Ignorant People Believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim

You have read the title of this Roland Hansen Commentary correctly. As the title explicitly declares, "Ignorant People Believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim."

Regardless of the facts, people believe what they want to believe. Well, what are the facts about Barack Obama and his religious beliefs?

Snopes.com, the website that investigates rumors and then reports on whether the rumor is true or false, had addressed the rumor concerning Barack Obama being a Muslim more than two years ago. Move your computer mouse over and then click to read that report, "Who is Barack Obama?".

Despite all the facts to the contrary, despite factual information distributed by numerous sources on numerous occasions in numerous forms to educate the American public, despite all the repeated efforts to dispel the false belief that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, the number of people who actually believe that President Obama is a Muslim has increased.

For example, read some excerpts from the latest poll from The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life:

A new national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim ...

Roughly a third of conservative Republicans (34%) say Obama is a Muslim, as do 30% of those who disapprove of Obama’s job performance. ...

The belief that Obama is a Muslim has increased most sharply among Republicans (up 14 points since 2009), especially conservative Republicans (up 16 points). But the number of independents who say Obama is a Muslim has also increased significantly (up eight points). ...

Click over to read the entire report:
Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim.

I am telling you in very simple plain language,
Ignorant people believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Let your computer mouse move on over and click to read:
Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim by Debbie Schlussel, debbieschlussel.com;
(Reverend) Franklin Graham: Obama born a Muslim, a Christian Now by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, ChristianityToday Politics Blog;
President Obama: Muslim Missionary by Chuck Norris, Townhall.com; and finally,
31% of Republicans believe Barack Obama is Muslim from POLITICO.

And yet, the question still remains:
Is Barack Obama Muslim?

And once again, I proclaim:
Ignorant people believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Dumb Obama Bashers Need To Wake Up And Support President Barack Obama

Take a look at this excerpt from an article I recently read:

There is a number buried in today’s government labor report that deserves closer examination: 35,000. That’s the net number of private sector jobs created during the Obama administration to date. That’s right, it’s a positive number. After the worst economic disaster to befall the United States in 80 years, that’s a number that maybe we should be applauding. ..... But the real eye-opener comes when we compare Obama’s numbers to George W. Bush’s. In Bush’s first term, the economy shed 913,000 private sector jobs! 913,000!

Now, go read the entire article:
Leonard, Andrew, Bush vs. Obama: Jobs, During George W.'s first term, big government boosted employment. For Obama, it's the opposite, Salon.com, May 4, 2012.

You know, I cannot help but wonder, WHY ARE OBAMA'S CRITICS SO DUMB?, especially after having read

"When Obama took office, the United States was losing around 750,000 jobs a month. The last quarter of 2008 saw an annualized drop in growth approaching 9 percent. This was the most serious downturn since the 1930s, there was a real chance of a systemic collapse of the entire global financial system, and unemployment and debt—lagging indicators—were about to soar even further. No fair person can blame Obama for the wreckage of the next 12 months, as the financial crisis cut a swath through employment. Economies take time to shift course."

That is an excerpt from a Newsweek article written by Andrew Sullivan. Here go read more of the article over at The Daily Beast:
In Newsweek Magazine, Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics, January 16, 2012, The right calls him a socialist, the left says he sucks up to Wall Street, and independents think he's a wimp. Andrew Sullivan on how the president may just end up outsmarting them all.

And over at The Huffington Post, you can read:
Obama One Of Five Presidents To See Dow Jones Gain More Than 50 Percent Over First Three Years

There are over 200 reasons to support the re-election of President Barack Obama as listed in the Forbes magazine article of February 24, 2012 written by Chris Weigl. Go on over to read:
What Do Americans Think Of Obama's Performance As A President?

'Fess Up, Obama Bashers!

Remember when I wrote:
"There are many people who criticize Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America. Some criticisms are justifiable and warranted by those who make the criticisms. Then, there are the Obama Bashers, as I call them, who just want to belittle and demonize our President with reckless disregard to truth."

Remember when I wrote:
"rising gasoline prices in the United States of America, it is not uncommon for tea party movement folks and Republicans and other conservatives, aka Obama Bashers, to blame President Barack Obama for those obscenely high gasoline prices."

And remember when I wrote:
"Gasoline prices in the United States of America are at the lowest level in many a year. Prices are now below $2.00 per gallon. Funny thing, though --- I do not hear American political conservatives and followers of the Tea Party Movement crediting President Barack Obama for the low gasoline prices."

Oh! And remember the Roland Hansen Commentary:
Let's Check Facts Before Bashing Our President, Barack Obama

Well, the last day in the Presidency of Barack Obama has now come and gone; and, to this day the farshtunken Obama Bashers never have admitted their deceitful ways.

Those dodos told so many lies; and, they believed in those lies. And now that President Obama is leaving office those dimwits still will not 'fess up to the error of their falacious accusations!

PLEASE NOTE: My use of colorful, descriptive adjectives and nouns in this Roland Hansen Commentary is solely for the purpose of expressing my disdain of those persons who knowingly and intentionally have spread and continue to communicate mistruths about President Obama. In no way do I intend the use of those words to be directed generally at all persons who honestly and sincerely have personally held political perspective in opposition to President Obama.

Weighing In On Romney vs Obama. Hot Dog!

President Obama gave a speech in Roanoke, Virginia.

Mitt Romney and Company, many Republicans but not all, and other Anti-Obama folks who I generally reference as Obama Bashers have used these words of President Obama to attack the President claiming he is unAmerican, a socialist, and out of touch:

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  .....  If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Well, as it stands, those are words that really did come out of the mouth of President Barack Obama when speaking about being successful in America. However, those words are only a small part of what our President said AND he said some other words just before, in between, and just after those specific remarks that give those comments an entirely different slant and meaning than that which Obama Bashers would have you believe.
If you are a person who formulates an opinion based on factual information, rather than a knee-jerk, emotional reaction to half-truths, you may wish to read a transcript of the President's entire speech word for word and in context. If so, use your computer mouse or keypad or whatever electronic gizmo you use to click open the following embedded link to read:
Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia

Now, then, a truly intelligent person will use facts to formulate a well-informed opinion. Obama Bashers do not use that axiom.
So, what of those remarks of the President? Some people have used President Obama's remarks out of context to bash him. Other people have examined what the President has said about being successful in America and at what GOP presumptive Republican President nominee Mitt Romney has said about being successful in America in order to weigh in on the Romney versus Obama race for the Presidency of the United States of America.
To that I say:
Hot Dog, Chili Dog!



Read that to which I refer by going over and reading All It Takes Is Hard Work? from Chili Dog Blog.
Postscript for additional reference: What Did Obama Actually Say?

Hey, Conservatives And Tea Party Movement People! What About President Obama Now?

Gasoline prices in the United States of America are at the lowest level in many a year. Prices are now below $2.00 per gallon. Funny thing, though --- I do not hear American political conservatives and followers of the Tea Party Movement crediting President Barack Obama for the low gasoline prices; but, they sure were quick to place blame on President Obama when gasoline prices were high.

Please visit and read this previous Roland Hansen Commentary: Thursday, April 28, 2011, Rising Gasoline Prices: Blame President Barack Obama!

The gas prices are better, the housing market is better, the overall economy is better, unemployment rates are falling, and President Barack Obama's popularity ratings are rising --- BUT, I do not hear American political conservatives and followers of the Tea Party Movement giving any credit to President Barack Obama. They are so hypocritical!

I said it before AND I say it again:
Dumb Obama Bashers Need To Wake Up And Support President Barack Obama!

For sake of clarifying my perspective regarding Obama opponents, I am addressing only those who bash, bash, bash without citing objective factual information and/or who claim that their opinion of situations are indeed factual. I is not my intent to disparage or demean those Obama opponents who state their perspective is one of personal opinion and/or provide factual information on which they base their opinion.

FYI: More Roland Hansen Commentary entries concerning our American President Barack Obama may be found over here.

Obama Basher Spinners

There are many people who criticize Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America. Some criticisms are justifiable and warranted by those who make the criticisms. Then, there are the Obama Bashers, as I call them, who just want to belittle and demonize our President with reckless disregard to truth and who routinely dismiss and criticize anyone who just does not go along quitely in agreement with the Obama Basher. When it comes to anything related to President Barack Obama in order to put forth their own perspective, they put their own spin on things. I mean, these folks, these Obama Basher Spinners, tell you and me what we are saying even if it is not what we are saying.

Take the following exchange I had on Facebook for an example of that which I speak:

Pat Benson shared Right Wing News's photo.

• 
  

  

  • Ernie Silvers likes this.
  • 
    

    Roland Louis Hansen: If only George W would have appropriately and adequately addressed the issue of health care for Americans during his tenure!
    
    Pat Benson: Maybe Bush didn't address the problem because he had no answer. I guess thats about the same as Obamacare.
    
    Pat Benson: Roland come on now. Do you really think Obamacare is the answer to our health care problems. If you do ask people in Europe what they think about Obamacare which is equal to what we have now. They think we are crazy. They say if it doesn't work in Europe why would we think the same system would work in the USA.
    
    Roland Louis Hansen: Pat, Did I state that I "really think Obamacare is the answer to our health care problems" or is that an inferrence you are making?
    BTW, I would like to suggest you and everyone else take a look at the health care system of Denmark.
    http://rolandsramblings.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/the-danish-health-care-system/
    

    The Danish Health Care System
    rolandsramblings.wordpress.com
    "The Danish health care system is based on a principle of free and equal access for all citizens. Thus, the vast majority of health services in Denmark are free of charge for the users." That is ju...

    
    Pat Benson: Tell Obama to look at Denmark. Unfornuately he did not meet with any of there leaders to discuss health care.
    
    Roland Louis Hansen: Okay, I will do as you suggest, Pat. Incidentally, I have no inside knowledge of who our President consulted or did not consult. However, apparently you do and I will have to presume you have an inside track to the President; therefore, please ask him to contact me.
    
    Pat Benson: Roland it was on the news many times who he contacted and talked to in Europe regarding health care. So I don't need an inside track, I just listen.
    
    Roland Louis Hansen: I listen also, Pat. I just do not have the full faith and credit as you have in the thoroughness and completenes in the reporting of news by the mass media. Incidentally, I do not feel anything positive is accomplished by pointing fingers, assigning blame, or just complaining. I do wish the entire issue of adequate, sufficient, affordable health care for all Americans would have been addressed and accomplished many, many years ago. AND, for the record, I have spent almost my entire adult life in a volunteer capacity in several organizations and as an individual citizen activist and advocate working proactively for that very thing. I have not just talked the talk; I have walked the walk.
    
    Pat Benson: I am not going to debate this anymore with you because I think we just like to have someone to debate with. My finally say is I believe Obama will go down in History as one of our worst Presidents because as the saying goes, If his lips are moving he is lying. The press supports Obama all the way and there is NEVER anything negative that they print about him. You would think he is a saint. In my book what happened in Bengazzie (I am sure I did not spell that right) was one of the worst incidents in American history. We may not know the whole story but what we do know is not good. Like Hilary said, what matter does it make now. It does to the familes of the people who died for there country and it still matters to a lot of american people.
    
    Pat Benson: By the way I was not a volunteer but my company had an office in DC and had the pleasure of working in it when I first started working for them. I went to congress and particiated in meetings etc. I felt back then in 2003 that we needed a change but unforunately all politicians lie and that is not going to change, you can't tell the good ones from the bad ones.
    
    Pat Benson: I am going to church now and I will pray for everyone, and please God help this country.
    
    Roland Louis Hansen: Pat, for some reason, it appears that you just desire to bash not only the Presisident but also as you state " all politicians lie" and that praying to G-d is the way to save us all. On top of that, you seem to have concluded in your own mind that I am debating something or other and that I am defending President Obama. I really do not understand why you do so. Nowhere , I repeat - nowhere, in any of my comments have I defended President Obama and nowhere have I debated anything. The simple thrust of what I have written is that I wish the issue of adequate, sufficient, and affordable health care for all Americans would have been made available throughout the years. Oh, and I also stated I do not believe the news as reported by the mass media is thorough or complete. I also expressed my personal opinion that "I do not feel anything positive is accomplished by pointing fingers, assigning blame, or just complaining." The only debate that I can see that I may have partaken is my assertion that I am not in a debate on those things that you adamently assert I am debating.

So, I guess that pretty well sums up my thoughts. That is how that specific Facebook exchange has been the past couple days up until about an hour ago. I do not know whether Pat will come back with another comment or not. Regardless, I believe I have made my point here of this particular Roland Hansen Commentary concerning Obama Basher Spinners.

FYI: Previous Roland Hansen Commentary entries I have made that reference "Obama" may be found and read by clicking over to here.

Barack Obama: A Socialist?

Is Barack Obama a socialist?

Many people seem to think that Barack Obama is a socialist.

Heck, I don't know if Barack Obama a socialist.

Many of the people who label Barack Obama as a socialist allege that Obama's proposal to adopt national health care is socialism and that any proposed public option for national health care is socialism.

Is Social Security socialism?
Is Medicare socialism?
Is the interstate highway system socialism?
Is the national park system socialism?
Is the national monument system socialism?
Is the national memorial system socialism?
Is the national museum system socialism?
Is the national preserves system socialism?
Is the national forest system socialism?
Is the national seashores system socialism?
Is the national trails system socialism?
Is the national military parks system socialism?
Is the public school system socialism?

FYI: Here is a whole List of National Parks and Monuments.

What exactly is socialism?

And, by the way, what does option mean?

Some people do not believe that Barack Obama is a socialist. Click on over to read:
The Capitolist, Patricia Murphy, Columnist: Top U.S. Socialist Says Barack Obama is Not One of Them.
The Washington Post: Obama's No Socialist. I Should Know. By Billy Wharton, Sunday, March 15, 2009.

What do you think? Is Barack Obama a socialist?

The Edwards-Strickland Ticket

Okay, okay, okay! Enough already! I'm tired of the bickering about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
I read the Associated Press article Dems splitting Texas caucus delegates courtesy of toledoblade.com. Voting for the Democratic Party presidential nominee in Texas is complex, but it does tell a story that is reflective of the whole Clinton andObama race. The Texas Presidential primary process includes both the election and caucus methods. Worldnews.com also has the story Clinton, Obama are splitting support in Texas caucuses.
The Texas results reflect the same type of results that have occurred in the various states across the country. Barack can win primary caucuses, but Hillary can win primary elections. While Barack Obama has won more states, those states tend to have smaller populations than
the states that Hillary Clinton has won. Hillary Clinton has tended to win the large population states that are generally needed to win election for President of the United States of America.
Some people have made a big brouhaha over Obama winning more states than Hillary, even though those have been small population states for the most part. Gee, I wonder if these same people are supportive or critical of the Electoral College process used in electing the President. On more than one occasion, the electoral college method has resulted in one candidate becoming President when that candidate has received more electoral college votes but the other candidate actually received more votes of the people. Does anyone remember George W. Bush vs. Al Gore?
John Edwards, the Democratic Party Vice Presidential nominee in 2004, made a valiant effort in seeking the Democratic Party Presidential nomination this year but dropped out of the race when it became apparent that the media refused to give his candidacy anywhere near the coverage it was giving both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The fact of the matter is that neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama have enough delegates to the Democratic Party National Convention that are necessary to secure the Democratic Party nomination for President.
Both Obama and Clinton have been courting John Edwards in attempting to receive his endorsement. Neither has been successful as of this date. I also read this article Edwards praises Obama, Clinton which tells a story in itself.
To those that have clamored for Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race, I say I have another solution. Let both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton remain as Senators in the United States Senate.
The Democratic Party National Convention delegates should draft John Edwards to be the party nominee for President of the United States. John Edwards is the one for me. John Edwards knows the issues. And as for a running mate for John Edwards, I say draft Ted Strickland, Governor of the State of Ohio, a state that is necessary to win election in the Presidential contest.
Should the Roland Hansen Plan for a Democratic Party ticket of John Edwards and Ted Strickland be successful all the way to the election of President and Vice President, that would leave a vacancy in the position of Governor of the State of Ohio. That would fall into the very capable hands of Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Lee Fisher. I would really like that!
Gee, maybe Toledo, Ohio could get something out of this scenario. Do you think a Lee Fisher administration would make a spot for Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner?

The 44th President of the United States of America: Barack H. Obama

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you
The President of the United States of America, Barack H. Obama!

"Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States.

His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants.

He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.

President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009."

ref: White House official website on President Obama.

"HubPages is an open community of passionate people—writers, explorers, knowledge seekers, conversation starters. Interacting and informing. Sharing words, pictures and videos. Asking questions. Finding answers. Creating lifestyle content."

Click on over to "Barack Obama's Political Views" by ajherrma wherein you may read a hub page that "provides an unbiased look at the political views of current President, Barack Obama. It includes a summary of his positions on a number of key issues."

Samuel Wurzelbacher (aka "Joe the Plumber") Hypocrisy re: Doom and Gloom Assertions of "Socialist" Obama

When he first confronted then-Candidate for the President of the United States of America Barack Obama during a 2008 campaign appearance in Toledo, Ohio concerning the topic of taxation, Samuel Wurzelbacher was known simply as Joe the Plumber in the media.

Sam or Joe or whatever he is called became an outspoken opponent of President Obama, of the Democratic Party, of Obama Administration policies, of Democratic Party platform, and appeared to have become the "poster child" of the G.O.P. (aka the Republican Party) and of the Tea Party movement. Indeed, in 2012, Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher became the Republican nominee and candidate for the 9th Congressional District of Ohio.

Well, it appears as though Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber is now a beneficiary of the very same system and policies for which he became famous in his blasting criticism. Please click onto the embedded link to read:
The Washington Post, The Plum Line, Joe the Plumber gets a new job, by Greg Sargent, February 18, 2014.

Did you read it? Interesting stuff, eh?

Now, read this excerpt from an interesting article that was brought to my attention and sent to me in an e-mail:

Once again, it seems a hero has fallen. Much like my favorite governor, Sarah Palin, who suddenly decided to stop governor-ing. And my favorite almost-president, Donald Trump, who decided not to run for president so he could devote more time to tweeting nasty comments from atop his solid-gold toilet.
Come to think of it, even my favorite villain has been disappointing. People like Joe and Sarah and Donald promised me that Barack HUSSEIN Obama would turn America into an apocalyptic nightmare, with children sent to socialist reprogramming camps and people marrying cats and Christianity outlawed in favor of something terrorist-sounding.
But everything still looks pretty much the same. Nobody came for my guns, even though I stocked up and stored them in my official Joe the Plumber, Obama-proof gun cabinet.
Obamacare was supposed to send old people to death panels, but I see no sign of that. (I've been trying to get rid of Grandma for weeks, but she's still around, griping about Obama being a Muslim.)
The truth is, Obama's a far cry from perfect, but he's not the monster he was advertised to be. And I suppose you could make the reverse argument about Joe the Plumber — he seemed like a real anti-union hero, then life got in the way, he needed work and joined a union."

In order to read the entire online digitalPLUS article of the Chicago Tribune NEWS, you need to be a digital member. If you are interested and you wish to, you may click on over to sign up as a digital member and then read the entire article, "Huppke: Joe the Plumber more of an Everyman than ever" written by Rex W. Huppke on February 20, 2014.

Okay, now let me read your thoughts. Aw, come on! Write your comments below.

Let's Check Facts Before Bashing Our President, Barack Obama

I hear many people who clamor, "Let's Blame Obama!" To them and others I say click over and go read Obama, Falling Gas Prices and Radio Silence from Jill Miller Zimon on Writes Like She Talks.

The attack television political ads by Romney and Company (i..e. Republicans) are just plain misleading and deceiving. Obamacare isn't the biggest tax increase in history. My friend Ron Prochaska put it this way on his Facebook wall: "Hey non-reseachers, check this simple chart. Even you can understand Obamacare is far from the largest tax increase in history. Facts are difficult to debate, but, hating Obama the way you do, you'll find a way." He then posted a chart similar to the one you will see if you click on over to read Republicans Falsely Claim Obamacare Is The ‘Largest Tax Increase In History’ by Pat Garofalo and Travis Waldron.

Earlier today, July 12, 2012, I wrote the following on my Facebook wall:
Fact or Fiction! People should get the facts before formulating an opinion. Far too many people neglect to fact check first. Then, they get all entrenched in their own ill-informed opinion and bash those who happen to disagree with them. SAD! Thank you goes out to Jerry Rosen for letting me share this. 
Health care law "largest tax increase in history on the middle class," says TV ad.

Hey, do remember reading Dumb Obama Bashers Need To Wake Up And Support President Barack Obama or have you not read it?

I say, "Let's check facts before bashing our President, Barack Obama."

Rising Gasoline Prices: Blame President Barack Obama!

In these days of once again rising gasoline prices in the United States of America, it is not uncommon for tea party movement folks and Republicans and other conservatives, aka Obama Bashers, to blame President Barack Obama for those obscenely high gasoline prices. Heck, not only can Obama Bashers blame the President for high gas prices here in the USA, they may as well blame him for high gasoline prices throughout the world.

Well, it stands to reason, right? Here let us read the facts about gasoline prices:
American Petroleum Institute: What’s Up With Gasoline Prices?
Worldwide Retail Prices of Gasoline (US cents per litre)
Gas prices around the world
U.S. gas prices are a joke ... in Norway

As you can easily discern from those readings, all these absurdly high gasoline prices are plainly the fault of President Barack Obama. Or, are they?

I am sure that Big Corporate Oil Company Greed has absolutely nothing to do with the high price of gasoline. If you doubt that, just click on over to read:
Exxon Mobil 1Q Profit Soars 69% On Higher Oil Prices
Shell 1Q Adjusted Profit Soars 30% To $6.29B On Higher Oil Price
Big Oil continues to see big profits, pollution while Americans get robbed at the pump
Oil profits, rhetoric on the rise

As those tea-partying conservatives and Republicans may think, I say "Do not confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up."
With their line of thinking, i.e, conservatives, Republicans, and Tea Party Movement members, we can safely say that President Barack Obama is the source of all our problems, not only in America but also throughout the whole wide world!
Oh, yes, and Barack Obama's birth certificate is a fake also.

Obama, the State of the Union, and Commentators

The other day, January 27th to be exact, I wrote over on Roland's Ramblings about the State of the Union.

After listening to the State of the Union message from President Obama, I have listened to many commentators tell me what President Obama said, what President Obama did not say, what President Obama really meant by what he said or didn't say, etc., etc., etc. ad nauseum.

Also since I first wrote that Roland's Ramblings State of the Union piece and since President Obama delivered the message on the State of the Union, I have been reading plenty of comments in the print media and on the internet from others commenting in the same vein. The basic vein of response has been that many people have been critical of the President and of the President's State of the Union message; however, there have also been those who have had positive responsive commentary.

It seems as though while each individual heard the exact same words, almost everyone has heard a different message. Let me paraphrase in summary format what I heard: Members of Congress should quit playing partisan electoral politics and get down to the business of representing the interests of the American public at-large. PERIOD. However, for the most part what I have been hearing from others commenting on President Obama's State of the Union message has been that of good ol' everyday partisan politics bashing the President. Apparenly, the naysayer commentators and commenters simply are not interested in advocating that we all work together for the benefit of all Americans; they'd rather take their sniping political potshots to tear down rather than to build up.


If you have a hankering, go this-a-way to read the January 27, 2010 Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address for yourself.

Oh, and by the way, whatever your politics and no matter what you think, I personally feel people put too much emphasis on the importance of the "tradtional" January State of the Union address. Quite frankly, it is my opinion that this "annual exercise" is much more about a lot of hot air with little substance regardless of who is President. Therein lies the problem; too many people have the mistaken belief that the "tradtional" annual State of the Union address is supposed to be relevant to their own personally-held political beliefs.

Gay Marriage. President Barack Obama. Mitt Romney.

The 2012 campaign for President of the United States of America is heating up. However, neither of the two major political parties has yet officially nominated their respective candidate. None-the-less, it does appear that the Democratic Party will nominate incumbent President Barack Obama, and that the Republican Party, i.e. GOP, will nominate Mitt Romney.

President Obama is viewed by many as a liberal, some people even allege that he is a Socialist or a Communist. And then there are the zealous, self-righteous, self-appointed religious experts who incorrectly proclaim that President Obama is a Muslim, his Christian church membership and attendance notwithstanding.

Some people (read that to include me) see Mitt Romney as a rogue conservative who fluctuates on the issues given the situation of the moment, as a billionaire who could not care less about low and moderate income Americans or the middle class, and as a Mormon who worships three different and distinct entities while concurrently professing to be Christian.

These two individuals, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, have recently addressed the issue of same-sex marriage; and, that subject has now been injected into the 2012 Presidential campaign, and done so wrongly, in my opinion. Gay marriage is now all over the news. But, why??? Since when does the President of the United States have the authority to make public policy concerning the issue of marriage? And, why should the government, any level of government, even be involved in the personal and domestic topic of marriage?

Mitt Romney has gone on the record with this statement:
"I disagree with the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman. I will support an amendment to the Massachusetts constitution to make that expressly clear." 
Hey, don't take my word for it; you can see and read that Mitt Romney statement and more for yourself in the web page Romney position on Same Sex Issues. And yet, Mr. Romney claims his perspective on the issue is not religiously based. You can read that for yourself, also. Just click over to The Washington Post Election 2012 Blog to read Romney: Gay marriage stance was ‘not a religious decision’

Meanwhile, many individuals and the news media are incorrectly stating that President Obama is "in support of gay marriage" - or perhaps I should say that it is my belief that the wording being used is incorrect and misleading. The wording is in many news stories like the following, for example:
Obama's gay marriage endorsement could sway state battles, by Dan Springer, published May 14, 2012, FoxNews.com.

It is my perspective that the wording is incorrect and misleading; because, I view the approach by the President as one that concerns equal rights for individuals in determining their own personal domestic arrangements among consenting adults.

Who am I and who the hell are you to determine which adult should be able to wed which other adult??? It is none of my business; it is none of your damn business; and, it damn well should not be the business of any freaking government!!!

Whatever happened to the perspective held by many Republicans, by many Conservatives, and by many, many members of the Tea Party Movement that individual rights are sacrosanct and that there should be limited government? OR, do they apply that value only as it relates to their own strongly held beliefs?

I put forth that this whole brouhaha over same-sex marriage, or as some may call it, gay marriage, is nothing but a prejudicial, discriminatory smoke screen to deny people equal rights under the law.

Oh, and by the way, I really believe that all marriages should be gay, as in happy.

Obama, Hitler, Nazis, and Jews

"As Hitler and World War II recede into history, the term “Nazi” has for too many Americans become a descriptive for someone, like President Obama for example, whose political views offend those employing the term. This is an insult to the president and a bigger insult to the many whose lives have been marred in some way by evil inflicted by those who wore the swastika."
- Excerpt from Not Just a Jewish issue, The Berkshire Beagle, December 28, 2010

I wonder how extremist Obama bashers defend their views when comparing Barack Obama, our President of the United States, to Hitler and to Nazis.

Note: I did write extremist Obama bashers; this is not a reference to Obama bashers in general.


Side note: I found an interesting place on the internet - I Hate Obama Bashers.

Clinton, McCain, Obama and the IRS

I remember when the campaign platforms of candidates for the President of the United States of America included a plank on reform of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and the national tax code, laws, and regulations.

One strong proposal advocated in past presidential campaigns was that calling for a flat tax. That proposal in its various incarnations would greatly simplify the federal income tax system. Under a flat tax system, a set base level of income would be exempt from the income tax, but income above that level would be taxed at a flat level for everyone regardless of marital status, family size, total income level, etc.; and, there would be no deductions. The bottom line of a flat tax system is that a percentage of income over a base level would be assessed; this is not unlike many municipal income tax systems.

As follows, I am providing a few links to some web sites about the Flat Tax to help provide some more information:
National Center for Policy Analysis: Idea House: Flat Tax & Alternative Tax Systems
Forbes.com: On My Mind: A Kinder, Gentler Flat Tax
FreedomWorks: The Flat Tax: Issue Homepage
The Heritage Foundation: Issues: Taxes: A Brief Guide to the Flat Tax


The entire presidential primary campaign season appears to have totally ignored the issue of federal income tax reform. Except for John Edwards, I do not recall any of the earlier candidates ever addressing tax reform in the United States.

I certainly have not heard Hillary Clinton, John McCain, or Barack Obama stake out a position on the IRS. Do any of the present three major announced candidates even have any thoughts on the Internal Revenue Service or the federal (national) tax code? What thoughts do Clinton, McCain, and Obama have about reform of the federal income tax? Are Clinton, McCain, and Obama satisfied with the IRS? Do they believe public policy on taxes is fine and acceptable, as it presently exists? Perhaps, none of the three have the intestinal fortitude to take on the IRS. After all, it was the IRS that finally nailed Al Capone.

Or maybe, just maybe, Clinton, McCain, and Obama have the perspective that the extremely large IRS bureaucracy and all the national laws regarding federal income taxes are an intricate component of a national economic development and jobs creation policy.

Right! I see you scratching your head and wondering what in the world is Roland Hansen going on about now.

Well, think about it. How many jobs are there within the IRS itself? How many jobs have been created because of our complex federal income tax system? By that last question, I refer to such jobs associated with accountants, tax service companies, tax preparation computer software, paper mills, ink producers, the printing industry, the materials handling and transportation industries, etc. Then there is all the postage associated with mailings, all the related fuel usage by all involved in the entire process, and on and on and on. If the United States did go to a flat rate federal income tax, look at all jobs that would be eliminated at the IRS and all the jobs that would be eliminated by industries that directly and indirectly provide ancillary service to the IRS and its mission. What about all those people who would lose their jobs? Would many of these people then become unemployed and turn to welfare? What cost would we pay if public policy did indeed reflect a substantial turn of direction on the issue of flat tax and/or some other comprehensive tax reform? What would be the trade off?

I want to know where Clinton, McCain, and Obama stand on the IRS. I want to know their positions on taxes. After all it is a very taxing issue to confront. Personally, I think Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama will continue to side step the IRS and income tax reform.

In a tangential but somewhat related issue in regards to the two remaining active Democratic presidential primary candidates: so much for John Edwards insisting that they include a focus on the economically disadvantaged (formerly known as the poor and the needy) in their campaigns!!!
John Edwards, please come back; the country needs you, we need you, I need you!

I feel all tax and spent on this IRS thing. I’m out of here.

President Barack Obama. African-American. Birth Certificate.

I received an e-mail a few days ago from a conservative Republican cousin of mine. Actually, it was a "forward" e-mail of something my cousin had received. It was yet another one that YET AGAIN was BASHING PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA.

AND, my cousin sent it to me even though I had previously asked politely and repeatedly that these type of messages BASHING PRESIDENT OBAMA not be sent to me.

Without going into detail about the entire message, let me just share part of it. Here is an excerpt from it:

"Won’t be on ABC< NBCPBS—or have not seen it on FOX either.  Probably afraid to report it. Like his fake birth certificate which lists him as African American,---that term wasn’t even used in 1963."

Now, please, if you will, take a look at these three things in the embedded links I have placed below in my response to that excerpt of the message above:

1. First Known Use of AFRICAN-AMERICAN - 1855
2. Where did the term African-American originate?
3. Birth Certificate - Claim: Barack Obama's birth certificate is a forgery.

Oh, as an aside, if you are interested - and even if you are not interested, I responded to my cousin with my own self-written, individualized personal e-mail that simply stated:

"I do not care for this BS that is just a bunch of political conservative HATE-MONGERING PROPAGANDA BESMIRCHING BARACK OBAMA, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
If you wish, I can also send out crap like this blasting the heck out of  Republican political conservatives. Thus far, I have been patient and have respected individual political opinions including those with which I do not agree. However, my patience has reached the line of ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! 
One more Barack Obama Bash and I take off the kid gloves. Forewarned is forearmed."

GOP Ignores Threat To USA. America Is At Risk! America Is Under Attack.

On June 25, 2017, Dan Rather wrote the following on his Facebook page:

The United States was attacked. It was attacked by a hostile foreign power who wished to harm our democracy. It was a sneak attack and its damage we are only starting to understand.

What Russia did in the 2016 elections should have every patriotic American angry and determined to rally to the defense of the nation. The Russian attack is back to being the talk of Washington thanks to a blockbuster report in the Washington Post which laid bare the response of the Obama Administration. The facts detailed in that important piece of journalism have raised a series of recriminations among the political chattering class over whether President Obama acted forcefully enough. That is an important debate, and one that will likely be pored over by historians in the future. 

But while we shouldn't shy away from that discussion, we should also recognize that the threat posed by Russia has not dissipated. If anything it has only increased as Vladimir Putin has seen the success of his efforts to create political chaos in the United States. 

President Trump has to this point shown no interest in taking this threat seriously. If anything, he hasn't demonstrated that he even understands the nature of the threat. He famously has been flippant about whether he even believed Russia was involved - that was until he could tweet out attacks on Obama's handling of the attack yesterday. How convenient. But that doesn't excuse him, our current Commander and Chief, of his responsibility to protect our Republic. 

What hasn't gotten enough attention in the Post report, in my opinion, is how the Republicans in Congress reacted back in 2016. 

(From the Washington Post article)"the (Obama) White House turned to Congress for help, hoping that a bipartisan appeal to states would be more effective...(but) the meeting devolved into a partisan squabble. 'The Dems were, ‘Hey, we have to tell the public,’ recalled one participant. But Republicans resisted, arguing that to warn the public that the election was under attack would further Russia’s aim of sapping confidence in the system. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) went further, officials said, voicing skepticism that the underlying intelligence truly supported the White House’s claims. Through a spokeswoman, McConnell declined to comment, citing the secrecy of that meeting." 

In 1947, Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg famously said, "we must stop partisan politics at the water's edge.” And by this he meant in foreign policy and issues of national security. Well in a digital world, there is no water's edge. But there certainly is politics. Criticize the response of the Obama Administration all you want. But we cannot let political point scoring distract us from the current threat to national security. 

The safety and security of this nation is now in the hands of President Trump and his allies in Congress. Will they take this Russia threat seriously? Or will they continue to play politics? 

"When it comes to keeping America safe and strong, when it comes to keeping America free, there should be no Republicans or Democrats, only patriotic Americans working together." That was President Ronald Reagan at the height of the Cold War. What would he say about the game the GOP is playing today?

Where is the American political leadership?
Where is the leadership from the current occupant of the White House?
Where is the American political courage?

Have you ever read, or even heard of, Profiles in Courage?

What would John F. Kennedy have to say about the current fiasco in American national government?

President Barack Obama. Catholics. Birth Control, Contraception, Sex.

The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, has recently taken the bully pulpit route in his desire to assure that all women in the United States have health care insurance coverage for birth control.

Generally speaking, and I emphasize generally speaking, Roman Catholics have not been pleased with the President's perspective that all women in America should be treated equally in having contraception services as a proviso of health care insurance. While the President has attempted to honor religious belief systems and assure the religion protection guarantees of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, some Catholics have been very vocal in attacking the President, postulating that he is violating the First Amendment and some attacks even go to the point of making the accusation of "the Obama Administration’s efforts at forcing contraception on Catholics."

Leaders within the Catholic Church in the United States vow that they will continue to actively oppose President Barack Obama's proposal concerning health care insurance contraception coverage. Click on the embedded link to go on over to read:
U.S. Catholic bishops oppose Obama birth-control plan

In trying to better understand the issue from the official Catholic perspective, I did a search on the internet and found quite a few web sites, web pages, and specific comments that I found interesting.

The comment "... sexual pleasure within marriage becomes unnatural, and even harmful to the spouses, when it is used in a way that deliberately excludes the basic purpose of sex, which is procreation. God’s gift of the sex act, along with its pleasure and intimacy, must not be abused by deliberately frustrating its natural end—procreation ..." may be found on the web page Birth Control from the web site of Catholic Answers.

The comment "... we are enormously grateful to the Church for her constant teaching that sexuality must be open to the transmission of life ..." may be found on the web page Contraception Misconceptions of the web site of catholic-pages.com.

I also have placed embedded links on the titles to some other web pages I suggest you read. The web pages are:
Catholicism and Family Planning
Catholicism and sexuality
Christian views on contraception
Religious views on birth control

Obama to Romney: The Suggestion (you make) is Offensive

On September 11, 2012, J. Christopher Stevens, the United States Ambassador to Libya, and three other American members of the diplomatic staff were killed in an assault on the American consulate in the city of Benghazi in eastern Libya.

... in the hours after the death of the first U.S. ambassador killed in decades, Mitt Romney -- panicked as his poll numbers have slipped -- punched hard against the president, unleashing an unwise, inaccurate and unpresidential attack on the Obama administration.

ref: Romney foreign policy attack was disgraceful

At the October 16, 2012 Presidential Debate, Republican challenger Willard Mitt Romney asserted that it took the Obama administration two weeks to refer to the September 11, 2012 attack on the American Ambassador in Libya as an act of terror. Incumbent President Barack Obama took strong exception to the Republican candidate's allegation and responded as you may view and hear in the following video.

Presidential debate moderator Candy Crowley fact checked Mitt Romney after the Republican presidential candidate charged that President Obama failed to call the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi an "act of terror."

ref: Candy Crowley Fact Checks Mitt Romney On Libya (VIDEO)

Willard Mitt Romney was and is less than truthful, less than honest, less than a true American, and far less than Presidential.