Stop Pulling the Wagon

Our current President is under Impeachment for putting conditions on payment of foreign aid to the Ukraine. This is the same Ukraine that has a long history of corruption. Guess he did not get the memo.

Like many members of Congress and the general public, I am shocked and dismayed. I had grown so comfortable in my expectation that United States Foreign Aid was just a rat hole for Taxpayer Dollars that was bottomless and non-accountable. And, pretty much the same under both Democratic and Republican Administrations.

I have accepted as fact that Foreign Aid and similar payments were distributed in a more traditional way, like the last Administration did: Put 1.3 Billion or more Dollars on pallets in cash, – cash is especially welcome when delivered with non-sequential serial numbered, unmarked bills – shrink wrapped to the pallet(s), decorated with a ribbon and delivered to the destination country – (like Iran’s – Tehran Airport) – in the middle of the night along with a gift card, no conditions and no expectation of reciprocal good will.

Well, we can always expect that the recipient Country will vote against us at the United Nations. That is historically the customary “Thank You” the U.S. has come to expect from the beneficiary’s of our generosity.

Another way that I have come to expect large amounts of Aid to be distributed happened in 1993 When Haiti was devastated by an Earthquake and some 13 Billion Dollars was pledged to help rebuild the country. Several Billion of those dollars was funneled – dare I say “Flushed” – through the Clinton Foundation for rebuilding housing and infrastructure. Little housing was built and the infrastructure remained in shambles but the money vanished. (search: Grifters: The Clinton Crime Family).

And, after all, we do have some historical context for aid to the Ukraine. The previous Administration gave them a Billion Dollars in Aid. We know it got there. Our former Vice Presidents son kept his job on the Governing Board of Ukraine’s largest Oil and Natural Gas Company. The money goes into the system. It gets “laundered”, it does the “Hokey Pokey”, the “right” people get paid and paid off. It’s just the way that Foreign Aid is supposed to work. Nothing wrong and nothing to see here!

One gets used to the idea that these unconditional Foreign Aid dollars will just end up in the pockets of Despots, Dictators, corrupt Contractors, Foreign Bureaucrats and other thieves. No questions asked and no accountability required.

An International “Comfort Zone” for our Taxpayer Dollars.

Guess I am an old fashioned guy, married to the tradition that accountability is not something Government is good at or wants to put into practice.

OR

Maybe, just maybe – should we put some kind of restrictions on our largess? Or – is that just crazy talk?

Bob Bandy – January 2020

As she continues her “World Whine & Book Tour” I am getting the feeling Hillary Clinton just might see a wedge of opportunity to join the fray in the Democratic Presidential Primary Race.

With Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden fading in the Polls, Elizabeth Warren scrambling from lie to lie about her ancestry, personal story and financing for her 96 Trillion Dollar “Make America Broke Again” plans for the Country, coupled with the remainder of the pack of candidates seeming unable to get traction in the race, maybe, just maybe she thinks the Democratic Party will come knocking at her door to take a third stab at the Presidency.

First things first – Get Bill into a WOKE Rehabilitation Center and 12 Step Program…….. um, make that a 24 Step Program.

Second, make sure the long Silk Scarf with FOB (Friends of Bill) embroidered on it and reportedly found in a corner of Jeffery Epstein’s Cell after his “suicide” strangulation, er… “hanging”, finds its way into the same Black Hole that her Email messages now reside in.

Next, she should freshen up her repertoire of excuses for losing her last two attempts at the Presidency. Just possibly, just maybe there is some small chance that she lost because of some failing on her own part. Or, is everything that goes awry always somebody else’s fault.

Psst…. just a thought, she might want to get a personal consultant with an eye to helping her look a little less like an angry Nurse Ratched when she appears in public. Only a kindly thought, just trying to help out.

Bob Bandy – October 2019

 

Seven plus years ago (Feb. 2012) I wrote a “spoof” article on this site titled: Mark of the Beast – The Club Card. It is still available on this site (use the search box) and I included it in my book “Boiling the Frog” – available on Amazon.com or order a signed copy direct from me for $10 (see right hand column), The point of the article was that these “Club Cards” and other methods of tracking our purchases are being advertised as ways to “Serve Us Better” but are really only vehicles to monitor our lives for the sellers purposes and potentially for the government to control what we can buy, sell or consume. All, of course, “for our own good” because they, the government, know best how to manage our lives. “Scared yet?”

Now I see on television that Insurance Company’s are “offering” an “App” to monitor your driving habits in order to offer discounts on your car insurance if you drive the way they have decided you should. This, and similar “Apps” can also track your movements, i.e., where you go, What you do, how long you stay and other morsels of personal data to be harvested by Google, Facebook and other entities.

Goodbye, private get-a-way weekend with your loved one. Your Cell Phone companion is a “tattle-tale” to all those companies and Government Agencies who want to monitor your life. “Scared yet?”

Facebook is offering a handy “Portal” to install in your home so that you can always be “on camera” for whoever has access to your “Portal” “on the other end”. Family, Friends, Facebook, IRS etc. Can you spell “hacked”? I am thinking of ordering one of these “Portal’s”, putting it in our house, then hanging a picture of a horses butt in front of the lens just for fun.

Google (and others) have “Algorithms” – no this is not a “hot” Latin Dance – that can monitor and predict your nearly every move, voting habits, purchases, favorite foods, character flaws, weaknesses etc. etc. Now, are you scared?

Our day to day world is filled with cameras, everywhere you go and no matter what you are doing. More and more of these cameras have “Facial Recognition” software. Not to mention listening devices and “other ways” to track our every activity.

We live in a fish bowl.

Hmmmmm! On the other hand, maybe this could present us with an opportunity to have a little fun? Want to trade “Apps”, identity and habits for a while?

Since the “Apps” and tracking often seem to depend on our Cell Phones, perhaps we could do something creative with said phones. Like using “disposable” phones purchased at Walmart while in disguise, using them for a short time and then slipping them into the pocket of non-English speaking tourists at the airport or duct tape them inconspicuously to a local commuter bus. That could keep the Fed’s busy for a while. Lots of possibilities!

Bob Bandy – September 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

I am often asked where I get ideas for the articles I write. If there is a problem, it is that too many ideas come my way. The media and daily news are an “Opportunity Rich Environment” for writers like myself.

Especially now, with next year being a Presidential Election Year, we have every “wannabe” trying to outdo every other “wannabe” by going farther and farther into the fringes to try to gain attention.

Just a few examples:

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At last weekends Democratic Socialists of America Convention attendees were instructed to wave “Jazz Hands” because the sound of clapping could be offensive to some. Likewise, attendees were instructed to address others only in “Gender Neutral” terms. They were also told to not use “Aggressive Scents” and not to talk to “Outsiders” or “Cops”. There was more.

Reminds me of the College Students in the news a year or so ago. The ones needing “safe” places on campus because they were “fragile”. I think many referred to them as “snowflakes”.

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In the last Democratic Presidential Debate, Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang stated that it is already too late to reverse Global Climate Change and we should be moving the population to “Higher Ground”. This in addition to his plan to provide a universal income of $1000 per month for everyone. He says his plan will be paid for by a new “Value Added Tax” which will return the money to Government.

Want some cheap beach front property anyone?

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Following the mass shootings at El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio our Nations Flags were ordered flown at half mast in the Nations Capitol. In an interview following the announcement, a former “FBI Assistant Director”, Frank Figliuzzi told “Tabloid News Media” MSNBC Anchor Brian Williams, “The numbers 88 are very significant in the Neo-Nazi and the White Supremacy movement. Why? Because the letter ‘H’ is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and to them the numbers 88 together stand for ‘Heil Hitler.’ So we’re going to be raising the flag back up at dusk on 8/8,” (August 8th – the 8th day of the 8th month).

National Enquirer, eat your heart out.

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If I tried, I could not create better material, you just can’t make stuff like this up. The inmates are taking charge of the asylum.

Bob Bandy – August 2019

photo – Yahoo News

The Democratic Presidential Debates

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All participants agreed in principal to the following:

First, Donald Trump is the Firstborn Son of Satan and has destroyed the United States.  He must be put in jail either before his term ends through impeachment or after leaving office following conviction by a mob…. er …. Kangaroo Court with a jury comprised of Hollywood Celebrities.  Aw shucks, who needs a jury, somebody get a rope!

All immigrants from anywhere in the world are welcome here without the need of paperwork,  identification, background checks, health checks, or any other documentation.  All borders should be open without restrictions and the current policing force will be replaced with a kind of “Welcome Wagon” for all comers including instructions on how to acquire free housing, free food, free healthcare, etc.  Authors Note:  Maybe this information could be shared with the homeless living on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, etc. ??

Everybody, whether citizen or not, is entitled to “free” lifetime healthcare.  Authors Note:  Many candidates called for “Medicare For All” without noting that Medicare is not “free”, at least to current participants.

Free College for everyone (citizens and non-citizens) with the added bonus of debt forgiveness for some 1.5 Trillion Dollars in outstanding Student Loans.

Unrestricted “Free” abortion for all with one candidate calling for free abortion for Transgender males who become pregnant.  It was left unclear how long after natural birth the mother could still elect to abort the child, a few hours, a few days, third grade? 

The planet only has 12 years left unless all Americans immediately discontinue all use of fossil fuels and convert to only electric powered vehicles.  No mention was made that to re-charge an all electric vehicle you must “plug in” to the power grid which is incapable of completing this task if  said power grid is totally sourced by solar and wind power, at least within the next 30-50 years.  

I look forward to the day when all working Americans get home from work on a July day when it is 105 degrees, plug their electric vehicles in for a re-charge and then walk into their air conditioned home during the hottest part of the day.

It was also not mentioned that the World’s major polluters (beginning with China & India) have “deferred” there own participation in the Paris Climate Accords till “at least” 2030 or beyond.   Further, there is no mechanism in place requiring penalties or enforceable legal consequences on any participating country who ignores these “feel good” “Global Accords”.

One participant unveiled his plan to give every resident in America (legal citizens and non-citizens) $1000 per month.  When asked how this would be paid for he said with a “value added” tax paid for by everyone which would return the money to government – at least that is what I heard.

Lots of other “free” stuff all to be paid for by taxing the greedy rich and corporations.  Authors note:  You could not pay for all of these “freebies” if you taxed all of the rich at 100% and it is also a fact that corporations don’t really pay taxes, their customers do.  Corporations pass along tax increases to their customers in the form of higher prices….  they have to, or go out of business.

Santa Claus may as well close up shop and lay off his Reindeer – He can’t compete with this bunch!

Did I miss something?

Bob Bandy – July 2019