WTF Journalism . Tabloids, do you pick them up in the supermarket.

Yahoo news has hastened it's free fall to the bottom with their tabloid approach to journalism. People , and I use my self as an example don't really wish to have to censor every article that we read or fact check them just to see if some of the information provided within them are indeed real. Once upon a time, a person could read an article and be reasonably assured that what the person who wrote the article said was true and that they had some skin in the game and when they affixed their name to it , it meant something. Not any more. Sadly , there are a great number of people who believe in reading just the headlines of any story, and whatever it tells them in two sentences is the Gods honest truth . Facts , there is no place for having any facts when your whole story has to be said in forty characters or less. Fake stories and who is supposed to regulate them? Do you get you news from the rack at the grocery store. Big Foot lives - My camera jammed so I don't have his picture. The Loch ness Monster sank my boat- story inside I'm raising my ex-wife's alien love child. This type of journalism is becoming the fare from many of the sites that grace the pages of Yahoo News as of late. I find my self going to Google more and more looking to find stories that I can read with an open mind and let the author tell the story without having to chase down all of what was said within. I put this story away yesterday before finishing it , and today I no longer have the types of sites offering the stories that I had been telling about. This leads to another thing, I was writing about Yahoo on a Google site and some how my information got to yahoo without me ever even posting this story , Coincidence? OK. 11-26-10:34 decided to run story anyway after at first deciding not to on 11-20

After

Here we are a week past the 2014 mid-term elections, many Americans voted but sadly many more did not. Many of the voting Americans got who they voted for, elected to the office that they were seeking. They have earned the full right to speak out if and when their elected officials don't deliver on what they promised during the campaign. The non-voting Americans don't have that right but will speak out irregardless, acting as though they have no say or don't count as Americans. Did you see the part where I wrote the word count? in order to be counted you have to participate in something besides your favorite reality show. Being self absorbed is not a crime, it may well not be one of the most desirable traits that humans can posses but it is far from being one of the worst. Sometime during the next two years many of the non-voting Americans will go online to one or more discussion blogs that are available for the average person to vent their anger on. They undoubtedly will discuss term limits and blame the system for their own inadequacies. Many Americans do feel disenfranchised and rightfully so. There are many Americans who feel that going to the polls is just a waste of their time as nothing will ever change, and they are right with that attitude. For the others many feel that those running for the position don't represent them and won't change anything about their lives for the better. They just don't understand the plight of those of us living down here, how can they identify with what we're feeling day in and day out. The worst part of this story is that they may be right. Corporations are now perceived to be running the American Government because they are people too. They give massive donations to the campaigns of many of the office seekers and they do expect for those donations to bear fruit. This is not new, the fourteenth amendment gave corporations the same status as individuals for certain things but that is a different story. Inclusion, the political parties need to reach out to all members of the community get them to become involved in the political process. Sadly this will never happen , as it serves them well to limit the number of potential adversaries when it comes to enacting legislation that benefits only a small sector of the American electorate. No answers but many questions. Just give it a try next time and go vote. Change begins with you.

NFL, America's morality police

In March of this year Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice punched his then girlfriend, now wife in the face knocking her unconscious .In the after math that followed, Ray Rice was sentenced to an indefinite suspension by the NFL sparking moral outrage and other suspensions in the NFL for related offenses. Apparently Ray and his fellow players are not alone when it comes to domestic abuse. There has been an outcry over the commissioner of the NFL for what he knew and when. Many want NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to resign his position as if the problem will then just go away. Some of the suspensions were short lived , others are, as mentioned before are indefinite. Now lets look at the larger picture. Obviously in all walks of life there is and has always been domestic abuse it doesn't make it right, it just means that it has always been going on. It exists in Major League Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Congress and the list is endless your plumber, mechanic, butcher , baker and candlestick maker could all be guilty of some kind of domestic abuse. The point is they are not sentenced to live life without parole as a beggar, losing their lively hood and public humiliation without ever being charged in an American courtroom. Are the NFL to be Americas morality police? are we going to give them complete power over what is right and wrong in America's families schools , churches and factories? There are of course bigger fish to fry and this is just one of many distractions, keeping us from looking at the larger picture.

Immigration reform and other topics of no concern.

Once again, or should I say still our Government is still portraying immigration reform as our major problem. Joblessness is still holding number one in most American's mind , but that is a another story. With millions of undocumented " immigrants" flocking to our borders,and an untold number already living in America we find that doing nothing is better than enforcing the law. America is a country governed by laws, we write laws to cover every aspect of our lives. Most of the laws enacted don't benefit most American's, only the one's with the connections ( cash monies) to buy the preferential treatment required ( sadly) in America. Both chambers of Congress are guilty of inaction, and for that both branches should be subject to removal. Upon being elected to any office in America, the winner swears under oath, with his or her hand on the Bible ( for whatever good that does) to up hold all laws already on the books. America is or used to be an compassionate land formed on the premiss that all men are created equal. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free,the wretched refuse of your teaming shore send these, the homeless,tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. Of course this is not official doctrine, just a poem written many years ago. Many American's do believe in this " statement" , when it suits their wishes. Send them all back , or shoot them on sight ( when speaking of the illegal immigrants) is more the feeling that a great many people posting on many of the various web blogs that the average person can post their feelings on. There are of course some of the "immigrants" with legitimate concerns of their safety, if they would of stayed in their home country. Most of the Huddled masses are however, just people wishing for a better life for themselves and their families. Immigration services, we do have an apparatus for allowing " immigrants" into America by application and millions of legal immigrants do come each year to America by this means. The others are however in violation of our laws and should be deported back to their country of origin. This is where our politicians , on both sides ,are in violation of not doing their jobs. Special interest do have considerable sway in the interpretation of our laws regarding who gets to stay and why. Cheap labor : taking advantage of someone solely because they are not "legal" is not doing anyone any favors, not the "illegal alien" , not the legal citizen only the politically connected stand to gain from this arrangement. IS, Putin and other very real problems that are facing America. IS, the Islamic State is being portrayed as the number one threat to world security . They have grown as an off shoot of Al-Qaeda a terrorist organization that has been terrorizing the middle east for the past decade. IS, or ISIS, ISIL is an off shoot that was too extreme for Al-Qaeda in their interpretation of Islamic laws or Sharia ( way or path ) and have taken over as the number one threat to many cultures in the middle east. With the IS's interpretation of Sharia law be-headings and mass executions have become the norm in the Caliphate that IS has declared in parts of what was once Syria and Iraq. IS have been going from town to town killing all who will not agree with the terms that IS have set forth in the governance of their daily lives. Many millions have fled from the IS and have burdened the aid resources of neighboring countries. Putin: A man with the control of thousands of Nuclear weapons. Valdimir Putin , is the leader of Russia, a country that some in the west say is supplying the Pro-Russian Rebels with weapons as the Army of the Ukraine tries to maintain control of it's land. Proof has apparently been established that Russia has in fact been supplying the Pro-Russian Rebels within the Ukraine with weapons and have crossed the border with the Ukraine and have been launching attacks from within the Ukraine on Ukraine Army forces. Vladimir Putin declared Friday that he is a man with the control of Nuclear weapons and he will not tolerate any interference with his undertakings in the Ukraine. Not a Pleasant Thought.

Another Chance to do whats right.

Every two years , we American's get a chance to reverse the mistakes that we may have made in our choices for Representatives, sometimes the careers of these people are short lived , but most times it is a lifelong job with no real production quotas or any measurement of productivity. Over in the Senate , the same thing holds true except we get the chance to right our wrongs every six years. The problem is American's are easily led and will believe most anything you tell them and they will accept as fact something if they hear it a few times. Once someone else repeats what has been told it becomes true. At the end of your fingers is one of the most powerful tools ever invented , having the ability to bring you all of the information in the world with just a click. Most American's however still find it too cumbersome and time consuming to even do this small task and rely on half truths and hear say for their information, leaving them with the same outcome with each election cycle. Lowest numbers in history, our current Congress have the lowest job approval ratings of any Congress in the history of the country yet we American's do nothing to fix this. If you were working for any of these people and showed such dismal production numbers , you would be replaced just as soon as this is discovered. Well these unproductive people work for you , are you getting your monies worth , or is it a time for a change.

Divide and conquer; American politics business as usual.

Divide and conquer, a time tested fundamental military strategy fails to bring about National Unity. Who knew, this looked good on paper. When looking for an excuse for doing nothing for the past decades our hired political leaders have settled on a way of keeping the attention off of themselves , thrusting it back on the American populace by the use of division and blame. This is not new and it does work like a charm as they say especially in the internet age. Keeping the populace divided is one sure way of ensuring that there are no challenges from outside of the area of control. In the past we as American's have blamed the blacks, Jews,rich, poor, women ,gays and every ethnic, political or racial group for the indecision and outright failure of our experts to bring forth any ideas, other than hate,blame, division and mistrust. Many fed up American's are trying somewhat disappointingly to bring about change through a desire to establish term limits in order to keep career politician's from holding their seats indefinitely. This however is a fools errand as we already have these and they are called elections. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result blah, blah. Why then don't we American's try a different approach, send the incumbents home whenever there are signs of inactivity or impropriety. It's never my guy, yes it is .Gathering support for the removal of incumbents is much easier than it has ever been before thanks to the internet, too bad we don't use this tool to it's potential. Sure you post your displeasure on Facebook, too bad that is a closed forum and will only go to your limited group of friends and to some of their friends. State wide attention needs to be brought against your Congress people. Numbers, you need to reach high numbers of registered voters and get them to understand that changing the way we do things is the only way to accomplish the needed change. I don't know who the challenger is, yes this may be true but you do know who the incumbent is and if your satisfied with their job performance. Information is now provided to us via the internet. With just a few clicks we can learn most everything about someone and their views. Inaction is bringing America down inch by inch day by day.

If all religions teach love and peace, why then are we on the verge

It's true all religions do teach peace, love and brotherhood, caring for each other as family. Why then is there such great hate between the religions and among them as well. Our way or the highway , it doesn't have to be this way. The similarities are striking yet we fight. Many advancements could be made in every field if we would just apply our knowledge and share our understanding. Hunger could be a thing of the past. Homelessness another place where man could excel given the resources we have at our disposal. Science would bring us to a new era , we are on the cusp of major breakthroughs every day. Holding back in order to have control and make the biggest profit is keeping the world in a stalled holding pattern for far too long. How much is enough and what difference does it make any way. You can't take it with you , but you can sure fight like hell to ensure that you get every thing you think you deserve, and pass it down to your next of kin. Are there others on this planet? could they use a roof over their head, some food to eat or how about some medicine that is currently priced out of their reach. It doesn't cost that much. But I don't think they deserve it , they did not help me build this company, they can find a way to bring themselves up as I have .How much is enough?. We seem to get hung up on I did this or that, so I deserve to be compensated for my efforts, at what cost? When you have all you need is the achievement worth the problems.Bring others up along with you , no way I don't owe them anything. It 's sad to say that really is the battle cry for far too many people. Remember our teachings at our churches? Only on Sunday. Sickness could be left behind as we move forward as a united group. Sure we can find the cures, but what about making money? Greed , all for me and too bad about you. Only on Sunday. Everything that is on this planet is here for a reason, remember that brotherhood thing we talk about on Sunday. Providing for your brothers should be it's own reward, do you need more than everyone else? Only on Sunday.

And Justice for all

As a child growing up in America, I recited the pledge of allegiance many times believing just what it said. I won't bore you with the complete pledge except to say the final four words , And Justice for All. As I grew , I could clearly see that no there is not really justice for everybody as it turns out, you get what you pay for like everything else in America. Poor people get arrested and incarcerated at higher rates than more affluent groups and Blacks at the highest rates of any of the groups. Americas prison systems are full of many drug users from all of the ethnic groups but with blacks holding the highest percentage. Do they warrant this distinction based on merit, hardly. The media , courts and school system, have all had a heavy hand attaching blame and fear for one group over all others. Young black males . Why are they feared at such unrealistic rates. Now in the wake of yet another killing and trial in Florida of another unarmed black American teenage male ,by an armed white middle aged male we can see another pattern clearly emerging.No Rights for you. In this latest killing, it was observed by many that the defendant would be found guilty of the crime as it seemed there was plenty of evidence supporting this judgement.Not this time either! Just as in another publicly viewed trial last year in Florida where an innocent young black kid was gunned down for having some candy and carrying it at night. Last night's verdict came without any punishment for the accused based on the killing of a young black male , who had been listening to music. The count in the action that would of held the defendant accountable for the killing, was declared a mistrial by the judge, when the jury was unable to come back with a verdict based on the evidence. Oh sure the defendant was found guilty of other charges in the procedure, and will be going to prison for the rest of his life but there was no Justice at all for the dead child or his parents. Had however the circumstances been turned around with the white man being killed by the young black male , there wouldn't of been any question about guilt. Now another all to common side bar. Sadly it seems some twelve hours after the verdict was read on national T.V. there is no story or any findings on Yahoo as to the guilt of the defendant or if anything had even ever took place ....Sorry Jordan

Chinese Threat , Chest thumping and other unneeded expressions of power.

It seems that we American's never learn. Deeply in debt and with unemployment an unchecked monster that is sucking the very life out of our beloved American dream, we would do well to use caution at this time. There are many ways to add some balance, in a otherwise unabated rise in the financial and military power of China. We helped to build their power, by sending our manufacturing needs to their shores to take advantage of their cheap labor and nonexistent environmental laws. China watched with a trained eye , and saw that as we spent the last two decades trying to force our way of life on much smaller and weaker countries both financially and militarily that we lacked any resolve and came away with draws at best in every conflict. Now China is expanding at an ever increasing rate with over a billion people and limited resources to maintain this rise. They have shown a desire for expansion of their empire or perhaps just to shore up their perceived weakness. Either way they have established their ADIZ Air Defense identification Zone over much of the East China Sea encompassing land claimed by Japan thought to have oil and gas reserves and there is concern that if this move is unchallenged then they, China, will move to enact one over the South China sea as well taking islands claimed by both the Philippines and South Vietnam thought to be a major source of oil and gas as well. Once the Air Defense identification zones are intact, it is just a matter of time until they restrict shipping and fishing in those area's as well. Friday 2-07-2014 Secretary of State John Kerry vowed to defend Japan against attack from China, including over the disputed islands. What can we do short of all out war? Enact a ban on all foreign ( as to not single any one country out ) manufactured goods from being sold in America. Yes I realize that many American firms have all or part of their production in China and else where, but in the interest of the American way of life, "for the good of the many" we will sacrifice the few. Sorry , bring home your manufacturing put America first. Taking away China's ability to gain revenue will help to slow their rate of expansion and to perhaps look at other methods of achieving their goals . Then call on our European partners and ask that they too enact similar bans.