Guns and Killing

Pistols, rifles, firearms - they are all guns to me. Now that I have your attention, I have a brief, factual statement:

GUNS WERE INVENTED FOR THE PURPOSE OF KILLING!
Raising an eyebrow, are you?
Tell you what. Go ahead and read:
History of the firearm
The Invention of Guns

Now, I will sit back and await the response of gun-lovers who usually try to make my brief, factual statement into something other than what my explicitly concise factual statement is.

Business Corporations and Economic Stimulation

I just read a blog entry of Karen Shanahan over at Shanahan Select that I thought put some things into what I think is the proper perspective regarding the history, the role, and recommended future approach of corporations and big business in the economy of the United States of America. I thank Karen for writing such a good article, one that reflects my own biased, personal opinion.

I suggest you read:
Stimulating The Economy, Reducing The Deficit... The Private Sector Solution

Hello, Buckeye CableSystem. Hello, Customer Service. Hello, This is Peggy.

As do many other people nowadays, I bundle my telephone, internet, and television services with one provider. Well, the other day, I had some problems with my Buckeye CableSystem service. Rather than restate it here in my two blogs, i.e. Roland Hansen Commentary and Roland's Ramblings, I think I will just copy and paste the comments I made about it on Facebook, as follows:

Been without landline telephone service all day. Judy used cell phone to call telephone provider Buckeye CableSystem. She got a recorded message stating there were too many incoming telephone calls, call back later, and then Buckeye Cable hung up on her. This is service? I think not. Anyone else having problems?

To that I added another comment, as follows:

At least the internet service was restored after several hours. But, upon going to Buckeye CableSystem website, I could get NO INFORMATION about the telephone blackout!!!!!

If you read that carefully, my concern was what seemed to me to be inadequate and unsatisfactory customer service. Well, one person got it right away when that person wrote this comment:

Hate that!!! That is not customer service! Reminds me of the commercial, this is Peggy!

I found some very interesting reading about customer service and the commercials with the Peggy character over at Conveyance Marketing Group. Take a look at it for yourself by clicking over to: Hello This is Peggy What is Problem Please?

While I thought I stated my concern was about customer service, it appears someone else did not read it that way, when that person wrote:

"Since this is the company my husband works for that every one is bashing...their phone lines can only hold so much call traffic with all the people calling in...it has NOTHING TO DO WITH BUCKEYE CABLE SYSTEM as a company...It is 100 degrees outside be grateful we all have electricity to run fans and air conditioners!"

To which I responded, in part:

"xxxxxx, I understand the heat and power overload is a major factor. I just do not understand why I cannot get someone from Buckeye Cablesystem or its website to at least tell me what is going on. Please do not misconstrue my comments as a personalization of individual employees; that certainly is not the intention of my comments."

The aforementioned person came back later and wrote:

"Then switch to dish and when it rains and snows you won't have anything!"

(Oh, by the way, the comments made by the aforementioned person have since been removed by that same person from my Facebook wall.)

Those comments made by the aforementioned person totally confused me, in that my comments were about customer service and only customer service. First off, Buckeye CableSystem could have a different outgoing message with a bit more sensitivity to it; second, Buckeye CableSystem could put their incoming telephone calls into virtual queue and answer them or call them back in the order in which they were received; third, in that Buckeye CableSystem is all about communication, it seems to me that there should be some kind of communication tool on their website that could address the type of problems I was experiencing, at the very least, the Buckeye CableSystem website could have a Q & A section on all their products. You see, the whole problem that I encountered was that I could not even speak with Peggy.

It seems to me that good customer service is a thing of the past. I find it especially distressing that this particular cable service provider that has the monopoly on cable service in the greater Toledo, Ohio area and that specializes in the communications industry priding itself as being on the technology forefront of the industry cannot even have a half-way decent effective means of handling customer service queries.

Perhaps, if Toledo, Ohio had two cable service providers as does Phoenix, Arizona with Cox Communications and Qwest Communications International, then there would be better customer service generated due to the business competition for customers.

What do you think?
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Update as of Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:07pm (posted on my Facebook wall):
Buckeye CableSystem - Spolier Alert!!! Earlier this afternoon, approximately an hour ago about 2:00 p.m., I had an extremely unpleasant, bad, terrible customer service experience at the Buckeye CableSystem Customer Service DeVeaux Office location of 2600 W. Sylvania Avenue, Suite 106, Toledo Ohio 43613. I wanted to find out if there was a less expensive telephone, television, internet bundle package than the one I presently have but that would still serve the purpose for what I use. The representative was downright rude and nasty, being much less than helpful. She kept telling me I had a good bundle package and that I could wind up paying more for less service. I attempted on more than one occasion to explain what I wanted but she kept interrupting me; there was actually about 4 attempts by me. I finally stated "Let me word myself as simple as I can." Then I said "Is there a less expensive bundle than what I presently have?" To that, she started to tell me what services I had, to which I stated I know what I have, I want to know if there is a less expensive bundle. Well, she side-stepped the question and said she was just trying to help and .... Well, I couldn't be frustrated anymore, I gathered up my statement, stated she was not very helpful and started to leave -- at which point she told me to have a nice day. I asked her her name; she sad Pam; I asked her for her last name, she said she did not have to give it to me and then said she had only tried to help but I should have a nice day. RIGHT!!! As I was getting into my car, another customer had come out of the building and told me it was not me that was the problem, that she and others had also had problems with that same representative on previous occasions and had reported her. Oh, well. I am not happy. Maybe, I will find out the answer to my question another way. I must say that most employees of Buckeye CableSystem of whom I have encountered are very professional, kind, and helpful - extremely so --- but not this 'Pam' woman, who needed my full name, address, and telephone number before she would "help" me. OMG!

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Spendthrifts Live Beyond Their Means

People never cease to amaze me. Right now, I am thinking of people who do not know how to manage their own personal finances. I know many people who have well above-average incomes that are constantly in debt and who are always asking for personal loans from relatives and friends to bail them out of yet another financial mess in which they have gotten themselves.

Even after all these years, I am still constantly amazed at the people who irresponsibly spend money without regard to paying the debts and obligations they have already incurred. More often than not, they are spendthrifts living beyond their means in a lifestyle that others would find luxurious.

Even though these people are deeply in debt, they continue to spend money as if money was burning a hole in their pocket. And all the while, they will continue to borrow money from their family and friends who have less income than they and who live a much more modest lifestyle. In fact, the spendthrift will be living more luxuriously than the person from whom they borrowed money.

To exacerbate the situation even more, there is the spendthrift who has become a moocher and who is very slow, or does not even attempt, to repay the person from whom they borrowed money, but instead will go to the movies, dine at fine restaurants, buy personal luxury items, go casino gambling, and more, even borrowing more money from the same person, who is oblivious to the extravagant lifestyle, or borrowing more money from others. These are not your everyday spendthrifts; these are the moochers that have no pride. They have no conscious.

A spendthrift is a wastrel is a profligate. Reckless spending seems to be a frequent everyday occurrence for the spendthrift. Not mindful of spending money, the wastrel will make purchases of unnecessary and unneeded items. Not conscious of the value of the food dollar, the profligate will usually dine outside the home.

Rather than making a car payment or a house payment or pay a utility bill, the spendthrift will buy a new television set, a new cell phone or blackberry, lottery tickets, some video games, a household or electronic luxury gadget that really is not needed, a daily soda pop at a fast food drive-through just because it is convenient, 2 or 3 car washes per week, etc. The wastrel will go down to the bar to drink with friends and buy a round of drinks for the house, maybe even bring in some fast food items as an additional treat for their bar buddies. Oftentimes, these profligates go out to restaurants to eat most of their meals rather than prepare meals at home that is, of course, much more financially efficient.

Hey --- What's that you say? Oh, you remember the entry "Money burns a hole in my pocket" that I made on December 14, 2009 in Roland's Ramblings. Oh, oh!

The Obsolescence of Family Ties and Interpersonal Social Ties

I remember many good classroom discussions during my college adjunct faculty years when I was teaching Sociology of Marriage and the Family. I recall thinking at the time of how the focus on family life seemed of less a priority to the typical college student in my classes on the subject than it was to previous generations.

Now onward to this entry -

The Obsolescence of Family Ties and Interpersonal Social Ties.

As more time has gone by, I am even more convinced that people no longer value family ties to any great extent; perhaps, I should clarify by specifying that statement is more applicable to the ties of family other than one's minor children or spouse.

The study of Marriage & Family Processes can be very interesting from an academe perspective. The observation of family interactions is even more interesting from a personal perspective; it is also very perplexing and troubling, or least it is to me as I see what I perceive as the deteriorating importance of extended family life.

The theme song of Family Ties enters my mind as I compose this commentary. That, in turn, leads me to express an analogy to that show. As the television series Family Ties went off the broadcast airwaves into the sunset, re-runs excepted, so has real life family ties totally dissolved as each person goes his or her own separate way as did the actress who portrayed the mother, Elyse Keaton in the television series Family Ties.

Real life interpersonal social ties are also obsolete, or so it seems to me, as I wrote in a couple years ago in Roland's Ramblings Law of Diminishing Returns, in which blog entry I closed with a link to Roland Hansen Commentary Social Network Services Diminish Family Life And Friendships.

I Don't Need No Stinking Independent Politicians!

People who want to elect more and more "independent" politicians unaffiliated with any political party must have their head up their keister. I mean, come on people, think. Or is that too difficult for you?

If you think it takes too long to get things done in Congress or the state legislature or the city council with those bodies basically composed of representatives from two major political parties, how long do you think it would take to get things done if the majority of those elected officials were "independent" and not affiliated with a political party????

The fact of the matter is very basic: "Independent" politicians have no common grounds on which to base their public policy decisions and in which to enact legislation. Their only commonality is that they are independent of political parties and of one another. Period!

Now, if you were to say, you are desirous of more independent-thinking politicians who have a common perspective with others who are part of a general coalition of people with varying beliefs but who belong to a political party with a set of planks of a political platform in which there is room for some differences in opinion and different levels of adherence, then I would wholeheartedly agree.

That's my take on it all, and I am sticking with it!

I Don't Need No Stinking Independent Politicians!

Ascertaining the Virginity of Egyptian Women

The following is a copy of what I wrote earlier today on my other blog, Roland's Ramblings, Anthology of writings from Roland Louis Hansen of Toledo, Ohio and Mesa, Arizona:

Are there really any Egyptian women who are virgins? Apparently, some people want to know the answer to that question.
Click on over to boingboing.net to read Egypt: general confirms "virginity check" forced on female protesters by military

Living in the United States of America, I find it interesting to learn about different countries, different cultures, different norms, different mores, different values, etc.

Now for my Roland Hansen Commentary:
Somehow, I have to wonder about individual human civil rights in Egypt. The United States of America sits idly by during the civil unrest in Egypt, meanwhile, the USA continues to interfere with the internal affairs of Libya. And then there is this: Our strongest ally in that region, Israel, is asked by President Barack Obama to open its arms to Hamas, the MidEast equivalent of al-Qaeda.

Was Randy Savage A Jewish Italian Macho Man?

Was Randy Savage a Jewish Italian? Or, was the wrestler Macho Man an Italian Jew? Was Randy an American or Italian or what? Did Macho Man profess to be Jewish? Did Randy Savage celebrate Chanukah? Did he observe Rosh HaShanaah and Yom Kippur? Inquiring minds want to know; well, at least, this inquiring mind (that's me, Roland Louis Hansen) wants to know.

I recently made an honest, legitimate, and sincere comment on the blog entry Jewish Wrestler Randy Savage Dies in which I addressed the blog writer. I asked for some clarification in the use of ethnic descriptors in order to better understand their use, You see, the writer referred to the ethnic parentage of Macho Man Randy Savage. The writer, Rabbi Jason Miller, used two labels: "Italian" for the paternal parent, and "Jewish" for the maternal parent. The blog writer concluded that Macho Man Randy Savage was Jewish, but never wrote whether Randy Savage identified himself as Jewish or if Randy Savage ever observed and practiced the religion of Judaism.

In response, a troll who with an apparent lack of self-esteem and self-confidence hid his or her own real identity by ingeniously using the name "Anonymous" made light of my comments in his or her sarcastic return comment in a satirical attack on me.

I truly believe that some people intermingle and/or misuse ethnic identifiers. It has hit me personally over the years. My mother always stated she was a Russian Jew, but she was born in Ukraine. My father was a nonobservant Lutheran born in Elk Horn, Iowa, U.S.A. of parents that had emigrated from Denmark.

Throughout the years, I have been labeled by many people as a Jew, a dirty Jew, and as a half-breed Jew. I have yet to be labeled as a Dane or as Danish or as Russian or as Ukrainian by others who know that Judaism is my religion. There were many people of the Jewish religion who lived in Denmark during World War II that were protected by the Danish government. They were Danish citizens who followed, observed, and practiced Judaism. Would they be identified as Danish Jews or as Jewish Danes? As I previously stated, my mother identified herself as a Russian Jew til the day she died in 1984. In that she was born in Ukraine, I wonder if her ancestors were from Russia and had moved to Ukraine.

I have always wondered if any of my paternal ancestors were Danish Vikings or if any of my maternal ancestors came from the ancient nations of Judea or Israel. I will never know. Am I a Jewish Danish Russian Ukrainian? What label would you give me? Personally, I refer to me as American, pure and simple.

As far as that anonymous troll is concerned, I say "Shove off if you cannot have an intelligent discussion."

Obama on Palestine and Israel

I just read the news story Obama: Palestine-Israel Solution Must Be Based on 1967 Borders with piqued interest.

All I can say now is really just a question:
Is Obama nuts?

Presidential Race 2012

Well, it appears the race is now on in the quest to secure the next United States Presidency. Incumbent President Barack Obama has announced his re-election candidacy. Several Republicans have announced their jump into the foray. Some of the more prominent candidates include: former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Congressman Ron Paul, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former US Senator Rick Santorum.

That ditzy, lame-brain, speak from the hip without thinking, quitter by not completing a previous elected position as Governer of Alaska Sarah Palin is still stomping around the world riding the crest of popularity fueled by poor-thinking, mal-thinking, non-thinking drones who are enamored with negative generalizations about almost everything. Hopefully, Palin will pale before any formal announcement of a 2012 President candidacy and that ship will sink before leaving port.

Donald Duck, er, I mean, Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision but the Trump has been making a "Presidential" stump an almost every day exercise. I wonder if DT's approach to solving the financial difficulties of the national government is the same as it is in his private business life. Filing bankruptcy sure did help him in his business ventures bringing him back to his multi-million dollars status. Of course, I am sure his debtors would have liked to have been paid once The Donald re-gained his millions. But, Donald ducked any moral responsibility and stiffed those people big time. In my opinion, Donald Trump is a greedy, bloodsucking, self-serving parasite making money off the sweat of the brow of others with no thought of, or care for, those he stomps upon. I say Dump Trump.

Mick Huckabee has announced he is not running for President in 2012, but has not ruled out a future race for the number 1 political elective contest in America. Huckabee has the good sense to know this is not the time for him to run for President. After all he is now making big bucks in private life with his television show and book writing and professional speaking engagements and on and on and on. Shucks, Hucks and Bucks! Why would Mike want to give up all that just to provide public service to our country? Money talks and Huckabee walks.

I could write much more but that is enough from me today. I will save it for another time.

For a more complete list of people who have either announced their candidacy or who have formed exploratory committees or who are being mentioned as potential candidates, click on over to the Presidency 2012 web page of Ron Gunzburger's Politics1.com website. That web page will automatically update as time goes by, consequently some of which I have written here today (May 15, 2011) will become obsolete with the passage of time; and, of course, informationon on that web page may change each time you check back to it.

What? You say you want to know my views on President Obama? My simple response:
Disappointment.