The Alckemists

The Alckemists

Fox News Poll: Arizona Was Right to Take Action on Immigration

According to a Fox News Poll released Friday, most American voters think Arizona was right to pass its own immigration law, and think the Obama administration should wait and see how the new law works rather than try to stop it.

Sixty-one percent of voters think Arizona was right to take action instead of waiting for the federal government to do something on immigration, versus 27 percent who think securing the border is a federal responsibility and Arizona should have waited for Washington to act. (Friday Night Lights)

Losing Our Liberties

If you think the "War on Drugs" is worth losing our civil liberties over, read this article and watch this video of a SWAT raid on a family.  All for a misdemeanor charge.  We are militarizing our police and letting them terrorize innocent people, simply to win an un-winnable war that we shouldn't be fighting in the first place.

ABC News: “Three days after he decried the lack of civility in American politics, President Obama is quoted in a new book about his presidency referring to the Tea Party movement using a derogatory term with sexual connotations.”

Jake Tapper:  In Jonathan Alter’s “The Promise: President Obama, Year One,”President Obama is quoted in an interview saying that the unanimous vote of House Republicans vote against the stimulus bills “set the tenor for the whole year ... That helped to create the tea-baggers and empowered that whole wing of the Republican Party to where it now controls the agenda for the Republicans.”

Sunday Funnies

The Mohammed Image Archive

An archive of every known image, historical and contemporary, of Mohammed has been assembled here.

The image below is from the North Frieze of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, which features a bas-relief sculpture of Mohammed, among several other historical law-givers. He is in the center of this image holding a curved scimitar; on his left is Charlemagne, and on his right is Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

May 20th is Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

In support of the creators of South Park and in resistance of 12th century barbarism.

Tales from the Nanny State

They came after your trans fat, your salt, and now they are coming after your cocktail.

Four in Ten Tea Party Members are Independents or Democrats

Multiple polls are showing that the demographics are showing the Tea Party movement to be incredibly mainstream.  This story at The Hill sums it up.

Slanders by Congress Against the Tea Party Movement

I was at the Tea Party protest against the Health Care Reform bill that occurred at the Capitol on March 20th.  In fact, I was in front of the Rayburn House Office Building as well.  I didn't see the members of the Black Caucus move through the crowd when they allegedly got called the n-word, but I was immediately sceptical when I heard the allegations, based on what I saw of the crowd that day.

Well, the reward for video evidence of the n-word being used against them has risen to $100K, and still nothing has come forward, despite scores of cameras in use.  Read all about it here.

Film Premier: Ten Things To Do When Stopped by Police

A new film from the Cato Institute. The two most important phrases to remember, even if you are totally innocent of anything, are: "I don't consent to any searches" and "Am I being detained, or am I free to go?" Watch the film.

Another Senseless Death in the War on Drugs

From Reason Online. In 2009 a Pastor was shot by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agents. Investigating a $50 crime...

A Catalog of Obama's Statement Expiration Dates

The Campaign Spot at The National Review Online has a lengthy catalog of Obama's statements, when they were first made, and when they were first contradicted, changed, or expired.

Two Presidents Greeting the Troops

A contrast in styles. And a contrast in reactions. As seen in the LA Times of all places.

New Migraine Blog

I've started a new blog focused on migraine information.

P90X Results

Before ___________________________________After

I finished a 90 day round of P90X. I stuck faithfully to the workouts, missing very few due to travel, and making up for the ones I missed by running or doing other activities.

I also stuck to the diet, although I did it my own way, not the way the materials that came with P90X said to do it. In the past 90 days, I have not had any sweets. Very little fatty food. Almost no french fries (just one or two from my kids' meals). Maybe a total of 12 slices of pizza. Lots of protein. And a focus on low Glycemic Index carbs.

I was NOT trying to lose any weight, but I was trying to lose body fat and replace it with lean muscle.

Here are the results:

________________Before_____After
Weight____________146_____143
Body Fat_________13.5%____8.5%
Waist ____________31.5"____29.5"

Pull-ups____________7______13
Push-ups__________31______36
Vertical Leap______15"_____19"
Hamstring_________-6"____-2" (distance from a toe touch)
Ab In and Outs_____56____100
Resting Heart Rate__69_____64

If the body fat measurement is accurate, then these results mean that despite the three pound loss in overall weight, I lost 7.5 pounds of fat, and gained 4.5 pounds of muscle. Not bad for 14 weeks, although I would have been happier with a bit more muscle gain.

It also happened that my work had free health screenings today, so I got to see the effect of P90X on my blood chemistry. In the past, my cholesterol has always been to the high end of the normal range. It even has popped over 200 from time to time, but usually tested around 190-200. The lowest I have ever seen it was in the high 180s. Well, today I tested at 162!

Changes are hard work, but the rewards are immense. More changes to come!

Baltimore School of Rock - Detroit Rock City Show

The sound quality on the video is bad. I was standing too close to the amps. But is sounded great in the club.

Google's New Opt Out Policy

Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village

New FIRE Ad

P90X

I'm now 2/3 of the way through the P90X fitness program, so I'm going to put in a plug for it. I made a vow a couple of months back to get fit while I made some changes in my life.

I've never worked out to a DVD before, but I went ahead and bought this program based on the comments I saw online. It's a 90 day program, and I am now in Week 8. The first few weeks kicked my butt, but I have to say the program works. I do it every morning at 5:30.

I'll post up before and after stats when I get to day 90.