The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

About a week and a half ago I spent a weekend with a Trump-voting family. At no time did I bring up politics, even when the subject was broached by a member of said family. I just listened and came away with these observations: - The family came across as quite welcoming. - Simple people. I don't mean that in a bad way. They just didn't require much to be content. If the Thesaurus gods were aware of them, they'd be the first listing for antonym under the term  high-maintenance . - It appeared as though one was highly reluctant on staying tuned in to the every day happenings in the country, let alone the world, and the other was satisfied getting his/her news from Facebook. - They came across as educated in general, but ignorant when it came to the world of politics (one of them at least). - Their favorite word appeared to be  taxes . - Oddly enough, it seemed as if they have received governmental assistance for quite some time. - Without rationalization, both ...

My father got a job in Nashville a couple of months ago. Following the craziness that was the holidays and allowing him some time to get settled in, I decided to visit him this past weekend. It was my first time down south since middle school, so roughly 20 years, and my first time ever in the Volunteer State. While I think it'd be unfair to concretely label an area based on a 3-day visit, it was quite the surreal experience. Given the fact I hadn't visited SEC country since I was approximately 15 years of age and worried more about what a crush thought of me than global warming, this past weekend's visit was the first trip I'd taken to the area since I fully entered adulthood. Due to that, my observations were more detailed and keen. Here are just some of the impressions I came away with once I returned home late Sunday night. First off, while walking through the airport to greet my father, I kept having to look around me to check and make sure I was in the Nashvil...

Sipping on his fourth mojito and having his feet rubbed by Sean Hannity, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a short break from his busy morning in Cancun to speak with reporters. Given his inebriated status, the Kentucky senator was only able to take one question. Jorge Ramos: "What do you say to the taxpayers who claim you and your Congressional brethren aren't truly earning your $174,000 salaries? That you do so little for so much, are taking advantage of hard-working Americans, are moochers in a sense, and would be fired if you put so little effort into any other job?" McConnell: "F**k you! That's what I say! Just kidding... Hey, Jose, or whatever your name is, can you get me another one of these? Make it strong this time! Where was I? Could you repeat the question, Jose?" Ramos: "That's Jorge..." McConnell: "That's what I said, Jose." Ramos: "Jorge... Nevermind... The question was, 'What do you say ...

It's amazing how crazy these past six weeks have been, the past couple in particular. I suppose most people's schedules get overloaded around Thanksgiving and Christmas, to the point where, in a panic, they look at the calendar and say, "Wait... I just scheduled a half-hour lunch get together for Tuesday! I don't have a half hour to spare! Where did all my time go? Dammit! Where did I put my eggnog?" However, not only did things get hectic for me around the holidays, my brother, sister-in-law, and niece flew into town for a week and a half just two weeks after Christmas. So, between catching up and spending quality time with them and the rest of my family, looking after my niece at times, and my 2-year-old Siberian Husky always around contemplating about taking a baby toy into the backyard, it has been quite the enjoyable, yet draining week and a half, six weeks overall. For as sad as I was to see them travel back home, however, it will be kind of nice to get back...

Well, I really need to get going, start packing, and try to get some decent shut-eye to hopefully beat this cold before heading out of town tomorrow for the extended holiday weekend. I hope all of my readers have a great extended holiday weekend, that you're able to enjoy a lot of good food, good company, good drinks, that you're able to refrain from getting into heated debates with crazy conspiracy theory-oriented uncles, manage to have a great time, and arrive back home safely!

I can't tell you how many times I'll see Facebook posts made by conservative friends of mine that criticize President Obama for taking a vacation. Humorously enough, these are the same people whom weren't at all bothered when then President George W. Bush did so. I say "humorously," because according to a new report, it appears as if Dubya spent time away from this nation's capital at a much greater clip than our current president. According to CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller, here are how the numbers stack up: Number of trips Bush: 58 Obama 20 (on pace for approximately 29) Days on vacation Bush: 349 Obama 129 (on pace for approximately 188) In other words, if the current president stays at his current pace, he will wind up with exactly half the number of trips as Bush and roughly 54% of the vacation days. So, if a person happened to be critical of both presidents taking vacation days, then give them a pass. However, if a person, whom was...

Well, I'm heading out of town to be with friends and family for a few days, so if I seem quieter than usual, that is the reason why. I will try to keep tweeting while I'm there, so if you get bored at all, feel free to check me out at this URL - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki I hope you all have a very fun and safe extended weekend. A few words of advice before you get started: Try not to get road rage (especially in states with the Stand Your Ground law), try not to get into a political fist-fight when at a family gathering (especially if Mike Tyson is on the opposing side), don't drink Everclear straight (or with anything), and try not to post too (m)any drunken selfies on Facebook.

As I do every year, I'll be heading out of town to spend time with family over Christmas. Due to that, I won't be able to write much, if at all, over the next few days. I hope all of my readers have a very fun and safe week! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I just thought I'd let all my readers know that this is going to be an exceptionally busy week for me, so chances are I won't be able to write quite as much over the next few days as I have in recent weeks. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece are flying in from Omaha today to spend the week here, before heading back a week from today. I'll try to get as much work done this week as I can, but chances are it'll be limited due to the company I'll have this week. Anyway, I just wanted to warn everyone. Hopefully this week goes well and I'm not seen as the craziest uncle this side of Ted Nugent.

Well, I went through a case of the 24-hour post-vacation blues yesterday, so I definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind to write. But, several good hours of sleep and a sore back later, and I'm ready to start writing again, as well as ready to work on my book some more. I'm currently on page 110 and inching ever closer to the finish line known as the last page.

I just thought I'd warn readers that I'll be heading out of town tomorrow afternoon and won't be returning until Sunday evening sometime, I believe. Due to this, it's highly unlikely I'll be able to write much, if at all, over these next 3-4 days. When I return home on Sunday night, while I'll try to get caught up with the weekend's headlines and interesting or oddball stories, my first focus will be on finishing my upcoming book - the third installment of the LOL at the GOP series. Well, I better get to packing. I hope everyone has a fun, yet relaxing, and very safe holiday weekend! Take care!

Well, after writing close to 50 blogs since Sunday, I think it's about time I take a day off and actually relax. Of course, having just said that, I have to chuckle at the fact I'm writing a blog to announce I won't be blogging today.

I'm heading out of town tomorrow to spend some time with family, so I'll be unable to blog for the next week. I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas or if they celebrate a different holiday, a wonderful holiday season. I wish everyone safe travels, to have fun, and I hope Santa Claus wasn't overly liberal with his giving of coal this year!

For any regular readers of mine, I just thought I'd note that I'll be heading out of town for the 4th of July weekend, so I likely won't be posting any blogs until I return on Monday. I've been attempting to post five per day, but won't be able to do that again until Monday at the earliest, possibly Tuesday. I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!

Sometimes I don't care what numbers tell me, logic can seemingly defy those very numbers. Other times, they work well hand-in-hand. When my family and I traveled to San Diego a few years ago, I checked out the weather forecast, told my family what to expect and my mom thought we should bring long-sleeve shirts and jeans. I asked why and she responded that it'd be cooler than we were used to in Nebraska. So, I tried explaining things a bit. The lowest it was supposed to get temperature wise in San Diego was 69 degrees. It was 68 degrees in Omaha just a night prior. I asked my mom what she thought of the weather that last previous night and she said, "It was nice." I then said, "Okay then, it was 68 and did you need a long-sleeve shirt or jeans then?" She responded with a no. I went one step forward and said, "Okay, and the lowest it's supposed to get there is 69, which is warmer than it was here last night, in which case you said you didn...