The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

You can tell a guy to shut-up, f*ck off, that he's an idiot, but there's one thing should never, under any circumstance, say to him: To man up. I was told this for the first time in my 37 years the other day, and while it's difficult to rile me, that got my blood boiling (figuratively, of course). The phrase man up  is incredibly sexist to both genders. What's the opposite of that? Woman down? What in hell does that mean? A woman should be entirely submissive and obey her man's every wish? What year is this again? The phrase also paints an incredibly stereotypical, old-school mindset, where men are seen as the providers, the stronger of the two sexes, assertive, powerful, and rich. If a male cries, even after his mother passes away, that's not acceptable and he needs to "man up." On the opposite end, if a woman doesn't cry during such an occasion, she's seen as unladylike, meaning there has to be something seriously wrong with her. I'm so...

I just read about an extremely strange legal case in North Carolina. Apparently, a 17-year-old was charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation for taking and possessing nude photos of a minor. Who is this minor? Himself, as he sent nude photos of himself to his 16-year-old girlfriend (and vice versa). That's right, according to North Carolina law, this kid was both the perpetrator and victim of this crime. Not only does that sound strange in and of itself, if this 17-year-old were to engage in sexual intercourse with his 16-year-old girlfriend, that would be perfectly legal under the state's laws. But to take a nude photo of himself and send it to his girlfriend? That's going to cost him... Fortunately, he was able to reach a plea deal where he won't have to register as a sex offender or spend any time in prison. He will be placed on probation for a year, however. This is a very strange, backwards, and ancient law, in my opinion. Just imagine if this kid had t...

I wasn't sure I would ever hear a defense more ridiculous than the one Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder gave of his team's nickname, but given former NFL head coach Mike Ditka's recent tirade, I stand corrected. In an interview with RedskinsHistorian.com, Ditka said the following: "What's all the stink over the Redskins name? It's so much horse sh*t it's incredible. We're going to let the liberals of the world run this world. It was said out of reverence, out of pride to the American Indian. Even though it was called a Redskin, what are you going to call them, a Brownskin? This is so stupid it's appalling, and I hope that owner keeps fighting for it and never changes it, because the Redskins are part of an American football history, and it should never be anything but the Washington Redskins. That's the way it is." Judges, what do you think of Mr. Ditka's statement? "This is so stupid it's appalling..." In...

Remember how, after the 2012 elections, the Republican Party talked about re-branding themselves of being more tolerant? Of trying to attract more voters, such as women and minorities? How's that going? Some words of advice for the GOP - it doesn't help to just say you're going to re-brand if you don't actually follow through with it. It's not going to help a marriage if an alcoholic husband says he's going to clean up his act, all the while he's doing shots of vodka. Since the GOP started their re-branding efforts, they've continued to attract women voters by attempting to: Take away their reproductive rights, take away their contraceptive rights, make it more difficult to vote, and fight against equal pay for equal work. Yes, they're that smooth. New Mexico Representative Steve Pearce recently continued this lovely trend for his party. In Pearce's new memoir, he wrote the following: "The husband's part is to show up during the ti...