The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Donald Trump cannot be President again. The guy was a complete disaster in his first term, and rest assured, a second term would be 45 times worse. Here's Trump's track-record since becoming president: - 38 times he said COVID would vanish - 1 time he suggested injecting disinfectant could rid one of COVID - 2.72M jobs lost - Just 6.409M jobs gained in his first 3 years, prior to COVID - 192k manufacturing jobs lost - +/-0.0% inflation - +14.8% wages (compared to +16.9% under Biden) - +2.6% GDP (compared to +2.9% under Biden) - +430.5% budget deficit - +37.7% national debt - +25.5% homicide rate - +17.0% firearm deaths - 30,573 lies told - Just 28% approval abroad - 2 impeachments (3 counts) - 34 felony convictions - 54 felony charges pending - Once found liable for fraud - Twice found liable for defamation - Once found liable for rape - Etc. The guy was, is, and always will be a disgrace to the office. What has he said he'd do if he served a second term?  Be a dictator on ...

There are a number of things which don't make a great deal of sense to me when it comes to the election process in this country. First off, the electoral college. How can we say every vote counts when Al Gore won the popular vote in the 2000 general election, yet lost due to the fact George W. Bush received more votes than him in the state of Florida (all the votes that were counted anyway)? Secondly, there's the Democratic superdelegates. Every person has the right to vote, so why should some votes be tallied as greater than others? Not only should we do away with superdelegates, we should also put the kibosh on caucuses. In the run up to the 2008 general election, I was fortunate enough to participate in my first caucus, as I cast my vote for Barack Obama in Nebraska. Due to the fact it was my first time at such an event, it was a fascinating and educational experience for me, yet I hope to never have to experience it again. As a matter of fact, I think each and every state...

With each and every election cycle, I begin to increasingly wonder if the Republican Party will change its name to the Oligarch Party. For as pro-freedom and liberty as their rhetoric typically is, it amazes me how anti-democratic the Republican Party has become. Allow me to compare the two parties on this front: Democratic Party - Wants to overturn Citizen's United so that corporations are limited in their campaign donations - Doesn't believe corporations are people - Wants to expand voting efforts to maximize voting on election day - Believes a strong economy is build from the base up - Doesn't believe in repressing certain demographics of voters Republican Party - Wants to maintain the Citizen's United ruling so corporations aren't limited in their campaign donations like people are - Believes corporations are people - Wants to restrict voting on election day - Believes in trickle-down economics - Believes in repressing certain demographic...

What do Ohio Governor John Kasich, State Treasurer Josh Mandel, Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Secretary of State Jon Husted all have in common, besides being Republican? They've been ducking debates leading up to election day. In Governor Kasich's case, his campaign feels that, with such a large lead over Democratic challenger Ed Fitzgerald, it could only potentially do the governor harm to participate in debates. Given many Republicans' issues in such settings leading up to the 2012 elections, perhaps many have opted to go the silent route, thinking it's less potentially damaging than actually attempting to answer moderators' questions by opening their mouths. Regardless of the reason or excuse, however, I think this strategy is very disrespectful to voters. What are independents, moderates, and undecideds supposed to weigh their decisions on? Misleading ads and fliers? Newspaper endorsements? Biased radio shows and cable news networks? Good luck with that....

Why does it seem that whenever President Obama makes a speech to try and get public opinion on his side to place pressure on Congress to, you know, do their jobs, many on the right side of the political spectrum refer to it as nothing more than a "political stunt"? Obama: Pushing for immigration reform GOP: "This is just a political stunt!" Obama: Fighting for equal pay for women GOP: "This is nothing more than a political stunt!" Obama: Wanting to push stricter gun laws GOP: "Two words - political stunt!" With the 24-hours news media being what it is, yes, presidents and other politicians attempt to increase the favorability of themselves and their party by speaking our for certain causes. However, why must that be the only reason for a politician to advocate action for a particular cause? Why does it seem inevitable to many that a politician is only seeking to improve his or her favorability, as opposed to actually wanting to d...

Setting: John Boehner's favorite pub, A-Holes Anonymous John Boehner: "Alright... Does everyone have their six wise-men shots?" Eric Cantor: "I thought that was three wise men." Boehner: "We're just taking those three wise men and squaring that number to six." Paul Ryan: "Isn't three squared seven, not six?" Boehner: "Who cares? Since when were we about numbers anyway?" Ryan: "I care about my P90X numbers!" Boehner: "Shut up, Ryan! Now let's do those six shots!" :: they all do the six shots :: Louie Gohmert: "Holy Issa! Are you sure that was only six? Geez! That's more than I did at my 16th birthday party!" Darrell Issa: "What did you say? Holy what?" Gohmert: "Oh yeah. Sorry about that. Instead of saying, 'Holy crap!" I may have mentioned your name instead. My bad..." Issa: "Alright, well, don't let it happen again! ...or els...

It amazes me that approximately 95% of the people seem to believe that their beliefs coincide with a higher power's. Since no two people's opinions are exactly the same, this creates a bit of a dilemma. It also amazes me that while many people may see Jesus as being omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent, they appear to believe he's an uber-capitalist whom would be anything but benevolent if he were growing up in the United States today. The non-partisan organization YouGov  just released poll results with regard to how Americans feel about certain contemporary political issues and where they feel Jesus would line up on those same issues. Here were the results: Legal abortion: 48% support it/36% oppose (net +12%), 20% believe Jesus would support it/52% oppose (net -32%) Gay marriage: 48% support it/40% oppose (net +8%), 32% believe Jesus would support it/45% oppose (net -13%) Death penalty: 58% support it/23% oppose (net +35%), 34% believe Jesus would support it/41%...

Even though voter fraud is less likely than winning the lottery, Republicans nationwide have hammered away on the notion that stricter voter ID laws are essential to maintaining a healthy democracy. Of course, that's not their real reason. Their real reason is to decrease the likelihood that typical Democratic voters - you know, minorities and women - will actually vote. Just how ridiculous are some of the new voter ID laws? Allow 117th District Court Texas Judge Sandra Watts fill you in, as she was just recently flagged for possible voter fraud because while her driver's license lists her maiden name as her middle name, her voter registration form lists her actual middle name: "What I have used for voter registration and for identification for the last 52 years was not sufficient yesterday when I went to vote. I don't think most women know that this is going to create a problem. That their middle name is on their driver's license, which was mandated in 1964 when...

Want to know why the Republican Party has had so many problems during the past couple presidential elections? Their candidates are moving further and further to the right (either by their own volition or being forced in that direction), while this country is seemingly moving further and further to the left. Both John McCain and Mitt Romney were viewed as moderate Republicans heading into primary season, but were forced to appear further to the right on the political spectrum than they actually were to become the party's presidential nominee. This resulted in flip-flopping, and with that, trust issues when election season was officially underway. This played a factor in their eventually losing the elections. If they had run as the moderates they had always been viewed as before the primaries, they would have likely had much greater chances of appealing to a wider array of voters - independents, in particular. But moderate Republicans appear to be going the way of the Dodo bird - eit...

The Republican Party's re-branding effort has gone about as smoothly as a man with Tourette's Syndrome hitting on a blind woman. Some members of the GOP have admitted the party needs to reach out to a broader range of voters, including women and minorities. However, that hasn't gone so well and an increasing number of Republicans are starting to suggest there's really no point in trying to reach out to such voters. In a last ditch effort, the party has tried resorting to history to woo the vote of minorities, African-Americans in particular. Members have said, "Which party was mainly responsible for passing the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act? It was the Republican Party! Come on! Why don't you support the party that supported you back in 1964?" That's the thing. While it's true that under then Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, approximately 80% of Republican House and Senate members voted for the Civil Rights Act and close t...

Ken Emanuelson, a Texas Tea Party activist, made a rather controversial statement at a May 20th Dallas County GOP event, when he answered a question with the following response: "I'm going to be real honest with you. The Republican Party doesn't want black people to vote if they are going to vote 9-to-1 for Democrats." Then just yesterday, the Tea Party loon (yes, a tad redundant, isn't it?) attempted to backtrack his previous remarks by saying this: "I hold no position of authority within the Republican Party and it wasn't my place to opine on behalf of the desires of the Republican Party. What I meant, and should have said, is that it is not, in my personal opinion, in the interests of the Republican Party to spend its own time and energy working to generally increase the number of Democratic voters at the polls, and at this point in time, nine of every ten African American voters cast their votes for the Democratic Party." Okay, so I'l...

Some people (mainly Casper-like white people living in gated communities) wonder why African-Americans rarely ever vote Republican. Both Al Gore and John Kerry won around 90% of the black vote in the 2000 and 2004 elections. Barack Obama won 95% in 2008 and 93% in 2012. What gives? It's situations like the one I'm about to share with you. Well after the election results became final, Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster publicly announced that there may have been some voter fraud in the state. Why did he suspect this? I'll allow him to tell you himself. Webster said, "In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of black people who came in and voted on Election Day." He continued with this: "Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in [these] towns knows anyone who's black. How did that happen? I don't know. We're going to find out." For the record, President Obama beat Mitt Romney by well over 100,000 votes state...

Many media pundits and talking heads like to talk about how divided we are as a nation. They tend to classify the divisions as: Liberal vs. conservative, Republican vs. Democrat, red vs. blue, urban vs. rural, but I see the division in a different manner and feel it's become more evident every four years - that's old vs. new. When looking at the exit polls from last week's election, with what demographics did Republican candidate Mitt Romney succeed? The old and the white - men, in particular, along with evangelicals. Where did President Obama succeed? With young voters, minorities, and women.  The country is becoming more diverse by the year, not only with regard to race, but also with regard to people in power - women and minorities now standing alongside white males with growing numbers. Each and every new generation of voters appears to be more liberal than the last, largely due to social issues - gay rights, in particular. Women and minorities are voting in larg...

There have been some Republican members of Congress whom have wanted to redefine rape, which would further their cause of attempting to strip rights away from women. Let me redefine rape for them. Rape (verb - pronounced rehp): What Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, and the Republican Party suffered on election day - November 6th of 2012 - courtesy of American voters. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/31/gop-abortion-bill-redefines-rape.html

We're just one week removed from the election, where President Barack Obama won 332 electoral votes compared to just 206 for Republican challenger Mitt Romney. However, this hasn't stopped some Republicans from seeming to suggest that even though their nominee was soundly defeated, his policies won. As Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt just recently stated: "I think, frankly, this is a great opportunity for the president to step forward, he's just been reelected, he doesn't have to run for office again, and come up with a plan that can actually pass. And I think that means, don't do the across the board cuts, come up with a way to have really targeted cuts and look at ways to increase revenue by one growing the economy, and two, maybe look at the tax code, just like Governor Romney suggested, you look at tax code and increase revenue without increasing taxes." Yes, because when America voted Barack Obama to be president for the next four years, w...

Today's the day! Now go out and make your voices heard! Vote! ...unless you're voting for that flip-flopping robot millionaire, Romney. Just kidding - well, kinda...

We're now less than 24 hours away from the first state polls closing. I was going to post this tomorrow morning, but will have more to do tomorrow than I had initially anticipated, so I thought I'd release this tonight instead. As stated in my last such update, I will order the states for each candidate from the state they're most likely to win to the state which is most likely to wind up being a toss-up. Solid Obama - all of these states (and D.C.) should go Obama's direction by at the very least, the upper single digits and in many cases, well over 10 points. I don't see any way that Romney wins any of these 17 states (including D.C.). 1. Washington, D.C.: 3 electoral votes (3 overall) 2. Hawaii: 4 (7) 3. Vermont: 3 (10) 4. New York: 29 (39) 5. Illinois: 20 (59) 6. Maryland: 10 (69) 7. Delaware: 3 (72) 8. Rhode Island: 4 (76) 9. California: 55 (131) 10. Massachusetts: 11 (142) 11. Washington: 12 (154) 12. Maine: 4 (158) 13. New Jersey: 14 (172) 14...

One reason I really hope that the Democratic Party kicks some serious tail tomorrow night in the elections is the Citizens United ruling. In this election cycle, $628,942,928 has been spent by Super PACs. Among the top five Super PAC spenders are three conservative-leaning groups: American Crossroads, Restore Our Future and Americans for Prosperity, whom have spent a combined $355,098,737. The two liberal-leaning groups - Priorities USA and Majority PAC - have spent a combined $104,905,151, or 29.5% of the there conservative-leaning groups. For the presidential election, Super PACs have spent a combined $556,746,117. When it comes to President Obama, $25,889,820 has been spent in support of him and $137,772,488 against Romney. On the flip-side, for Governor Romney, $90,957,779 has been spent in support of him and $290,006,064 against the president. So, the ratio of anti-Romney to pro-Romney spending by Super PACs is at roughly 1.5 : 1. However, the ratio of anti-Obama to pro-Obama sp...

Just because one yells louder than another, that doesn't make their statement any more valid. More times than not, it seems as if Republican leaders and Republicans in general like to yell that they love their American freedoms more than Democratic leaders and Democrats do. Yet, for as much as they love to clamor that they love freedom, Republican leaders have done everything in their power to suppress voting in this country. Why? It's simple - there are more registered Democrats than Republicans in this country and the people whose votes they're trying to suppress the most - minorities - historically vote for Democratic candidates and by extremely large margins. The fewer people that vote - minorities in particular - the better chance Republicans have of winning elections. It really amazes me that the same party who can't seem to talk enough about their love for freedom in this country - with regard to guns and religion in particular - has done all they possibly can to...

Not to brag, but I'm a perfect 3 for 3 with my debate predictions. Debate #1: I predicted Romney would win the snap polls and he won the CBS snap poll 46% to 22% for Obama. My personal grade for the debate was as follows: Style - Romney, Substance - Obama, Overall - Draw (but since style seems to matter more than substance to the average voter, I admitted that the majority probably saw Romney as the victor). Debate #2: I went with Biden and the CBS snap poll showed 50% felt Biden won and 31% felt similarly about Paul Ryan. My grade: Style - Draw, Substance - Biden, Overall - Biden Debate #3: I picked Obama by around 6 points. The CBS snap poll showed that Obama won by the final count of 37% to 30% for Mitt Romney. My grade: Style - Obama, Substance - Obama, Overall - Obama That brings us to the fourth and final debate, which will be held tomorrow night in Boca Raton, Florida and will focus mainly on foreign policy. Of all four debates, this is definitely the most diff...