How to Look and Feel Great Enough to Kill Terrorists

Go ahead depress the brake pedal if you're feeling that tingly sensation known as "offended" after reading the title. This is my deployment prep workout consisting of 9 weeks (standard length of a Basic Combat Training stint)of intense weight lifting and cardio. After all, it is designed to be preparing you physically for combat. Don't think you can do it? Adapt and overcome. Find points that you like and use them. It is meant to be hard. And it is. Nothing worth doing is easy. Good luck.

This is a 6 day workout with 1 day of rest for 9 weeks over 2 phases

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are in the gym. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is cardio or sprints

Monday - Upper Body Phase 1

Barbell Shrug Pull - 3 sets of 5 for weeks 1-5

Bench Press Warm up for 8 reps

Warm up for 5 reps

3 sets of 10 for weeks 1-2, 4 sets of 8 for weeks 3-4, 4 sets of 6 for week 5

Rows 3 sets of 10-12 for week 1, 3 sets of 8-12 for weeks 2-5

Push Press 3 sets of 6 for Weeks 1-3, 3 sets of 5 for weeks 4-5

Shrugs 3 sets of 15 for weeks 1-3, 3 sets of 12 for weeks 4-5

Pulldowns 2 sets of 10-15 week 1, 2 sets of 8-12 weeks 2-5

Tricep extension 2 sets of 12, weeks 1-2, 3 sets of 10 weeks 3-5

Bicep curls 2 sets of 12 weeks 1-2, 3 sets of 10 weeks 3-5

Forearms 1 set burnout

Abs ( I do Ab Ripper X from p90x. Google it for the exercises if you don't have it)

Wednesday - Lower body Phase 1

Box Jump 3 sets of 10 weeks 1-5

Squat Warm up for 8 reps

Warm up for 5 reps

3 sets of 10 Weeks 1-2, 4 sets of 8 weeks 3-4, 4 sets of 6 week 5

Romanian Dead Lift 2 sets of 12 weeks 1-3, 2 sets of 10 weeks 4-5

Dumbbell lunge 2 sets of 15 weeks 1-3, 2 sets of 20 weeks 4-5

Inner Thigh 2 sets of 15 weeks 1-4, 2 sets of 12 week 5

Calf raise 1 set of 50 weeks 1-5

Abs

Friday - Total body

Shrug pull 3 sets of 5 weeks 1 - 5

Deadlift Warm up for 8

Warm up for 5

Same weight for 15 and 10 reps week 1, 15, 10, and 8 reps week 2, 15, 12, and 10 reps week 3, 15, 15, and 10 reps for week 4, 3 sets of 15 for week 5

Leg curl 2 sets of 10-15 weeks 1-3, 2 sets of 8-12 for weeks 4-5

Leg Press 2 sets of 10-15 weeks 1-5

Incline barbell 4 sets of 10/8/6/and 4 reps weeks 1-4 Bench Press 225 or 185 for max reps 2 sets for week 5

Incline Dumbbell4 sets of 12/10/8 weeks 1-4, same as above for week 5, nothing else

Pull ups 2 sets of 6-12 reps weeks 1-5

Upright rows 2 sets of 15 week 1, 2 sets of 12 weeks 2-4, 2 sets of 10 week 5

Dips 2 sets Max reps

Phase 2 Monday - Upper body

Bench press 2 warm up sets of 8 and 5 reps

4 sets of 6 week 6, 4 sets of 5 weeks 7-8, 1 set of 5 and 3 sets of 3 week 9

Rows 3 sets of 6-10 weeks 6-9

Push Press 4 sets of 5 weeks 6-9

Shrugs 3 sets of 10 weeks 6-7, 3 sets of 8 weeks 8-9

Pulldowns 2 sets of 6-10 weeks 6-9

Tricep extensions 3 sets of 10 weeks 6-7, 3 sets of 8 weeks 8-9

Bicep curls 3 sets of 10 weeks 6-7, 3 sets of 8 weeks 8-9

Forearms

Abs

Wednesday - Lower body

Box jump 3 sets of 10 weeks 6-9

Squat 2 warm up sets of 8 and 5 reps

4 sets of 6 week 6, 4 sets of 5 weeks 7-8, 4 sets of 5/3/3/3 week 9

Romanian Deadlift 2 sets of 10 weeks 6-7, 2 sets of 8 weeks 8-9

Dumbbell step up 2 sets of 20 weeks 6-7, 2 sets of 25 weeks 8-9

Inner thigh 2 sets of 15 weeks 6-9

Calf raise 50 reps weeks 6-9

Abs

Friday - Total body

Shrug pull 3 sets of 5 weeks 6-9

Leg Press warm up of 8 reps

3 sets of 8-12 weeks 6-9

Leg curl 2 sets of 8-12 weeks 6-8, 2 sets of 6-9 week 9

Single leg squat 2 sets of 15 weeks 6-7, 2 sets of 12 weeks 8-9

Incline barbell 5 sets of 5 weeks 6-9

Incline dumbbell press 12/10/8 weeks 6-7, 10/8/6 weeks 8-9

Pullups 2 sets of 6-12 weeks 6-9

Upright rows 2 sets of 10 weeks 6-7, 2 sets of 8 weeks 8-9

Dips 2 sets Max reps

Non-gym schedule is as follows:

Tuesday Cardio 45 mins your choice

Thursdays 10 sprints of 40-60 yards. 20 minutes cardio or running/jogging

Saturdays long run 5-10 miles or 6-12 mile road march with 50 pound ruck at 15 minute mile pace

Spare Me Generic Polls in April

Barack Obama 50% approval rating -- Gallop

Barack Obama 49 - Mitt Romney 45 +/- 4 USA Today/Gallop

These are just two of the samples of silly little polls we are subjected to, the latter flip-flopping like an Obama campaign promise depending on which week it is. Everyone but Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich understand Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican candidate for President. I'd include Ron Paul but I'm not even sure the man is alive since we have been sans debates for quite some time now. It's not like anyone over the age of 21 takes him seriously, or talks to him in the media. The wonderful world of pollsters and random data collectors are beginning to run with that inevitability and are already soliciting opinions on what the voters will do in November, in April.

This on the surface makes no sense and has no intrinsic value. These two men have yet to set foot on the same stage in a debate, and I'm still not convinced they ever will. According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, there are 3 scheduled in the month of October. You would have to show me where it says Barack Obama must be there to participate. Already displaying a disregard for the Constitution on many matters, bypassing something that is not Constitutionally required or in no way enforceable, doesn't seem like much of a stretch. I bring this up because if Obama does decide to participate, I don't see those going very well for him unless Romney sticks to his refusal to "light Conservatives hair on fire" and keeps the gloves on. Polling data without the benefit of contrasting ideas and the articulation of them on the national stage just seems a little to hyperbolic to be taken serious. Nevertheless, Obama's ego is too large to pass up at least one of these before crafting a McCainian excuse as to why he may have to recuse himself before showing up in all 3 of them anyway.

This is not 2008. There is nothing historic about this election cycle in terms of the participants. Historic in terms of the future of the Republic for which it stands, yes. But in terms of the candidates running, no. Unless you want to count the possibility of the first Mormon being elected but only Democrats and Liberals care about what group you belong to, and since Romney isn't one of them, championing his faith isn't an option, only the demagoguery of it. Obama has no "Hope and Change" to sell, only "Excuses and Blame". There is zero record of accomplishment. Zero. Except for that one time when he let the Navy SEALs do what they are paid to do. If that's what you want to build your campaign on, have it. But auctioning that off to a Military hating Liberal base isn't going to sell many bumper stickers or raise a lot of money as the trailing fundraising numbers have shown. Remember when Republicans were supposed to fear the "Billion Dollar Campaign of Candidate Calamity" by Team Obama? Yeah, that's not happening. According to the official "newspaper" of the Barack Obama administration, the New York Times, Obama had a fundraising total of $172 million, behind Hillary Clinton at this point in 2008 and significantly behind George Bush in 2004. Who is going to write that $828 million check to Obama/Biden 2012? Romney is the obvious leader of the Republicans at $75 million despite not being the sole benefactor of Republican piggy banks. When we play the game of semantics and add up the sum of campaign donations to the various Republican candidates, we get a grand total of...$172 million. Obama is not invincible nor is he infallible, quite the contrary. The media will have you believe otherwise. Remember, 95% of them are Democrats. They were educated to believe they had to be, especially during the 40 year period that Democrats controlled Congress. Access to them depended on it. The letter next to the name of the President really didn't matter to them since they could focus the narrative and national discussion just by playing a game of "Show me you voter ID card and I'll show you mine" to the rank and file. Once Republicans took over in 1994, the "media" as we know it essentially had to pick sides. It's no coincidence that MSNBC and Fox News both were launched in 1996 and carry the respective torches of Liberals and Conservatives to this day.

The time for polling data to matter will come. Right around 7:01PM on November 6th.

Until then, you stay Conservative America.

Rick Santorum, Well, Done.

"America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography."

Really? I had no idea. It gets better.

"A wealth of research is now available demonstrating that pornography causes profound brain changes in both children and adults, resulting in widespread negative consequences."

Stop me if you've heard all of this before. No word on what those consequences are by the way. Those are the first two sentences in Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum's plan for "Enforcing laws against illegal pornography". Oh Rick, what have you done to your candidacy? You can't pin this one on the "Elite Media". No, this time you issued them the ammunition yourself by including this among your issues in the "Where I Stand" section of your campaign website. Bad idea.

The year was 1997 and I was the proud owner of a new personal computer with an AOL subscription. I was fascinated with the amount of information available as soon as I could convince my parents to hang up the phone so I could hook up the modem, wait for those unnerving connecting noises to cease and then begin this neat little activity calling "surfing" the Internet that Al Gore had so thoughtfully invented. Never figured him for much of a beach goer. But I digress. I was also 16 years old and after the novelty of instant messaging and playing games with random screen name strangers wore off, I really couldn't wait for my parents to go to bed so I could use the computer for what I had convinced myself of its true purpose to be: PORN! And all of it free! What more could a teenage boy ask for! Teenage girls I am going to assume didn't share the same exuberance, for which, like most things with men and women, they never do. Too bad.

In the nearly 15 years that have passed since I was first exposed to the demons of Internet pornography, I graduated high school, went to college on a baseball scholarship, dropped out of college to join the Army after 9/11 (Glad porn didn't kill my patriotism), went to war in Iraq, became a Drill Sergeant, got engaged, had a daughter (thanks to porn for showing me the way), went back to college, got employed (thankfully porn didn't destroy my work ethic), bought a house, kept getting promoted in the Army ahead of my peers, started this website and a radio chit chat show as hobbies, all while endeavoring to one day become a representative of the people and to make their lives better through the championing and preservation of freedom as a politician. Not necessarily all in that order. Do you know what the one constant throughout all of that was? I looked at porn. I may just do so after I post this. And I'm still waiting for those "profound brain changes" to take place.

There are so many issues that drive a wedge between Liberals and Conservatives in this country. The over-reaching hand of an ever growing Government is not something any Republican or Conservative should ever be in favor of, no matter what moral sticky note you try to attach to it. Everyone has their own personal beliefs and core values to which they try to adhere to. Yes, those can be a guide or a compass in times of conflict for a leader. But they do not trump the Constitution of the United States nor do they serve as a convenient excuse for any politician, regardless of Party affiliation, to force upon a free people those convictions whose only purpose stands to tighten the already in place handcuffs on liberty. That's not what America is supposed to be. This isn't an argument in favor of pornography. Its an argument in favor of freedom. The freedom of people to be responsible for their own lives and to endure the repercussions for the decisions that they make. Government's role is never to protect people from themselves. For when we allow that to happen, we will never remember to say no to the next issue that they think they can decide for ourselves better than we can. You don't have to like what your neighbor is doing or looking at. If it is not placing your or your family directly in harm's way, then it's none of your damn business.

Rick Santorum is a good man. I feel he truly believes in what he is saying. And in a way, I applaud him for having the courage to voice his convictions even when I think they are wrong. But this issue serves as a small window into the governing mind of Santorum. It shows us that he feels it is in his presidential authority to make moral decisions for the people of which he is ultimately responsible to. We are already witnessing the damaging effects of a President who has taken it upon himself to enact his warped vision of America rather than build upon a Constitutional frame work through adherence and preservation. We cannot afford to nominate someone who can potentially do the same through his own radical ideology that is just as equally foreign to American principles.

The time has indeed come for a true, 2 man race in the trek for the Republican nomination. And that race is between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Peace out Rick. Time to grow up.

***DISCLAIMER***

I know that the Internet is not just for porn. It's also for downloading movies and music for free!! Oh yeah, and Twitter. Follow me @EricBandazewski

The Right Answer Show Notes: March 14, 2012

This is what you can expect to hear massaging your ears tonight. Relax. It's free. Obama would be proud. Well, not if he listens, he won't. Whatevs.

Order of March:

- Connecting the "Red" dots with Obama's history.

- A look back at last nights primary contests and a look at the delegates. Can Santorum catch Romney?

- Why Obama has zero shot at election. Zero.

- Lake County Democrat Party in Florida desecrates the American Flag with Obama's face. Shocking. Not really.

Alibis

- Open season on Bald Eagles in Wyoming courtesy of Obama. What's left in America to destroy?

-Running ads against Sarah Palin. Who isn't running. Grow up.

Listen tonight at 10pm Eastern at www.blogtalkradio.com/TheRightAnswer

Allen West for VP, Rubio for 2016

If necessary of course. I understand the infatuation on the right with Marco Rubio. Bright, young, handsome, great speaker, even better story. Sound like someone you've heard of before? See 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for the answer. In reality, he's a Junior Senator still getting his feet wet in his first term of an absolutely vital state, especially with the other Florida senator, Bill Nelson, at risk for reelection from challenger Connie Mack. I believe in Rubio's star power and his allure, but how about we do the right thing and not force someone to heights they aren't quite prepared for. We're watching what happens when we do that play out before us with the current White House resident. 2016 will be Rubio's time, should the Republicans fail to topple Barack Obama in November.

The man the Republicans need to staple to the ticket is Florida Rep. Allen West. He's done an admirable job in the House since being elected, he's a Tea Party favorite, a war hero, and he just so happens to be losing his seat in the redistricting that is taking place in Florida. Rather than have him move to another district, which he has already said he will do, the Republican party needs to move him up in the ranks. From a political stand point, it makes too much sense. West as I've said hails from a critical swing state which should help tilt it in the Republicans favor. He can rally the base and the Tea Party which was critical in getting him and many other Conservatives elected in 2010. He has an admirable background as a Battalion Commander in the Army, including combat experience in Iraq. That won't be off limits to the morally foreclosed Liberal media, but the American people will see right through that attempt when it comes to his story as a soldier. Oh, and one other thing the hypocrites on the Left will hate, he's (wait for it...) not white! So much for the modern media spin that the Republican party is only for Whitey despite it's history of the exact opposite.

Whoever sews up the nomination needs to have a strong, equitable candidate for Vice President. Some have already said that the Republican primary is full of VP candidates and not Presidential ones. I disagree with half of that. All would make a better President than the guy we have for 10 more months if there is a political God, but also all would make excellent guys who are one heart beat away from the highest office in the land. I'd like for whoever is the nominee to bypass that media forced way of thinking and select a man who is "ready and willing to serve."

That man is Allen West. Do it.

The Right Answer Show Notes: February 28, 2012

Here is what you will hear on tonight's "The Right Answer". Enjoy. You should.

ORDER OF MARCH:

-Obama Energy Secretary Steven Chu hates Chu! That means you!

-How the Democrats are losing their class warfare battle but may have an unstoppable Army of government dependents.

-Why Obama is apologizing yet again and what it means for the US around the world.

-Romney's disgust with Santorum and a primary update from Arizona and Michigan.

-Why the military should be disgusted with Obama, bye bye Tricare

-African Americans for Obama? Really? Grow Up.

-Headline rants!

Alibis:

-Florida no texting law. Intrusive?

-

Santorum Plays the Role of Gizmo

The difference between Gizmo hating the "bright light" and Santorum is that at least the little fur ball was cute. Seriously, who didn't want their own personal Gizmo?
Now GOP voters are left wondering if they want Santorum as their candidate to unseat Obama in November.

From his insanely indefensible stance on not supporting e-verify, to his weak explanation of just "taking one for the team" when trying to justify his at times awful voting history during his time in the Senate, and all of his long-winded, non-succinct attempts to spin his way out of the mud along the way, Rick Santorum wilted under the bright lights that were cast upon him to spawn his growth as Presidential material. Everyone at that table knew this debate was coming and had ample opportunity to prepare themselves. All of them did admirably with the exception of Mr. Santorum.

Ron Paul was funny, passionate, knowledgeable and as always, a bit out of touch with reality when it comes to foreign policy. But that's who he is. Mitt Romney was equipped with the requisite one-liners such as the "bridge to nowhere" reference and also brought up some previously unmentioned personal history of Santorum's endorsement of Romney in 2008. He looked ready to take on Obama. Newt Gingrich was back to his classic form applying historical context and much more affability with the spot light off of him than he did during the 2 debates in Florida when he was at the head of the class. It's not that Santorum was bad, it's that he wasn't good when he absolutely needed to be in order to confirm to his supporters that they were backing the right guy after his recent wins in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.

To make matters worse for Santorum, he was booed repeatedly during his rebuttals to being called out in reference to his record. We can argue all day about whether or not certain candidates packed the audience with their supporters, but regardless, they are GOP voters. And he may very well be right in his explanation for how Bills get written and how a multitude of items get packed into them before votes. But its a quick fix when it comes to politics. Instead of acknowledging the discrepancies and shifting back to his message, he tries at length to fight a losing battle with detestable political spin. People remember what you said and did last Rick. Admit your faults and move on. Romney and Gingrich have many issues Conservatives disagree with but they acknowledge them and attempt to persuade the voters on what they've learned and what they will do different in the future. Ron Paul owns every view he espouses because its what he believes whether its popular or not. Voters had begun to think the same of you before 8PM Wednesday night. They were wrong.

Sorry Rick, but you are a "No Go" at this station. Enjoy your Cabinet post should the eventual Republican nominee dethrone Barack Obama.

The Right Answer Show Notes: February 21, 2012

Here is what your humble host will be expounding upon tonight. This is how I organize my thoughts. You'll get the hang of it. Don't hurt yourselves.

ORDER OF MARCH:

-Brokered Convention, possibilities, candidates

-Why no one believes in Mitt Romney (Robotney)

-Taxmageddon

-Michelle hit’s the slopes!

-African Americans for Obama? Really? Grow up

-Polling Report

-Headline rants!

Alibis:

-Presidents day, favs?

-Drudge hates Santorum? Courtesy of Jaime Dupree

-Iran Update, ranger up

Obama's Budget Proposal

Consider it an early Valentines Day gift to the Spending Gods. (They're real, I've seen them. They look like women with no credit limit inside DSW)

Barack O'Spending fired for effect his latest and 4Th consecutive deficit inducing spending bill which tipped the scales at just over $3.8 Trillion, another new record he can stake his Presidency to. Bravo. The only problem with that is the Federal Government collects from the non-leeches in society just over $2.3 Trillion annually. Anyone got China's number? Maybe a phone produced there that we could borrow from them as well to call them with while we're at it? This is the same fiscally sound mind who promised he would reduce the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term. Instead, he's nearly doubled it. Mr. President, anything to say? "Oops. My bad y'all."

What were you doing on April 29, 2009? Do you know what the Senate was doing? They were passing a budget that day. They haven't done it since. That was 1020 days ago. Do you know what we've managed to accomplish since then? I do. Check it. $4.1 Trillion in new debt, more than all Presidents combined prior to Mr. Hope And Change. And an outstanding public debt of $15,240,174,635,409. No, that's not a typo. Yes, that's a real number. Yes, I can probably count that high, but by the time I finished, the Senate may be passing a new budget. Maybe. Anyone notice how much I love commas? I love commas like Obama loves spending your money. Write that down.

Do you know what the funniest, most depressing thing to come out of this whole budget chicanery is? The fact that the spin from the Liberally diseased media and the White House came before the reaction of the people. If you recall, last year Obama put forth another Zombie-esque budget that was defeated with a rare bi-partisan moment of clarity 97-0. Before I go any further, say that out loud. "97-0". The Democrats OWN the Senate! They can pass whatever they want and not one of Obama's boys and girls saw fit to attach their name and vote to that piece of "Obamatry". Maybe they aren't as dumb as we think? Whatevs. So out comes White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew, a clear example of Government Darwinism, saying that the budget can't pass without 60 votes in the Senate. That's news to me, mainly because I, you know, have read the Constitution which I would have assumed is a minimum requisite for any White House Chief of Staff but apparently not. You see, the Forefathers in all of their foresighted wisdom foresaw this. (How many times can you use "fore" as a root word in a sentence?) They included specific language that stated a budget cannot be filibustered and can be passed with a majority vote. That at a maximum can be 51 votes, not 60. Everyone google Jack Lew's picture, make an "L" with your free hand and place it over Mr. Lew's face. So you see, this isn't an issue of the Republicans playing silly little political games, its another example in a too long to keep track of list of political games that Obama and his in over their head colleagues have been trying to play with the American people. Sadly, a healthy sized portion of the country who for whatever reason chooses to get their "News" from the Mainstream Media will buy into that unstable logic. And that aforementioned media will do nothing to promote the truth because they've got posters and stickers and night lights of Obama kind of like teenage girls have of Justin Bieber. You can see how this could pose a problem promoting ethics and the truth.

My favorite trinket attached to Mr. I Want A Strong Military's budget is his caveat that the Pentagon may be able to forcefully cut 100,000 troops from the rolls. The problem with this, and I say it because I am a member of the Army and know all too well the bureaucratic impotency of the Civilian's involved, is that they will arbitrarily cut the wrong people. There are PLENTY of individuals the Army would be better without, as I am sure the other 4 branches of service would say in a moment of honesty. But putting trust in the Pentagon to actually identify those individuals is like asking Obama to pass a budget that makes fiscal sense. Do you see where I am going with this?

Rick Perry Says "Matae"

Bloodsport reference. Chew on it.

Hours before the final Republican debate before the South Carolina primary, Texas Governor and one time front runner Rick Perry rang the bell to go home. No real surprise as he has failed to gain any traction despite other candidates dropping out and much steadier debate performances as of late. Upon announcing his candidacy ironically in the same city as he ended it, Perry air lifted himself to the top of the polls. New face gets all of the attention sort of thing. Then the problems started. People began to hear him talk in the debates reminding them of that other Texas Governor. He rightfully picked fights with the other presumed front runner Mitt Romney but to no avail. Stumbling in each debate and even enjoying a rather memorable mind lapse on which three branches of Government(Do we have to stop at 3?) he would eliminate were he to become the President, Perry found himself in a HALO free fall towards the basement in the polls with Michelle Bachmann.

Then information from the Perry camp leaked with little attention that he had gotten into the race just after back surgery and was having to take prescription pain killers that clearly had some impact on his debate performances and possibly some of his speeches(See New Hampshire. Quite entertaining, actually). But after his attempt at self-deprecation on the David Letterman show, t'was all a tad bit late. Too bad.

Perry had thrown together some solid debate showings recently, most notably this past Monday night in front of another South Carolina crowd. Even with Romney and Ron Paul having arguably their worst performances, Perry couldn't find a space on the elevator to move up.

So now what? Where do his supporters go given the fact that Perry himself endorsed Newt Gingrich? They clearly won't be dialing up the Romney campaign headquarters anytime soon. Given Perry's single digit polling numbers and Gingrich's ascent in the polls recently, if they take to Newt, that will put him ahead of Romney within the margin of error both in South Carolina and nationally with Florida up next. Perry was another conservative voice fighting for stage space with Rick Santorum and Gingrich to garner the Anti-Romney vote. It's only natural that these supporters will align themselves with Gingrich or Santorum. Despite the home state connection, I don't foresee any of them enlisting into the Ron Paul army.

Now the stage is set with tonight's debate for the Anti-Romney candidates to unload on Mitt. He already was dazed Monday night. If he stumbles again, he could very easily find himself knocked out by Gingrich or even Santorum who should be declared the rightful winner of the Iowa Caucus any minute now. If that happens, Romney will be in serious trouble going into Florida where he has already spent a ton of money on advertising.

As we have seen with all of these candidates in this primary season, no one is untouchable. We've been force fed by the Obama press corp that Romney has to be the nominee whether we like it or not on the GOP side. Clearly, the voters are beginning to broadcast their own message that they're big enough boys and girls that they can decide their nominee for themselves. Saturday's primary will be all about just that.

Write that down.

SOPA: Stop Online Piracy Act

HR 3261. A byproduct of the illogical thinking of Lamar Smith(R-TX) and enjoyed by many across a bi-partisan spectrum. The Stop Online Piracy Act is the epitome of over regulation and over reaching by a Government under the guise of having your best interests in mind. What it actually is, is pandering to the Entertainment industry and everyone who has "I Hate Freedom of Speech" plastered on their Prius bumper.

SOPA was introduced under the premise of going after companies who fraudulently sell prescription drugs, overseas websites that illegally allow the hosting of pirated intellectual material and essentially expounding on everything the Feds forgot to include in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, mostly because the likes of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google, etc, didn't, you know, exist.

Surely some of you reading this are probably saying to yourselves "What's wrong with going after thieves?". Turns out, a lot actually. The chief power wielder in all of this would be none other than the immensely competent Attorney General, Eric Holder. He most well known for his classy involvement in the conception and attempted cover up of "Fast and Furious" which led to the death of ATF agent Brian Terry. Under this brilliant piece of legislation Eric Holder would have access to the ON/OFF switch of the Internet. But what he will tell you, much like Obama in his recent signing statement of the National Defense Authorization Act, he won't really use it. Riiiiight. Instead he will primarily use these 4 methods of enforcement:

1. Force ISPs to block access to Domain Name System servers to infringing foreign sites.(Put effort into keeping out illegal foreign Internet users but not illegal immigrants. Makes sense.)

2. Force search providers to make such sites that have been flagged as infringing undiscoverable. (Thinking what I'm thinking about what "flagged" means?)

3. Force payments processors to shut down the ability for infringing sites to make money.(Hooray Command Economy, even online!)

4. Force Internet advertisers to cease doing business with an infringing site.(Selective ethics.)

So who would feel the wrath of Holder? I know this will sound less than logical but in reality, any site charged by another site or user of having any material illegally anywhere on its site regardless of whether it is known or not. The burden of proof is actually on the company charged and not the petitioner or accuser. If you've seen any of the plethora of recent bad Law TV shows, you know that that is SSA backwards. Lawrence Tribe, Harvard Law guy, points out the unconstitutionality of that making reference to the fact that one page can wipe out literally tens of thousands of legitimate pages when it comes to copyrighted material. Sites would have to cease and desist within 5 days giving companies no time to realistically defend its reputation and good name.

Has anyone stopped to think about just what exactly the Internet is? What World Wide Web means? It is the most far reaching and effective form of free advertisement ever conceived. Each year it is improved upon and further utilized by its purveyors. With the advent of social networking, especially Twitter, everyone has instant access to anyone with an account. By CHOICE!
It isn't forced upon you by Government. You elect to pay a monthly fee in order to have access to the one last, largely unregulated (Not for much longer) place where the freedom of speech and expression is on full display. Sure, there is plenty of content that might be questionable to us or others. But we CHOOSE to access it all by ourselves without Mother Government telling us whether it is safe or not. We endure the consequences of those choices and are ultimately responsible for what takes place in a transaction with an online vendor or in a discussion about political theory with someone in a country 10,000 miles away who you otherwise would never have any chance of interacting with. Why screw that up? Because Hollywood is worried about whether or not Algeria is streaming Teen Wolf Too? Grow up.

There are some steps around what SOPA will bring. For instance, if a site is deemed "bad" by Big Brother, you will be blocked from accessing it by name. But not by IP address. Oops! This highlights my main contention with the authors of such poorly conceived legislation. Ignorance is not a defense for not knowing the law. It shouldn't be for those who are completely ignorant when it comes to the Internet and its usage. Yes, I know many members of Congress have Twitter accounts and pretend to actually use them when we all know its staffers. But the reality is the Internet is the playground of the young and the new generation of entrepreneurs. Not exactly a description of those roaming the halls of Congress. If criminals are always 1 step ahead of police, Internet savvy criminals will always be 12,000 steps ahead of the Federal Government. You go after the companies, you don't arbitrarily deny access to hundreds of millions of people because you don't agree with an extended movie preview being hosted on some site in the Congo.

Any of these companies ring a bell? Facebook, Google, eBay/PayPal, Foursquare, Kaspersky, Reddit, Mozilla, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo, Scribd, Quora, Github, Square, AOL. That's a Who's Who of Tech companies that have come out against SOPA. Yahoo has already left the US Chamber of Commerce in protest with more threatening and many more lesser known companies coming out against it. Think of the economic impact this will have on not just these sites but to all of the consumers who go online. It's a giant snow ball teetering at the top of the mountain with Lamar Smith and company anxiously trying to push it over. Thankfully, there are some members in Congress still exhibiting some semblance of rational thought. Darrell E. Issa(R-CA) has logically proposed a plan for a more strict Copyright enforcement process. He has said that this is an issue that calls for "patches, not a blanket". That's the right answer.

If SOPA is allowed to pass, we will finally catch China and earn the title of The Next Great De-indexer of Websites and a co-sponsor of the Great Firewall. Freedom of speech be damned.

The Right Answer Update

Top O' the evening to you Theorists! Our "Theory" will now be shifting to the political version of what runs through my mind constantly. This space is an extension of what you find me unleashing on Twitter at @EricBandazewski. Reason? I've done all that I've wanted to in terms of the sports arena, though I will continue to bring some insight into that spectrum from time to time as I am still covering the Orlando Magic on the sports side of the house on Blog Talk Radio. And, once football season returns next year I will bring back the Game Theory picks but only as a brief distraction from the more pertinent items that occupy this space. Money will always be provided to you Theorists by me as it has for the past 5 years.

Starting in January will be the debut of The Right Answer radio show on Blog Talk Radio. This is where I've steered myself over the past 16 months and I'm finally in a position to deliver in that format the way I've envisioned. I hope you'll find it just as entertaining as you do the 140 character version I've displayed on Twitter.

With those aforementioned items out of the way, Happy New Year! I'll see you soon right here. Join me. Do it.

Game Theory NFL Picks Week 16

Short and sweet Theorists, Christmas is upon us and here's 5 games to cover all of your holiday expenses. Prepare to copy:

#Falcons +7

#Broncos -2

#Giants +3

#Rams + 15

#Bears + 13

Like those hash tags Theorists? I lifted them from my Twitter account which you should follow at: @EricBandazewski

GO GET PAID!!(I Will)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Game Theory NCAA and NFL Picks Week 15

Welcome back Theorists. I know we took a posting week off last week but if you follow me on Twitter, as you should, @EricBandazewski, you would have gotten 4 games from me. Seattle, Indianapolis, San Francisco and Minnesota. 3 of the 4 did what they were supposed to lifting us up to 60-48 ATS on the year. Hello money!

Now back to our regularly scheduled handicapping:

I don't quite care for the NCAA bowl season. Its filled with teams that either could care less about being there or those who are overzealous about playing in a game with 12,000 people watching put on by some random corporate sponsor that none of the players involved have ever heard of. With that said, I figured it my handicapping duty to provide you with the only game that matters, the Naty title game, and one more just because the line looks too good to pass up.

Michigan -2 Vs Virginia Tech- Michigan is a significantly better defensive team than last year as evidenced by their weekly performances. The offense took a step back before finding some life mid-season as the coaching staff adjusted to who exactly Denard Robinson is as a QB. They also are coming into this remembering the beating they took against Mississippi State last year in the Dumpster Bowl. This is the final chance for these seniors to play and coming off of the Ohio State win, they feel they owe the fans and alumni a Bowl win. And a nice pay check that comes with it. Virginia Tech is what they always are. Well coached but suffering of let downs to lesser opponents or playing down to their opposition. They don't have the speed Michigan has and will struggle to keep Robinson out of the end zone. I like Michigan comfortably.

LSU Pick 'em Vs Alabama- LSU already proved they were the better team and nothing tells me they won't do it again with the extra prep time allotted to the coaching staff. Nick Saban has a great defensive team but his offensive ineptitude at the QB position when it counts will again cost him this victory. We're not even talking about points at this juncture, it's a simple win or lose proposition. With Jordan Jefferson firmly back up to speed at QB, coupled with the presence of The Honey Badger, I don't see Alabama being able to keep up in this one come the second half. LSU is your Naty title winner. Enjoy


===============BREAK NFL OPORD TO FOLLOW======================

St. Louis +6 Vs Cincinnati - I don't think now is the time by any means for the Rams to plan on winning a game, but aiming for respectability should be bantered about in team meetings. Bengals have hit a rough spot lately losing some tough games. The Rams have lost pretty much every kind of way all season. Still, at home in the dome should be enough to keep the Rams in it and the game within a touchdown as they collect another loss but a win for us.

New England -6 At Denver- Two extended winning streaks on the line here. I know first hand now the impact of Tim Tebow in games late that are within play. The problem is he has been playing equally inept offenses in terms of scoring over much of that streak which has afforded them just enough opportunity at the end of games to do what he does. Win. Now in come a hot Patriots offense with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. The Broncos have no one in the secondary who can come close to winning that match up and you will see a healthy dose of Tight End servings from Brady. The Patriots secondary is a dumpster fire but that is generally on display against passers who are going down the field. The Broncos take their shots but not enough and unless John Fox has decided this is the game to let Tebow put it up 30 times, I don't see how the Broncos can keep the score close enough for the requisite Tebow game winning drive. Patriots healthily.

Oakland +1 Vs Detroit- Never has a team needed a home game as much as the Raiders. Lions get Suh back but he will bear watching early on as he settles back into his role. The Lions defense has been pretty awful without him surrendering a ton of points and how they play against Michael Bush and the power run game of the Raiders will be of consequence. The Lions secondary is not good and the Raiders employ several speedy receiving threats that should be able to make some plays provided Carson Palmer throws them the ball and not the Lions. I think the Raiders get this win as they should move into a first place tie with the Broncos as they make a final playoff push.

Bears -3 Vs Seattle- Bears living off last seasons playoff dominance of the Seahawks
should boast well for a defensive team that has got to find a way to play an entire game. The Birds on the road in a hostile environment with less than favorable weather is not good for Tavaris Jackson but could be for Marshawn Lynch who is playing like a guy that wants a contract. That plays into the Bears strength as stopping the run is still what they do best. This will shift the pressure to Jackson to make plays down field and I don't see that happening as the Bears secondary should be able to capitalize on some of the Pete Carrol gambles. Plus God will be busy watching Tim Tebow. I know Caleb Hanie is still playing quarterback but this is his 4th start. Now or never time for him and the Bears playoff hopes. Bears by 6.

GO GET PAID!!(I will)

Catch the Vegas Takedown Show Thursday nights at 11pm Eastern at www.blogtalkradio.com/gametheory

Do it.

OUTNUMBERED: Chronicles of a Manhattan Conservative by Jedediah Bila

Let me start by prefacing my two requisites for a good "politically" themed book. First, don't give me death by footnote. I hate spending an equal amount of time with the lapper open and Google'n every point to make sure you and the editor aren't trying to make me fall for the old banana in the tailpipe. And second, don't make me look forward to the ending. Jedediah Bila crushed it. I'm genuinely disappointed that the book actually wasn't longer. But I digress...

She opens with a touching, perfectionist tale of her as an editorial advice seeking teen from her Grandfather, who encourages her to make the reader "walk those steps with you, open my eyes, and look around". Done, done and done. Outnumbered brings to us her day to day encounters with an expansive Liberal horde of co-workers, students, friends, friends who become former friends, and just about anyone else one might possibly interact with while living in the bastion of diversity that is New York City spanning a 6 month elapse leading up to and after the election of Barack Hussein Obama.

The meetings of chance and circumstance border on the hilariously shallow, like a friend not "tolerating" her Facebook posts to the inspiring such as a tutoring session with a lad clearly bright enough to think on his own but who had just not been urged to do so. She draws an excellent analogy of wealth redistribution in a context that he could understand and grasp. And while most of us would continue to bang home a point, she did what we really should do in these situations; let people marinate with the new ingredients you've added to their pre-packaged misconceptions.
You never know what ideological meal they may create.

It's enjoyable to read as the parallels are depicted between what goes into the thought process of Liberals and Conservatives. The sense of entitlement, the need to have someone make personal decisions for us that we can easily make for ourselves, the complete disregard for certain rights, freedoms and tolerances they claim to champion. Apples and airplanes indeed.

There were times I found myself wanting her to stand up and speak out more, wondering what I would do if that situation were presented. But I thought back to the books title and arrived at the conclusion I think that can best be taken from reading it: This was a journey as much for her as it is for the readers and that everyone, conservatives and liberals alike need to research more on their own. The media isn't your brain. You still control that and should fill it with as much information to challenge your position as much as you do to support it.

Three things I would have liked to have seen contained in the book:

1. Some pictures of the napkins, loose-leaf(such a teacher word)writings, etc that she captured these encounters on. That would have been a nice touch.

2. She talks of growing up in Staten Island but makes no mention of her favorite Wu-Tang Clan member. Everyone has one. Everyone.

3. Poppy Bila's marinara recipe. You can't hype it without giving us proof. We're
entitled to it!

Go get the book Theorists. Do it.