The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Following the debacles that were the previous couple of elections for Republicans with regard to women voters and issues, one would think they'd have learned by now, but apparently that's not the case. Remember these lovely comments? Todd Akin: "It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child." Richard Mourdock: "I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that's something God intended to happen." Well, at a get-out-the-vote rally in Sarasota, Florida on Tuesday, conservative radio show host Dennis Prager felt the need to continue the trend by sharing his thoughts on the wave of sexual assault and rape reports on college camp...

While I don't agree 100% with the playoff committee's first poll, which was released on Tuesday, I have to give them props for not falling directly in line with the media and coaches polls, which have been lazy to be nice, as well as biased toward the SEC. Yes, I said it; for as much as the media and coaches want to deny it, there is a definite bias toward the SEC. Looking at the following numbers, here's how the top 17 teams should be ranked in my opinion (all unbeaten or 1-loss teams, excluding Marshall, East Carolina, and Duke, and no, I won't be listing the actual team names just yet): 1. Record: 7-0 (1.000) Non-conference opponents record they've beaten: 12-11 (.522) Conference opponents record they've beaten: 23-9 (.719) Overall opponents record they've beaten: 35-20 (.636) Average margin of victory: +20.7 2. Record: 7-0 (1.000) Non-conference opponents record they've beaten: 13-10 (.565) Conference opponents record they've beaten: ...

After getting picked off three times in the first quarter against Buffalo last week, New York Jets starting quarterback Geno Smith got benched in favor of veteran Michael Vick. In his 3+ quarters of work, Vick, whom hadn't started a game in about a year, looked electric at times, yet quite rusty at others. He wound up leading the Jets to 23 points in his three quarters of work, yet also lost two fumbles and was intercepted once. In his defense, he hadn't gotten any reps with the first-team for quite some time, and the lack of reps showed on a number of plays where Vick either ran the wrong direction, bumped into a tailback on a hand-off, etc. Also, when a quarterback gets put in a game already down 14-0, the odds increase of him feeling pressure to succeed early and often, which can lead to some rather careless plays. Unsurprisingly, not long after the game ended, head coach Rex Ryan named Vick the starter for this coming week's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Leading ...

So, former Florida Governor and brother of former President Dubya, Jeb Bush, has decided to go on the attack with regard to President Obama's response to Ebola. When speaking to Vanderbilt University, Bush said: "It looked very incompetent to begin with, and that fueled fears that may not be justified. And now you have states that are legitimately acting on their concerns, creating a lot more confusion than is necessary." I find it funny that a politician with the last name of Bush would have it in him to criticize President Obama about "incompetence" and a "poor response." Deaths via a poor response to Hurricane Katrina from President Bush: 1,833 deaths Deaths via poor listening, research, and preparation to 9/11 under President Bush: 2,752 deaths Deaths via a "poor" response to Ebola from President Obama: 1 death Sorry to lump you in with Dubya, Jeb, but given your family background, it's probably not the wisest of decisio...

Wisconsin enacted a law in 2009 which gave employees, especially women, more power to challenge pay discrimination to the state courts. With the law in place, gender pay gap in the state improved from 36th to 24th in the country (approximately $0.78 to the $1.00 that men made). In 2012, however, Republican Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled state legislature decided to repeal this law. Now with Governor Walker in a tight race with Democratic challenger Mary Burke, whom has been attacking him on this very repeal, Walker has decided to respond via Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, where she says the following in an ad: "That's why I find it so insulting that Mary Burke would say that we're trying to make it harder for women to earn equal pay. Under Scott Walker, workplace discrimination will always be illegal, for any reason. Mary Burke wants to create more opportunities to sue. We want to create more opportunities for women to succeed." Wh...

When talking to the uber-conservative NewsMax TV on Wednesday, Wisconsin Senator and man voted creepiest potential Boy Scout leader - Ron Johnson - said the following with regard to Affordable Care Act premium increases in the state: "I'm driving around Wisconsin, I'm talking to business owners and I'm talking to health care providers and insurance agents as well and they're seeing that same kind of range [of premium increases for 2015], anywhere from 16 to 60 percent. Kind of with an average of around 30 percent here just anecdotally in Wisconsin." Bob Uecker, would you care to give your two cents regarding Senator Johnson's numbers? "Just a bit outside." Thanks. The fact of the matter is, according to the numbers reported by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) last month, healthcare premiums will increase by an average of 3% in 2015, and two insurers are actually reporting decreases for the coming year. Medica ...

What do Ohio Governor John Kasich, State Treasurer Josh Mandel, Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Secretary of State Jon Husted all have in common, besides being Republican? They've been ducking debates leading up to election day. In Governor Kasich's case, his campaign feels that, with such a large lead over Democratic challenger Ed Fitzgerald, it could only potentially do the governor harm to participate in debates. Given many Republicans' issues in such settings leading up to the 2012 elections, perhaps many have opted to go the silent route, thinking it's less potentially damaging than actually attempting to answer moderators' questions by opening their mouths. Regardless of the reason or excuse, however, I think this strategy is very disrespectful to voters. What are independents, moderates, and undecideds supposed to weigh their decisions on? Misleading ads and fliers? Newspaper endorsements? Biased radio shows and cable news networks? Good luck with that....

I can't tell you how many times I've seen or heard someone refer to themselves as a "common sense conservative." This typically makes me chuckle, because what is a "common sense conservative" exactly? Based on what hard-core conservatives typically believe, I envision such a person defining "common sense conservative" in one (or all) of the following manners:  - "Even though guns kill over 30,000 people a year in this country, guns don't kill; people kill. I'm a common sense conservative and I approve this message." - "No woman should be able to have an abortion at any time because abortion is murder. Also, we shouldn't provide kids with comprehensive sex education or women with contraception coverage even though these would result in fewer unwanted pregnancies and abortions. I'm a common sense conservative and I approve this message." - "The Bible may list several different kinds of marriages as ...

It's that time of year again, where you have to sit through multitudes of don't-vote-for-that-guy commercials while watching your favorite shows. Yes, I often times mute the television during these lovely commercials as well. On the flip-side of that, however, I do find some of the commercials oddly amusing. This is especially the case when the attack ads go the political-personal hybrid route. While I can completely understand going after someone's voting record (if what's being claimed in the ad is actually true), I often times have to scratch my head with regard to the personal commentary. What I think would be really sad yet humorous is if an attack ad bypassed all of the political mumbo-jumbo and was 100% personal, like this: "Before casting your vote on election day, ask yourself, 'Who can I trust?' If history is any guide, it's not Nina Burner. Nina Burner claims to be pro-environment, but an anonymous neighbor said that one time, a raccoon g...

In Houston, Texas on Monday, 20-year-old Patrick Sanders' gun fell out of his pants while he was sleeping on the couch. A 3-year-old boy picked up the pistol and shot Sanders in the face with it. While Sanders is in critical condition, the boy wasn't injured. In light of this bit of news, the NRA will most likely respond with one of the following lines: - "A baby with a gun has more fun!" - "Crawl and fight!" - "Gun control means using both hands - one on the gun and one on the milk bottle!" - "Guns don't kill people; toddlers with guns kill people!" - "The only way to stop a bad toddler with a gun is a good toddler with a gun!" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/houston-man-shot-in-face-by-toddler_n_6057110.html

Why is it, at least in this country, whenever someone describes another as a "Christian man," it's typically preceded by the word "good"? "Oh, that Mr. Buster Jaw is such a good Christian man." I don't think I've ever heard this kind of statement made about a person of a different religious persuasion. "Oh, Mohammad Allah is such a fine Muslim man." "Jesus Knot is such a wonderful Atheist man." "You know what? Moses Dunno is a great agnostic man!" "Tom Cruise is such a sweet Scientology man-person or whatever." "I adore her! Lucy Fur is truly a good Satanic woman." So, according to some, can a person not be good if he or she isn't a Christian? What if a person claims to be Christian but acts otherwise? What if a person misinterprets the Bible, believes they're acting Christian, when in fact they're not? Here's a thought - how about we leave religion out of the ...

I may not be religious, but it still cracks me up sometimes to hear people describe themselves as "God-fearing." The reason for this is because, regardless of what a former druggie says he witnesses during a flashback, I've personally never seen nor heard "God," so when someone says they're "God-fearing," my first thought is, "Okay then. So, what you're saying is you fear someone you've never seen nor heard? An invisible man so to speak? Interesting..." When thinking about it, this thought-process isn't so far removed from many kids whom fear a boogeyman - a monster in their closet or under their bed. No, they may not be able to see or hear this beast, yet they're so frightened by this figment of their imagination, they swear they can hear it. In fact, let's further compare the two beliefs, shall we? Setting: A little boy screams while in bed late at night Joseph Pansyazz (the father): "What's wrong? Are...

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 13.2 K 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 twelve 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 ten books I've written and released in the past 3 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

Thursday Game: New Orleans at Carolina Pick: New Orleans - I was leaning toward Carolina before last night when the Saints beat the red-hot Packers by three touchdowns. It's by far and away the best the Saints have looked all year, and even though this game is on the road and the Saints haven't fared well on the road over the past year, I think they're about to go on a roll and should be able to finally get over the hump on the road against a struggling Carolina team. I'll take the Saints by a touchdown. Result: New Orleans 28 Carolina 10 Record: 1-0 Sunday Game: Tampa Bay at Cleveland Pick: Cleveland - This is pretty much a toss-up game for me. I'm not overly-impressed with either team. I think Tampa is a bit better than their 1-6 record would indicate and that Cleveland isn't quite as good as their 4-3 record would suggest. With the game at home, though, I'll give the Browns the slight edge in this one. Cleveland by 6. Result: Cleveland 22 ...

In Week 8 of the NFL season, I learned that... - ..., on Thanksgiving, Detroit Lions players and coaches will oddly say, "We're thankful for delay of game penalties." - ...it's Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger's lifelong dream to take a selfie while standing in the pocket, and it's Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt's dream to sack Mettenberger while he's taking that selfie. - ...Geno Smith has asked if there's any way he can get traded to West Virginia. - ...Cris Carter is bound to say, "You shut out Cincinnati 27-0 and then give up 51 points to Pittsburgh?!? Indianapolis Colts defense - where you at?" - ...Aaron Rodgers is currently telling his hamstring to relax. - ...Atlanta is asking the league to condense games down to one half, especially if the game is in London. - ...two of the surest bets are New Orleans to win at home and New Orleans to lose on the road. Two other such bets are for Oakland to...

I find it kind of funny that many Americans, Republican politicians in particular, seem to feel this country is on the "wrong track." While we certainly have our share of problems in this country (and overseas), do these people remember where we were 6 years ago? Remember how many jobs were being lost toward the end of Bush's presidency and at the start of President Obama's first term? How can these people look toward another with a straight face and say, "We're worse off today than when Obama took office"? According to FactCheck.org , here are the numbers from the time President Obama took office in late-January of 2009 to July of 2014: - Affordable Care Act Exchange Sign-ups: +8 million - Affordable Care Act New Medicaid Sign-ups: +6.1 million - Jobs: +4.8 million - Unemployment rate: down to 6.1% - Corporate Profits: +184% - Real Weekly Earnings: +0.3% - U.S. Crude Oil Production: +67% - New Car MPG: +21% - Wind & Solar Power: ...

Have you seen the new GEICO commercial, where it pokes fun of stupid characters in horror films? If not, it can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrrw0wNLc2g Oddly enough, I wrote something rather similar to the commercial on July 17th of 2013, entitled, "Horror film characters are ridiculously stupid," which can be read at this link: http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2013/07/horror-film-characters-are-ridiculously.html The story goes as follows: Is it just me or is there a written requirement somewhere which says, "If you're a character in a horror film, you have to be stupid"? My girlfriend and I went to see the film The Purge last night, and like with many contemporary horror films, we spent more time laughing and giving each other the why-in-the-hell-are-they-doing-this-are-they-stupid looks. Yes, I know the main intent of horror films is to frighten viewers. However, if the viewers find the script and plot so ridiculous, i...

Have you ever gotten invited to a costume party, shown up wearing a costume, and quickly discovered no one else was? This happened to me on Friday night, and I have to say, while in hindsight I'm sure I'll find the experience funny, at the time it was happening, it was more surreal than anything. So, there I was, after being told about a big costume party a week before Halloween, looking around at everyone else dressed "normally" and thinking, "Am I dreaming this or is it somehow April Fool's Day?" Apparently, the big group throwing the party decided at the last second to tone things down some this year with regard to the costumes, and didn't notify anyone else about it (include the bar owners, whom would have notified me). So, yeah, that was special. I ended up going back home, changing, and heading elsewhere for the night. I guess the only good news from the night was, based on the comments I received from some people, I should be able to turn a ...

The World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals is officially underway. In light of this, apparently two San Francisco radio stations (KFOG Radio and 96.5 KOIT) have decided to ban Lorde's "Royals" song until the World Series is over. Personally, I think this is kind of a silly move, but, eh, whatever. Well, based on this story, here's a list of what the city of San Francisco would likely do if the Giants faced one of the other fourteen American League teams. Baltimore Orioles - Oreos will not be sold because they sound too much like Orioles. Boston Red Sox - Anyone wearing a red stocking on their head will be banned, including Santa Claus. Chicago White Sox - No one will be allowed to wear socks. If they wear socks with flip-flops, they'll be permanently barred from the city. Cleveland Indians - IDs will be checked at the gate and for anyone with the first name of Christopher or the last name of Columbus, they'll be asked ...

I, like many college football fans, am quite excited about the 4-team playoff this season. However, when I hear talking heads in the media and see the latest AP top 25 poll, I notice a common theme: "Let's have at least 3 of the 4 teams be from the SEC, if not all 4!" This I'm not excited about. The thing is this, the SEC may very well be the best conference in all of college football, but I don't think it's as clear-cut as most sports commentators think it is, and how will we know if any conferences compare if we don't give them a chance to beat the SEC in the 4-team playoff? In the latest AP top 25 poll, four unbeatens are in the poll, along with 15 one-loss teams. Here's how those teams rank: 1) Mississippi State (6-0/SEC) 2) Florida State (7-0/ACC) 3) Mississippi (7-0/SEC) 4) Alabama (6-1/SEC) 5) Auburn (5-1/SEC) 6) Oregon (6-1/Pac-12) 7) Notre Dame (6-1/Independent) 8) Michigan State (6-1/Big Ten) 9) Georgia (6-1/SEC) 10) T...

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently got himself into a bit of a pickle. When speaking with the Associated Press , Kasich said that the repeal of "Obamacare" is "never going to happen." He also said that the "political or ideological" opposition to the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") - the Medicaid expansion in particular - doesn't "hold water against real flesh and blood, and real improvements in people's lives." After likely receiving some backlash for his statements, Kasich went to the Washington Post to "clarify" his position, when he said: "I don't back Obamacare. I never have. I want it to be repealed. If the House and the Senate [are Republican-controlled] and we have a Republican president, Obamacare will be repealed flat out. Flat out. And it will be replaced." Okay, so Kasich went from saying the Affordable Care Act wasn't going to get repealed and that improving people's lives w...

Recently, co-host of the Fox News show The Five , Kimberly Guilfoyle, said young women shouldn't vote because "they don't get it" due to a lack of life experience. This isn't the first time someone on Fox News has made such a statement. Earlier this month on the Fox show, Outnumbered , Tucker Carlson said, "Do you want your government run by people whose favorite show is Say Yes (To the Dress) ?" Fox's Harris Faulkner also said this on the show Outnumbered earlier this month: "Do we want young people to vote if they don't know the issues?" This is ironic on multiple fronts. First off, when a person turns 18-years-old, he or she is eligible to join the military, which could result in going to war and placing his or her life on the line as a sacrifice for the country. So, in these Fox News pundits' minds, just because you're old enough to die for this country in war doesn't make you old enough to vote. Fox News: ...

No, he may not claim to be a "news" source, however, Rush Limbaugh does spout his views on the air throughout the course of the week and many of his listeners consider his opinions to be facts - so the man does influence a great number of people, whom treat his show like actual news. Sadly for Rush (not really), according to a new Pew Research poll, he is the least trusted name in all of "news." According to this survey, while 12% of respondents trust Rush Limbaugh, 39% do not. Fox News came in second at 37%. Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity came in 3rd and 5th at 24% and 21%, respectively. The only non-conservative leaning network or show to make the top 5 was MSNBC, which came in at 22% untrustworthiness. Fact-checking site Politifact.com probably couldn't blame the public for not trusting Limbaugh very much. Here's the breakdown of the 28 statements of his they've researched: True: 0 (0%) Mostly True: 2 (7%) Half True: 3 (11%) Mostly False: 7 (...

According to the dictionary, the noun "thug" can be defined as: "a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer." However, anymore, it seems as if the term is used only in reference to a certain demographic - African-Americans. Seriously, when's the last time you heard a white guy referred to as a thug? Take your time... This especially seems to be the case with regard to far right-wingers. Check out such a site. all of the comments below the article, and try counting the number of times commentators refer to an African-American as a thug. Then go through and count the number of times they call a person of a different race (especially whites) a thug. Just over the past year, I've heard the following comments: - "Richard Sherman is a thug!" - "Barack Obama is a thug!" - "Basketball is full of thugs!" - "Trayvon Martin was a thug!" - "Most rappers are thugs!" Never have I heard any of the foll...

It's getting increasingly disturbing how ignorant so many are about both geography and Ebola. I noted yesterday that there have been at least a handful of documented cases where a student, principal, school bus driver, or guests at a school have either been sent home or have prompted parents to keep their children home due to fear of a person from Africa or traveling from Africa potentially spreading Ebola to their kids. The crazy thing about every one of these cases is the fact these individuals, whom were from or traveled from Africa, were between 1,000 and 3,000 miles away from the Ebola outbreak. That brings me to an even more recent such case, where Liberian-American mother and TV presenter, Shoana Solomon, released a viral video telling a sad tale about her 9-year-old daughter, whom was told at school that she has a disease because she's Liberian. Just a day later, after the little girl sneezed in class, she was sent home. This is despite the fact that, in the past two ...

Heard of the new critically-acclaimed ABC sitcom, Black-ish ? I've seen every episode to this point, have found it to be quite funny, even clever in some spots, and look forward to seeing how the show progresses both this season and hopefully seasons to come. Fortunately, I'm not alone. According to RottenTomatoes.com , 85% of critics like the show (45 approve, 8 disapprove) and give it a solid average grade of 7.3 out of 10. Here are just a few comments from some of the positive reviews: - "In the capable hands of executive producers Larry Wilmore and Kenya Barris, Black-ish presents the topic as more of an open conversation that's welcoming to all." - Tim Surette (TV.com) - "At first glance, one could easily call this an updated version of The Cosby Show, but to do so would be doing a disservice to this uniquely ambitious undertaking." - David Griffin (ScreenRant) - "In its own sweet way, this is a landmark show." - Matt Zoller Seitz ...

When Christopher Columbus came to the U.S. thinking it was India and, still to this day, many people refer to Native Americans as "Indians," it seemed all but inevitable that Americans would excel at geography like Rip Van Winkle excelled at speed-dating. Case and point, it appears as if some schools, in light of the Ebola outbreak in Africa, feel that the continent is one country, as opposed to 47 countries. The thing is, this outbreak has broke out in just 3 of the 47 countries in Africa (6.4%). According to my math, that leaves 44 of 47 countries in Africa Ebola-free (93.6%). However, these wild numbers haven't seemed to cease the panic any at some schools. In New Burlington, New Jersey, two Rwandan students are being forced to stay home due to the school's and parents' paranoia they'll magically infect kids with Ebola. Judging by the map and those crazy numbers again, Rwanda is about as close to a country fighting the Ebola outbreak as New York City is...

The Republican Party really needs to stop trying to be clever when talking about gay marriage. They've gone the slippery-slope route: "What's next? Poly-Sci, poly-something, what is that again? Oh, Polygon-gamy, or whatever." They've gone the don't-know-our-Bible-too-well route: "Look, just read your Bible - besides those 5-10 other kinds of marriages, the only marriage in the sacred book is between one man and one woman. The rape marriages and those concu- or porcupine marriages, I mean, they don't mean anything anymore!" They've also gone the gross-people-out route: "So, what? If gays can marry each other now, who says I can't marry my horse? I mean, come on, people! On second thought, it's true what they say about being hung like one. Maybe I should give that some thought after all!" Then just recently, Anthony Culler - South Carolinian challenging Representative James Clyburn for a House seat - made the following...

Over the past year, the Pew Research Center has been conducting a study with regard to where people of different political persuasions get their news and how they discuss such matters. Here were some of the findings: Consistent liberals... - ...were rather divided when it came to a main news source they consistently went to for information: 15% went to CNN, 13% relied on NPR, 12% checked out MSNBC, and 10% read The New York Times . - ...trusted 28 of 36 news outlets which were listed in the survey (NPR, PBS, and BBC were the three most trusted). Consistent conservatives... - ...went to Fox News first and foremost for news throughout the day. An astounding 47% listed Fox News as their main source for news. - ...distrusted 28 of 36 news outlets which were listed in the survey. However, 88% said they trusted Fox News. I can't say these results were surprising, but they're still quite frustrating. It's like I've said all along, while I despise Fox News and t...