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.

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.

Jewish People, aka (to some people) Jews, Eat Pork

There are many people who have misinformation about Jewish practices and observances. Most people are of the belief that Jewish people do not eat pork or shellfish. There are some folks who even get into a long discussion in answer to the question: Do Jewish people eat pork?

It would appear from the comments contained in the preceding link that there are some Jewish people who do eat pork.

Another discussion I found on 'the net'is from The Straight Dope, Fighting Ignorance Since 1973, (It's Taking Longer Than We Thought). You might enjoy it; so click on over to read:
Why do some religious Jews eat pork and shrimp?

Speaking of the straight dope, You might find it entertaining to go to the following web page:
Why Jews don't eat pork according to Howard Stern.

I was reared in Reform Judaism. I do not fit the stereotype that many people have of one who is Jewish. And for the life of me, I do not understand why so many people have no clue as to the different movements or denominations within Judaism. Heck, I even wonder what it is about those Jewish people who think the platform of their Jewish denomination is the right one and that other denominations are not really Jewish; and, I really wonder why some Jewish people think their Rabbi is right and my Rabbi is wrong.

As a "Reform Jew," I found the following web page to be interesting reading:
Are some Reform Jews so liberal they eat lobster and pork?

Come to think of it, many people have many questions regarding Reform Judaism to which the immediately preceding embedded link attempt to answer.

Another web page that raised my eyebrows was an entry from the blog of The Fly Fishing Rabbi. You just might find it interesting, also. Click on over to read:
Why do Jews not eat Pork?

Now, I am totally confused.

Well, maybe we don't have a solid, conclusive answer to the question of whether Jews eat ham or pork chops or bacon or lobster or shrimp or clams or whatever; but,
We all know what a Jew looks like. Right?

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel: Nonresponsive, Unaccountable, Holier-than-thou Attitude???

I am reading some interesting stuff about the Treasurer of the State of Ohio, a fellow by the name of Josh Mandel. I am not kidding you; I josh you not; his name is Josh.

Upon reading a blog entry of Jill Miller Zimon, I cannot help but have three descriptives come to my mind in regards to Josh Mandel (Mandel is his last name, not to be confused with mandelbrot). In light of those descriptives, I ask: "Is Josh Mandel nonresponsive, unaccountable, and have a holier-than-thou attitude?"

I suggest you click on over to read Mandel Supports Anti-Choice Legislation Not Even Supported by Ohio Right to Life from the blog Writes Likes She Talks.

United States and Selective Reasoning Violate the Constitution

Tim Higgins of Just Blowing Smoke... is not blowing any smoke when it comes to 'calling as it is' regarding the historical selective reasoning of the government of the United States of America in the interpretation, limitations, and adherance/nonadherance of and to the Constitution of the United States of America.

I strongly encourage you to click on over to read "The Beam In Our Own Eye" and you may ascertain for yourself the validity and veracity of that which I am of the belief to be the truth.

While Timothy W. Higgins points out the facts, it seems as though the entire population of the USA chooses not to see our country's history and current operations with clear vision but rather through a smoky lens.

April Fools' Day to Roland Hansen

April Fools' Day came a day early for me.

Yesterday morning, I composed a Roland Hansen Commentary that I thought was really quite good. I thought it was well-worded, informative with plenty of links, witty, and entertaining. I really enjoyed putting it together - I better have; it took me over three hours to complete.

Then a strange thing happened. After I had checked, checked again, and re-checked it to make sure it was in good final publishing form, and after I hit the "publish post" key, or so I thought, I logged out. Awhile later, when I returned to Roland Hansen Commentary, the entry on which I had worked so hard was not there. I looked everywhere for it. I looked in drafts, in the clipboard, on the desktop, in word programs, in memory on the hard drive, in temporary files and every kind of file of which I could think; I mean to tell you I looked everywhere. It got lost somewhere in cyberspace. It was as though April Fools' Day came one day early and someone had played an evil, nightmarish April Fools' Day prank on me.

I am sickened at the loss and still fermished enough and farklempt that I do not want to re-create that entry. I do not think I can equal the creativity of which I was inspired as I penned that entry yesterday. It is lost in space forever.

Now, after having undergone such a tradgedy, it remains to be seen whether I ever blog here again. Or, is that statement just an April Fools' Day prank of mine.

Why the USA is fighting in Libya.

Nice title, eh?

So, the question is: Why are we (the United States of America) intervening with military action in yet another foreign country's domestic matters, i.e. Libya?

You tell me, because I'll be darned if I know.

Our country's founding was based on the premise that the people of the country have the right of self-determination in the matter of their own form of government, and if the people did not like that government, then the people of the country have the right to change or abolish that government. Poorly worded, but I think you get my drift in paraphrasing our Declaration of Independence.

Okay, I understand that some Libyans are unhappy with their government and want change. And, the Libyan people as a group have the right to do so. That is the Libyans have that right, not America. It seems to me that the United States of America has injected itself into the internal affairs of many countries over the past 50 years. It does not matter to me whether I agree with the form of government in another country; it is not my country; it is up to the people of the other country to have whatever form of government they want.

Oh, wait. I seem to remember something about a country called Viet Nam. Now, what is it? Oh, yes, now I remember, We lost our military intervention into that country's civil war, as did France before us, and we (the U.S.A.) got our asses kicked. Now, the very same government that we opposed in Viet Nam apparently has full trade with the USA as I see many products on American retail shelves with the label "Made in Viet Nam." Lesson learned: Why is the United States of America fighting in the civil war (if that is what it is) of Libya?