The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

A couple months ago, I wrote about how now (then) was not the time to talk about impeaching Donald Trump. Post-Mueller report, I'd like to alter that opinion slightly. First thing's first, Donald Trump is not going to be impeached by the Republican-controlled Senate, so even if the Democratic-controlled House begins going through impeachment proceedings, don't get your hopes up. While only a simple majority is needed in the House to impeach a president, a two-thirds majority is needed in the Senate. As Republicans currently possess 53 Senate seats, even if all 47 Democrats voted to impeach the president, 20 of 53 Republicans (37.7%) would need to follow suit. That's less likely than Donald Trump passing a polygraph test while hopped up on Adderall. So the only way Trump could realistically get impeached is if Senatorial Republicans magically grow a spine or Democrats take back the Senate in the 2020 elections. The former isn't going to happen, and for the latter t...

I'd say roughly once a month I read an article which is titled something along the lines of, "What not to say to someone who is transgender" or "Ten questions you should never ask a transgender person." Now, granted, some of these comments and questions are so insensitive and ridiculous, even Ben Carson opened his eyes for a change to roll them. However, some questions which were mentioned came across as genuine and like the person simply wanted to learn more about the other and to understand them better. So, where do we draw the line between asking a transgender individual a question to learn more about him or her and yet do so in a way that doesn't leave them feeling uncomfortable? Is there a way? As my long-time readers should know by now, I'm rather progressive on most issues. The large circle of people I regularly associate with are quite diverse in terms of: Gender (well, duh), age, race, religious beliefs, political affiliation, orientation, etc...

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...

Due to the level of their fame and income, most people don't seem to hold much sympathy for celebrities whom take their own lives. After news broke of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death via a drug overdose last week, while many appeared to mourn his demise, a majority of people appeared to show little to no sympathy - stating that the sad ending to his story was his fault and his fault alone. While Hoffman may have been the one to inject himself with the heroin that ended his life, often times I think there are a host of other factors at play in such situations, and unlike many people I personally know, I hold a great amount of sympathy for the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'm by no means a big-name celebrity, but would classify myself as an artist, whose mind tends to function differently than most. While I love expressing myself creatively and rarely ever lack ideas in order to do that, there are times the seemingly constant array of ideas overwhelm me with work a...