminsitration is not conservative.
Why is everyone talking about the fall of the dollar? Partly because spending has gone rampant.

I am personally starting to turn very libertarian in my views. Neither side is addressing free trade open and honestly, and quite frankly- conservatism is dead, Mcain a conservative= NO, Huckabee= NO

sorry to get on a slight presidential rant

42yom / 147

Couldn't decide which one to do so made up a combo and called it:

"MARINDY"

5 HSPU
5 Pull-ups
10 Pistols
10 Push-ups
15 Pull-ups
15 Squats

Ended up with 8 rounds + 4 HSPU

Nice workout and boy do I need a rest day.

Post - Nothing

i was thinking about getting a tattoo on my back (shoulder blade area). i know you have to avoid chaffing it. any advice on how long i would have to avoid working out for?

no rest for me today. i'm following livelong cf. CFT today

back squat 175 (PR +20)
shoulder press 65 (+5, equal PR)
deadlift 243 (+23, PR by 3)

that is 2.89x my body weight @ 160. i am still in the "intermediate" catagory -- just 57 pounds away from "advanced." (which is a goal for 2008.) i'm so freakin happy right now! press still eludes me, but my form on back squat is getting stronger. i failed at 185, but only tried it once. i should have tried again, i would have gotten it!

ck

rhowk #30 & #48

The numbers don't lie. Take what follows as an excuse, an explanation, or a warning.

Sometime in the late 60s the Democratic party was overrun by leftist whackos. Are you really going to sit there and tell me that if you could transport JFK or Johnson as they were when they were president to today that they would approve of what their party has become? You've got two presidents on that list whose policies are at all reflective of the modern democratic agenda.

Carter's numbers don't looks so good.

Clinton inherited the successes of Reagan, was lucky enough to preside of the "irrational exuberance" of the tech boom, didn't manage to advance his agenda very well, and effectively stayed out of the way of things. His presidency, minus the rhetoric and abortive attempts at socializing medicine, looked an awful lot like Reagan's. The policies of his presidency were more representative of republican ideals than BushII's have been. We got NAFTA, and welfare reform from him. What else?

I'm not going to make excuses for BushII, the best I could ever say about him was that he wasn't Gore or Kerry. It's possible that if he hadn't been distracted by 9/11 he would have managed to advance a conservative domestic agenda. It's possible, but I don't think I can defend that argument.

The warning part of my rant is this. Anyone who thinks that the modern democratic party can govern as successfully as it once did needs to look a bit more closely at how much its platforms have changed in the past 40 years. That's what the article we just read was all about.

You could say something very similar about the Republican party being hijacked by religious whackos and how it probably can't govern as effectively as it once did either. Could be. I doubt that most of us here, progressive or conservative, is particularly happy with either one of the major parties.

A big thank you for a super weekend at CrossFit Kids HQ in beautiful Ramona. Jeff, Mikki, Cyndi, Nichole, David and Connor and all the Kids who were so great to share their enthusiam and love for CrossFit for us.

This cert is very professional and a must for anyone working with children and teenagers-the Brand X team has really perfected a program for teaching that includes language that kids understand and relate to. A great presentation on POSE running from Mike Collins as well...this will certainly be the next cert that I sign up for!!

#57- I've trained jiu-jitsu immediately after getting work done on my sleeves. You shouldn't have any problems doing Crossfit with a fresh tat. It's a great excuse though if you don't feel like working out. You aren't making excuses are you? ;-)

Fresh ink, gotta love it!

I enjoyed the article's historical retracing of the democratic and republican standpoints. Growing up overseas, my knowledge of American political history is very broad, and so I enjoyed the specifics.
Growing up overseas, however, I have a much more 'liberal' viewpoint of acceptable taxation and 'Communist social programs' (I want a public health care system for example). So the details that I take issue with in terms of protectionism versus free trade, is that free trade that does nothing to promote US values overseas and instead looks strictly at profit margins does not sit well with me. As an example, an increase in trade with third world countries that do not protect their workers and environment and the profits garnished by the trade exclusively benefit the very narrow portion of the population that controls the majority of the wealth does not seem like responsible foreign policy. Responsible foreign policy would be to use trade as an impetus/bargaining chip to third world countries to develop labor rights and environmental protection standards in order for them to win trade contracts. Indeed trade can be a powerful tool to shape developing nations:
"Bjørn Lomborg's Copenhagen Consensus on international development challenges ranked trade liberalization as third on the list of development priorities; the experts judged that modest costs could yield large benefits for developing nations. (They ranked freer trade as a "Very Good" opportunity for fighting misery along with cheap measures against HIV infection, micronutrient distribution, and anti-malarial programs.) From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade_debate#Free_trade_benefits_only_the_wealthy_within_countries
Though the article does not promote irresponsible free trade, the focus simply on economical measures may lead one to overlook the other issues that unregulated free trade may lead to.
Alex #84 -- Having seen your presidential rant, I just wanted to add my own. Was I the only one happy to see Clinton pull back into the race to perhaps diminish the threat of Obama taking control of this country (if the democrats do win)?

#57-
i have two large tats on my shoulder blades and although i wasn't doing CF when i got them, i agree with freddy c., you shouldn't have any problems. just wear a soft shirt and maybe after a hard WOD, pass out on your stomach instead of your back!

the hardest part was sleeping....i'd start out on my stomach, but wake up in the middle of the night on my back and have to peel myself off the sheets! wait...that sounds gross. LOL!

Thank you so much CFK Headquarters! The cert was amazingly informative and fun. I really came out of there knowing how to teach the kids. Definitely make this the next cert you sign up for!

#13 IL Scott:
I am similar in build to you (172/6'1.5") and a hard gainer, and I had to experiment with the Zone blocks until I found the right amount. Had to ignore Dr. Sears' recommendation for me (18/19 blocks) because it was not enough. I've settled on about 22/23 blocks a day (5-6 blocks for each of the three meals, plus three 2-3 block snacks). I would advise you to do the same: start with the recommended number for your lean body mass and activity level (you have to read Into the Zone to find out), then adjust until you seem to be getting enough to eat. I've gained 10 pounds in 10 months (gaining is good) and have been on the Zone diet for maybe 5 months, so it seems to be working out. Also, the Zone books are not really written for serious athletes--they're written for regular people who want to lose weight. I think that's why a lot of us CrossFitters add more fat than he recommends. I eat probably 35-40 fat blocks a day.

Steve

Thank you CFKHQ for a fantastic seminar. The information you shared is invaluable, and the performance of the kids shows how much time and effort has been put into programming for them. They are going to be CrossFit monsters! Thank you for making this available. If you work with kids, this cert is a must! B.I.G. Fun!

I notice that the guy seated front right in the photo has a fight gone bad tshirt that looks identical to one freddy was wearing in last week's video series. Was there a big FGB event at some point, and if so, any chance of a repeat? I don't see anything after a cursory glance at the events list and affiliate blog.

Kizer here. Posting for FILTHIES~ a day late but never short:
Total Time: 32:21.07
A PR no doubt!
I'm doing "Cindy" this morning. My first and only was 15. I'm going for 17 today.

Kizer~

Joanthan, the article explained why imposing "standards" to be met by other countries as a condition for trade treaties is a non-starter. And just what should we be telling Canada about how they should improve their environmental and labor policies??

Kizer here. My post didn't stick so I'ma do it again. I'm a day behind, but never short so here goes:
FILTHY FIFTIES:
Total Time: 32:21.07
CINDY is my objective this morning. I did 15 for my only attempt last month, so I'm going for broke this time.
Wish me luck. Enjoy your day off
Kizer~

Jeff- You guys are doing good things w/the CF Kids. Keep it up brother. How's the man-cubs doing?

Glad to see the Serrano's representing.

M/22/6'1"/185

Playground WOD:
Run 200m
10 Ring Pullups
10 Pushups
10 Double Unders

10 rounds

12:29

Pretty solid

Exhausted from the past couple of days

Lisaq, thanks for an awesome quote! Bastiat's one of my "freedom heroes."

Paul

Rhowk,

What sort of trade deal would work for some Americans and not others? What's your understanding of a free trade deal that helps only the rich, for example?

Paul

Rhowk,

What sort of trade deal would work for some Americans and not others? What's your understanding of a free trade deal that helps only the rich, for example?

Paul

#52/Jonathan,

You've been brainwashed like many into seeing only 'conservative' and/or 'liberal.'

Try looking at rest day articles and posts as either 'for liberty' or 'against liberty.' It's an interesting lens, and cuts through all the specious partisan crap.

Paul

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/sports/othersports/06sprinter.html?th&emc=th

Above is the url for interesting nytimes.com article about a late-blooming, non-sponsored aspirant to represent the US Olympic team in the 100 meter sprint. "Sprinter Dallas Robinson, 6 feet 4 inches and 210 pounds, is turning heads with some of the world’s fastest times, despite his limited training and tremendous size."

He's posted some of his training regimen on YouTube under "Dallas Robinson's 2007-2008 Olympic Training". Check out the box jumps!

Hey, Coach, anything CF can do for this guy? Could be great marketing!

Jonathan - how would you characterize the difference in free and fair trade?

Who decides what 'fair' means?

Presumably, 'fair' means something other than mutually agreed upon terms of exchange (aka free trade). How will it be more 'fair' than that?

Paul

While there is no question that the economic argument is sound - removing barriers to international trade will result in increased wealth - I'd like to point out that some balance is still needed. This is especially true if you believe, as I do, that the creation of wealth - or the optimizing of the price at which a commodity can be delivered - is not necessarily the ultimate goal of human society. In some cases you need to take steps to ensure that the generation of wealth is not causing any unintended negative consequences - and this is where some intervention by good government is necessary. Some examples:

- limiting trade with organizations profiting from human rights violations. An extreme example are conflict diamonds; most developed countries ban the purchase of "blood diamonds"
- maintaining cultural diversity. Do we want to live in a world where all movies are Hollywood, all wine is French, and all weightlifting coaches Bulgarian? Unrestricted international trade can lead to the whitewashing of cultures, in some cases it may make sense to restrict trade if it means maintaining the character and culture of unique locations.
- environmental protection. Negative externalities such as environmental degradation result from the fact that these factors are not properly priced in the free market. The environmental cost of shipping avocadoes from Eastern Samoa is not adequately captured in the price I pay for that avocado in the supermarket (even if you are a climate change denier), so I end up buying Samoan avocados instead of Californian avocados, which would be cheaper if we factor in damage to the environment.

Government intervention into trade is not an on/off switch, it is a pendulum. What's needed is not the elimination of the pendulum, but finding the appropriate place for it to settle.

The question of HOW we regulate in a fair manner across national boundaries (Comment #69 - Posted by: blades), and of who decides what is fair (Comment #78 - Posted by: Apolloswabbie), are of course different matters. But these issues do not preclude the necessity to regulate, just the means.

#59
"Clinton inherited the successes of Reagan,.."

And those successes just kind of leapfrogged Papa Bush? Look at his numbers, not so good.

Kind of goes to my point that extremists on both sides will say their guy is responsible for all the good, and the other guy is responsible for all the evil in the world. What the numbers do say pretty clearly is that Republicans are not against big government, they have historically been FOR Massive Government! Republicans historically don't spend a little bit on our grandkids credit card, they have sunk our grandkids into HUGE amounts of debt. Reagan really rewrote the book on borrowing against future generations. Only Baby Bush has been more out of control on Deficit spending.

Maybe they think the rapture will come and no one will have to pay. Maybe they believe that when Communist China goes across the Taiwan strait in 4-5 years they won't threaten to dump our debt on the market and send our economy into a tailspin. One things for certain, by making the "No billionaire left behind" taxcuts permanent he is ensuring that the future generations of Middle Class taxpayer will be left footing a majority of the bill for his reign.

LTT/#62 - govt's don't negotiate free trade contracts. People with assets negotiate with other people with assets to come to terms of exchange.

I am ever fascinated by the European trust in government.

"Irresponsible free trade" is a contradiction in terms - if it is free, both parties agree that the transaction is desirable. If trade is not free due to govt intervention, then irresponsibility could be said to be a factor.

The point of free trade agreements is to establish the limits of govt intervention on trade between individuals (and, regretably, to get politicians re-elected).

Empowering govt to establish 'responsible' trade is like empowering NBA stars to teach reproductive responsibility.

Paul

Paul

Rhowk,

Some great points made.

However, all govt spending in the future is dominated by two factors - medicare and SS.

I agree Bush added to the problem - primarily with Rx drug benefit.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/33915.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-05-28-federal-budget_N.htm

May poke around and find more later, but I think these tell the story.

#75

Manufactured goods are a good example. NAFTA ensures that there are few barriers to us getting cheap manunfactured goods, lets say Ford cars from Mexico. The benefits are that American Consumers get a little cheaper car, Ford Executives see much bigger profits from each car, more Mexicans are put to work. Great for everyone right? Except for the working guys up in Detroit who are now out of a job, and the city of Detroit and the State of Michigan whose taxbase is sorely depleted. Our workers enjoy things like safety on the job, no forced child labor, decent wages, a working Judicial system, and decent environmental standards which has greatly contributed to a large and stable middle class, whose spending accounts for 2/3 of our economic growth. In Mexico they don't have to worry about safety, or decent wages, or justice, or the environment. How is their middle class doing? Do they even have one? The goose that lays the golden egg in the USA is the hardworking and spending middle class, not the unpatriotic billionaires. Take care of the middle class, you have fewer poor living off of the Gov't, more millionaires to be entrepreneurs, and more billionaires to complain about the unions.

Take care of just the billionaires, and you ironically will have fewer of them, fewer entrepreneurs to innovate, and a hell of a lot more poor people looking to be fed; in short you have Mexico.

We need to demand in NAFTA that the Mexicans play closer to the rules that we have to play by in terms of not destroying the environment, and treating your workers like human beings. Otherwise we just enrich the fat cats and further chip away at our own middle class.

Rested yesterday, Cindy today.

Cindy was my first EVER crossfit workout:

on 1/29/08 I did SIX rounds and thought I was going to die.

Today I did SIXTEEN.

Me: 41yo/M/5'10"/191lbs

Perfect Angie: I went to the gym to work on Kipping pull ups and Double Unders and wound up doing Angie really slow focusing on getting the full range of motion on each rep. It made the workout a really good rest day working stretch. Give it a shot sometime if your itching to workout on rest day but you don't want to burn yourself out.

Double Unders: I am getting better at these but I still stink at them. I can now do one regular rep followed by one double under. I can now keep that up for about 15 double unders. I will not sub tuck jumps for double unders anymore more. Yeah!, only one sub left, the basic, easy "A" difficulty gymnastic move, the muscle up.

Climbguy #35: Rob at altitude is amazing and the video was shocking because it showed that I have been doing Mary wrong! I have been doing 10 leg pistols on one leg and alternating legs on each round. Rob showed that the correct way is to rotate legs on the pistols after each rep, oops.

Glyn #31: Yeaahhh Budddyyy, Light Day, YYUUPP! I love Ronnie Coleman, 500lb squat, 800lb deadlift, you know it, yeeaaah!

Have Fun, Train hard,

Billy

Daniel?

thank u for a rest!!
jared im on ur tail

#30 rhowk
“Nice of Mr. Gordon to give credit where its due:
(in millions)
Jobs created by evil Protectionist traitor Democrats in BC's first term
Jobs created by Terrorist loving Communist sympathizing Dems in BC's second term”

That certainly wasn’t my take away from the article. I believe his position was the one time segregationist democrats were in favor of free trade and have recently changed their position. Nothing wrong with changing your position. Didn’t hear anything about traitor terrorist loving communist sympathizing along the way. Is that how you view Democrats?

“No argument that NAFTA has benefited the Wall Street set in our country”
Everyone and anyone who has a retirement account or owns stock is part of that Wall Street Set. That is quite a few people, no?

“Don't care about the average consumer? Well you better because their spending makes up 2/3 of our economy and if they don't keep buying crap we are all in big trouble.”
The average consumer likes buying goods from china that are sold at wal-mart b/c they are cheap. Not b/c their t-shirt was created under humanitarian conditions guaranteed by a Union. They just want cheap stuff. Free trade helps that stuff stay cheap.

“Guess that makes me unpatriotic huh?”
How come liberals are always the first ones to question their own patriotism?

“The point of the article seemed to be that a Democratic President would mean fewer jobs, and historically that isn't true, not by a long shot.”
Jimmy Carter?

“Let's not scrap NAFTA lets just get a better deal for the people fueling 2/3 of the economy.”
A better deal would be more free trade so they can purchase more goods with their income.

Comment #52 - Posted by: Jonathan
Why are all the articles posted to read always from the conservative viewpoint?
Apollo covered this but let me add, because the guy who owns the site is a libertarian. He is not a neutral arbitrater. He has a position. Not everyone likes it but not everyone likes CF either. He seems to have a history of going with what works empirically. His articles reflect this as well.

Comment #55 - Posted by: Alex84
Tru dat

Comment #79 - Reto
"blood diamonds"

The purchase may be banned but people are still buying them

“- maintaining cultural diversity. Do we want to live in a world where all movies are Hollywood, all wine is French, and all weightlifting coaches Bulgarian? Unrestricted international trade can lead to the whitewashing of cultures, in some cases it may make sense to restrict trade if it means maintaining the character and culture of unique locations.”

There are a lot of culutures out there that would love to be so white washed. You know what people in the Brazilian rainforest want? A Starbucks not more grubs to eat.

“The question of HOW we regulate in a fair manner across national boundaries”

We don’t. That is why they have their own country. If we want to regulate them we should do it the old fashioned way. Invade and take over. Let them run their country they way they like.

Comment #80 rhowk
“#59
"Clinton inherited the successes of Reagan,.."

And those successes just kind of leapfrogged Papa Bush? Look at his numbers, not so good.”

NO NEW TAXES! Pere Bush shot himself in the foot with that one. What Clinton inherited was the banking reform that Bush I instituted. This is why there is now a Bank of America everywhere.

Comment #83 - Posted by: rhowk
“Except for the working guys up in Detroit who are now out of a job, and the city of Detroit and the State of Michigan whose taxbase is sorely depleted.”

The Michigan taxbase is depleted b/c no one wants to do business there. The politicians had a few big companies that they thought they could just keep taxing with reckless abandon. The problem is that no other business want to locate there b/c of those taxes. Free trade didn’t kill Detroit. It only made a leaky boat sink faster.

“a working Judicial system, …a hell of a lot more poor people looking to be fed; in short you have Mexico.”

Demanding those standards from Mexico won’t make it so. You did hit the nail on the head with the judicial system. (First thing you got right all day) What Mexico needs is the rule of law and property rights. They have neither. Fix those two things and everything else you are demanding will be created in time by the Mexican’s themselves.

“We need to demand in NAFTA that the Mexicans play closer to the rules that we have to play by in terms of not destroying the environment, and treating your workers like human beings.”

Why do we need to demand that? Because it’s the right thing to do and a tasty way to do it?

Your type of thinking created the great depression with the Smoot-Hawley tariff. Every time it advanced through congress the market dropped. Not surprisingly every time a democrat performs well in this election cycle the market drops (only the Wall Street set is affected by that right). In the words of Jon Stewart, “How bad are these people that they can screw up the economy even before they are elected.”
I don’t think either of the Democratic candidates have a Bill Clinton quality (do very little in office)to them. They both seem to lean a little more towards Carter. Good news is they would only last one term. Not that I’m enamored with McCain. But if he can run on strengthening the dollar that will be a good thing.

M/26/Silverdale, WA
Couldn't rest today. 5 rounds of 5 HSPU and ring dips. I just got the HSPU down with in the last 2 weeks. I love them!

Forgot to rest... went in and did the full CFWU with 15 reps, and then worked some skills stuff. I haven't been happy with my performance on wall balls because we always do them at the end of a long workout, so I decided to do 100 wall balls (14#), and every time I broke the rhythm I ran 400m. Went pretty well and I only did 3 runs. Then I did some L-sits and some double-unders.

I think I'll keep working skills stuff on rest days, since I never really get a chance to work on them otherwise.

Ran a 5k today...it felt good, almost like a rest after the past 3 days!

28:22 (on a treadmill)

PR for me

Gnat

F/26/169

Cindy:

one squat shy of 13 rounds....
mods:
Jumping pullups and all but 5 PU's on knees :-( but getting better...

#57: You probably should not workout the day of the tattoo work... your skin needs time to close... its thousands of tiny holes and ink can leak out. After that you should be fine, however; i would suggest you get your shirt off and soap up as soon as possible after your workout for at least the first 3-5 days (depending how you heal)- don't want to give bacteria any extra help!

Rhork #83, “…not the unpatriotic billionaires”

Interesting, is that some Marx coming through? Is the size of a person’s bank account a measure of their patriotism? Judging by the words and actions of the proclaimed representatives, the Dems in this case, which financial demographic wants “hope” and “change”? Seriously do you really want to go there?

Rhork #83, “Except for the working guys up in Detroit who are now out of a job, and the city of Detroit and the State of Michigan whose taxbase is sorely depleted.”

So instead of making a personal change (re-training, moving, adapting, etc.) they just sit there? The world is in flux, it’s adapt or die on every level. Instead of adapting to making things better for themselves at an individual level they want to drag everyone else down just so they don’t have to change.

What you are missing, rhork, is that the consumer “votes” with his/her spent money. If you seriously care about human rights abuses and whatever else don’t buy products associated with such. You’re saying, “I don’t feel the trade of this item and hidden costs are worth my $X.”, that is still free trade. You make the choice.

Don’t force the govt, and in effect everyone else, to “vote” with their dollar the same way as you do. You are essentially stealing/denying a vote.. and you are pro-democracy right?

Comment #91 Alan in Silverdale Washington. I am in little old Sileverdale as well. Where do you work out?

Have Fun, Train Hard,

Billy

blades #77 thanks for the link, as an old track guy I really enjoyed that. Maybe after a few more months of crossfit I should hit Master's track circuit ;). Cool stuff!

#80 rhowk

You zeroed in on one tiny little aspect of my previous post, responded to it, and completely ignored the rest. If my statement that Clinton inherited Reagan's success causes you a problem in moving forward then consider it retracted... that paragraph now reads:

Clinton was lucky enough to preside of [hey a typo, of -> over] the "irrational exuberance" of the tech boom, didn't manage to advance his agenda very well, and effectively stayed out of the way of things. His presidency, minus the rhetoric and abortive attempts at socializing medicine, looked an awful lot like Reagan's. The policies of his presidency were more representative of republican ideals than BushII's have been. We got NAFTA, and welfare reform from him. What else?

Basically, the assertion is that Clinton's presidency was successful because he was largely unsuccessful at advancing his own agenda. Further, any modern democratic agenda, successfully pursued, will reverse the historic trend that you've pointed out.

If you want to get into attacking and defending the policies of every President since Johnson then I'm willing, but that's a whole different fight than the one I was trying to start. I'm trying to start a fight over whether democrats from Johnson back are ideologically similar to the democrats of today. Today's article pointed out one very important way in which they are not. Given the differences, can we expect them to lead as effectively as they used to?

Freddy c._one world: Jiu Jitsu

I have been doing Jiu Jits for about 7 years now and I recently got serious about crossfit. I train about three times a week and sometimes it works out ok with crossfit and sometimes I am so smoked I cannot hold a triangle. How have you incorporated your Jiu Jits with your crossfit without crushing yourself? Or are you just the kind of animal who can train all day (from the vids, it appears that you might be) and not burn out?

Have Fun, Train Hard,

Billy

Great article about the sprinter.

#55 Alex - Look who's spending the most on campaign ads right now....Obama 40k, Clinton, 34k......and McCain -- 9k.

That is indicative of how the candidate will prioritize spending. The author is correct to point out that it is hogwosh to use the abolishment of NAFTA as a political theme. The audience they are appealing to haven't realized the intangible benefits that Post Modern Laissez Faire will present in the long run. Due to time constraint, I will end with this.....As I set foot in this great land for the first time when I was 18 years old, I saw that United States was clearly a land of opportunity. Twenty four years later, it still remains as the land of opportunity....and it will be for generations and on.

Very nice Video interview today! Wish I knew about CrossFit in 2003.

#99 Billy,

I rarely train any BJJ or Krav anymore. I am struggling just to keep my training steady with Crossfit. If I didn't have a wife, a job, a gym, and all the responsibilities that come with all that, maybe I would squeeze in some jiu-jitsu and some good Muay Thai sparring sessions. I do miss it though!

I will say this: Before my wife started giving me grief about never being home, I loved doing my WOD and then rolling with the BJJ class. I just subbed the WOD for the warm-up. I was crushing guys just with better stamina and strength (since my skills were mediocre at best). Crossfit really goes hand in hand with BJJ. I think Crossfit is a great addition to stand-up fight training, but for some reason 10 minutes of Muay Thai sparring seems to kick my ass a lot more than 10 minutes of BJJ. I think you definitely still need to do some specialized conditioning for stand-up fighting.

Good luck with your training. Just be smart about it. You are probably dominating guys now that you are adding Crossfit.

#21, Montez

There is a "diet" program on 'men's health' that seemed to work pretty good for me, called the TNT diet. www.menshealth.com

Felt like crap 17 rounds as Rx'd.

Oh my goodness! I am so sore today after Linda and Filty 50. Not much left in the tank today and I can usually tell when I need a day off/ done a bit too much as my sleep starts getting affected. Rest day for me tomorrow.

Altered Mary (this is how I did it the first time and had fun with the reps like this)

10 HSPU
10 Pistols
10 Pull ups
= 8 rounds + 10 HSPU

A round less than last time but still happy with it since I was so sore/ out if it/ and under lots of stress.
Erin

Thanks Freddie C. on the Jiu Jitsu advice.

Yup, you are correct. As you know, stamina is key in Jiu Jitsu and I am now tooling guys because I can now move at a pace that smokes my opponent until he makes an easy mistake, and that's all thanks to crossfit. About Muay Thai, I totally agree that ten minutes of stand up is about 20 minutes of active grappling. In fact, I am currently working my standup and clinch more than my ground game, total smoker.

I hope to see you at a cert sometime, love the videos and the website, thanks a ton!

Have Fun, Train Hard,

Billy

Oh dear, just looked in the mirror. Since the 90 HSPU, I have all these red dots all over my face & neck. Like little tiny broken blood vessels. Tiny. But all over. It looks like I got bit by a swarm of no-see-ums. I’d ask my family but they think the workouts are crazy anyhow. LOL, this is NOT funny! Will these disappear???
Erin

#73 Paul~ I can't take credit for that quote...it was the last sentence in today's linked article. It just struck a note with me. Any recommendations on good reads by Bastiat?

Went and got a trigger point massage today...OWWWIEEE~~~ Hope I'll reap benefits from it in my WOD's.

Never did Linda before and scaled down a bit. I'm 200 so I did:
DL 225
PC 95
BP 165

30:54 and it kicked my ass.

Here's my question: After Linda, 100Burpees(couldn't do Filthy 50 cause of travel) and Cindy, so three days of chest I figured I would be fatigued. But I only got 11 rounds of Cindy whereas my previous best was 16 and my pull-ups are much better now. This time I was super sore in my chest during the frickin warmup. In days old, I'd never consider doing three days hitting the same body part but I was brainwashed with hypertrophic, body building baloney. I haven't read Starting Strength yet. So question is has anyone had a set back in time like i did with Cindy and seen results come, strength-wise. Cause i gotta tell you i can literally feel the neuro-endicrine response happening. I mean its like the movie Altered States, I can almost see things happening. The funny thing is I am as lean and jacked as I have ever been. I feel like I know a secret. I love this shiite.

in8girl

I did mary yesterday and have broken blood vessels all over my face as well. I guess it means your working pretty hard.

Billy & Freddy C

Everything is great except for that part about stand up being more taxing than grappling.
I've been boxing since I was 2 kickboxing since 13 and took up bjj a year ago @ 34. Guess which one leaves me more out of puff. It isn't the boxing. Holding someone down takes a lot of energy compared to dancing away.
When I roll with a long time wrestler he is dominating and using almost no energy (very frustrating) but when we spar I barely move & he can't make it back to his corner after the first round.
I think what you are good at is easier.
Crossfit will turn you into an animal for both.

The reason "working guys up in Detroit" are out of a job is because they have a skill set that can be replicated by a poor Mexican after a few days of training.

#95
I don't think all billionaires are unpatriotic, far from it. I think those who put profit over our nations strategic security are unpatriotic, I think those that profit from the deaths of our soldiers(latest MRAP controversy, body armor scandal, etc.) are unpatriotic, and I think that loyal bushies like Lay, Skilling, Keating, etc. who make billions off abusing the public trust and destroying shareholder value are unpatriotic and are a good argument for bringing back public floggings. I think it is possible to make money and still have the your nation's best interest at heart.

But I could see how you would get that from what I said. No Marxist here, Marxism fails for the same reason facism fails: no accountability leads to tyranny.

As far as voting with your dollars, I agree for the most part. But why should my tax dollars subsidize firms that are sending our jobs to other countries? I plan on voting on that choice as well.

Can't argue against Fair Trade Coffee. I get mine from EqualExchange.coop

Comment #67 - Posted by: dcostolo at March 6, 2008 10:22 AM

The t-shirt is from last year's fundraiser for Prostate Cancer Research (through Athlete's for a Cure).

Stay tuned for FGB III in 2008!

David

Jakers Comment #111 MMA

Good point, I would agree that a Kick Boxer would use less energy on his feet and more on the ground and vise versa. I also agree that crossfit is great for both. I pretty much do MMA on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and crossfit as prescribed by the WOD. Sometimes that schedule works out and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes your the Windshield and sometimes your the bug.

Have Fun, Train Hard,

Billy

#112

true that and the Mexicans don't have an outdated union trying to strong arm the manufacturer by striking for some crazy wages for those "working guys".

In8girl and RynoGSX, petechial hemorrhages from HSPU.

Yup, they'll heal. Check your eyes and the inside of your eyelids as well. You may be holding your breath and bearing down. If this is the case, breathe through the rep, don't hold your breath while your inverted... unless your mavrick and you have a MIG on your tail and you have to fly inverted and pull negative G's..... Wahoo

Have Fun, Train Hard, (but don't hold your breath inverted),

Billy

Rhork, EVERY system will have its crooks and scandals. Go after to them. If it’s the players breaking rules; go after the player. If the “game” is unfair due to rules THEN change the rules. You are doing the opposite, “There are crooks among us breaking the rules… change the rules..” Result? Crooks breaking the new rules too AND the guy playing fair gets more of the shaft due to following your more restrictive rules.

“But why should my tax dollars subsidize firms that are sending our jobs to other countries?” Make up your mind. Above in comments your all “Govt should do this with trade and that with trade .. blah blah blah.” Now you’re all “free trade” when you don’t agree with the policy. So either you as actually pro-"free trade" and just handn't really thought about it or someone who is sure his way is "the right way" needs to force people to do what's best for them whether they want it or not.

Here is a thought: have the govt support the rules of law and let people make their own market decisions. That way no one has to complain about the govt giving “his taxes” to {blank}. But oh no that is that pesky free market thing again……and we mustn’t have that.

#101 SHIBA

Please tell me youre single.
God, I love conservative women!

25/M/150

Did Cindy tonight with a 20# weighted vest.
I got 20 rds plus 5 pullups.

That Beating Sound You Hear...

Would be me thumping my chest and howling in glee.

Angie as RX'd:
15:19

Still tiny, still mighty. One callous ripped. Felt so primal I almost chewed it off.

I am an AlphaFemaleBadAssSheBeast

BW + Snatch today finally!

BW 82 kg
Snatch 84 kg

In Chicago for the weekend and couldn't pas up an evening run. Can tell my cardio is improving significantly. Did not time workout, but had a great time, never stopping.

Run 2 blocks
25 Squats
Run 2 blocks
25 Squats
Run 2 blocks
25 Squats
Run 2 blocks
25 Squats
Run 2 blocks
25 Pushups
Run 2 blocks
25 Pushups
Run 2 blocks
25 Pushups
Run 2 blocks
25 Pushups
50 legthrows

Excellent rest day.

The CF Kids certification is awesome. I've been using the verbal cues and teaching progressions with my adult clients and having immediate results. Deadlifts, cleans...everything's looking better. Thanks!

AHH! Spider Chicky that's freakin awesome. I told my coach your time and he just stood there with his mouth open shaking his head. hha

I'm never surprised by your awesomeness.

snatch, OHS, snatch balance= 1 rep x 5
45, 45, 45, 55, 65
interesting.

mini met con: 5 rounds: 15 kb swings, 15 med ball cleans
16kg kb
14# med ball

Wow. My back cramped up again right off the bat. The last 3 rounds were really not fun. My back felt better today but the tightness came right back.

can we have something without midline stabilization tomorrow?? ;)

#119

NAFTA like all agreements is a mix of both free trade in some markets and regulation in others. It protects industry sectors both countries consider important to their national interests and opens up others they believe it would be profitable to compete in. An all or nothing attitude towards free trade is inconsistent with any reading of trade history. Where and when has free trade ever existed without regulation by the nations involved? Please name one example.

The real question is what kind of deal do we make with Mexico and Canada that encourages trade without decimating local economies, and harming our national interests. Including labor and environmental concerns are just as much a part of our national interests as anything else.

As for the crooks, Cheney had them over to the white house WRITING the very rules that that were supposed to be governing. Just how do you propose having a workable system of laws when the thieves write the laws?

If there is a legacy to this administration it will be its headlong flight from any kind of accountability whatsoever. Not only has it not enforced the law it was sworn to uphold, but it has actively worked to undermine the law and give immunity to those who have broken it

We will be facing off with China within 5 years and our economy better be as much up to the task as our military is or we are in big trouble.

My take on this is that economics is a system that is rarely linear, especially in the long term. It reacts best to general principles, like rational self interest, legal protection of property rights, the right to free trade everywhere, and, optimally, honesty.

You get bumps up and down. These are features of the market, just as hot and cold years are features of the weather. Yet, unlike the case with the weather, there is a pronounced tendency in capitalistic systems towards increasing wealth and standards of living. A simple principle is that you can't make a dollar without someone else making a dollar.

Or, alternately, for every billionaire created there are a hundred millionaires, and ten thousand people raised into the middle class. Does anyone doubt the effect Bill Gates has had on Seattle?

So why the fuss over billionaires? I have seen no evidence of war profiteering, so I conclude they are a political issue simply because they are resented by people who fail to understand the systemic effect wealth creation has.

With respect to Mexico, his point was that the fundamental argument--that we are going to create a Mexican middle class, which will reduce the push on our borders--is still valid, and the original hopes were ridiculously optimistic.

Overall, free trade is a function of any healthy capitalistic system, and works to increase the wealth of everyone. Maybe we export jobs overseas. Those markets then produce goods that decrease our own cost of living. Moreover, they then become markets for export of things like Coca Cola, cigarettes, computers and computer games, movies, and of course Harley Davidson's.

The temptation to put restrictions on things is understandable, but the simple fact of the matter is that in any complex/chaotic system you can never know for sure what the systemic effect will be. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was INTENDED to help things. It did the opposite. That one fact changed my understanding of the Depression in an important way. I didn't know that. He could have added that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff enabled Hitler to take power, and therefore was directly complicit in the Second World War.

Bottom line: as a general principle we should, I believe, assume that free trade will be beneficial , on balance, over time, as it has proven to be in the 20th century. All boats rise on a rising tide, even if some don't rise as fast as some want them to. We must always look first to the system, not to our specific grievances, and must always think in terms of decades and not election cycles.

In8girl- Sounds like you got petechiae like Billy stated. They are in fact tiny hemorrhages under the skin due to the pressure of being upside down doing HSPU (in your case.) There are other medical causes but they wouldn't concern you. They will go away but it could take a couple of days.

Just another CF battle scar ehe? You should see the whip marks on my forearms and legs from my rope doing double unders the other day! Nice.

Gnat

15-mile bike ride on fixed gear.
2K meter row.

Not for time...done for fun.

Have a great weekend.

#119
You mean like Bill Clinton selling nuclear submarine technology to the Chinese?
Granted he hasn't achieved billionaire status, yet.

Barry,
I believe it was Jude Wanniski in "The Way the World Works" fully developed the theory linking the great depression and Smoot. It's a fantastic book & I highly recommend it. It is the basis of supply side economics.

The original goals of NAFTA were hugely optimistic but congress never shrugs and says, "Well we think this might do a little something for us." Nope they are the classic over promise under deliver group. Come on, they make used car salesmen look good (not intended to offend any used car salesmen that do crossfit.)

#108/Lisaq,

I read the piece last week and had forgotten the Bastiat quote. Here's another favorite.

http://www.econlib.org/library/Bastiat/basEss1.html

Paul

this is my first official post! i have been obsessively stalking the crossfit site for almost a year now. started following WOD 6months ago. WOW!
i love the community crossfit fosters, it is so critical.

on a total side note - with regard to all the craziness with eva's "shirtless" photo, i was asked to put my shirt back on tonight at my local gym. i guess my six-pack, courtesy of crossfit of course, made people uncomfortable. funny, if people spent more energy on their workouts and less on what others are wearing, they might work up enough of a sweat to take their shirts off too!

thanks for all of the inspiration. very excited for baltimore in april.

#67 dcostolo

Fight Gone Bad was used as a fundraiser for prostate cancer....Check out Athletes For a Cure to get some more info. It was great at One World....we invited all of our loved ones to watch and then we ate some great food. You're welcome to join us this year. I'll get back to you with the site if I can find it in my emails.

I too Angie'd

Cheated on a few push ups and pull ups.
But did all reps.

25:40

Now that I'm re-reading, the Bastiat piece to totally applicable to today's discussion.

Prior unsustainable union contracts now cost GM $1000/car for retired workers' health care - essentially, taking money from present workers and shareholders (and by suppressing GM's business, preventing many from being hired in the first place), but we don’t ‘see’ that ...

Prior choices to heavily tax corporations make them less competitive putting more and more pressure on both management and labor to perform to higher and higher levels to compete, but we don’t ‘see’ that ...

Prior choice to put a 15% surcharge on labor to pay for social security and medicare now make our laborers less and less competitive unless they have specialized skills - in other words, the less ability, intelligence and skill you have, the more punitive the labor surcharge is now, but we don’t ‘see’ that ...

Attempts to demagogue environmental issues raise the costs of compliance beyond the necessary amounts, punishing the workers by making the corporation less efficient, but we don’t ‘see’ that …

Double taxation of dividends makes it more risky to buy capital and expand businesses, punishing those who depend on others to have a business (workers) at which the worker can be employed; but we don’t ‘see’ that …

OSHA compliance drives up the cost to employ, making US labor less competitive than other countries, and perversely, not safer than if a non-govt solution to workplace safety had been allowed to develop before our 1930s timeframe love affair with socialism blossomed. But we don’t ‘see’ that …

1904s war time tax code manipulations in response to wage ceilings imposed by well intentioned govt led to the unintended consequence of a non-market based health care system which costs us all much more than necessary while giving us lower quality than virtually any other US industry, but we don’t ‘see’ that ...

We empowered govt to take our money to provide ‘public schools’ for ‘free’ and then, even after doubling the money spent on schools (inflation adjusted even) from 1970 to 2005 or so, we have poorer and poorer performance to show for it. Our less well educated kids are less well prepared to out perform their relatively uneducated foreign competition, but we don’t ‘see’ that ...

Now we look at ‘jobs going over seas’ and blame trade agreements since that’s what we see.

Likewise, some see billionaire’s and assume they ‘must be taking it from someone’ since that what they can see, when in fact to get to be a billionaire you have to have to get something to people they want at a price they are willing to pay, presumably because they want the good more than the money. Then you have to take the profits and buy more capital and generate more stuff people want, making things better for employees, shareholders and consumers alike (and hurting only competitors). But we don’t know to ‘see’ that …

In short, what Barry said in post 128.

The majority of public discussion in our culture today (about free trade or any other complex issue) is so devoid of complexity as to be pointless. Sure, 50% of our nation is of below average intelligence. Our ability to think clearly has been diluted by public school education. The ability to think through unintended consequences and economic reality is frighteningly rare. It would appear that it is a deliberate oversight to make sure that no one learns economics in school.

This is how I know the politicians are lying – they give simple solutions to problems they don’t even understand. Nor should they have to – we shouldn’t be looking to them for solutions in the first place, we should be looking to them to leave us alone to sink or swim as best we can.

Many great posts today, thanks to all.

Paul

http://www.panarchy.org/bastiat/petition.eng.1845.html

This piece from Bastiat, written in the 1800s as I recall, is applicable to the 'plight of the poor autoworker.'

Well we're off schedule.. so we did;

57/M/190 'Cindy' 25 rounds I'm very happy with this as it is just one less than my best. I haven't done this good for a while.

47/F/127 Filthy Fifty 43:04 jump 12", SLDL w/ 35 lbs, WB @ 12 lbs, 200 single unders

I enjoyed the article, I have just one critique where the author implicates Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul as anti-free trade. From my understanding of their stances, neither is anti-free trade even though Huckabee may sound like it in his speeches and Paul may vote against legislation that purports to be free-trade.

According to Hucakbee and Paul, a large reason that trade isn't free is the federal income tax in the United States. You could consider it an internal tariff, where each good produced in the US has a tax built-in, whereas other nations with lower or no income tax have an advantage. That is why Huckabee supports the FairTax and Paul support abolishing the IRS.

As to why Paul votes against "free-trade agreements" is that he doesn't like what he refers to as "foreign entanglements." I am assuming any free trade legislation that he voted against he saw as an entanglement, and hurt the US's ability to act as a sovereign nation.

I don't trust any politician though, so who knows what would happen if either of those two actually got into office.

On a side note, does the graph from rhowk's link scare the shit out of anyone?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms

The "Increase in Federal Outlays" looks like an exponential curve; that's definitely something we can't sustain

#136

"OSHA compliance drives up the cost to employ, making US labor less competitive than other countries, and perversely, not safer than if a non-govt solution to workplace safety had been allowed to develop before our 1930s timeframe love affair with socialism blossomed. But we don’t ‘see’ that …"

Besides unions agitating for basic safety rules, and "muckraking" reporters exposing inhumane conditions in our nations factories, what possible marketplace pressures would have brought about this mythical "non-govt solution to workplace safety"?

Sounds like it is in the realm of the Liger and clean coal technology.

rh

45/F/5'8"/125 'Cindy' 15; Later, Deadlift PR 185#

I attended the CrossFit Kids Cert class last weekend and have been searching for the right word to describe our experience. Words like amazing, incredible and awesome just didn't seem to do the trick....all I can say is, "it totally didn't suck!" The kids really know their stuff too and let us know it during crossfit baseball! Thank you so much Jeff, Mikki, Cyndi, Nichole, David and Connor and everyone else at Brand X who showed us what CrossFit can do for kids as well as adults! Oh and the running demo....wow did that help me!! Thanks everyone!

Help!

I have pulled or strained an ab muscle, probably while doing kipping pullups on one of the CF WODs with a lot of PUs. Now, doing even one PU (kipping or strict) is like getting stabbed in the gut. I never realized how one uses ab muscles to do PUs, until this pain started.

I plan to sub lat pulldowns for a while, until it stops hurting, and slowly add a few PUs after that time. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a decent sub for PUs?

I am still looking at the shipping containers that the jobs get stuffed in and the boats that actually carry away the jobs over seas.

Sort of like the Liger and clean coal technology. Very Illusive.

#139 - rhowk, would you go to work at a dangerous job?

Let me hazard to guess that you would, if the pay justified the risk, or it was your only choice, or it was a risk you believed had intrinsic meaning (aka police/fire/military etc).

A dangerous workplace drives up the cost of employment and creates a huge incentive for employers to make their workplace more safe - which they could address individually in some cases, or through an outside assisting agency comparable to the UL in function (pay someone who's an expert in identifying and eliminating workplace hazards).

Assuming Ford didn't do it, Chevy would have a massive competitive advantage if it did.

In short, it would happen because it would be necessary to maximize profits. If you'd care to know, I can list a few initiative's undertaken by the military to make the workplace more safe, none of which is driven by unions, reporters or OHSA.

Joey, you can 'see' that?

Paul

I cant believe I agree with nearly everything Barry Cooper just said.... (#128) Something must be wrong....

I would just add with respect to Mexico- we also supposedly have more emigrees from US to Mexico - retirement and business ventures- that will be interesting

Rhowk,

Before anyone addresses that, can we take it for granted that you agree with, or are unable to dispute, the accuracy of the rest of the statements Apolloswabbie made? That in fact that was the only one that was objectionable to you?

"I am still looking at the shipping containers that the jobs get stuffed in and the boats that actually carry away the jobs over seas."

In the IT field, the jobs don't get shipped overseas. What happens is this. An IT company wins a contracts with company XYZ. The majority of your programming, level 1 and level 2 support, and operations is performed overseas. No jobs were actually shipped overseas. When a programmer living in the U.S. is finished his or her project, he or she will move onto another assignment. Oh.. but wait... where is the work? Hey, it is being performed in India.

So what is the problem?

"So what is the problem?"

By your previous remark, I figured you believed jobs are not actually shipped overseas. At one time, it was very common for a IT person from India to come to the United States, sit next to the U.S. IT person, learn the job, fly home, starting working on the same job. The U.S. person gets laid off. - That was how a job use to the leave the U.S.

The bottom line is this. The IT profession pays good wages in this country. Having this work performed overseas does lower the IT costs overall, but it is another good paying job leaving our shores. CCTJOEY, how would you like it if we outsourced our military? Perhaps someday, CCT Raul, a well-educated, competent Brazilian will come to into your life, learn your job, and perform it for less money. But, perhaps you are fine with this.

I get what you are saying Andy, but that is the way of the world. As skills become more widespread and even dumbed down what else is going to happen? I am not looking to argue for arguments sake.

Believe me, if the military could get as good or a better quality for cheaper they would do it.

The problem is that I can not reconcile how we are supposed to be so friendly and open with the rest of the world (ie. not be unilateral) without this kind of thing happening. As soon as thos same IT workers in India feel they should be paid good wage in a country whose standard of living is also increasing, but there are people in other places that can/will do it for less, they will get canned as well.

The only hedge is quality. If the quality does not justify the increase in price for the consumer, then don't expect to be relevant.

With the falling value of the dollar, many would be wise to use that to there advantage to gain business from foreign entities previously lost. However, we can't have it both ways for long. If you are a wage earner (labor), then you have to expect ebb and flow as capital finds the best deal. Labor leaves to find a better deals all the time.

Would you loose money to stay on with a company? Why would a company stay on with you, if you are causing it to loose money?

I am not saying it is how I would want it, but it is the way of the jungle. The only way to beat it is to make the rules, even then you are susceptable to other entities excelling past you. Until can own and protect all the means of production, you are at the mercy of the market. The consumer always wins in the end. If they don't they just won't buy your stuff. Then everyone loses.

CCTJOEY

"I get what you are saying Andy, but that is the way of the world."

Oh absolutely Joey. I agree 100% with your previous post.

However, the one thing that does scare me is the amount of information a person has access to as a programmer. In this country, we have very strict information privacy laws that would imprison someone from, say, selling private information from one company to another. Or, worse yet, personal information to a unknown terrorist organization. In other countries, we can only hope that they share our same privacy laws.

CCT Joey #148
"Until can own and protect all the means of production, you are at the mercy of the market."

They tried that in Russia already and it didn't work... Maybe if they had managed to turn the whole world communist it would have worked.

Hey, maybe that's what the collectivists have been missing all these years, one single all-powerful world government. They could eliminate all of that unfair competition from capitalist countries where people are forced to buy their own tennis shoes and toilet paper rather than wait two hours in line for them like good proletariat.

On a more serious note. India isn't the haven for cheap IT that it once was. Companies have started to figure out that it's hard to guarantee quality in off-shored work, and there is little recourse when the work is sub-standard. Also, supply and demand isn't a law passed by the US congress. It applies in India too. IT wages have increased with demand in India just like everywhere else and in the meantime the inefficiencies in their business practices (i.e. three layers of middle men, managers who don't do anything, and assorted backshish) haven't decreased. The net result is that it costs no more to "offshore" your IT work to Oklahoma than it does to India. And this was before the dollar began to drop.

Andy W #149

Good call there. The kind of thing you described has happened and it's one of the many "quality control" problems that have caused companies to pull back from off-shored IT. If you want to think of IT off shoring as a tide, then this one is no longer rising.

Overall though, I think it has been good for the industry. When I graduated from college there was a lot of chaff among the wheat. Everyone wanted to call themselves a software developer and about half of them had no business getting any deeper than a spreadsheet macro. Much of that chaff is gone now. I don't think that would have happened without competition from offshore IT.

Andy W #149

Good call there. The kind of thing you described has happened and it's one of the many "quality control" problems that have caused companies to pull back from off-shored IT. If you want to think of IT off shoring as a tide, then this one is no longer rising.

Overall though, I think it has been good for the industry. When I graduated from [hey, it won't let me use the c-word!] there was a lot of chaff among the wheat. Everyone wanted to call themselves a software developer and about half of them had no business getting any deeper than a spreadsheet macro. Much of that chaff is gone now. I don't think that would have happened without competition from offshore IT.

RifRafRob

"If you want to think of IT off shoring as a tide, then this one is no longer rising."

I wouldn't say it is no longer rising nor would I say it is still rising. I don't think this is a measurable thing.

BTW ... Here is another instance of offshoring of government IT jobs. Currently, a company today, which will remain nameless, has Mexican programmers working in a branch of the company in El Paso, TX on a State Contract. The work is being performed on U.S. soil - no laws being broken, and the programmers are from Mexico. This is known as "The Offshore/ Onshore program". Still, you would hope if one of the programmers violates a privacy law, the Mexican authorities will hand that programmer over to U.S. authorities. Still is scary to me.

#144

Nope, I don't have the time to write 15 paragraph rebuttals of right wing Economic theory, I have a job. That was just the most atonishing of the assertions. I try to keep my posts brief and to the point. And I am nowhere near as well read as you guys in obscure French Economic theory so go ahead and have fun discussing the finer points of that.

My question had to do with the real world. Specifically around the time of the depression. I honestly have no idea how workplace protections would have come about on their on, without people standing up and fighting for them. My grandfather was a coal miner, trucker, steel worker, farmer, and mechanic throughout the great depression experienced first hand many of the horrible conditions that lead to OSHA's creation. Many, not all but many of his employers simply did not care if their employees were killed or maimed in the performance of their jobs. Labor was plentiful so why worry about the workers.

So how do market forces bring about protection for labor in an environment where labor is plentiful and interchangeable, without labor standing up and demanding rights?

On balance, over time, with free markets, everybody wins. More money is created, and even if it doesn't follow a straight line back to American workers, it tends to get there at some point.

This process is scary for many people because they feel like they are in a car being driven rapidly by someone else in the dark, and that is constantly vearing to the left and the right. They're not sure they trust the driver, and very anxious that they don't know the final destination.

So they pass laws intended, in effect, to turn the headlights on, thinking that they will now be able to better control the car. However, if they pay attention, they quickly realize that the car has now become less reactive, they still can't stear it, and they are now going to run into a wall that would have been avoided in the dark.

The Invisible Hand that has been driving us has done well at generalizing wealth, and efforts to control this process have slowed things down and created poverty wherever they have been tried in earnest.

Even in nations like Sweden, where everything is regulated, you have roughly the same income distribution that we have here. The rich are proportionately just as rich, and I would hazard a guess the same thing applies even in Communist nations, where the Party members own everything.

Inequalities of outcome are a guaranteed result of inequalities in what we will term--for the sake of conformity to the scientistic biases of most--genetics, and the only way to overcome them are to begin processes along the lines Huxley envisioned in Brave New World.

As I see it, the only real alternatives are compelled eugenics, the equality of all humankind through collective death, and the acceptance of inequality as a dynamic condition of freedom.

It occurred to me this morning that the argument is often made that religion enables the powerful to rationalize their positions. This may be true. However, it is equally true that religion can be seen as a means of managing the resentments of inequality in a way conformable to personal happiness and contentment.

Richard Dawkins clearly does not accept the third alternative, so I wonder which of the first two he prefers. Perhaps he has a fourth that escapes me, but I doubt it. He likely hasn't even clarified his own thinking sufficiently to see the latent apocalypticism in it. Perhaps I am missing something, but I doubt it.