Last Team Standing

What a relief! (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

At long last, the unthinkable has happened: the previously undefeated New England Patriots have finally lost a game!

The dethroning of the AFC’s last unbeaten team came at the hands of the Denver Broncos—and Peyton Manning wasn’t even at the helm. Instead, backup quarterback Brock Osweiler made clutch plays to lead his team to victory, including an overtime audible that ended with running back C.J. Anderson rumbling 48 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

“That’s what becoming a team is all about,” Broncos’ head coach Gary Kubiak said after the game. “You never know who’s going to make that play. Everybody stayed the course tonight and that is what is exciting about this team.”

The win elevated Denver to 9-2 and placed them three games ahead of Kansas City in the AFC West. At 10-1, New England still has full command of the AFC East, with the 6-5 New York Jets their closest competition.

Of course, this win also means only one undefeated team remains in the NFL: the 11-0 Carolina Panthers. And here’s hoping Cam Newton and company can keep this train rolling to 16-0!

Worst Thanksgiving Dish Ever

This Thanksgiving, be grateful you don’t have to eat this! (Vintage Recipe Cards)

Hypo-Cruz-y

And this guy wants to be president? As if! (Booman Tribune)

Hypocrisy in politics is nothing new. The two seem to go together like burgers and fries, Peaches and Herb or any other classic combination you can think of. And when it comes to hypocrisy in the current GOP race to the presidential nomination, no one does it better than Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris—as well as President Obama’s pledge to bring thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States—Cruz had this to say: “President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s idea that we should bring tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim refugees to America—it is nothing less than lunacy. On the other hand, Christians who are being targeted for genocide, for persecution, Christians who are being beheaded or crucified, we should be providing safe haven to them. But President Obama refuses to do that.”

In Cruz’s mind, only Christian refugees from Syria should be protected within our borders, not Muslims. After all, “there is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror,” or so Cruz thinks.

I guess he forgot that Timothy McVeigh was a Christian. And he currently holds the moniker of America’s most notorious domestic terrorist after killing 168 people and wounding 648 others during the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. Or Dylan Roof, a Lutheran who walked into the Zion Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC and gunned down nine Christians during Bible study earlier this year.

Of course, none of Cruz’s current (and crazy) rhetoric matches what he said in a 2014 interview: “We have welcomed refugees—the tired, huddled masses—for centuries. That’s been the history of the United States. We should continue to do so. We have to continue to be vigilant to make sure those coming are not affiliated with the terrorists, but we can do that.”

Funny how things change when you’re running for president, huh? And Cruz is the son of a refugee!

Huckabee with an F

I couldn’t have said it better myself (Bustle.com)

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like presidential hopeful and neo-conservative windbag Mike Huckabee should remove himself from the race for the Republican nomination?

Earlier this week, Huckabee responded to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris by suggesting the U.S. close its borders to Syrian refugees. And he did so in true racist fashion:

“It’s time to wake up and smell the falafel,” the Bible-thumping jackass stated. “We are importing terrorism.”

Yes, nothing says “presidential material” quite as much as remarks intended to slander the ethnicity and religion of millions of Americans and people around the world.

Is it possible that Trump really is the best GOP candidate?

Crazy Talk

Ain’t that the truth! (Some-ecards)

You know, I used to wish for an end to all the 2016 presidential campaign shenanigans—especially with regard to the GOP—but they provide such entertaining blog fodder that I am quickly changing my tune.

And I am not even talking about last night’s Republican debate.

I know it seems like I’m picking on the GOP—being a registered Democrat and all—but I assure you this isn’t the case. Granted, Hillary and Bernie can say some crazy things from time to time, but neither of them come close to Trump, Carson and the rest of the Republican field. Consider the following comments, for instance:

• Conservative Christians recently took offense with the holiday cups being used at Starbucks, primarily because they are simply red with the coffee giant’s logo. There is no mention of Christmas, which clearly offended people who felt this was an insult to Jesus. True to form, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump jumped into the mix and suggested people boycott the popular caffeine-fueled company. “If I become president, we’re all going to be saying Merry Christmas again, that I can tell you,” he said. I’m glad to see he has his priorities straight since coffee cups are such a serious issue in this country.
• Not to be outdone by Trump’s craziness, Senator Ted Cruz decided to share his whack-a-doodle opinions when he recently explained how atheists and others who don’t fear God and pray daily should not be president. “Any president who doesn’t begin every day on his knees isn’t fit to be commander-in-chief of this country.” I guess he missed the part about America’s founding having some basis in religious freedom, huh?
• Finally, Jeb Bush joined the fray when someone asked if he would go back in time and kill baby Adolf Hitler if time travel were possible. “Hell yeah I would!” he exclaimed. “You gotta step up, man.” Although this question was nonsensical—anyone worth their salt can tell you that doing something like this could disrupt the space-time continuum (a la Back to the Future)—I find it quite telling. After all, it wasn’t baby Hitler who killed the Jews. And I certainly wouldn’t vote a baby killer into office, nonsensical or not.

Yes, the more I listen to these insane GOP candidates—despite how truly entertaining they are—the more dread I feel that one of them could soon be leading our country. But hey, at least my next Starbucks holiday cup may have a sleigh, candy cane or baby Jesus on it…

Game of Lies

Winter is coming for us all next year (NBC/Seth Meyers)

Like millions of television viewers, one of my favorite shows is HBO’s gruesome and often controversial Game of Thrones. Granted, it took me a little while to get into the show—mostly because I was forced to binge watch it on HBO GO—but I can now say that I am a die-hard lover of Westeros, the Iron Throne and everything associated with George R.R. Martin’s epic creation.

When I consider the current race for the 2016 presidential nomination, however, a different title seems to apply: Game of Lies.

This is nothing new, of course, since we all know political candidates will say anything necessary to get elected. Lies, empty promises, misleading information—these are all so-called “tools of the trade” for those with political ambitions. And judging from the pool of GOP presidential candidates, it seems to be business-as-usual for those hoping to take the White House next year.

Consider a recent study by Politifact, an organization that evaluates the truthfulness of statements made by political candidates. They examined statements made by every GOP candidate and judged them as either true/mostly true or half true/mostly false/false/pants on fire. Here’s the graphic they created to report their findings:

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies (Politifact)

As you can see, the most truthful GOP candidate appears to be John Kasich, who obviously has no chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination. In fact, most of the candidates who speak more truthfully are so far behind in the polls that none of them are considered to be serious contenders. Sadly, the current front runners—Ben Carson and Donald Trump—tend to be the least truthful, with Carson slightly ahead of the sandy-haired real estate mogul.

None of this should come as much of a surprise, of course, since both Carson and Trump have no real political experience. They just seem to tell people what they want to hear, although neither of them have the knowledge—nor even the desire—to back up the things they say. They just keep saying things… and much of what they say is bizarre, mean or just plain wacko.

The new Archie Bunker and George Jefferson? (Norman Lear/Huffington Post)

Most of what Ben Carson says, for example, seems to qualify for this last descriptor. Take his theory on the Egyptian pyramids. In 1998, Carson made the following statement about the man-made wonders: “My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, [something to store that grain] would have to be something awfully big, if you stop and think about it.” Yesterday, CBS News asked Carson if he still believed this and, oddly enough, he said that he did.

And this guy wants to be president?

Of course, Trump isn’t much better. I could go on-and-on about all the crazy things he’s said since entering the presidential race, but they are all pretty well-known. He did target his main GOP rival in a promo for his upcoming appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, though: “Ben Carson is a complete and total loser!”

I hate to sound childish, Donald, but it takes one to know one, punk!

Misappropriation

Your tax dollars at work (SIGAR)

Although it comes as no surprise, I just read how the Department of Defense spent roughly $43 million to build a compressed natural gas station in Afghanistan that would have cost less than $500,000 to build anywhere in the world. Apparently, this was one project of many for the Pentagon’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, which had a 2010-2014 budget of more than $800 million for projects in Afghanistan alone.

Meanwhile—back in the United States—people were out of work, struggling to make a decent wage, paying tons of money for overpriced health care and generally feeling like complete shit.

Of course, many of them likely felt their government was doing all it could to make life better for its citizens—when in actuality, that simply wasn’t the case.

I realize that criticizing our government is likely a waste of time—since nothing ever seems to change—but does anyone else feel as if $800 million spent stateside could have done some actual good? The $43 million gas station in Afghanistan isn’t even operational, for goodness sake!

These days, people seem to be focusing their attention on the 2016 presidential race and candidates like Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Don’t they realize that it doesn’t matter who is elected or who controls Congress or the House when the whole damned system is screwed up? Is one person or one group of overpaid, vindictive, partisan assholes really going to change things for the better—or are they simply going to give in to the corruption in Washington and line their own coffers at the expense of everyone else in our beloved country?

People always tell you to get out and vote. If this political bullshit and government abuse continues, however, I fear more people will opt for the former rather than the latter.

Better tighten your border security, Canada!