"i like that it's hard"

Greetings and Happy Holidays iiWii'rs. I hope you all have been enjoying time with family and friends, turning off BlackBerries, eating too much, drinking a little too much, sleeping in, thinking about the year that what was and the year that lies ahead. I hope you've been doing a few of those things, because honestly, I've done them all.

If you're like me just a bit, iiWii, this time of year is always exciting. As I already mentioned, you get to reflect on accomplishments and hardships throughout the year, all while looking ahead to a new, New Year, a clean slate--unless of course your fiscal year ends June 30, I can't help ya there. (sorry Love)

For all intents and purposes 2013 yours truly had a year filled with pretty low lows, and pretty high highs. Life is short, we all know this. We could also probably agree that with all great things that life has to offer, in many cases it could have been a combination of good timing, hard-work, but the people in your life that helped guide you along. If this year has taught me anything, it's that even in the absence of those guides you can continue to work hard and find your way. It's not easy, and I like that it's hard... iiWii... "I like that it's hard." Thinking about that, I was immediately reminded of a fantastic episode of the West Wing where Toby Ziegler meets a middle-aged, middle-class guy at a bar and he says the exact same thing... advance to 6:20 of the following YouTube clip to watch if you'd like...

While nothing in life is sheer certainty, I can pretty much guarantee that while fictional, the gentleman's story to Toby is without a doubt reality for many hard working Americans across the country. iiWii, America isn't easy... and DING... another Hollywood moment comes to mind... advance to 1:02 of the following ...

So a New Year, 2014, begins in a few hour from now... will it be easy... maybe... maybe not... regardless, iiWii, I like that it's hard and I'm looking forward to it.

Until next time....

remembering Sandy Hook.

A year ago tomorrow, I wrote the following letter/email to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, I remember where I was when I heard the horrifying news out of CT and I remember where I was when I wrote the message below. And unfortunately, iiWii and we have a Congress that could not find a way to pass common sense legislation to better protect against more tragedies like witnessed a year ago.

___________________________________________________________________________________

December 15, 2012

Governor Corbett:

First off, I'm a Republican, and I voted for you. In the wake of yesterday's horrific tragedy in CT, I felt it was necessary to share my thoughts with you instead of taking my political thoughts to Facebook or Twitter. While I undoubtedly support every American's 2nd Amendment rights, folks that want to purchase a gun should be required to pay for a full background check, and I will go as far as making it mandatory that they be required to have some form of a mental evaluation. Imagine if we'd had better security measures in place on September 10, 2001...

Ironically for the first time in my life I went to an indoor firing range in Philadelphia last weekend with a friend of mine who owns a 9mm handgun. I've had an interest in learning how to fire a weapon for some time now, and if I was to take the next step towards purchasing a gun of my own, I would have no qualms with having to go through a rigorous background check. Anyone that would take issue with that either has something to hide, or does not value the gift of life. To anyone that takes issue with the mandatory background check, simply show them a collage of the pictures of our children and heroic educators that had their lives stolen from them and their families.

I am hopeful in the days, weeks and months ahead, you and your colleagues in Harrisburg can find the political will to have the debate, free from any influence from the NRA. How many more innocent people have to die at the hand of a mentally deranged maniac?

The spirit of the holiday season is without a doubt dampened throughout the Commonwealth and our nation as we try to grasp with how something like this could happen in a small town in CT, a movie theater in CO, a shopping mall in OR... let's bring some common sense to this debate. To future gun owners I hope the conversation sounds something like this:

"You want to purchase a gun?"  'yes...' "Okay, that will require a $--- fee for a full background check and mental screening,"  'why?'  "This is why, let me show you what happens when guns get into the hands of the evil and mentally insane." (show the faces of these innocent victims; show the horror on the faces of Newtown residents and parents) Enough is enough, the time is now to make these changes.

Thank you Mr. Governor,
Jeff Flynn

stroller.shopping.

iiWii - we're 20 weeks and 1 day along and that 1 day happened to be today, Black Friday 2013. off we went to Babies R Us, quite the place. in short, if you're ever running low on good laughs, just head to your local Babies R Us, post up in the stroller section, and just watch a bunch of first-time parents try to figure out how these things snap in, buckle, pop out, collapse, glide, rock, slide, snap again--i mean, these things have more technology built into them than the early lunar modules that landed on the Moon.

roughly 3-hours, 2 Babies R Us', and 1 Buy Buy Baby later, the wife and I learned a lot. we encountered some great customer service, and some so-so customer service, came across a fellow shopper that loved to share how great her stroller was, (a shiny, City Mini GT--per her suggestion, ya' gotta' go with the GT)--we'll see about that--nevertheless, that City Mini and the Britax seem to be the early leaders in the clubhouse for LBF (that's little baby flynn for those of you keeping score), we also had a fantastic post-Thanksgiving lunch, in true American fashion -- and would you believe this woman came in to complain about her double-cheeseburger, missing a burger, then because she had to wait, she demanded a new order of fries because, "my fries will be cold by the time you fix my sandwich," -- a power move, as obnoxious as it was... and of course, iiWii, what Black Friday would be complete without some of the worst drivers our roads have ever seen.

until next time, keep on strolling America.

it. is. What. I. is. - Thankful!

Good morning iiWii'rs, and Happy Thanksgiving. Today's special edition goes something like this: it is what I is... Thankful.

The last couple of weeks have been a little tough watching the news and learning of this new 'game' or phenomena, called Knock-Out. There are many things to describe the horrific images/videos you see on the news about this 'game', and all I can think of is how it reaffirms there is truly SCUM that walk among us.

But I'm thankfully reminded that for every scumbag that walks the Earth, I truly believe there are 10 angels, maybe 100 or a 1,000, that walk among us as well. One such angel I was thankful to learn about this week is Olivia Wise--she passed away this week from an inoperable brain tumor, but before she left us, she sang Katy Perry's Roar, and it was nothing short of awesome.

I am forever thankful for my friends and family - friends of yesterday, friends of today, and the friends of tomorrow. And where would we be if it wasn't for the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who spend these holidays in far away places to ensure our safety at home--iiWii, we are extremely lucky to live in a nation with people like that.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

always amazed by what the media spends time on

iiWii'rs... for starters, "let me be clear," (sound familiar?!)... no seriously, let me be clear... i'm not one of those right-wing nut-jobs that believes the media is all left, all the time. if you must know, i'm an ABC and CNN watcher....

at any rate, to my point, why are we spending time on this Rob Ford guy from Toronto and George Zimmerman -- 2 people that add zero value to anything and somehow they're top stories in the news. something tells me Will McAvoy would put these turds in the D-block, and if commercials ran a little longer they wouldn't even make it into the broadcast.

on the flipside of media coverage this week, the horrific tornadoes in the midwest. my prayers and thoughts are with all those affected, and i sincerely hope they can find some kind of normalcy with family and friends this Thanksgiving season. i'm confident there are truly amazing stories to be told from that area, but you'll have to read about them on Facebook, Twitter, local news outlets, etc... why? look no further than Ford and Zimmerman.

We the People...

iiWii'rs... my sincere apologies for the hiatus. I write this Sunday afternoon after a long weekend away with the wife in a city that is undoubtedly in the midst of a serious revival--New Orleans. The Po'Boys, the casino (which left a small dent in my wallet), the music, merchants, artists, restauranteurs, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, cab drivers---everyone---seemed in high spirits. That Cafe du Monde---whoa, doctor---you can't beat that place with a stick.

In 4-days in the Crescent City, I somewhat detached myself from national and world news, although I did catch the horrifying news on Twitter out of LAX, I did not hear one story, or hear one person discussing the Affordable Care Act - if you're like me, you actually cringe every time you hear the mention of "Obamacare". If we could, let's just stick to using the term Obama, when we discuss when we mention President Obama--not the actual law itself.

But, iiWii, it remains big in the news--something about a computer glitch--(understatement of the year?!) In fact, the President spent a nice portion of a beautiful October 21st morning in the Rose Garden telling us about it...and yes, the ensuing Wordle speaks to it:

What I was immediately drawn to was the following: People want affordable health insurance. I can't agree with that more, who doesn't want affordable health insurance?! But again, iiWii, there are problems with the website which is supposed to let folks compare the various marketplaces. And while the AFA was to enroll millions of folks, I still haven't heard the administration release the actual of number of folks who have enrolled. Well folks, this post has rambled on worse than a Ted Cruz interview, so I'll just cut it short right there. iiWii... the AFA is not off to the 'as-advertised' start, but let's hope "We the People," can find a way to right the ship.




 

Syria

Almost as cliche as 'it is what it is', we have another old saying 'Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.' I caught that phrase the other day in a friend's post on Facebook referring to the United States' potential future action in Syria.

The images... horrifying. The chaos...unimaginable.

Thinking about the situation in Syria, in light of President Obama's decision to seek Congressional approval to use military force, and having watched and read through the transcript of his 31AUG13 remarks, I've tried to break the situation down to the most elementary level--that level----2 constants reside in this world, they always have and unfortunately always will---Good and Evil.

Relying solely on the variety of media reports both on television, online, Twitter, etc... it is becoming increasingly clear that Bashar Al-Assad falls on the Evil side of the line. And when I think about the history of  the United States, the principles on which our nation was founded, and for the blood our Armed Forces have shed for nearly 3 centuries, all are unquestionably on the Good.

With that, I believe the US must act with a proportional response (West Wing reference). If I put myself in the role of a US Congressman, I'm standing by my President with a Yea vote. Regardless of what happens, i.e. we do nothing, or we launch a missile strike, I'm afraid we're damned if we do, or damned if we don't.

In closing, below you'll find a Wordle of President Obama's speech from yesterday--some of the key words definitely stand out. My favorite--people. For all of you who've been posting to Facebook, Tweeting your anger, etc... write an email to your Congressman this week, with a Yes or No on Syria. "For the people, by the people.'' -- iiWii.

USPS, oozing billions

What's good iiWii'rs?

Earlier today I caught a new commercial from the United States Postal Service (USPS), very nicely done, slight tugs on the heart-strings embedded throughout the 30 second bit--they really get you feeling good about your mail. Even if it is just a bunch of bills, catalogs, and credit-card solicitations...

So I got to thinking? Isn't the USPS broke, haven't I read news, heard news, etc... about how they're running up monster deficits?? Why yes I did, take a look at this article I found after a quick "USPS deficit" Google session:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2013/08/12/the-post-office-is-broke-its-time-to-end-washingtons-postal-monopoly/

It's on Forbes, so I'm going to put some trust in the editorial review of the facts within. "$4 billion in losses so far this year, on top of last year’s $15.9 billion deficit." But hell, iiWii, let's spend even more money on commercials to make us feel better about wasting billions. What am I missing here?!

There are traitors among us.

So this Edward Snowden saga continues to keep me interested as I have tuned myself in and out of this story since it's inception. Having arrived in Moscow on June 23, on a direct flight from Hong Kong (where he did his leaking), Snowden has now left the airport and has been granted some sort of asylum in Russia. Apparently, I'm not the only one who continues to pay attention to this story as a quick Google search of 'Edward Snowden' draws nearly a billion [yea' BILLION] hits in just 0.22 seconds, i.e. Google is super-quick.

I heard an educator use this quote earlier in the week, "We don't need to give students information, they can get information anywhere. It's our job as educators to help them UNDERSTAND that information." Diving into it's source, who wrote it, who were their sources, how old is the source, is it relevant, etc... And, if you dissect this story down to individual pieces, I'd be willing to bet, one of those pieces would be named 'Information.' Our government trusted this individual to handle this classified information with the utmost integrity, and he turned into a traitor.

One of my sources, who will remain nameless, has told me that he's been labeled as a traitor inside Booz Allen. An obvious understatement given the circumstances, which my source certainly agrees. Nevertheless, this self-deprecated hero, has taken highly-classified information that belonged to the US Government, and American people, and distributed it to the world and in turn our adversaries throughout the globe. Snowden---you're a low life, hapless-thug, and may God help you if what you've done has put innocent Americans at risk, along with our men and women working in embassies abroad, AND, members of our Armed Forces deployed to the corners of the Earth keeping us safe and free.

The other interesting caveat to this story, in my opinion, is how President Obama will deal with President Putin. I recently had an opportunity to visit the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA and on display you learn how far our relationship with the former USSR and Russia has come since the days of the Cold War. I'd like to think the Great Communicator is rolling in his grave at Snowden's actions, and I'd like to think that Gorbachev would have had Snowden on the 'first cargo plane full of rubber dog-shit out of Moscow,' hand-cuffed, with a little red bow on his neck and a toe-tag that said, please deliver to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, USA.

But here we are, 2013, and its not Reagan/Gorbachev--it's Obama/Putin, and iiWii, there are traitors among us, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out going forward.

Can the government dictate what people can buy?

Have you see this commercial? ... http://youtu.be/XV6GX8qwfqs

I've caught it a few times over the last month or so, and while I would certainly take issue with the government telling me what to buy. That being said, if the government is giving money to individuals and families across America via various entitlement programs, don't they have the right to stipulate what can and can not be purchased with that money? Cigarettes kill people. Increased caloric intake due to sugary drinks leads to diabetes and obesity (among other variables, I know).

I lived in Chester, PA for nearly 10 years, one of the most economically disadvantaged areas of Pennsylvania. A city, that to the best of my knowledge, still does NOT have a grocery store to call their own. I used to do my shopping in neighboring Eddystone, where I would see folks purchase very unhealthy foods and drinks, and on the way out of the store, throw a $20 into the automated lottery machine. iiWii, we all have the right to play the lottery, and buy things we want--but at the same time, I think government has the right to reform entitlements to ensure the funding being provided is used to the best of it's ability.

Look forward to your thoughts.

Where Sam Seaborn and Veteran's Stadium cross paths

Good Sunday Morning, iiWii'ers.

Last week an article was brought to my attention about our former, and dearly beloved, stadium in Philadelphia--Veteran's Stadium. A site that will always have a special place in my heart, Phillies games, Eagles games, NFC Championship losses, '93 Phillies, etc... But for the purposes of this post, that's neither here, nor there--it's about how the City of Philadelphia still owes almost $200,000 on a Stadium that once was.

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2013/06/14/paying-building-now-demolished-vet/

The Vet opened in 1971 and gave us almost 35 good years, until it ultimately met its demise in 2004. So where the hell does Sam Seaborn fit in to all of this? I'll get right to it. Germantown High School in Philadelphia--opened in 1914, still in use today. West Philadelphia High School--opened in 1912, still in use today. Now I know what you might be thinking... these schools have gone through significant renovations over the years, yada-yada,---of course they have. But that still doesn't detract from the fact that these schools are 100 years old.

Having traveled around the country for the last 5-6 years visiting schools, most of which were built before 1970, I often found myself wondering how it's okay to send students to buildings that have gone way past their prime, but we demolish and build new palaces for our professional athletes. That is just classic, iiWii--I get it, professional sports teams are in most cases million/billion dollar businesses and have significant economic impacts on their communities. That being said, I'm willing to bet all the coins in my spare-change jars that our schools are a bigger economic contributor than our stadiums, and that's where I bring in my man, Sam Seaborn.

Schools should be palaces. Teachers should make 6-figure salaries. We just have to find a way to make it happen. Until then iiWii... we still owe $183,000 on the Vet.

NSA, Verizon, Oh my

My goal is to keep this latest post on the side of short and brief. After a week's worth of fallout over the  US Government's role in snooping in on Verizon Wireless customers, I'm sort of shocked that folks are so up-in-arms about it, solely based on my not understanding why they didn't think this was already happening. 

In this digital-age, barring any sort of cataclysmic circumstance, technology is here to stay, and it's only going to continue expand -- (not a shocker, I'm hoping) -- therefore, this NSA example is one, of I'm sure are many, instances where our privacy has been 'compromised.' 

Bottom line on all of this, from my perspective, I'm glad our government is keeping tabs on these calls provided that the information is being used to keep us safe and free. And I'd like to think that those of us born during or before, say 1995-1996, can recall at the very least, one good reason why. 

iiWii 

"Now, ma'am, let me finish. Let me finish, ma'am....

 ...Part of free speech is you being able to speak, but also, you listening and me being able to speak." - President Obama, May 23, 2013 ~ National Defense University

Recently, on the eve of 2013's Memorial Day Weekend, President Obama gave an hour-long address to our country, and the world, about the United States' efforts against terrorism and his continued attempts to officially close GTMO. Now, regardless of your stance on the issues he addressed, regardless of who you voted for in the last election, if you didn't come away from that speech proud to be an American, on the brink of one our Nation's most sacred holiday's--I feel for you.

Having grown up the son of a Vietnam Veteran, and the grandson of a WWII, Purple-Heart Veteran, I learned at an early age the value of patriotism. Embedded in those lessons I quickly learned that freedom isn't free and that our Veterans, men and women in uniform and their families, first-responders, along with our elected representatives deserve our utmost respect, even in the face of utmost disagreement.

Unfortunately, with the incredibly volatile political discourse our country faces today, there is a faction of society driven by multiple ideologies that thinks it's okay to disrespect our elected officials. This could not have been more apparent by the actions of woman present during President Obama's May 23rd address.

So why a sense of pride after seeing this speech? If you have time, advance the speech to the 49:00 mark, and watch how our President handled the situation. A disrespectful protester, (in her defense---using her right to free speech) interrupted our President's address. As I said, where I come from, that's just wrong. This wasn't an upset Iraqi throwing a shoe at our president--this was an American citizen, an example of how disrespect. And there it is the iiWii moment--we have people among us that think it's okay to scream and yell at our own President while he gives an important address about the future of our country.

And I'll close by saying this, as we celebrate this Memorial Day, let us NEVER forget the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many Americans and their families, so that woman could have a chance to display her 1st Amendment rights--I just wish she checked her disrespect at the door.

PS. The following Wordle represents some of the key terms used in President Obama's speech; the words used most are larger.

Facebook hiatus; it is what it is.

Facebook, it is what it is, or IS it?

After a near 6-month hiatus from the iconic social-media platform we all know as Facebook, I have reactivated my account. While I can honestly say I didn't miss it at all, I continued to run into instances where it was annoying to 'not' have an account. That being said, I found other platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn to be much more impactful.

Twitter and LinkedIn serve as my personal news outlets and connections to organizations I'm involved with, colleagues, and friends alike. In my opinion, Facebook became noise--the timeline lost it's chronological order, more advertisements began appearing, and trying to manage the privacy settings were like being dropped into a third-world country where you didn't know the language.

Getting back to my 'annoying' comment--I have become more involved with a couple organizations, and without my connection to Facebook, I did not have the means to reconnect with old friends and acquaintances that I'd like to circle back with and get involved. In that sense, it almost seems like Facebook is your mailbox to the world, almost as important as your physical address. Regardless of where you end up personally and professionally, Facebook and other social-media platforms, seem to be the glue that binds us. Especially when you think about the demographics, one of the fastest groups growing on Facebook is within the Baby-Boomer generation---first they learned how to txt, now they're embracing Facebook, but most have no idea how to Tweet, or have a profile on LinkedIn.

So to wrap this all up, and to summarize my hiatus, it is what it is, Facebook seems to be the most powerful social media platform going. Is Twitter better?? I think so, but Facebook seems to be constant in all social interactions--so bring on the baby pictures folks!

  

The NRA and their iiWii ways

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"

If those words don't sound familiar, I can't help you.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

If those words don't sound familiar, I can't help you.

What I can do, is hope that every American takes some time to look at this current debate individually. And to take it a step further by trying to isolate mass-murders and the NRA's overwhelming need to line the pockets of countless state and federal legislators, let alone their own NASCAR race. If as an individual, you have difficulty understanding a common-sense approach to purchasing lethal fire-power, which includes expanding background checks, I say again, I can't help you.

The discourse in this Country has gotten out of hand on pretty much every issue that comes to the Floor of our Capitol Building. My thought on the issue--we had the words of our nation's independence long before the 2nd Amendment, "with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Think about those words the next time you hear about an innocent person(s) killed due to gun violence. What about their life? Their pursuit of Happiness? If your pursuit of Happiness includes owning a gun or cache of weapons greater than your average SWAT team, then I can only hope you have to go through a mandatory waiting period, and a more extensive background check.

Until then, I suppose the NRA will continue on their path of, "iiWii, we have our 2nd Amendment right," while our brethren in Newtown, CT, Aurora, CO, Blacksburg, VA are undoubtedly struggle, and unfortunately may never find again, their pursuit of Happiness.

.0022

iiwii, but my best friend sent me an article today that i just couldn't seem to wrap my head around, so i decided to dig a little deeper. here is said article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/30/scientist-alternative-career/2002879/

when you think about $30 billion, that's a big number. then take a look at the numbers i pulled from the US Census... the National Science Foundation represented just .0022-percent of the federal budget in 2011. reading that USA Today article, I'm reminded of a time I've only read about in the history books--NASA's Apollo missions. One of my favorite facts of that era is that the average age of the scientists at Mission Control when Apollo 11 splashed down was.... wait for it... 28 years old!

okay, sure, that group of dedicated young scientists weren't necessarily finding a cure for cancer, or a lightbulb that lasts 55 years, but think about that--then put it in the context of that article... if you're like me, you don't like the idea of young scientists being limited in their ability to do what they do best.

support this. now.

when the Obama administration unveils its budget this week, there is an expected, large increase in VA benefits for our nations heroes; i can only hope this funding gets approved. as a nation, we owe our men and women in uniform everything!

support this. write your Congressman; Senator; let's make sure they are supported 110%.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/us/administration-to-increase-spending-on-veterans-programs.html?src=rechp

here we go again...

The NYT article linked below brings to light once again that our legislative leaders in Washington would rather duke things out via the media than actually sitting in a room and figuring out a compromise for We the People.

I have heard the argument before that our democratic system of government was designed in such a way that calls for stalemates--much like the one we've been living through for the last decade it seems. Looking back through history however, we'd be hard-pressed to not realize our nation was formed by the illustrious 'C' word--Compromise. The word has become nothing more than a political volleyball.

I liked the NYT article below because it comes at the issue of inflation relative to Social Security from both the left and the right. I give the President credit for even bringing the idea to the table. As I mentioned in my very 1st post, we can not continue to turn a blind eye to the problems with Social Security. As a young professional with roughly 30+ years of work still ahead of me, I am hopeful that the money taken out of my paycheck every 2 weeks isn't being flushed down a toilet--but it's hard to feel otherwise when our so called leaders in Washington can't seem to find a way to work together.

iiwii for now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/us/politics/obama-budget-is-dismissed-by-gop-and-attacked-by-left.html?hp&_r=0

good coffee

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/Philly-coffee-shop-ranked-1-in-America.html

Congratulations to this homegrown, Philly coffee shop on being named the #1 coffee shop in America via thedailymeal.com; I personally have not visited either of these shops, but I suppose I will need to drop by and see what the hype is all about.

Having been certified as a 'super-taster' by a close friend with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience (smartypants) I'm fairly confident to identify a great cup of coffee. On the flipside, Smartypants' better-half, also a Ph.D. in some sort of biology, thinks I'm full of $#!$ because I also happen to enjoy a cup of WaWa's finest, regular blend.

Just don't offer me an iced-coffee.

Future@Now

This event looks like the real deal, I can't wait to be a part of the conversation.

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/FutureNow/

How are your school districts tackling digital transformation?

#edtech AND iiWii

Throughout this blog, I am hoping to shed some light on an issue near and dear to my heart. Technology as it relates to education. The other day I found myself at an upstate NY sportsbar having dinner while on a work trip. While sitting at the bar I had a great vantage point to view the entire restaurant--needless to say, there were televisions EVERYWHERE. At that point, I found myself comparing the level of technology in the sportsbar to that of a modern day classroom.

Just a bit different, right? I'm not suggesting we pepper every classroom with 40+ flat screen televisions, but you can envision the disparity, can't you?

Technology, when deployed properly, can undoubtedly change the way students interact with their learning, change their level of engagement, and ultimately change their level of achievement. I'm hopeful as a nation we can all continue to bring more light to this issue and see the importance behind investing in our schools.

During your next visit to the sportsbar--spend 30-seconds looking around... maybe you'll see where I'm coming from?

Millennials and Social Security

New York Times Editorial Board Sunday, March 31, 2013

So as we were approaching the fiscal cliff of 2012, President Obama was calling for a reduction in the COLA for Social Security recipients. Social Security is going broke. A theme I have been hearing and reading for pretty much my entire adult life thus far--yet time and time again it seems our legislators keeping passing the issue on instead of acting.

Where has the millennial voice been on the issue of Social Security? I'm hopeful it's a sleeping bear. I'm hopeful as more of us begin to realize the tremendous financial burden our country faces circa 2033, we will begin to see more incentives for younger generations to save for their golden years. As a young professional having only been in the work force for almost 9-years, how many more years will go by until I don't have to feel like my Social Security taxes aren't being thrown into an abyss?