The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

So, like last summer, President Obama is trying to work with Congress on a way to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st of this year (from 3.4 to 6.8%). The president is trying to be, you know, presidential. What did Indiana Republican Representative Luke Messer have to say about this? Just the following: "It's not only a distraction from issues like Benghazi and the IRS and Department of Justice, but it's a distraction from the fact that the real threat to college-age students in America today is not a few more dollars on their student loan, it's the fact that the explosive growth of debt, the fact that the jobs in this economy for young people entering the marketplace have been the people probably most hurt by the Obama policies." Minnesota Republican Representative John Kline added: "It's time for the president to stop politicizing the student loan issue. The president and House Republicans agree on the need for a long-t...

Well, I don't know if anyone else has had similar problems as I have had with regard to the Zynga word game Scramble With Friends (Boggle), but I had been unable to access my account through Facebook as I had been able to do up until a few days ago. I don't know if it was just my phone or a host of others had run into similar problems. If anyone else has been experiencing similar problems, I'd recommend setting up another account through a different e-mail address and starting over again. I set up a new account through my gmail address and everything seems to be working fine again for some odd reason. Hopefully I'll be able to access my other account at some point, but for the time being, this will do I suppose. Anyway, I thought I'd spread the word, just in case other Scramble With Friends players were unable to access their accounts in recent days. If any regular players would like to square off against me, you may find me at the username TheRoz81.

Texas Republican Representative and man voted most likely to get into a fist-fight with himself - Steve Stockman - said the following with regard to President Barack Obama likely singing the United Nations' Arms Trade Treaty: "The right to keep and bear arms is granted by God and protecting [sic] from government aggression by the Constitution. It is not subject to the whims of global totalitarians massed in New York City." The first recorded use of a firearm occurred in the year 1364. It's estimated that the Bible was written between the years of pre-1445 B.C. to the early 90s A.D. In other words, the first gun was fired between 1,271 and 2,809+ years after the Bible was written. So, I guess my only question for Mr. Stockman is, when did the right to keep and bear arms get granted by God again? While we're at, Mr. Stockman might as well say the following: - "The right to watch reality television is granted by God!" - "The right to play sol...

Know how, in light of their numerous defeats last November, the Republican Party has been trying to expand their voting base? Well, according to the "conservative, nonpartisan think tank" Center for Immigration Studies, there's really no need for the GOP to do that. Based on reviewing newly released Census data, this "conservative, nonpartisan think tank" had this to say: "As Republicans think about how they can expand their voting base, the new data suggest that one of their biggest problems in the last presidential election was that so many less-educated whites sat home. These voters, who have been hit hard by the recession, have traditionally supported Republicans. It seems likely that by supporting the Schumer-Rubio amnesty, GOP legislators would further alienate these voters." The report went on to suggest that if Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had won 3% more of the white vote, he would have won the popular vote, but that num...

According to a new study released by PayScale, the gender-wage gap is a myth. Also, due to these supposed findings, 97.2% of conservative males got erections. This PayScale study claims that men and women get paid about the same for the same kind of jobs. According to this study, women earn 98% of what men earn in non-managerial positions and 91% of what men earn in executive positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data has long reported that women earn between 77 and 80% of what men do. With a disparity of approximately 20%, what gives? As was reported along with the PayScale "findings" was this bit of information: "It's possible that PayScale's findings differ from other conclusions because its study is based on people who choose to report their information to the site, as opposed to the Census and BLS, which have a broader reach." That's right. The study's "findings" were based solely on people whom "chose...

When I checked my e-mail this morning, imagine my surprise to see I received a comment about a blog of mine from a radio show host, and not only that, he shared my work on his web, Facebook, and Twitter pages due to how much he seemed to enjoy it. If any of my regular readers are curious to check this out for themselves, you can do so at the following links, in the order I wrote them in the previous paragraph: http://www.normangoldman.com/blog/ http://www.facebook.com/normangoldman?ref=ts&fref=ts https://twitter.com/normangoldman

Once in a great while, a politician comes along with whom we feel a certain connection with. In-terns likely felt this connection with former President Bill Clinton, both literally and figuratively. Kindergarteners likely felt this connection with ex-President George W. Bush. I've felt this connection with Minnesota Congresswoman and person voted to have the scariest eyes this side of Charles Manson - Michele Bachmann. Whenever Bachmann spoke, I felt a little more intelligent, sane, and well, human. She was like my afternoon talk show, where after hearing her speak, I thought to myself, "You know what? My life isn't so bad after all!" So understandably, I was quite saddened to hear that Ms. Bachmann won't be running for another term come the election in 2014. Thankfully, whenever I'm feeling a little blue, I'll be able to turn to the Internet(s - thanks for that one, Dubya) to hear some of Bachmann's classic quotes, such as the following: Bachmann:...

After former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner announced he was going to be running for Mayor of New York City, journalists had a field day with the news on account of his last name. One headline read, "Weiner's In!" In light of that, I decided to join the party of immaturity and make up a few such headlines of my own with a top ten list. Top Ten Anthony Weiner Newspaper Headlines Leading to Election Day 10. "Weiner Has Got a Mind of His Own" 9. "Women Voters Lean Toward Weiner" 8. "Weiner to Create Jobs" 7. "Weiner Goes Green" 6. "Weiner Limps to the Finish Line" 5. "Weiner Rises Up to the Challenge" 4. "Weiner Shrinking in the Polls" 3. "Weiner Explodes at the Press" 2. "Weiner Sticks It to His Opponent in the First Debate" 1. ::drum roll:: "Does Weiner have the balls to win this thing?"

While I've made a few small complaints concerning the Zynga word game Scramble With Friends (Boggle), I've continued to play it. However, as of a couple days ago, it appears as if I'll have to at least temporarily retire from the game. For whatever reason, it's no longer working, so I'll have to place my 2,314-0 record on hold for the time being. No, upon hearing about this, my opponents were not in any way upset of the news. If anyone knows of another Boggle-like game I could start playing on my Android phone, all suggestions would be welcome.

If I have a religion, it might be Stewbertism - named after Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. While I read and write about the news on a daily basis, Stewart and Colbert typically provide me a number of laughs concerning the issues I wrote about every Monday through Thursday, which allows me to sleep a little better at night (laughter is the best medicine, along with denial, and possibly some Ny-Quil). Over the past two to three weeks, however, I've been slightly disappointed with The Daily Show - perhaps because the show has taken on a more serious tone, with that the laughs haven't been as frequent, and the show has seemed to blend in with mainstream news networks more so than has been typical. With regard to the three recent controversies surrounding the Obama Administration, Stewart and his writers jumped on the Benghazi-conspiracy bandwagon before it became pretty clear there wasn't a cover-up, which prompted the show to play things in a Swiss-like fashion. They al...

In what is appearing to be more a trend than an aberration, yet another study has shown that Republican politicians lie more than Democratic ones, especially when it comes to lies which are so ridiculous, Pinocchio even says, "That sh*t's messed up!" Based on fact-checking grades made by fact-checking site Politifact , George Mason University's Center for Media and Public Affairs has reported that since January of this year, 52% of Republicans' statements have been rated as either mostly or entirely false, while just 24% of Democrats' statements have been rated similarly. According to this same report, the month of May has been an even more dishonest one for the Republican Party, largely due to the controversies surrounding the AP, IRS, and Benghazi. Through the first three weeks of this month, 60% of Republicans statements have been graded as false, while 29% of Democrats' comments have been graded similarly. Of course, this must just be another cas...

Meet Roan Garcia-Quintana - a Tea Party activist, a Cuban native, who sees himself as white, not Latino. He's currently a board member of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), which has been listed as a white nationalist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. This group opposes "all efforts to mix the races of mankind" and to "promote non-white citizen races over the European-American people." The Cuban immigrant is also the executive director of the anti-immigration group Americans Have Had Enough. Is it just me, or does Mr. Garcia-Quintana sound slightly confused? I can only imagine a woman's reaction upon meeting him off a dating site. Roan Garcia-Quintana: "Hello there. Trisha?" Trisha White: "Yes. How did you know that? Do I know you?" Garcia-Quintana: "Yes, it's Bob Johnson from E-Harmony ." White: "Wait...what? Is this a joke?" Garcia-Quintana: "No, it's really me. Is s...

I've remained pretty consistent on the three controversies which have surrounded the Obama Administration in recent weeks. While I believe there was a fair amount of incompetence surrounding the administration during the Benghazi attacks, I don't believe it was a cover-up. The longer the case has drug on, the more I believe that Congressional Republicans' main intent is to drag Hillary Clinton's name through the mud to decrease the threat of her becoming the Democratic nominee in the 2016 presidential election. The AP controversy is the one which has bothered me the most. Unfortunately, due to the Patriot Act and with it, increased powers of the DOJ (Department of Justice) since the 9/11 attacks, chances are Eric Holder's actions weren't illegal. Also unfortunately, since Mitch McConnell and other Congressional Republicans have defended Holder's actions, chances are no changes are going to be made through Congress. The controversy which I've had the most...

I'm really beginning to feel sorry for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. As much as I'd like to see the guy run for the presidency and become the Republican nominee (not saying I'd vote for the guy necessarily, but also wouldn't be incredibly bummed if he won, which is a definite step up from previous Republican nominees), I'm becoming more pessimistic that he'd be able to come out on top when the Republican Primaries are all said and done. The thing about Christie is, for as much as Independents, Reagan Democrats, and middle-of-the-road Republicans like him, conservative Republicans can't seem to stand the guy, and they'll probably be the bloc of voters most likely to participate in the primaries. While Christie would likely give his party its best chance of winning back the White House in 2016 (January of 2017, I suppose), I have trouble seeing him get past the primaries. I've especially felt this way since Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey nea...

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann had some interesting words for Fox Sports Florida and the NFL Network over the past few days, where he said the following about Miami Heat superstar LeBron James becoming an NFL quarterback: "I would love to work him out and also serve as his agent. I'll go wherever he wants this summer. He could play another four years in the NBA before seriously trying the NFL. There are not a lot of 38- or 39-year old basketball players, but there are 38- and 39-year old quarterbacks, so there's always time for him." He added this: "Who wouldn't want to coach LeBron James? He's the most physical specimen we have in professional sports. He could do, I think, anything he wanted." and "He's as mentally as tough a guy you're going to find, which I think is the No. 1 prerequisite to play the position." Theismann also wrote: "He has perfect hair, kind eyes, a world-class smile, and...

Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe has long been a global-warming denier. If it gets chilly on a single day in January, he'll shout to the world, "You see? Global warming is a hoax!" In light of the tornado which recently swept through the state he represents and hearing some Democratic senators claiming that global warming could at least be partially to blame for a tornado of that magnitude, Inhofe, said this: "The liberal media is trying to exploit a tragedy to advance and expand its own agenda. And, believe me, the victims all know this. We were being hit by tornadoes long before anyone talked about climate change, and even before it was called 'global cooling,' before it became 'global warming,' and then 'climate change.'" Why is it that, after tragedies such as the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut or the before-mentioned tornado, it's such a no-no in many of these Congressional Republicans' minds to talk about them ...

When speaking with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday , former Republican Senate Majority Leader and 1996 presidential nominee Bob Dole said the following about the Republican Party of today: "I think they ought to put a sign on the national committee doors that says 'closed for repairs' until New Year's Day next year and spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas." and "Reagan couldn't have made it. Certainly Nixon could not have made it because he had ideas. We might have made it, but I doubt it." In the run up to the 2014 mid-term elections, Democrats should sport bumper stickers which say the following: "We lack ideas and positive agendas." - Bob Dole, former GOP Sen. Maj. Leader and presidential nominee "Reagan and Nixon wouldn't be welcomed by Republicans today, because they had ideas." - Bob Dole, former Republican presidential nominee "The Republican Party is closed for repairs until further...

Over the past week, polls have shown that President Obama's approval ratings have yet to be hampered by the recent controversies surrounding the administration. A right-leaning columnist responded to this by saying, "Just wait a couple months, and his numbers won't be nearly as high as they are today." The thing about it is the economy has been improving under President Obama, and an increasing number of people are beginning to both see and feel that for themselves. It's one thing to simply hear politicians state, "Things are looking up," and quite another to actually see and feel these improvements for yourself. As long as things are looking up as far as the economy is concerned, chances are the president's approval rating won't drop too significantly. Where the president may be most likely to see a drop in his approval numbers is with regard to his personal likability. However, one doesn't need to like a person in order to think he or...

Well, I went through a case of the 24-hour post-vacation blues yesterday, so I definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind to write. But, several good hours of sleep and a sore back later, and I'm ready to start writing again, as well as ready to work on my book some more. I'm currently on page 110 and inching ever closer to the finish line known as the last page.

I seriously thought an article I read this morning was by The Onion when I first saw it, but I guess it's the real deal. Action-film legend Chuck Norris wrote an op-ed column on the conservative site Newsbusters encouraging the Jacksonville Jaguars to sign former New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow. In the column, Norris wrote: "Tebow is a player who rises to the occasion and delivers big in critical moments. He reminds me of myself when I used to compete in martial arts." I'm sure, at his age, Norris does rise to the occasion, thanks to Viagra. Seriously, though, why in the world would an NFL football team take the advice from an elderly former movie star on who they should sign? ...and why would this former movie star think they would heed his advice? In my mind, this is what Chuck Norris should have written in the column: "I may not have played high school football, college ball, pro ball, or even watched the sport very much, but I know a ...

As I have just a little bit of time before I head out of town, I thought I'd touch on something that's been in the news lately and which has been irking me somewhat. Following the devastating tornado which hit Oklahoma earlier this week, I've heard some people say they prayed during the tornado, or that their prayers were answered, and have seen some die-hard religious individuals post these quotes on Facebook. Why is it that people tend to think they're one of the chosen ones? The tornado ravaged how many homes, killed how many people, including some children, yet some individuals still believe that their homes and lives were spared because they prayed? What, since the kids who died hadn't prayed that day, God decided to let them die? I don't think so. God: "Okay, a tornado is sweeping through Oklahoma again. Since I'm all-powerful, I'm going to allow the tornado to pass through. I'll direct where it can go. I'll spare the people whom...

I just thought I'd warn readers that I'll be heading out of town tomorrow afternoon and won't be returning until Sunday evening sometime, I believe. Due to this, it's highly unlikely I'll be able to write much, if at all, over these next 3-4 days. When I return home on Sunday night, while I'll try to get caught up with the weekend's headlines and interesting or oddball stories, my first focus will be on finishing my upcoming book - the third installment of the LOL at the GOP series. Well, I better get to packing. I hope everyone has a fun, yet relaxing, and very safe holiday weekend! Take care!

As I do about once a week, I thought I'd provide links for new readers to check out and/or purchase my books. At the first link are the paperback versions of each book and the Kindle versions can be found at the second link. http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=craig+rozniecki&x=15&y=8&sitesearch=lulu.com&q= http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=craig+rozniecki+in+kindle&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acraig+rozniecki+in+kindle

As I do about once every week or two, I thought I'd provide links to my Facebook business, Twitter, and Tumblr pages at the following three links for new readers: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCraigRozniecki?ref=hl https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki http://www.tumblr.com/blog/rozzy81 Just a word of warning - I've come to learn that Tumblr seems to be more focused on the sharing of pictures than of writing, so I haven't been incredibly active on the site of late. However, I have been fairly active in posting information and tweets on both by Facebook business and Twitter pages. I still have a lot of work to do, especially regarding my Facebook business page, but have been so busy with multiple projects of late, I haven't found the time to really sit down and do so just yet. It's times like these I wish the film Multiplicity was a true story based on my life, so I could get more done with my clones providing their helpful hands.

I just came across a story which both angered and saddened me. I guess a man took his three daughters to a Wal-Mart in Woodbridge, Virginia. Since the man is white and his three little girls are biracial, at least one person told security that he or she was worried these girls were kidnapped. After returning home with his kids, the father and mother were soon greeted by a police officer, who had been contacted by Wal-Mart and alerted about a possible kidnapping. As could be expected, the girls' mother and father were none too pleased. The girls' parents claim the cop said, "Hey, I was sent here by Wal-Mart security. I just need to make sure that the children you have are your own." The cop then reportedly asked for the father's ID and asked the 4-year old daughter who her mother and father were. After the cop left, the mother called Wal-Mart, asking for some answers. In response, she claims she was told, "Well, the customer was concerned because the...

Sergio Garcia won't be inviting Tiger Woods over to his place anytime soon, well, unless he's serving fried chicken, as Garcia stated. When asked by Steve Sands of The Golf Channel if he would be inviting Woods over for dinner during the upcoming U.S. Open, Garcia said, "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken." Garcia then recently "apologized" by saying this: "I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players' Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner." Yes, Garcia was asked a question intended to be a joke, and while he may have only been kidding with his response, he should have known better than to have placed Woods in a stereotypical black light with his "fried chicken" quip. That would have been like if Garcia was engaged i...

CNN's Wolf Blitzer got caught in an awkward moment just following the devastating tornado which ravaged through Moore, Oklahoma. When speaking to a survivor of the storm - Rebecca Vitsmun - Blitzer said, "We're happy you're here. You guys did a great job. You've gotta thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?" Vitsmun responded with, "I -- I'm actually an atheist." Blitzer came back with, "You are. All right. But you made the right call." Yes, Wolf, she thanked the Lord for a tornado which came close to killing she and her child, destroyed many homes in the area, and killed who knows how many people. Thank God for that...  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/wolf-blitzer-atheist-tornado-survivor_n_3316312.html

It appears as if it's now official - former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner will be running for mayor. For anyone who forgot, Weiner got into trouble as a Congressman due to the tweeting of his bulge to women. I'm quite glad the former Congressman is running for mayor, because it will make for some lovely headlines. Just this morning, I read a headline which said, "Weiner In!" The funny part about that is Weiner never actually got it in during the sex scandal, since he only tweeted pictures of his manhood. Some other future headlines pertaining to this story will likely be the following: "Democrats Stand Erect For Weiner" "Democrats Sit Erect For Weiner" "College Kids Love Voting For A. Weiner" "Sticking Up For Weiner" "Standing Up For Weiner" "Weiner is neck and neck with his opponent" "Coming Out - I Love Weiner, Anthony Weiner That Is" "Does Weiner have the balls ...

I've always been someone who, no matter how difficult it may be to find at times, always tried to find the good in people. No matter how little I have in common with a person, I'm typically able to find one common interest or experience we can discuss with one another. This is how I've always been. No matter how different two people may seem to be, chances are there's at least one common interest or experience they have which they can talk and laugh about for hours on end. However, while I stand by everything I wrote in the previous paragraph, there are some people whom are just a*sholes. I know one such person (at least). Just a couple days ago, I tweeted information on how to provide aid for victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes. There was nothing political about the post. It simply provided a link with contact information for different organizations, like the American Red Cross, whom would provide aid to the victims of the tornadoes. Yesterday, I received a respons...

It appears as if a die-hard pro-gun rights group has been placing a number of posters around the Washington State Capitol in recent days, in an attempt to speak out against gun-control legislation by comparing such legislation to discrimination against gays. One poster showcases two women holding one another, with the following words appearing alongside them - "Some people dislike gays. Others dislike guns. We should not base our laws on personal dislikes." A second poster depicts two gay men holding guns (not the ones below their waists...), whom are surrounded by these words: "We won our right to marry...now it's time to defend our right!" "And we sure as hell aren't going to take sh*t from homophobes in the process!" These are ridiculous arguments all the way around. On the first poster, it's comparing the rights of gays to the rights of guns, saying these rights shouldn't be taken away due to people's "personal dislik...

I just read a strange article regarding a study. Framingham Foot Study just released results from a study which showcased that high heels don't cause bunions. Here's how this information is played out in the article: "...Scientists have produced study after study proving what women already know: Heels hurt your feet. A lot. Specifically, shoes with heels strain your calf muscles, permanently shorten your tendons, damage your posture and twist your ankles. But we've got some consolation for all your heel devotees: High heels do NOT give you bunions!" The article closes by saying this: "...But of all the harm heels inflict on women's bodies -- hurting our muscles, throwing our posture out of whack, making us fall off a sidewalk or two -- they aren't to blame for those bunions..." Perhaps the author was writing sarcastically, however, if a die-hard high heel enthusiast read about the study's findings, she would likely scream with jub...

If anyone's interested in providing some aid for the tornado victims in Oklahoma, here's some information on how to do so at the link below, with contact information to the: American Red Cross, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, Salvation Army, and Feeding America. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/20/18381508-how-to-help-tornado-victims?lite

It started raining during a joint news conference which featured President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, so Obama asked a pair of marine to shield them from the rain by holding umbrellas over their heads. It was reported by most in the media as a light-hearted moment. Not so much for the far-righties, however - many of whom claimed that the president breached Marine umbrella protocol. Lou Dobbs tweeted, "Obama expects our troops to hold d*mn umbrellas rather than go inside: It's disrespectful, inconsiderate, classless." Sarah Palin wrote this message concerning the matter on her Facebook page - "Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas." Nevermind the fact that Palin, Ronald Reagan, and other politicians have employed their own umbrella-holders... Yes, according to the far-right, there was Benghazi-gate, IRS-gate, AP-gate, and now umbrella-gate. Pretty soon, I have a feeling these same far-right comme...

Like most couples it seems, my girlfriend and I get into silly little debates every now and again. I have to believe that when looking back on these silly debates, she and I likely feel similarly, where we both kind of chuckle, shake our heads, and think, "Why in the world?..." The most recent one revolved around Memorial Day (weekend) and a summer arts festival which takes place in early June. Like over most Memorial Day weekends, I'll be out of town visiting family in Michigan, so I asked if the arts festival was the weekend after Memorial Day. This is then how the conversation unfolded: Her: "It's the same weekend." Me: ::puzzled expression on my face:: "Wait...what?" Her: "You said the weekend after Memorial Day..." Me: "Yeah..." Her: "It's the same weekend." Me: "I'm not understanding. Memorial Day weekend is next weekend. I'm asking if the arts festival is the weekend after that....

Conservative radio talk show host, conspiracy-enthusiast, and full-time douche - Pete Santilli - recently made the following remarks on his show with regard to the Benghazi attack and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "I want to shoot her right in the vagina and I don't want her to die right away; I want her to feel the pain and I want to look her in the eyes and I want to say, on behalf of all Americans that you've killed, on behalf of the Navy SEALS, the families of Navy SEAL Team Six who were involved in the fake hunt down of this Obama, Obama bin Laden thing, that whole fake scenario, because these Navy SEALS know the truth, they killed them all. On behalf of all those people, I'm supporting our troops by saying we need to try, convict, and shoot Hillary Clinton in the vagina." After making a comment like this, I think Mr. Santilli should have his gun "rights" suspended, if not completely stripped. Anyone who talks about taking pleasure in...

North Dakota Republican member of the House - Kevin Cramer - had some interesting remarks when giving a commencement address at the University of Mary on May 4th of this year. During this speech, Cramer said, "Forty years ago, the United States Supreme Court sanctioned abortion on demand. And we wonder why our culture sees school shootings so often." Right, because the legalization of abortion is the cause for school shootings. I'm not sure how that alleged link works exactly, but I'm going to try and crawl inside the mind of Representative Cramer (not literally, thank goodness) and see where he possibly came up with such a link. "Ladies and gentlemen, today I stand before you all to tell you the honest-to-God truth - guns don't shoot and kill people; abortions shoot and kill people! Think about it... Due to the sinful nature of abortion, God has made it so that whenever a child is aborted, a person gets shot and killed due to that abortion. Also, when ...

One reason why I prefer the word-game Boggle over Scrabble is the fact every player has the same letters to work with, so no player is at an advantage or disadvantage on that front. In Scrabble, while the better player will win more times than not, it's quite common for a player to be at either a significant advantage or disadvantage due to the letters he or she has to play with during the course of a game. Well, I just found out the exception to this rule is with regard to the Challenge feature on the Zynga game Scramble With Friends (Boggle). About once a week, players can take part in a four-part challenge and whomever racks up the most points by the end of the challenge will be rewarded with some additional tokens in which to play more games. For part one of this challenge, my grid looked like this: U X D J K R K C F P R R J O D O Yeah, try forming 30 words with that grid - I dare you! Due to this grid, I was hardly able to muster any points and was shocked to see th...

ESPN is at it again with another awful article, this one written by Pat Yasinskas. It revolves around 2011 #1 draft pick Cam Newton - quarterback of the Carolina Panthers. In the article, Yasinskas writes the following gems: "...Yeah, I'll even step out on a limb and say he (Newton) has a better 2013 season than Wilson, Kaepernick, Luck and RG III. Why? Several reasons pop to mind, but let's start with this -- Newton has more all-around talent than any of those guys. Luck can pass nicely, but opposing defenses don't have to game plan for his running ability. Wilson, RG III and Kaepernick each have some throwing ability, but they aren't pure pocket passers, and their big 2012 seasons came largely because of their mobility. Newton is capable of more than any of those guys, because he's as mobile as RG III, Kaepernick and Wilson. At the same time, he's as good a pocket passer as Luck." and "But you can't overlook Newton and the Pa...

If at first you don't succeed, try 35 more times without success, and then try again. That has been the Republican mindset in the House of Representatives regarding Obamacare. Yesterday, the Republican-controlled House voted to repeal Obamacare for the 37th time. Considering Democrats control the Senate by a 55-45 margin and the president is a Democrat who signed the bill into law, there's less chance for the bill to be repealed prior to 2016 than there is of a marijuana smoker saying he felt a sudden burst of energy after smoking a bong while listening to the Grateful Dead.  So why on earth did Republicans feel the need to vote for a 37th repeal of the healthcare reform law? House Speaker John Boehner answered that question as follows: "We've got 70 new members who have not had the opportunity to vote on the president's health care law. Frankly, they've been asking for an opportunity to vote on it, and we're going to give it to them." Well, ...

A pair of studies were just released which showcased that women tend to find a man holding a guitar more attractive than that same man not holding one. That's right - women find men with guitars attractive. I'm more shocked by these findings than the study which linked sex to pregnancy! According to another make-believe study, here's what women also find attractive: - A man holding a large wad of cash more so than a man holding a piggy bank - A man cleaning the bathroom more so than a man sitting on the couch with potato chips all over his shirt - A man holding a baby more so than a man spiking a volleyball in a child's face during a game with the family in honor of the child's birthday - A man being sweet to animals more so than a man punching a teddy bear with boxing gloves while Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" is playing - A man trying to be fashionable more so than a man going to a nice restaurant in sweatpants and a sweatshirt which read...

At Jupiter Lanes in Florida yesterday, as a bowler's arm brushed up against his pocket during a back-swing, the man accidentally discharged his gun and shot himself. When this man's friends were asked if they'd ever bowl with him again, they said, "Only if he provides us with bulletproof vests and helmets." The shooter and victim of this incident then engaged in the following back-and-forth with reporters: Reporter Jebediah Fiction: "Why did you feel the need to bring a gun to the bowling alley?" Self-shooting bowler dude: "I like hunting three things - birds, deers, and bowling balls. ...and let's not forget what a brave act it was to stand up for our 2nd Amendment rights by bringing a gun into a bowling alley! I sacrificed myself for the good of this country!" Reporter Fiction: "But, you shot yourself, correct? If you hadn't have brought the gun, you would not have been shot, right?" SSBD: "I'd rather sh...

In a study conducted by Institute, based on 600,000 phone calls from customers to businesses in the past year, it was found that Ohio residents swear more than residents of any other state in this country! Ohioans also ranked in the bottom five in terms of courtesy. As a current resident of the Buckeye state, was I surprised by this? Not really, at least on the swearing front. Here's what I typically hear Ohioans say in the following situations (alright, some of these quotes may be slightly exaggerated, to the point where I'm sporting a Pinnochio-esque nose): Situation: Ordering a drink "Can a guy get a f**king beer around here? S**t!" Situation: Ordering food at a nice restaurant "I'd like the steak. I want it medium-f**kin'-raw! None of that medium-well bulls**t! I want it pink to the point where I can hear the f**king cow f**king moo, okay? You got that?" Situation: Asking a woman out at a bar "Hey baby. You're look f**k...

Charisma is a "Christian" magazine, who just recently decided to become politically active in sending the following e-mail to subscribers of their newsletter: " Obamacare Just Killed its Millionth Person... Dear Concerned Citizen, The eleventh hour is upon us. In the coming weeks, the full impact of Obamacare will take effect. I've seen what's coming and it's scary. It's a lethal dose of socialism being injected directly into the heart of the American health insurance market. Heck, it's already wreaking havoc. By our estimates, Obamacare has already killed a million people by further straining an already weak healthcare system. It's NOT too late to fight back, though! In a moment, I'm going to ask you to help me repeal Obamacare before it's too late. You see, I'm petitioning Senate Democrats along with the President to kill Obamacare for good. So if you're on the side of personal liberty... Small government.....

Michael Kempfer's wife has had an interesting past week. She married the 21-year old man and then set out for their honeymoon in Florida. After Michael left the hotel and had been gone for a while, his wife reported him as missing. Where was the new husband? Off to meet a prostitute he had been talking to online, only to find out she was an undercover officer. I'm sure after Michael's wife heard the story and spoke to him in jail, she was told by her husband, "Look - nothing happened! I swear!" The Vegas odds are at 1 : 10,979,428,366,111 that the line worked. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/samuel-yoon-youth-minister_n_3272619.html

Mohandas K. Gandhi was a a lot of things to a lot of people: A leader, a teacher, a philosopher, an inspiration, etc. It was through a practice Gandhi referred to as Satyagraha to which he and other Indian natives peacefully resisted British rule over their country. Ever since Gandhi was killed, the world has been searching for another Gandhi. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think we've found him! Meet Adam Kokesh. Adam is 31 years old, a political activist, and attempting to organize a gun-rights march protest in this nation's capital on Independence Day. When asked how he and the other marchers should respond if they are blocked from crossing into Washington, D.C., Kokesh responded, "With Satyagraha." Does this mean that like with Gandhi, violence is unacceptable according to Kokesh? To that, he wrote, "Only if absolutely necessary in defense of life or limb." On Adam's Facebook page regarding the coming event, he wrote that the march "wil...

While I feel both the Benghazi and IRS stories are getting blown out-of-proportion, I feel the Department of Justice-AP surveillance case isn't. Unfortunately, as reported by Timothy Lee of The Washington Post , it appears as if the DOJ's actions were legal. In Lee's article, he reported the following: "But here’s what’s really scary: The Justice Department’s actions are likely perfectly legal. U.S. law allows the government to engage in this type of surveillance—on media organizations or anyone else—without meaningful judicial oversight. The key here is a legal principle known as the 'third party doctrine,' which says that users don’t have Fourth Amendment rights protecting information they voluntarily turn over to someone else. Courts have said that when you dial a phone number, you are voluntarily providing information to your phone company, which is then free to share it with the government." I sincerely hope that in light of this recent report, ...