The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

College GameDay analysts - Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit in particular - have been none too kind to the Cincinnati Bearcats this season. UC, of the American Athletic Conference, finished the season 13-0 and became the first group-of-5 team to get invited to the college football playoff.  What was Herbstreit's initial reaction? On ESPN's selection special, he said this: "But I'm confused. What about that narrative that the Group of Five wasn't allowed to get in? I heard there was a lot of buzz out there that the committee would never put a Group of Five (team) in. It's weird. They must not have gotten that rule." After receiving backlash for his comment, he doubled-down on Twitter with this post: "After SEVEN years of b*tching and complaining from a vocal minority that the CFP system is rigged and the 'small guy' will NEVER GET A CHANCE-haven't heard much from ya last couple days. Everything okay? What's the next conspiracy theory?? Can...

I recently heard about a person contending that television had a double-standard on slurs, as while they'd bleep out the n-word, they'd air the term "honky." I then had a friendly debate with a third party about the matter. First off, if we want to purely look at things from a black-and-white perspective (no pun intended), all slurs are bad. However, as is almost always the case, things are more complex than that. There are several reasons why the n-word is regarded as a more offensive slur than "honky," the biggest of which is historical context. The etymology of honky  is unclear. One theory is that the term originated in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where coal miners were segregated into three groups: 1) Whites, 2) Blacks, and 3) Non-English-speaking whites knows as "Hunk Hill." Another theory is that the term started in the meat-packing plants of Chicago, where black employees referred to white employees as "honkies." Yet another theo...

Former Vice President Joe Biden has come under scrutiny over the past week for what has been deemed as inappropriate behavior around women. It started with Lucy Flores alleging Biden had once placed his hands on her shoulders, sniffed her hair, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. A second accuser has since come forward alleging the 2020 Democratic front-runner of pulling her toward him and rubbing noses with her on one occasion. There was also a photo which went viral of Biden placing his hands on the shoulders of the wife of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Stephanie Carter, while whispering something into her ear. The social media mob immediately went to work before Ms. Carter said she was grateful for what Biden did. She called him a great friend who was simply trying to be supportive and relax her. Alyssa Milano and Meghan McCain have since come forward defending the former vice president. The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words, but in my opinion a pi...

I've long said the Republican Party often gets itself into trouble due to its self-branding of the party of God, family values, and morality. This sets them up for ridicule and mockery if and when a member of their party speaks or behaves in a manner which runs contrary to said branding. Sure, any and every politician should face criticism after being caught paying off a hooker, especially if a spouse and/or kids are in the picture. However, this behavior receives even more scrutiny (and deservedly so) when the politician in question has repeatedly labeled himself as a man of God, family values, and morality; has bashed and voted against the LGBT community; and then gets caught paying a man to have sex with him while his wife and kids are at home waiting. Democrats are running into a similar problem when it comes to political correctness. One major reason why I favor the Democratic Party over the Republican Party is their inclusivity. Democrats have essentially branded themselves...

Boston Herald columnist Jaclyn Cashman recently wrote an article entitled, "Joe Biden's the real embarrassment, not America," and I'm here to tell her she's wrong, that she's the embarrassment, not Joe Biden. Cashman began her article by saying this: "Taking a page from Barack Obama's playbook, Joe Biden - ahead of his presidential announcement - goes to Europe and apologizes for America. Biden calls our country an 'embarrassment' for separating families at the border crossing. Never mind that the Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice president, also ramped up deportation - sending millions of illegal immigrants back where they came from. Biden is actively trying to rewrite his legacy on immigration." As well-renowned fact-checker FactCheck.org said with regard to the "apology-tour" claim conservatives like to use, "Although it has been a consistent applause line, the claim doesn't hold up when match...

Republican West Virginia delegate Eric Porterfield has come under fire for his recent comments about the LGBTQ community. For those of you who have never heard of him, it's probably all for the best, because the guy is as good as resigned at this point. Over the past week, Porterfield has made the following comments on multiple occasions: - "The LGBTQ - not homosexual, but the LGBTQ - is the closest thing to political terrorism in America." - "The LGBT is the most socialist group in this country. They do not protect gays. There are many gays they persecute if they do not line up with their social ideology." - "The LGBTQ is a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan, without wearing hoods with their antics of hate." - "Let me very clear with my statement, the LGBTQ - not homosexuals - are the modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan." - "They are socialist in nature, they exercise economic extortion, they terrorize and frighten pe...

After pointing out the fact more jobs were created in the final 23 months of then President Obama's tenure than in the first 23 months of Trump's, I heard some skepticism about my numbers courtesy of Trumpsters. So allow me to delve deeper into my fact-check by fact-checking it. Let's start with President Obama. His final full 23 months in office were between 02/15 and 12/16. Here's the breakdown (these numbers come courtesy of the Department of Labor): 02/15: 248,000 (248,000 total) 03/15: 77,000 (325,000) 04/15: 300,000 (625,000) 05/15: 319,000 (944,000) 06/15: 170,000 (1,114,000) 07/15: 293,000 (1,407,000) 08/15: 122,000 (1,529,000) 09/15: 133,000 (1,662,000) 10/15: 339,000 (2,001,000) 11/15: 235,000 (2,236,000) 12/15: 280,000 (2,516,000) 01/16: 90,000 (2,606,000) 02/16: 232,000 (2,838,000) 03/16: 234,000 (3,072,000) 04/16: 211,000 (3,283,000) 05/16: 15,000 (3,298,000) 06/16: 282,000 (3,580,000) 07/16: 336,000 (3,916,000) 08/16: 135,000 (4,051,0...

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel just posted a tweet which I felt the need to expose and rebut. In the tweet, McDaniel wrote, "Under @realDonaldTrump, our economy is finally working for ALL Americans. Here's a 10-year challenge you haven't seen before." The post also contained a side-by-side photo of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Under the two presidents were these words: Under Obama 2009 Unemployment Rate: 9.9% For Women: 8.7% For Hispanics: 12.8% For African Americans: 16.1% GDP: -2.5% Total Jobs Lost: 5.1 Million Under Trump 2019 Unemployment Rate: 3.9% For Women: 3.8% For Hispanics: 4.4% For African Americans: 6.6% GDP: +3.0% Total Jobs Gained: 2.6 Million This is such an idiotic post, I shouldn't even have to respond to it, but sadly there are millions of people who buy into this crap. Barack Obama took over as president in 2009. When he took the reigns, the United States was going through its biggest reces...

Actor, game show host, and right-wing nut job known to put people on speed asleep after talking for 2 minutes - Ben Stein - is at his wacky ways yet again. When speaking on the Fox Business channel, Stein said the following: "We have a society in which there are an awful lot of people who have no idea that Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse-Tung all came to power promising the same kinds of things that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is promising. And it led to mass murder, it led to dictatorship, it led to genocide. These promises are old promises and they invariably lead to bad things." He added: "It's not about ordering people around, putting them in concentration camps. What do you do if a person is a richer or poorer person? What do you do? Do you take him away? Do you shoot him? Well, that's what the communists tried, it didn't work very well for them." Really? Stein really wants to go there? He really wants to compare a democratic socialist to Hitler when he is an...

What is it with these wackier-than-usual conservative columns of late? Tis the season to be crazy? The latest in the growing list comes courtesy of John Sweeney at The Federalist . His article is titled, "You're Not Allowed To Knock Trump For Stormy Daniels If You Watch Porn." No, this is not a joke. Stop laughing. Okay, you can laugh, but follow along as you do so. Thanks. Sweeney starts his whatever you want to call it with this: "Many have been quick to judge President Trump for his affair with pornography creator Stormy Daniels, and rightfully so. But Donald Trump is not the first man to cheat on his wife with an onscreen prostitute this year. Presumably, thousands of men engage in adulterous behavior with pornographers and strippers every day." Really? There are that many strippers and pornographers in central Ohio? I had no idea... Culturally we may not believe it, but each time a married man watches pornography, he commits an act of adultery. This...

The saying goes, "With friends likes these, who needs enemies?" When it comes to Donald Trump, the phrase could read, "With allies like him, who needs adversaries?" President Trump has been notorious for treating our allies like adversaries and our adversaries like allies. As a recent Pew Research Poll shows, our allies are noticing. Let's compare those numbers to how the world, our allies in particular, viewed us at the end of Obama's presidency: Confidence in Obama: 64% yes, 23% no (net +41%) in Trump: 27% yes, 70% no (net -43%) Difference: Obama +84%/Trump -84% Views of U.S. Obama: 64% favorable, 26% unfavorable (net +38%) Trump: 50% favorable, 43% unfavorable (net +7%) Difference: Obama +31%/Trump -31% Allies' Approval Australia: Obama 84%, Trump 54% (Obama +30%) Canada: Obama 83%, Trump 39% (Obama +44%) France: Obama 84%, Trump 38% (Obama +46%) Germany: Obama 86%, Trump 30% (Obama +56%) Greece: Obama 41%, Trump 36% (Obama +5%) Ital...

With the football season underway, I've found myself listening to more ESPN radio lately. While driving for an hour over the past week, I found myself listening to The Will Cain Show . Will Cain is a former conservative analyst, who I tend to find myself disagreeing with on most every matter that is political, so I was curious to hear what the lad had to say regarding the world of sports. Here's what I discovered... Will Cain is unafraid of going against the grain. This is both interesting and annoying. When he comes across as genuine, it's more of the former. There are times, however, when the guy seems determined to be different just for the sake of being different, comes across as phony, and I start hearing nails against the chalkboard while Ben Stein is yodeling Queen songs. Admittedly, Cain makes a good point here and there. When Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently signed a mammoth contract extension, the radio host rightly stated, and I'm para...

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...

For as much as I'd like to do so, it's incredibly difficult to come up with any kind of rational argument that Michael Jordan wasn't the greatest player in the history of the NBA. The player which generates the most comparisons is LeBron James. Where James comes up short in the minds of most analysts is his Finals record. While Jordan was a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals, James is only 3-6. If we stand back and look at the bigger picture, however, what does James's Finals record truly say about him and is there a legitimate argument to be made that he is Jordan's equal or even superior to the former Chicago Bulls legend? While I don't like playing the what-ifs hypothetical card, I do think it's important to look at the full context of situations. In Michael Jordan's six trips to the NBA Finals, his teams were favored to win each and every one. So, in the eyes of oddsmakers, his teams equaled their expectations. In LeBron James's nine trips to the Fi...

NRA spokesperson and woman most likely to be voted He-Babe of the Year by conservatives - Dana Loesch - just said the following about the recent Supreme Court Colorado bakery decision on her show, Relentless : "This is clearly a victory for Jack Phillips (the baker). The desire of really big, statist government progressives to force people to engage in expression, of course this whole bake the cake thing is far from over. But surprisingly, over in California, a judge just ruled that baker Cathy Miller, yet another baker, was under no obligation to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage. Now in the ruling, Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe said, quote, 'The right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment outweighs the State's interest in securing a freely accessible marketplace,' and 'the right of freedom of thought guaranteed by the First Amendment includes the right to speak, the right to refrain from speaking, and sometimes the most profoun...

For whatever reason, the release of the latest jobs report has Donald Trump and his supporters breakdancing at a roller rink. For May 2018, it's being estimated that 223,000 jobs were added and that the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.8%. Those are both very good numbers, but while I'm sorry to have to inform the president and his minions, this jobs report was not a direct reflection of Trump's decision-making and policies. As a matter of fact, it had about as much to do with that as heroin has in increasing 9-to-5 job efficiency. Donald Trump and his supporters either can't remember anything past 5 seconds ago, are incredibly stupid, or a combination of the two. The unemployment rate was 4.7% when Donald Trump took over the reigns. With the UE rate now being at 3.8%, that's a 19.15% decrease. At the height of the recession, while Barack Obama was in office, the unemployment rate was at an astounding 10.0%. So, as the UE rate was 4.7% when Trump stepped into ...

In its first year of eligibility, Nirvana got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Def Leppard, meanwhile, has yet to be inducted. To this, I say, WTF? (No, Phil Dunphy, it's not "Why the face?") Let's take a look at each band... Nirvana released just three albums between the years 1989 and 1993. The band was essentially done on April 8th of 1994 when lead singer Kurt Cobain shot and killed himself. They have 21 singles to their credit and have sold an estimated 80 million albums worldwide. In the years following Cobain's death, he has often been criticized for ripping off other artists, including the Pixies, Killing Joke, Garden of Delight, The Royals, The Damned, Sex Pistols, Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, Melvins, The 4 Skins, Zebra, Link Wray, The Cult, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Butthole Surfers, Los Brujos, Devo, the Psychedelic Furs, The Smithereens, Fang, etc. Def Leppard, meanwhile, has released eleven studio albums between the years...

One reason NRA die-hards drive me nuts is the fact they've yet to make a certifiably logical argument against strengthening gun laws. Instead of looking at scientific studies, worldwide legal trends (and their impacts), and/or logic/common sense, they often resort to conspiracy theories and especially bumper-sticker slogans, such as: "Guns don't kill people; people kill people;" "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun;" and "Criminals will always find a way to be criminals." Yes, all of these talking points are ridiculous on different levels, but ironically enough, these same individuals tend to be all for the worldwide war on terror and the belief that, by attacking countries which aren't our biggest fans and which harbor terrorists, we'll find a way to end terror. So where's the consistency? At least with gun reform advocates, we don't tend to look the other way on terrorism and think we should do nothi...

While I was at a bar last night, I overheard a drunk man exclaim, "Trump has done more in his first year than Obama did in all his years!" I had to simultaneously chuckle and give myself a facepalm at this declaration. It's ironically humorous that this individual feels this way, for he's about one thing and one thing only - money. When Barack Obama entered the Oval Office, we were dealing with the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Hundreds of thousands of jobs were being lost every month, to the point where the unemployment rate increased to 10.0%. People were losing their jobs, money, homes at a pace not seen in 70 years. Under Obama's leadership, however, the economy was able to stabilize, and the unemployment rate decreased to 4.8% as a result. So it's quite amazing and ignorant for this drunken individual to lay claim that a man who inherited a strong economy has done more for it in a single year than one who inherited the Great Reces...

ACC Bowl eligible teams: 10 of 14 (71.4%) Bowl record: 4-6 (.400) Record vs. Power 5 (and Notre Dame): 11-18 (.379) 11 wins ACC teams: 97-48 (.669) ACC opponents: 79-62 (.560) Difference: +0.109 Combined score: 419-235 (average of 38.1 - 21.4 = +16.7) 18 losses ACC teams: 122-104 (.540) ACC opponents: 172-64 (.729) Difference: -0.189 Combined score: 370-646 (average of 20.6 - 35.9 = -15.3) Overall ACC teams: 219-152 (.590) ACC opponents: 251-126 (.666) Difference: -0.076 Combined score: 789-881 (average of 27.2 - 30.4 = -3.2) Big XII Bowl eligible teams: 8 of 10 (80.0%) Bowl record: 5-3 (.625) Record vs. Power 5 (and Notre Dame): 8-8 (.500) 8 wins Big XII teams: 75-32 (.701) Big XII opponents: 59-45 (.567) Difference: +0.134 Combined score: 307-180 (average of 38.4 - 22.5 = +15.9) 8 losses Big XII teams: 57-47 (.548) Big XII opponents: 64-41 (.609) Difference: -0.061 Combined score: 219-285 (average of 27.4 - 35.6 = -8.2) Over...