The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Some things just don't make sense. As the saying goes, "Reality is stranger than fiction." One example of this is racism. Some hate and deem others as inferior due to their skin color. If we were all blind, this wouldn't be an issue, so why should it be if we have 20/20 vision? The Smurfs are blue. The Incredible Hulk is green. Do I hear anyone shouting discriminatory comments based on their skin color? No. So why, if fictional characters aren't judged on the color of their skin, should real people be judged on theirs? It's stupid and makes no sense. You know what else doesn't make sense? Patriarchy. Sure, we in America like to parade ourselves as the land of opportunity, the land of freedom, the land of equality, but that's bullsh*t. Men rule; women take care of little ones who drool, or however that goes... Let's place this into the proper perspective. Women tend to make less than men before getting pregnant. Then they waddle around for 9 month...

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 ...

Much talk has been made of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to her religious beliefs, even though same-sex marriage is now legal nationwide. She was then found in contempt of court and temporarily jailed before being released earlier today. Well, another such story regarding religious freedom  at the workplace was reported recently, as ExpressJet flight attendant Charee Stanley was suspended by the airline for refusing to serve alcohol on flights due to her Islamic faith. She's been placed on unpaid leave and it's uncertain at this time if she'll ever work for the company again. She's since filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. After reading the entire article, Charee Stanley's case is quite similar to Kim Clark's, but not identical. Ms. Stanley's been an employee of ExpressJet for approximately three years. Two years ago, she converted to Islam and ...

When I'm out and about over the weekends, rarely do I discuss politics. This is mainly due to two reasons: 1) It's what I read and write about for the majority of my workweek and 2) I've learned that it's typically not a good idea to mix alcohol and political discussions. Like with most other people, when I'm away from the workplace, the last thing I want to do is think about or discuss my work. Reading and writing about current events, especially in the world of politics, for most of the workweek, the last thing I want to do when I'm out is talk about what I've read and written about for hours at a time leading up to that moment. Also, politics is a very touchy and divisive subject. There's an old rule which says states that one shouldn't talk about the four following subjects with another person (a stranger or person one doesn't know very well): 1) Money, 2) Sex, 3) Politics, and 4) Religion. On Saturday night, however, I did wind up discussi...

If there's one thing the Republican Party likes to do, it's make asinine comparisons concerning the LGBT community. Some have compared it to: Polygamy, beastiality, pedophilia, alcoholism, drug addiction, and the list continues. Just recently, North Carolina House Republican Robert Pittenger decided to make an addition to that ever growing list of nonsense, as he said the following at a town hall near Charlotte with regard to his belief that companies should have the right to fire or refuse to hire someone because they're gay: "You need to respect the autonomy of somebody running their business. It's like smoking bans. Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property? I think people have the right to private property. In public spaces, absolutely, we can have smoking bans. But we don't want to micromanage people's lives and businesses. If you have a business, do you want the government to come in and tell you you need to hire somebody?...

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.

Earlier today, I read an article entitled, "Want To Kill A Conversation? Ask Someone What They Do," written by Carolyn Gregoire of The Huffington Post  and I found it to be quite interesting. While I think "kill" might be a bit strong in most cases, I think the writer does have a point. In the article, Ms. Gregoire lays down the reality that while some people may be happy with and proud of their jobs, many are not, and in our country especially, there seems to be a tendency to judge one based on his or her profession and see the person as their profession. Ms. Gregoire closes her article with this: "Some people love what they do and find deep meaning in their careers, while others are happy to have jobs that pay the bills so that they can pursue their passions outside work. And still others have not had the freedom and financial means to pursue meaningful careers. In any case, who we are is a far more complex and wonderful thing than what we do." S...

Remember when Florida Senator Marco Rubio was seen as the politician to watch out for on the Republican side of the aisle? Then he had his dry mouth and water bottle moment when rebutting President Obama's State of the Union Address. Today, he appears to be becoming progressively (or would it be regressively) more of a far-right Tea Party type on an almost daily basis. This has especially been the case with gay rights. When it came to marriage equality, Rubio said the following: "I respect people who disagree with me on certain things, but that means they have to respect me too. Just because I believe states should have the right to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot. Just because we believe that life, all human life, all life, all human life is worthy of protection in every stage of its development doesn't make you a chauvinist. In fact, the people who are actually close minded in American politics are people who love to preach about the cer...

According to a new study released by PayScale, the gender-wage gap is a myth. Also, due to these supposed findings, 97.2% of conservative males got erections. This PayScale study claims that men and women get paid about the same for the same kind of jobs. According to this study, women earn 98% of what men earn in non-managerial positions and 91% of what men earn in executive positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data has long reported that women earn between 77 and 80% of what men do. With a disparity of approximately 20%, what gives? As was reported along with the PayScale "findings" was this bit of information: "It's possible that PayScale's findings differ from other conclusions because its study is based on people who choose to report their information to the site, as opposed to the Census and BLS, which have a broader reach." That's right. The study's "findings" were based solely on people whom "chose...

Earlier today, I saw a Facebook friend of mine post the following message via a cartoonish sign on the social networking site - "If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to knock a lazy co-worker out, I wouldn't have to work anymore." I had to laugh when reading that, because he was posting it from work. This prompted me to respond with, " Isn't it a tad ironic that while at work, a person posts something on Facebook decrying lazy co-workers?" In this person's mind, I guess it isn't a prime example of being a "lazy co-worker" to decry lazy co-workers on Facebook while at work. Ironic indeed...

There have been rumors and allegations that current Baltimore Ravens and future Hall-of-Fame linebacker Ray Lewis used deer-antler spray to heal more quickly from an injury. There have been mixed reports on whether or not the spray contains a substance which has been banned by the NFL.  I guess my question is this. Please keep in mind I'm not pro- nor anti-Baltimore Ravens (or Ray Lewis). Year in and year out around this time of year, the only things I really pull for with regard to the Super Bowl are great commercials and a great game. Okay, now, I completely understand why it should be illegal for players of any sport to use a list of banned substances which may give them an unfair advantage when they're actually playing. However, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to me for these substances to be illegal if these players are injured and simply trying to recover more quickly. I know people whom have been prescribed steroids, because the doctors believed it would qui...

 Anti-feminist and former man, Suzanne Venker, just recently wrote an article for FoxNews.com , which is called "The war on men." What is this "war on men" the ex hairy-chested gentlewoman is talking about? It revolves around one Pew Research Center poll, which claims that while more women are wanting to get married, more men are not (37% of women, up from 28% in 1997 and 29% of men, down from 35% that same year). What is this femi-man's reason for this change among the two sexes regarding marriage? I'll let her explain it to you herself: "Women aren't women anymore." I honestly wasn't aware of a sex-change epidemic that was running rampant in this country until reading those four words. Is the woman I'm dating now a former man, like Ms./Mr. Venker? I may have to ask for her medical records in light of this breaking news story! Venker continued with this: "In a nutshell, women are angry. They're also defensive, thou...

So, I was writing on a pad of paper the other day and someone asked me, "Are you writing a new book?" I kind of sighed and responded with no. I suppose I appreciate the curiosity, yet it's also common courtesy to not interrupt someone while they're working. If I had been in the midst of writing a book, chances are I'd be in a certain mindset - in the writing zone so to speak - and an interruption like that would completely disrupt that. I'd then have to try and reattain that particular focus and mindset I had possessed prior to being interrupted. This isn't the first such occasion this has happened and it likely won't be the last. I can understand a person observing another working and wondering, "What is it they're doing exactly?" yet can't that question wait until the person appears to be on break? If a band is in the recording studio, playing a song, the last thing they want to have happen is to be interrupted by someone, askin...

I haven't been able to blog much in recent days. I went out of town last weekend to spend some time with friends and family. I was then notified that I may be taking part in a political radio talk show starting in August (recording in July) and have been trying to put together a semi-short book in the run-up to the election. I'll be sure to keeping readers updated. Hopefully I'll be able to find some time to post some blogs in the next few days. To be continued...