The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

We're four days removed from the election, so as is often the case for the losing party, many progressives and Democrats alike are playing the blame game and asking the what ifs. Some are blaming FBI director James Comey. Others are blaming Bernie Sanders. Many are blaming Sanders' die-hard supporters. I can understand the disappointment and frustration. Trust me, I feel similarly. But while it's perfectly understandable to try and find a scapegoat for the disappointing results, we have to acknowledge the fact that there's plenty of blame to go around. I, for one, voted for Bernie Sanders in the Ohio Democratic Primary. I feel the man is a progressive hero and was better suited electorally to win a third consecutive term for the Democrats in the White House. But Hillary Clinton won the party's nomination and I was forced to choose between her and Donald Trump for president (sorry, but I wasn't going to waste my vote on either Jill Stein or Gary Johnson). To me,...

What's one of the first things everyone tells you when you talk about getting into better shape? "It's really all about moderation." While that might be technically true, it's also next to impossible. After I got over a 2-year illness about 5 years ago, I went on an exercise tear, and lost a ton of weight in the process. Not only did I exercise a great deal every day, I became Mr. No with regard to desserts, fried food, fast food, junk food, soda pop, etc. I was stricter on my diet than Donald Trump was with his illegal immigrant workers. Time after time, I would get told, "It's okay to snack here and there. Just do it in moderation." When I became more lax with my diet, I wound up gaining most of the weight back, and I've ended up going through such a cycle on multiple occasions since. Moderation may sound nice, but it's much easier said than done. It's fairly easy to say no to cigarettes, alcohol, or junk food after a certain peri...

Living in the state of Ohio and supporting marijuana legalization, especially for medical purposes (but also recreational), I voted no on 2 and yes on 3 yesterday to accomplish this. While I wasn't too terribly surprised issue 3 (to legalize marijuana) didn't pass, I was slightly disappointed. I think I was mainly disappointed because I know many fellow progressives voted against the measure due to not wanting marijuana monopolized in the state, and if they had all voted like I did, I think the measure would have had a shot at passing. I can understand perfectly well why so many progressives voted against issue 3. For the very same reason, I struggled with making my final decision on the matter. However, when thinking things through, while I wasn't thrilled with the writing of the law and the monopoly, I felt there were many more potential benefits than hindrances contained within it, and no matter how small it might have been, it was a step in the right direction (also, ...

I'm frankly getting fed up with hearing about all of these stories concerning white cops killing unarmed black men, and then hearing people's defense of the cops (including the cops themselves), as they resort to stereotypes, fallacies, and dehumanization as a means for excuse. So, in response to this, and in conjunction with a building rage inside of myself, I've decided to resort to writing a poem regarding matters. Black Lives Matter Don't wear a hoodie, Even if it's raining, Always bring an umbrella, Even though no one else does, Don't wear baggy pants, Where guns can be lodged, Even though that's a myth, So says Snopes.com, Don't put your hands in your pockets, Even when it's cold and snowing, Don't wear a coat either, That might worry people too, Don't wear anything nice, That may make people wonder, "Did he rob a store?" "Is that what he did with welfare?" Don't drive a nice car, As that...

Studies have often times shown that conservatives, especially those whom practice organized religion (mostly Christianity), are more content than liberals/progressives, especially those whom don't practice any organized religion. I think while believing in a rewarding paradise in the afterlife does make a difference to many people and allows them to be more regularly content than those whom don't, I think the main factor in this trend is at the root of the terms "conservative" and "progressive." Conservatives tend to like things to stay the way they are, so they're just as likely to vote for their candidates if little change is implemented during their terms as they would if a great deal of change was implemented. Progressives, on the other hand, typically want the nation to "progress," to move forward, for a great deal of change to occur. Often times, if several of the "promised" changes don't occur, this places a damper on their...

Some Republicans and members of the media are now comparing Obamacare to Hurricane Katrina. Let me compare these two events under our past couple presidents in a very condensed fashion: Delayed response to Hurricane Katrina under President George W. Bush: 1,833+ deaths Glitchy healthcare.gov website under President Barack Obama: 1,833+ frustrated individuals Yeah, the death of a person is the same thing as the frustration of one. While we're at it, let's go ahead and compare the Newtown shooting to waiting in line at the DMV... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/us/politics/parallels-to-bush-in-toxic-political-mix-threatening-obama.html?hp&_r=0

I remember about four years ago, I looked at myself in the mirror after getting out of the shower and didn't like what I saw. On that day, I told myself I'd change my habits, lose some weight and one day be proud of what I saw in that same mirror. I did that. I lost 20-25 lbs. before becoming seriously ill for almost two years and being unable to work out at all. Fortunately, I stuck to my new lifestyle as far as eating habits and the like went, so I only gained about 5 lbs. in those two years. When I magically got to feeling better in late December of 2010, I found a motivation I had never felt before and went on to lose another 20-25 lbs. for a total weight loss of 45 lbs. It even got to the point where a few people said I was too thin. Then in July of last year, I underwent gall bladder surgery and it took a long time to get to the point where I was comfortable working out again. Unfortunately, I fell back into some of my bad habits during this time and wound up gaining 29 l...

I've written about this before, but it's been on my mind quite a bit recently and I would like to sort out my thoughts on the matter. On Friday night, I posted a status on Facebook which read, "Craig Rozniecki has got this always-a-friend-never-a-boyfriend thing down to a science. He may have to start teaching classes on it." I received a response from a guy which said something like, "You've got to kind of be a dickhead. Sadly, it works." I talked to a distant cousin of mine, an older lady, about this and the aspect of a "challenge" and she said that sadly, yes, young people in particular seem to be attracted to that. Looking at the past two women I pursued and two whom kind of pursued me, they all have something in common - they have a history of dating, for lack of a better word, dickheads. They've admitted this. When they haven't and have described to me the men they were dating, how they treated and spoke to them, I could d...