The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Upon seeing self-described liberal Andy Ostroy's recent article, entitled, "Are Liberals Just as Bad as Republicans When it Comes to Rhetoric and Spin on the Affordable Care Act?," I admit it caught my attention enough to give it a gander. However, I had a gut feeling the article would leave me shaking my head, and as usual, my gut was right. Ostroy started his article by saying this: "No one's ever accused me of being a patsy for the Republican Party. To the contrary, I've been a staunch supporter of President Obama, Democrats and the liberal agenda. I've also loudly, vociferously and consistently criticized the GOP for driving a wedge into our political system with its self-serving, obstructionist tactics..." As I've learned through the years, whenever a person - particularly a writer, begins an article or a speech by saying, "As you all know, I've been an ardent supporter of X, Y, and Z through the years," expect a "bu...

Earlier today, I read an article entitled, "Want To Kill A Conversation? Ask Someone What They Do," written by Carolyn Gregoire of The Huffington Post  and I found it to be quite interesting. While I think "kill" might be a bit strong in most cases, I think the writer does have a point. In the article, Ms. Gregoire lays down the reality that while some people may be happy with and proud of their jobs, many are not, and in our country especially, there seems to be a tendency to judge one based on his or her profession and see the person as their profession. Ms. Gregoire closes her article with this: "Some people love what they do and find deep meaning in their careers, while others are happy to have jobs that pay the bills so that they can pursue their passions outside work. And still others have not had the freedom and financial means to pursue meaningful careers. In any case, who we are is a far more complex and wonderful thing than what we do." S...

Here's the URL to my Facebook business page. I update it fairly regularly, but still haven't put forth a great deal of effort yet in researching matters and attempting to make the most out of it. In any case, it can be perused here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCraigRozniecki?ref=hl Up next is my Twitter page. I'm still not 100% certain what I'm doing on there yet, but feel I'm gradually getting the hang of it and am up to 4,219 followers. I update it daily with many of my own tweets, but also by retweeting some others'. It can be found here: https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki Lastly, here's my Tumblr page, which I've neglected quite a bit recently, but if you're at all curious, you can find it at the following link: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/rozzy81

When scrolling through my blog entries, it appears as if my weekly updates weren't posted last Wednesday for some odd reason. In any case, here they are once again. For new readers (and regular ones, I suppose), here's some information pertaining to my books. All eight of my books can be purchased in paperback form at the following site (and others): http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=craig+rozniecki&x=7&y=5&sitesearch=lulu.com&q= The six books I've written and released in the past 2+ years (yes, I've been on a roll) can be purchased for much cheaper in Kindle form at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_22?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=craig%20rozniecki%20kindle&sprefix=craig+rozniecki+kindle%2Caps%2C228&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acraig%20rozniecki%20kindle Also, I received an email from Amazon yesterday, which said this: "Thank you for enrolling in Kindle MatchBook. As of today, th...

While I may label myself as quite progressive, even I had to shake my head at the most recent article written by Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress , entitled, "The Deluded Person's Etiquette Guide To Avoiding Halloween Racism, Sexism, And General Tastelessness." In this article, Ms. Rosenberg basically says that if you wear a costume which could potentially offend one person in the world, you probably shouldn't wear that costume. I guess my question would then be, what costumes could we wear? Could we only dress up as Disney characters? Well, so long as the Disney characters were of the same gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion as us? I'm sorry, but even I think this political correctness is going a little too far. Rosenberg focuses a majority of her attention on racism, sexism, and "general tastelessness," as the title of her article suggests. Now, I don't believe it would be right for a person to dress themselves in a racist or s...

Let's not beat around the bush here (no, especially not around Dubya) - Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is a strange guy. With that Chia Pet-like hair of his, he appears to some as a mad scientist, but to me he just looks plain mad. Paul didn't diminish this odd image of his any with the speech he gave yesterday at a rally in support of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli. His speech centered around the '90s science-fiction film Gattaca  and as pointed out by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, it appears as if Mr. Paul may have taken the film's description directly from Wikipedia. Here are a few of the highlights (or lowlights): Paul: "In the movie Gattaca--inthe not-too-distant future, eugenics is common. And DNA plays a primary role in determining your social class." Wikipedia: "In the not-too-distant future, liberal eugenics is common and DNA plays the primary role in determining social class." Paul: "Due to frequent screenings, Vincent ...

Nevada Assembly member Jim Wheeler has come under fire recently for a response he gave at a town hall regarding slavery. When Wheeler was asked, "What if those citizens decided they wants to, say, bring back slavery? Hey, if it's what the citizens want, right Jim?," he responded with this: "If that's what they wanted, I'd have to hold my nose, I'd have to bite my tongue and they'd probably have to hold a gun to my head, but yeah, if that's what the citizens of the, if that's what the constituency wants that elected me, that's what they elected me for. That's what a republic is about. You elected a person for your district to do your wants and wishes, not the wants and wishes of a special interest, not his own wants and wishes, yours." After receiving plenty of backlash for his comments, Wheeler released the following statement yesterday: "The media is having a good time with a clearly facetious statement I made in a t...

I like watching the Seattle Seahawks. In what is becoming increasingly rare in both the college and pro ranks, Seattle actually plays good and aggressive defense quite consistently. This is especially true of their secondary. When's the last time you heard football commentators agree that a team's secondary is tough? Anymore, the words tough secondary play like the ultimate of oxymorons in football. However, in saying all this, I think Seattle's 14-9 Monday night win against St. Louis may have redefined how to win ugly. I'm not sure I've seen an uglier win than the one displayed on Monday night. Not only was Seattle penalized 10 times for 83 yards, but quarterback Russell Wilson got sacked a career high 7 times for a loss of 48 yards. Those aren't even the really crazy numbers I'm about to present. For the game, Seattle managed to convert only 7 first downs - 2 of those via penalty. They were just 2 for 11 on 3rd down (18.2%). They ran a mere 40 plays for...

Earlier today, I saw a Facebook post made by a far-right Nebraska acquaintance of mine, which included the link to an article on a far-right website that basically suggested Obamacare is worse than finding out your fiancee is your long lost sister and your coming child may also be your nephew.  The article itself wasn't what caught my attention and made me laugh; it was this acquaintance's son's response, which was the following: "We could have told people until we were blue in the face that this wasn't going to work...but what would we know? We are dumb bigoted republicans." Okay, so if this person had just said "dumb Republicans," that would have worked. It appears this person's intent was to poke fun at Democrats for labeling Republicans as being dumb, when it was Republicans whom were the wise ones for knowing all along that Obamacare would fail (according to him). However, when he included the word "bigoted," that negate...

Dylan Grall - a 23-year old man from Janesville, Wisconsin - was recently arrested for battery, with a hate-crime enhancer, because he reportedly yelled at two Hebrew-speaking men to speak English, and struck both of them, before later telling police he thought they were speaking Spanish. Not only does it appear that Mr. Grall is a racist, but it also seems like his prime source for reading material are coloring and pop-up books. Here now is a list of crimes Grall will likely commit in the future: - Assault a Latino-American, later saying, "I thought he was an Asian person guy!" - Shoot a Buddhist, saying, "I thought he was a Museum - you know, an evil A-rab!" - Sexually harass a woman, saying, "I thought she was a dude!" Even though Mr. Grall yelled at a couple of Hebrew-speaking men to speak English, I have a hunch he wouldn't score very high if he were given an English test right about now... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/27/hate...

Thursday Game:  Cincinnati at Miami Pick: Cincinnati - These two teams appear to be going in opposite directions. After starting the year 3-0, the Miami Dolphins have lost four straight to move to 3-4. Cincinnati, meanwhile, has won four consecutive games to take a solid lead in the AFC North. Look for the trends to continue as the Bengals win by a couple of scores. Result: Miami 22 Cincinnati 20 OT Record: 0-1 Sunday Game: Kansas City at Buffalo Pick: Kansas City - It may sound odd, but each and every week, I feel nervous picking the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. Over the past couple of weeks against teams with a combined 5-10 record, the Chiefs have won the two games by a combined score of 40 to 33. With Buffalo's offense hobbled by injuries, I look for that trend to continue, as Kansas City wins another nail-biter, this time on the road against the Bills. Result: Kansas City 23 Buffalo 13 Record: 1-1 Game: Minnesota at Dallas Pick: Dallas - It really seems l...

Over the weekend, I posted this late-night tweet: "Breaking news from Fox: Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi, Obamacare site, IRS, Benghazi. Fox News - always fair and balanced. #OrNot" It received many favorites, re-tweets, and humorous commentary from followers. However, as I awoke the next morning, I was greeted with a couple of comments from a follower's friend who was an obvious Fox News fan. "Stop drinking the koolaid! OCare has failed! What about all of O's other messes?" and "I'll be smiling when you all see your healthcare prices going up! I'll really be laughing at you then!" To the first comment, I simply replied, "How can a law fail before it has been fully implemented?" In regard to the second comment, I said, "You'd be happy to see people have trouble attaining affordable health insurance? Are you the tin man or something?" Her next replies included the following words: Obamacare, socialism, ko...

While, due to some problems with the game, I recently switched to Ruzzle, I still have a handful of long-time opponents I play in Scramble With Friends. While I've made mention of a power-up called a mega-freeze, which players can pay actual money for and provides them an extra minute in a round, it appears a new such option has become available for players. At the end of each and every round now, a pop-up appears on the screen, which says, "Get 20 seconds of extra play," for, you guessed it, money. This is one reason I made the switch to Ruzzle. The game doesn't ask for money to give me or my opponent an unfair advantage. The game is void of power-ups, which can also give one player a significant advantage over the other. It also tends to play much smoother than its Zynga counterpart as well. It would really be quite something to see competitive games played in the manner Zynga offers. In baseball, a team would be afforded a 4th out in an inning if they paid some e...

- Chip Kelly has asked if it's possible for him to be traded back to Oregon. - Only the Dallas Cowboys can finish a game at +4 in turnovers and find a way to blow a 10-point 4th quarter lead, unless we're talking about basketball. - Tom Brady fantasy owners are temporarily benching the quarterback in favor of back-ups Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell, and whoever the Vikings start. - Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez's ringer is supposedly set to him saying, "I came back for this?" - Tampa Bay seems to play much better in the first 30 minutes of games, prior to Greg Schiano's halftime speech. - Peyton Manning made a bet with someone that the Broncos could spot the Redskins a 7-point lead at the start of the 4th quarter and still manage to win by 24 points. - The Bears and Steelers will play a game on the weekend of the Pro Bowl, and call it, The Has Beens Bowl. - In the second half of yesterday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, New ...

While watching the game yesterday, for some reason the theme song from the old show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? kept playing in my mind with a change in the lyrics, as the chorus went, "Where in the world is Philadelphia's offense?" For the second straight game, the Philadelphia Eagles offense went without scoring a single point in the team's 15-7 loss to the New York Giants yesterday. Quarterback Michael Vick never looked right and didn't last very long due to re-aggravating his hamstring injury. With back-up Nick Foles sidelined due to a concussion, the team had to resort to 3rd-string rookie quarterback Matt Barkley. To Barkley's credit, he played better than he had the previous week, but still played like a rookie. The former USC star had some nice moments, completing 17 of 26 pass attempts for 158 yards (6.1 per), but lost a fumble deep in Giants territory, had another pass picked off, and had a tendency to hold onto the ball for far too lon...

ESPN.com's Philadelphia Eagles writer - Phil Sheridan - may have a man-crush on second-year back-up quarterback Nick Foles. There's nothing wrong with that. I have discovered I may indeed have the same man-crush as Stephen Colbert - himself. So, I won't judge Mr. Sheridan on this crush. However, when he's attempting to write objective news on the Philadelphia Eagles football team, he may want to distance himself from Foles love-notes. He also seems to hate starting quarterback Michael Vick with a passion, which is understandable, since he's the main competition of his man-crush, Nick Foles. In a recent writing of his, entitled, "QB Watch: Eagles' Foles, Vick, Barkley," Sheridan wrote these bits: - "It would be premature to hail Vick as a savior, though. He completed just 6 of 14 passes for 105 yards against the Giants' defense in the game. Vick and coach Chip Kelly will have to find ways to get the passing game back on track." Trans...

It cracks me up to hear people whom are certain of God's existence claim that global warming is a hoax. The following two scenarios will better illustrate just how I see such individuals. Experiment #1 Scientist Mike Theory: "So, you don't believe in global warming, correct?" Donald Dump: "Of course not! It's nothing but a hoax!" Theory: "So why are the polar ice caps melting then?" Dump: "It's all part of God's plan apparently." Theory: ::takes an ice cube out of a freezer and places it on a table:: "Do you see this ice cube?" Dump: "Yes..." Theory: "I just took it out of the freezer. Notice how it's getting smaller?" Dump: "Yes..." Theory: "Why is that do you think?" Dump: "Because it's warmer in here than in the freezer! Duh!" Theory: "Very good. So, take that knowledge and apply it to what we talked about earlier. Why are the p...

I see voting for the leaders of our country like hiring employees for a company. If we're trying to build a successful company, we're going to want the best, most talented, most qualified people at their respective positions, to improve the company's chances of improving, prospering, and lasting. This is a major reason why I tend to vote Democrat in elections. While their ideas might not always work, I at least hear ideas from Democratic candidates on how to improve education in this country, the environment, and the economy. They also tend to showcase a desire of granting all citizens an equal opportunity under the law - whether they be male, female, gay, straight, black, white, Christian, or Muslim. I just don't hear these ideas or this level of tolerance from most Republican candidates. What I hear is religious, "moral," and anti-government talk. So, to me, the choices come election day are often times simple. I can either go with a candidate who is bright,...

More and more, the Tea Party is coming across to me like little kids trying to prove their independence and make their parents proud. While the thought of complete freedom and independence is great, one would have to be in serious denial to think it's actually possible. Here are two short stories to illustrate that point. Setting: A Tea Partier having a drink with a friend at a bar called O'Really's? Ted Putz: "You know what I hate more than anything?" Lionel Rationale: "This should be good... No, what?" Putz: "Obamacare" Rationale: "Oh yeah? Why's that?" Putz: "Because it's taking away our freedoms! It's destroying the greatness that this nation was founded upon!" Rationale: "So you no longer feel free because of Obamacare?" Putz: "No, not at all! In fact, I won't feel free until we're without government. We don't need it! We can take care of ourselves! I know I can!...

Even though voter fraud is less likely than winning the lottery, Republicans nationwide have hammered away on the notion that stricter voter ID laws are essential to maintaining a healthy democracy. Of course, that's not their real reason. Their real reason is to decrease the likelihood that typical Democratic voters - you know, minorities and women - will actually vote. Just how ridiculous are some of the new voter ID laws? Allow 117th District Court Texas Judge Sandra Watts fill you in, as she was just recently flagged for possible voter fraud because while her driver's license lists her maiden name as her middle name, her voter registration form lists her actual middle name: "What I have used for voter registration and for identification for the last 52 years was not sufficient yesterday when I went to vote. I don't think most women know that this is going to create a problem. That their middle name is on their driver's license, which was mandated in 1964 when...

As was widely reported, during President Obama's recent healthcare reform speech, a woman standing behind him fainted. Not long afterward, right-wing conspiracy theorists began foaming at the mouth and chanting in unison, "It was staged!" Yeah, that's the latest in the 39-mile line of right-wing Obama conspiracy theories. Such conservatives posted the following tweets on Twitter: "FAINTING WOMAN IS B.S. @BarackObama NOBODY THINKS YOU'RE A ROCKSTAR ANYMORE. SURELY NO HERO. #Benghazi GET OVER YOURSELF. #tcot" - Richard Davis #USMC (@NoGunsNoGlory) "@NoGunsNoGory @Barack Obama. Fainting woman received a text what her real cost of ObamaCare will be. She fainted!" - RedNationRising (@RedNationRising) "AMERICANS CAN'T STAND FOR OBAMA'S LATEST REMARKS ON OBAMACARE" - Jim Geraghty from the National Review "LMAOFF STAGED!!! hope that helped your F'n EGO video.mediaite/video/Obama-Ca... tell us HOW you know she silent...

The Republican Party has already seen their favorable ratings drop to all-time lows and/or their unfavorable ratings rise to all-time highs in polls conducted by Gallup, NBC/Wall Street Journal, and ABC/Washington Post. Well, now they can add CNN/ORC to that ever-growing list. In a poll released last night by CNN/ORC, it showed that 64% of the public view the GOP unfavorably and 56% view the Tea Party unfavorably - both all-time highs. House Speaker John Boehner's unfavorable rating has increased to 55%, up from 48% before the shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's unfavorable rating rose slightly from 39% to 42%. Senator Ted Cruz's unfavorable rating increased from 36% to 42%. Yes, once again, these are all tell-tale signs that the Republican Party came out of the shutdown as victors! It may also be a tell-tale sign that they take part in acid-tripping parties every weekday. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/gop-tea-party-unfavorability_n_4145358.h...

Have a crazy uncle or a Facebook friend you knew from high school, whose friend invite you're regretting accepting, that isn't coy about sending you political chain emails? Sure, we could just ignore these posts and emails, delete them, and pretend we never received them, but then unfortunately, other people will read and believe them, and forward the messages onto several other potentially gullible individuals. I'm rather obsessive about fact-checking as it is, but especially when it comes to these chain emails, which I've come to learn are typically false to one extent or another. It's gotten to the point where I'm almost 100% accurate on whether or not such an email is at least partially false when reading through it one time. There are times it simply amazes me that anyone could believe some of them. However, since it seems there are plenty of such individuals out there, I thought I'd provide a few pointers on how to spot a false political chain email. ...

On Fox News' show Hannity , anti-woman Ann Coulter said the following to host Sean Hannity about the government shutdown: "The shutdown was so magnificent, run beautifully. I'm so proud of these Republicans, and that is because they have branded the Republican Party as the anti-Obamacare Party." Earth to Coulter - the GOP didn't need the shutdown to brand themselves as the anti-Obamacare Party. I have a feeling their 40+ attempts at repealing the bill did the trick there. Also, the shutdown didn't just brand the GOP as the anti-Obamacare Party. The shutdown,  along with previous words and actions have branded the GOP as the following in recent weeks, months, and years: - The anti-gay party - The anti-woman party - The anti-minority party - The anti-any-religion-but-Christianity party - The anti-healthcare party - The anti-lower class party - The anti-middle class party - The anti-education party - The anti-diplomacy party - The anti-compr...

In the grand scheme of things, it's incredibly difficult to say there were any winners in the government shutdown. However, it's without question there were some losers - namely the American people and the Republican Party (including the Tea Party). A poll was just released by the Washington Post/ABC , and the results follow the recent trend - the GOP is disliked more than a neighbor's dog that constantly poops on your lawn. In this latest poll, 53% of respondents blamed the shutdown on Congressional Republicans, while just 29% blamed it on President Obama. Obama's approval ratings went largely unchanged, as close to an equal number of people approve and disapprove of the job he's doing as president. The Republican Party, meanwhile, was hit harder than a fly by a bodybuilder whom just took both speed and steroids. According to this poll, just 32% of respondents view the GOP in a favorable manner (an all-time low for this poll), while 63% view the party unfavorab...

When speaking to a conservative women's group last week in Falmouth, Republican Maine Governor Paul LePage said the following: "About 47 percent of able-bodied people in the state of Maine don't work. About 47 percent. It's really bad." That is really bad. Do you know what's even worse? Governor LePage's grasp of numbers. Courtesy of Maine's labor department, the Bangor Daily News reported that 65% of able-bodied Mainers are working. The 35% whom aren't working are comprised mainly of retirees, the disabled, homemakers, and students. The saying goes that "numbers don't lie." However, that's not entirely true. While it may be true that 35% of Mainers aren't currently working, which Republican politicians in the state may use for talking points, that very number and numbers like it are often times used to mislead the public on the whole story. Yes, if a person were to hear that 35% of able-bodied Mainers weren't working,...

I don't want to jinx the site or anything, but based on my regular check-ups on the site Healthcare.gov , I believe it's a much smoother running operation now than when it debuted on October 1st. The reports of site glitches have been widespread, even in recent days, but I'd recommend at least giving the site a gander and hoping the glitches don't affect you. If there are still problems, you can chat with someone on the site or call the following number for help: 1-800-318-2596. I hope that helps and best of luck to everyone in acquiring healthcare!

Thursday Game: Carolina at Tampa Bay Pick: Carolina - With Carolina's improved play on offense and their stout defense, I like for them to win by a couple of scores against the banged up and winless, yet pesky Bucs. Result: Carolina 31 Tampa Bay 13 Record: 1-0 Sunday Game: Dallas at Detroit Pick: Dallas - With Detroit's offensive line banged up and Reggie Bush not practicing right now, I'm going to give the slight edge to the healthier Cowboys. Result: Detroit 31 Dallas 30 Record: 1-1 Game: Cleveland at Kansas City Pick: Kansas City - No matter how ugly it may be, the Chiefs are just finding ways to win, and at Arrowhead against the now Brandon Weeden-led Browns, I like for that trend to continue. I like the Chiefs by a pair of scores. Result: Kansas City 23 Cleveland 17 Record: 2-1 Game: Miami at New England Pick: New England - I can't figure out either team right now. In three weeks, the Patriots went from scoring a measly 6 points in a...

Earlier today, Forbes.com  released the results of a survey conducted by E-Poll Market Research on the most disliked players in the NFL. Here are the results: 1. Michael Vick (quarterback - Philadelphia): 53% (said they disliked him) 2. Manti Te'o (linebacker - San Diego): 48% 3. Ndamukong Suh (defensive lineman - Detroit): 43% 4. Ben Roethlisberger (quarterback - Pittsburgh): 40% 5. Mark Sanchez (quarterback - NY Jets): 40% 6. Jay Cutler (quarterback - Chicago): 33% 7. Tony Romo (quarterback - Dallas): 32% 8. Tom Brady (quarterback - New England): 25% 9. Carson Palmer (quarterback - Arizona): 24% 10. Reggie Bush (running back - Detroit): 22% While some of these names don't surprise me, others do, as do the rankings at times. For one, it doesn't surprise me in the least bit to see Michael Vick's name at or near the top due to his dogfighting crimes, however why is it he's at #1 while Ben Roethlisberger and his rape allegations places him at #4?...

Former Florida Representative and current crazy person Allen West seemed quite upset about the federal government re-opening without defunding Obamacare, even though the shutdown cost the country $24 billion and there was no possible way defunding the healthcare bill would have passed the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House. On his Facebook page, he sent the following post: "I'm watching the spectacle occurring on the Senate floor. They have passed the 60 vote threshold for enduring cloture. I want the American people to understand that tonight the Constitutional Republic we know as America has suffered a horrible defeat. Obamacare is not the law of the land. It is an edict handed down by a tyrant, not a President. The US Senate has just voted to affirm a new precedent that the executive branch can amend law without Congressional approval, and Congress allows it. The waivers, exemptions, and delays implemented by President Obama have delineated a separation, not of po...

Yet another man has come forward in partially blaming a rape victim for that very crime. On Fox News' Shepard Smith Reports , attorney Joseph DiBenedetto made the following statement in light of news that a Missouri teenager had been raped by a classmate: "What did she expect to happen at one in the morning after sneaking out? I'm not saying - assuming that these facts are accurate and this did happen - I'm not saying she deserved to be raped, but knowing the facts as we do here including what the prosecutor has set forth, this case is going nowhere and it's going nowhere quick." To his credit, host Shepard Smith followed DiBenedetto's despicable remarks by saying this: "What you've done, Joseph, is taken tan alleged victim of rape and turned her into a liar and a crime committer. That's a far jump from a thousand miles away." I love how people like DiBenedetto believe that if X goes out past a certain time in a certain area and is ...

I'm beginning to think Ted Cruz's ultimate goal is to be the most hated politician in Washington. He not only wants the general public to hate him, but also fellow Republicans in Congress. Not only was he the architect of the two-week government shutdown, which cost this country $24 billion, he's been providing quotes since the end of the government shutdown which would make Glenn Beck proud, psychologists uneasy, and corpses grateful. Cruz has been on the receiving end of criticism from both parties during and especially after the shutdown. Many Congressional Republicans have admitted that the fight the GOP attempted to wage over Obamacare was unwinnable, considering Democrats currently control both the Senate and the White House. Others have said the healthcare law will fail on its own accord, so it's best to focus their attention on other matters. Cruz, as he so often does, had a different thought-process. In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, the Texas Senator...