Unlike Conservatives With Caveats, Political Liberals Unconditionally Live A Caring, Compassionate, Sharing, Loving Life.

The Gregorian calendar year of 2016 is almost upon us. For some interesting reading, I suggest you go over to read The Curious History of the Gregorian Calendar.

As 2016 is about to make its appearance, I would like to share my message of Happy New Year Wishes.

Very simply put, I wish that every American, and indeed every living person worldwide, would make and keep the resolution to lead, practice, and live a life without any preconditions, caveats, prejudice, discrimination, or xenophobia - a life that is kind, sharing, caring, compassionate, and loving to each and every other person.

Over at my Roland's Ramblings blog, I posted an entry on December 30, 2015 entitled Share The Corn. Share The Good. Live In Peace. Live Well. For The Welfare Of All.

It relays a story that in reading caused me to think that it presents a good antecdote for the goodness that lies in being a political liberal as opposed to being a political conservative, as the title of this Roland Hansen Commentary proclaims, "Unlike Conservatives With Caveats, Political Liberals Unconditionally Live A Caring, Compassionate, Sharing, Loving Life. "
[Side note on a personal basis: I do not include my politically conservative friends such as CW Martin, Timothy W Higgins, David McKay, and Dennis Wilburn in this comment that I recognize is a generalized statement. Indeed, these friends of mine are independent thinkers for whom I have a great deal of respect; they do not fit in the stereotype normally assigned to political conservatives. Furthermore, I also sadly realize and recognize that there are some politically liberal people who are unkind, prejudiced, discriminatory, and xenophobic.)

While I have embedded a link to the Roland's Ramblings entry in its title here in Roland Hansen Commentary, I am also reproducing that Roland's Ramblings entry below:

Growing Good Corn

Author Unknown

There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."

He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.

So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.

It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself. - From the Bible, Proverbs 11:24-25

ref: Growing Good Corn, Inspiration Peak.

Patrick Hickey. Toledo, Ohio: Washington Local School District. Superintendent. Saga, Legacy, Scandal, Shame?

There has been lots and lots going on in the Ohio school district of Washington Local Schools whose jurisdiction is in both Washington Township and a large chunk of the City of Toledo.

Rather than me writing all about it and placing all kinds of embedded links, I am placing embedded links to a variety of message threads from the website of SwampBubbles that also contain other embedded links for even more information that will fill you with awe if you open those links and read all the materiel that is presented there.

Here goes:

• SUPERINTENDENT PATRICK HICKEY OF WASHINGTON LOCAL SCHOOLS
• SUPERINTENDENT PATRICK HICKEY HAS BLOCKED ME ON TWITTER
• SUPERINTENDENT PATRICK HICKEY'S LAWYER ASKS RESIDENT TO REMOVE CRITICAL POSTS
• WHY DOES PATRICK HICKEY FEEL COMPELLED TO TELL STAFF NOT TO TALK TO BOARD MEMBERS?
• HICKEY PLACED ON LEAVE AGAIN
• PATRICK HICKEY RESIGNS 
• ANYONE HERE ATTEND THE BIG PARTY LAST NIGHT IN HONOR OF THE HICK?

As an aside, I am placing a couple of the links that are contained within the referenced SwampBubbles message threads because I found them to be especially interesting:

• Twitter Feed of Patrick Hickey
• Patrick Hickey (full story) from CedarCreek.tv

The situation with Patrick Hickey in his capacity as the Superintendent of Washington Local Schools is indeed a sad commentary in and of itself.  Saga, Legacy, Scandal, Shame?

What is the difference between a Canadian and an American from the United States?

Canadians and Americans from the United States of America are both from the continent of North America, as are Mexicans from Estados Unidos Mexicanos. 

I will let Donald Trump address the topic of Mexicans.

I want to address the differences between Canadians and Americans.

For some good, objective, comparative factual information regarding Canada and the United States, I suggest you head on over to FindTheData United States vs Canada.

More good reading may be found at Canada vs. United States from Diffen.

I would also like to suggest you go on over to a web page of Quora to read:
What are some cultural differences between Canadians and Americans?

And to add a bit of eyebrow-raising, I suggest you read Maclean's 99 reasons why it’s better to be Canadian.

I think I will leave it at that and let you wonder what I think of it all. (snicker-snicker, hee-hee, elfish grin)

Never take for granted the people you love.

Back on December 5, 2013, I posted the Roland Hansen Commentary blog entry, Life Goes By. Say, "I Love You."

On May 18, 2014, I posted the Roland Hansen Commentary blog entry, Do you really matter? What about your family? Who are your real friends?

Today, December 17, 2015, I am putting forth, "This year has almost gone. Not all our friends and family made it. Never take for granted the people you love."

USA Political Conservatives Favor Corporate Welfare and Oppose Social Welfare.

Many Political Conservatives in the United States of America denounce and cry about the amount of public taxpayer dollars that are expended on social welfare programs. And yet, these same people support the use of taxpayer dollars that are expended on corporate welfare.

I fail to understand why these Conservatives favor financial assistance for the wealthy while bemoaning financial assistance to the poor.

There are some very interesting comments on this subject that have been posted in response to the article "Government Spends More on Corporate Welfare Subsidies than Social Welfare Programs" that is on the website of Think by Numbers.

If you like Donald Trump, you must love Adolf Hitler.

Do you remember the Roland Hansen Commentary I wrote awhile back comparing the style of speech Donald Trump uses with that of Adolf Hitler?

If you do, that's great, if you do not - well you can read it now (or refresh yourself) by following the embedded link within its title:
Donald Trump. Adolf Hitler. Similar Style of Political Speech.

Some folks may pooh-pooh my comparison; however I find the two have striking similarities.

Now then, give a look-see at the meme I came across earlier today

FACT: Guns help people to kill people!

Read these two simple excerpts from a web site that I was exploring.

"Every day, 297 people in America are shot ... It's time for Congress to finish the job and expand Brady background checks to stop criminals and other dangerous people from getting guns in America."

"In one year ... Over 108,000 (108,476) people in America are shot ... Millions of guns are sold every year in 'no questions asked' transactions. Experts estimate that 40 percent of guns now sold in America are done so without a Brady background check."

Now, if you have the initiative to take the time and the motivation of an open mind to learn facts, go on over to read the entire Key Gun Violence Statistics web page.

Roaming the internet, I came across another interesting web page on this general topic. Here is an excerpt from that article:

"Lankford found a strong correlation between gun ownership in America and violence. The U.S. ranks first in gun ownership in the world, with surveys suggesting the rate to be 88.8 firearms for every 100 people in America, or 270 million total firearms within borders. (At a distant second is Yemen, with 54.8 firearms per 100 people; the numbers tumble after that.) There have been 292 public mass shooters who have killed a minimum of four people between 1966 and 2012. And when you narrow shootings down to just those that occur at school and work, American incidences account for 62% of global cases.

Again, if you have the initiative to take the time and the motivation of an open mind to learn, read the entire article by going on over to Why the U.S. Has 31% of the World’s Mass Shootings.

I could not believe what I read in another article in which this statement was made:

"The case is still under investigation. Does it matter? As long as the NRA (National Rifle Association) is allowed to buy lawmakers who refuse to challenge current gun background laws—nothing changes."

Go on over to read the article for yourself; it is:
Man guns down Waffle House server after she asks him not to smoke inside—are you keeping count, NRA?

The GUN was invented for one very specific PURPOSE: TO KILL. 

Damn the gun!

Mass Killings in the U.S.A. Guns don't kill people, but they do help people to kill people.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, yet once again, there has been a mass killing in the United States of America by gun-toting perpetrators. This time, the deadly shooting took place in San Bernardino, California; it was the worst mass shooting since that of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

On Thursday, December 3, 2015, the United States Senate voted against two gun control proposals that had been introduced by Democrats.

The Senate rejected by a vote of 45 to 54 an amendment introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) that would prohibit the purchase of guns by people on a federal terrorism watch list. Also rejected by a vote of 48 to 50 was an amendment proposed by Senator Joe Manchin (Democrat, West Virginia) and co-sponsored by Senator Patrick Toomey (Republican, Pennsylvania) that would expand criminal background checks for guns purchased at gun shows and through the internet.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (Republican, Texas) stated that Senator Feinstein's amendment was "un-American" and that it would prevent gun purchases by people who were put on the terrorist list in error.

For more complete information regarding this latest shame on American politics, I suggest you read the following articles, links for which are embedded within their respective titles:

• Senate rejects gun control amendments offered following San Bernardino shooting
• Senate again rejects Manchin gun background check bill
• The US Senate just voted to block gun control, defund Planned Parenthood, and gut Obamacare

An so, while Conservative American politicians and their politically conservative supporters (largely members of the Republican Party for the most part) continue their attempts to dismantle the Affordable Health Act and to eliminate support for health care, education, information, and outreach programs of Planned Parenthood,  the tally of mass shootings in the United States of America continues to add up and up and up!

Hey, guns don't kill people.
Tell that to Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords and to the dead victims of gun-toting mass killers.
And praise the NRA with its love of guns.