The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Well, I'm about to call it a day with writing so I can finish a few things around the house in preparation for company this holiday weekend. My writing over this extended weekend will likely be minimal. It has already been an interesting weekend, considering how Mother Nature decided to make her presence felt in over half the country (32 states, I believe). Given that and all the crazy things that can happen during family get-togethers, I wish everyone a very fun and safe holiday weekend! Remember to eat a lot of food, drink a lot of booze, share many laughs, and don't watch Fox News.

Just yesterday, former Ronald Reagan policy analyst and co-director of the anti-Obama film 2016: Obama's America - Dinesh D'Souza - decided to make the following Thanksgiving Day tweet, before deleting it later in the afternoon: "I am thankful this week when I remember that America is big enough and great enough to survive a Grown-Up Trayvon in the White House!" At first glance, this tweet didn't make a great deal of sense to me, but until D'Souza explains himself, I'm left with the following possible interpretations: 1) Racism - Many right-wing commentators have labeled both Trayvon Martin and President Obama as thugs. While they may defend their label by saying, "That's not racist," if you were to ask them what a thug looks like, they'd likely respond with, "Someone like Trayvon or Obama." In other words, thug = black thug. 2) Confusion - President Obama has admitted to experimenting with drugs many years ago. Perhaps ...

Tony Rohr - an employee at a Pizza Hut in Indiana for 10 years and until just recently, a manager there - has been fired because he refused to open the restaurant on Thanksgiving. He told his managers that Pizza Hut could "be a company that stands up and says we care about our employees and they can have the day off." Instead of complying with the suggestion, he was asked to write his resignation. In response, he made the following statement: "I am not quitting. I do not resign, however I accept that the refusal to comply with this greedy, immoral request means the end of my tenure with this company [...] I hope you realize that it's the people at the bottom of the totem pole that makes your life possible." I hope more people follow Tony Rohr's lead so that more families can enjoy time together during major holidays such as Thanksgiving and hope that a more loyal, family-oriented business hires Mr. Rohr very soon. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2...

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 5,058 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

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 As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me by either commenting on this blog or e-mailing me at CRozniecki@gmail.com. Unless I'm out of town, I'm typically very good at responding rather quickly.

Following the Obama administration's historic deal with Iran this past weekend, Texas Senator and Congressperson voted most likely to have failed Kindergarten - John Cornyn - tweeted this message: "Amazing what WH will do to distract attention from O-care" Sadly, this kind of thinking is far from an aberration for the Republican Party. Remember when the president tried convincing Congress to make a deal on student loan interest rates, because the lower rates were about to expire and students are paying too much money for tuition as it is? Some members of the GOP declared that the president was only trying to talk about such matters as a distraction from headlines pertaining to the IRS and NSA. I have a crazy message for Senator Cornyn and those like him, whom feel the president only tries accomplishing things when there are negative headlines swirling, to try and distract the public from those headlines. Barack Obama was elected twice to lead this country as our pre...

Fox News anchor and blonde woman #47 on the channel - Martha MacCallum - recently said the following about Obamacare: "What I keep coming back to in all of this is unlike other issues - Katrina or the Iraq war-this is something that touches so many people's lives across the country and you don't know whether the president is going to be able to successfully dodge it." Really? A healthcare plan touches many people's lives across this country, but war and natural disasters don't? How many soldiers died in Iraq? How long were some of them overseas? How were they when the came back home? How were their families? How many lives were impacted by Hurricane Katrina? How many were killed? How many lost their homes? How long will it take for New Orleans to fully rebound? Will it ever fully recover? What were the damage costs in both Iraq and Louisiana? What Fox News talking heads and other conservative commentators are failing to realize with their asinine compari...

While Michael Vick had a great start to the season, which his pre-season performances which earned him the starting quarterback job under first-year head coach Chip Kelly, and his grand showings against Washington and San Diego to start the regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has been hampered with a hamstring injury which has given back-up Nick Foles an opportunity to show his progression as an NFL quarterback, and outside of a very poor showing against the Dallas Cowboys, the young slinger has shined. With Foles at quarterback, the team has reeled off three consecutive wins to improve them to 6-5 and tie them atop the NFC East with Dallas. With Vick's hamstring being close to 100% again, there was some talk among sports-writers and analysts on what Kelly was going to do at quarterback. Well, it appears as if Vick is making that decision a whole lot easier for the first-year head coach. Talking on WIP-94.1 FM late last week, Vick said this regarding the current s...

For the third time in four weeks, at least six underdogs came through with victories in the NFL. Underdogs in three of the past four weeks have posted a 20-20-1 record against the favorites. I'm 23-17-1 in that span. I knew this past weekend was going to be especially bad considering two teams I picked were up by a combined score of 47-7 through 5+ quarters of play (one led 23-7 after 3+ quarters and another led 24-0 at halftime) and wound up providing me with an 0-1-1 record. Minnesota - one of my upset picks - led Green Bay 23-7 early in the 4th quarter before the Packers came back to tie it and send the game into overtime, which would eventually result in a 26-26 tie. Denver led New England 24-0 at the half, before falling behind 31-24 in the 4th quarter and then tying it to send the game to overtime. With little time remaining in the overtime period and Denver about to receive the ball, the game appeared to be headed for the second tie of the day, but the Broncos turned ...

The Philadelphia Eagles enjoyed a week off this past weekend. With all the upsets that have occurred in recent weeks, perhaps this was a double blessing, as it also allowed some injured players another week to heal. Speaking of which, it sounds as if Michael Vick will be close to 100% again, but due to how efficiently Nick Foles has run the offense of late, he'll start in this coming weekend's game against Arizona. With the Dallas Cowboys' nail-biting 24-21 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, Dallas is again atop the NFC East with a 6-5 record and a tie-breaking win over the Eagles earlier in the season. Dallas will face 4-7 Oakland at home on Thanksgiving, which should move them to 7-5. Philadelphia, meanwhile, will have to take on the 7-4 Arizona Cardinals, whom are coming off four consecutive wins - outscoring their opponents 121-62 in that span. Their only four losses this year have come against teams with a combined 31-13 record (St. Louis, New Orleans, San F...

Thursday Game: Green Bay at Detroit Pick: Detroit - The Packers are just a completely different team without Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. In addition to that, I think the shortened week helps the struggling Lions at home. I like the Lions by 10. Result: Detroit 40 Green Bay 10 Record: 1-0 Game: Oakland at Dallas Pick: Dallas - I could potentially change this pick if Terrelle Pryor and Darren McFadden can both go for the Raiders against the awful Cowboys front-seven. For the time being, however, I look for the home-team Cowboys to improve to 7-5 with a win on Thanksgiving Day. A loss here will likely all but end the Raiders' Wild Card hopes. Result: Dallas 31 Oakland 24 Record: 2-0 Game: Pittsburgh at Baltimore Pick: Pittsburgh - As always, this is a difficult game to pick. While the Ravens have been much better at home this year than on the road, I like how the Steelers are playing right now - much more so than the Ravens. Ben Roethlisberger has been playing ...

After President Obama expressed his support for filibuster reform, where a simple majority of Senators (51) would be required to approve judicial and executive nominees as opposed to the 60 required due to the filibuster, radio talk show host and celebrity voted most likely to wind up on display at a zoo at some point in his life - Rush Limbaugh - had this to say about the matter: "Every now and then, some lunatic in the group proposes to change the rule to allow women to be raped. But they never were able to get six votes for it. There were always the four women voting against it and they always found two guys. Well, the guy that kept proposing that women be raped finally got tired of it, and he was in the majority and he was one that [said], 'You know what? We're going to change the rule. Now all we need is five.' And well, 'you can't do that.' 'Yes we are. We're the majority. We're changing the rule.' And then they vote. Can the women b...

Texas Governor and man who claims to specialize in reading picture books - Rick Perry - recently said this with regard to turning down the federal government's offer to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act: "It's like putting 1,000 more people on the Titanic when you knew what was going to happen." So, was Mr. Perry alive during the time of the Titanic and did he have a psychic vision of the tragedy? Does he hold a similar psychic vision of expanding Medicaid in Texas? It's quite the "special" vision for an individual to see a striking similarity between poor people being able to acquire healthcare which could potentially save their lives to a shipwreck which cost 1,500 people their lives. While he's at it, Perry may want to make the following comparisons: - "What? Give money to charity? That'd be like putting a million more Jews in front of Nazis during the Holocaust!" - "Collect a bunch of toys to give to kids ...

While a detailed account of the story has yet to be released, it appears as if country singer Wayne Mills was shot and killed in Nashville, Tennessee over the weekend, after allegedly getting into an argument with Pit and Barrel owner Chris Ferrell at 5 am Saturday morning. Ferrell is claiming he shot Mills in self-defense and police are looking further into that claim. Close to three years ago, lawmakers in Tennessee voted to allow loaded guns in bars across the state. As I've been saying since that law was enacted, while Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola might mix well, alcohol and guns do not. http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2013/11/24/us-country-singer-killed.html

Just last night, I read the following meme posted on Facebook and felt the need to comment on it: "Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents. your past relationships. your job. the economy. the weather. an argument or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make. Period" First off, I found it kind of funny that the meme closes its mini-rant with "Period," without adding a period after that very word, yet the author seemed content to place in periods throughout the piece where they would result in fragments. Secondly, I can understand how some people may get sick and tired of hearing individuals blaming their current situations on others (such as their parents), however, when one makes a claim using absolutes, he or she is almost always wrong. According to the author of this meme, does this mean that: Jews could blame themselves for being killed during the Holocaust? ...

- Brandon Weeden will be out of the league at this time next year, instead teaching a class on how to turn the ball over more than rock stars get laid. The class will be called Weedenology 101. - Matthew Stafford's second favorite receiver, next to Calvin Johnson, is an opponent. - Houston and Atlanta have gone from becoming the two most disappointing teams in all of football to two teams battling it out for the top pick in next year's draft. If Houston lands the top spot, expect for them to take a quarterback. If Atlanta gets the top pick, they'll ask if they can draft an entire defense. - St. Louis quarterback Kellen Clemens is bragging to Sam Bradford that the Rams have scored 80 points in their past two games - both wins against Indianapolis and Chicago, where the back-up didn't have to do a whole lot. Then when he saw the team's remaining schedule, Clemens attempted to do everything in his power to speed up Bradford's recovery process. In four of thei...

It seems like with each and every election, Republicans and Democrats grow farther apart. They're slowly appearing to be complete opposites, much like Labradors and Poodles, but I see there being less chance in the two parties having make-up sex to form a Labradoodle than I do the country splitting up into two. While not every Republican and Democrat will be as I describe, generally speaking, I think the following descriptions will be fairly accurate: Modern-day Republican: Very religious, anti-science, against abortion, against gay marriage, against government programs to help the needy, very supportive of gun rights, global-warming deniers, favor tax cuts for the wealthy, against equal pay for women, against marijuana legalization, against universal healthcare, believe many debunked myths about President Obama, etc. Modern-day Democrat: Not very religious; pro-science; pro-choice with regard to abortion - especially in the cases of rape, incest, or health troubles; support g...

I read an article in the Wall-Street Journal today which has me perplexed to say the least. The article was written by Nicole L. Hopkins and is titled, "ObamaCare Forced Mom Into Medicaid - My mother preferred to pay for her care rather than be on the government dole. Now she has no choice." I'll be curious to see that, if like the other bogus such stories I've read from right-wing news outlets regarding people's new insurance plans, this story is as well, but for the time being, I'll treat it as accurate due to the confusion such stories bring me. One reason I have doubt is the author of the article comes across like a Fox News anchor, as she says this early in her piece: "The unaffordable ObamaCare-compliant plan that her insurer offered in a Sept. 26 letter is not what makes my mother's story noteworthy. Countless individually insured Americans have received such letters; many are seeing more radical increases in premiums and deductibles....

Do some politicians come across as stupid because they actually are or because they feel the people at large are? This is the very question I asked myself after reading North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory's latest quote on early voting in the state. With McCrory as North Carolina's Governor, the state has seen a number of changes when it comes to voting. These changes include: Needing a government-issued photo ID, not allowing same-day registration or pre-registration for 16- and 17-year olds whom will be 18 come election day, and reducing early voting from 17 days down to 10. When asked about these changes by Chuck Todd on MSNBC, McCrory said this: "First of all, we didn't shorten early voting, we compacted the calendar. But we're going to have the same hours in which polls are open in early voting, and we're going to have more polls available. So it's going to be almost identical. It's just the schedule has changed. The critics are kind of using...

When we make plans with people, does our interpretation of language with regard to time alter based on what part of the country we reside? Just yesterday, I, who am originally from Nebraska, was making tentative plans with someone, who has always lived in Ohio. She's back in school, has already reached the burnt-out stage, and said, "The Saturday after Thanksgiving (when finals are over), we're going out and getting plastered!" I laughed, and said, "Sure, sure. That sounds like fun," before thinking about what she just said and realizing I'll have family in town Thanksgiving weekend (Wednesday through Sunday), so I had to ask, "Wait, which Saturday is this? You said the Saturday after Thanksgiving, right? If it's THAT Saturday, I'll have family in town, so it might need to be the following weekend, if that's okay..." She chuckled and said, "Oh, that's right - you're a Nebraskan. I'm not talking about the ...

When reading some music reviews on Amazon, I seriously wonder at times if many reluctant people are in need of hearing aids. Just a couple of days ago, I read this review: Muse - The 2nd Law Reviewer: D. Nelsen (Arkansas) Score: 2.0 out of 5.0 stars Title: "Boring..." Review: "I thought that I'd really like this album but their songs all sort of merge together and sound the same. I like 'Black Holes...' and 'Origin of Symmetry' a lot. This not so much. Took it off my iPhone." It's one thing to dislike this album and quite another to dislike it because "their songs all sort of merge together and sound the same." If there's one consistent complaint about this album, both from fans and critics of the band, it's that the songs sound so different, it prevents a good flow to the album. While I'm a huge fan of the band, it took me a couple of listens to get used to the wild variations of sounds throughout the cour...

I don't eat frozen meals often, but stumbled upon a brand about a month ago which I've taken quite a liking to and thought I'd spread the good word about it. While I like American food, I'm rather obsessed with ethnic cuisine, Indian in particular. There are at least three Indian restaurants in the area whose employees recognize me every time I waltz in. Fortunately for me, I found an Indian grocery store sandwiched in between two of these very restaurants and the place is like heaven for me, well, minus massages and football. From soups (Mulligatawny and Rasam are my two favorites) to breads (garlic naan) to sauces and seasonings to snacks (jelabi) to frozen meals and beyond. I've tried three different brands of frozen meals, but the one which stands out from the rest for me is Shan. I've tried just about every frozen meal of theirs to this point and have found them all to be quite tasty. My favorite might be the Chicken Kahari, but the Butter Chicken, Chicke...

I often times wonder what Bible far-right Republicans, especially Tea Partiers, are reading. Many claim to be devout Christians - worshipers of Christ. However, when hearing them speak and seeing what actions they've taken while in office, these words and actions don't really jive with the central character in the Bible and the man they supposedly worship - Jesus. From speaking out against homosexuals to trying to provide the rich benefits while taking away from the poor to treating guns like gods to going to war with smiles on their faces, it puzzles me to no end how these very people can adamantly declare that they are followers of Christ. Whatever Bible they've read, this appears to be how it came across to them: Setting: On a bench in downtown San Francisco, since the Jewish Jesus was apparently born in the United States Peter: "Can you believe those guys?" Paul: "I know - can't they at least wait until they get home to do that crap?" Jes...

Not too long ago, Republican Florida Representative Trey Radel voted in favor of drug-testing food-stamp recipients. In an ironic turn of events, Representative Radel then got busted for cocaine possession. It's a wonder if Mr. Radel and his ilk would vote in favor of a bill which would require politicians to be drug-tested before receiving their "hard-earned" paychecks... http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/11/before-his-cocaine-bust-us-rep-trey-radel-voted-to-drug-test-food-stamp-recipients.html

Remember when the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)? Yes, that was a special moment for many. However, Oklahoma Governor and politician voted most likely to be a wicked witch - Mary Fallin - wasn't as "gay" about DOMA being overturned. You see, the Supreme Court's decision resulted in, amongst other things, service-members with same-sex spouses becoming eligible for federal benefits. Ms. Fallin hated this so much, she announced earlier in the month that state-owned National Guard facilities would no longer allow ANY married couples to apply for spousal benefits. It doesn't matter if the couple is homosexual, heterosexual, or if it involves two women, a guy, a turtle, and a cut-out of Hulk Hogan, the couple wouldn't be eligible for benefits. Ms. Fallin is against gay marriage to such a point that she's come out against the troops. The Oklahoma Governor has one thing going for her, I suppose - she can now say she supports equality, ...

Just yesterday, I wrote about United Methodist Church Reverend Frank Schaefer facing punishment for officiating at his son's gay wedding. Today, he found out what the punishment was going to be - a 30-day suspension and if he doesn't renounce his support for marriage equality at the end of the suspension, he will be defrocked. After hearing about his punishment, Schaefer said this: "[The Church] needs to stop judging people based on their sexual orientation. We have to stop the hate speech. We have to stop treating them as second-class Christians. [...] I will never be silent again, This is what I have to do. [...] I have to minister to those who hurt and that's what I'm doing." Schaefer even added that if any same-sex couple wants him to marry them over the next 30 days, he would do it. I applaud Reverend Schaefer for standing up to the church for his son and the LGBT community. As for the church, the only thing I have to ask is, "What would ...

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 4,852 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

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 As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me by either commenting on this blog or e-mailing me at CRozniecki@gmail.com. Unless I'm out of town, I'm typically very good at responding rather quickly.

It's a sad day for this planet and a great day for narcissists worldwide, as Oxford Dictionaries announced that their Word of the Year is "selfie." For those unfamiliar with the term, it means "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website." Runners-up for the award included: bedroom tax, binge-watch, bitcoin, olinguito, shmeat, showrooming, and twerk. Yeah, once "twelfie" starts being used with regularity (a selfie of one twerking), I may provide the world with a midfelfie of my own (a selfie of me holding up a middle finger). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/word-of-the-year-2013_n_4296009.html

While chances are I won't be voting for the guy if he were to run for president since I'm rather liberal, I have to say I wouldn't be too distraught if Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was elected in 2016 or beyond that. For a party that has veered so far to the right, Abraham Lincoln has reportedly yelled out, "Four score and for f**k's sake...," Chris Christie has become a rather refreshing presence in the GOP. Just last night, when answering questions from CEOs in this nation's capital, Christie said the following: "It's about human relationships, the fact of the matter is nobody in this city talks to each other anymore and if they do talk to each other it's not civilly. They don't develop relationships, they don't develop any sense of trust between each other." He added: "You have to compromise at times. If I walk away with 70 percent of my agenda, then New Jersey is 70 percent better than it would have...

Congratulations to five-term Hawaii State Representative Tom Brower for winning my all-too-coveted Douche of the Day Award! When talking to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser  about homeless people, Brower said: "If I see shopping carts that I can't identify, I will destroy them so they can't be pushed on the streets." He added: "I want to do something practical that will really clean up the streets." Yes, the five-time representative smashes homeless people's possessions by bashing them with a sledgehammer. Hopefully he doesn't loiter around grocery stores anytime soon or else you can expect to read the following headline - "Cart Fight at Hawaii Store." Annoyed by homeless people asking for money? Understandable. Fighting to provide the homeless with more options for shelter? Admirable. Bashing on homeless people's possessions in grocery carts to clean up the streets? That, my friend, is good enough to earn yourself the award for...

Walmart has received a lot of criticism in recent years, in recent months especially, for the treatment of its workers. This is especially due to the low-wages Walmart employees are typically paid. The validity of this claim won't be painted in any clearer fashion than at a Canton, Ohio Walmart, where a holiday canned food drive is being held for its employees, so that they may enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. Oddly enough, even if the canned food drive is successful, many Walmart employees will have to work on Black Friday, which, oddly enough, will begin at 6 pm on Thanksgiving day. Walmart spokesperson Kory Lundberg had this to say about the drive: "This is part of the company's culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships." How sad is that? It's part of the "company's culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships"? How about the wild idea of taking care of them...

Remember how not long ago the Republican Party contended that President Obama's healthcare law was destroying our freedom? That probably happened earlier today as a matter of fact. Oh, it just happened again. ...and again. ...and again. This could go on for a while, I'm thinking... Well, wouldn't you know it? The same House Republicans whom elected to shut down the federal government and cost this country $24 billion because the Senate and president wouldn't go along with their idea to defund or delay Obamacare have decided to try and pass a bill which would require a person to pay a fee of $5,000 if he or she wanted to file an official protest against a proposed drilling project. House Republican logic Trying to improve our healthcare system through a mandate and more competition - a threat to our freedom Forcing a person to pay a $5,000 fee in order to protest drilling - perfectly acceptable Fortunately, President Obama said that if the Federal Lands Jobs an...

I just read a story about a United Methodist minister who was recently convicted by a Pennsylvania church of breaking church law by officiating at his son's gay wedding. It's uncertain at this time what kind of punishment Reverend Frank Schaefer will face, but it could be anything from a reprimand to losing his minister's credentials. Well, first of all, I have to say kudos to Reverend Frank Schaefer for choosing love and family over politics. Following the ruling, Schaefer said: "I did not want to make this a protest about the doctrine of the church. I wasn't trying to be an advocate. I just wanted this to be a beautiful family affair, and it was that." I was also struck by something a fellow member of Schaefer's church - Jon Boger - had to say about the events, as he made the following statement: "It's his son. He loves his son. In a way I felt bad for him. But he's also shown no remorse or repentance, nor has he apologized to anyone....

It's being reported by The Bismark Tribune  that white supremacist Craig Cobb, who recently found out he's part black, was arrested over the weekend, and along with fellow neo-Nazi Kynan Dutton, has been charged with three counts of terrorizing. The men were roaming about Leith, North Dakota holding a rifle and a shotgun when residents called the authorities. Prior to being taken into custody, Cobb sent The Bismark Tribune  this text message: "Because of the many violences (sic) and harassments against we (sic) and the children, we have commenced armed patrols of Leith." Based on Cobb's message, it appears as if most of the "violences" and "harassments" are being committed by Mr. Cobb himself - on the English language. After Cobb is released, I imagine him engaging in the following discussion with a reporter: Reporter Annabelle Jezebel: "So, what do you have to say for yourself now that you've been temporarily released?" ...

It appears as if George Zimmerman is in trouble yet again. He was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, battery-domestic violence, and criminal mischief, for allegedly pointing his shotgun at his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, and threatening her after she told him to get out of the house, gathered his belongings, and threatened to call the police. In September, Zimmerman was accused by his wife Shellie of doing something similar after she gathered her belongings and moved out of their home. He's also been pulled over three times since the Trayvon Martin ruling - receiving one speeding ticket and two warnings. In light of this bit of news, the George Zimmerman Fan Club - Fox News - will likely respond with the following quotes: - "George Zimmerman is the last alpha-male." - "You see? Guns DON'T kill people; they just scare the ever living crap out of them!" - "Meet the most misunderstood man in America ...

It amazes me that so many ESPN talking heads are defending Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz's fake field goal in the Lions 37-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon. While listening to the ESPN programs Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption  yesterday, the verdict was nearly unanimous - Jim Schwartz was aggressive, playing to win the game, and in essence, made the right call. I get it. A lot of sports enthusiasts like seeing aggressive play-calling. Even if a team is facing a 4th-and-27 from their own 8-yard line, I'll hear hometown homers yell out, "Go for it!" However, while these out-of-the-ordinary play-calls might be good for sports talk radio, that doesn't make them good calls. I'm a numbers geek through and through, and this is even true when it comes to football. I can remember being at a bar for an Ohio State/Northwestern game about a month or so ago. The Buckeyes, whom had trailed almost all game, were about to face ...

Following the game last night between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers, which ended in a controversial fashion, where a referee threw an apparent flag for pass interference on a Panthers defensive back in the end zone, but got that call overruled, referee Clete Blakeman had this explanation for reporters: "So it was determined at that point in time that when the primary contact occurred on the tight end that the ball, in essence, was coming in underthrown and in essence it was [immediately] at that point intercepted at the front end of the end zone. So there was a determination that, in essence, uncatchability, that the ball was intercepted at or about the same time the primary contact against the receiver occurred." While I personally think the refs should have compromised on the matter, called defensive holding, and given the Patriots one more chance from the 13-yard line after the five-yard penalty, I love Blakeman's response. I wonder if he broke...

Thursday Game: New Orleans at Atlanta Pick: New Orleans - While the Saints aren't quite as good on the road as they are at home, that fact shouldn't play of any relevance against a 2-8 Atlanta Falcons team who is coming off a blow-out loss at the hands of a then 1-8 Tampa Bay Bucs squad. I like the Saints in this one and by a pretty substantial margin. Result: New Orleans 17 Atlanta 13 Record: 1-0 Sunday Game: Pittsburgh at Cleveland Pick: Pittsburgh - This is a tough pick, but with the two directions the teams appear to be heading, I have to give a very slight edge to Pittsburgh in this one. Ben Roethlisberger is playing great football again. Wideout speedster Antonio Brown is a big reason for this. The Browns defense doesn't appear quite as stingy as they did earlier in the season, and the Browns offense hasn't shown me much promise in what seems like 20 years. The game should be low-scoring and close, but I like the Steelers to win by a field goal. Re...