God Bless Jack Lanne

Jack Lalanne, the man who has long been hailed as the "godfather of fitness," died last Sunday at his home in California. His death was caused by respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 96 years old, and would have turned 97 in September.

This is very sad news to me. Jack Lalanne has been one of my inspirations for many years. I was hoping to have the chance to meet him someday.

Lalanne was born in 1914. He claimed that he was out of shape and addicted to sugar in his adolescent years. But in 1929, he was introduced to the benefits of exercising and maintaining a good diet. After that, he began a vigourous exercise regimen and developed a healthy diet.

Lalanne had a television show that lasted for more than 20 years where he promoted the virtues of physical fitness. He has also written several books and is famous for promoting his "Power Juicer" on infomercials.

But Lalanne is probably best known for the spectacular feats that he performed to celebrate his birthdays. Here are a few of the notable feats that Lalanne has performed:

Age 40: swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, underwater, with over 100 pounds of equipment.

Age 42: set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on a television show with Art Baker.

Age 60: swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf, handcuffed and shackled, while towing a 1,000 pound boat.

Age 70: towed 70 rowboats one mile in Long Beach Harbour while handcuffed and shackled.

In addition to the amazing feats that he performed, Lalanne was also known for coming up with interesting quotations. Here are a few of my favorites:

"Your body is your slave; it works for you."

"If man makes it, don't eat it!"

"Anything in life is possible if you make it happen."

"Your waistline is your lifeline."

"Exercise is King and nutrition is Queen; put them together and you have a Kingdom."

"Don't exceed the feed limit."

"If it tastes good, spit it out."

"I can't die, it would ruin my image."

Lalanne would exercise for two hours a day, seven days a week. His workouts consisted of an hour and a half lifting weights, and 30 minutes of cardio exercise. He kept up with his exercise regimen even when he was in his nineties, claiming that he wanted to see how long he could keep it up. He also claimed to never have missed a workout since 1929.

Filled with passion and the desire to help people, Lalanne would constantly harp about the benefits of exercising and maintaining a healthy diet. He would travel the country and make speeches about how you can live longer and live better by taking care of yourself. He said that his goal was to help people help themselves.

When I first became aware of Jack Lalanne, I was extremely impressed with the energy and vitality that he displayed as he was advancing in age. Even into his nineties, he was able to do an impressive amount of push-ups and pull-ups. When I took notice of this, it inspired me to become dedicated to my exercise regimen and to maintain a balanced diet.

It is highly unfortunate that Jack Lalanne was struck with such a bad case of pneumonia. I had thought for certain that he would live well beyond 100, but pneumonia is a very dangerous illness. In fact, it has even been know to take the life of people who are in their twenties. Although Lalanne was in fantastic shape, he was still 96 years old and pneumonia can put a lot of stress on the body.

Jack Lalanne is an American icon and his legacy will live forever. The influence that he has had on the physical fitness industry is monumental. Lalanne has been and always will be a source of inspiration for millions of people around the world.

He said that he couldn't die because it would "wreck his image." It looks like that is the only thing he was wrong about.

No Plans to Run for City Council in 2011

Over the past few weeks I have received encouragement from numerous folks to run for Greensboro City Council at-large in this year's municipal elections. I had never thought about running for a position on city council, but after several folks encouraged me to give it a shot, I decided to give the idea some consideration.

After thinking it over, however, I decided that I am not going to run for public office this year. Although I care a great deal the City of Greensboro, I am not yet ready to get back to the campaign trail. My focus in 2011 will be to keep an eye on elected officials and to support the candidates whom I believe are best suited to serve on city council.

Jordan Green of YES! Weekly contacted me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I had any intentions to run for city council. He said that he had heard through the grapevine that I may be throwing my hat into the ring. I told him that I had given the idea some thought, but I had ultimately decided against running for public office this year.

Running for public office in 2010 was a great experience and I wouldn't rule out another run in the future, but it won't be this year.

Merry Christmas!

Last week I had the privilege of ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. In the process of doing this, I was able to witness the generosity that was demonstrated by so many folks as they walked past our station.

It was amazing to see the number of folks who stopped, opened their wallet, and pulled out cash to leave in the collection tin.

In watching these folks make contributions to the Salvation Army, I was reminded of how wonderful the Christmas season truly is. This is the time of year when spirits are lifted and joy is spread from person to person.

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I have always enjoyed the decorations, the music, the movies, the plays, and the generosity that come along with the season. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends and the excitement of opening presents on Christmas day.

We don't always get snow on Christmas in North Carolina, but when we do, it is a beautiful sight.

So here's wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Be safe if you travel and enjoy the season!

What does President Obama really think about our current tax rates?

As you may know, President Obama has been trying to work out a tax deal compromise with Republicans in Washington.

The deal is very simple: Obama has agreed to extend the current tax rates for two more years if Republicans agree to extend unemployment benefits. Obama has railed against the current tax rates for years, claiming that we need to raise taxes on those who make more than $250,000 per year. But apparently he has decided that he has to make a compromise with Republicans in order to get something done.

As you can imagine, this is a situation that can get very interesting in a very short period of time.

Many Democrats, including Speaker Pelosi and her followers in Congress, have rejected Obama's tax deal with Republicans. The Democrats want to extend unemployment benefits, but they are against extending the current tax rates because they want to see tax increases for "wealthy" Americans. (I'm not really sure what their definition of wealthy is.)

This means that Obama has had to begin the process of trying to persuade fellow Democrats to go along with his compromise with Republicans. In doing so, Obama said that his tax deal with Republicans has the "potential to create millions of jobs."

That's right: President Obama said that the extension of the current tax cuts enacted by the former Bush administration has the potential to create millions of jobs. If that's true, then why doesn't President Obama support making the current tax rates permanent?

It's a simple question.

Ron Paul to Chair Fed Oversight Committee

Here is some good news: Congressman Ron Paul of Texas has been selected to chair the subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve.

Ron Paul's book "End the Fed" will give folks an idea of how Ron Paul feels about the Federal Reserve. (I strongly recommend reading this book if you have yet to do so.)

Now, more than ever, we need severe oversight of the Federal Reserve and it's actions. It's time to impose a swift and thorough audit of the Fed, and there is no one better than Congressman Paul to oversee the process.

Republicans choose Thom Tillis for Speaker of the House

Thom Tillis of Cornelius was recently chosen by Republicans to be the next Speaker of the North Carolina House. The nomination won't become official until the General Assembly reconvenes on January 26, when all members of the House will get to vote. But with Republicans having a 68-52 majority in the chamber, the nomination is a virtual lock.

There is no question that Thom is dedicated and focused on solving the problems that are facing North Carolina. As a matter of fact, Tillis left his job with IBM in 2009 to focus on the 2010 campaign season. He worked hard across the entire state to support numerous Republican House candidates, and put thousands of miles on his car in the process.

Tillis is a businessman who understands how economics are supposed to work. Even though he has only served two terms in the House, he has proven that he has the tenacity and character that it takes to be a leader. For these reasons, I am confident that Rep. Tillis will do an excellent job in serving as Speaker of the House.

Republicans also chose Paul "Skip" Stam of Apex to serve as the majority leader in the state House. Stam had also put his name in the running for Speaker of the House but didn't quite get enough votes for the nomination. From what I hear, the vote tally was fairly close.

Rep. Stam worked very hard throughout the 2010 campaign season to help Republicans gain the majority in the state House. In fact, Stam was one of the first elected officials that I contacted when I began thinking about running for public office. He was very encouraging and helpful in my efforts to launch my campaign for state House.

There is no question that "Skip" Stam is a dedicated public servant who has proven that he has leadership qualities. To that end, I'm confident that he will do a superb job in carrying out his role as the Republican majority leader in the state House.

As far as I'm concerned, selecting Thom Tillis to be speaker of the House and Paul Stam to be majority leader is a wise move. These two men have displayed a strong work ethic and a sincere commitment to conservative economic policies. I am confident that they will work hard and stay focused on solving the problems that we are facing in North Carolina.

Republicans Must Deliver on Campaign Promises

There is no questions that the Republicans won big in the 2010 elections. In North Carolina, Republicans made history by taking control of the State House and State Senate for the first time since 1898. (No, that is not a typo; Republicans had not held the legislative majority in North Carolina in over 112 years.)

This is clearly good news for conservatives but there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and the work isn't going to be easy. Republicans have every reason to celebrate their recent victories, but they must quickly shift their focus to solving the problems that we are facing. The fact is, if Republicans drop the ball this time, they will pay the political consequences just as they did in 2006 and 2008.

In North Carolina, as in many other locations across the United States, Republicans campaigned on a platform of less government, less spending, and lower taxes. That was certainly the correct platform to run on. But now that Republicans have the legislative majority, they must put their words into action.

To be fair to Republicans, we should remember that we still have a Democratic Governor in North Carolina. This means that Republicans don't have complete flexibility on their legislative agenda. But controlling both chambers of the General Assembly will translate into a tremendous amount of power and influence, giving Republicans a great deal of leverage to implement changes in public policy.

Several weeks before the November election, the North Carolina Republican Party released a "10 Point Plan" to help North Carolina get back on track. Here is the plan:

1. Years of overspending by Democrats have given North Carolina the highest tax rates in the Southeast and a budget deficit of at least $3 billion; we will balance the State budget without raising tax rates.

2. High taxes are killing jobs. We will make our tax rates competitive with other states.

3. Pass The Healthcare Protection Act, exempting North Carolinians from the job-killing, liberty-restricting mandates of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obama-Care”).

4. Fight to protect jobs by keeping our Right to Work laws intact.

5. Reduce the regulatory burden on small business.

6. Fund education in the classroom, not the bureaucracy.

7. Eliminate the cap on charter schools.

8. Pass the Honest Election Act, requiring a valid photo ID to vote.

9. Pass the Eminent Domain constitutional amendment to protect private property rights.

10. End pay-to-play politics and restore honesty and integrity to state government.

Each of the points listed above make sense and should be implemented. If the Republicans are able to follow through on each of those priorities, I have no doubt that North Carolina will see a more prosperous future.

In order for this to happen, however, Republicans MUST stay true to the values and principles on which they ran their campaigns. They must work hard and remain focused on solving the problems that are facing North Carolina. The work is not going to be easy, but it must be done and it must be done correctly.