Ladies and gentlemen, we have a movement! Thanks everyone. Let’s DO THIS!

Anyway, girlfriend wants to “get into better shape” and asks me to write her out a workout. Like a good boyfriend I do. She then takes the workout and shows it to her trainer friend and trainer-girl says: “OH NO! He has you working out like a guy! Don’t do squats, they’ll make your butt big!” Impassioned arguments ensue… Not pretty…

It’s funny now but it wasn’t then. Fast forward a bunch of years and I’ve spent a lot of time training women “like a guy.” In fact, there are very few things more gratifying to me than to teach a woman how to do the big power movements and to not be afraid of heavy weights. I trained my good friend Hope for quite a while and here’s what she said when I asked her:

“I like that, at the beginning, I never thought I would be able to do any of it – but I was. And you were always there cheering me on. Now, every time I finish a workout, I feel stronger, tougher and most importantly BETTER than the day before. You’ve really helped me stay focused and keep up a workout routine that I never thought I could!”

THAT’S what I’m talking about! And her butt didn’t even get big from all the squats

When women “train like a guy” they get into AWESOME shape, feel great AND look great!

I don’t even like the “train like a guy” thing. How about just TRAIN. Or TRAIN HARD? Even better: TRAIN RIGHT!

I just went through iPhoto and found EXACTLY what I was looking for! Now, remember kiddies, this was after a good bit of time working technique and refining form…

Here’s Hope working her form and getting warmed up:

Hope has a great rack

NOW, HERE’S HOPE AS I TELL HER SHE’S GOING TO POWER CLEAN AND PRESS THAT WEIGHT 30 TIMES (Also known as Grace…)

And, here she is DOING IT!

And there it was. We argued for a while like we did before every workout (Hope used to call it negotiating) and then SHE KILLED IT! She didn’t think she could but she DID.

So, what’s the point?

A lot of women are now sold on training hard and training heavy. Training right. It’s not even an argument anyone needs to make anymore and that’s a GREAT thing. That wasn’t always the case. (I wonder if my ex ever saw the light. Probably not…) Other than telling a cool story, I thought it was worth saying that EVERYONE should take a good hard look at their limits – the ones they THINK they have – and challenge them.

Wherever you are in your training, take a look at the limits you think you have and then go after them. And with that, I’m going to go look at my own limits right now… (Wow, I can even inspire MYSELF. Go figure…)

And, let’s KILL the term “train like a guy” OK?

BTW, Hope makes AWESOME cakes. If you’re near CT and need the coolest cake in the world for an event, check her out! A Little Imagination Cakes

ttys

Adam

I have to thank my friend Marsha (and her boobs) for posting a pic of her new shirt on Facebook and inspiring this post. It got me thinking. Have body images changed that much for women recently? And does it have anything to do with the CrossFit movement and the changes that are going on in fitness? I was pretty inspired recently by this Ice Chamber video my friend Bob Garon posted:

Women kicking ass with kettlebells. Now that’s cool. And those are heavy ‘bells too! Purple is 20kg, Green is 24kg and Yellow is 16kg. No joke…

My challenge to women and the media

I say, MAKE strong the new skinny. Never mind what the status quo is. FUCK THE STATUS QUO! I say, to use Seth Godin’s term, be The Purple Cow. Now, I know women and the term “cow” shouldn’t really be used together, so before I get pummeled I’ll explain. A “Purple Cow” is something remarkable. In a world with more and more advertising “noise” and where there’s someone already filling virtually every need and every niche, a Purple Cow is something that stands out. A brown cow is boring, but a Purple Cow is REMARKABLE.

If you’re a muscular woman, go after mainstream exposure. Let’s take muscular women out of the bodybuilding subculture and put them in the mainstream.

And if you’re a “regular girl” who wants to model, never mind if you’re not “thin” enough. Build the body YOU WANT and shop your portfolio around until someone wants to take a chance on someone who doesn’t look like everyone else. Better yet, read “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuck and fuck the “shop your portfolio around” part. Build your own following online and let the agencies COME TO YOU.

Think it can’t happen? Watch Gary rant and rave in this video and THEN tell me you have no chance of getting the exposure you want or changing what’s considered attractive or acceptable in the mainstream…

What Gary is saying – in between swearing and getting excited – is that we don’t need to deal with gatekeepers anymore. Social media changed all that. Gary’s message: Do what you love, build a following online – through tons of hard work – and let your online presence take you where you want to go. You have the power because of social media now. All it takes is desire and hard work.

I wanna see a girl with some muscles in the Victoria’s Secret catalog in the next few years. What do YOU think? If you agree, pass this blog post around and get busy!

ttys

Adam

I’ve been working with some form of a Paleo or Paleolithic diet for over 6 years now. I’ve written a lot about the diet and I’ve even summed up the basics in a Paleo Primer and my Free eBook download. I’ve also been part of the Kettlebell community since 2007 and the CrossFit community since 2008.

As I said in my post “Welcome to My Gym,” I’ve been training a lot more Kettlebells lately – particularly the basics. So, I’ve sort of made my way “back” to the Kettlebell community after spending a ton of time with CrossFitters.

Every Community has Its Own World View and Preferences

I tend to look at the post-internet fitness communities as having a lot more similarities than differences. “Post-internet” being things like Kettlebells, CrossFit, Paleo diet and lifestyle and some of the more progressive martial arts and functional strength groups. CrossFit has done a great job of both uniting a TON of different disciplines and bringing together a bunch of seemingly “unrelated” communities” and – at the very same time – it’s managed to galvanize a certain world view and collection of methods that’s accepting to SOME new input but not to others.

I’ve always been the CrossFit guy with the Kettlebell bias. When I ran my CrossFit affiliate I always had a lot more Kettlebell stuff going on than most others. At the same time, I’m the Kettlebell guy that REALLY likes CrossFit methods and loves to play with the Olympic lifts and crazy-ass Met Con WODs that scare some of my Kettlebell friends. Add to this my LONG history in Martial Arts and traditional weight lifting and things get really eclectic. (I’m actually working on a concept I call Transdisciplinary Fitness. More to come on that…)

The Paleo Diet is THE Diet – End of Story

Bold statement, right? Particularly with all the “this diet vs. that diet” bullshit floating around. It’s out of control actually. My friend Robb Wolf has a book coming out September 2010 called “The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet.” And that pretty much sums it up. The Paleo Diet IS the original human diet – the diet we evolved on over the course of over 2,000,000 years. And, if you want some science to back that up there is more than enough to keep you reading for a long, long time. You can start with Loren Cordain’s Page. Cordain is a researcher at Colorado State University and he’s published a ton in real peer-reviewed scientific journals. In other words – real science.

Science aside, there’s the whole “empirical” thing that CrossFit and Coach Glassman took to an outstanding level. If it works, use it. The Paleo Diet works. It’s worked for me and many, many others.

Kettlebell Training and Paleo Nutrition

I guess the weird thing about being involved in a bunch of different training communities is that you don’t always have a sense of where one ends and the other begins. Ask me about diet and my response is: “Paleo. Duh.” Followed by a few hours of enthusiastic knowledge-spilling.

What I sometimes forget is that:

1. Not everyone has been exposed to and steeped in the Paleo Diet culture
2. If you’re not “in on” the whole Paleo Diet movement, it can look like just another “diet of the week” from the outside – It isn’t

I was finding this more and more with my Kettlebell friends. I’m not sure why, but there hasn’t been a real “unified” nutrition movement within the Kettlebell communities. In a way this is good, because you avoid the freak show that happened between CrossFit and Robb Wolf. On the other hand, it’s bad because Kettlebell enthusiasts are sort of left to fend for themselves in the sea of diet bullshit and information that the rest of the world has to contend with. As athletes, we really don’t have the luxury of stumbling around the diet issue in the dark for years. Too much wasted time and lost progress.

Why is the Paleo Diet a Perfect Fit for Kettlebell Training?

A good Paleo Diet addresses food quality – Food quality is something I think a lot of people are confused on because of all the marketing influences we get exposed to. In particular, the marketing influences we DON’T know about. When I think of the GARBAGE I used to eat and think I was eating healthy… Paleo will steer you AWAY from anything that comes in a package or has a label and TOWARD natural things that have been around for a very, very long time. Some Paleo dieters – like me – will also insist on as much organic food as possible.

The Paleo Diet is an anti-inflammation diet – If you’re training hard, you’re going to be dealing with inflammation. Because it emphasizes foods low in Omega-6 fats and high in Omega-3s, Paleo is an anti-inflammatory diet. AND, Paleo removes two of the WORST offenders when it comes to promoting and prolonging inflammation – grains (particularly wheat) and cow dairy. Add to this a focus on good sources of EPA and DHA from fish oil and you have a home run as far as fighting inflammation! Check out a great article Robb Wolf did on fish oil, EPA, DHA and Vitamins A, D and K. Also, check out this blog post by Mark Sisson on inflammation.

The Paleo Diet is full of good fats and low in bad ones – This kind of goes along with both of the above points. Good fats – Omega 3s – help fight inflammation. Bad fats – Omega 6s – can bring on inflammation and a ton of other health issues. Check out Kurt Harris, MD’s blog for a primer on fats.

The Paleo Diet controls insulin levels – When you drop grains, sugar and processed foods while increasing your intake of vegetables and meat you automatically make a big advance in lowering the amount of insulin you produce in a 24-hour period. This helps burn fat, keeps blood sugar more stable and can have some BIG health benefits later on in life.

The Paleo Diet is high in protein – What can I say. Protein is KING for building muscle. Everyone knows that.

The Paleo Diet incorporates short fasts – Since many people in the Kettlebell community are familiar with Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet, the idea of short fasts won’t be too new. The Paleo Diet looks at intermittent fasting from an evolutionary perspective. And, my personal opinion is that a Warrior-style diet with Paleo foods will work out a lot better – particularly because Paleo excludes beans, legumes and grains.

Where to go from here?

Here are some resources you can check out to see if a Paleo-style diet might work for you:

My Paleo Primer

My Free eBook “Making a Paleolithic Diet Work for You”

Robb Wolf’s site – be sure to check out his AWESOME series of podcasts “The Paleolithic Solution” on the site or iTunes.

Mark Sisson’s Blog – Mark’s Daily Apple

This lecture by Paleo Diet author Loren Cordain

Nikki Young’s interview with me on her blog, Living Paleo

A two part interview I did on the Paleo Diet with the Hartford Examiner

That should be enough to get you “started”

Let me know if you have any questions and be sure to check out – and “like” – my new page on Facebook: Kettlebells + Paleo

ttys

Adam

My "Home Gym"

What do you REALLY need to get in a good workout?

My life is a bit disorganized and crazy at the moment. Let’s call it “fluid” or “in flux” instead I’m living in my family’s little summer cottage in Old Saybrook and I have a “limited” amount of stuff to train with. I have:

• An Olympic bar and two 25lb bumper plates
• A bunch of kettlebells from 12kg to 24kg
• A chalk/puke bucket
• A 20lb Med Ball
• A GymBoss Timer

I also have a BEAUTIFUL little beach neighborhood that gets little traffic other than all the golf carts and it has a NASTY hill for sprints.

And, you know what? I’ve trained my ass off this summer with ZERO boredom. You don’t need much if you want to be honest about it…

Swings, Comrade, Swings…

I’m also seeing the value and beauty in the basics again. Having a limited amount of stuff to work with gives you a different perspective. I work two handed swings ALMOST EVERY DAY and find nuances in them almost every time that I hadn’t noticed before. Let alone the stuff you find in timed sets of kettlebell snatch or long cycle. You could train a lifetime with a few kettlebells and a timer. Combine in the CrossFit stuff you can do with a Med Ball and a 95lb Olympic barbell and you’re good to go. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES. All the other stuff is cool: rings, rowers, pull up bars, bench presses, max weight, etc., etc… But at times that stuff can be a distraction too.

There are no Quantum Leaps…

I’m also learning that there are no quantum leaps in fitness – or anything else for that matter. You get from here to there one step at a time. One TINY step at a time. Sometimes they’re so small you miss them. You get there by doing and “doing” happens in the here and now. Not later. NOW.

Are you living it RIGHT NOW?

Are you living in the present or are you living in the future? Hopefully, you’re not living in the past… It’s tempting to think about all our great goals and where we can be in a few months or a year. And, the truth is, we CAN make tremendous progress if we set goals and work toward them. But the “work toward them” is the interesting part. You can set a goal out a few weeks or a few months, but it’s easy to live in the future that way. Lately I’ve been asking myself if I’m living the life I want RIGHT NOW. Am I training RIGHT NOW? Am I perfecting my technique RIGHT NOW? Is my diet clean and Paleo and what my body needs RIGHT NOW? It’s too easy to set future goals and have it amount to a self-help, super-slick way of procrastinating and “I’ll do it later.” DO IT RIGHT NOW! Fall is almost here. Then winter. Then guess what? It’ll be spring again. Where can you be in the spring if you get on it RIGHT NOW?

I’m going to keep a real close eye on myself in the coming weeks and months. I have a lot of things I want for the near future, but I’m going to be damn sure I’m doing what I want and need to be doing IN THE PRESENT to get myself there. Otherwise, all the goal setting stuff is just mental masturbation…

And, if you’re trying to do too much and your head is spinning (not to mention your “wheels” are spinning) check out my post “Is Your Lifestyle Sustainable?”

ttys

Adam

Here it is: http://www.livingpaleo.com/guest/making-paleo-practical.html

ttys

Adam

On the plus side, Sara is WICKED HOT so it might be worth watching just for that reason

What does all this have to do with Adrenal Fatigue and Lifestyle?

So, a point that came up during Sara’s interview is how many of us are making so much effort in our lives that we finally become so exhausted that we have to stop. We essentially realize we have to find another way. (This gets discussed starting around 41:00min.) We are so exhausted from all the struggling and all the ego, we actually “give up” and it’s from this point we can begin to truly live.

Here’s why I think this is important and how it relates to Adrenal Fatigue:

If your lifestyle is unsustainable you will be in constant stress. If your training is unsustainable (meaning, not periodized and well programmed with varied intensity) you WILL eventually become exhausted because your physical resources have been spent. This is overtraining.

But while we think it’s working we keep doing whatever stupid behavior we’re doing. It isn’t until we completely crash and burn that we (hopefully) realize we were going down the wrong path, reevaluate and get back on track. I’ve been doing this in every area of my life – intensely – for a while now…

Pema Chodron talks about this in her book “When Things Fall Apart – Heart Advice for Difficult Times.” In Buddhist terms, she basically says we get so tired we can’t make any more problems for ourselves… The training interpretation of this is that we get so overtrained we have to take a week or two off from training to recover.

So, in terms of practical training and lifestyle stuff, take a good hard look at what’s going on with you and decide if it’s actually sustainable and moving you TOWARD what you want and toward better health, performance and happiness. And, by moving toward I mean you’re already there on some level. How’s that for a contradiction? What I mean is, if you’re beating the crap out of yourself now so you can have something you want LATER, you better be seeing some indication that the work you’re putting in is working. If you’re working on health or happiness or performance NOW and aren’t at least seeing SOME positive movement TOWARD what you want, you better stop and reevaluate.

Are you consistently moving toward your goals?

Think about this one for a minute or two. Are you truly, TRULY moving toward your goals? Are you stronger and healthier today than you were last month? Last year? Are your relationships better? Does your life have less stress and more fulfillment? If these are goals for you – but you can’t answer “yes” to that question – you’re trying to live in the future and that won’t work. You need to create these things NOW so you know you’re going in the right direction.

Here’s a concrete example: Say your goal is to improve your health overall and take your deadlift from 365 to 405. Good, attainable goals, right? As long as you have measurable health goals like: improved sleep, better digestion, better mood, etc., you’ll be able to objectively tell if you’re moving toward your ultimate health goals. Add to that a good training journal with your poundage progression and you can tell pretty easily if you’re moving toward your goals or not.

If you’re NOT ON TRACK and consistently moving toward your goals in small increments you need to STOP and reevaluate your lifestyle and your goals and your methods. Don’t think you can keep doing what you’re doing and get different results than you’re getting now. There are no quantum leaps in health and training. Little improvements add up to create BIG improvements – and if you’re not seeing the little improvements you’re NOT going to see the big ones. Time to reevaluate…

I hope that makes sense – assuming I didn’t lose you a minute into the video

ttys

Adam

When people think about starting a new diet, most fast forward six months in their minds and imagine themselves in a thin new body. It’s usually this mental picture which sets in motion the goals they set for themselves; to lose body fat and look good naked.

Fat loss from eating a Paleo diet gets the most attention. Who doesn’t want to lose a few pounds? Yet, the Paleo diet runs much deeper. It encompasses much more than just fat loss.

Paleo Diet Advantages

The biggest benefits come after you’ve been eating a Paleo diet for longer than four weeks. These benefits are the perks that people who give up too early on the Paleo diet never experience. What am I referring to? I’m talking about the benefits of the mind. You reap mental benefits by default when you eat a Paleo diet.

The Paleo diet helps you:

• stay focused
• become mentally sharper
• feel better about yourself
• It can even help with anxiety and depression

Some people will notice these changes almost immediately once they go Paleo. The mental clarity and extra edge from staying focused help in every avenue of life. And there’s just something about eating a wholesome diet that makes you feel good inside. People will notice “a certain something” about you in your glow and your smile.

The Paleo Diet Gets Personal

When you look into the mirror, directly into your own eyes, and sincerely smile at your reflection because you’ve lost that lingering last five pounds, or your abs are showing, it hits home . . . hard. You feel better about yourself. And this spills over into many other areas of your life. So many people duel with diet, but you don’t have to fight a losing battle.

The Paleo Diet is Simple. And it Works.

For most people, the fear of failure prevents them from trying any diet, even one with a mostly unknown name, the Paleo diet. Like me, you’ve probably tried other diets, and in yo-yo fashion, it was full of ups and downs. Enough so, that it made you sick.

But the Paleo diet is more than the word “diet”. You must turn around your thinking. Think of it as nutrition instead of diet. The “diet” word is a scary one that throws another “d” word into the mix. Doubt.

When I stopped thinking about the Paleo diet as a diet, it removed the roadblocks and smoothed the trail of wellness I so badly wanted to go down.

Once you grasp the Paleo diet’s simplicity and how effective it is, it will take hold of your mind. You’ll wonder why you haven’t been eating a Paleo diet your entire life. But, attempting to clarify these benefits of the Paleo diet is like trying to explain, in words, the crunch of a carrot. I can try and try and try to describe the crunch to you, but until you crunch into a carrot you will never fully experience it.

I challenge you to find one good, valid, reason why you shouldn’t be eating the Paleo foods our bodies were designed to consume. Try the Paleo Diet and see for yourself what happens…

Paleo Diet Resources:

The Paleo Diet (Loren Cordain’s site)

Paleo Food List

Robb Wolf’s Blog and the Paleo Solution Podcasts

FREE Download! “Making a Paleolithic Diet Work for You”

Travis is a CrossFit and Paleo diet junkie based in Ventura, California. He blogs at Uncommon Wellness to give you down-to-earth CrossFit and Paleo diet tips and advice. You can follow Travis on Twitter or contact him through his website.

In the video, Valery explains the difference between the Kettlebell Push Press and the Kettlebell Jerk. I know, most everyone “knows” the difference, but there were a few subtle points he brought up that made things very clear to me and gave me some things to work on. I actually commented back and forth with Valery on Facebook regarding the video. This was a BIG help and was greatly appreciated. The magic of the internet age…

REALLY Understanding the Details of the Kettlebell Push Press

So, of course, the next morning I HAD to go out and train the stuff Valery showed in the video. I kept it VERY simple and light:

• 12kg Kettlebell
• 1 min Right, 1 min Left, 1 min Right, 1 min Left

Why so little and so light? Two reasons:

1. I have a weak Strict Overhead Press and a strong Jerk
2. I wanted to BE SURE that I worked the details and DIDN’T turn the movement into a Jerk.

This is actually one criticism I have for “Speed at Any Cost” training and I’ve spoken about this in my blog response to Robb Wolf on Becoming More Efficient. I think my shoulders have actually become WEAKER because of my pursuit of speed over the last year. When you’re going fast, even if the Rx’ed movement is a Press or a Push Press, you’re going to turn it into a Jerk – especially if your Jerk is strong.

Another point here is that I used time instead of reps. I actually found it difficult to focus on all the things I needed to do to keep a GOOD Push Press going AND count reps. THAT’S how much was going on for me learning-wise. I couldn’t afford the extra attention to count the reps!

Here’s what I learned training the Kettlebell Push Press slowly and deliberately with the points Fedorenko made in the video

I naturally go back to a Jerk when I fatigue – This was interesting. It opened up a new level of understanding of Kettlebell training for me, actually. Here’s the thing. If you’re training the Push Press you need to ACTUALLY train the Push Press. Genius, right? Seriously! If you SAY you’re going to train the Push Press and you turn it into a Jerk, you’re not really gaining anything. At least in terms of the Push Press.

Pressing THROUGH the heels makes all the difference – This was a fundamental thing that Valery pointed out for me. When I Jerk, there is a very quick lift of the heels as I’m pressing up. I honestly can’t even explain the timing of it yet. I’m only just now aware of it because of Fedorenko’s comments to me on Facebook. The lifting of the heels is very quick and natural to me but I find it VERY DIFFICULT to NOT do it during the press. It will take a lot of practice for me to really push through the heels in the Push Press during an entire set, rep after rep, even when I’m fatigued. I currently have to REALLY CONCENTRATE to keep my Push Press from turning into a Jerk.

Maintaining a good Push Press rep after rep isn’t easy – There’s a lot of concentration involved and, if you’re like me, your body needs to REALLY learn the movement. If you naturally tend toward a Jerk when pressing overhead, it’s difficult – and even neurologically taxing – to do a proper Push Press and keep it clean, smooth and strict rep after rep.

Lifting the heels ON THE WAY BACK DOWN makes a big difference, but the timing is very tricky – Lifting the heels and coming up on the toes as the bell comes back down is a part of the Press/Jerk movement I’ve wanted to learn and train for a while. I have a better understanding of the timing now and I’m going to go after training it. It really takes some CONCENTRATION though.

Thanks to Valery Fedorenko for the GREAT VIDEOS and the personal comments that helped me so much

I’ve got A LOT of training to do, but I feel like I have a new appreciation for the subtleties of Kettlebell lifting, thanks to Valery. I also feel like this new appreciation is a GREAT BALANCER for my CrossFit training where speed tends to be King. As I said to my friend Fin on Facebook yesterday, the CrossFit and Kettlebell guys have A LOT they can learn from each other.

ttys

Adam

Every morning that I run or sprint or do whatever I do here in Old Saybrook, CT, this is the view I’m rewarded with at the end of my hard work. I always feel so blessed and fortunate when I get done with a workout that I have such a beautiful place to be and train and work and do what I’m doing. Today, my head was actually noisier than usual (that’s really saying something) and I missed a lot of the beauty and the sights and the sounds and the smells of the little beach area I’m in. I was doing my cool-down and trying to quiet my head when I got to the end of Middletown Avenue. I have been to this beach 1000s upon 1000s of times for almost all of the 38 years of my life and it never looked like it did today.

In addition to the beautiful ocean and the smells and the sounds there were FOUR American flags flying out near Saybrook Town Beach. I’m pretty sure there’s always one. But I’ve never seen the four like that all together.

In that moment, a lot became clear to me.

I actually had such a moment of clarity I got weak for a second. I’ve always been VERY patriotic but I never really “got it” like I did today. I mean REALLY got it.

I am able to enjoy this view every day because people LOVE that flag and are fighting and dying EVERY DAY for it!

I actually walked the 1/4 mile back to the cottage to get my camera and capture this moment. On the way back it ALL come together:

The shit most of us worry about day in and day out is NOTHING. We are blessed to have the freedom to worry about the minor crap we worry about. BLESSED.

So, I’m walking back for the camera and thinking this needs to be a blog post and IT REALLY HIT ME: It’s because this country EXISTS and there are people who will fight and die for it and protect our rights – here and abroad – that I EVEN have a blog to write on!

I can post anything I want, day or night, on whatever topic I want, in whatever way I want, WITH THE PERMISSION OF NO ONE! I have the compete and utter right of free speech to write and publish anything I want. In Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia, the rant I published last week asking how much fitness and health ACTUALLY mean to you would have gotten me killed – or worse. Actually, it would have been worse FIRST and THEN killed. And the thing I posted this week about the media and fitness establishment would have meant 5-10 years in prison at the least. We say and do shit in this country that people in other times – and other parts of the world NOW – would be terrified to EVEN THINK.

I’ll never forget a story I heard about a German man (NOT Jewish) on a bus in Nazi Germany on his way to work. It was 1938 and the morning after Kristallnacht. The bus passed a still-burning synagogue and the man said – out loud – the German equivalent of: “It’s shameful to our people this could happen.” The man sitting in front of him on the bus stood up and showed his Gestapo badge. The man was ordered to report to the local Gestapo office at 9am the next morning. He left for the “appointment” and his family never saw him again. No doubt he was on a train and headed to a concentration camp by 11am that day.

I don’t think anyone can TRULY appreciate the freedom and liberty we have in America without knowing the incredible atrocities and horrors that have occurred in this Century and ALL the others. And I mean REALLY know. Put it this way: if you think you know some of the stuff that has gone on in these regimes over the years, there’s one way to make sure. Make sure you became absolutely sick when you read it, heard it or saw it. If you didn’t, you don’t REALLY know.

And this isn’t just stuff that went on “then.” It’s happened long after World War II and it’s happening right now. Ever heard of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge? Pol Pot was a “Cambodian Hitler” in the 60′s and 70′s. He murdered about 1/4 of the ENTIRE POPULATION of Cambodia during his reign.

And do you REALLY know what was going on in Afghanistan and Iraq before we showed up there? Do you REALLY know the freedom those people DIDN’T have? The terror and the abuse that happened under Saddam’s Regime?

Do you know the stuff that’s GOING ON RIGHT NOW in other parts of the world? Check out Amnesty International’s website if you don’t. Make sure you don’t eat first though…

I had a conversation this morning with a 23 year old guy online. He and I agreed on a lot but he was into a lot of the “Oil companies rule America” and “In 10 years we’ll all have microchips in our heads and bar codes on our necks” conspiracy stuff.

I say, Americans are SMARTER AND BETTER than that. And I say we’re going to get it all figured out just fine. (Eventually…)

This is the greatest nation on Earth. If you doubt that, read some “Ayn Rand.” Try “Atlas Shrugged.” At least read Galt’s Speech from the book. If you really believe in the “1984″ George Orwell thing, read “Anthem” by Ayn Rand and learn how to prevent it from being that way. Not so sure about the U.S. or Capitalism? Think the European Union Nations are so smart? All excited about National Health Care? Check out Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.”

I will say it again: THIS IS THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH.

The United States of America was founded by brave, genius (and somewhat drunk) men who defied the tyranny of the British Crown and committed acts of High Treason – punishable by death – to have freedom and create the free country we live in today. Do you actually know what they were up against? Do you actually know what an act of bravery and defiance it was to SIGN the Declaration of Independence in 1776?

And do you know what the Continental Army was up against? England was the most powerful nation ON EARTH at that time. And we beat them and sent them back across the Atlantic with their tails between their legs. We then proceeded to BECOME the most powerful nation on Earth.

To all of those who have lived and died to create the greatest nation on Earth – THANK YOU. To those who continue to protect it – and us – THANK YOU. And for all those who support them and love them – THANK YOU.

Thank you for the right and the privilege to live my life how I choose and for the right to press “Publish” on this computer without fear.

ttys

Adam