The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Here are MAGA's talking points since the Harris/Walz ticket was formed: - Kamala Harris, who has an Afro-Jamaican father, just recently turned black - at the age of 59. - It's weirder for Vice President Harris to not have any biological children of her own than to carry around cups of supposed JD Vance jizz. - Harris has the capability of laughing like really hard, and that's just not acceptable. Laughter showcases joy and we just can't have that. - Kamala once ate a bag of Doritos. Those aren't the chips of a leader. It's all about the Lay's. - Ms. Harris had dated other men before she married her current husband. So unlady like. Trump committing adultery on all three wives; allegedly raping one; being found liable for raping someone else; and being accused of raping a 13-year-old girl? Perfectly acceptable. - Tim Walz cares about kids in schools - even going so far as to actually make sure they're being fed food, instead of bullets. So anti-2nd Amendme...

I'll be the first to say that Amazon is one of the fastest, best, most convenient, and most lucrative companies in the world. Having said that, though, they aren't without faults, and one of them happens to be customer service. After trying to sign into Amazon last week, I was greeted with a confirmation pop-up, which asked that I type the final four digits of a credit card number. Unfortunately, the card they provided was an old one to which I no longer had access. So I called customer service for assistance. The first gentleman I spoke with was very friendly. I told him about my situation, and while he couldn't personally aid me, he transferred me to a specialist in the area. This specialist certainly was "special," I tell you... I should probably preface this conversation by saying I sparingly use Amazon for shopping. I typically use it to sell books I've written. So the "specialist," after I explained to him the situation I was in, asked me...

For as much as I criticize Donald Trump, I will give him credit for one thing - the man is a master of projection. When he calls another dishonest, it's he who's lying. When he refers to another as crooked, he appears to be talking about himself. When he claims the election to be rigged, it winds up being in his favor. When he adamantly declares the mainstream media to be biased, he conducts the most biased survey in recorded history. Just recently, I read a survey conducted by the Donald Trump team on "Mainstream Media Accountability" at this site: https://action.trump2016.com/trump-mms-survey/ The first three questions are fine, but, well, allow me to share the survey with you... "1. Do you trust MSNBC to fairly report on our campaign? Yes, No, or No opinion?" "2. Do you trust CNN to fairly report on our campaign? Yes, No, or No opinion?" "3. Do you trust Fox News to fairly report on our campaign? Yes, No, or No opinion?" ...

In light of the Roger Ailes (of Fox News) - sexual harassment controversy that's been swirling the airwaves over the past couple of weeks, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has weighed in on the matter, saying this: "Some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he's helped them... And when they write books...and say wonderful things about him... Now, all of a sudden, they're saying these horrible things about him." and "There was quite a bit of fabulous things said [about Ailes by Gretchen Carlson]. It would be easier for me and more politically correct for me to say you are right. But you would think she wouldn't say those things... "I didn't know it was more than just her." Then, when he was asked about his daughter Ivanka hypothetically being sexually harassed at work, Trump said, "I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case." There are numerous...

I've got to hand it to Republican politicians, as they have managed to surpass even my lowest of expectations when it comes to their reactions to the shooting at Planned Parenthood last week (yes, my expectations were quite low). Who takes the cake for worst response thus far? None other than Colorado state Representative JoAnn Windholz, who released the following statement to The Colorado Independent : "Violence – Where it starts. The freedoms we enjoy in the United States include those that were made up to fit the audience and unsubstantiated numerical support, specifically the right to an abortion. When a violent act happens at a Planned Parenthood (pph) facility (most recent in Colorado Springs) the left goes on 'auto-pilot' blaming everyone insight when they should be looking in a mirror. Free Speech has brought to light the insidious selling of baby body parts (pph has no shame). These facts and overall mission of the abortion industry would easily send anyon...

It truly saddens me that red states are continuing to try and de-emphasize the importance of quality education. Instead of increasing taxes on the top 2% of earners, they feel it'd be better to strip funding from schools. Instead of lowering college tuition and interest rates in exchange for raising those before-mentioned taxes, let's continue to leave college-bound students (and their families) in large amounts of debt for several years. Not only that, but as Oklahoma lawmakers have recently suggested through the passing of a bill which would basically do away with AP U.S. history, instead of teaching students all that happened throughout history, both the good and the bad, let's just focus on teaching them what we want them to learn - you know, the good. As Republican State Representative Dan Fisher said, "In essence, we have a new emphasis on what is bad about America... (The new framework) trades an emphasis on America's founding principles of Constitutional ...

When talking to the uber-conservative NewsMax TV on Wednesday, Wisconsin Senator and man voted creepiest potential Boy Scout leader - Ron Johnson - said the following with regard to Affordable Care Act premium increases in the state: "I'm driving around Wisconsin, I'm talking to business owners and I'm talking to health care providers and insurance agents as well and they're seeing that same kind of range [of premium increases for 2015], anywhere from 16 to 60 percent. Kind of with an average of around 30 percent here just anecdotally in Wisconsin." Bob Uecker, would you care to give your two cents regarding Senator Johnson's numbers? "Just a bit outside." Thanks. The fact of the matter is, according to the numbers reported by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) last month, healthcare premiums will increase by an average of 3% in 2015, and two insurers are actually reporting decreases for the coming year. Medica ...

After their awful showing a week ago, where Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State were outscored 112-48 against Notre Dame, Oregon, and Virginia Tech (as well as Purdue and Northwestern losing to MAC teams), it seemed as if things could only go up from there for the Big Ten, but given this past weekend's performance by the conference, that apparently wasn't the case. Before this weekend, the Big Ten was a combined 1-5 (.167) against the other power 5 conferences (and Notre Dame). They'd also lost to two MAC teams. How did they perform against such clubs this weekend? West Virginia 40 Maryland 37 (0-1) Iowa State 20 Iowa 17 (0-2) TCU 30 Minnesota 7 (0-3) Washington 44 Illinois 19 (0-4) Notre Dame 30 Purdue 14 (0-5) Also, Bowling Green defeated Indiana 45-42 (third MAC team to beat a Big Ten team in the past two weeks) So, to this point in the season, the Big Ten is 1-10 (.091) against the other four power conferences (and Notre Dame), with only seven other...

Over the past several weeks and months, I can't tell you how many times I've read or heard stories which focused on female victims of sexual assault needing to take more responsibility to prevent these crimes from taking place, and frankly, I'm sick of it. Why, so often, do people place the full weight of responsibility on the shoulders of sexual assault victims, as opposed to the actual perpetrators of the sexual assaults? Almost every time I hear people talking about such situations, they mention one or more of the following: - "She shouldn't have been wearing something so revealing. She was kind of asking for it." - "She should have known better than to have drank so much at that party. That was pretty stupid." - "She should have come prepared, brought some Mace, a gun, or something." - "She should have brought some friends along that she fully trusted." - "She shouldn't have flirted with/been so nice to ...

Recently, at Oakleaf High School in Florida, Miranda Larkin, who was new to the area, attempted to make a good first impression on her peers by dressing up and wearing a skirt. Unfortunately for her, the school viewed her as dressing down, said the skirt was too short, and she'd need to change into the school's "dress code violation outfit." This outfit consisted of a neon yellow t-shirt with the words "DRESS CODE VIOLATION" being displayed in all caps, as well as bright red shorts, where those same words were also displayed. Miranda's mother, Dianna Larkin, has referred to the outfit as the "suit of shame," and plans on filing a complaint under FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), because she feels the school crossed the line with their actions. She told ABC News, "I really do believe in punishing my kids if they do something wrong, but this is not about punishing kids. This is about humiliation." She's ri...

Even though I've lived in Big Ten country for most of my life (near Lincoln, Nebraska for 26 years and near Columbus, Ohio for 6 years), I've been quite an outspoken critic of the quality of football in the conference for the past several years. No, I don't abhor the Big Ten, however, I don't possess a blind allegiance to it either. Unfortunately for the conference, this past Saturday may have been its worst day in quite some time and unless a miracle ensues, the Big Ten will have to pull a Chicago Cubs and wait until next year to once again try to gain credibility. On Saturday night, the Big Ten was represented in three high-caliber, prime-time match-ups, as #8 Ohio State was a home favorite against Frank Beamer's always respectable Virginia Tech Hokies; Michigan went to South Bend to take on Notre Dame in the long-time rivals' final scheduled meeting, and lastly; defending conference and Rose Bowl champion Michigan State went to Eugene, Oregon to take on the...

Glenn Beck is about as reliable with the reporting of news as mimes are of reporting anything. Even his tamest of conspiracy theories are enough to provide Critical Thinking professors across the country with massive migraines. Even though it appears as if Beck is void of brain cells and has instead substituted them with crazy cells, and should have been placed in a loony bin a long time ago, he reached a new low recently - yes, even for him. During a program of his on the Blaze , host Stu Burguiere attacked recent studies which alleged that approximately 1 in every 5 women have been raped. He claimed that President Obama and the government are manipulating the numbers to make the problem appear to be worse than it actually is. He then brought two men out to poke fun of the studies and victims of sexual assault. One was supposedly a male Abercrombie & Fitch model and the other was a man dressed as the stereotypical ditsy, blonde woman. The male model then turns to the "wom...

Missouri State Representative Chuck Gatschenberger (yes, a Republican) recently defended his controversial bill, which would force women to have ultrasounds before undergoing abortions, by saying this at a hearing this past Tuesday: "In making a decision to buy a car, I put research in there to find out what to do." Yes, the Missouri lawmaker compared pregnancy and abortion to buying a car. Fellow State Representative Stacey Newman (Democrat) responded to Gatschenberger's awful analogy by saying it was "extremely offensive to every single woman sitting in here," before adding the following: "Do you believe that buying a car is in any way related to a pregnancy decision? That kind of attitude is demeaning to women, regardless of what they decide to do." After hearing the backlash from Newman and many other women, Gatschenberger apologized for his analogy, and added, "I'm just saying this is a life-ending decision. You should think abo...

While the letter's authenticity is still in question, it is being reported by many right-wing media outlets and at least one more mainstream one that President Barack Obama has sent a handwritten response letter to Texas fifth-grade schoolteacher Thomas J. Ritter, who had sent the president a letter criticizing the Affordable Care Act. In Ritter's letter he wrote: "This bill has caused such a divisive, dirisive [sic], and toxic environment ... The reality is that any citizen that disagrees with your administration is targeted and ridiculed. I hesitated to write for fear of some kind of retribution . I watched you make fun of tea baggers and your press secretary make fun of Ms. Palin which was especially beneath the dignity of the White House." President Obama allegedly responded with these words: "I believe that health care reform will be the right thing for the country ... It certainly wasn't the smart 'political' thing! And I hope that in th...

While even the most ardent of Obama supporters can't deny the healthcare.gov website has had its share of problems, a recent report has showcased that right-wing cyber attacks may have played a factor in said problems. When questioned by the House Homeland Security Committee, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cyber-security and Communications - Roberta Stempfley - claimed that the website had been the victim of at least 16 attacks this year, including one which has been referred to as a DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attack. A DDoS attack provides a website with more traffic than it can handle, which results in it being non-functional for most users. Unfortunately, a number of right-wingers have spread information about this attack tool, and called it, "Destroy Obama Care!" The right-wing "patriots'" mission includes this note: "This program continually displays alternate page of the ObamaCare...

Yet another man has come forward in partially blaming a rape victim for that very crime. On Fox News' Shepard Smith Reports , attorney Joseph DiBenedetto made the following statement in light of news that a Missouri teenager had been raped by a classmate: "What did she expect to happen at one in the morning after sneaking out? I'm not saying - assuming that these facts are accurate and this did happen - I'm not saying she deserved to be raped, but knowing the facts as we do here including what the prosecutor has set forth, this case is going nowhere and it's going nowhere quick." To his credit, host Shepard Smith followed DiBenedetto's despicable remarks by saying this: "What you've done, Joseph, is taken tan alleged victim of rape and turned her into a liar and a crime committer. That's a far jump from a thousand miles away." I love how people like DiBenedetto believe that if X goes out past a certain time in a certain area and is ...

I don't care how poor a team is playing or how disappointing they are to fans, no player should have to hear an applause by hometown fans when he gets injured. To me, "fans" whom do that don't qualify as genuine fans. Unfortunately, Houston Texans starting quarterback Matt Schaub had to experience this very thing during his team's 38-13 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Schaub went down with an apparent ankle injury and many of the hometown fans applauded the event. This was a classless move by the fans whom partook in this act. Secondly, it makes them appear fairly ignorant as well. Matt Schaub has led the Texans to two consecutive playoff berths and while he's struggled this season, especially when it comes to turnovers, he was turning in a very efficient performance before going down with the injury on Sunday. He completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 186 yards (8.6 per), for a quarterback rating of 98.5. How did the despicable "fans'" her...

The Koch-funded anti-Obamacare group Generation Opportunity just started airing a couple of new ads which put the term "creepy" to shame. Both ads can be seen here -  http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/09/19/2649001/anti-obamacare-college-ads/  (and elsewhere). I'll wait a couple minutes for you to view them. ::waiting while listening to the final 1/3 of "Stairway to Heaven":: Welcome back. As you saw, one ad showcased a woman going to her OB/GYN for an exam and another showed a man going to a doctor for a prostate exam. When the doctors leave the room, creepy circus music then begins to play and a perverted-looking Uncle Sam pops up between the woman's legs and next to the guy who just took off his pants. At the end of the ads, a message then appears, which says, "Don't let government play doctor. Opt out of Obamacare." Evan Feinberg - president of Generation Opportunity - had this to say about the ads: "What we're trying to...

Thinking about taking a debate or critical thinking course at some point? If so, you may bump into a recent article written by ESPN's Rick Reilly, where the teacher will tell you, "Ladies and gentlemen - this is the finest example I could come up with to show you of how not to argue a point." The article is entitled, "Have the people spoken?," and is a defense of the Washington Redskins team nickname. Reilly mentions that his father-in-law is a Blackeet Indian and isn't bothered much by the team's nickname. He then talks about three high schools whom possess the same nickname, and that Native Americans in the area aren't at all offended by it. Due to this, it seems obvious to Reilly the nickname is not at all offensive, is in fact honorary, and that we shouldn't even be discussing the matter, saying, "White America has spoken. You (Native Americans) aren't offends, so we'll be offended for you." Yes, because due to a few...

Over the past week or so, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has decided to start speaking publicly more. No, I'm not sure why this is either, especially after reading his most recent comments regarding Hurricane Sandy. When speaking to Neil Cavuto of Fox News this past Friday, Romney said, "I can tell you the hurricane didn't come at the right time." Earlier in the week, Romney said the following on CNN: "I wish the hurricane hadn't have happened when it did, because it gave the President a chance to be presidential, and to be out showing sympathy for folks. That's one of the advantages of incumbency." No, Mitt Romney has never been known as a smooth-talker and these preceding comments again showcase that. The hurricane didn't come at the right time? When was the right time then? When was the "right" time for Hurricane Sandy to kill 159 people and inflict between $50 and $100 billion of damage? Let me answer that q...