Roland Hansen Commentary

Okay, a night to think on it, reasons I won't ...

2012-05-26T04:26:50.822-07:00

Okay, a night to think on it, reasons I won't support Obama.
1. Obama care. Anything good in this has been mitigated by a) having it forced down our throats ("pass it now, find out what's in it later") by two of the biggest panderers in US history, Nancy (Thank God for the LGBT) Pelosi and Harry (Look for the union label-it's sewn into my wallet) Reid; and b) because it is a big sunscreen for Obama's attack on the rights of 1) states, 2)individuals, 3)the unborn, and 4)the people of faith.
2. His bullying attitude at forcing things through, whether it comes as forcing things around the constitution or talking out both sides of his mouth to the Catholic Church.
3. The groups that support him- and he reciprocates to- seek to take away my constitutional rights through grand stands and subtle erosion. Groups like the unspoken LGBT/Atheist alliance, illegal immigrants, parasitical unions, and dishonest voter-registrars such as ACORN.
4. His unrealistic anti-Israel stance. "Go back to 1948 borders," he is a geopolitical idiot!
5. His policies that alledge to protect the environment, but only really smother job growth and less expensive fuels. Damn it, I'd like to visit the world- or at least the area agian- and I can't do that on $4 a gallon gas!

Now I realize that he is not totally but certainly severally at fault for most of these. I also realize that certain groups (Catholic and Jewish voters in particular) have slit their own throats in other of my points. Does that mean I lie down or roll over? Hell no!

I dont bash Obama just because he's black, he's a democrat, he's a liberal, or his wife has abnormally long arms and a crappy opinion of the country she lives in. I bash him because I feel he is a disaster on a par with Jimmy Carter. I bash him because he tells lies and half truths to make his points (which of course differentiates him from 0 politicians), and doesn't seem to have any higher moral base than what is good for his own prospects. And I believe that deep down, he has no real belief in America- what it can do, and waht it can be. Like his wife, I think he approaches this nation with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. And I bash him because, for all the places I've seen liberalism tried, I've never heard of it working.

Thanks for not lumping me, I knew you weren't. I was just being sarcastic to buy time to think this out.

Chili Dog, you point out the obvious to me regardi...

2012-05-25T14:27:38.785-07:00

Chili Dog, you point out the obvious to me regarding the President's true role in the economy. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans are totally unaware and ill-informed about the limited authority of any President when it comes to these matters.

CWMartin, in no way would I ever lump you in with the category of Dumb Obama Bashers. There are people out there that I would label dumb; you are definitely not one of them! I understand your perspective, I just do no not concur with it.

I'd like to spend some time and put together a...

2012-05-25T14:18:14.533-07:00

I'd like to spend some time and put together a rweally intelligent response to this, but as a "dumb Obama basher, " I'll just say in my best George Bush/Carvey voice, "Support Obama? Can't do it. Wouldn't be prudent."

Obama's critics are lacking a good case from a...

2012-05-25T06:08:27.762-07:00

Obama's critics are lacking a good case from an economy perspective, but we all know that the President mostly rides and doesn't steer the economic roller coaster. They get far too much credit when it improves and far too much blame when if declines.

Thank you, Dale. I wrote what I thought. As you kn...

2012-05-15T11:47:54.582-07:00

Thank you, Dale. I wrote what I thought. As you know, I do not pull my punches when expressing my thoughts. Much to my chagrin, I get into more trouble that way!

Roland, You stated it well. The same conservative...

2012-05-14T18:49:05.899-07:00

Roland,
You stated it well. The same conservatives who claim to believe that government should stay out of our personal lives, want constitutional amendments to prohibit two consenting adults from getting married. Didn't we already have this same argument about inter-racial marriage 50 years ago?

Thanks, Chris. You bring a realistic perspective t...

2012-05-14T15:40:51.087-07:00

Thanks, Chris. You bring a realistic perspective to a sensitive topic.

I'm of two minds on this subject. On the one ...

2012-05-14T15:35:42.266-07:00

I'm of two minds on this subject. On the one hand, I don't believe that you have to hold a religious belief to believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. Simple biology should be a good clue. On the other hand, as I've said before, as Christians, we cannot expect the tares to follow the same rules as the wheat.

A lot of things are injected into the election debate in the name of "determining the character of the candidate" that really have no place. I also find it funny that Obama never found the courage to make his statement till he saw how Joe Biden's trial balloon floated. Crap like that might fool the rubes, but I know a snake when I smell him. If the world would have caved in on Joe Biden, Obama's statement wouldn't have seen light of day till November.

As for Romney and Obama's religion, I agree that they should have little bearing. I know of many Mormons who are good people. And Obama's church isn't the only one I'd walk straight out of.

But what are we to do? Christians put up religious signs and such on piblic land thinking they're evangelizing when they really are just picking a fight, and FFR comes marching in with their ringers whether anyone wants them around or not. If we elected a dog, there'd be an all out fight over an anti-cat amendment to the constitution.

CW, I am upset with all hypocrites. The truth is ...

2012-04-30T19:39:29.172-07:00

CW,

I am upset with all hypocrites. The truth is the truth; the facts are the facts - to these things there are no two sides.

My son, Adam Hansen, recently posted something from "Your Joyologist" over on Facebook which pretty well sums up where I am coming from on all this.
Here is the quote: "Being honest may hurt, but it is a necessity in all parts of life. Pretending, faking, ignoring the reality only causes more pain in the end."

I am also reminded of a favorite of my own called the Gestalt Prayer.

I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.
--- (Fritz Perls, "Gestalt Therapy Verbatim", 1969)

Like that guy that leads the anti-bullying group t...

2012-04-30T17:10:12.857-07:00

Like that guy that leads the anti-bullying group that spent his whole speech belittling Christians (see my blog)? Realizing you're upset about something, but there are hipocrytes on both sides of ANY divide.

The reason for which I linked to the public record...

2012-04-30T13:48:59.442-07:00

The reason for which I linked to the public record that I posted is because it provides information regarding Fred LeFebvre's financial information, including his wages. That is the topic that Fred LeFebvre brings up when addressing the salaries and wages of teachers, other public employees, the roles played by unions in wage determination in the private sector, etc. The fact that the public record is one about marital discord and divorce proceedings is totally tangential; it just happens that is where Fred LeFebvre's financial information can be found.

Roland, I took a fair share of abuse from Fred Le...

2012-03-29T13:58:52.857-07:00

Roland,

I took a fair share of abuse from Fred LeFebvre. However, I could not imagine circumstances under which I would post someone's divorce proceedings on a public website. I know it's public record, but it's tasteless.

I've always believed Schadenfreude is a sin.

This is from the AZ. Repulic Letter to the Editor ...

2012-03-28T08:40:45.005-07:00

This is from the AZ. Repulic Letter to the Editor today, very well said!
Kudos to E.J. Montini for his column on Tuesday on the need for insurance ("Like our cars, our bodies need to be insured").

Not only did Montini explain the need for universal health care so clearly that any "tea party" Republican could understand it, he also explained how the word "Obamacare" was created to denigrate the Affordable Care Act.

A few days ago, I was talking with five friends and mentioned the Supreme Court issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act. Not one of the five "educated voters" knew what I was talking about until I said, "You know, Obamacare."

Immediately, they all bristled and said they were against it. So much for the power of semantics!

It was then that I excused myself so that I could write out checks to the mortgage company that mandates a homeowner's insurance policy, another check to the auto-finance corporation that mandates that I have automobile insurance and another for my mandated taxes to pay for fire and police protection.

-- Charles J. Walko, Glendale

Thank you for the heads up, Wolfman. I have fixed ...

2012-03-15T20:23:18.417-07:00

Thank you for the heads up, Wolfman. I have fixed the problem of the link to the public records, not once, but twice, now. Hopefully it will stay fixed this time; but, if it doesn't, I will just have to figure another way to fix it, yet again.

Your public record link does not work anymore!

2012-03-13T19:01:30.061-07:00

Your public record link does not work anymore!

I made an entry on my other blog, Roland's ...

2012-03-11T20:37:41.169-07:00
I made an entry on my other blog, Roland's Ramblings back on March 6, 2012 that I also think is a good addition to this Roland Hansen Commentary ObamaCare Is Morally Correct. Opponents Are Egocentric, Selfish Heretics! entry.

Please click on over to read:
To Life: L’Chayim, L’Chaim. Saving A Life: Pikuach Nefesh

The following is a copy and paste of a comment I m...

2012-03-11T20:30:21.919-07:00
The following is a copy and paste of a comment I made on March 9, 2012 elsewhere on the internet:
"Tell ya what, if a person cannot financially afford private health insurance, if a person cannot afford to pay for adequate, needed, and proper medical care out of pocket, if a person does not have the money to buy into any health care programs, then let's all just let them die. The elderly, the children, the infirmed, -- all of them. That seems to be the attitude of the majority of American Conservatives, Republicans, members of the Tea Party Movement, Libertarians and the likes of their kind. Because while those people debate the role that the government should not play, people are indeed dying!!!"

First of all, Roland is absolutely right about no ...

2012-03-11T14:44:10.618-07:00
First of all, Roland is absolutely right about no American being denied health care, and that the wokring poor, the former middle class, are the group that is left out the most. Under the current system,insurance bureaucrats make medical decisions with litle regard for the opinions of the health care professionls who supply the medical services. It's all about making money. And when was the last time you saw a physician living on the streets? People are enriching themselves at the expense of others. One friend of mine about two years ago needed a bone marrow transplant. He was in his early sixties, not exactly elderly. An insurance bureaucrat denied the request of his doctors, because the byreaucrat called thie decades-old procedure "experimental". It took weeks for his appeal to be upheld and for him to receive the transplant. Naturally, his condition had deteriorated and the procedure was unsuccessful, and he died! These types of preventable deaths are not little glitches in the current American health care system. they are all too commonplace. Why are we the only industialized nation in the world which does not have a national health care system? Why is it that Communist, Socialist China can enjoy the greates economy of the 21st Century and still afford to give everyone health care? And their health care system is improving dramatically, as ours deteriorates. Isn't there a lesson here?

Chili Dog, You have made an excellent point. One t...

2012-03-05T08:06:35.830-07:00
Chili Dog,
You have made an excellent point. One that is well-taken.
I say let's stop the whole dog and pony show, get down to the nitty-gritty, and get the job done. A guarantee of the provision and delivery of adequate, proper, and necessary health care for everybody!

Obama-care, while praiseworthy, is like attempting...

2012-03-05T07:19:39.966-07:00
Obama-care, while praiseworthy, is like attempting to put out a forest fire with an eyedropper.

Until the government attacks the real problem, the health care system itself, which it will never do, any reform Obama-care brings is window dressing.

As usual, mi amigo Tim, I respect your right to yo...

2012-03-04T13:17:24.634-07:00
As usual, mi amigo Tim, I respect your right to your opinion and I do value your input. You are correct in that we do disagree with one another on this.

Continuing on, I do have a response to that of which you have written here.

Unless there has been a change in federal regulations of which I amm aware (and there might be), it is my understanding that "Hospitals are in fact obligated to treat patients who come to them regardless of their ability to pay" only to the extent of federal funds that they hahve received under the Hill-Burton Act. And of course, there is Title XIX of the Social Security Act. None-theless, neither adresses the health concerns and medical needs of middle-income Americans.

Then there is this silly-assed debate about private insurance companies versus government-sponsored national health care systems. Why the hell is no one in the United States taking a look at the health care system of Denmark and how it may be adapted to the United States?

Even so, my blog entry is not about accessibility to health care; It is about priorities. It seems to me that far too many people appear to think in terms of dollars, rather than in the quality of human life as it relates to the actual provision and delivery of adequate and proper health care. Unless I have miscontrued your comments, it seems to me that your own comments seem to follow in the same vein as that which I have pointed out. I do not give a darn about the money; I care about people getting the health care they need without having to consider money -- period!

Regarding Christianity and Jesus, I do not believe that Jesus would have placed money, the waste of money, the prevention of government inefficiencies, a debate over the role of government, the taxation and "redistribution of wealth" dialog, the safeguarding of private money-making businesses including the health care industry and the insurance companies, and all those peripheral excuses to be of a higher priority than human health and human life.

No one, but no one, should be denied proper health care and medical treatment! Not the infant born with a multitude of birth defects, not the person suffering from cancer, not the working man or woman needing dental care or diabetes medication or medical attention of any kind, not the elderly person who needs an organ transplant -- No ONE!

I am sick and tired of all the excuses people give for not wanting to actively assure that each and every person gets the medical care needed just to keep on living.

I return to my subject and put it quite succinctly:
I value human health more than I do the almighty dollar and all arguments linking money issues to the provision and delivery of adequate and needed medical care. To me, the opponents of such a perspective are indeed egocentric, selfish, heretics.

So, Tim, mi amigo, I guess you and I will continue to disagree. None-the-less, I wish you the best, dragon-slayer. Keep up the good fight and together, people like you and CW and Chris and Dave Z and Maggie and Jill Z and I just might, maybe, perhaps, make a difference resulting in a better world for future generations.

Roland, I guess that this is one of those times m...

2012-03-04T10:37:50.804-07:00
Roland,

I guess that this is one of those times mi Amigo, where I am going to have to disagree with you.

Two issues seem to be intertwined here, and they need to be separated. The first is access to health care, which the government long ago stepped into. Hospitals are in fact obligated to treat patients who come to them regardless of their ability to pay. Therefore Obamacare is not so much about access as many would like us to believe.

It is however, more about medical insurance, which if Obamacare moves forward, will inexorably find the government taking over the medical insurance industry. It has already begun, through Medicare and Medicaid, to become an incomprehensible morass of regulations, mandates, and price controls in which the only people who win are the bureaucrats administering the program. Such practices seldom result in more efficiencies or better service, and never result in lower costs. Government cannot determine what anything costs, and here like elsewhere, they will only determine what they will pay for it.

Yes, there are abuses in the medical insurance industry and in the practical practice of medicine, but nationalizing the industry (which this eventually does) does not solve that problem, it only transfers the responsibility (and perhaps increases the opportunity) for graft, waste, and fraud to the government. It also allows some of those you would like to demonize to abuse the system even more through lobbying Congress and the HHS for special advantage or exemption.

As for Christians, like any other group, each will have their own motivations; but the teachings of Jesus were about charity, something which those evil conservatives seem to do more than their more compassionate liberal counterparts, and something incompatible with government taking contributions at the point of a gun. Perhaps if the government were to end its attempts to nationalize this as well through taxation and redistribution, many out there would and could act even more charitably. (Though I suspect we've gone too far down that road already.)

I for one deplore the Patriot Act and NDAA as incursions on the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, but place a good bit of Obamacare and its future potential in the same category.

Something must be done done to help those looking for proper medical insurance to be able to purchase it, but this program is far too over-reaching in my opinion and needs to be walked back into something less intrusive.

You are very welcome, good buddy CW. The fact is t...

2012-03-03T18:22:08.605-07:00
You are very welcome, good buddy CW. The fact is that most of my blogging friends and quite a few of my Facebook friends are against ObamaCare.
They are also the people who most frequently visit my two blogs and usually make sensible, thought-provoking, intelligent comments; people like you and Chili Dog (Chris) and Tim Higgins. I am very appreciative and grateful to have the friendship of these people. It shows that a difference of opinion does not have to create unfriendly relationships.
On the other hand, my "friends" on the left rarely comment. It also seems that whenever I disagree with them, they want to totally write me off and break any ties with me.
However, there have been exceptions to that. I remember an early mentor and friend going all the way back to 1970 (now deceased), who was an admirer of Eugene Debs, use to quote "You're either all for us or all against us." Fortunately for me, he did not apply that to me (I was probably the only exception to his rule) and we remained friends until his early departure from this world in his early 50s.
I remember another friend from a long time ago (back in the mid 1970s and into the 80s and 90s) with whom I worked in a variety of citizen participation organizations. He always said,"Lets agree to disagree, and continue to work on those things with which we do agree." I have striven to put that into practice my entire adult life.
I have high regard and respect for people with whom I can strongly disagree from time to time and yet remain on a cordial, even friendly, basis. It sure is a lot better than being friends with people who have the "It's my way or the highway" attitude.
Again, you're welcome, CW, and thank you.

Thanks for pointing it out, buddy. I went over an...

2012-03-03T16:24:35.181-07:00
Thanks for pointing it out, buddy. I went over and liked it.

It's always an unexpected and undeserved pleas...

2012-02-22T20:26:50.426-07:00
It's always an unexpected and undeserved pleasure mi Amigo, to be used as link in the compendium of knowledge better known as the "Roland Hansen Commentary".