If everyone would donate five dollars to the RRG it would be funded today.

If you believe it should happen but are not a trainer or affiliate, or if you want to help but you are broke, just donate a dollar or five dollars. Twenty bucks can make a huge impact!

Lets show the power of this community. Go donate now and watch!

Cody-
I think I will, thank you.
This is a well deserved Rest Day.

Say!
I like CrossFit!
I do! I like it, Coach-I-am!
And I will CrossFit in a boat.
And I will CrossFit with a goat.
And I will CrossFit in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
CrossFit is so good, so good, you see!
And I will CrossFit here and there.
Say! I will CrossFit ANYWHERE!
I do so like
CrossFit!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Coach-I-am!

My hands need a rest day

ya i could do 5 bucks but its broke!!
much needed rest day
the hands will appreciate it a ton

how do you donate?

Thank you.

how much do the specialty certifications cost?

ketlebell
nutrition
basic barbell
olympic lifting
rowing
others

is it the same as the level 1 cert?

REST DAY TOPIC:

WOD that hurt you the worst.

First time doing Filthy Fifty for me. I literally thought I might die.

Obama speech? Geez, here we go again with all the liberal indoctrination Rest Day articles... haha

Question:
In 6 months of crossfitting mainsite wod's 3 on 1 off I've seen bench press 3 times. Once I was getting my level one cert, so I've done the BP only twice. Why is the rx'd weight bodyweight when we never get a chance to practice? I guess I'm bothered that I can't do any volume at bodyweight BP (maybe two is possible for me), even though I'm able to do just about everything else rx'd. What gives? Am I just horribly deficient at BP? Are you other crossfitters secretly sneaking in 3 sets of 10 BP? :)

It was an amazing privilege to attend my Level 1 Cert at CrossFit New England. If you have not been certified it is my hope that every person reading this will as soon as they can make the arrangements, and if you have than you understand what I am talking about.
Thank you to Jolie Gentry. Todd Whitman. Chris Spealler. John Gillman. and Mike Giardina. for making this experience one I will never forget. Your ability to communicate the information, and teach us the practical skills necessary to be the very best trainers we can be; was inspiring!!! A personal thank you to Ben Bergeron. (Affiliate owner) and Heather Keenan for their hospitality, and coaching assistance in the Cert; I will do my best to visit them as often as I can get to Natick, Ma..... A big Kudos to the other 60 great people I had the honor to be certified with

Thanks again to all

hmmmm... those pics look oddly like Adidas commercials???

#9 Steve-
Most of the Specialty Certs are $595. If you click on the link of the certification you're interested in, you'll see "Payment Instructions" on the right side of the new window and it displays the price of that particular cert.

Thank you rest day, I need to fend off a cold.

Herm, I didn't notice the time you posted before mine. It was hidden in a response to another poster. Congrats on destroying me by 5 minutes lol. One day...I'll be good

Oh no not the speech....major can of worms opened up here. I'll start it off.
"Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm - but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves." T.S.Eliot
That is about all this president can do - is think well of himself.

RRG has one week to raise 45K. Fail to raise the $$$, goodbye to crossfit as we know it.

Let's go people.

45K/7 = 6.4K a day

what's the hold up?

The Level 1 Cert at CrossFit HEL was awesome! The amount I learned from the drills and lectures was far more than I expected. Read all you want, it will not compare to the hands on training you get from a Cert. Thanks to Mike and Lisa for coming in from AZ to lead this thing. Chris, Jesse, and Tony, Kurtis and Rachel were amazing too! Thanks guys (and girl)!

Again, I can't emphasize enough how much you get out of the hands on training from the CrossFit pros. You can read about proper form all you want, it will not compare to having someone physically put in the right position at all points of a movement.

Oh...and my legs are WRECKED! Time for beer...

Comment 16. R U serious.

Id rather The U.S and extrem muslims are friends rather than getting my ass blown by some guy thinking he will go to heaven and get laid by like 30 women or something.

I mean im living in canada and I think Obama is deafinitly moving forword.

Although I'm not a trainer or affiliate owner, I too would donate a bit of money to the RRG using credit, but someone needs to fix the scenario with PayPal so it will accept donations from randos like myself.

To comment 12. I felt the same way when I first started like how am I going to get better. I realized that if you to the wod right which I'm sure you are your bench will increase because these workouts are targeting all your muscles. That's why I love ctoss fit you don't expect the crazy combos to work but you see and feel results faster than any regiment I have ever done.

Now let me ask everyone a question. If I'm not attached to any crossfir gym were should I use my rings at? Please help. Thanks everyone

Is there a link somewhere explaining what RRG is, what it needs money for, and how we donate? This thread is the first I've heard of this issue.

In the 2nd picture, Pat Sherwood looks like he was photoshopped in. Must be the light from the window...

#22

http://www.crossfitrrg.com/

#21: that is the beauty of rings... Anywhere you can hang them, be creative! Trees, basketball standards, low beams etc...

level 1 cert at cf new england was awesome, coaches were very informative and fun. thanks to everyone from cfne and cf coaches that came up to instruct us.

Good to see the Coast Guard up there again.

#21 Tony

I did the 30 muscle ups for time by hanging rings from high school football field goal post!

The Level 1 Cert at Crossfit New England was incredible! I could not believe that the trainers that I have been watching in the vids on the Main Page were the ones instructing me! I have little to say about the experience other than I am glad I did it, I have never trained that hard. Thank you all for collectively teaching me how to successfully kick my own ass on a daily basis. Stay safe.
V/R
Chris O.
Police Officer/SWAT Operator/Team Medic

Thank you to Jolie, Todd, Chris, John and Mike for putting together an incredible Level 1 certification at CFNE. The cert. was technical, informative, challenging, thought-provocating and inspiring to participate in from start to finish. Your praise, criticism, suggestions and advice will be invaluable to me. Thank you, too, to Ben for hosting the cert. at his amazing space and to both Heather and Ben for motivating me to work harder than I ever thought possible, day after day.

Those new Trainers shirts are slammin. I can see that we are progressively getting stylish. I thought the orange Adidas shirts were the best. You go CrossFit Trainers. Whose idea was it anyway? Stick with the orange.

Had an amazing experience at the Level 1 Cert this weekend at CF New England. Todd, Jolie, Chris, John, Mike, Heather and Ben were extremely helpful in the lectures and hands on practice.
A completely humbling experience in so many positive ways. I am actually at a loss of words for how much I took away from this weekend.
Getting to work with these trainers was unreal.

what does "get some frat" mean? thanks!

Coast Guard ATTC - get some!

Hey, does anyone know where I can find that list of short bodyweight-only WODs that, I think, Nicole made up? I'm about to go fight a forest fire and I wouldn't mind having a few of those to pick from if I have any energy left at the end of the day.

Gene: I laughed at the idea of CFers "sneaking" 3 sets of 10 anything. It's been so long since I "worked out" that way.

Tommy: sweet picture :-) Congratulations to all who completed their Certifications this weekend!

Thanks, Eric. We should do this more often. I hope next week there will be some good ones I can do that don't call for pull-ups. I think I'm gonna call s'more or Rookie out next :)

I'm gonna be in Orlando, FL all next week since my mom is taking my brother and myself on a vacation. But of course I plan on visting an affiliate. Maybe I'll be able to get some competitive times with the change of scenery. Or, maybe the heat and humidity will turn me from turtle to sloth lol. Should be interesting!
I'll keep my eyes peeled for future challenges!

Check out 2nd pic, girl and guy standing above Pat, what's he trying to look at?

Great Level 1 Cert at CF New England this weekend.

Thanks to Todd, Mike, John, Chris, Jolie, Heather, and Ben for all of the great instruction. Also thanks to all the other attendees for making the weekend a blast. If you're ever in the Boston area make sure to stop by this affiliate - it's an awesome setup.

I learned a great deal this weekend. CrossFit is certainly one of those things that can be hard to articulate to the lay person. I know I've endured countless awkward conversations with guys in my firehouse over what CrossFit is exactly. After this weekend, I feel prepared to finally give a good response to "What is CrossFit" and to hopefully use the knowledge gained this weekend to really impact some lives.

A final thanks to Coach Glassman and the CrossFit HQ staff for bringing the whole CrossFit package into my life. Over the last year, I've discovered things I never thought I'd be able to do with my body. These things have made me better at lots of different things individually but collectively they've made me a whole lot better at life!

V/R

Tripp Z.

CrossFitNYC/FDNY/USAF

I cannot believe this rest day article. I thought this was a fitness website. I've recommended friends of mine to try crossfit and I left out the caveat that this is a liberal bastion and that their views will be assaulted from every angle.

That's it I cannot tolerate this brainwashing anymore. The fitness is just a bait and switch to lure people in and then bang them over the head with liberal tax and spend and every thing that is wrong with the world is America's fault. Well no more. I am taking the considerable time and energy I've spent on crossfit and taking it to the National Review/T-nation where everyone will think just like me. It will be easier for my brain to turn to mush with out any challenging thoughts. Hulu's mission will be so much easier.

Not to mention all the money I've spent on Crossfit. Ha. The financial blow that crossfit will take when I decide not to renew my journal subscription will bring this website to it's knees. It's almost to cruel to commit this kind of monetary terrorism. But I feel I must because they have crossed my group think for the last time.

I haven't bothered reading the President's speech and I recommend that you don't waste your time reading it either. But even without reading it I can tell you that every word, point & premise contained is false and I will debate you to the end proving it. Even though I have no idea what you are talking about or referring too. I have gossamer lace and fairy dust on my side

So good bye cruel cruel crossfit. You won't have the great and powerful jakers to kick around anymore. I'm leaving. That's it. Don't try to talk me out of it.

Wait a tick you disagree with me. YOU BULLY. How dare you disagree. That's not very tolerant of you. No I'm not leaving you can't make me. I'm going to stay here and defend my libertarian ideals to the end.

Now I'm leaving and taking my money with me. But I'll be back if anybody disagrees with me.

So there!

How'd I do Pony?

Just a thought.

Tom Emanski-Crossfit Baseball

#41 jakers,Thats good stuff!

jakers-
Perfection lol

I'll be interested to see if that snowballs :)

#41
Ha ha ha!

Nice, jakers!

Can't we all just get along?! 8)

lol jakers
seriously though, thanks to whoever put the "left wing" article up. I assume it's the coach, but i haven't been around here long enough to know who puts them up. IMHO, the same goodness variety imparts on fitness is also crucially beneficial for the mental perspective when accurately analyzing the scope of human conflict, my spectrum of friends.

You have to give props to the President for his efforts. I may not agree whole hardly with his policies or speeches but he is trying to be Presidential. Right? Sounds like a leader. However, when something does happen he may have to eat his words (remember what happened to Prez Carter?). I hope the best for him and America.

I doubt today we will have a lot of drop kick reactions "this is a fitness site blah blah blah" to the rest day topic.

I do have a suggestion for a rest day topic. Last week in the LA Times there was a story about the Oakland Charter school named American Indian (something like that). Their API scores are like 2:00 Fran!

Thank You so much for the level 1 cert this weekend in Portland! I definitely learned an immense amount of information. The weekend ran smoothly, was very organized, and the trainers all knew their information. I am excited to learn even more and become a more effective trainer by implementing this new knowledge!

Just got home from the Level 1 cert at Portland Crossfit HEL. A fantastic weekend of learning. The hands on teaching/coaching of the trainers sure brought a new level of awareness to my technique & I now feel much more confident & capable of teaching others. Thanks to all of the trainers & the folks at Crossfit HEL.

Bad news--legs feel like jello...and tomorrow's not a rest day.
Good news--got my first muscle up on my first time on the rings!!

Is it normal to feel like crap when your times suck compared to everybody elses times on the WODs on the main site when you tried your best?

Daniel,

It use to happen all the time. I would think I had crushed a wod come back to post my time and realize some jack hole was 50% faster.

Eventually you get over it. Or you die trying but either way you don't feel like crap anymore.

“Believe nothing you read and only half of what you see”

Crossfit Level 1 Certification in Copenhagen!

I´m a crossfitter in Sweden (Lund/Uppsala) and I attended the cert this weekend. Thanks to everyone for a great time, I got really inspired! Pat, I´ve been a "pasta-guy", but now I´m actually prepared to change my diet! Jenni, I´ve been trying to find "outs" on ROM, but now I know exactly how good form and flexibility I should have! And it´s great to hear that it´s not only me and my buddy Martin who likes to train in Converse-shoes and hate running, thanks Chuck! It´s also a great inspiration for us guys from the nordic countrys to see Mads being one of the head-instructors.

You asked for some feed-back:
Big plus on the nutrition and programming lectures. Jenni and Chucks WOD gave an idea of how to do it. The circuit with (pull ups, snatch, muscle ups and double unders practice) was great, but I would have wanted to se more instructors on this particular segment...or maybe I´m just frustrated for not having an "Double unders revelation" ;)

I forgot to ask a question, so here we go: Weightlifting was defined by you+object through space. So where does bench press fit in to this? Is the ideal movement pushing something (say a car) and benchpress is just a way to make this movement possible in a gym. Is there some other reason?
Also, when programming, how much of G, M and W should you have over time? Is the "Crossfit-pyramide" a give away?

Thank you Butcher´s Lab for good hospitality and for giving us beer on saturday, nice!
Here´s my training blog (sorry, it´s only in swedish) if someone is interested: www.crossfitbear.blogspot.com

The cert in Copenhagen this weekend was superb. Chuck, Jenni, Pat and all the other instructors were absolutely top notch. I drank the kool-aid, it tasted GOOOODDD and I want more!!! Until our paths cross again, keep on rockin'

Thoughts:

What makes this site, and indeed the crossfit concept, is its simplicity. Black words on a beige background, a daily video for inspiration. A picture to ponder.

I know the work it must take to run a site like this, and its simplicity speaks to the hours of work which must go on behind the scenes. To provide anyone willing to take a couple steps outside of their comfort zone the keys to their body is quite the service to offer for free, but to be honest I can't say that I would have tried it if I had to pay to play.

The simplicity of the concepts, the vitality of the community, and the reliable, free WOD posted everyday have sold me on crossfit. Don't change a thing, Coach, you've definitely got a winner here, and your efforts are appreciated more than you know.

To chime in with Björn, a big thanks to the great CrossFit coaches Pat, Jenny, Chuck and Mads. The Lev 1 cert at Butchers Lab was a great experiance.

This is too large of an audience to discuss politics. Apparently, the link to donate to the RRG says that the recipient is unable to recieve money. Is there another alternative?

Is there anyone in Germany trying to bring CrossFit to the German people? I'm a Soldier trying to bring Crossfit to the civilian population and it's like pulling teeth. I know of CrossFit Rammstein, but they are on the base (I'll be there for the cert on the 27th). Has anyone had problems establishing their affiliate in their respective locations? I would like to see what I'm in for when I do the same

CrossFit Lvl 1 Copenhagen
got to say thank you for a great weekend.
Alot of good stuff to bring back home and share.

Good seminars, the nutrition lecture and programming was really intresting.
Although we ran out of time with the programming bit.

Butchers Lab, thanks for a great place to be.

Thanks to Chuck, Pat, Jenni and Mads for the certification.
And of course all the others who helped out and participated.

I'm new with crossfit...just an average (ok....GREAT runner, looking for cross training. But, IF this site is pro-Obama in any way, I will not stick around. Just thought I'd let you know. The guy is evil. and stupid....

Thank goodness, the TOTUS has reached out to the muslim community, The skies have parted and it's raining zone bars. Peace be upon all under the messiahs watch.

To bad the unclassified intelligence reports in my region state that the muslims think he's just another Bush.... I guess reaching out will gain you favor in the eyes of the sheep and zombie masses.

A big thanks to those that fight for our freedom!

Crossfit Level 1 Certification in Copenhagen!

I want to thank you very much for excellent weekend. Pat, Chuck, Jenni and Mads you were all great and your passion for CF is obvious. Even the nutrion lecture was great and gave me something to think about - being a "pasta girl" like Björn! I was also very happy to learn that there are other Crossfitters who hate runing and I was very glad to hear you Chuck constantly remind us on that! Who invented running anyway??
Well, I still have trouble walkin stairs but my squats are getting Jenni-like!

Thank you all for a great weekend. Butchers Lab, trainers and all the atheletes I met over the weekend.

Last time I read the comments, the article posted was an extremely conservative one and there were just as many people threatening to leave because they perceived Crossfit to be an evil conservative empire. Its just an article to exercise your mind. I.e. THINK

Don't worry about it. Its not an effort to influence your politcial views any more than the occasional virtual shoveling is an attempt to make you do yard work.

And, yes, please, fix the RRG donor button.

Level 1 Cert at CFNE

I was so lucky to attend the level 1 Cert at CFNE! The program was top notch and the trainers were phenomenal. Jolie-she had an eye for people's faults and quickly helped rectify them- she is a petit girl with HUGE output-good luck at the Games Jolie and thanks for your help! Chris Spealler - I would NOT want to mess with him- what a nice everyday down to earth guy who is so approachable and encouraging but is an unbelievable power machine. Great cues too in the groups. Good luck at the Games Chris - I'll be praying for pull-ups for you!! Mike- made me feel like a rock star - very positive and full of praise. Todd- the most positive person ever- he explained things simply and clearly and it was obvious that he LOVES CF! He probably said many other important things but he was so good looking that I couldn't focus - ha!! Ben- you were SO supportive and motivating- thanks for all your help! Heather - I wish I looked like you and hit the WOD's like you - amazing! Good luck to all of you at the Games - I will be pulling for you all! I learned so much and met so many nice people - can't wait to go to another CERT!!

Cross level I certification in Copenhagen

Thanks again Chuck, Jenny, Pat, Mads and Oliver for a great weekend.

The lectures were great and highly informative and left me even more curious than when I arrived.

The practical sessions on the nine major lifts were excellent. Got a great number of points to take home and work on as well as a better eye for what those exercises should look like when done right.

The 80/20 point regarding safety vs intensity really struck home.

Nutrition and programming lectures were excellent.

Also many thanks to guys at Butchers lab for a great weekend. Your box rocks! Oh, and thanks for the beer as well :-).

Chuck, Jenny and Pat hope you have a good flight back and good luck at the games to those of you who made the cut.

Level 1 Cert CFNE

I meant to mention John Gilson as well. He was such an intelligent eloquent speaker who was so witty. He made me want to carry a measuring cup around with me -ha!! Thanks John!

I have a "Lynne" question.

Been doing Crossfit since November. Pullups are still at the assisted or jumping stage.

When I do Lynne, my max pullups are all over the place, and I think it's due to the following factors:

1) I am unable to sustain a hang from the bar, so I'm sort of resting in between.

2) As I've improved, I'm having trouble finding a height from which to jump off that really is letting my arms do the work.

I did Lynne this morning, and my pushups were fine, but here's the pullups: 35, 43, 15, 17, 16. From the 3rd round on, I think I was closer to a "real" technique.

So--should there be any resting between individual pullups or pushups, or I'm thinking this is continuous--I just can't maintain it either from the hang or aerobically (asthma issues).

re: #62...
"To(o) bad the unclassified intelligence reports in my region state that the muslims think he's just another Bush..."

That's interesting that the intelligence (by the way, "unclassified" intel can say whatever it is MADE to say) in your region appears to speak for ALL muslims...the muslims in my current region (Nineva Province, Iraq) seem to think he is a positive figure in both the U.S. and World pictures. He's doing the job of a leader, and he's doing it differently then President Bush - that's to be expected of ANY new president, regardless of party affiliation.

re: #61

"But, IF this site is pro-Obama in any way, I will not stick around. Just thought I'd let you know. The guy is evil. and stupid..."

I'm sure the Glassman's will take your threat into consideration before posting another Rest Day topic...

I'm also sure that nobody who is truly stupid could hold the office of President. Your choice to disagree with his policies and approaches does not render him incompetent and unintelligent. I could be wrong, however, assuming you are as smart as you are humble...

As the other attendees of the cert at CFNE have said "Great Job!". I learned quite a bit, and was humbled by a group of amazing athletes, both instructors and fellow students. It was a little odd at first to get instruction from the likes of Todd, Jolie, and the other Crossfit folks who we have all watched in awe on the main site, but within minutes they will have you deep in a squat and their ability as competent instructors makes itself evident. They are not only top performers, but had a great ability to pass on that knowledge that got them there. If you have been thinking about attending, do your homework and study up before going, you are exposed to A LOT! CFNE’s facility will make you jealous, great box! Congrats to all those 1st time muscle-uppers (Dr. Matt)!! Hope to see you all at the next cert!

Semper Fi!
Steve S.

Shouldn't the CFJ preview be called "GILLIAN playing with the girls", not Jocelyn??

Level 1 Copenhagen
What can I say AWESOME
Great Hosts(thanks for the beer)
Great Box
Great Trainers(Pat, Jenni, Chuck & Mads)
Great lectures
Great workouts
In fact the only bad thing is that my legs aren't working properly today!
Thanks once again for a great weekend

Keir

I attended the cert at the USCG Aviation Technical Training Center and i wanted to say it was an awesome two days. the instruction was very well taught and demonstrated. Thanks to Todd, Mike, Nadia and Pat. Course was awesome.

YES, first muscle up done :D and then 6 more :D
3 months of crossfit wods after back injury, first goal done :)

Crossfit Cert at Coast Guard ATTC E City:
To Todd, MikeG,Nadia & of course, Pat-Thanks for opening our eyes to Crossfit. The instruction was top notch and you all have an innate ability to connect with all the participants. Keep it up!!!
To Coach Glassman, Thanks for sending us your very best. I promise that what was taught at ECity will be used a hundred times over in our service to the public.
Now, Time to set up the Barbell & Olympic Lifting Cert!
Thanks again

Thanks for the "liberal" tone in article. The balance in discussion topics is appreciated and I would like to see it continue.

I notice, however, no matter which side the article leans towards the "debate" has moved further and further away from the actual topic presented.

Perhaps both sides need to work on this. Or maybe we'll just never agree.

Unfortunately I'm at work so you lot can get started without me.

Interesting to see such reactions to a link that was to video, transcripts and information on a speech and not an editorial analysis.

Seeing beyond one's own pre-conceived notions of the person delivering a message to dispassionately analyze the contents of the message itself can be nearly as difficult as a properly executed Crossfit workout. From the tone of many of the comments posted on "political" Rest Day links, it would seem that some could benefit from some technique training...

The president was in Cairo and addressed Muslims. Watch it yourself and draw your own conclusions based upon the message and the context. Whether you approve of the current President or not, how do you feel about this speech as a foreign policy statement?

Try to refrain from making references to domestic or economic policy. No need to bring up Cheney's marksmanship or Whitewater or anything else not related to the topic at hand.

If you didn't watch or read the speech and/or can't discuss it without bringing up everything else that you love/hate about Obama/Bush, please show us all that you are strong and smart enough to STFU.

Congrats Russ! And thanks Greg, CrossFit Seuss rocks. Paul

I think the the speech insulted the U.S, gave aid and comfort to the terrorist enemy, and undercut the troops in harm's way. He said that we abandoned our principles, that we needed to get out of Iraq, and that we would be leaving Afghanistan soon. He equated our women's rights situation with the women's rights situations in the nations he was addressing, and equated Israel and terrorists groups. He seems to take more direction from the dictatori King of Saudi Arabia than from the American people.

Love cross fit.

But I don’t understand the point of posting the BO speech?

Regardless of your political leanings, most who have evolved beyond a comatose level of understanding realize speeches are pure bunk. 99% chance BO didn’t write it. And the deeper subtle reality of politics and command/control in the Middle East and Asia, and how the US government acts/reacts is not even touched.

Speeches are emotive and make us feel warm and fuzzy, or emboldened inside, but don’t impact reality.

I think cross fit is a great site for education. I've cross checked and reality checked the advice, with real results. It is profound compared to other "fitness" sites.

I'm not opposed to education or trying to expand the minds, outlook, enlightenment of the community with "off beat" topics, but the speech fails on all levels. It’s not insightful. It’s not profound.

What if the best political website threw in an article on the benefits of following the government recommended nutrition pyramid? Wouldn’t most cross fitters know its not even close to the reality of how to eat? Wouldn’t a cross fitter then start to doubt the political advise/insight of that site.

I dont want tell you how to run your site and my comments are only in an effort to improve your product or maintain the integrity of the site.

Thank you Cross Fit webmasters, I am grateful for all you have done for me, the community, and the country. You have made the world better with this site.

P.S. I dont want to see a speech by Bush or Rush either.

#52 Daniel Krull -"Is it normal to feel like crap when your times suck compared to everybody elses times on the WODs on the main site when you tried your best?" You know i didnt post for a long time for that reason, but the key is I tried MY best. I have a 42 year old body that produced 3 beautiful children, i try to eat well, never been much of an athlete and nearly all of these movements were new to me, but if i try MY best, who cares what everyone else did? A year ago i would have even considered doing a wod at all :) Keep posting!!!

I can't even lift a finger to type today.

#61
Just wondering what your specific issue with the President's speech was. Was it that he wants to get along with Muslims? Advocates a Palestinian state? Is it because he quoted from the Koran? Was he a bit preachy? Telling other countries what they should and shouldn't do? Or maybe it's because he's spending your hard-earned tax dollars on education for people in other countries. C'mon. Clue us in.

fwiw I'm not an U.S.American citizen, but armed forces from my country fight and die alongside US soldiers for freedoms that I might otherwise take for granted. I am grateful to those that risk and sometimes give their lives protecting those freedoms.

Do I think Obama is flawless? Of course not. Do I agree with everything he says? No. I do think he is a positive change for the U.S.American people and have a difficult time understanding the 'Obama is evil, boo hiss' crowd.

The president's speech probably achieved it's intended purpose - reach out to the Muslim world and try and open dialogue between the U.S.A and Muslim nations. Obama probably didn't impress the Israeli leadership a lot, but so what?

I did think he got a little preachy at times and the right-wingers out there will probably think he spent an hour scoring cheap political wins because he can couch relevant issues in concilliatory fashion and quote liberally from the Koran. I thought he sounded sincere. More power to him.
My $0.02

Also, pretty much everything that FooteSoldier said.

Much needed rest day.

I'm loving these work outs, they hurt but I know they are working, I'm already feeling better, not out of breath as easily, and I've already lost about 5lbs in the last WEEK!!! 8-D

Another 30 to go and I know CrossFit and the CrossFit community will be there the whole way.

Because it encapsulates what I anticipate will be the substance of several comments on Obama's speech, I'm quoting a portion of what David Frum had to say about it:

“Islam is not a monolith, we are often told. And that is true! The Islamic world is also the home of Dr. Younus Shaikh, a Pakistani scholar charged with blasphemy for stating that Islam did not exist before Muhammad.

The Islamic world is the home of the terrorized young gays of Iran. It is the home of Saudi women who want to drive. Did the President have anything to say to them?

No, no and no. For all the speech's reasonable tone, it treats the more traditionalist elements within Islamic societies as the more authentic.”
(http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=1666224)

Frum would like to see more hyperbole from Obama, he would like to see Obama say: “you’re either with us or against us.” I think Frum is intentionally attempting to close the space for dialogue and cooperation that Obama is trying to open up.

To my mind the crucial underlying message of the Obama’s speech is the following:

“So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”

Of course Obama was talking to Frum and Limbaugh and Sarkozy and Brown, and Peres, and Hassan Nasrallah, and Khaled Mashal, but much more so to the millions of Muslims around the world who want peaceful prosperous lives for themselves and their families. His speech communicates an attitude, the reasonable tone that Frum is upset about - it did not make concrete commitments nor was it intended to. I think Obama’s speech was a small but good first step toward setting the right tone for addressing Muslims. He may need to adopt a different tone with the governments of Muslim nations, but that is another matter, for another speech.

Herm: I'm your huckleberry...

Same to you Eric G, Rookie, s'more, Jakers, Fat Tony etc...I need a challenge to help dig me out of this little rut.

Someone call me out...

I don't think an American from Hawaii has any grounds to tell Israel where they can and can't settle.

#52 ... yeah, I also feel like crap, actually most of the time, when I go on the board and see other people's times. Last night was a case in point with the CF Daily... I posted just under 30 minutes, which is horrible compared to everyone elses 10-15 minutes times.

But you know what? You have to look at what you could do before. I didn't even know what a thruster was a few months ago. Now I can do 63 of them with 40% of my body weight.

I know I'll never compete at CF... I'm 36,142# and have never been very strong. But I've found with the CF community, even though it's about competition, it's still about the spirit.

I feel stronger than I ever have, in better shape, and I'm making progress so...yeah, I feel like crap when I see these other times and weights, but ya know... as long as I'm moving forward I'll keep on keeping on and try to celebrate in my little PRs.

I should have clarified, a non-native american from hawaii...

Lovin todays comments. Just remember, their all Republicrats.

190/25/m

8:06 AS RX'D

OK, the day off article...

I am Australian and as such really have no place commenting on your politics or president. After all, Australia currently has its own 'leadership' problems.

I will say though, what is the bloody big deal with Muslims? It seems every news article, every speech, every topic, every opinion must have a muslim slant or take on it. I mean fair enough, most of the worlds conflict areas do contain a radical Muslim component striving to rid 'its' land of the rampaging Christian (purely coincidental i am sure), but if there was a news story on puppies and kindergarten, I am sure the reporter would find someone in a shamag to ask about it.

Now, and correct me if I am wrong, I often am, you now have a President who is a Muslim, or was he just raised one, so he isnt anymore?? So I guess he will hang his hat on being the 'one' who united the Muslim and western worlds? Ha, good luck....these different cultures have been at it for centuries, but in comes Hussain Obama who will sort it out in a couple of years...

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the damage as a result of the policies he is enacting now wont come to fruition until well after his Presidency is over. So I pity the poor guy following this President, cause I suspect he will have a lot of catching up to do.

Cross Fit just changed my life!
From a chubby short guy to fit medium hight man I've had a huge change on the appearance as well as my internal and external life.
Thank you so much and I will keep up with the work.

I am a 35 year old American white male. As far as I know I was born with no enemies and with no natural predators. I am not commenting on behalf of any religion, political group, military unit or other organization. I would simply like to offer my point of view just as others have. Having said that, I feel like I should give you some personal information so you may make your own judgments about how my experiences and background have affected my outlook on this subject. I am from Tennessee, I take a generally conservative approach to economic and social issues, I served in the Marines for 6 years and I believe in God under no certain affiliation except my own personal relationship with him/her. The strongest belief that I have and the strongest that I can imagine someone else experiencing is my relationship with my creator. Second only to that is my urge to protect and guide my offspring, and thirdly I believe in the uncensored right of every other human on earth to believe and experience those two things as they see fit. What I do not believe in (and some will call me intolerant for what I am about to say) is that myself or any other person should have to fear under any circumstances that another persons beliefs incur them the right to harm that person or restrict his right to believe. In my opinion the fanatic Muslim contingent has succeeded in doing this to every group, institution, organization, and affiliation in the world including their own. There is no evidence that leads me to believe that the gentleman and ladies of our armed forces spread throughout the world would not give their lives or their own liberty to ensure that every man, woman, and child are insured these rights. The Muslim community however (whether fanatic or otherwise) as a group seem to have a different view on the validity of these rights for every other person, if I am wrong then it is about the exception rather than the rule. Just as JFK reminded us that fear should be our only fear I would like to impart that intolerance should be the only idea of which we are intolerant, if I am categorically wrong then let the Muslim people stand up and say so, let them stand up and say from the top down that they are tolerant of my beliefs and my culture and my right to expression. Let them condemn the actions of the fringe contingent of their religion, as I condemn the KKK, Skinheads and Eric Rudolphs of America. Not just the Americanized separatist branches of the Islamic community either, but a national and international figure or political body whom represents a majority of the Muslims who are open to the ideas of liberty and justice for all, and who condemn the atrocities of terrorist regimes who hide behind the face of a God that would not allow me the right to those two things that I hold in the highest regard, Those two things that I myself have served in defense of and am labeled intolerant because I refuse to yield to idealist who would allow them to me only if they fit into their own skewed view of religion.

#10: Jon
So many really crushing workouts... but I think I'd have to say Eva. It was pretty soon after I started, so I was using bands and the 1.5 (not 2) pood KB, but it just wrecked me. I think it took ~45 minutes and left me curled over a med ball in a fetal position for a long time. I took a short break from lying on the med ball to go into the bathroom and dry heave a bit before coming back to the med ball. Ah good times.

Speaking of good times, I'm going to a level 1 cert in August in Brooklyn!

Major Phil Packer RMP has begun his El Capitan climb. http://www.philpacker.com/index.php (WFS)

Major Packer lost most of the use of his legs in a rocket attack in Basra, just over a year ago. Despite being told he would never walk again, he has now rowed across the English Channel, completed the London marathon (on crutches) and is now doing approximately 4200 pullups to climb El Capitan in Yosemite. The 3 events are to raise over 1 million Pounds for injured service personnel.

Playoff Beard-

I challenge you....to a duel!!!

I really enjoyed the post. I know there has been earlier complaints about a liberal or conservative bent to the rest day articles, so here we have a simple solution: a link to the actual event. The post allows the readers to make their own interpretations of the presidents speech and perhaps invites them to do their own fact checking [via the web].

I can see no way in which this can or should be called a "liberal posting," what coach has posted is simply an EVENT. How can the actual event have a bias?? You have a choice to agree with or disagree with President Obama, but the only bias applied to his speech is your own mind.

There is no bias coming from the electronic equipment recording and transmitting this speech, unless reality can said to have some bias, an absurdity since reality is the reference point from which ideas are said to have a bias from. Or perhaps -- in the words of Stephen Colbert -- "reality has a liberal bias."

Once I finish viewing this 1 hour speech, I will post my thoughts. I look forward to hearing all of your thougths!

Overall, I have to say that was a decent speech, that likely accomplished the goal of helping to build pro-American sentiment in the Middle East.

Few comments: much of the negative sentiment has come from propaganda that arose on our own Left, or from Soviet Agitprop back when they were still around. Well done propaganda has staying power, especially in information and education starved societies.

Consider this comment: "Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail."

This is a call for the UN to run everything. This is, to me, an unambiguous rejection, in principle, of the primacy of American sovereignty. Particularly given his de facto admission in the rest of the speech that if something is going to get done, we are going to do it, this is discouraging, but of course hardly unexpected.

Again: "I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons."

How on Earth are we going to verify that other nations have destroyed their weapons? How on Earth do we maintain a balance of power with nations like China that have 4-5 times as many people without nukes? In my view, nukes are the main reason no major land wars were fought in Europe during the Cold War. Likely, the ONLY reason.

The only way we can give up nukes is if other nations sincerely adopt our commitment to human decency, and principle based behavior. For the foreseeable future, this is silly utopianism, or cynical rhetoric.

"In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education."

This simply isn't true. Muslims have invented very little, and do not even appear to bear primary responsibility for the preservation of Classical literature and ideas. I would like to see Islam become inventive. This would be a wonderful thing, and maybe flattering their vanity in this way will be the ticket. They aren't dumb: they just aren't free.

The best possible outcome for this speech is the sort of response Kennedy got in Berlin to his "I am a citizen of Berlin" speech (he actually said something a bit different, but they understood his point).

Rhetoric does, at times, achieve concrete, physical results, although not often. Let us hope this speech helps to some extent. It took a Democrat--Bill Clinton--to roll back our social welfare programs. Maybe in this case it will take a Leftist to make the case that maybe America isn't the root of all evil, and not have that promptly contradicted by the Daily Cause, Noam Chomsky and others.

Let us hope so.

UNCOMMON SENSE
Amazing to me, that an article like this is up for "debate" in the CrossFit communtity. Without knowing any further of my background, simply know I am a certified CrossFit level 1 trainer, also have barbell, kettlebell, and olympic lifting certs. All this means is I've been around the CF community for a little while now. It's aparent to anyone on board for long enough, that this is a special program, and a special group of people. I have learned from this program, that with fitness and nutrition, everything must be CHALLENGED. Proof must be in the pudding. Dr. So and So can have 5 PHD's in bla bla bla, so he must be right about everything fitness and nutrition correct? Unfortunately, if it doesn't get REAL results with REAL people in REAL situations, CrossFit doesn't accept it. Shouldn't it be that way?
I'm also under the impression that this community enjoys it's freedom. Freedom to choose, challenge, endorse, or reject components from all across fitness to generally include only those things that are important, and only those things that work.
Our founding fathers and several other great dead men greatly feared the rule of government. Many patriots lost their lives preventing their outright rule. History PROVES to us that their fears were certainly warranted.
Enter this administration. Let's put more money, and more power in the hands of people who have repeatedly proven to do wrong with the money and the power. That's genius. Let's have the government guide us ever so perfectly in every aspect of our lives. Maybe they can even pass a few laws that can make CrossFit more fair. I can't do Fran in under 4 minutes. Just not fair, I think I might sue. Oh and don't forget I've heard about that Rhabdo thing, I think maybe CrossFit should be illegal altogether.
There are so many other ways to discuss this topic but all lead to the same result. People need to be free. Thinking for oneself is even clinically proven to be good for you, just ask your doctor.
Our President, the PHD of everything that ever existed, is planning all our futures. He also just justified every attack, physical or otherwise, on our nation. History will fill in the blank as to what happens next. I pray i'm wrong.

SemperMagnaFi,

I think Obama's Cairo speech is a step toward trying to help "the Muslim people ("a national and international figure or political body whom represents a majority of the Muslims") stand up and say so...stand up and say from the top down that they are tolerant of... [your]...beliefs and...[your]...culture and...[your]...right to expression."

He is doing that by saying: "We are listening, we will hear you as individuals and as parties and as states when you say it."

What is the role of the US in that process? Does Does it have one role, no role, many roles? Military? Diplomacy? Ideology?

Portland attendees! Way to freakin' be! This was an awesome crew, lots of energy, lots of grit and really good movement overall. Thanks for letting me teach you about presses, for letting me make you do 40,000 med ball cleans and for picking up the snatch like Coach B was there!

Paul - small world huh?
Mikaela - say hi to Bux for me!
Dee - you rocked this weekend!
Kimy - Way to protect yourself and still totally dominate!
Emma - Killer rx workouts!
Walter - easy on the equipment bro ;)
Evelyn - stretch those calves sister!
Ash - Wicked box jumps!
Jerome - Mr. 606 - finish those hips!
Nadine - Thanks for rocking!

Thanks again everyone - awesome group!

I had the best time getting my butt worked over at the training held in Elizabeth City. My legs finally stopped hurting. Our trainers, Todd, MikeG,Nadia & of course, Pat were top notch and kept us wanting more and less at the same time. Is that possible!!!!!! It is a way of Life and i believe in it all. On my helmet at three locations read STRENGTH, INTENSITY and DEDICATION. They have been there for 14 years now. While going thru this training and hearing Todd talk about where you should be at, i was like, man i have been there and needed a little refresher. You at least two to have the third. All stay safe and talk to you soon.

I mailed my Crossfit RRG donation today . I'm neither an affiliate nor trainer ; I just want to support a great program.

Let's do it Eric. You choose the weapons!

Yesterday's WOD not as rx'd...OD

80# SDHP x 25
DU's x 25
5 rnds - 23:19

Addressing a narrow point in Barry Cooper's post, there are many inventions/discoveries in the Muslim world (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions_in_the_Islamic_world for a sampling). Unfortunately it seems that Islam turned away from this path a long time ago. The time period roughly coincides with the early middle ages, when Western Civilization produced little of note. I suspect that this is the preservation of knowledge being referenced in the speech.

This means little of course to the state of the world today.

F/35/135/65"

I do not comment very often, but I would like to say that comment 92, SemperMagnaFi, is a very well written post. That is almost exactly how I feel - I will listen to the speech tonight.

trish

#100: thank you for sharing your faith with us.

Now go look in a mirror and repeat to yourself "opinions are not facts". In fact, one can have an opinion without any facts at all.

I actually forgot to add earlier that Obama did not come from "generations of Muslims", as he said. His father WAS a Muslim, and anyone born Muslim who converts to something else has committed the grave sin of apostasy.

In reality, though, of course, his father was a Communist, not a Muslim. One wonders if the author of a book titled "Dreams from my father" would have been elected, had our public media done their job both in communicating this, AND in telling the truth about Communism over the last half century.

Kudos for putting up an Obama speech, but this is not an "article" and it's not the equivalent of putting up a right-wing biased article. We are slowly making some progress though!

There's a feature article about CrossFit in today's Minneapolis StarTribune newspaper:
www.startribune.com/lifestyle/47147917.html?elr=KArksUUUycaEacyU

Nothing new reported here but thought the CF community might be interested.

Prole,

The fact that we are and have been listening is not at issue here. What is at issue is what we hear… the sobbing of the parents of dead soldiers, killed by the citizens of countries ruled by tyrants, soldiers who were sent to remedy the injustice imposed by those tyrants, the screams of women as they are stoned to death for primitive laws made up by the imaginations of a primitive society, and of course the creaking of steel and the breaking of concrete as our buildings fall from the skyline...no doubt a response to our ideal that they (as well as we or I or you for that matter) should have the right to believe as they see fit. Thanks for your very enlightening advice, you've obviously taken lessons for imposing your insight on others from the very gifted (his words not mine) Mr. Obama.

"I haven't bothered reading the President's speech and I recommend that you don't waste your time reading it either. But even without reading it I can tell you that every word, point & premise contained is false and I will debate you to the end proving it."
-Jakers
Typical conservative, doesn't bother to actually read or reason, simply has a knee-jerk reaction to anything he deems "liberal" and the ole noggin shuts off. *sigh* Thank goodness for the rest of sane America.

I attended the level 1 cert. hosted by CrossFit H.E.L in Portland, Oregon this past weekend. It was an amazing, fun, and educational experience. The staff all did a wonderful job, so a big thanks to them.

It was my first time ever visiting an affiliate and training with a group of people (my current town of residence does not have a box so I train in a garage gym). The energy of training with a group was awesome, and it was really refreshing being around other like-minded and driven individuals.

Even though I have spent countless hours going through CF Journal over the past year and have learned a lot, having in-person instruction has no comparison. I learned so much and had a ton of fun. I left educated, inspired, and very very sore! Tabata squats, Fran, and Fight Gone Bad really managed to fry me (no surprise there I guess).

I really look forward to attending more certs in the future. They really worth every penny you pay. I highly recommend attending if you haven't done so.

Thanks again to all the instructors, you did an excellent job!

just watched my copy of every second counts. badass. loved it, nice work on the film, good motivation.

get some!

Post #92 SemperMagnaFi.

Very well put- Once a group purposefully inflicts fear in another group they are out of line. Religion in this world is perfectly okay, and to some people necessary. But once people kill in the name of religion then that is unacceptable and needs to be stopped. In my opinion the war on terror is a necessary fight that needs to be won. I have close friends and family in the Marine Corps, my older brother is a Navy diver, my twin brother is going to BUD/S soon enough and when i graduate OCS im going to BUD/S as well

CF Level 1: $1000

Food, gas, and water for the weekend: $100

Doing a face plant off the pull-up bar at the feet of one of your idols (Jolie Gentry) during 'Fran': Priceless.

Steve S. (#69) and others summed up the cert beautifully. CFNE Level 1 was awesome. A heart-felt thank you to all the trainers, participants, and CF New England for an outstanding weekend.

#111 Thomas: he's making fun of lefties (you're new here, so let me say simply that I like the word liberal, and don't feel that self proclaimed "liberals" have warranted the term for at least 40 years).

That you failed to see that makes his satire yet more trenchant.

#111 Thomas:

That was classic Jaker's tongue-in-cheek bait...and you fell for it hook line and sinker ;-)

#106 B. Cooper, one can be both a Muslim and a Communist.

#117, #118 Barry Cooper and Playoff Beard,

Post #111 by...me, was classic Thomas, using attempted satire to make a point of my own and provoke the other side. You both fell for it hook line and sinker. :)

#120: Wow Thomas, the classic double satire backdoor maneuver. Rarely used but still, I should have seen that one coming from a mile away.

You sure outfoxed us this time, well played.

#120 Thomas,

Unfortunately, the bandwidth of this comment page makes discerning the fine points of tone a very hit-or-miss proposition.

Nice try Thomas, but you can't cover weaknesses that have already been exposed, try the SunTzu approach next time and know your enemy and youself equally well before you attack.

Thomas,

By the way, how the hell did you get thomas@hotmail you must have invented the internet with Al Gore or something

#119 Dancy: Communism is, by definition, the political elaboration of Marxist economic theory, which itself is fully materialistic, and deterministic. Religion is discouraged where not banned outright in ALL Communist regimes. The monks and churches--as potential blocks to the power of the State--are usually the first to go, although sometimes the bloodletting starts with the bourgeoisie.

Islam, for its part, has no truck with any doctrine that reduces the primacy of the worship of Allah, or effort to live your life in accord with the traditions and rules defined through Mohammad as the ultimate and final revelation in human history.

The two are fully incompatible.

I will add, as I have before, that it is intensely ironic that the faith chosen by so many inner city blacks is the ONLY major religious faith for whom the toleration of--and to be clear, practice of--slavery is still acceptable.

The Chinese and Cubans and North Koreans of course keep slaves too. They just don't call them by that name. The preferred euphemism is presumably something like "Those freed by the State for the glorification of the people."

How many of you all want to be Chinese slaves? It's on the drawing board. We keep spending money we don't have, nothing good will happen, and much that is bad will CERTAINLY happen. You can't spend your way to prosperity, any more than you can increase your savings by spending every cent you have.

We are in a very dangerous time, and we all need to remember that quite often all good rhetoric is, is a clever lie.

What public record exists of Obama by which we might compare his rhetoric and actions? He has made next to no decisions, implemented next to no policies, never managed a staff larger than 10 or so. Yet, we elected him.

Why? Hope. Ponder--really PONDER--what it implies about our nation that we thought AN ELECTED FEDERAL OFFICIAL could GIVE us hope. That someone, in some other state, could move you from a condition of hopelessness, to hope. From despair to faith. From pessimism to optimism.

We all need to understand the point of Anti-Americanism. It is to undermine the faith that would otherwise exist--has existed for most of our history--in ourselves, and our government of the people, BY the people, FOR the people.

All Obama has done so far is spend a lot of money. He has increased our dependence on the Federal Government, created a massive patronage system, and in the process made national bankrupcy a very real possibility.

Is this what Obama supporters were hoping for?

Freedom is a bitch. That's why so many people run screaming from it. There are plenty of people out there, trained to coddle you, infantilize you, and turn you back out with a pocket full of slogans, an artificial and unjustified faith in your mental prowess, and a hatred of anyone who isn't just like you.

#124, it's too late Re-butt, the cat is already out of the bag and they already fell for my ingenious ploy! Provocation sequence complete. :)

#125

Mr. Cooper, thanks for the reply. You mention regimes, yet we were speaking of individuals. Communism often becomes spoiled on a grand scale. Yet it is quite possible for one of any religion to be politically communistic. I know, because I am one, and have friends who are various religions yet consider themselves either generally socialistic or specifically communists politically. Regime-wise, you may be right, but you were not speaking of a regime, but of an individual. On the individual level, one can quite easily be both Muslim and Communist. Peace.

#124,

I'm flattered, are you trying to email me? Got something "personal" to tell me do you?

jakers isn't making fun of necessarily lefties or righties only, but ultimately rather anybody who holds their own opinion as dogma, which can be anybody of any political stripe.

Thomas,

No just an observation, but some advice, you really should try going through the Limbaugh/Cheney mind control and recruitment level 1 cert. with your wit and ostensible abilities of provocation you would certainly be a good addition to the neo-con army recruitment force here on crossfit.com, you probably thought this was a workout site or something, right? Remember Sun-Tzu...

Obama is this countries worst nightmare. Whether most americans choose to see it or not. I will not even read his speech due to his non-American nature. He bows down to the muslims and has created "czars" now to help rule the country. If you don't believe me do a little research, he even used the word czar. We are so far down an ugly road that I fear we'll not recover. The AMerica my grandparents knew was free and wonderful, now it's weak, sneaky, and slowly becoming a non free country. Watch out all you independent thinkers, gun owners, business owners, and true Americans. The worst is yet to come with him representing us. Well I shouldn't even say that, he doesn't represent us. His plan is long and unconscionable. He is terrorizing this country.

jakers- you forgot to mention your righteous indignation. And where exactly are you going? So the rest of the lotus eating, leather sandal wearing, tofu stir frying, om-mani-padme-ohm chanting liberals can follow. Color coordinated yoga mats and water bottles with them. Oh wait. You're libertarian? Is that libertarian socialist? Geolibertarian? Leftist? Anarcho-capitalist? Socio-commie? You guys all need to move to some stupid remote state like Wyoming.

Playoff Beard- I challenge you to an 80s movies Trivial Pursuit Playoff! Or cribbage at the PB Party Bus.

Did Lynne today, numbers at home.....same number of reps as last time EXCEPT I did it with 100# instead of 85! Go me.

Dancy,

If you are a Communist, you want Communist Party control of the government. This is a necessary conclusion. There is nothing touchy-feely about the doctrine. Either you follow Marx, and allow that the Revolution will happen in its own time, or you follow Lenin (or Alinsky), get control of the Government, and compel compliance with the notion of egalitarianism, expressed through universal privation and slavery.

Please show me a Communist regime that actually held power that EVER lived peacefully with Muslims. The Khmer Rouge slaughtered them en masse. The Chinese slaughtered them. The Russians killed them in all the 'Stans in Central Asia, including most notably Afghanistan and Chechnya.

ABSOLUTE CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF THE PARTY IS THE ONLY ENDURING RULE FOR COMMUNISTS.

You likely fancy yourself an individualist. A non-suburbanite rebel, whose robust mind, and penetrating heart have somehow found their way to a better way, a path of freedom from the work of the drone, from the well trodden cattle path of the lumbering herd of sleeping conformists.

And yet a doctrine you are publicly admitting you admire killed substantially more people than the Nazis did. Hitler used the model Lenin, then Stalin, developed in setting up his own concentration camps.

And what's yet more interesting, is there have been literally millions of people, who thought they were safe from the bloodthirsty wolves because they talked the talk, and did whatever was asked of them. Yet, in the end, you will die when your Overlords want you do die. Simple as that.

If you want to understand the HISTORY--not the rhetoric, which is all structured as a interesting and compelling false fairy tale--then read the Black Book of Communism. If you still want to claim Communism is a desirable system of government after reading that book, then you are a jackbooted fascist, head to toe, simple as that.

SemperMagnaFi

The issue of who is listening to whom, and what may come of it is centrally at issue here.

I fail to see how focussing on that issue for a time, in addition to focussing on things like sending 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan is unprincipled or somehow a capitulation to the tyrants, the terrorists and the misogynists.

Karina is Jakers having another joke?

The 'war on terror'...what does that really mean? 'War' can be concretely defined. 'Terror' is an abstract idea. That language should have never been used and should not be used today. Fanatics (of any persuasion) and oppressors should be stopped. There should be no questioning that. But to say we are fighting a 'war' on 'terror' is not going to get us very far.

Another thing...violence is violence. War is declared violence of the strong vs the strong or the strong vs the weak. Terrorism is always the weak attacking the strong.

Why would the weak try to take on the strong? usually because the strong has done something that the weak felt was oppressive directly or supported something unjust. whether one agrees or not one should examine what the weak attackers are saying AND look at history. If more of us did that we would see things more completely.

Here are some things to think about...

There are a lot of fools calling themselves Muslims, Jews and Christians. There are MANY different ideologies. Not all Jews believe in Zionism. Not all Christians believe that a white man is God. Not all Muslims believe non-Muslims should convert. So we should not see these groups as monolithic. An examination of history from various sources will reveal much. We have to look at CONFLICTING sides to stories. Most people only read what seems to support their view to get 'ammunition' for debates! Be honest.

I challenge everybody in here to read more. Read about the Muslims and Jews working together in spain-good and bad accounts. Read the Bible-cover to cover. Then read the Qur'an-cover to cover. Read different versions of both. Read different translations. Understand that these long-winded folks who frequent this site who always have such 'great commentary' don't know as much as you think they do. Understand that things done politically don't always match up with what's in scripture.

Be more like Pat Tillman. He served his country and died for his country but was well read and studied religions that he didn't call his own. Be a free thinker. Not a 'liberal' or a 'conservative' or a 'libertarian'. Be a thinker dammit! And serve your fellow man the best way you can imagine how. Not the best way you currently know how...find an even better way!

Well after watching Gillian's video (absolutely awesome form Gillian) and Joceyln's amazing time, I decided I needed to give Di Fran Beth a shot.

DL's 225x21(11/5/5) 1:57
HSPU 21 (11/3/2/2/3) 2:28
95# Thruster 15 (6/5/4) 2:21
PU's BFK :27 unbroken
135# Squat Clean 9 3:34 (3/2/2/2)
Ring dips 9 :14
11:03

Gillian was that a Red Merle Aussie? Looks like my Charlie Brown. Great dogs, he loves to watch me do crossfit.

HSPU still giving me fits, but felt much better today. It's been a long time since I've nailed 11 in a row. Getting another opinion on my left shoulder Friday, going to push really hard for an MRI.

#52 Daniel Krull...you will find some monsters in here we don't have to feel underpresaure bro we just hace to train just hice your best don't feel bad just lift, run, jump and don't pay attention to another times...train hard bro

They are superhumans we are humans training hard =)

Barry, once again, you are talking about communist regimes when you were initially talking about an individual. Even if there has not been a communist regime amenable to Islam previously, that hardly precludes a current Muslim from wanting or being desirous of such. So the point is moot. It is easy to be both a Muslim and a Communist, especially in America! :)

#135 Strong Lil' Pony: You're on!

Barry Cooper

"This simply isn't true. Muslims have invented very little, and do not even appear to bear primary responsibility for the preservation of Classical literature and ideas. I would like to see Islam become inventive. This would be a wonderful thing, and maybe flattering their vanity in this way will be the ticket. They aren't dumb: they just aren't free."

Islamic inventors

1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee.

2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one.

3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century - and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means chariot.

4 A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.

5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George IV and William IV.

6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam's foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today - liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern chemistry.

7 The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 1206 Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 other inventions was the combination lock.

8 Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of insulating material in between. It is not clear whether it was invented in the Muslim world or whether it was imported there from India or China. But it certainly came to the West via the Crusaders. They saw it used by Saracen warriors, who wore straw-filled quilted canvas shirts instead of armour. As well as a form of protection, it proved an effective guard against the chafing of the Crusaders' metal armour and was an effective form of insulation - so much so that it became a cottage industry back home in colder climates such as Britain and Holland.

9 The pointed arch so characteristic of Europe's Gothic cathedrals was an invention borrowed from Islamic architecture. It was much stronger than the rounded arch used by the Romans and Normans, thus allowing the building of bigger, higher, more complex and grander buildings. Other borrowings from Muslim genius included ribbed vaulting, rose windows and dome-building techniques. Europe's castles were also adapted to copy the Islamic world's - with arrow slits, battlements, a barbican and parapets. Square towers and keeps gave way to more easily defended round ones. Henry V's castle architect was a Muslim.

10 Many modern surgical instruments are of exactly the same design as those devised in the 10th century by a Muslim surgeon called al-Zahrawi. His scalpels, bone saws, forceps, fine scissors for eye surgery and many of the 200 instruments he devised are recognisable to a modern surgeon. It was he who discovered that catgut used for internal stitches dissolves away naturally (a discovery he made when his monkey ate his lute strings) and that it can be also used to make medicine capsules. In the 13th century, another Muslim medic named Ibn Nafis described the circulation of the blood, 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslims doctors also invented anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes and developed hollow needles to suck cataracts from eyes in a technique still used today.

11 The windmill was invented in 634 for a Persian caliph and was used to grind corn and draw up water for irrigation. In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the seasonal streams ran dry, the only source of power was the wind which blew steadily from one direction for months. Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric or palm leaves. It was 500 years before the first windmill was seen in Europe.

12 The technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at least 50 years before the West discovered it.

13 The fountain pen was invented for the Sultan of Egypt in 953 after he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes. It held ink in a reservoir and, as with modern pens, fed ink to the nib by a combination of gravity and capillary action.

14 The system of numbering in use all round the world is probably Indian in origin but the style of the numerals is Arabic and first appears in print in the work of the Muslim mathematicians al-Khwarizmi and al-Kindi around 825. Algebra was named after al-Khwarizmi's book, Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah, much of whose contents are still in use. The work of Muslim maths scholars was imported into Europe 300 years later by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci. Algorithms and much of the theory of trigonometry came from the Muslim world. And Al-Kindi's discovery of frequency analysis rendered all the codes of the ancient world soluble and created the basis of modern cryptology.

15 Ali ibn Nafi, known by his nickname of Ziryab (Blackbird) came from Iraq to Cordoba in the 9th century and brought with him the concept of the three-course meal - soup, followed by fish or meat, then fruit and nuts. He also introduced crystal glasses (which had been invented after experiments with rock crystal by Abbas ibn Firnas - see No 4).

16 Carpets were regarded as part of Paradise by medieval Muslims, thanks to their advanced weaving techniques, new tinctures from Islamic chemistry and highly developed sense of pattern and arabesque which were the basis of Islam's non-representational art. In contrast, Europe's floors were distinctly earthly, not to say earthy, until Arabian and Persian carpets were introduced. In England, as Erasmus recorded, floors were "covered in rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for 20 years, harbouring expectoration, vomiting, the leakage of dogs and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abominations not fit to be mentioned". Carpets, unsurprisingly, caught on quickly.

17 The modern cheque comes from the Arabic saqq, a written vow to pay for goods when they were delivered, to avoid money having to be transported across dangerous terrain. In the 9th century, a Muslim businessman could cash a cheque in China drawn on his bank in Baghdad.

18 By the 9th century, many Muslim scholars took it for granted that the Earth was a sphere. The proof, said astronomer Ibn Hazm, "is that the Sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth". It was 500 years before that realisation dawned on Galileo. The calculations of Muslim astronomers were so accurate that in the 9th century they reckoned the Earth's circumference to be 40,253.4km - less than 200km out. The scholar al-Idrisi took a globe depicting the world to the court of King Roger of Sicily in 1139.

19 Though the Chinese invented saltpetre gunpowder, and used it in their fireworks, it was the Arabs who worked out that it could be purified using potassium nitrate for military use. Muslim incendiary devices terrified the Crusaders. By the 15th century they had invented both a rocket, which they called a "self-moving and combusting egg", and a torpedo - a self-propelled pear-shaped bomb with a spear at the front which impaled itself in enemy ships and then blew up.

20 Medieval Europe had kitchen and herb gardens, but it was the Arabs who developed the idea of the garden as a place of beauty and meditation. The first royal pleasure gardens in Europe were opened in 11th-century Muslim Spain. Flowers which originated in Muslim gardens include the carnation and the tulip.
And I'll throw in one more small contrabution the Muslim world has made.

Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī

Muslim mathematician and astronomer whose major works introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals and the concepts of algebra into European mathematics

another 5K road race yesterday..PR of 24:54....I am a turtle with wheels now!! Maybe someday I will break 24 minutes!

Made up the Thruster/DU WOD
Used prescribed weight of 75#

TIME: 13:08

Couldn't get to the gym yesterday, so did the WOD tody. Hoping for 20 min as rx'd -- not even close.

23:22
Dropped to 65# on 4th round, 45# on 5th. Thrusters suck. Correction, I suck at thrusters. But that WILL change!

Not all bad news; double unders are good to go.

#141 nice fake email address

I can read until I'm blue in the face but absolute truth still exists.

Eric Gohl!

Thanks for the help (from #9 above)

#149, I'm not christian but apparently assuming that works for you. Cheers! :)

#141: I have two degrees in Religion. I've read most of the Bible, and tried to read the Koran, but find it insufferably repetitive. Do this: Go to heaven; do this; go to hell. Reverse order in the next Sura. I am familiar with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, various forms of Shamanism, various tribal beliefs, Christian theology, and a decent amount of Islamic theology and mystical writings. For some long time, I was a fan of Hafez, and Maulana Rumi (who, by the way, once wrote that there are many ways to heaven, which is why his followers are considered apostates by Muslim fascists).

Your moral equivalency is morally corrupt. You CANNOT infer that because evil people do evil things that the victims deserved it. This is sheer stupidity. Do children deserve to get raped? Do women? Do the victims of theft deserve it because they left their cars unlocked? Did the homicide victims of 9/11 do ANYTHING to deserve it?

Perhaps you need to study Islam yourself. Why, for example, is Arabic spoken in North Africa? How did Constantinople get changed into Istanbul? Why were the Crusades launched in the first place? How do you recapture something that hasn't already been conquered?

Darcy,

You apparently know something close to NOTHING about Communism. Have you read any of the texts? Do you not know about the foreordained path of history? Do you not know that God does not exist, and only matter is a reality? Atheism is the OFFICIAL policy in all Communist regimes, and if you want to differentiate between regimes and personal belief, how do you do that? Communism BY DEFINITION has to be expressed socially. There is no other way for SOCIALISM to be implemented. It is INHERENTLY an anti-individualist doctrine.

What, exactly, do you think you are signing on for when you call yourself a Communist? You are aligning yourself with the worst form of Fascism ever to visit this much-plagued Earth. Mussollini founded his own version of Fascism for the simple reason that he found the Communist version simply unsufferable. To be clear: Fascism was created to be a LESS oppressive system than Communism.

Jed,

Do you think you are proving anything other than that you yourself suffer from strong, hateful, and largely inaccurate prejudices? Can you for a moment believe that we are stupid enough to think you are doing something other than create a caricature of people with whom--if you had a brain--you could debate. As it is, you are merely betraying your own inanity, incapacity for original thought, and innate viciousness.

More generally, I've been doing this a long time. It's funny how the participation goes in waves. For periods of time, we seem largely insulated from the sophomoric, vicious pseudofrivolity our broken social system seems to be producing in spades.

At other times, it's like the lunatic asylum is having recess, and all the kids who can't count to ten get to express their opinions in the most disturbing and disruptive way their small minds can conjure.

I know a lot of decent people. Many of them are on this board. But reading this crap everywhere on the internet does make me wonder about the future sometimes. Many of our young seemingly don't WANT a future. They seem to want to be zombies, so that the burden of their freedom can be lifted from them.

Life IS hard, if you lack a coherent moral code. This is the real poverty which besets our nation. And you can't buy it or borrow it. It must be earned. With Obama we are getting steadily more poor in both respects. He led us to believe that voting for him was a vote for what was Good.

What it was really a vote for was the abdication of personal and collective responsibility.

I've said this before, but the terrifying and hopeful fact is that life is fair, on balance.

"The worst is yet to come with him representing us. Well I shouldn't even say that, he doesn't represent us. His plan is long and unconscionable. He is terrorizing this country" - #133

I love how we lefties used to complain about things that Bush had done, and now the Righties complain about things they "know" Obama will do.

It's been less than 6 months and we're in the same crap position we were in when you guys gave us the old handoff.

Prole,

You speak as though I represent the closed minded side of this argument, I speak on behalf of the United States of America, the recognized example for freedom of speech and religion throughout the world. And the constitution of the United States of America the document that guarantees those freedoms, which you seem to think are negotiable. You on the other hand are trying to justify the negotiation of those freedoms under the premise that we may be more likable to a greater number of people if we open discussion on whether or not our rule of law serves the purpose of universal justice better than that of forced Theocracy. I don't need you or Barack Obama or anyone else to explain to me on which side of this argument the best interests of free men are held.

#142: that's a substantive contribution. I was familiar with some of that, but not most of it.

I have no reason to attack Islam as a whole, and frankly if all that is true, it's encouraging, and might represent an aspect of their heritage they could profitably remember as they reinvent themselves for the 21st century.

I liked the speech. The President said what needed to be said.

In terms of what needs to be done, that responsibility lays squarely on the shoulders of the leaders of the region. America cannot want peace more than they do. Yet, on the other hand, as Nick Kristof said of China-US relations-- "leaders on each side will have to contend with a population that can be self-righteous, nationalist and impatient with diplomacy"-- both sides certainly have some soul-searching to do.

America is no doubt a great nation. But it can do better. For instance, why aren't you happy with a 5:00 minute FRAN? That's a ridiculously good time. Why? Probably because you want to keep improving, keep pushing yourself, you want to realize your potential. Similarly, if you really love your nation, you're not going to settle for good. You should want it to be the best you can be. And you shouldn't be overly sensitive when somebody tells you you can do better.

Some of the US-bashing is stupid, no doubt. All things considered, the world would be MUCH worse off without it and its servicemen and women's presence (for this, we all thank you!). This, in my opinion, is undeniable (as well as a lengthy conversation in and of itself). Yet, we're all adults. We're not vindictive children. When somebody disagrees or insults us, what do we do in real life? We usually let it go, and continue on with our lives. What makes diplomacy so different? Are we really that sensitive?

I would hope not.

That was quite a tangent. Sorry. Regardless, I thought the speech was good and laid it out on the line. The ball's not in the US's court anymore.

TJ

You remember how funny it is when people criticize "The West" as if it's some giant monolith? As if Germany, France, GB and the US don't fundamentally disagree on many things? As if there are no significant internal divisions within the US on things such as economics, or social policy (things that have been very divisive in this very forum among only mainly Americans)?

The same thing applies for countries in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia's an ally. Iran's not. Turkey's in NATO. Syria's not.

Sabs and Jed. for the record i'm a white christian male 45 years old. no need to share my email with everybody. and i'm not the same anonymous as above.

Comments like yours show your limited thinking. Absolute truth should be able to stand up to any challenge. Why not take on the challenge of learning something outside of indoctrination and dogma so you can have a better understanding of the world? The strongest christians have a great understanding of more than just what their pastor/preacher/etc taught them they need to believe. But hey, be limited that's your choice.

There's nothing wrong with having conviction but when your conviction leads you to be intolerant of others for what you see to be absolute truth, then you are on the path to being an extremist. You're just waving a flag of a different color. Everything happens degree by degree and step by step.

If everybody thinks like that then there is no hope for our great country.

Admit (to yourself) you don't have the patience to know more. You hide behind a weak understanding which you call absolute truth. Its easier not to think and just have blind faith. The Bible has been revised how many times? why?

Barry cooper-stop acting like you know everything. don't attack black people with lame comments about religion. slavery was in pre-islamic arabia before the qur'an. The prophet muhammad taught the people who had slaves to treat them like their own family members. The approach was not to drastically change the way the society already was. But to slowly bring about gradual change in the way people did things. like i said-read more.

But why do i waste my time with these closed-minded people.

#149 Barry Cooper

Yeah, my personal favorite is distillation!

rest/politics...
leave that to the politicians

For Time:
run-swim-run
1mi-500m-1mi
29:12

GREAT F-ING JOB at the cert this weekend. It was so much fun getting to meet all of you in Portland. I loved seeing everyone coming out of their comfort zones the second day(fran the day before and FGB day 2 will do that). Anytime any of you are around HEL drop on in for a WOD. Again, great effort this weekend guys and gals, it made the coaching experience that much better!!!

#150: Please be clear: is it your understanding that slavery--for example keeping women "of your right hand" as concubines against their will--is contrary to orthodox Islam, or that it is not practiced to this very day in Muslim countries?

The evidence is overwhelming. Here is one link from a few years ago; many more could be produced with little effort: http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/000746.php

[from 2004; there is no reason to believe things have changed substantially] "The head of Iran’s Interpol bureau believes that the sects [changed to get through filter] slave trade is one of the most profitable activities in Iran today. This criminal trade is not conducted outside the knowledge and participation of the ruling fundamentalists. Government officials themselves are involved in buying, selling, and sectually abusing women and girls."

Your fault is you ASSUME that the rest of the world thinks like you do. You mean well; they say they mean well. Therefore, only people on your own side who talk belligerently can POSSIBLY be to blame. Therefore, you vent your hatred on them, abandoning thereby your right and duty to think for yourself.

#151: I did know that Al-Cohol was an Arabic word. Almost any word beginning with Al is, like Algebra.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON CFNE LEVEL1 CERT:

It's hard to have a bad day when you are hanging out with Jon Gilson, Jolie Gentry, Chris Spealler, Todd Whitman, and Mike Giardina.

Jolie Gentry fixed my snatch. True Story.

At one time I was wondering what it would take for me to become an instructor with CrossFit Headquarters. All I'd have to do is become an incredible athlete, a great public speaker, a great coach, and be one of the nicest people on the planet. (I'd have better odds on becoming an astronaut.)

I have one HUGE complaint: EC was out of town and was dearly missed.

Heatherbars are awesome. (...big thanks for a great weekend to Heather Keenan and Ben Bergeron.)

Portland Cert!! Awesome job you guys, amazing energy, movement and toughness! Dang, I was sore from demoing and leading, you guys did WAY more work -my hat is off!

Big Kris - way to strain for the overhead!
Paul - it's a small world huh?
Walter - easy on the agro stick work ;)
Ash - wicked box jumps sister!
Mikaela - say hi to Bux for me!
Dee - you rocked the house, way to be :)
Jerome - Mr. 606, open that hip baby!
Rafe - Michael? Well done :)
Evelyn - Hit those calves, love the heart!
Kimy - Way to protect yourself and still totally dominate!!
Emma - tough as nails and never shows the pain - incredible, way to be girl!
Colin - you're going to be a monster - keep it up!

And always remember, NO JUMPING JACK JERKS ;)

Thanks again for an awesome weekend!
Jesse

go barak go

SemperMagnaFi,

Let me start by saying I think the US Constitution is one of the greatest achievements in human history. Let me say secondly that I think that a person’s freedom to say and think what she wants is among the most, if not the most, valuable freedom a person can have – it is the gateway freedom, possibly a precondition for all the others, and may even be a precondition for even the rule of law.

Those freedoms are not negotiable for American citizens, the Constitution guarantees them. But for people who aren’t Americans (consider Saudis, Syrians, Iranians) those freedoms may be a long way off. What is a liberty-loving, or a security-loving American to do for these people? Do they want these liberties? (no sense in overthrowing their governments if the don’t). Do they know what these freedoms mean? Can we teach them if they do? Would they articulate these freedoms in different ways, with limits Americans would not? Is their only one way to articulate these freedoms? What role do their authoritarian governments have in shaping the way they perceive us and our freedoms?

Obama was not addressing the terrorists and the dictators directly (though they heard him I’m sure). He was addressing Muslim moderates on behalf of American moderates. He wasn’t “negotiating” anything. He was saying: “If you are a moderate, America is not your enemy.” I believe he also said that if you mean America harm, both he and America will be your enemies. Additionally, I think one of his points was that although past wrongs (of which you wrote vividly in your first post) cannot help but define the context in which future endeavors are undertaken, they should not define the limits of what good is possible. They should be recognized, but they must be set aside to the extent possible in order to make peace and prosperity.

Did we read different speeches?

I hope you do not take what I have said as disrespectful.

It's Barack. Thanks for the help, though.

You all see this: China is calling for us to issue our debt in yuan to make things easier for them: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5473491/Top-Chinese-banker-Guo-Shuqing-calls-for-wider-use-of-yuan.html

We are being sold down the river by extremists who use useful idiots to help them win elections. All of this is preventable. None of it is necessary.

But large sections of our country simply don't value freedom any more. They are tired of living, and want out of this process of having to live their own lives. In large measure, this ennui is a result of a carefully cultivated campaign by leftists to eliminate all sources of meaning which do not depend directly on the State.

The message of the Hope and Change campaign, quite literally, is that Big Brother will help you. No longer are you alone. No longer do you have to struggle, and make decisions, and pretend that you can manage things by yourself. No, an infinitely compassionate State family is out there, just waiting to help you finally put down your burden. Just give them what they want. Give them your money. Let them run things.

Trust: we know Bush was untrustworthy, and Obama is the opposite of Bush, so surely HE at least thinks about US as people, right?

Life is supposed to be easy, and we will make it easy, so just go to sleep little child, go to sleep.

Politics and Fitness... What a fatiguing combo!! Praise the lord for the rest day

CERT1, Copenhagen, Denmark

Thanks for a great CERT1 in Denmark!

Level I Certification at CrossFit H.E.L. in Portland, OR

What an amazing weekend! It was an honor to be in the presence of my fellow attendees, who are already superb athletes.

Many thanks to Lisa, Mike, Kurtis, Rachel, Jesse, and local interns Tommy & Chris for all your knowledge, support and dedication! You were all very inspiring. The certification was well organized and went smoothly (or as smoothly as can be when Fran and Fight Gone Bad are involved, whew!).

I will think of you all each time I squat, push, press, clean, row, jump and eventually, muscle up. Thanks again for a great time!

As a member of the military and a United States citizen, I'm personally getting quite tired of Obama apologizing to the world for the "evils" that the U.S. has imposed on the world. Are we all a bunch of criminals here, or what? If somehow you believe that the world is a WORSE place for having a democratic Iraq and Afghanistan, then you should try living in one of those "model" Muslim, facist states.

I now know the reason the certs get sold out 3 months in advance. The coaching was outstanding. The work was intense. And the camaraderie might have been the best part. Not to mention watching guys like Tommy do one handed snatches and OHS and Mike doing the world's slowest static muscle-up. Really shows you how far the human body can go. Thanks Rachel, Kurtis, Lisa, Jesse (like it, love it!), Chris, and anyone else I may have forgotten for demonstrating what world class coaching really looks like.

OK--I'll use a new name since there is another Eric G on here. I mentioned earlier I had been at the Level 1 cert. in Portland...amazing once again!

Anyway, today was not a rest day for me. So, I decided to do the Diafranabeth today. I got to put to use the "new" technique I learned the past 2 days!!! As a reference for myself, I had my worst Fran at the cert Saturday (somewhere in the 9 minute range--ugh!) and I had some problems with my wrist that hurt my thruster performance, or it could have been the BBQ brisket lunch (pukie was close by). To compensate I used dumbbells on the Fight Gone Bad Sunday & again today for thruster work. Easier on the wrist, but maybe harder on the actual lift??

So---
2:10 225 deadlift, 21 reps
2:16 HSPU, 21 reps (need parallettes for the wrist)
2:13 45# DB thruster, 15 reps
:54 pull ups, 15 reps (kip was working well)
2:33 135# clean, 9 reps
1:22 dips, 36 reps (no rings, subbed 4 bar dips for each)

Total time: 11:28 if my math is correct

All in all a decent showing with the shape my thighs were in today. They actually feel a lot better AFTER the workout!

Again, amazing time in Portland. There is hope for an aging man!

Does anybody in the whole entire world actually hate "freedom" for themselves? No way. If you think otherwise, then you have been brainwashed by the rhetoric. Do people value security more than freedom? Maybe. Nobody wants to live in total anarchy and nobody wants to live in a fascist police state.

Every nation must equalize it's own balance between "freedom" and security. Both are equally valuable to people. Generally, "freedom" gets lighter when security gets heavier, and vice versa. Many a nation's scale has not reached an equilibrium yet. Our understanding of this is diminished by obscuring our motives with such over-abused terms like "freedom" and "terrorism" whose meanings have been so twisted and abused by our leaders and pundits to the disservice of us all that any of us "sheep" who put forth a good effort to rationally analyze the situation is left feeling like the sh*t just doesn't add up. The ones who don't want to push through all the haze and complexity and bulsh*t rhetoric simply pick sides across an artificial line and pretend they already know everything there is to know.

There are many other motives and histories and complex situations out there driving policy other than what policymakers want the words "terrorism" and "freedom" to mean in any given situation. Think 1950's McCarthyism, think big oil, think industrial complexes, think Israel lobby, think personal ambition, think money, think croneyism, think balance of power...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying here whether we should or should not be in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. I'm not saying whether we should use the stick or the carrot with Iran. I'm not saying we should or should not be wooing people of the muslim faith across the now tight-knit globe. I'm not going to go hug a tree after i post this. I'm not saying we're too dumb or uninformed to have any opinion at all either.

I'm saying don't wholeheartedly sell yourself to the hype of one partially artificial side or the other, and don't think you know more than everybody else, because the scope of our present conflicts is more complex and everchanging and runs across more institutions than most of us can fully comprehend. Soak in different angles of history and keep your mind open, it makes you sharper and more able to rationally back up your opinions about human conflict and be more mentally fit in general.

The pedantic, opinionated, self-inflated, dogmatic, overassuming, and disrespectful nature of some of these posts undermine the credibility of the content at least as much as some glaring innaccuracies contained therein. Get your facts right and quit acting like you know everything about everything about everything about everything....

Joseph, #163

Did you have a problem when Bush attacked Iraq and Afghanistan, but was a proud ally of the other fascist islamic states?

The Bush strategy of never apologizing and never admitting a mistake won no allies and glacial progress in two wars. It's time to be honest, be proud of our triumphs, admit and learn from our mistakes, and win the ideological and political wars along with the military war. I'd rather see victory than failure with unharmed American egos.

Just dusted off my copy of Anthrax: Sound of White Noise...gonna add it to my XFit playlist

After watching both the Gillian and Jocelyn Dia-fran-ibeth videos, I have to say that the difference between the two is striking. While both are exceptional athletes, I notice that I am blown away by Gillian's performance. It is more beautiful than it is rushed. The form is perfect on all movements-- full range of motion is never compromised. While I appreciate how fast Jocelyn is able to complete the workout, I don't think she achieved full range of motion in more than a handful of all the repetitions. I know that Aromas is looking for speed, but I hope that the judges hold the athletes to the highest standards for CrossFit form.

RIP Trooper Josh Miller who was killed in the line of duty in northeast PA yesterday.

Just ponied up my $200 for the CrossFitRRG as a trainer. I hope this thing happens. Nobody realizes how great this thing is until they need it...

Goat- where are you? We need your anarchist slant. I await your slaying of those foolish enough to disagree with you. We need a well constructed argument around here. Alls I see is gainsaying. 'course you can't do anything with your MetCon time but that's okay...

1000m row WU then run 2miles on treadmill 14:11. PR for me!

now, time for some Crossfit stretching.

later,
b
m/32/5'8-1/2"/174
(down 5lbs in 4 weeks since starting weight loss program at work.)

I want one of the orange Adidas CrossFit shirts...Where can I get one?

Post #167 Joseph
Great post!

Congrats to the new Copenhagen Level 1's. You guys were awesome. Thanks for the warm welcome and the fantastic energy.

To the Butcher's Lab crew thanks for being tremendous hosts. And with a name like the Butcher's Lab..... the Box and its family is going to be special. No doubt!

Pat, Jenni, Mads and Oliver great working with you guys. Klaus and Andreas keep pushing.

I LOVE Running!!

27:07

Thrusters weight - 45lbs

CFE.com WOD
2 mile time trial - treadmill 1% incline

Matt - 17:24 (did first mile at 7.5 mph and had to slow way down in second mile - next time need to plug in at least 8:40 pace - 6.9 mph - and see if I can do same or better time at an even pace)

Karen - 18:30 (next time at least 9:15 pace - 6.5 mph)

The level 1 Cert @ CrossFit New England was awesome. I can't say enough about the team from Crossfit HQ, thank you to you all. Thank you to CrossFit for not only teaching us an amazing fitness program, but teaching us a way of life! A special thanks to all the Warriors out there who keep us safe, THANK YOU!

Richard,
While I would agree that the U.S. has made mistakes in the prosecution of both wars, no war in our history has been perfect. When all is said and done at the end of the day, who has the means and the measure to ensure peace around the world? I guarantee you it's not going to be the French (who incidently have inacted such a liberal idealogy that the very culture they cherish so dearly is going to be wiped out by a decidely non-liberal muslim population) Is it going to be the Spainards? Doubtful. After a few bombs placed here and there, they ran away with their tail between their legs.
So I guess the question remains, what exactly should U.S. foreign policy entail? We could, as some have opined, engage in military actions that only directly threaten our sovereign territory.
We of course have already tried this idea, neatly referred to as Isolationism, and it did wonders on the world scene. Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Mussoulini come to mind. These of course are but the most poignant examples. In a modern sense we could point to Milosevic, Pol Pot, Aidid, and the North Korean regime.

If you research closely, you will see that the same people who so viciously criticized our withdrawl from the First Gulf War are doing the same for our overthrow of Saddam Hussein and establishing a democratic nation. While these nay-sayers sit and furriously rant on their blogs about our imperialistic foreign policies, they criticize our dependence of OPEC and foreign oil while driving their SUVs to work and cry at night when they just can't persuade their Congressman to support a military occupation or Somalia or Darfur. After all, who wouldn't support our nation entering a foreign country that is rife with murder, starvation, facism, and despair, so that we could just "put things right"?

When all is said and done, the world does not fear a Strong America, they fear a Weak America. History shows us that after September 11th, their was not a single terrorist attach prosecuted on American soil. Given nearly eight years, and more foiled plots than the liberal media is willing to acknowledge, I'd say President Bush did a damn fine job. Let us see how 4 or, God forbid, 8 years of appeasement and apologizing at the hands of the current administration are judged by history. When a mother is too afraid to take her child to the store for fear of attack, the policies of the Bush administration will be largely justified. When it comes to the leaders of these hate groups, you can't simply sit down with them over a beer and try and talk things out. So what then are we to do? Well, I guess that ultimately that is for the highest level policy makers to decide.

However, this I can promise you: both myself, and my brothers in arms will be sitting ready with a damn big stick.

active rest because I'm flying east tomorrow and I don't know if I'll be able to get to a gym.

CFWU x 3

Run 5K 23:30

Level 1 Cert Copenhagen

Chuck, Pat, Jenni, Butchers Lab and all the other trainers - a Massive THANK YOU for all of your help. I've left this cert with a lot to think about, mostly regarding nutrition and technique. I'm already back on the wagon with my food and will be giving honest consideration to the movements which will need to be cut in weight in order for my technique to be consistent at "80-20". Me and Tom will now be joining the cause to make crossfit a better understood cause within the UK, particularly within the Police. Its a pity that you guys cannot come over here and present your case to our superiors. Such is your compelling manner of presentation.

That said, the cert ended Sunday, today is Tuesday and I am still having problems walking down the stairs. You have obliterated my legs!

Hope to see you again

Kirk

HUGE THANKS FOR CFNE LEVEL1 CERT:

Thanks to the the whole team of: Jon Gilson, Jolie Gentry, Chris Spealler, Todd Whitman, and Mike Giardina for this weekends CFNE level 1 cert.

Your instruction was clear, concise and engaging. I couldn't have asked for more.

Also a huge thanks to our hosts Ben Bergeron and Heather Keenan for their warm welcome and the use of their fantastic facility.

Biggest lesson learned: Training alone does not provide the same level of motivation. Proof thereof:

Previous Fran PR in a big box gym alone: 10:03
New PR at cert surrounded by about 60 people: 7:51

It's 90% mental....

Thanks again

Jocelyn will you marry me?? That was awesome. I couldn't hang like that.

F/22/5'6"/141

Shoulder Press
5-5-5-5-5
55-65-70-75-80(2x)-75

made up the thruster double under wod. can't do du's so did 3-1 singles----21 thrusters/63 singles per round

11:55.

not as bad as i thought it'd be, but thighs would definitely feel it far worse if i could get the du's.

My wife still thinks I am an Obsessive Compulsive Crossfitter (OCC) simply because I do my yardwork for either reps or time. Geez doesn't everyone? O.K. so maybe I am a bit pyschotic, but how can you not try to mow a one acre lawn with a push mower that has a 21 inch mowing deck for time? Granted, the mower's capacity to actually cut the grass while one pushes the mower is a limiting factor in how fast one can push the mower. All in all it is always fun to work in the yard, especially when you can do it as a WOD.

2:32:28

Certification 1 at Crossfit New England

I attended the Certification Level 1 class at Crossfit New England this past weekend. It was an incredible experience. I am relatively new to Crossfit (only a few months in), so I did not know what to expect and I was slightly nervous and intimidated. However, I had nothing to fear because I was in very, very good hands. The staff from Crossfit Headquarters – Todd Widman, Chris Spealler, Jon Gilson, Jolie Gentry, and Mike Giardina – and the staff from Crossfit New England – Ben Bergeron and Heather Keenan – could not have been more professional, organized, welcoming and talented.

The weekend was well-planned into various: (1) lectures on Crossfit theory and movements (What is Crossfit, What is Fitness, Nutrition, The 9 Basic Movements, GHD, etc.); (2) instruction and practice on various Crossfit movements; (3) “treats” or group Crossfit workouts; and (4) time to ask any and all questions that came to mind on Crossfit, affiliation, scaling, etc.

I thought the weekend was executed very well as there was a great balance between lecture, movement and instruction, time for questions, and most importantly, opportunities to see the professionals practice what they preach. Each day at lunch the Crossfit staff performs their WOD, which is as much a learning experience for the group as the scheduled class time. Watching these athletes perform put everything in perspective – it showed everybody that no matter how talented one is, Crossfit is a practice of discipline, technique and working your tail off. I think the question “What is Crossfit” became very clear to me and everybody else watching – these people are more prepared for anything and everything that can come at them in life than anybody else I know.

Finally, what was most impressive to me was that the staff were such great teachers and such nice people. It is fascinating to meet people that can generate such power and strength yet be friendly, enjoyable and breakdown the elements of Crossfit in a way that is simple, clear and precise.

Thanks for a great weekend and good luck to Crossfit New England which is an incredible box!

I enjoyed reading the posts on President Obama's speech in Cairo. As always, some are insightul, others hilarious, and yet others doctrinaire and boorish.

Given the timing and content, it will be interesting to see what develops in terms of the dialogue it prompts on "Arab street", internal Israeli, Palestinian and Middle Eastern politics, as well as the larger context of the relationship of Islam and the rest of the world.

Jim # 143, thanks for providing that listing of Arab contributions to the world. I knew many advances in science and culture emanated from the Arab world, especially while Europe slogged through the dark ages, but not in such detail.

My own reaction to the speech was similar to the way I felt on election night ~ about the same level of pride I felt when we landed on the Moon, and President Nixon went to China. It will take the same level of effort to finally solve the question of Palestine.

I dont pretend to know or understand enough about our relationship with the Arab world to criticize or laud this speech or the actions of our President. I do think he accomplished his objective, however.

P.S. The point he made to the Arab world about the fact that Radical Islamists have killed more Moslems than any other group was priceless.

P.P.S. Today's paper included an account of a village militia in the tribal area of Pakistan that killed 20+ militants was telling. Not sure about cause and effect. Those who have been in the OEF & OIF theater know all about the local national fear of reprisals, the fear caused by night letters, etc. I wonder what gave these men the courage to finally stand up and defend themselves ?

It was nice not to have to read a right-wing article on rest day. Seriously. Throwing up different stimuli is better than always 'serving from just one side of the court'. So thanks.

On the speech, it showed your President to be everything the rest of the world hoped he'd be. He was communicating in a meaningful way, with thought and vision. With knowledge. With hope. In friendship.. Making the effort to travel to Egypt to do so. To those who are cynical....I can understand why. There are dangerous people out there. This isn't the full answer. But your President just gave any moderates in the Muslim community something concrete to help persuade others that America isn't out to get them. After Abu G, Gitmo, water-boarding, this is required. It was far more representative to me of the American way than practically anything done by Bush in 8 years. Big thumbs up. Only had chance to listen to 20m so far.

Peace.

+1 to Becky's comment regarding the difference between Gillian and Jocelyn's performance. IMO, Jocelyn has a way to go for core strength and support. Gillian has some great neuromuscular coordination (must be all the gymnastics stuff) which shows on her ROM. While I'm impressed with both women, if I had to bet today, my money's on Gillian.

Comment #52 - Posted by: Daniel Krull at June 7, 2009 10:41 PM

Seems pretty normal to me. Don't worry, you aren't alone, you can keep me company at the bottom.

Comment #192 - Posted by: Michael F. at June 9, 2009 7:34 AM

Keep the blades sharp and your times will improve. Trust me on this.

Who cares who invented this, or that. Who cares how smart you are, or how smart I am. Who cares how fast you are, or how strong you are. Who cares what you own, or what you have made. In the end, no one will remember you. One day you, like everyone else, will die. Into the ground you will go, and all the things you did and owned will be separated from you for ever. Naked you came into life, and naked you will depart.

God made everything. He made us in His image and likeness. We should love Him, and each other. The only thing that never fails is love.

If God be your God, then worship Him. If (fill in the blank) be your god, then worship it.

As for me and my house, we shall serve the LORD. So there!

The rest day discussion is always something I love to read. I learn much about the way I wish and do not wish to be perceived by the external world.

Similarly to my approach to Crossfit, I use the rest day discussions to sharpen my perceptions of the human condition through other peoples words. I actively seek to eliminate pompous pontification (the grandiose statement of opinion as fact) from my debate toolbox and personal attacks that are more self reflective than effective as forms of persuasion. While not perfect, it is the journey that is worth the time investment.

I think President Obama is doing a simply fantastic job. He's actually DOING things. It's damn refreshing after the sham of the last "presidency".

And he actually cares whether soldiers die or not.

Cindy - 19

J1

Found your final post last rest day re Birmingham 6 to be quite powerful.

I come from the school that you reward those who do and you certainly don't punish them. President Obama seems to be doing the opposite.

I agree DEE that he is at least doing "something" and I hope his works are correct, but doing "something" is what Bush did in his answer to terrorism. Did you give him a break for that?

tp #151 Semper

"I speak on behalf of the United States of America, the recognized example for freedom of speech and religion throughout the world"

mate, I think the reality is that very little of the world really recognises the US as such. The reasons are many and I'm not knowledgable enough to list them all although I am a politics grad so I have a little knowledge (which may be dangerouus as the saying goes!). My view would be that

- some of it is jealousy,
- some of it is ignorance/misinformed
- some of it is reaction against the perceived exporting of values that they believe are flawed and the seemingly self serving choices of us military interventions over the years. Eg Iraq vs North Korea, Grenada vs Balkans.

I'm a British conservative who spent many years living in the US and now lives in Australia.

I don't agree with many Obama policies, but I believe his strategy in that speech is smart - adopt a visibly moderate and conciliatory tone to reduce support for extremists who caricature the Americans as evil imperialists. They were never going to trust Bush, who was either seen as evil or a joke by much of the world by the end of his tenure.

Barry, you clearly have a lot of knowledge and passion for your subject and beliefs. Which is a good thing.

Are you involved in local or national politics? I hope so - I would hate to think that you devote so much energy to winning arguments (and slightly distasteful bullying of people who disagree with you) in this forum without attemtping to give your views and nergy a bigger stage

xx

I'm trying to write a book, actually. It's a really tough thing to take large ideas and distill them without losing their essence.

I think of the time I spend here sort of like a racketball game. It's competitive, and I like to stand in the middle of the court, so I get tagged in the back sometimes. I give it everything I've got, and the reward is almost invariably an advance in my own thinking. Winning is secondary. I just need a challenge. This is much, much more productive than having my own blog. I need the push back, as it stimulates new thoughts for me.

With regard to my "bullying", all I will say is that I have heard US Presidents get compared to Nazis my entire adult life. How many times do I have to see Bush abused in the most general, agitprop sorts of ways to say enough is enough? No doubt I do miss the mark slightly on occasion, but the simple fact, as I see it, is that most of the time what I assume to be propaganda, is.

What I think many fail to grasp is the sheer EXTENT of the propaganda infiltration of our schools and public media. Take post #171, for example. It extols the virtues of moderation, not taking any position too strongly, looking at all sides, etc. etc.

As rhetoric, this is reasonable. However, practically, what has been said? In what respect could that basic framework of "can't we all just get along" not be applied to ANY argument, and ANY context whatever?

Manifestly, in human history, some people don't want to "get along". They want to kill us and take our stuff, and are quite willing to use lies and tricks to further their cause, particularly if they are at a relative military disadvantage.

Who does tonf look to as the "usual suspects"?
This tells us everything we need to know: "Think 1950's McCarthyism, think big oil, think industrial complexes, think Israel lobby, think personal ambition, think money, think croneyism, think balance of power..."

McCarthy was right: Communists DID want to infiltrate our government. Saul Alinsky, in virtually the first paragraph of "Rules for Radicals", talks about the McCarthy era as terrible for Communists, and terrible for their cause of radicalizing and organizing Americans to overthrow their government in favor of his own preferred euphemism for the so-called proletariat: the "have nots".

Then we have Big Oil, Big This , big that. Again, the usual leftist list of usual suspects. What is missing from his analysis are Big Statists, aka aspiring autocrats. Why should I not fear the Government ruling every aspect of my life MORE than any other concentration of power? The ONLY allegation made against corporations is that they control the Government.

The solution for these people is to make the Government omnipotent, presumably so as to eliminate corporate influence, which they have defined in advance as necessarily malicious. But does this not defeat the purpose? Have you not taken a system with at least the brake of conflicting interests--such as existed in France's Three Estates--and replaced them with a Unitary Estate, against whose abuse of power there can be no recourse?

Facts matter. And I am seemingly getting accused of stating opinions as facts. To some extent, to the extent that I am not offering detailed support for my assertions, this is true. But do not think I can't support my conclusions, and don't think that simply saying more than one opinion is possible is different than full and complete silence.

It bothers me that people think they are being cosmopolitan and high minded in pointing out we all have opinions. The presumed rhetorical intent of this is to detract from the force of my arguments, simply by positing that some unspoken good MUST, necessarily, rest with my opponents--or any opinion which differs from my own.

Yet, this is intellectual bankrupcy. This is failing to grasp that to make an argument, or counter an argument, you must be specific. You must cite facts and logic of your own, that is contextualized. That exists, clearly, as a response to a process of discussion, and which could not be inserted with equal insipidity in virtually ANY other argument on any other topic.

I have to run. I had intended to say more, but lack the time.

I would encourage people to go out and buy Barry Goldwater's excellent book "Conscience of a Conservative": http://www.amazon.com/Conscience-Conservative-Barry-Goldwater/dp/1442174749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244642918&sr=8-1

Virtually everything in there is as valid now--more valid, actually--than it was then. Even the War on Islamic radicalism can be profitably compared to the Cold War. As in the Cold War, being on the offensive is a necessary component of not allowing the war to land, again, on our streets.

I will offer up some quotes tomorrow, but for those who would question the erosion of our freedoms: this process is unambiguous, and has been continuing since FDR.

In my view, Hoover was the last sincere Conservative to hold the Presidency, and if you actually look at what Roosevelt did--look at the tax rates, and the 100% confiscation of earnings after a certain amount--you can clearly see that his tax policies were the primary reason the Great Depression lasted as long as it did.

The only question you really need to answer with respect to Conservatives is: did the usurpation of our freedoms through the Welfare State continue, or was it rolled back. In that respect, Clinton (albeit in the face of a Republican Congress) was a more sincere Conservative than Bush.

Please understand that the national debt is $11 Trillion. This works out to about $36,000 each for 300 million Americans.

This web link explains the basic issue well:
http://www.federalbudget.com/

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258

"Suppose you want to spend more money this month than your income. This situation is called a "budget deficit". So you borrow (ie; use your credit card). The amount you borrowed (and now owe) is called your debt. You have to pay interest on your debt. If next month you don't have enough money to cover your spending (another deficit), you must borrow some more, and you'll still have to pay the interest on the loan. If you have a deficit every month, you keep borrowing and your debt grows. Soon the interest payment on your loan is bigger than any other item in your budget. Eventually, all you can do is pay the interest payment, and you don't have any money left over for anything else. This situation is known as bankruptcy.

Each year since 1969, Congress has spent more money than its income. The Treasury Department has to borrow money to meet Congress's appropriations.

We pay interest on that huge debt. And now the Treasury is having trouble finding lenders!"

For those cussing my verbosity: I agree fully. I cuss myself out too.

One more thing: 8% of our budget currently (this will go up) goes to interest payments. These are payments that will continue forever. This is like having a credit card you never pay off.

If we consider that most of work until about April 15th to meet all of our tax burdens, we can assume that about 8% of that time goes SOLELY to paying debt. There is positive purpose served at all, other than delivering our wealth, in dribs and drabbles, to other nations. Debt is a reverse investment. We are someone else's investment.

Does it make you all happy to work roughly one week a year, every year, simply to pay interest?

It gets much deeper than this, but here is one thing worth pondering.

Prole, your insight, intellect, patience and civility remain the standard to which I aspire. So your kind words above are very respectfully and gratefully received. Thanks.

Nick,

I appreciate your point of view, however I disagree. The fact is that we have a document that guarantees the right to free speech and religion to every citizen of the United States that is an irrefutable fact and stands so in light of what any other group, religion, country or individual claims or interprets, if your argument is against that then my time here is wasted, you neither understand nor appreciate these freedoms. However if your argument is that I am not being fair to the diplomatic process of allowing tyrants and theocrats their fair say in how any other person on the face of the earth chooses to worship (or not worship) their perceived (or otherwise) creator, then again I am wasting my time. Thank you for your worldly insight, but I too have traveled extensively both in and out of the military and find that I am entirely capable interpreting the law of this land for myself. Would it not be a monumental achievement for human rights to allow that same freedom to the women of Saudi Arabia.

You know, I would like all of you to think about what the world might look like 50 years from now. Do people still get married? Do we still have the right to vote? What does our media look like? How are children raised? What is valued? What do people do all day?

Ask yourself: if common sense morality is absent, can ANY possible vision be something in which you want to take part? Where loyalty, genuine kindness, trustworthiness, and honesty are absent?

Can ANY economic system which does not possess these traits bring human happiness?

What direction are we going? Towards a moral renewal? Towards greater, and greater cultivation in our young of the value of fidelity, thrift, industry, genuine tolerance, mental alacrity?

I don't think so. I go in my video store, and I see our young consuming horror movies, action movies with no moral dimension, and emotionally shallow comedies and dramas.

Tragedy was supposed to inspire fear and pity. I fear we are losing the empathy necessary to pity. What substitutes for it is a political commitment to people who speak in the name of pity, while lacking the humanity to actually practice it.

There is ample room for hope: but only if we reverse the direction entirely in which Obama and his fellow Statist radicals are leading us. There is only despair, and national destruction down that path. Like all of his kind, he will hurt first and most those about whom he claims to care the most. He will blame the rich for this crime, and try and convince the rest of us he is a just and fair man. I see nothing of the sort.

With respect to the topic of the day, it is good that he castigated the Arab refugees (I have decided the term "Palestinians" is already a propaganda victory for the Left) for killing their fellow Muslims. He is quite right that it is contrary to the letter and spirit of their religion.

All of his rhetoric made sense, if we could only believe that everyone genuinely wants peace. Remember Benjamin Netanyahu's words, though, as they summarize the situation nicely: if the Arab refugees put down their arms there would be peace; if the Israelis put down their arms, there would be no Israel, and no Jews in Israel.

This is an excellent, clear reiteration of conservative foreign policy principles, well worth the read: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/10/obama-administration-continuation-of-second-bush-t/

Couple excerpts: "Conservative foreign policy is unabashedly pro-American, unashamed of American exceptionalism, unwilling to bend its knee to international organizations, and unapologetic about the need for the fullest range of dominant military capabilities. Its diplomacy is neither unilateralist nor multilateralist, but chooses its strategies, tactics, means and methods based on a hard-headed assessment of U.S. national interests, not on theologies about process. Most especially, conservatives understand that allies are different from adversaries, and that each should be treated accordingly."

"We should forthrightly explain where Mr. Bush went wrong, when he did, repudiating his errors as cheerily as Mr. Obama does, and then, agreeably to conservative principles, just as cheerily critiquing Mr. Obama's even more egregious mistakes."

"Conflict with our interest and values is not some unfortunate exception to normality, it is normality. While harmony is desirable, it is far from inevitable, and the causes of disharmony are just as natural and human as their opposites."

"Conservatives reject the idea that America's actions are the foundation for most international discord, and that it is our deviation from international "norms" that must be "corrected" for the natural state of harmony to return.

To the contrary, in the last century, America has repeatedly sought to solve problems others have created, but which risk our own security. Left to ourselves, we would have been more than happy for the others to solve their own problems. That option, however, has not been open to us for quite some time, nor will it return in the foreseeable future, if ever."

There are a host of relevant articles over at www.jihadwatch.org, including several close readings of this specific speech.

Here is one on a new high level official in our Homeland Security Dept., who has called jihadists "heroes".

I don't think the pre-election rhetoric about Obama was hype at all. He's a leftist, who does not seem to like America, and seems quite comfortable throwing us under the bus for substantially everything.

Again, this speech, this rhetoric, is not, IN ITSELF, all that objectionable. If he wants to call the Koran the HOLY Koran, we can rationalize that as simple pandering of the sort Leftists do everywhere else.

The concern is--as always--with his actual policy intentions, and there is no reason to think he will be a friend to Israel in any wider sense that what he feels he needs to keep his moderate allies ("useful idiots") contented about his foreign policy bona fides.

No peace will ensue under Obama. Netanyahu might agree to a nation for the Arab Refugees, but only for the same reason Ehud Barak agreed to Yasser Arafat's ridiculous terms: to show the world the patent ill will of his adversaries, who use negotiations to get things, but never to give things.

Semper,

I wasn't questioning your interpretation of the law of your land so there really was no need to lapse back into another detailed re-stating of your own values.

my point was to takle issue with your earlier assertion - the recognised example of freedom of speech and religion throughout....

I don't believe the United States is recognised as such through much of the world, despite having lived most of my life in the nations of the USA's two biggest allies.

So...asking the question again...your own beliefs aside, in your travels around the world have you seen much evidence of the United States being recogised as such?

Barry - prolific stuff. Good luck with the book - perhaps a themed collection of Crossfit Rest Day posts? I see somebody from the other side of the fence, Noam Chomsky, regularly publishes barely edited blog posts & letters. Perhsp you could do the same

Barry,

"Why should I not fear the Government ruling every aspect of my life MORE than any other concentration of power?"

Your question is a valid one, and given the Totalitarian Twentieth Century I think it is correct to say that extreme state power is potentially far more distructive than extreme corporate power.

I'd like to point out that there is a significant difference between the concentration of power in government and in corporate bodies [notwithstanding Marx] In democracies, governments are responsible to the voters and each voter has a "say" (though very small) in the way government exercises its power. In democracies, corporations are responsible to their shareholders and only their shareholders have a say in how the corporations exercise their influcence and power (although citizens may vote for politicians who promise to constrain the ways corporations exercise their powers).

Corporate power need not be eliminated, and corporations need not be nationalized/collectivized. There is a push and pull going on between those who would collectivize as a matter of principle and those who would collectivize as a matter pragmatic (though perhaps misguided)response to changing economic conditions, and those who would never collectivze under any circumstances.

I don't think the choice is between Joseph Stalin and Samuel Smiles. But that's me waffling again. Individual liberty is both threatened and enhanced by same institutions depending on the capacity and manner in which those institutions act.

You know, Barry Goldwater's view was that NEITHER corporations nor unions should be allowed to make political contributions. I could agree with that.

What is wrong with Socialism is the same thing that is wrong with Kings. People forget that there have been good Kings. As far as that goes, the standard Fascist argument against democracy is that nothing ever gets done, because there is no continuity. Bold decisions are never made, and endless time is wasted in pointless wrangling.

And yet, the problem is not with the NOTION of a strong ruler, or autocrat. It is with the potential for ABUSE. If you refuse to set the system up in such a way that anyone can abuse it, you prevent abuse, simple as that.

Part of the problem national elections matter so much, is precisely because so many of the resulting spoils come out of Washington. Can anyone seriously argue the so-called Stimulus is not in large measure pork-barrel patronage writ large? Is the problem with our economy really that we need to spend $100 billion on new highways and bridges? Is it really that some States have underfunded Medicaid? Is it really lack of educational spending?

#215: America invented the Bill of Rights. With the possible exception of Switzerland, we were the first FULL representative, Constitutional Republic. In 1776, England still had a King, who in large measure dictated policies of all sorts. To this very day, the Queen has, in theory, the power to veto any legislation she doesn't like.

So I'm puzzled by your comment. Does much of the world buy anti-American propaganda? Well, we ARE the dominant superpower (or have been; Obama is working hard to fix this), and that alone would be sufficient for many to dislike us. Add to that 3-4 generations of systematic distortion of the historical record, and it's not surprising the uneducated would be confused about who we are and what we stand for.

But will you find the right to free speech constitutionally protected to the same extent anywhere else that it is here? I doubt it. Canada, for example, has in effect banned anti-Islamic rhetoric. So has Britain. In fact, they refused Geert Wilders ENTRY to the country, so afraid were they of possibly offending people who have every intent of enacting Sharia in Britain. Why do you think the National Party is on the move?

Some years ago I understood it to be the case that Sweden allowed child p0rn0graphy, but that is hardly something to brag about. It should be a matter of national shame. And I would be SHOCKED if they did not have some version of "hate speech" laws on their books by now.

So who are you implicitly elevating to our superior? I see developing nations and socialist nations all around me, which--when combined with the billions of people still living in autocratic nations--appear to give us little competition.

As far as Chomsky, he is a very talented liar, and if your goal is make sure you stay in lockstep with him and his crusade to end human freedom in the name of freedom, well, you just can't get enough.

Me, I can't compete with that. Still, if you'd like to donate to my beer fund, I do have some of my Notes published. They need editing, but the ideas are there: http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1469097

Barry,

Two friendly corrections for you:

1. The US was not a "FULL representative Constitutional Republic" until 1920, over 130 years after the US ratified its first Constitution.

2. Your statement that "Canada, for example, has in effect banned anti-Islamic rhetoric" is absolutely incorrect.

Each of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission rejected the complaint of the Canadian Islamic Congress (and other individuals) against Mark Steyn and Macleans magazine for publishing the article titled: "The future belongs to Islam".

Here is the finding the BC Tribunal:

"The panel has concluded that the complaints must be dismissed. The complainants have not met their burden of demonstrating that, read in its context, the Article breaches s. 7(1)(b) of the Code. That is because the complainants have not shown that the Article rises to the level of hatred and contempt, as those terms have been defined by the Supreme Court of Canada, to breach s. 7(1)(b) of the Code. "

Here is the finding of the Ontario Tribunal:

"The complainants alleged that the content of the article and Maclean’s refusal to provide space for a rebuttal violated their human rights. The decision means that the complaints will not be referred to a hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Denying a service because of race or creed can form the basis for a human
rights complaint. However, the Ontario Human Rights Code does not give the Commission the jurisdiction to deal with the content of magazine articles through its complaint process."

Here is the finidng of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal:

"The Steyn article discusses changing global demographics and other factors that the author describes as contributing to an eventual ascendancy of Muslims in the ‘developed world’, a prospect that the author fears for various reasons described in the article. The writing is polemical, colourful and emphatic, and was obviously calculated to excite discussion and even offend certain readers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

Overall, however, the views expressed in the Steyn article, when considered as a whole and in context, are not of an extreme nature as defined by the Supreme Court in the Taylor decision. Considering the purpose and scope of section 13 (1), and taking into account that an interpretation of s. 13 (1) must be consistent with the minimal impairment of free speech, there is no reasonable basis in the evidence to warrant the appointment of a Tribunal.

For these reasons, this complaint is dismissed."

Here's an interesting link: http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=e828c17a-787d-4142-af25-b2b4f5cc730d

"Though it was long a taboo subject on the Left, the extraordinarily close relationship between the American Communist Party and the KGB should nowadays surprise no one, given what we now know about the CPUSA, and about other communist parties in other countries, and about communist ideology, the power of which should never be underestimated. Generally speaking, those who believed in communism also believed in the desirability of world revolution. Generally speaking, those who believed in the desirability of world revolution thought that this revolution would be led, or at least inspired, by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its "sword and shield," the KGB. Those who made such assumptions may have been well-meaning people, even American patriots, as their defenders have often claimed. But that does not change the fundamental point. To the truly dedicated Marxist, the goals of the KGB and the CPUSA would have seemed very similar indeed."

Now, the author is at pains to distance herself from a close analysis of McCarthyism, simply by confining the commentary to the 1930's, when we were clearly riddled with KGB agents. She dismisses Ann Coulter, then adds a whacko leftist for balance.

Still, given what information she DID provide, what should we infer from the fact that a key mentor for our current President, Frank Marshall Davis, was a member of the Communist Party--when it was still clearly under the direct thrall of Moskow--or that he was a friend of Obama's Grandfather, who raised him from age 10 to adulthood?

Does it make me a "brainwashed" right winger to wonder about this? What if our President were blonde haired and blue eyed, and instead of a Communist we inserted Nazi? If Obama had been surrounded by Nazis his whole life, is it just possible the leftist sympathizers in our media might care?

Barry,

Two friendly corrections for you:

1. The US was not a "FULL representative Constitutional Republic" until 1920, over 130 years after the US ratified its first Constitution.

2. Your statement that "Canada, for example, has in effect banned anti-Islamic rhetoric" is absolutely incorrect.

Each of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission rejected the complaint of the Canadian Islamic Congress (and other individuals) against Mark Steyn and Macleans magazine for publishing the article titled: "The future belongs to Islam".

I tried to include citations for the decisions but they were caught in the filter. The hullabaloo was the result of the an statement made by the Ontario Commission made that it thought Steyn's comments weren't nice, but the Commission's statment carries no legal force.

I think a quick word on the relationship of fascism and Communism is in order.

First, read sort of the mission Statement, created by Mussolini: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html

Point 1: "Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace."

Point 2: "The foundation of Fascism is the conception of the State, its character, its duty, and its aim. Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State."

Both Fascism and Communism conceive of perpetual war as desirable. For Communists this is "class war"; for Fascists this is simply invasion of other countries. For Communists, it is, in practice, the war of the State against the people. Most of the 100 million people killed by Communist regimes in the 20th century were killed in peacetime. Communists, of course, DO also invade other nations, precisely like FAscists, as in the invasion of South Korea by the North, the invasion of Central Asia by the Soviets, and of course the invasion of South Vietnam by the North.

In both systems, the State is paramount, and no one has an identity apart from it. In this, they are indistinguishable.

To this, I would add that hatred is a foundational aspect of both. Nazis hated Jews and Bolsheviks. Bolsheviks hated "class criminals" (a very fluid term in ALL Communist regimes, and subject to constant revision).

There is no foundational difference, in practice or theory, between the cultivated hatred of the Germans for Jews, and the hatred of Communists for bourgeoisie. Both were hunted down, tortured, and murdered in astonishing numbers.

My view, then, is that we speak of Nationalistic Fascism as Black Fascism, and Communistic Fascism as Red Fascism. As the more sanguinary of the two ideologies, this appropriate on two levels.

Hell, if you're going to do that, then shouldn't you move it up to the 1960's, when Jim Crow was finally and complete dismantled? Voting Rights Act, wasn't it?

Still, even if we admit the limitation of white, property owning males, the concept is the same. It was historically unique to that point.

As far as Canada, if that is correct, then you are merely as good as us, when I was thinking you were worse.

My impression is that we're not as free as you when it comes to freedom of expression.

Nick,

Your implication is that I am interjecting my own beliefs and values as fact (the fact that my original post was intended to be taken as opinion seems to have escaped most of those who have responded to it), although you have offered no alternative entity to which the honor would lie. If not America, then who, who holds to the promise as stringently as America that you may speak and believe as you wish so long as you do not infringe on another’s right to do so, if not here then where is the land of the free. No need to answer, because there is not one. If the rest of the world does not view us in this light then it is because they are censored from doing so, or as in your case, just politically motivated to misinterpret and misinform.

I'm hardly politically motivated to misinterpret and misinform, actually the opposite. I'm from a politically active conservative family and have always voted that way.

I just picked up on the fact that few people around the world view the US in the light that they see themselves in.

For you to simply say that "I'm right...if nobody else can see that they're all censored or stupid" is a fairly arrogant thing to say don't you think?
When you're dealing with the views of millions and millions of people.

perhaps the type of arrogance that forces people to overlook the many positive contributions that the United States has made to the world?

You are 100% correct Nick, for me to think that my opinion would be anymore correct than anyone else's would be arrogant (and ignorant). However the fact...yes I said fact... that every citizen of the United States of America in good standing of the law has the right to speak freely and to worship whatever God he sees fit is not debateable. The opinion that the U.S.A is the beacon of freedom to the rest of the world is however debateable, I clearly stated this was opinion when it was referenced to my original post where I said "I would simply like to offer my point of view just as others have.". The fact that it is opinion or debateable does nothowever make it any less true, what would make it less true, is if there were any verifiable evidence put forth to the contrary. You could start with all the other countries that constitutionally guarantee those same rights to their own citizens. Good luck with that!