1984 + 30 = 2014

Surveillance cameras in shopping malls, retail stores, grocery stores, office buildings, etc. Cameras along our highways, at intersections, and so forth. "Secret" GPS tracking device installed in American automobiles.

And now, well, here is an excerpt of a news article for you to ponder:

A device that would enable police to stop vehicles remotely is being considered by an EU-wide official working group, it has emerged.

Go ahead and read the entire story for yourself:
EU group mulls 'remote car-stopping device' for police

George Orwell predicted it all when he wrote 1984 in 1948. Perhaps the exact year may not be correct but the transitionary period has been underway for 30 years and more.

Eric Arthur Blair was born in 1903 and died in 1950; however, some say that 1984 killed George Orwell, the pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair. You may read about that in the preceding embedded link.

If you wish you may watch the YouTube video "1984 George Orwell Movie Trailer (1984)" right below here.


Now, if you would like to read some summarizations of the book Nineteen Eighty-Four, I suggest you click on over to:
SparkNotes: 1984

So, my dear friends, Big Brother IS watching us, all of us.
And the path continues toward total control of the populace.

Republican, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Republican Party Is Full Of Racists Who Oppose President Barack Obama Based On The Color Of His Skin.

Lawrence B. "Larry" Wilkerson is a retired United States Army Colonel and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. ... He appears as a frequent Republican commentator on The Ed Show with Ed Schultz on MSNBC commenting about the problems with Republican Party.

ref: Lawrence Wilkerson, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Some people may try to dispute the meme above. Well, for anyone who questions the veracity of the message contained therein, I strongly suggest you click on over to read the following article with its MSNBC video in which you may see and hear Col. Wilkerson's very own words from his very own mouth (unless, of course, you wish to remain closed minded):
Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Colin Powell Aide, Blasts Sununu, GOP, As 'Full Of Racists', The Huffington Post by Peter Finocchiaro, October 26, 2012.

You may also find that same information at the following:

• Colin Powell’s former chief of staff: ‘My party is full of racists’, MSNBC by Jillian Rayfield, October 26, 2012.
• Former Colin Powell top aide on Republicans: 'My party is full of racists’ , Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's chief of staff at the State Department during the Bush Administration, criticized the current Republican Party for basing 'positions on race.' by Victoria Cavaliere, New York Daily News, October 27, 2012.

The same information may be found in numerous other places on the internet.

Now, my commentary.
When I first saw the meme above, I wondered if it was correct in the ascribed quotation. In my own mind, I questioned the honest truthfullness of it. Therefore, as is customary for me, I researched the issue and the preceding is the result.
What I find rather interesting is the fact that quite a few Conservatives and/or Republicans are quick to allege that Liberals and/or Democrats often assert that the Conservatives and/or Republicans are racists because of their opposition to President Obama.
I have seen and read on many occasions where a Conservative or Republican has asserted that a Liberal or Democrat has played "the race card" when in fact it has been the Conservative or Republican who has broached that issue without any initiating comment concerning race by the Liberal or Democrat.
Indeed, a few of my own conservative and Republican friends and acquaintances have made that false accusation against me to which I have always responded truthfully that I have never made the allegation they had falsely ascribed to me. And that is the truth -- I have never ever proclaimed that opponents of President Barack Obama are racists, nor have I ever stated that Conservatives and/or Republicans oppose President Obama because of racism.
Based on those instances of which I just wrote in my above commentary ---
THAT IS WHY I find the allegations of racism ascribed to President Obama's opponents in the Republican Party that have been made by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a Republican, to be so interesting.

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."

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."

The Life and Times of Dale Pertcheck. Bonus Bubbles: Dale Pertcheck in the Swamp.

Some year ago, my wife, Judy of Judy's Jewels and of Judy Hansen Commentary fame, put together a surprise party in honor of my 60th birthday that was to occur the following week. I wrote about it in my other blog, i.e. Roland's Ramblings, in which I mentioned Dale Pertcheck.

Below is an excerpt from that blog entry:

"My longest-time best friends, Dale Pertcheck (who is mentioned in the embedded link to an entry of Glass City Jungle) and his wife, Kathie (nee Rosenberg), of 45 years made darn sure I knew my place. All the roasts were good but I gotta tell ya, Dale’s roast made sure everyone knew exactly the type of guy I am. I’ll get even with him later. Dale should win an Emmy or an Oscar or whatever for his monologue!" 

ref:  Freddie, Posted on November 18, 2007

So, true to my word, this Roland Hansen Commentary is for my friend of 50 or so years, Dale Pertcheck.

When he was a young man, Dale worked in his father's jewelry store that had originally been in downtown Toledo, Ohio but was relocated in 1957 to the Swayne Field Shopping Center. He later went to college and became a public school teacher in Toledo City Schools. During his 35+ years of teaching, Dale was very active in the teachers' union, not just a member but actively involved by holding responsible positions in the local Toledo Federation of Teachers, in the statewide Ohio Federation of Teachers, and in the national American Federation of Teachers.

Dale has always been quite the creative, academic, well-spoken and well-written intellectual; and, he has written many letters to newspapers, such as the December 10, 1995 Toledo Blade "Letter to the Editor" entitled "Undeserving slam on teacher pact", and the July 25, 2011 Toledo Free Press "Letter To The Editor entitled "Letter: Deconstructing Flagg."

Dale retired from his teaching and union postions almost two years ago, but he has remained active in a variety of ways. One example, Dale still plays softball, something he has done every year for the past almost 60 years. Dale Pertcheck loves his softball times. Heck, Dale has even been recognized for being 59+ League & Tourney Champs Manager.

When not busy with softball, Dale is very much involved and active in the lives of his children and grandchildren.

Dale has also been extremely active in writing on a variety of internet blogs, forums, bulletin boards, etc. His longest running and most extensive foray in the writing cyberworld is over at SwampBubbles. If you click over this-a-way, you can see the SwampBubbles Track of Dale Pertcheck. And, if you click over this-a-way, you may explore the search results on SwampBubbles itself in regards to Dale.

An internet search of Dale Pertcheck via Bing renders these results. And you can also check out search results for Dale Pertcheck on hakia, Dogpile, and Google.

Mandatory Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients

I have stated it before and I will state it again! I consider drug testing or screening as a prerequisite to receiving welfare benefits to be an unreasonable search by the government which is protected against in the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution and therefore unconstitutional.

That opening statement is my lead-in to that which follows.

• Conservative Patriots of America assert, "Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!" ref: Conservative Patriots of America: Kish mir en toches!, Roland Hansen Commentary, July 4, 2012.

• "Most Americans, even my fellow fiscal conservatives, see the legitimate need for benefit programs for those who are struggling and need to get back on their feet. However, it is fiscally irresponsible for public monies to subsidize the use of illegal drugs. Taxpayers should not be in the business of funding the lifestyles of those who are addicted to drugs, thereby condoning illegal behavior." ref: Opposing view: No drug test, no welfare, Kimberly Yee, USA TODAY, Updated 3/18/2012 7:33 PM.

• "Conservatives who say welfare recipients should have to pass a drug test to receive government assistance ... Nearly two dozen states are considering measures that would make drug testing mandatory for welfare recipients ... Recent federal statistics indicate that welfare recipients are no more likely than the general population to abuse drugs. ..." ref: Growing Support for Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients, by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, The New York Times, Published: February 25, 2012.

NOW! Go to the following embedded links for some reading that reinforces and substantiates my perspectiv that I stated in my opening, specifically, "I consider drug testing or screening as a prerequisite to receiving welfare benefits to be an unreasonable search by the government which is protected against in the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution and therefore unconstitutional."

• Judge strikes down Florida law mandating drug tests for welfare, Reuters, Tue Dec 31, 2013 4:42pm EST.
• Judge: No drug tests for Fla. welfare applicants, Politico, By ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/1/14 10:16 AM EST Updated: 1/2/14 6:19 AM EST.
• Judge Strikes Down Florida's Drug Tests for Welfare Law, By Mark Joseph Stern, The Slatest, JAN. 1 2014 12:55 PM.
• Drug-test policies end in failure, By Steve Benen, MSNBC, 01/02/14 09:00 AM—UPDATED 01/02/14 09:53 AM.
• Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients, Claim: Various states have passed laws requiring that public assistance recipients pass a drug testing program., Snopes.com.