The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Empire star Jussie Smollett, who recently came out as gay, was attacked in what is being investigated as a hate-crime. The two attackers allegedly yelled racist and homophobic slurs toward Smollett, as well as "MAGA country!" They apparently wrapped a noose around the actor's neck and poured an "unknown chemical substance" on him. In response to this sad, disturbing, and horrifying incident, comedian Kevin Hart posted this tweet: "Sending prayers your way @jussiesmollett .... This is unbelievably sad. Why are we going backwards....this is disgusting. We as a people have to do better. WTF is going on the world???? Why are we falling in love with hate???? God damn it people....Choose love...i repeat...Choose love. I will forever choose love and I will continue to teach my kids how to do the same. Stand strong brother" Many took issue with this because of old jokes and tweets of Hart's which weren't too kind to the LGBT community. Examples o...

So I read through a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll's findings today. Here were some of the early documented results: - 58% of Americans claim they'll pay close or very close attention to the Brett Kavanaugh/Christine Blasey Ford hearing tomorrow. - 32% believe Ford; 26% believe Kavanaugh; and 42% aren't sure who to believe. - 38% support Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, while 43% oppose it. - 59% oppose Kavanaugh's nomination if the sexual misconduct allegations are found to be true. - 37% are more likely to vote for a politician in the midterms who opposes Kavanaugh's nomination, while 32% are more likely to go the opposite route. That's when we get to the big finding, the finding which should send shockwaves to some people. According to this reputable pollster, a majority, 54% of Republicans think Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice regardless of whether or not the sexual misconduct allegations ar...

I decided to make a contribution to the trending hashtag #TrumpTapes on Twitter the other day. Here are my posts, ordered from most to least popular (all my tweets can be seen here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki): 1) Trump: "After 70 years, 4 months, and 3 days of being a total as*hole, I'll be a better man tomorrow, believe me!" 391 Likes, 231 Retweets 2) How can we listen to Donald Trump's sick and hateful words, look our sons and daughters in the eyes, and tell them, "I'm voting for him"? 329 Likes, 153 Retweets 3) Trump treats: Women like objects Minorities like criminals The English language like a 3-year-old We need to treat him to a loss on Nov. 8th 290 Likes, 158 Retweets 4) Trump: "It was just locker room banter." No, it wasn't. Real men don't show such disdain for women, and you, sir, aren't a real man. 299 Likes, 118 Retweets 5) Dear GOPers: So, do you still want to blame the so-called "mo...

Far-right wing site Barbwire , as it's known to do all too often, recently published a piece which would likely make approximately 89.4% of women scream expletives at the top of their lungs, all the while throwing purses at their computer monitors which were stationed on the article I'm about to write about. The article is entitled, "Feminist Theory, Human Nature And The 'Punch Seen Round The World,'" and was written by American Spectator correspondent and man voted most likely to marry a Fred Flintstone blow-up doll he mistakenly calls Wilma - Robert Stacy McCain. Yes, this article is centered around the Ray Rice elevator-punch incident. In his article, McCain writes this: "Everybody has focused on the obvious horror of Rice's punch - the brute force of a 200-pound professional athlete used against a woman - and nobody seems interested in what Janay (Ray's wife) did immediately before the punch. The couple were in a confined space, inside a...

Anymore, it seems like not a day passes when I don't read about a young woman who was sexually assaulted or raped on (or near) campus, and every day, this news becomes ever more disturbing. The latest such report comes via Al Jazeera, who investigated students that had been assaulted or raped at the ultra-conservative Christian school Bob Jones University. During the summer before she started attending classes at Bob Jones, Katie Landry was raped by a coworker on multiple occasions. As is commonplace among rape victims, Landry felt shameful, and due to this, neglected to report the crime(s) for several years. Her grades suffered as a direct result of this. After she finally admitted the events to both herself and others, she sought counseling, only to be told by the dean of students that, "We have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape." No, that wasn't a typo. When speaking to Al Jazeera about the matter, Landry said the following: "He confirme...

Recently, I've read a few articles (and comments) about men's rights groups and men's rights conferences, where the central focus is on the oppression of men's rights and fighting for equality. Yes, you read that right. While I believe people should have equal rights regardless of age, race, gender, creed, orientation, etc., do some men seriously believe their rights have been oppressed when compared to women in this country? That's interesting... Well, allow me to take their concerns seriously and break things down for them: Congress: 436 women (81.5%) and 99 men (18.5%) Presidents: 44 women (100.0%) and 0 men (0.0%) Pay: Men make $0.77 to the $1.00 women make, and women in Congress seem reluctant on closing the gap CEOs of Fortune 500 companies: 95.8% women, 4.2% men Sexual assaults: 90% men, 10% women Reproductive rights: Women in Congress have made it more difficult for men to purchase condoms Pregnancy: Women in Congress have also tried barring me...

Glenn Beck is about as reliable with the reporting of news as mimes are of reporting anything. Even his tamest of conspiracy theories are enough to provide Critical Thinking professors across the country with massive migraines. Even though it appears as if Beck is void of brain cells and has instead substituted them with crazy cells, and should have been placed in a loony bin a long time ago, he reached a new low recently - yes, even for him. During a program of his on the Blaze , host Stu Burguiere attacked recent studies which alleged that approximately 1 in every 5 women have been raped. He claimed that President Obama and the government are manipulating the numbers to make the problem appear to be worse than it actually is. He then brought two men out to poke fun of the studies and victims of sexual assault. One was supposedly a male Abercrombie & Fitch model and the other was a man dressed as the stereotypical ditsy, blonde woman. The male model then turns to the "wom...

After former Missouri defensive standout Michael Sam came out of the closet the other day, it became only a matter of time before Rush Limbaugh weighed in on the matter. On his radio show yesterday, Limbaugh said the following: "Why does homosexuality have a political agenda? Why is there anything political about homosexuality while heterosexuality has no political agenda and there is no agenda attached to it? They're under assault. You say, 'Heterosexuality may be 95, 98 percent of the population.' They're under assault by the 2 to 5 percent that are homosexual." It's times like these when Minnesota Senator Al Franken has to smile, look at the cover of his book, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot , and think to himself, "I was right on the mark with that, wasn't I?" What Rush Limbaugh and other like-minded individuals whom are white, male, Christian, and heterosexual don't seem to understand is that not everyone is treated equally in...

Erick Bennett is a Maine Republican who's looking to potentially become incumbent Senator Susan Collins' primary challenger in the coming election season. Bennett describes himself as "pretty much a cut-and-dry Republican," is claiming that his ideas are based on a "pro-family" agenda, and recently had this to say about the federal government: "We must have honest conversations about the constant abuses of power and violations of our civil liberties that are going on at the hands of this government." On that note, speaking of family and abuse, Mr. Bennett served some time in jail after he was convicted of a Class D assault in 2003 for attacking his wife. Yes, surprisingly enough, the couple has since divorced. Even though he was convicted and served time for the crime, Bennett still claims to be innocent and even went so far as to say this: "The fact that I have been jailed repeatedly for not agreeing to admit to something I didn't...

It appears as if George Zimmerman is in trouble yet again. He was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, battery-domestic violence, and criminal mischief, for allegedly pointing his shotgun at his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, and threatening her after she told him to get out of the house, gathered his belongings, and threatened to call the police. In September, Zimmerman was accused by his wife Shellie of doing something similar after she gathered her belongings and moved out of their home. He's also been pulled over three times since the Trayvon Martin ruling - receiving one speeding ticket and two warnings. In light of this bit of news, the George Zimmerman Fan Club - Fox News - will likely respond with the following quotes: - "George Zimmerman is the last alpha-male." - "You see? Guns DON'T kill people; they just scare the ever living crap out of them!" - "Meet the most misunderstood man in America ...

Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young is not having a good week. He was arrested twice two Sundays ago for driving under the influence and for attempting to take his car from a tow yard. Well, Titus Young is back to his old tricks, as yesterday he was arrested yet again, this time for attempted burglary, assaulting a police office, and resisting arrest. So, yeah, just remember, no matter how bad your week has been, be grateful you're not Titus Young! http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9267427/ex-detroit-lions-receiver-titus-young-arrested-third-week