The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

It was 2015 and the Democratic Party seemed all but certain to nominate Hillary Clinton as its representative for the 2016 presidential election. The event seemed so inevitable, only a handful of Democrats stepped forward to run for the highest office in the land, in stark contrast to the 17 Republicans whom were doing the same. Former Secretary of State Clinton was riding high in all the Democratic primary polls, that was until progressive stalwart Bernie Sanders started making some noise. His rise in the polls surprised many and made Secretary Clinton's journey to the Democratic nomination anything but an easy one. By the time Clinton was nominated, a divide was lodged inside the Democratic Party's establishment and progressive wings, between ardent Clinton backers and "Bernie Bros," as they were (are still) called. While most Sanders supporters went on to vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election, some admittedly either voted 3rd party, didn't vote, or v...

We're over two years removed from the 2016 presidential election and I still witness regular bickering between die-hard Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters. Not only that, I hear seemingly constant scapegoating on who's to blame for Donald Trump's election victory. First off, no matter how oddly cathartic it might be to vilify one party as the sole reason for Donald Trump's election victory, it's simply not true and it does us no service to go this scapegoating-route when looking ahead to the future. Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein, James Comey, the media, and Russia may have all played a part in Donald Trump being named president, but no single entity can realistically be fully blamed for it, and what good does it do us to obsess over what/whom we perceive to be said scapegoat? How will this clinging-onto-negative-history mentality help us defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 election? Simple answer - it won't. Like it or not, we have to finally accept what...

While I had voted before, I didn't get seriously involved with politics until the 2008 election. My first election was in 2000 (when I was 19). I was in college, was focused more on partying and chasing girls than current events, and while I knew I leaned to the left, I didn't care a great deal about the world of politics. That all changed on 9/11 (when I was 20) when reality struck me (most of us) smack dab in the face and heart. I, and probably many others, was incredibly naive at that point in my life. I was a college kid, trying to find myself, trying to find what I wanted to do with my life, busy meeting new people, dating, and enjoying some semblance of independence/adulthood. Through all that, never did I think to myself we'd get struck by terrorists, we'd wage a seemingly endless war and lose thousands of our soldiers in the process, and my life would forever change by the horrific events on September 11th of 2001. Like most Americans, I was at a loss, uncertain...

Approximately 48 hours after the first pair of Republican presidential primary debates, fact-checkers nationwide decided to call it quits on fact-checking the three hours worth of debates from Thursday night. Many called fact-checking the three hours worth of debates between the 17 candidates "the hardest, most migraine-inducing work we'd ever done." The fact-checkers guess at least 35% of them contemplated suicide and another 45% suffered alcohol poisoning before being rushed to the hospital over the past couple days. One fact-checker, who shall remain unnamed, allegedly reached a point where he started ripping off his clothes, running in circles, and repeatedly yelling, "Idiocracy!" When interviewing several of these very fact-checkers, here's what else they had to say about their experience: - "I only got through half of the first debate, because after almost every candidate's response, I had to ask myself, 'Wait, did they really just say w...

Okay, so perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part, but in any case, it appears as if Donald Trump is going to run for president, joining the other 9,473 Republicans running for the highest office in the land. This has to thrill the likes of Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Larry Wilmore, and the rest of the late-night talk show gang. Under comedy gold in the dictionary should be a picture of Donald Trump's "hairpiece" (or whatever that thing is), with the words "I'm running for president" directly underneath it. Yes, after hearing the news a few minutes ago, Jon Stewart was likely seen at his desk in deep contemplation, picking the petals off a daisy, as he recited lyrics to The Clash song, "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" It's still unknown at this time whether the final petal signified that he should stay or go. Segueing from that, I thought I'd have a little fun with some Donald Trump quotes. Keep in mind as you read ...

As the 2016 presidential election begins to dominate the 24-hour cable news cycles, multiple Republican candidates have come forward in saying their decision to run for president was sparked by God calling on them to do so. In light of this, I asked TrippingAcid.com 's own Rafael Reefer to catch up with God and ask him about these claims. "Yeah, I called on them to run for president, all of them as a matter of fact. Actually, I've been calling on any and every Republican candidate to run for president since the year 2000," admitted God. When asked by Reefer why this was the case, the all-mighty invisible creator responded:  "Look, I like comedy just as much as the next person, and frankly I've been getting sick and tired of what passes for comedy nowadays. I mean, Dane Cook? People worship my boy to be saved for all eternity and that's exactly how long one of his jokes seems to last! Adam Sandler? I've even heard stories where fetuses screa...