Stop Pulling the Wagon

YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP

MANY will read this and believe I am either making this all up or that I was intoxicated while visiting the bank.  I assure you that neither of the above is true  and furthermore will declare that the bank teller I dealt with was at all times professional and courteous.

Last month (April) I received in the mail from Wells Fargo a Cashiers Check in the amount of $5 for refund of some error they had discovered in their accounting on one of my accounts.  I endorsed it for deposit and left it on my desk for a convenient time when I would be visiting one of their ATM’s.

Yesterday, May 4th, I needed to go to the bank for a friend who is disabled and in a convalescent home.  He had received cash from sale of furniture in his home that  he is in the process of selling.  The cash was in the amount of $1,639.  I told him I would be happy to deposit it for him, took the cash and one of his checking account deposit slips and went to the Wells Fargo Branch in Gold River, California.  On my way into the bank, I deposited the Wells Fargo $5 Cashier Check through the ATM outside only to have it rejected with the electronic window telling me the check could not be deposited and should be returned to where it was issued.  Keep in mind this is a Wells Fargo Cashiers Check and I am at Wells Fargo.  I thought that was odd but probably some kind of “glitch” and took the check into the bank and got into the waiting line.

My turn came and I went up to the bank tellers window.  I explained about the check being rejected by the ATM and she apologized and tried to run it through her machine and spent some time looking at her monitor and then said that she could not accept it because it showed as deposited and then rejected.  I asked her if it was a “real” check and she assured me it was.  She made several phone calls and then apologized but said they could not deposit it.  At this time I was more amused than anything and just told her I would keep the check and have some fun with it.  Consider this “fun”.

I then took out my friends cash and deposit slip and she told me the bank was no longer allowing cash deposits into personal checking accounts.  She said it was a relatively new policy but she could not accept the cash and deposit it into my friends account. I am thinking but…. but…. this is a bank and this cash is legal tender.  She then said that she could accept cash deposits into a business checking account and since I had a business account she could accept the cash into my account.  I asked her if we could do that and then transfer the funds to my friends account and she said no but she could accept the funds for a cashiers check issued in my name and made payable to my friend and then deposit the cashiers check into his account.  Huh?  I finally said okay and this is what she did. 

At some point I was starting to look around and see if this was some kind of “Candid Camera” or “Reality Show” gag.  

Let’s see, Wells Fargo won’t cash their own “Cashiers Check” for $5 and will not allow a “Legal Tender” cash deposit into the personal checking account of one of their own bank customers.  Are these folks a real bank?  I am beginning to remember the old Saturday Night Live skit about the “Change Bank” that would only make change (4 Fives for a $20 – 4 Quarters for a $1 etc.) but no checking or savings accounts, no loans and no other “Bank” functions.

I left the bank actually laughing and more amused than angry.

On a more serious note:

Later I remembered all the businesses and fast food places that no longer accept cash.  Only debit and credit card purchases.  I also remembered some articles I have read and things I have heard in the media on how our government is trying to move away from a “cash” society. 

Perhaps to more easily monitor how we spend every dollar and document it for ways to control us?  Can you spell “meta-data” and the “harvesting” of such data for the governments own purposes and agenda.  Just a question.  Are you scared yet?

Bob Bandy – May 2022

P.S. For a related article you might want to read “Mark of the Beast” – something I wrote some 10 years ago.  Use “Search For Articles” box in the left column.

“President Joe Biden was in for a surprise when his comments to people at the White House’s Easter egg roll were interrupted on Monday by none other than the Easter Bunny itself.”

“The president, 79, started to answer Afghan reporter Nazira Karimi’s question and was heard saying: ‘Pakistan should not and Afghanistan should be — people should be free…'”

“But Meghan Hays, a White House press official and director of message planning who was dressed as the Easter Bunny, then quickly interrupted him and ushered him away in a desperate bid to avoid another gaffe.”  New York Post 18 April 2022

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I first wrote the following piece in August 2021 as a humor and satire article during the 8th month of the Biden Presidency.  I am almost sad to say now that the article was too close to actual truth and even somewhat prophetic when compared to the current chaos and failure of our President and whomever is guiding and directing him from behind the scenes.

Joe Biden began his Presidency as nothing more than an empty suit doing the bidding of those directing him and at this point he has deteriorated from that into a rather pathetic figure who often seems confused, lost and even forlorn.  Like one of those poor souls in the “Visiting Angles” commercials who can no longer care for themselves.

The original article is repeated below………

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Some Times We Can’t Decide Whether To

Laugh or Cry or Scream in Frustration

Every time we think things could not get worse

in our nations Capitol, They get worse.

Poor Joe Biden.  Members of our Presidents own Political Party are beginning to view him as “well past his best if used by date”.  Sort of like that dish of tuna and noodle casserole you left in the back of the refrigerator……  two months ago.

President Biden began his career as a Political Prodigy at a prestigious college where, many believe, he earned a Masters Degree in Plagiarism  and a Doctors Degree in Prevarication  before launching his career as a Senator who became a Vice President and now President. 

Along the way he tamed the town bully with his steely eyed glare.  In fairness it must be remembered that Corn Pop had been warned that Young Joe was a Third Degree Black Belt Plagiarist.

Tough as nails Joe also was at Teddy Roosevelts side as they charged up San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War.

Working man Joe also managed to make time for careers in, among other things, Long Haul 18 Wheel Truck Driving and working deep beneath the earth as a “Hard Rock” Coal Miner.  Truly a man of many talents.

Building his reputation for inter-racial relations, Joe studied at the knee of his long time friend and idealogical soul mate, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia, a confidant and counselor with a long history in public and private service, including serving as a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.  From his friend Senator Byrd, then Senator Biden seems to have gotten his foundational knowledge in Critical Race Theory.

Serving with our President is his Vice President Kamala Harris who has become nearly invisible and being kept out of the public eye.

Her “Goodwill” trip to Central America was a political and media disaster with large crowds telling her to “Go Home”.  Poor Joe, not much help here. The mainstream media has shown one photo of  Kamala & her husband kissing.  Both wearing a mask.  Take that where you will.  But as Joe would say “Come on man!”

Other players in the White House Team include Anthony J. Blinken playing the part of Secretary of State.  I was always of the belief that the Secretary of States job was to be a Cheerleader for the United States, making sure our interests were protected worldwide and spokesman for all that is good about the United States.  Secretary Blinken seems to be carrying on the Obama worldwide apology tour and going “hat in hand” to the United Nations begging for forgiveness for our (non-existent) Systemic Racism. 

Other members of the Biden “team” include Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  A sort of “Frick & Frack” twosome of  Critical Race Theory “Kool-Aid” drinkers.  Both bent on turning the best fighting force in the world into a band of “hand-wringing” apologists for America’s greatness.  If I were still in the military (see closing comments), I would be ashamed  to serve under either of them.   

Closing Comments

On a more serious note and in closing I will share my own experience while in the Military.  I spent ten years total in the Army National Guard.  Six of those years in a Combat Infantry Unit and four years in a Medical Brigade.  In all of those years I do not remember there ever being a single instance of anything resembling a “racial” issue.  I served with members of all colors and all races.  We were soldiers.  Not white soldiers or black soldiers or brown  soldiers or oriental soldiers.  Just soldiers.  We served together, slept together, ate together and had each others back.  When we were called into a riot situation we stood shoulder to shoulder, color did not matter, in our minds we were all “green”.   To this day if I visit a military hospital or other place of service, I feel a kinship, comradery and spirit of belonging. 

In my world if I have a problem with someone, it is personal, race is never an issue.

Bob Bandy – August 2021/April 2022

LIVING IN AN IDIOCRACY

First, and in full disclosure, I must admit that I was once a smoker.  I gave up smoking  many years ago when my daughter who was some eight years old, looked up at me with those beautiful, big brown eyes she inherited from her mother, and said:  “Daddy, will you quit smoking for me”.  I did.

So, I don’t come to this discussion with perfectly clean hands, but, the United States Army disciplined into me that a smoker does not throw their cigarette butts on the ground.  If no ash tray is available you “field strip” them and put them in your pocket till a proper waste receptacle is at hand.

Having said these things, I heard on the news yesterday that California is in the process of prohibiting the discarding of filtered cigarette butts.  Just the filtered kind.  The proposed fine for doing so would be $500 per incident.  It seems that the genius’s in charge of this scheme have figured out that used cigarette filters are a health hazard. 

But, not to worry, if you are homeless or live in one of California’s homeless encampments it will still be legal to urinate in merchants doorways,  defecate on/in the public sidewalks and gutters, dispose of used narcotics needles and all manner of other trash anywhere, at will,  with no penalty or fine. 

It will also be permissible to pilfer and  steal from nearby stores (as long as you keep the theft on any one trip to below $950) with only the possibility of a misdemeanor ticket.  And, by the way, their shopping carts are free.

In addition, rioting, looting, burning and destruction of public and private property will still be ignored legally as long as you do it in the name of a “Progressive” or “Liberal” cause as championed by the main stream media. 

Under our current leadership, California is becoming a trash ridden, Insane Asylum without the usual rules, order and discipline you find in such a place.  It is like we have put the residents of such an establishment in charge of maintaining public law and order.

I am of the opinion that if America really wants to defeat whatever enemies it has, all we need do is export to those enemies California’s brain dead Legislature and Governor, Gavin Newsome.  Then somehow put California’s leaders in charge of our enemies economies and legal system.  That ought to do them in. 

Bob Bandy – January 2022

I have over the years posted some two hundred plus articles on this site.  while I appreciate all comments, both pro and con, time and space does not allow comments on all articles and I simply do not have time to read every comment.  I try to speed read as many as possible and the short pithy ones get most of my reading attention.   

My articles and website is much shared on the web, thank you, and I get thousands of comments on those articles where comments are allowed.  I cannot begin to publish all of them.  I say this because some articles elicit more comments than others.

The two articles I have received the most comments on are “Boiling the Frog”, which was my signature article for my book, and “Momma Tried” which I first published in August, 2019.   Since publication “Momma Tried” has received many thousands and thousands of comments and it is still one of the most shared and commented on articles from this site.  Some days I have received, and still receive, more than fifty comments on “Momma Tried”.

I am republishing it here because the message is still appropriate and our Civic Leaders don’t seem to have learned anything in the last two years.  Sacramento, California for example recently voted an 800 Million Dollar plan to deal with the homeless.  A major part of this plan includes relocating them to “new”, currently uncontaminated areas of the city, including residential areas and suburbs.  Other major cities continue with the same “brain-dead” plans they have tried before.

Hope you enjoy it and share it with your friends if you do. 

Bob

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MOMMA TRIED

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)

WE HUMANS CAN’T SEEM TO LEAVE ANYTHING ALONE

This is written under the category of “Humor” for a reason.

We all need to lighten up a little and learn to laugh at ourselves.

The Federal Government and various Colleges and Universities have spent Hundreds of Millions of taxpayer and student loan dollars on “Gender Studies” and research over a period of years.

It is rumored that the “final” conclusions from all this fact finding and money spent were  so  surprising and perhaps controversial, and may I say for those doing the studies a shock  that they decided to bury the report in a previously abandoned Nuclear Missle Silo in the mid-west guarded round the clock by heavily armed troops.

Never the less, and despite all the care given, a single copy of this report fell into the hands of a “whistle blower” who has leaked it to our undercover agent.

To the great consternation of all the researchers it was finally concluded and scientifically established  that, contrary to all publicly pronounced protocol and human wishes, there are two and only two genders.  Male and Female.

Despite the efforts of some states and localities to encourage parents of newborns to leave blank the gender line on newborn birth certificates so that said newborn can come back at a later date, after they have decided what gender they want to be (from a creative list of 20+ options) and fill it in with the self chosen gender of their choice.  However, that newborns true gender will remain the same as it was at birth at a biological, chromosome,  genetic and DNA level throughout his or her life.

It was also established that the term “Trans-Gender” is not a gender.  It would be more appropriate to title it the “Wannabe Gender”.  An example would be large, strong athletic males who “wannabe” dominate in women’s sports.   It simply describes those of one gender who desire to be a member of the other gender for any of a number of reasons.  Despite wardrobe changes, good intentions, bad intentions, “plumbing” changes, hormonal treatment and all manner of “smoke and mirrors, if a self styled “Trans-Gender” has the cruel misfortune to die in such a way as the only option to identify them lies with a medical examiner and DNA analysis, the final report will show they were either male or female.  There is no such thing as Trans-Gender DNA.  Sorry.

Dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens or people.  There are two genders. 

You can have all the fun you want, even invent new social constructs and groups but…

THERE ARE TWO AND ONLY TWO GENDERS AMONG WE HUMANS

Too bad about all those hundreds of millions of dollars spent on research.

……. God created mankind…… male and female He created them.     Genesis 1:27

Bob Bandy – December 2021

The news tells us that our Government is spending more and more dollars it does not have and uses phrases like “Don’t worry it’s all paid for” and we are going to “Tax the rich to pay for it”.  This is all just lies and propaganda and anyone with an I.Q. above room temperature knows its a lie and that even if they did tax the so called rich at 100% you could not finance all this spending for more than a month or two and then what?

Here’s what.  Our government has run up so much debt that it cannot afford to pay even the approximate 1% interest it is now paying on Government “Treasuries” (Debt Bonds) and there are not enough stupid investors that want to buy a $10,000 Government Bond paying 1% interest with inflation rates topping 5 1/2%.  Bonds with negative earnings potential after inflation used to be called “Junk Bonds”.

Even if we accept the lie that inflation is “only” 5 1/2%, a $10,000 Bond is worth only $9,450 post inflation value at the end of a year.  If you add back in the 1% interest the bond pays ($100) you end up with $9,550. 

Put another way, one year later it will take $10,550 inflated dollars to buy what $10,000 would buy you a year earlier.  Think of these bonds as financial quicksand.

Even though our Nations Capitol is obviously well stocked with unindicted Fiscally Criminal Legislators,  Only a moron would invest in a Ponzi scheme like this and these folks are not stupid enough to invest in their own legislative malfeasance.  So, what’s a government to do?

Here is what your government is doing.  Using a shadow term like “Quantitative Easing” the government continues to issue debt bonds under cloak of darkness which are being purchased with a lot of “smoke and mirrors” by the Federal Reserve system who is simply printing the money and putting it into circulation to “pay” for all the government spending.  This of course creates more and more inflation.  As time goes by you end up with an inflation spiral that makes all those dollars you worked so hard to save worth less and less.   In post WWI Germany it got to the point it took a wheelbarrow full of virtually worthless currency to buy a loaf of bread.  In Venezuela the citizenry are forced to eat their pets or starve.

Sort of makes you want to invest your life savings in Government Junk Bonds that lose a net of 4 1/2% in value each year doesn’t it?

Inflation caused by governments monetary incompetence, if not criminal misconduct, has the effect of a cruel tax on the poor and the elderly who have to buy the more expensive groceries, gasoline  Etc. Etc. Etc. 

Governments in history have long used inflation to cover their fiscal lack of discipline.  Governments don’t file Bankruptcy, they just create fiat money that is worth less and less and less.   From Rome to post WWI Germany to Venezuela.  The result is always the same.  Those with fixed incomes or savings get hurt the most.  Poverty and misery run rampant.  Government does a lot of finger pointing and grandiose speeches but lacks the courage to do what is needed.   Fiscal discipline.

The following excerpt is from a piece I wrote in April of 2011 under the title of:

THIRD GRADE MATH PARTY

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… I am thinking of starting a new Political Party which I would simply call the Math Party.  To become a member of the Math Party you would only have to believe in the simple laws of mathematics.  If you wanted to run for elective office representing the Math Party you would have to demonstrate that you can get at least a ‘B’ on a Third Grade Math quiz.   And, if you wanted to run for President under the Math Party Banner you would have to show us your Third Grade Diploma.  The real one.

You see, I have become absolutely convinced that no political party now representing us in Washington D.C. (or for that matter Sacramento, California) can do Third Grade Math.  They sure can’t add or subtract.  In fact, they act more like a teenage boy with the keys to dad and moms new car,  a bottle of Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Brand and a credit card.  When asked to solve a relatively straight forward math problem like, say, doing a budget for the country that does not involve spending money we don’t have, they instead come up with a plan to “reduce the deficit 12 to 16 years “down the road” (when they are no longer in office).

So what do you think?  Would a political party that believes in the simple laws of mathematics have a chance?  Or, have we all become addicted to believing in the Tooth Fairy and just want to hope that Uncle Sugar in Washington has a bottomless checkbook?

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Today I have lost all hope of there ever being any fiscal responsibility in government and am putting my efforts into figuring out ways to survive the coming monetary collapse and chaos.

Bob Bandy –  November 2021