JUST TWO THINGS TO TALK ABOUT!!!

hello america!!! it bothers me that it takes a major newsworthy tragedy for us to get involved or vent our frustrations. i'm talking about the senseless killings in sandy hook. people were all over facebook, twitter & other outlets voicing their displeasure & offering up their prayers. & now, it's become a major political issue.

i'm not heartless or callous however, if the news media hadn't of broadcast the incident as much as they did, it would not be the big issue it turned out to be.

my problem is this: if it doesn't make the headlines, many of you wouldn't know anything. case is point: chicago has lost 270 plus children due to violence over the past 3 years & nobody is saying shit. a total of 500 plus people were killed in chicago during 2012 &, i can't remember anybody on my facebook saying anything. the black civil rights groups & leaders are also extremely silent.

you all jump on here supporting obama because he's black (he really hasn't done a damn thing for you) & yet, the vast majority of the killings in chicago were people of color &, you say nothing. the vast majority of the killings in sandy hook were white & you all went crazy.

i don't know where you get your news from but, you owe it to yourself to stay informed---hell, even msnbc has covered the killings in chicago & i've been blogging about them before last summer.

another case in point is: you all were on facebook & twitter congratulating obamas re-election after he promised you he would not raise taxes on the middle-class. as of jan 1st, you should be taking home 2% less of your check. he signed the 'fiscal cliff bill' into law allowing the increase to take place & not a one of you said a word. the 2% increase comes from the social security with-holding tax (4.2%) reverting back to 6.2%. just compare last years pay stub to this years. if you make $500 per week you take home $10 less per week which means you'll take home $480 less per year.

but, don't take my word on either issue---google it for yourselves & you'll find out how certain media outlets only report what they want you to hear.......

YOU WANTED BIG BIRD-NOW YOU CAN PAY FOR BIG BIRD!!!

hello america!!! we had 371,000 new jobless claims for the 1st week of this brand new year. that's a lot of people &, bear in mind, there are others that were not eligible for claims. while we continue to add to numbers of the unemployed, one has to wonder when it will actually turn around.

there has been no 'push' from obama, for quite some time, to put america back to work; yeah, i know, he talks about hiring more teachers & infrastructure jobs but, we all know, that is not even a fair alternative to our jobs problems...america needs positive action, not more rhetoric.

for 4 years, america has been waiting for obamas promise to deliver the jobs & hey, come 2016, you'll still be waiting.

what can you honestly expect from a man that promised not to raise taxes on the middle class & then does just the opposite? yes, obama raised your taxes by not extending the social security tax of 4.2%...he allowed it to expire so that it would revert back to 6.2% & then, signed the 'fiscal bill' into law. so, some of you might not even notice that you're actually being taxed more; meaning you're taking home less. let's put it this way...that 2% increase will add up::::if you make $500 per week, you're taking home $10 less---that's $40 per month or, $480 per year.

what should piss you off the most is, obama never even told you he was going to do it. &, before you get to blaming the repubs, the dem controlled senate wrote the bill.

so, while just the rich may be paying more in taxes, don't you feel glad that you are one of them????

&, the dems want to raise even more taxes----one trillion dollars more......

AMERICA, YOU'RE A 1%ER!!!

hello america!!! i've purposely stayed off of here trying to see which way our country is actually heading. well, some things never change. the 'fiscal cliff' was avoided but, at who's expense? oh, the rich people, right? WRONG!!! if you look at your pay-stubb, you just might notice that you are paying 2% more in social security taxes.

the deal the dem senate worked out allowed your taxes to raise from 4.2% to 6.2% (as of jan 1st) & yes, obama signed it into law...

look, you were fed that BS that obama would not raise taxes on the middle-class & yet, here he is, raising the taxes on the middle-class. you got so caught up in the talking points that you failed to see this coming. if you make $500 a week, you're going to take home $10 a week less or, $480 a year less. that money is supposed to go to social security &, in reality, it's being used for the retirees of today. the sad thing is, there may not be any left over for you (assuming you're in your 20's, 30's or, early 40's) unless they revamp the whole system & no, this is not a scare tactic---just the facts.

let's just keep it real::::if you want bigger gov't, you have to pay for bigger gov't &, by 4 million plus votes, america wanted bigger gov't. look, if you're the bread-winner of your home & you want more things, you either get a second job or make choices is some of the things you now do. if you get smaller gov't, you'll pay less, allowing you to keep more of your own money.

&, the dems want to raise an additional 1 trillion dollars in taxes.......welcome to the real world.

OUR VIOLENCE IS OUT OF CONTROL!!!

i am not heartless so, please don't take this the wrong way. facebook & twitter have been on fire because of the senseless killings of those young, innocent &, unprotected children in connecticut &, i applaud your voices however, i very seldom see the same uproar when lives are stolen from us right in our own backyards because of violence. we're plagued by the gangs & drugs: our community's & schools are infested with & by them. &, the drive-by's still occur. other then a few RIP's on facebook & a little story on the news, that's it.

if i told you that on wednesday, 12 dec, a 15 year old female allen high school student was shot in the leg on 16th & turner (one block from the school) around 2:45pm & is expected to be okay, would you believe me?
http://articles.mcall.com/2012-12-12/news/mc-allentown-shooting-16th-turner-streets-

if i told you that just hours before what happened at Sandy Hook, an 18 year old was arrested in oklahoma for plotting to attack his high school, would you believe me? http://news.yahoo.com/okla-teen-arrested-school-shooting-plot-184243533.html

if i told you that on saturday, 15 dec, a 42 year old man was arrested after firing 50 shots in the parking lot of a busy california mall &, fortunately, no one was hurt, would you believe me? http://news.yahoo.com/man-fires-50-shots-calif-mall-parking-lot-042034513.html

if i told you that on tuesday, 11 dec, a 22 year old man killed 2 people & wounded another before his rifle jammed in a busy oregon mall, would you believe me? http://abcnews.go.com/US/oregon-mall-gunman-identified-jacob-tyler-roberts/story?id=17941415#.UM3ZceTBGYU

would you believe me if i told you that school & mall violence is not just restricted to our country alone?
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15901085-villager-slashes-22-kids-with-knife-at-elementary-school-gates-in-china?lite

this is a time-line of senseless violence since 1996...http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html
& this is another time-line...http://news.yahoo.com/tiimeline-major-shooting-incidents-united-states-185007308.html

while i join those in prayers for the stolen lives & their family & friends, i ask myself, just how in the hell did we get to this point where one person can inflict so much damage at will? nobody can convince me that the shooter in Sandy Hook just woke up friday morning & decided he was going to kill innocent children. he killed his mother first, according to the reports. somewhere along the lines, we either missed the signals, ignored them or, we just didn't care enough to do anything about them.

while we may never know the absolute reasons for what pushed this shooter over the edge, you cannot tell me that in his 20 short years of life that he has always been 'normal'.

&, kill that, 'well, the shooters are all white' thing. remember the dc snipers? a killing is a killing &, in the inner city's, it's black's killing black's, latino's killing latino's, white's killing white's. hell, take a look at chicago youth violence in 2011...http://www.npr.org/2011/03/21/132678405/chicagos-schools-police-work-to-stem-violence
&, this was printed june 2012...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/chicago-public-school-stu_n_1627258.html

&, don't forget all the work-place violence...

good people, the answer isn't stricter gun laws because that only leaves you without one. we need to be able to identify these troubled people sooner & get them the mental help they so desperately need...

ESPN, FIRST TAKE/ROB PARKER!!!

first of all, i'm an american---pure & simple! i was born in america & i am black. i resent the term 'african american' &, here's why. we are the only people that allow a continent (very few of us know much about) to precede our being fully recognized as american. the term also harkens back to that once popular white saying, 'go back to where you came from'. since espn (first take) wants to delve into these 'non-sports' issues, i can only hope they will pursue all sides of the topic.

rob parker is entitled to his opinion however, had that of been a white man saying what he said, there would have been an immediate uproar from the non-white communities & calls for his firing.

are black americans to remain being defined by their skin color first & accomplishments second? when & where will it stop? all of you are guilty of perpetrating this color injustice. i,e; you recently had that debate about african american coaches verses white coaches & there is the rub...you lumped all the black coaches in one category, african americans. where as, the white coaches were simply white. i didn't miss your point about the coaching employment situation &, i hope you're not naive enough to miss mine.

when you talk about other successful american athletes, you never define them like you do blacks. i've never heard you or any other sports reporters or talk show hosts refer to tom brady or john elway as 'white american' &, you judge them by their accomplishments. enter michael vick or rglll &, their instantly 'african americans' & judged against african american donovan mcnabb.

before you all get bent out of shape trying to cover your butts, when have you ever described other successful athletes by using their country of origin first? such as; steve nash---have you ever said, south african american; ernie els, south african american; hector camacho, puerto rican american; shawn bradley, west german american???????do you get my point?

i want my life's achievements defined by my individualism, not my skin color.

PA STANDS UP!!!

hello america!!! pennsylvania, you wanted obama, you got obama...you wanted obamacare, you got obamacare. &, thanks to gov corbett, the fed gov't will be setting up the 'exchange' for you, since he rejected it. hope you like it...

in keeping with my usual cynical self:::there are several questions that should be asked by those wishing to rely on obama, such as: when will it be in place? how much will it cost you as an individual? what will be covered? where are the feds getting the money to get it up & running? what must you do to qualify? will i be able to keep the doctor i now have? how come all the rules, regulations & paperwork are not in place yet? where can i go to get more information? (THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION SHOULD BE), what 'say' do i have in the matter or do i just have to accept obamacare as it is/supposed to be?

pa, i didn't want you to think i made this stuff up so, here are 2 articles on it...http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2968134/posts

http://reason.com/24-7/2012/12/12/pa-rejects-obamacare-exchanges

WILLIAM ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL!!!

hello america!!! i live 2 1/2 blocks from the school &, just about every other day, there's a fight, of some sort, right outside my house. while a lot of the fights only involve the couple that's fighting (whether it be males or females), the audience is worth noting because at times, it has numbered in the hundreds. yes, the police are called & have a pretty good response time but, how pro-active can they be when a fight can break out at any time? another thing the police do is, they'll see large crowds & try to move them on before anything actually happens but, all this does is move the fight down the street.

while the following incident is unfortunate, it can't be stopped &, as soon as the police start doing more than they have been doing, the very people that condemn the the violence will be the first one's in line shouting about their little joey's rights...http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/Officials-Allen-High-School-student-shot-blocks-from-school/-/132502/17752902/-/maqcej/-/index.html

the students know when & where these incidents are going to occur &, they also know who's involved however, if they come forward, they're branded a 'snitch' &, short of moving out of town, it's all downhill for them as soon as they open their mouths.

i don't know where this school stands on an educational basis however, i do know there are gangs & drugs throughout the school &, in reality, they are as much a part of the curriculum as is math & science. as long as we have the gangs & drugs in the schools, we will always have the violence that accompany them, unless we put laws on the books that allow our police to act on their feelings (IN GOOD FAITH) instead of having to wait until something actually happens which, is usually too late. until then, at best, we should hope that these incidents don't end up being more serious then the one listed above.