The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Feminism: "noun, the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes." The right to work. That's feminism. The right to vote. That's feminism. Equal education and employment opportunities. That's feminism. Equal pay. That's feminism. Reproductive rights. That's feminism. Feminism is about equality. It's about women being treated as equals in and out of the home, in and out of the school, in and out of the workplace, in and out of any place where they step foot. In accordance with the law, all men and women should be treated as equals.  Here's what feminism isn't: feminism isn't seeking vengeance against innocent parties, due to the abuses and inequalities of the past. Feminism isn't seeking privilege over peers. Feminism isn't about power and control just for the sake of power and control. I'm an old-school feminist. I think it's wrong young women are often discouraged from taking an interest in cert...

After a grand jury decided not to indict Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice last year, debates have sparked across all media outlets, emotions running high in the process. While I can understand that it's inevitable for there to be differences of opinion on the subject, I'm amazed at the large quantity of Tamir Rice trolls making their presence known on numerous websites. Here's a very condensed summary of what happened. On November 22nd of last year, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun in a park, a witness called the police about the matter, informing them it was "probably fake," yet the individual who took the call didn't report this information to the police, and two seconds after the cops arrived, Officer Loehmann shot and killed Rice. I've heard all the arguments from those defending the cop's actions: - "The kid should have known to drop the gun when the cops arrived!" ...

It seems like the #1 thing Congressional Republicans (or potential Congressional Republicans) are saying with regard to potentially taking control of the Senate today is, "We're going to repeal Obamacare!" Sorry to disappoint them and their followers, but that's not going to happen. First off, whether or not the GOP attains control of the Senate, they won't have enough members for a filibuster-proof majority. Also, President Obama is still the president, so he will veto any and all attempts to repeal his landmark healthcare law. In order for Congress to override a president's veto, they'd need 2/3 of the vote in both the House and the Senate, which won't happen. So, once again, I'm sorry to disappoint some people, but if you truly believe the "We'll-repeal-Obamacare-if-we-win-control-of-the-Senate," it's not going to happen anytime soon. The soonest it could potentially happen would be in 2017, if a Republican wins the 2016 pr...

When it comes to the odd mix of commercial success and negative reviews, Fifty Shades of Grey is like an Adam Sandler comedy. While critics may claim it's the worst film of the year, it does well at the box office. For example, the 2013 film Grown Ups 2 earned almost $134 million at the box office, while being approved by just 7% of critics. From that perspective, Fifty Shades... isn't much different. To this point, the series has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, all while receiving negative reviews like Seattle receives rain. Here are just some such quotes: Sir Salman Rushdie: "I've never read anything so badly written that got published. It made 'Twilight' look like 'War and Peace.'" Maureen Dowd ( The New York Times ): "[It was] like a Bronte devoid of talent," and "[It was] dull and poorly written." Jesse Kornbluth ( The Huffington Post ): "As a reading experience, Fifty Shades... is a sad joke, puny of plot...

Whenever something horrifically bad occurs in this country, it seems as if die-hard evangelicals join in unison with one another across the nation and tell people, "Well, you know why this happened, right? It's because we've turned our backs on God." Yes, whether it be Hurricane Sandy, the Newtown shooting, or a devastating tornado, many evangelicals won't point their fingers toward reason or common sense, but toward a religious conspiracy. I often times hear and read them attempt to reason with people by saying something such as this: "What would you expect? We took prayer out of schools. We took Christ out of Christmas. We've removed God from this country, so now he's had enough and is punishing us as a result." No, nevermind the belief that God gave us free will. I guess he gave us free will until the point he's so angry, he has to provide himself catharsis through destruction. Oh, what a benevolent God he is... This "rational...

The far right-wing Family Research Council has shown their true colors yet again, those of: Lunacy, denial, ignorance, narrow-mindedness, and cavemen. Not only have they come after gays' sex and marriage rights, but they're now coming after single people's sex and birth control rights, regardless of their orientation. Tony Perkins - the head of the Family Research Council - had senior FRC member Pat Fagan on his radio show, where Fagan said the following about the Supreme Court's 1972 decision when it overturned a state law that banned unmarried people from purchasing birth control: "The court decided that single people have the right to contraceptives. What's that got to do with marriage? Everything, because what the Supreme Court essentially said is single people have the right to engage in sexual intercourse. Well, societies have always forbidden that, there were laws against it. [...] It's not the contraception, everybody thinks it's about con...

I am by no means a Republican, far from it. I'd probably refer to myself as a liberal independent, who tends to vote for the Democratic candidates. However, in saying that, I still feel bad for moderate to liberal Republicans in the House, Senate and/or those running for the oval office. After the GOP sold themselves to the Evangelical community and conservative radio along with Fox News hit the airwaves the party has become progressively more conservative (progressively more conservative sounds wrong, yet makes me chuckle, so I'll stick with it). Look back through the history of the Republican Party - Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, etc. These presidents would not have fit in with the Republican Party of today. It humors me to hear so many high-powered members of the party claim that Ronald Reagan was the greatest president in the history of this country and treat him like their role model, because if they look at his policies, what he d...

As I do every Monday through Thursday, barring repeats, I viewed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. Ideologically speaking, Stewart is definitely left of center, especially when it comes to social issues. However, unlike some other talk show hosts, like Sean Hannity and many other such hosts on cable news channels, Fox in particular, Stewart actually tries to listen to his guests and understand where they're coming from. Stewart has had many conservative guests on his program and once in a while, he might go on a long rant, but he's not angry like Hannity or O'Reilly and for the most part, he is able to engage in a very civil and thought-provoking back-and-forth with his guest. So, last night, Stewart's guest was Judge Andrew Napolitano, whom describes himself as Libertarian. As the interview went long, there are three portions of the interview on the web to view. I went and viewed the second and third part this morning and followed that by reading all of the...

A Piece of Paper What you work for, What you all need, Unable to fully function, Unable to live without me, To go out and eat, Drink at a bar, To rent a house, Own a car, To raise your kids, Provide them education, To give them shelter, Provide them opportunity, Causing you great stress, Providing you tremendous joy, Able to destroy your life, Able to make you see another day, The world revolves around me, Like the earth to the sun, Heavy darkness looms overhead, Whenever you run short, Agreed upon for years, A piece of paper am I, With no pulse or heartbeat, Able to control your  life.

This poem can too be found in the book, "Seasons Come, People Grow: A Poetic Journey," on pages 140-141. Begged and bribed, Pellets coming my way, Running about, doing tricks, Just a rat in a cage, Grabbed by the tail, Laid about on the scale, How much will I receive this time? We shall wait and see, Placed in my cage, Trapped, with nowhere to go, Climbing the walls, Wanting to get out, I hit the bar repeatedly, Get fed bits and pieces at a time, Until I get sore and tired, And don't have any more stamina left inside, I sense the eyes around me, Watching my every move, Should I stand here and ignore their wishes? Or do what they want me to do? The cage surrounds me, Every second of every day, How I want to be free at last, And not be just another rat in a cage.

This poem can be found on pages 146-147 in "Seasons Come, People Grow: A Poetic Journey". Waiting quietly, In our dark hole, The light outside during the daytime, A guide for us to know where to go, When we walk out of the dark, We only put ourselves at risk, Obstacles and traps spread all about, Never knowing when one will strike us, We are allowed to live peacefully and freely in private, But can't do so publicly, The cats will meow and roar, They'll then lock us up and throw away the key, They lock us up, Surrounded by metal bars are we, For not following the norms, For not being another mindless member of society, Little mice stuck in our holes, Afraid of having a voice of our own, Little mice afraid of the cat, Fear and paranoia surround us as we give in to their wretched grasp, Followers come and go, Leaders are remembered, For what they believe they will stand, And not be another cowardly mice of man.

This poem can be found on pages 121-122 of "Seasons Come, People Grow: A Poetic Journey". Held by the strings, Never in place, Our head and arms dangling, At their mercy, Guided on the stage, Directed where to go, How to act, What to wear, With each repetition, Performance becomes easier, Practice pays dividends, To a sense of mastery, Held by the strings, Just a puppet in life, How it's time to break free, To find my own path, The strings have broken, My head looking forward, The door is wide open, The master in control.