The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Donald Trump has never been known as an eloquent speaker, but even for him, his recent interview with the Associated Press was something special. Here are my ten favorite quotes from that interview, followed by my personal comments: "So the Republican Party has various groups, all great people. They're all great people. But some are moderate, some are very conservative. The Democrats don't seem to have that nearly as much. You know the Democrats have, they don't have that. The Republicans do have that. And I think it's fine. But you know there's a pretty vast area in there. And I have a great relationship with all of them. Now, we have government not closing. I think we'll be in great shape on that. It's going very well. Obviously, that takes precedent." While Bill Clinton infamously asked the question, "What is 'is'?" I'm now going to ask The Donald, "What is 'that'?" "But President Xi, from the t...

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: ...

In light of yesterday's Associated Press article, which reported that a law enforcement official sent the extended version of the Ray Rice tape to an NFL executive five months ago, commissioner Roger Goodell has decided to hire former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to conduct an "independent investigation" on the matter. So, why are some people saying that there's something fishy about this investigation? Well, because it's being overseen by NFL owners John Mara (New York Giants) and Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers), whom are connected to and have been highly supportive of Goodell throughout this whole controversy. As Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun  wrote: "...The decision to put Mara and Rooney in charge of Mueller was another attempt to show that Goodell is going to be out of the loop, but it probably would look better if the NFL simply handed Mueller the keys to the kingdom and told him to perform the investigation without any input from anyo...

On Facebook last night, someone I know posted the following status: "So there is this president from Chicago who has beef with the name 'Washington Redskins' because it is derogatory to Native Americans.....meanwhile, the same president has nothing to say about his hometown NHL hockey team that is titled the 'Blackhawks'....and their logo is a Native American. Kettle...meet pot. Pot-Kettle" I was reluctant on joining the discussion at first, until this morning, when I read through 15-20 Obama-bashing comments. These ranged from: "You've got more important things to be worried about!" to "He is the most bass ackwards person in this country!" Then when the poster of the status said the term "Redskins" "could" be seen as derogatory, I finally decided enough was enough and made the following comment: "I wasn't going to chime in here, but this is getting ridiculous. The guy was asked a question in ...

Die-hard gun rights' supporters in Utah have come up with a one-of-a-kind idea - a "Run 4 Guns"! That's right - in September, a far-right group in Utah will be holding a 5K and 0.5 Mile Armed Dash. The group has asked the runners to bring their holsters and for the firearms to be secured in said holster or a zip tie. The organizer of the event - Macgregor Whiting (26) - said the following to the Associated Press about the event: "Our purpose is to create more awareness and to make a difference. We want gun owners and the right to bear arms to be seen in a true light and to be respected..." I think this is an excellent idea. What better way for gun owners to earn respect than to organize and participate in an event centered around people running with guns?!? Sure, we were always told to not run with scissors. But, run with guns? That's something newborns even do without much gripe from the folks. In light of this bit of news, rumor has it that M...

So, like last summer, President Obama is trying to work with Congress on a way to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st of this year (from 3.4 to 6.8%). The president is trying to be, you know, presidential. What did Indiana Republican Representative Luke Messer have to say about this? Just the following: "It's not only a distraction from issues like Benghazi and the IRS and Department of Justice, but it's a distraction from the fact that the real threat to college-age students in America today is not a few more dollars on their student loan, it's the fact that the explosive growth of debt, the fact that the jobs in this economy for young people entering the marketplace have been the people probably most hurt by the Obama policies." Minnesota Republican Representative John Kline added: "It's time for the president to stop politicizing the student loan issue. The president and House Republicans agree on the need for a long-t...

I've remained pretty consistent on the three controversies which have surrounded the Obama Administration in recent weeks. While I believe there was a fair amount of incompetence surrounding the administration during the Benghazi attacks, I don't believe it was a cover-up. The longer the case has drug on, the more I believe that Congressional Republicans' main intent is to drag Hillary Clinton's name through the mud to decrease the threat of her becoming the Democratic nominee in the 2016 presidential election. The AP controversy is the one which has bothered me the most. Unfortunately, due to the Patriot Act and with it, increased powers of the DOJ (Department of Justice) since the 9/11 attacks, chances are Eric Holder's actions weren't illegal. Also unfortunately, since Mitch McConnell and other Congressional Republicans have defended Holder's actions, chances are no changes are going to be made through Congress. The controversy which I've had the most...

While I feel both the Benghazi and IRS stories are getting blown out-of-proportion, I feel the Department of Justice-AP surveillance case isn't. Unfortunately, as reported by Timothy Lee of The Washington Post , it appears as if the DOJ's actions were legal. In Lee's article, he reported the following: "But here’s what’s really scary: The Justice Department’s actions are likely perfectly legal. U.S. law allows the government to engage in this type of surveillance—on media organizations or anyone else—without meaningful judicial oversight. The key here is a legal principle known as the 'third party doctrine,' which says that users don’t have Fourth Amendment rights protecting information they voluntarily turn over to someone else. Courts have said that when you dial a phone number, you are voluntarily providing information to your phone company, which is then free to share it with the government." I sincerely hope that in light of this recent report, ...

Like with every speech at the two conventions over the past couple weeks, Bill Clinton's was subject to fact-checking. However, the Associated Press has received some criticism for one particular fact-check of the former president. In his speech last Wednesday night, Clinton said that a Romney pollster stated their campaign would not be "dictated by fact-checkers". He continued on by saying, "Now that is true. I couldn't have said it better myself -- I just hope you remember that every time you see the ad." The AP responded to this as follows: "Clinton, who famously finger-wagged a denial on national television about his sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky and was subsequently impeached in the House on a perjury charge, has had his own uncomfortable moments over telling the truth. 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky,' Clinton told television viewers. Later, after he was forced to testify to a grand jur...