The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Via Stephen Colbert's Late Show , it came to my attention last night that Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump recently said he'd eliminate the DEP, or the Department of Environmental. No, no such department exists, and no, DEP couldn't stand for Department of Environmental even if there were such a thing. Given that, expect Trump to mention eliminating the following departments at some point during his campaign: - Department of Acupuncture - Department of Commercials - Department of Deportation - Department of Energy Drinks - Department of Extramarital Affairs - Department of Health and Human Cervixes - Department of Homegrown Maturity - Department of Housing and Urban Development (the DMV) - Department of Incense - Department of the Inferior - Department of Jaundice - Department of the Lakers - Department of Menstruation - Department of Spades - Department of Treasure Chests http://www.ibtimes.com/donald-trump-department-environ...

It kind of cracks me up to hear so many far-right conservatives say something along the following lines in the run up to the midterm elections: "We just want to leave a better life for our kids and future generations than we were left with, and we'll do everything in our power to achieve that." Say what? The GOP seriously wants us to believe they care about future generations? Based on their voting records and talking points, this is how such ads should probably run: "We just want to leave a better life for our kids and future generations than we were left with, and we'll do everything in our power to achieve that. From not taking action on global warming and leaving future generations more apt to being victims of severe flooding and other disastrous weather, to not passing more gun restrictions to lessen the chance of firearms getting into the hands of dangerous individuals, it's really all about keeping the kids safe in their future. From decreasing fu...

I haven't had very many interesting back-and-forths on Twitter yet. For one, I've only been a member for approximately 3 weeks or so. Secondly, I'm still learning how to use the darn thing. Finally, my main intent with the site is to garner more recognition for my written work, so I've interacted mainly with like-minded people. Yes, it's boring sometimes, I admit, but I have a much better chance of selling my books to liberals, moderates, and sarcastic individuals than to conservatives or people whom don't much care for sarcasm. Today, though, I discovered that an individual with whom I disagree more than drunk drivers and cops replied to a tweet of mine and we've gone on to have a somewhat interesting and sad back-and-forth. Here's how it's gone to this point: Me: "Why are so many conservatives turned off about conserving the environment?" Him: "'Conservative' is incorrect. You can say 'right' or 'republicans....

The word conservative is defined as "disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones and to limit change." Why then is it that a new study shows self-described conservatives are turned off by the thought of helping conserve energy and the environment? The study, conducted by Dena M. Gromet, Howard Kunreuther, and Richard P. Larrick of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , published the following abstract: "This research demonstrates how promoting the environment can negatively affect adoption of energy efficiency in the United States because of the political polarization surrounding environmental issues. Study 1 demonstrated that more politically conservative individuals were less in favor of investment in energy-efficient technology than were those who were more politically liberal. This finding was driven primarily by the lessened psychological value that more con...

Is it all in our head? A buzz after one drinks alcohol? Love? Misery? Seizures? Highs? Depression? Is everything controllable? What is possible and not possible is dependent upon our thoughts and beliefs? If one believes they can beat depression, can they automatically flip the negative thoughts to positive ones and go from misery to joy? If one battles seizures, can they beat and overcome the seizures through outwitting them? Is everything a choice? Can we ultimately decide everything that will or won't occur in our lifetimes and how these events will affect us? Some would like to believe this. I wish I could believe it. But there are some things in life that we cannot help. I didn't have a choice as to what gender I'd be, whom my parents would be, what language I'd be born into, where I'd be born, what skin color I'd have, what orientation I'd be, what religion I'd be born into, what political leanings I'd be surrounded by, what health issues I...