Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, recently warned Americans that his running mate Barack Obama will have his mettle tested within six months of taking office. The exact meaning of internationaly generated crisis could mean almost anything from Russian aggression to global depression, to nuclear arm proliferation issues. The most likely senario for Biden’s warning in which he said Americans would have to stand with Obama’s decision or reaction despite the fact it appears to be ” wrong “, would be a ” hostage situation. Bidens premonition could go directly back in history to our last Democratic President, who only served one term, with disasterous results.

Jimmy Carter took office in 1976 and under his leadership America was a mess. Inflation upwards of 23%, gas lines, deep reccesion, and the internationaly generated “crisis” that would be the hallmark of his overall failure as a president, the “Iranian Hostage situation”.

On November 4, 1979, an angry mob of young Islamic revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than sixty Americans hostage. “From the moment the hostages were seized until they were released minutes after Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as president 444 days later,” wrote historian Gaddis Smith, “the crisis absorbed more concentrated effort by American officials and had more extensive coverage on television and in the press than any other event since World War II.”

Barrack Obama could well be the second term for Jimmy Carter. The United States has been in a war on “Terror” since 9/11/2001. Some would argue that this war has actualy been waging a lot longer, and that it started back in the mid to late 70’s during the Jimmy Carter presidency. The Shah of Iran, a military dictator, friendly with America was deposed by a radical Islamic Movement headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini, who declared his own Jihad against the U.S.

Jimmy Carter tried to negotiate with this madman and the terrorists at the embassy holding Amercans, but was unable to resolve the situation. Not only were the hostages held hostage, but all Americans were held hostage along with them as Jimmy Carter’s indecision, inadequate military responses, and political leverage all met with failure. Terrorists learned what a powerful tool terror, via “hostages” was as a weapon to use against the U.S.

There is aready suspicion that Iranian president Ahmadinejad may have had a direct hand in the holding of U.S. hostages. He has gone on record in his oposition to the U.S., his hatred of Israel, and his willingness to defy the U.N. and global agreements on nuclear proliferation.

If Obama is Jimmy Carter II then the U.S may be in for some dark days ahead. The current global financial crisis is bad enough with America being held hostage to economic fears, but a “Hostage” situation of any sort, where the U.S. capitulates, appears weak and indecisive could lead to disasterous results and greater destabilization around the world. Obama has already made his plans to pull out of Iraq known and Iran’s control of of Iraq is all but certain in the future. A hostage situation could be created in any number of ways by Iran to exert their power in the region and follow through on their commitment to Jihad on the U.S. They would then hold the upper hand on establishing preconditions for the U.S. for further negotiations on international relations. Aggression by Israel or the U.S. in the next few weeks could lead to further crisis.

Since 9/11, the United States has operated under the “Bush Doctrine”, which reserves the right of America to take the fight to the terrorist, even if it means pre-emptive action by our military forces. No attacks on U.S. soil have occured since it’s indoctrination. The change that a new president Obama might be bringing to U.S. foriegn policy is returning to  “paralysis by analysis”. Basicaly doing nothing but riding out the storm. Obama has already shown this tendancy in his laid back style and wait until the smoke clears, blame or shoot down other’s ideas approach to crisis management. Just like Jimmy Carter,  Obama has been labeled a superior intellect by his liberal supporters, which would once again support his potential to over think situations and hesitate, or to try too hard to rationalize both sides of a situation rather than take a position.

Week 7’s parlay went 1-5 and I had my ass beaten again overall on the week going 6-14. My complete picks can be found on ESPN’s Pigskin Pick’em (i2iGUY). My 2008 season totals are at 22-45 (49%) on parlay picks and 48-102 (46%) overall. Obviously picking 5 upsets was not a good strategy either !

Back to the basics. This week I will double down with ten big picks. No more upsets, we are at the midway point of the season and time for teams to play the way they are supposed to play. So once again here are my CHA-CHING sure thing parlay picks.

Titans -4.5, Redskins -7.5, Bills -7.5, Patriots -7.5, Jets -12.5,  

Ravens -6.5, Panthers -4.5, Jaguars -6.5, Texans -9.5, Bucaneers -3.5

Colts @ Titans -4.5, The Titans are the best team at 6-0. With a power running game and a top defense, they are built to beat the Colts who have not been playing well. Who would have thought the Titans would be 7-0 and the Colts 3-4 with a losing record. That in itself is proof that this years NFL season is flat out crazy !

Redskins @ Lions +7.5, This game could get ugly quickly. The redskins should blow out the happless Lions who are playing like lambs.

Bills @ Dolphins +1.5, The NFL has caught up with the Dolphins Arkansas offense. The Ravens provided the blueprint for shutting it down (much like they figured out the Patriots last year ). The Bills are a superior team all around so a win by at least a field goal is a given.

Rams @ Patriots -7.5, The Patriots had a break out game last week dismantling the Broncos offensive juggernaut. They paid heavily for the victory, losing safety Rodney harris for the season and Sammy Morris getting banged up as well. The Rams have a few bruises as well with their pro bowl running back Steven Jackson being gimpy as well. This week the rams fall back to earth while the Pat’s mojo starts to kick in. Cassel to moss and their rookie safety Merriweather stepping up to make big plays.

Chiefs @ Jets -12.5 , The jets look to get back on track after losing a close one to the Raiders last week. The Chiefs are the perfect team to do it against.

Raiders @ Ravens -6.5 The Raiders got another big win, so they are now at half their expect win total for the season. The Ravens will not provide the third win for the silver and black. Jamarcus Russell will be in for a long day. Flacco won’t have it so easy either, but look for the Raiders to melt in the 4th quarter providing the opportunity for the Ravens to go ahead for the win.

Cardinals at the Panthers -4.5, The Panthers should be able to contain the Card’s offense, but the Card’s D won’t be able to stop the Panther’s O, so the Cats will score another win.

Browns at Jaguars -6.5, The Browns got their miracle win over the Giants two weeks ago and since then the team has been unraveling. Now with a disgruntled Kevin Winslow complaining about his recent staph infection, the bad vibes could be spreading to the rest of the team. The Jaguars are always tough at home.

Bengals @ Texans -9.5, The Texans have been playing well, but have lost some close ones. This week they should get an easy win over the bumbling Bunghols known as the Bengals. Ocho-Cinco is forced to be just plain ol Johnson on the field cause he was too cheap to buy all the johnson jerseys he was sticking Nike with.

Bucaneers @ Cowboys +3.5, The Cowboys are a bunch of superstars each with their own soap opera, which is a far cry from the concept of “team”, which it takes to actualy win a game. It doesn’t help that Jerry Jones and coach Phillips star in their own version of ” as the world turns ” as well. The Bucs are a no frill, no thrills blue collar team with the exception of their coach Gruden who will be at his ” Chucky ” best with haloween around the corner. This game should be a horror fest for the Cowboys as they are helpless to stop the bloodshed brought on by the Bucs.  

Happy Haloween ! BOOOOOOOOOO

You can’t win if you don’t play. - i2iGUY

After selling the nation the ” bridge to nowhere ” the democrats figured they would double down on the Americans stupidity by offering Obama Con. After four years of non-stop assault and blaming everything going wrong in the world on president Bush and the republicans, the very same crooks who created the economic disaster via the home mortgage scam perpetrated by the democraticaly controlled Fannie  Mae and Freddy Mac institutions are now selling Americans the “BIG LIE”. Using  Barack Obama as their front man, they were able to package “tax and spend ” as ” CHANGE “. Their diabolical plans to spread the wealth around by redistributimg Americans hard earned monies via government programs was a wolf in sheep’s clothing as they kept promising tax relief to 95% of voters. Despite absolutely no proof that Obama or the democrats have ever reduced taxes or curtailed spending ever, the voters took the bait and crowned Obama their new savior. With trillions of new spending programs promised, it was as easy as Obama going back on his pledge to use matching funds in his campaign, for him to do exactly what Bill Clinton did to say that the economic situation did not allow for any tax reduction (DUH) !

What Obama and the democrats did follow through on was spending like there was no tomorrow and raising taxes on everyone, especialy businesses and the wealthy, since they had a veto proof majority in congress led by the dynamic dufus duo of Harry Ried and Nanhcy Pelosi. The already bad economic crisis that president Bush had so valiantly tried to save and that had shown signs of turning around, turned around as in a U-turn and headed straight into the crapper. Now with an Obama depression that will last for who knows how long, the Obama Con has been exposed. Those lucky enough to have a barrel to survive the miserable failures brought on by Obama’s false promises and bait and switch policies are now out in the streets pulled down by the redistribution of their wealth. Tired of being BAMBOOZALED, the American public has already started the chant of ” impeach Obama “ . 2012 cannot come fast enough for someone to resucue America as they fondly look back at the Bush years as the ” good ol days “ .

With two weeks to go to the 2008 presidential election on November 4th, it is a forgone conclusion that Barack Obama has bamboozled enough Americans to believe his BS and win the election with his cockamamie tax and spend agenda. The ObamaCon is on ! The democrats will have full control (veto proof) of both houses and Obama’s rubber stamp of approval, so there will be no stopping their social agenda.

President Bush has been a lame duck for quite sometime now, so for all intents and purposes, his presidency is over. The blame game that Obama perpetrated on the general public, blaming Bush’s failed policies and leadership for everything that has happened in the last 8 years is over as well. Now it is time for change, now it is time to start blaming everything on president Obama.

The easiest starting point is the upcoming Obama depression that will hit us as he comes into office. Minimally it is forecasted to last most of 2009, but more than likely it will continue all 4 years of his failed presidency. It was his 4 point bailout proposal that he forced through a democratically controlled congress that threw gas on a bad economic situation and set it ablaze to financial ruin. With his lack of over-site and questionable appointments and cronyism of back door deals with fellow sleazy democrats, the money was spent with no discernible results. This will  result in the bankruptcy of the U.S. The linch pin for his ultimate failure was the uncontrolled spending and the favoritism shown for political gain. Firmly believing that the democratic party could continue to buy votes, he only appropriated monies to democrats and their constituents. A huge welfare state was now under construction. Now the obscenely wealthy, such as Warren Buffet and George Soros  got even more wealthy, while the potential for regular Americans to gain wealth all but disappeared as the $250K ceiling Obama put in place holds back the dreams and ambitions of millions of Americans. Now they would have to be content to just be in debt and taxed into submission.

In the world of foriegn affairs his presidency had an immediate impact. With his white flag of surrender in Iraq and his unrealistic singular approach to “just” dealing with Afganistan, the radical Islamic movement was green lighted into their next phase of attack. Moving all their resources to their new training ground and base in Iraq, the terrorists were able to increase their ranks and start their planning to bring the fight directly back to the shores of America. With no allies in the region, Obama’s Afganistan plan was a complete failure rivaling Jimmy Carter’s hostage debacle, and Clinton’s Somolia (Black hawk down) failure. Never commited to victory and never commiting the full might of the U.S. forces, defeat was inevitable. Whereas Bush made the mistake of trusting Rumsfeld’s plan of attack in Iraq, Obama never acknowledged is opponent’s (McCain) success with the surge in Iraq, so he relied on his on inexperience believing that the U.S. could locate and find Usama Bin Laden and take him out with one pre-announced focused attack. Obama truly believed he would not even need boots on the ground, he believed he could phone it in like Clinton and just launch a missle or two from a drone. It didn’t work. As casualties piled up in Afganistan, even his own liberal supporters in the states cried out for him to wave the flag of surrender in Afganistan too. None of that mattered, because of two things. First on a global scale, Amerca was now a laughing stock and not to be feared, since Obama would not respond with military options, he would only keep negotiating in good faith as the powers of evil advanced their agendas. With countries like Russia emboldened and expanding their reach and control, free people’s cries for assistance falling of the stoic deaf ears of president Obama, telling them to hold on while he negotiates with the aggressors as their towns and cities are destroyed. Renegade countries like Iran and Korea complete their acension to nuclear capability and new countries like Syria, Somalia, and Georgia start theirs. The worst was the forgotten terrorists and their jihad that they never abandoned. With the easing up of security on the U.S. borders and Obama’s false promises that there was no threat, another 911 was put in motion and came to fruition in the second year of his term.

Week 6’s parlay went 2-5 and I had my ass beaten again overall on the week going 7-14. My complete picks can be found on ESPN’s Pigskin Pick’em (i2iGUY). My 2008 season totals are at 21-40 (51%) on parlay picks and 42-88 (47%) overall.

I give up ! I can’t fight the 2008 trend of total shocker upsets. Last week at least 4 teams choked, so this week I am going to join the trend picking some shocking upsets. So once again here are my CHA-CHING sure thing parlay picks.

Chiefs +7.5, Jets -3.5, 49ers+10.5, Rams +6.5, Bengals +9.5, and Chargers -.5

Titans @ Chiefs +7.5, The Titans are very good at 5-0 with their defense leading the way. The Chiegs suck big time and have suspended their pro bowl RB Larry Johnson, so take the Chiefs to beat the Titans !

Jets @ Raiders -3.5, This is not an upset, unless your stomach get upset watching the Raiders finding ways to lose. Brett Farve had a great game the last time he faced the silver and black. Look for him to repeat his performance, take the Jets.

Cowboys @ Rams +6.5, The Cowboys have become a three ring circus, with their ring master Terrell Owens. Under the big top you will see Romo with his amazing broken pinkee, disgruntled wide receiver Roy Williams and in the peanut gallery suspended DB Pacman Jones. The Rams beat the Skins last week, look for them to perform the same magic trick this week on the freakiest show on turf the Dallas Cowboys.

Steelers @ Bengals +9.5, The Steelers are looking really good and the Bengals are a mess, so look for another shocking upset here. It’s always a tougher battle between divisional opponents than records would indicate, take the bumbling Bunghols to stumble bumble to their first win.

49ers @ Giants -10.5 The Giants shocked the sporting world getting spanked by the Browns last week. So much for going undefeated. Now it’s time for the 49ers to do the same and to send the power rankings into total chaos.

Chargers @ Bills -.5 This is the game of the week and should be a total slugfest. The Chargers will relaim their number 1 ranking by soundly beating the Bills.

Don’t be totaly upset if my upsets don’t pan out. Vegas is loving it !

You can’t win if you don’t play. - i2iGUY

In this age of high tech and specialized health training, it is easy to overlook running’s popularity. People spend thousands of dollars on the latest gadgets sold in infomercials on TV. Everyday a new fad, or the latest break through in weight loss is advertised as well. ” Dance your ass off “, ” The abdominal gut buster “, ” Home gym in a box “, and many more crazy programs are pushed on the public. All of these involve instructional books, DVD’s, assembling equipment, time and space. These gimmicky concepts come and go, but running and jogging have been around for decades and are still one of the best ways to stay healthy and fit.

Despite the simplicity of the sport, there are many factors to consider before lacing up your running shoes and hitting the road. The science of running has advanced over the years as well. Choosing a running shoe that works for you can be a daunting and confusing task. The good news is that there are websites on the Internet that offer a ton of great information on shoe selection as well as tips and instruction on running as well. The correct shoe is a great start, health and safetyhave to be taken into consideration as well. Checking with your doctor, prior to starting a jogging routine is always recommended and proper techniques most be followed or else serious side effects (cramps, dizziness) or illnesses (shin splints, dehydration, heart attack) can occur. Safety must also be addressed as well. Reflective gear, careful use of audio players, and course selection can all help reduce  hazards presented by traffic, or conditions found on the road.

All in all, running and jogging remains highly popular with millions of people around the world. There are many other accessories and devicesthat runners can purchase to compliment their exorcise routines as well. Monitors, sunglasses, and clothing all help enhance the experience. Not only can you achieve better health by losing wieght and increasing your cardiovascular fitness, but you can also be trendy and fashionable around town as well, wearing the latest in running fashion. In this age of high tech fitness, running has never been a more popular choice for conditioning.

The U.S. economy is in shambles. The stock market is a daily roller-coaster ride, unemployment is rising, and now retail sales are dropping, shaking consumer confidence. The one bright spot is shopping online. The many advantages that shopping online offers consumers is the reason why. You don’t need to waste any gas driving to a mall or store and forget about paying for parking either. No lines, and no endless walking in circles. It’s as easy as sitting down at your computer and logging onto the Internet.

Another huge advantage to shopping online is that it offers more selection of products and stores, but also gives consumers a cost comparison. Shopping on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Amazon have increased tremendously over the years. Although these sites have experienced wide use, they have their own limitations as well. Even though the selection of stores and products dwarfs what you would find at an actual mall, the selection is still somewhat limited as to compared to the overall selection that is available on the web. Additionally the search results are usually skewed based on sale price or how much the companies pay to have their store and products listed first when a shopper uses the search engines. Now there are a new wave of online sites like ” ShopWiki  ” that offer a more complete list of products and stores and mich more !

Comparison shopping is a critical element of making a good purchase online, but consumers are now demanding more knowledge to make their purchases as well. If a consumer is looking to purchase a pair of shoes, the consumer wants as much knowledge about their product, in order to make an intelligent purchase that may not be buying the cheapest shoe available. Also depending on the type of shoe the consumer is looking for they may want more info on usage of the shoe as well. For instance if the shopper wants a jogging or running shoe, they may want to know more about running as well prior to their purchase. With limited funds for shopping and uncertain economic times on the horizon, the shopper is demanding not only better values, but better decision making when spending their money. ” ShopWiki  ” and many other new online shopping sites are helping shoppers make their purchases, so despite the recent bad news out their, there are still a few silver linings to be found. Shopping online is one of them. Are you ready to shop ?

The U.S. government is spending $700 billion “our” tax payers hard earned money to bail out and rescue Wall Street. I live and work down on Main Street. My small business is hurting bad. I need an investment, grant or friendly loan to inject capitol for equipment  critical for regaining the revenue growth potential needed for recovery and profitability. The amount needed is $25,000 dollars.

That is a small fraction, a mere sliver of the total $700 Billion dollar bail out. Not to mention the additional billions that already have been dolled out to Wall Street firms.

As a small business owner and citizen, I believe my government should assist me obtaining the dollar amount needed to rescue my business. As collateral, the government is already holding aprox $150,000 dollars of my hard earned money in my social security account. The amount I need is aprox 16% of my social security deposits, making it a low to no risk investment for the U.S.

To: U.S. Representative responsible for rescue allocation of funds

Please make funds available to

VTO Productions 

Bent Hellested - CEO & Executive Director

Thanks a million

Week 5’s parlay went 5-5 and I had my ass beaten overall on the week going 5-14. My complete picks can be found on ESPN’s Pigskin Pick’em (i2iGUY). My 2008 season totals are at 19-35 (54%) on parlay picks and 35-74 (47%) overall.

It’s going to be that kind of a season. Other than a few sorry ass teams that suck big time (a good thing for picking against), the rest of the teams are pretty much equal making picking a winner near impossible. Only two teams fall into the dominator category of winning and covering spreads (Giants, Titans). Although the Titans fell 1/2 a point short this week. So once again here are my CHA-CHING sure thing parlay picks.

Vikings -13.5, Ravens +4.5, Saints -7.5, Eagles -5.5, Giants -7.5,

Lions @ Vikings -13.5, The Lions are horrible. They are one of several teams that suck so bad that is is CHA-CHING sure thing to go against them. The Vikings despite shooting themselves in the foot several times last week against the Saints still managed to win the game. This week they work out the kinks and run over the Lions in a blow-out.

Ravens @ Colts +6.5, The Colts just don’t look the same this year. Payton is not lighting up the scoreboard and their D can’t stop the run. last week they should have lost in an upset to the Texans, but the football gods were smiling and the ball bounced their way as they bounced back in the 4th quarter and rallied to win. This week they won’t be so lucky. The Ravens D will shut down Payton and Flaaco’s O will out muscle their weak D. Ravens get the win !

Raiders @ Saints -7.5, The Raiders could rally under their new coach Cable, but that is wishful thinking. They will unravel quickly and lose big. The Saint’s still smarting from last weeks loss, will step up and play with renewed intensity. Look for big plays from Bush and Brees. Saints blow out the Silver and Black.

Eagles @ 49er’s +5.5, The 49ers are still in the hunt for their division, but this week will change all that. Another humiliating defeat will instead start the begining of the end for coach Nolan’s inept defense and his job. Martz knew he would be taking over anyway and he is a pooor man’s Bill Walsh which fits the 49er mold better. The Eagles want to keep pace in the NFC East, so they will unleash thei beast on the hapless 49er’s.

Giants @ Browns +7.5 The Giants made beating the Seahawks last week look ridiculously easy and this week they will make beating the Browns look even easier if that’s possible. Just like last season’s dynamo team the New England Patriots being accused of running up the score on oponnents, thye Giants will start facing this accusation as well.

I’m looking to strike gold this week. Hopefully you will too !

Are you ready for some football !

You can’t win if you don’t play. - i2iGUY