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?

University of Toledo: A Success As A Failure OR A Failure At Success?

Is the University of Toledo a success as a failure, a failure as a success, a success, a failure, or just plain mediocre?

I read an interesting article in the Blade online about the low ranking of the University of Toledo. The article makes reference to "the 'America's Best Colleges' edition of U.S. News & World Report."

Much further down in the article, it states: "The magazine measures schools by seven 'key measures of quality,' such as graduation rate, academic reputation, and a student selectivity index that factors in grades, test scores, and class rank of incoming freshmen."

Upon reading the article, I found out that the University of Toledo ranks in the lowest ranking category of universities across America. That does not surprise me in the least.

Heck, Bowling Green State University, another State of Ohio public tax-supported university in northwest Ohio and about 20 to 30 miles from Toledo, is in a higher ranking category than is the University of Toledo. What does Bowling Green State University have that the University of Toledo doesn't have? Could Bowling Green State University possibly have a better President and better administrative team than does the University of Toledo?

My present perception and impression of the administration of the University of Toledo is that the current administration is top heavy with too many administrators, inept, inefficient, ineffective, non-caring, uninvolved, and just plain overall bad. There needs to be a full-housecleaning of the University of Toledo Administration with a total make-over and do-over.

Here are a few more quotes from the article:

"The University of Toledo has begun a formal initiative to raise its U.S. News rankings from the "fourth tier" to the "third tier" of national universities when the next edition hits newstands in August."

"A move into the third tier would place UT among 65 other universities, including Bowling Green State University, the University of Cincinnati, and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich."

"UT President Lloyd Jacobs in January told the university's board of trustees it was his goal for UT to attain a second-tier U.S. News ranking before the end of his tenure. He declined an interview for this article"

Gee, why am I not surprised that University of Toledo President Lloyd Jacobs declined to be interviewed for the article. If you have previously read or now read the Roland Hansen Commentary University of Toledo: A Non-Responsive Bureaucracy, you might understand why a nonresponse from Dr. Lloyd Jacobs, the President of the University of Toledo, does not surprise me in the least.

Why not read the entire article UT begins push to improve ranking among U.S. colleges by Blade staff writer JC Reindl for yourself? If you do read the entire article, you will be able to read excuse after excuse for the lackluster ranking of the University of Toledo.

Head over this way and you can look at U.S.News.com: America's Best Colleges 2008: University of Toledo where you can then click on several embedded links for more information about the University of Toledo.

Toledo City Council: A Balancing Act

Well, it's that time again for the City of Toledo. The process of establishing and adapting a balanced budget is at hand. It seems to be a hard act, i.e. agreement amongst all of the Toledo City Council persons and the Mayor of Toledo. Heck, it's almost like a three-ring circus.
Not only is establishing the budget for the City of Toledo apparently a tough balancing act, but so is the allotment of time to other issues and concerns of the City of Toledo a balancing act. On top of that, there is also apparently a balancing act involved in allowing all Toledo City Council persons equal time and attention.
Rather than go through it all here on Roland Hansen Commentary, I suggest you take a look see at the entry of Lisa Renee Ward on Glass City Jungle entitled City Council and legislation concerns...
I, Roland Hansen, say to Toledo City Council and to the Mayor of Toledo:
"Balance the budget and balance the political games. Get on with the business at hand. Serve the citizens of Toledo and the community as you all promised to serve when you all campaigned for the positions to which you have been elected."

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and The Money Tree

Wonders never cease. Toledo, Ohio and Lucas County, Ohio are now the location of another one of the Great Wonders of the World -- The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and The Money Tree.
Apparently, James Hartung has found the secret of growing and harvesting the ever-elusive "money tree" and has an entire orchard of money trees. At least it seems that way after I read "Hartung Needs to Go-Far Away from us!"

I cannot help but wonder what other employer or employing organization would voluntarily pay tens of thousands of dollars to a departing employee when the employer has absolutely no contractual or legal obligation to do so. How does James Hartung and the public-tax-supported Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority get away with this type of thing?
If it were an elected official doing this crap of giving away thousands upon thousands of dollars for work not performed, the elected official would never get re-elected, or that type of elected official might even be recalled from office.
Hey, that gives me an idea. Maybe, we should re-examine the elected officials responsible for making the public appointments of individuals to the Board of Directors of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.
If there aren't any changes forthcoming in the operations of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, its Board, and its CEO James Hartung, maybe we need to make changes in the elected officials who make the appointments of the individuals to the Board of the Port Authority.

Rather than repeating the whole story in this entry, I suggest you read all the different embedded links that you will find once you read "Hartung Needs to Go-Far Away from us!"

The Fourth Estate: Disservice and Failure of the Traditional Press

I read a very interesting article in which the traditional press media have been accused of being unfair in the coverage of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. The allegation is being put forth that the media are providing biased coverage in favor of Barack Obama in his quest to become the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States of America. Go on over and read the article Media expert decries campaign coverage by Beth Fouhy, Associated Press writer.
I agree with the premise as put forth in that article. I have been voicing the same concern about the traditional press for a long, long time whether it be the print or broadcast media coverage in campaigns for President of the United States of America, or for Mayor of Toledo, for Toledo City Council, for Lucas County Commisioner, or for Member of the State Board of Education of Ohio, or for any and all other elective offices.
Over at my other blog, Roland's Ramblings, I have made several entries in reference to the overall subject of what I believe is a responsibility of press and traditional media in providing complete and accurate political coverage. For a couple examples, you might wish to read my entries Journalism and Political Campaigns and Mass Media Responsibilty.
The press has been referred to as The Fourth Estate, in the role of shaping public perception in the wonderful and fascinating arena of politics, as the article explains in the embedded link. As far as I am concerned, the media-industrial complex of "The Press" should be in an estate sale because in my opinion "The Press" as I envision is dead and should be buried for its disservice and failure to the American public.