The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

In political prankster Sacha Baron Cohen's new show, he asks the question, which is also the title of the show, Who Is America? While his main intent might be to stimulate laughter and make powerful individuals make asses out of themselves, it begs the question, "Who really is America?," especially in the age of Trump? For as much as I loathe Donald Trump, it'd be wrong of me to scapegoat him for all of this country's ills when it comes to our attitudes and treatment towards marginalized groups. However, there can be no denying he's added fuel to the fire in helping to legitimize anger, hatred, and prejudice toward said marginalized groups. For as unintentional as it might have been, Donald Trump seems to have exposed this country for who it is.  When standing back and attempting to look at the larger picture, I see a good percentage of the country which has progressed alongside the ever-shifting scientific findings and social norms. However, there's sti...

Money has always fascinated me. Think about it. This piece of paper with pictures and numbers on it tends to dictate our lives. We've all agreed on this. It's what provides us opportunities, what we work for, what gets us things, what we, more or less, live for. Just imagine if we provided the caveman like the one from Encino Man a large wad of money; how would he react? A look of confusion? A shrug of the shoulders? Those possibilities are far more likely than jumping for joy and making it rain, as the saying goes. We drive/ride in vehicles to get us from point A to point B. We cook food and drink water to survive. We work to support ourselves, our families, and make a difference in the world. We travel, drink, partake in hobbies to relax. What do all of these entities revolve around? A piece of paper. Whenever thinking about the concept of money, I tend to also think about the afterlife. Is there such a thing? If so, will those who made and worshipped money likely be punish...

While there are times when headlines provide an accurate lead-in to a story, there are also times when this is far from the case. A prime example of the latter is with regard to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. The main focus on the poll was Donald Trump's approval rating. One headline even read, "Trump's Approval Soars in Latest Poll," while another read, "Trump's Approval At Record High." First thing's first, Trump's approval increased by 1% in the poll, from 44% in June to 45% in July. How this quantifies as "soaring" is beyond me. It's not like you'll ever hear an NBA announcer say, "...and the Boston Celtics soared over the Chicago Bulls with a 101-100 victory, on a buzzer-beater from Gordon Heyward." Secondly, while it's true Trump's approval rating increased by 1 point in the poll, that is far from the biggest finding in the poll and should have been replaced with another result as the big sto...

It's really quite the sad sight, to take a step back with a clear mind and see what we've become as a nation. Sure, I could sit here and say I'm surprised at our current state and how we arrived here, but I'd be lying. I've seen this coming for a long time and here we are. Of all the times I wished I was wrong but wasn't, this one tops the list. In many other industrialized countries, the people took control early, didn't let up, and the government ended up fearing them. Every election year, the attack-ad season was short, and with a handful or more of legitimate parties from which to choose, only a small percentage of people felt left out, like there wasn't a candidate whom represented them and their beliefs. This led to higher voter turnout. False ads were either rare or completely barred. With so many parties involved, this forced them to compromise in order to get things done and move forward. Otherwise, they'd pay the price on election day. P...

I can't tell you how many times a day I spot a person all over the road, and when I pull up beside them at a traffic stop, I see they're on their cell phones. No matter the hour, it appears as though half of this nation's drivers are drunk, and the chances are high they haven't consumed a drop of alcohol. Studies have actually showcased that drivers' delayed reaction times are similar when on their cell phones as they are when intoxicated. This may be why an increasing number of states are passing laws banning the use of cell phones while driving. As drunk driving is illegal, it wouldn't make much for a similar distraction to be legal. Millions of people around the world would give just about anything to have a vehicle or even just have the opportunity to drive. Such a privilege shouldn't be taken for granted. Not only are we putting our own lives in danger when we focus on our cell phones while driving, we're putting other people's lives in danger...

It seems like a fairly easy question to answer, doesn't it? Vladimir Putin is a Russian dictator. Barack Obama was the U.S. president who got his country through the greatest recession since the Great Depression. Stunningly, this is how Republicans see the two men: Approval Rating Putin: 25%/62% (net -37%) Obama: 18%/80% (net -62%) Difference: Putin +25%/Obama -25% This is how backwards the Republican Party has become. They prefer a Russian dictator over a U.S. president who was void of any major scandals and ended his second term at 60% approval. Not only that, but the gap is 25 points. So, there you have it. When asked, "Who do you like more, Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin?," while most of the world laughs at the question's seeming ridiculousness, Republicans go another route and say, "Yeah, we'll go with the Russian dictator." https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/explore/public_figure/Vladimir_Putin https://www.washingtonpost.com/page...

Due to some tweets of mine, I got mentioned on: Total Pro Sports , The Guardian , EyeWitness News , MSN , and The News Articles . To check out the articles, go to the following links: https://www.totalprosports.com/2018/07/17/putin-gave-trump-a-world-cup-ball/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/19/would-or-wouldnt-how-trumps-claim-he-misspoke-unleashed-a-meme-fest http://ewn.co.za/2018/07/19/how-donald-trump-s-claim-he-misspoke-unleashes-a-troll-fest https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/donald-trumps-backtrack-on-russian-election-meddling-sparks-barrage-of-memes/ar-AAAi8s3 https://thenewsarticles.com/would-or-wouldnt-how-trumps-claim-he-misspoke-unleashed-a-meme-fest/ If you're curious to read more of my posts on Twitter, go to this link:  https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki

I've been quite active on Twitter over the past week, especially with regard to trending hashtags. Here are my posts, ordered from the most popular to the least popular (all my tweets can be seen here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) Trump: "When I said, 'If she weren't my daughter, I'd probably be dating her,' I misspoke. What I meant to say was if she was my daughter, I'd probably be dating her. Wait, no, that's not right either. Let me get back to you..." #Wouldnt #Snark 953 Likes, 265 Retweets 2) Trump: "I said Mexicans are rapists. I misspoke. I meant to say they're rakists, like they rake leaves and stuff, probably illegally, but whatever. I'll build a wall and make them pay for it. Anyway, that's what I meant to say - rakists, bigly." #Wouldnt #Snark 737 Likes, 233 Retweets 3) Following the Trump-Putin press conference at the #TreasonSummit, I feel like we should use the president's own words re...

I had quite a bit of fun with trending hashtags on Twitter this past week. Here are my posts, ordered from the most popular to the least popular (all my tweets can be read here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) "Deer world: First off, I'm a grate riter. I rite the best litters, believe me. Hold on while I pore myself some soda. Their, that's better. Your all so braver then everyone else, bigly. What else? Oh yeah, covfefe. Sinseerly, President Trump" #secondcivilwarletters 1,345 Likes, 268 Retweets 2) If Barack Obama grabbed a woman's crotch without her consent and then got caught bragging about it via an Access Hollywood tape, would you classify it as sexual assault? #QuestionsForTrumpDefenders 919 Likes, 217 Retweets 3) "Dear Resistance: The war is over. We've won. About 30 seconds into our battle, the Trumpsters, as they were drinking moonshine & cleaning their loaded weapons with the muzzles facing them and shouting '...

One concept I wish I fully believed in is karma. Karma basically suggests that, in the end, we get what we deserve. It's probably the biggest reason why I hope there's an afterlife and it exists there, because no matter how much I wish the contrary, it certainly doesn't exist in this lifetime. I hear it at least once a day: "Karma is a b*tch" or "Karma will get you" or simply just "Karma." Sure, there may times when we hear or read stories about an awful person receiving what seems to be justice, and perhaps in an unusual, almost ironic way, but what percentage of the times does this actually happen? My guess is less than 5%, and that's probably an overestimation. What about the reverse? How often do good people ultimately get rewarded for their kind deeds? Much less than I'd like to see. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the name Donald Trump. Here's a guy who's spent his 70+ years in this world: Sexually hara...

As I so often do, I had a little fun with a trending hashtag on Twitter the other day. This particular one was #SecondCivilWarLetters, where I poked fun of bigots of all stripes. While most of my followers' responses were positive, the one which stood out the most was, of course, negative. She called me a bigot. Before fully tackling the accusation, allow me to first provide readers with the definition of the term bigot . It is "a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions." Now here is the tweet in question: "Dear Resistance: The war is over. We've won. About 30 seconds into our battle, the Trumpsters, as they were drinking moonshine & cleaning their loaded weapons with the muzzles facing them and shouting 'Guns don't kill!,' all shot and killed themselves." #secondcivilwarletters I was simply using the hashtag to satirize the large majority of Republicans' belief that "guns don't kill people; pe...

As a child, I loved the 4th of July. Between family barbecues to my parents having time off to spend with my brother and I, to of course, fireworks, the 4th of July was my favorite holiday outside of Halloween and Christmas. As is often the case, however, the more I've aged, the more my viewpoints about the major holidays have changed, none more so than the 4th of July or Independence Day. Over the past 5 to 10 years, I've noticed an increasing number of children and pets being frightened by the loud sounds of fireworks. Not only that, I've grown bored of the repetitive nature of fireworks displays. Honestly, if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. Worst of all, though, is a question which constantly rings in my mind all throughout these holiday festivities: "What does Independence Day truly mean anymore?" On July 4th, 300 million+ Americans celebrate their independence. But what about illegal immigrants and DREAMers who could be deported...

As I try to do every week, I thought I'd share my Twitter trending hashtag posts with my readers. As always, they're ordered from the most popular to the least popular (all my tweets can be viewed here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) Deceive. Distract. Deny. #AmericaIn3Words 1,361 Likes, 301 Retweets 2) Played by Putin #AmericaIn3Words 850 Likes, 184 Retweets 3) (G)reedy (O)ld (P)ricks #AmericaIn3Words 419 Likes, 110 Retweets 4) Sold to Russia #AmericaIn3Words 260 Likes, 68 Retweets 5) #MaxineWaters receives death threats and it's #SarahHuckabeeSanders who needs added security after being asked to leave a restaurant? Okay then... #SnowflakeSanders 110 Likes, 54 Retweets 6) A mass shooting occurs Rubio: "Well, I mean, what can we do? Thoughts and prayers." A media outlet uses an F-bomb Rubio: "What the f*ck is wrong with this country?" #MarcoRubio 53 Likes, 22 Retweets 7) BREAKING NEWS: "Trump supporters boyco...

I don't tend to watch much cable news. Most of it is slanted one way or the other. When that's not the case, it's common for conspiracy theorists to receive just as much airtime as renowned scientists. One show I've come to watch and like, however, is MSNBC's  Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace . Nicolle Wallace, believe it or not, was once George W. Bush's White House Communications Director. She was also a senior advisor to the John McCain-Sarah Palin 2008 campaign team. So she hasn't been shy about her Republican leanings in the past. That all changed when Donald Trump began running for the presidency, however. Especially after Trump received the Republican Party's nomination, Wallace, like many others, felt as though the GOP had left her, so it was time for her to leave the GOP. Ever since that point, she's been one of the Republican Party's (Trump in particular) harshest critics. There have even been times where I, a self-described...

Often times I think the media overhypes the alleged divides in the Republican and Democratic camps. While it's true there are some defectors within both parties, at the end of the day, 90% of registered Democrats vote Democrat and 90% of registered Republicans vote Republican. Having said that, though, I think there's potential for those alleged divides to sprout up in the coming midterm elections. While roughly 85-90% of Republicans approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as president, outside of his strong base, there's a decent percentage of Republicans who don't enthusiastically support him. So will they go to the polls on election day anyway or will they decide to sit home? For Democrats, there will likely be more enthusiasm on their side since they're in the minority in both chambers of Congress, not to mention the Oval Office, but what was the reason for their lower turnout in the 2016 general election? Did they assume Hillary Clinton would win so they staye...

I think it's safe to say, just a year and a half into his tenure, Donald Trump is the worst, most embarrassing president in U.S. history. Amid all his mistakes, lies, and public embarrassments, Trump and his supporters have consistently been able to point toward one accomplishment: the Supreme Court. After the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, then President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland. Congressional Republicans blocked this move, and after Donald Trump was inaugurated, he and Congressional Republicans successfully moved conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Now that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced his retirement, it appears as if Donald Trump may very well be able to get another conservative judge onto the highest court in the land. Following the Gorsuch vote and now the Kennedy announcement, I've heard seemingly countless Republican talking heads saying, "You see how great President Trump is? He's done more in h...