Stop Pulling the Wagon

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted virtually everyone’s life, some in more ways than others, but all of us.

In one positive way I am reminded of the period following the attack on 9-11-01.

If any good came from the terror and tragedy of that horrible day it was that we experienced a coming together in America that was unique in my adult lifetime.

In the face of a common enemy we found a common purpose and good.

We united as a nation, as a people and as Americans. Color did not matter. Social standing lost it’s importance. Politics was forgotten – at least for a time. Neighbors joined with neighbors. There was an air of courtesy and acceptance of each other despite whatever differences we might of had before the event.

As Americans we joined hands and hearts in sorrow and in pride and celebrated our common love of country and each other.

In a similar way I have sensed some measure of that time in the current test being presented by a different adversary – this Coranavirus COVID-19.

Despite the shortages at our local supermarkets and the need, even requirement for social distancing, I am noticing more courtesy, patience and even friendly smiles among shoppers.

For the most part, we as individuals, seem to have put political disagreement and name calling on the shelf, at least for now. Many national political leaders who are generally bitter foes have demonstrated a softening of tone and been able to co-operate for the general benefit of all . Even if temporary, it’s a relief from the seeming constant drumbeat of political infighting we have come to expect. A welcome relief with perhaps just a glimmer of hope for the future.

In our area we have our own social Neighborhood Network where we communicate and share with folks in our immediate area. (I am told the Nextdoor.com app is available nationwide). What I am seeing happen makes me proud and has strengthened my faith in others. I see postings offering help to those in need. Offers to run an errand for a shut-in, help with a chore, shopping, even a package of toilet paper at a time when the stores are all completely out.

I don’t see people offering to help if you are a fellow Democrat or a fellow Republican or a fellow whatever. Just neighbors willing to help neighbors without conditions. It is a wonderful thing and makes me proud to be one of those neighbors.

This Virus “thing” shows no favorites and my greatest wish is that we could all carry on indefinitely this common goodwill feeling after this virus is finally controlled or better, history.

If you have the same desire, please share that feeling with others. I believe we would all be richer as a people if we did so.

Bob Bandy – April 2020

DEAR DIARY

A New Year – Time for Reflection and Anticipation

I often joke that the only New Years Resolution I ever kept was the year I made a resolution not to make any resolutions.

I am older now and my “Looking Back” is no longer at the immediate year past but a panorama of decades past. Some changes in the years past were giant leaps forward, like Landing on the Moon, while other changes, like the development of Social Media, which may have appeared almost as a passing “fad”, have had a profound impact on the fabric of our society.

Not everything that has changed can clearly be labeled as “good” or “bad”. In many cases the full effects will not be known for generations. “The jury is still out.” When the “Great Society” and Welfare State was first introduced in the 1960’s I was excited and happy that we were going to eliminate poverty permanently, however, poverty is in many ways a bigger problem today than when we began the program some 50 years and 20 Trillion Dollars ago, and, the unintended consequences produced great harm to the family structure in millions of households.

The author, Thomas Wolfe, wrote the great novel “You Can’t Go Home Again” and what he had to say can certainly apply to the world we grew up in and is gone forever.

To perhaps most of my generation, we now find that many of the values we were taught, grew up with and have cherished have seemingly been lost forever or are in the process of being destroyed.

Some Examples:

Personal Integrity seems to be on an “Endangered Species” list in too many areas of daily life. I grew up with “Your Word Is Your Bond” and it meant more than any written document. My own father taught me when I was a youth that “You can’t be just a little bit dishonest any more than you can be a little bit pregnant”. Today it seems we live in a world of “weasel words” and “escape clauses”.

Credibility is becoming a rare and precious commodity. Many of our political leaders are habitual liars and are on my “Lie to me once, lie to me twice” list and I no longer believe anything they say. I do not trust most of what I hear and read in the media. They have become little more than a propaganda machine for the “Ruling Class”. The same can be applied to many advertisers of popular products.

Freedom of Speech – a Constitutionally Guaranteed Right. We have devolved into a culture of “victims” where spoken or written words, no matter how innocent in intent and nature, are twisted into “hate speech” or various “phobic” attitudes where none was intended. One lives in fear of being labeled a “hater” from a misunderstood word or phrase. Add to this list the “Indoctrination Centers”, our Schools, Universities and Colleges, that we used to think of as “Citadels of Higher Leaning” and where freedom of thought and speech is often no longer encouraged or allowed.

Respect for the Sanctity of Life – all lives matter. Our modern society seems to value the immediate desire of the individual over the life of another living being, no matter how innocent or defenseless. “Me” becomes the focal point of life rather than right to life itself for the unwanted. In too many cases overlooked is the part “me” can play in the greater good of family, community and the future of all.

Political Correctness. A toxic brew that has poisoned our society and taken away the precious Constitutional Right of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the press. Politicians, Ministers, Business Owners, virtually everyone who must deal with the “public” must monitor every word for fear of alienating some “protected” minority or politically powerful group who can destroy their life, livelihood or career with catastrophic media destruction and/or litigation and financial destruction.

A Personal Moral Code. Usually founded on, or associated with some kind of discipline or religious belief or training. The Ten Commandments are one of the best known examples and one I try to live by. Some things are always right or wrong. Doing good is always “right”. Killing, lying and stealing are always “wrong”.

There is more. I believe we all should think about it and not just sit on the sidelines and let our culture and society degenerate into some kind of “Mad Max” future.

So what does this New Year and New Decade bring? Where are we headed and what am I going to do with it?

Bob Bandy – January 2020

“Mad Max” -1979 – Mel Gibson – Australia – Kennedy Miller Production

Britains Labour Party suffered a huge defeat in their recent elections.

Paul Embery is a Firefighter, trade union activist, pro-Brexit campaigner and ‘Blue Labour’ thinker. Following the defeat of Labour at the polls he wrote an article titled “Is this the end for Labour?” which is printed on the UnHerd website. For the complete article go to: https://unherd.com/2019/12/is-this-the-end-for-labour/

The article is several pages and much of it is directed at a British audience but it contains a great deal of common sense that should apply to our own Political Parties here in America and I am sharing excerpts from his text below. As you read these excerpts, wherever you see the word “Britain” substitute “United States” in your reading and where you see “Labour” substitute “Democrats or Republicans” (your choice). Similarly, you should substitute “Washington D.C.” for “London”. His words are intelligent, articulate and right on target!

Excerpts from: “Paul Embery – Is This The End For Labour”

“So there we have it. It turns out that the British working-class was not, in the end, willing to throw its weight behind a London-centric, youth-obsessed, middle-class party that preached the gospels of liberal cosmopolitanism and class war. Who’d have thought it?”

“Labour’s meltdown in these places will come as no surprise to anyone who was paying attention and wasn’t blinded by ideology or fanaticism. Some of us had long warned that working-class voters across post-industrial and small-town Britain were becoming increasingly alienated from the party.”

“But the woke liberals and Toytown revolutionaries who now dominate the party didn’t listen to us.”

“They believed that constantly hammering on about economic inequality would be enough to get Labour over the line. In doing so, they made a major miscalculation: they failed to grasp that working-class voters desire something more than just economic security; they want cultural security too.”

“They want politicians to respect their way of life, and their sense of place and belonging; to elevate real-world concepts such as work, family and community over nebulous constructs like ‘diversity’, ‘equality’ and ‘inclusivity’. By immersing itself in the destructive creed of identity politics and championing policies such as open borders, Labour placed itself on a completely different wavelength to millions across provincial Britain without whose support it simply could not win power. In the end, Labour was losing a cultural war that it didn’t even realise it was fighting.”

“Labour must stop treating the traditional working-class as though they were some kind of embarrassing elderly relative. It must learn to respect those who, for example, voted for Brexit, oppose large-scale immigration, want to see a tough and effective justice system, feel proud to be British, support the reassertion of the role of the family at the centre of society, prefer a welfare system to be based around reciprocity – something for something – rather than universal entitlement, believe in the nation state, and do not obsess about multiculturalism or trans rights.”

“Such people were once welcomed by the Labour party and felt entirely comfortable voting for it; but now so many of the party’s activists look upon these voters as if they were a different species altogether.”

“Cliché though it is, Labour stands today at a crossroads.”

“We are witnessing the beginnings of a fundamental realignment in British politics. The old tribalisms are crashing down around us. How Labour responds to this will determine whether it remains a serious political force or is instead destined to become a party of permanent protest.”

End of Excerpts:

If you agree, as I do, with Paul Embery’s words and conclusions as they would apply to the United States at this time, please share (forward, pass on, Tweet, Facebook, or PDF copy) this post with your own elected Representatives as well as your neighbors and friends. I find his logic to be flawless when I compare it with many things happening in our own political climate.

Bob Bandy – December 2019

Sacramento’s $22.5 Million plan for homelessness:

500 new shelter beds to open in 2020

Sacramento Bee – December 4, 2019

“After years of struggling to combat the city’s growing homeless population, the Sacramento City Council has a plan to get hundreds of people off the street in 2020.

The Council on Tuesday took a step toward spending $22.5 Million in expected private and state money to open 500 shelter beds in large semi-permanent tents, cabins, converted motels and scattered existing apartments. While the council did not take a formal vote on the spending plan, it directed city housing officials to move forward with the funding and a timeline for opening the facilities.

“I just insist following tonight that we follow through with urgency, with passion and with speed,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. “Not just raise the money, not just pass resolutions, but actually get more people indoors.”

The city’s 100-bed Meadowview shelter with on-site services, originally set to open in February for women and children, will now open in April for women only, officials said. A 100-bed shelter for adult men and women with services is set to open in May under the W/X freeway in North Oak Park.

The council previously approved roughly $20 Million to open the two shelters and plans to spend about an additional $6.4 Million to operate them for two years.

In the meantime, the city may be able to open a parking lot where homeless can safely sleep in their vehicles. Officials said that facility could open as early as January.

Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency officials estimate the safe parking lot would cost $1.1 million per year to operate, serving about 60 people at a time.

Councilman Rick Jennings sent staff from his office to visit several other cities in the state that operate safe parking lots for the homeless. He is searching for a site in his district, which includes Pocket, Greenhaven and Valley Hi, said Dennis Rogers, his chief of staff.

Rogers said it would be less expensive if guests can use bathrooms in an existing building on the site. “

complete article at the Sacramento Bee website: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article237980199.html

Like most everyone else, I would love to get these poor, struggling people off the streets and into warm dry environments, housing, shelter etc…. but I have a question….. Do any of these officials and decision makers own a CALCULATOR?

Just for the exercise, try getting your calculator out and do the math to get an idea of the cost per individual helped with the Sacramento City plan.

Using the City’s numbers provided in the Sacramento Bee, it appears they plan/hope to help about 750 to 760 homeless people at a cost of $22.5 Million. On my calculator that works out to a cost of $29,605 per person helped. Am I wrong?

Can any of these City Administrators spell MAGNET?

Bob Bandy – December 2019

Recently while watching a documentary on prisons and prisoners, I saw a prisoner with “MOMMA TRIED” tattooed across his chest.

It got me to thinking. And, no I am not talking about the unfortunate homeless living on the streets.

I am talking about the City Administrators of these cities, like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and, yes, sadly Sacramento and too many others.

Yesterday, I heard on the news that San Francisco was going to provide elevator operators in buildings because the “homeless” have been using elevators as public toilets.

I am ashamed to admit that in a moment of anger I would like to take these so-called “Administrators” and “Guardians” of their citizenry, and have “MOMMA TRIED” tattooed across their foreheads.

Their first duty is to provide the citizens of their city with safety in a clean, healthy environment – not hold meetings and talk about grandiose plans which will cost a gazillion more taxpayer dollars and in the end not produce the desired result. I have heard on the news that the State of Washington has spent a Billion (with a “B”) Dollars on homeless plans and the situation on the streets of Seattle are, if anything, worse.

Here is a two step plan to clean the streets:

First, provide Charter Buses to relocate these poor, miserable people living in filth and degradation to new, clean and prosperous locales. May I suggest places like Marin County (home of Nancy Pelosi), Malibu, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and other places filled with those smart, politically connected folks who believe they have all the answers for all problems. Be sure they arrive with a nice box lunch, map of the area of their new “home” and a crisp new $100 bill.

Second, using scrapers, loaders and dump trucks, remove the debris and trash from the streets. Then Fire Hose the remaining human waste and filth into a containment location (similar to the ones required on construction sites) and have it “sucked” up and disposed of in a sanitation facility. Preferably one in Marin County etc..

After completing these steps put up signs (in multiple languages) that henceforth the streets will be water-blasted on a regular basis for public health and safety reasons on an unannounced basis as needed. Then do it.

Problem solved at far less cost than all those “solutions” provided by those “Administrator” meetings.

Sorry about the “MOMMA TRIED” tattoo crack. Most of those Administrators foreheads are probably too narrow for it anyway.

Bob Bandy – August 2019

Soylent Green – 1973 – MGM

IT IS NOT MY INTENT BUT THE FOLLOWING MAY OFFEND SOME.  

File this under the category of a both macabre and frightening vision of the path our culture seems to be on.  

My first plan was to write about this movie from a humorous perspective but on second thought decided that the movie is a bit too close to current reality.

If you have never seen the movie Soylent Green you should watch it.  At the time it came out in theaters it seemed “beyond the pale” and impossible.  Almost humorous.  Now, some 40+ years later and observing what is happening to American values makes me wonder.

Within this 40+ years I have witnessed a great lessening of the reverence for the sanctity  of  human life in many segments of our society.  A sort of hardening or callousness. 

I see America drifting into a scary, Orwellian World where “up is down”,  “wrong is right” & “lies are truth”.  An insane asylum where insanity is in charge and normalcy is locked in rooms clad in straight jackets .

Watch the movie and study the character, played by Edward G. Robinson, about the “final solution” for dealing with the elderly.

We live in a world where too often we grant celebrity status to even the most dishonest and disreputable politicians and excuse criminal activity by corrupt government employees, while at the same time we devalue the most vulnerable of human life. 

Are unwanted humans now considered disposable?  Some percentage of our population seems to feel it is.  

Is the time coming when we reach a point in our culture where the unwanted  are viewed as just another source of protein?  In 1973 this may have seemed preposterous.  

What once seemed preposterous seems less so now. 

Recyclable is now being put into practice.  At least it is in one State.  I just saw recently that the State of Washington has passed a law allowing human “Composting” and have a facility in operation for this purpose.  It was reported in the news that if you leave a “loved one” there for composting they will give you “compost” in return to take home for your garden.

Consider this macabre scenario:  The spouse is leaving for work:

“Hey Hon.  Uncle Harry died yesterday.  He’s in that plastic tub on the back porch.  Do you mind dropping him off at the Composting Center on your way to work?   Oh, and while you’re there, check and see if Grandma is done.  The rose bushes on the Patio need some fresh compost.”  

How far off the path of respect for human life have we drifted?

Is it within the realm of possibility to think America might have a Soylent Green Future?

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”  Author Unknown – generally credited to Edmund Burke.

Bob Bandy

June 2019