The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

So, I had a run-in with law enforcement yesterday. My lease on my old car ran out in March of this year, when I put a lease on a new vehicle. Little did I realize the stickers on my plates expired in June. Stopped at a light, I witnessed a cop's flashing lights behind me not long after we got going again. I wasn't speeding or driving erratically in any sense, so I was quite puzzled, even thinking he was going to pull over someone in front of me. After checking my insurance and license (clean record), he kindly let me off with a warning and provided me with information on where to go outside of the BMV, as it's rather notorious for long lines/waits. The discussion was short-lived. The officer was helpful and understanding. As I was on my way to meet my parents for lunch, the situation could have been a lot worse. I actually wondered to myself, "Would this have gone any differently had I been black or Hispanic?" I honestly have no idea, but I couldn't help but...

Death panels. Hitler. The end of democracy. The sky is falling. Armageddon. Republican politicians and talking heads have pretty much made every over-the-top claim one could possibly think of with regard to the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). Texas Senator Ted Cruz even shut down the federal government in an attempt to repeal the healthcare reform law. Outside of some troubles signing up for coverage initially on the glitchy healthcare website, however, I can't complain about my experiences with the new law. I haven't needed my new insurance card much since enrolling a year and a half ago, but just having it makes me feel more secure than I had been the previous couple of years after I was let go by my insurance provider and rejected by other health insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions. I've needed my card in recent weeks, however, and it's saved me a good chunk of money to this point. The monthly premium and co-pays have been reasonably priced and ...

It was anything but easy, but after four months of sporadically trying, I'm finally enrolled in "Obamacare," and will be saving approximately $1,200 a year due to it (in comparison to my old plan). I created my profile in late December of last year, and while the site was running slightly better than it had been in early October, it still wasn't cooperating with me very well, so I decided to give it up until the new year. Slowly, but surely, I started filling out the application, which was taking a bit longer than I had anticipated. Then, as of March, I had finally gone through all of my 27 healthcare options and made my decision. Unfortunately, after I clicked on my selections for both a healthcare and dental plan, once I clicked "review and confirm," a screen popped up, which said, "$0 premium - click confirm." While I had wished that was accurate, $0 is a far cry from $246, and I knew something had gone awry. When I clicked "confirm,...

Just yesterday, former Ronald Reagan policy analyst and co-director of the anti-Obama film 2016: Obama's America - Dinesh D'Souza - decided to make the following Thanksgiving Day tweet, before deleting it later in the afternoon: "I am thankful this week when I remember that America is big enough and great enough to survive a Grown-Up Trayvon in the White House!" At first glance, this tweet didn't make a great deal of sense to me, but until D'Souza explains himself, I'm left with the following possible interpretations: 1) Racism - Many right-wing commentators have labeled both Trayvon Martin and President Obama as thugs. While they may defend their label by saying, "That's not racist," if you were to ask them what a thug looks like, they'd likely respond with, "Someone like Trayvon or Obama." In other words, thug = black thug. 2) Confusion - President Obama has admitted to experimenting with drugs many years ago. Perhaps ...