Stop Pulling the Wagon

Susan Rice – Domestic Policy Adviser to President Joe Biden

photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Domestic policy adviser Susan Rice detailed Tuesday (1-26-2021), President Joe Biden’s attempt to fight systemic racism by highlighting “equity” policies advanced by the administration.

She began her speech with the following statement: “For too many American families, systemic racism and inequality in our economy, laws, and institutions still put the American dream far out of reach,” Rice said at the White House press briefing.

I both listened to her speech and read it several times.  If you would like to read it for yourself it is available at: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/01/26/susan-rice-trumpets-equity-policies-under-joe-biden-fight-systemic-racism/

My reaction to what she had to say was in general wanting to agree with her on the goals she outlined.  I think virtually all of us want to see equity in our system to offer opportunity to every citizen regardless of race, gender, religious beliefs, etc. etc. etc.

“Advancing equity is everybody’s job,” she said, noting that each federal government agency needed to place equity at the “core of their public engagement.”  Ms. Rice said in her statement.

Excuse me, but I believe Federal, as well as State and other public agencies already have this mandate in place.

One area I have questions on in her speech is when she speaks of equity: how is she defining it?  I did some research and see various definitions.  Some definitions found relative parity between equality and equity.  I am in full agreement with that definition.  However,  in one place I found the following definition:

As the New Discourses site points out, “Where equality means that citizen A and citizen B are treated equally, equity means “adjusting shares in order to make citizens A and B equal.”

Let that sink in for a while and think about what is implied here.  I find this definition very troubling because every time government somewhere tries to impose “equity” as defined as “equal outcomes” the results are invariably disastrous for the average worker and citizen.

the following is a little story I shared in an earlier article about a well intentioned professor with a plan to provide equal, guaranteed outcomes to members of the class he was teaching:

“A group of students go to college.  Some students work hard,  study diligently and get all A’s & B’s.  Other students party, skip classes, do not study, attend marches and protests for “causes” and get D’s & F’s.  Their Professor says that in order to be “fair” to all students he has decided to “tax” the hard working students A’s & B’s  and share those grades with the lazy students who got the D’s & F’s.  In this way all students can average out at a “C” grade.    Some of the students are going to love this idea and others will likely hate it.  Can you guess which ones will love it?” 

I believe our Federal, State and Local Laws already require “equity” in opportunity, hiring, salaries and treatment of employees.  In addition we have laws that make it illegal to discriminate in housing etc. etc.

In my experience I have found employers invariably want employees who show up for work on time, are trained, productive, customer oriented, and want to do everything they can to make the employers business successful.  In the process all employees succeed as well.  The employer really does not care what the race, gender etc. of the employee is.

Unstated, but to me implied in Ms. Rice’s statement is an implication that our government may be planning on trying to institute laws for “guaranteed outcomes” for citizens.   Pardon me, but no matter how well intentioned such a goal might be there is simply no way to guarantee outcomes.  If I were to bring any group of five individuals together; you can pick the races, genders or whatever diversity of your choice, and I gave each of them 1 million dollars with the only criteria that they report back to me in one year with what their new found wealth had done for them, does anybody believe they would all have the same story to tell?

Our government should and must guarantee equal opportunity to everyone – it cannot guarantee outcomes.

In our form of Democracy the most we can do, and I want to make sure we do, is to provide equal opportunity to everyone, and I mean everyone without regard to race, gender, background, or who they are related to,  all deserve the same opportunity to succeed.  We cannot, and should not try, to guarantee equal outcomes.

Every time government tries to impose artificial equal outcomes for its citizens the result is always the same.  (1) The super rich (Jeff Bezos, George Soros etc.) who are above the law. (2) An Oligarchy (government by the privileged political ruling class) also above the law.  And  (3) The rest of the citizenry are given “equity”, that is all become equally poor and live in fear of the law (Cuba, Venezuela, the Soviet Union etc.).

Bob Bandy – January 2021

Regular Readers of my columns know that I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican.  Many think I am a Libertarian and there is much that I share with the Libertarian view but I do not identify with them either.

I am old enough that I can say I was a Kennedy Democrat though in truth I don’t think John F. Kennedy would recognize the Democratic Party of today.

Later I became disenchanted with the Democratic Party and became a Reagan Republican for a number of years.

Still later I became disappointed with the spinelessness of most of the Republican Party and became “not affiliated” with any party.

Both Political Parties have their share of a small number of “good” people who sincerely want what is best (in their minds) for the country and a much larger number who only seek power, wealth and some form of immortality in the footnotes of history.

I have many good friends in both parties that I respect and like even though we may strongly disagree on important issues.  This article is not about them.

Within the Republican Party there are many whom I consider politically and morally “Bi-Polar” in that they can’t adhere to their supposed value system if it will make them unpopular with the media or interferes with their personal goals of wealth and power.

Within the Democratic Party there has come to be a more sinister element that seems to have wedded itself to the “Dark Side of the Force” with an agenda of destruction of what this country was originally founded on.

If one looks at any of the Red/Blue Political Maps of the country it seems apparent that the so-called “Red” zones are in area much larger, more sparsely populated with those parts of the country in general more responsibly governed fiscally and contributing a greater share in productivity of goods and services producing a solid foundation of taxes.  For purposes of this essay I will call them “Tax Cows”.

The “Blue” zones are much more focused in large urban areas.  Many, many of these corrupt, inefficient, large, densely populated urban areas are run by so called “Liberal” politicians and have become infested with consumers of what the “Tax Cows” produce.  Often they are overly populated by “non-producers”, either receivers of government handouts or overpaid bureaucrats whose main job is doling out other peoples tax money to non-productive citizens, by which I mean those who could, but do not work at something productive.  Sometimes referred to as those who feed at the government trough.

This “Dark Side” of the so-called Democratic Party has one agenda.  That is to “milk” the “Tax Cows” and ship that “Tax Milk” from the more sparsely voter populated  countryside where it is produced to more heavily voter populated non productive inner cities where much of the Tax Dollars are wasted on sound good, feel good programs that only make the citizens more addicted to the public dole and less able to care for themselves.  The receivers of this “free money” largess seem to believe the lie that the Democratic Party is somehow the “Mama Milk Tax Cow” and vote for the Democrats in misguided loyalty.  If one tries to point out that the tax dollars are not producing the desired result, one is labeled as “not caring”, “heartless” or any number of other punitive adjectives and told that “we” just have not spent enough but with ever more “Tax Milk” it will all work out.  This is how a city like Seattle can spend a “Billion Tax Milk Dollars” on homelessness and only make the problem worse.

At some point this “Tax Milk” transfer produces social collapse with collateral crime, drugs and hopelessness.  The city lies in ruins with lots of finger pointing and no solutions.  Whatever few producers/tax payers are left that have the ability to leave “Beat feet for the tall grass” and look for peace, order and fiscal discipline elsewhere.  As an example this is why California and New York are hemorrhaging citizens relocating to states like Florida and Texas.   The city then ends up with increasing filth and debris as well as sickness and death.  If you doubt me, visit some of the cities this is happening to right now.  New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Baltimore etc. etc. etc.

Those in charge on the “Dark Side” don’t really care because they are part of the ruling class and protected from the chaos and misery they have helped create.

George Soros and other American haters win and you end up with a “Banana Republic” led by corruption, lies, waste and greed.

Sad to say, the warnings of many of our nations founders seem to have gone unheeded and are coming to pass.

Bob Bandy – January 2021

photo: marketpulse.com

I fought the law and the law won – Lyrics by Sonny Curtis 1966

The “Swamp” is a common name given to the “Deep State” headquartered in Washington DC and refers to an entrenched Bureaucracy committed to continue their own existence at all costs no matter whether they actually accomplish anything or not.

Being somewhat less charitable than others I do not think of this as a swamp but instead consider it a cesspool or sewer.

There are literally countless Agencies, Bureau’s and Departments.  Many duplications with often intentionally obscure relationships.  All have one goal, to achieve Bureaucratic Immortality with lifetime payrolls and benefits for employees and suppliers.

Just one example that I wrote about in April 2012  (Bring on the Clowns)  is the Department of Energy:

“The Department of Energy was instituted during the Jimmy Carter Administration on 8/04/1977,  TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.   Now it’s 2012 —- 35 years later —- and the budget for this “necessary” department is $24.2 Billion a year.  It has 16,000 Federal Employees and approximately 100,000 contract employees and look at the job it has done!  35 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports.  Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports…..  Great job!   Good old Federal bureaucracy.  (And we could supply all our oil needs from the USA)”  

I don’t need to tell you that this agency continues to this day, growing in size and cost to the taxpayer. We have since become energy independent, not because of the Department of Energy but because of technology and new ways to extract energy along with regulatory relief.

None of  these countless Bureau’s, Departments and Agencies want to see any kind of threat to their continued existence and  will support any political party dedicated to their immortality.  They will fight ferociously, using any means to continue their “kingdoms” infinitum. Hence, the “Deep State”.

President Donald Trump came to office with a promise to “drain the swamp”.  With this promise he became the “enemy” and had to be “gotten rid of” at all costs and with any measures possible.  Investigations, accusations, impeachment, character assassination, unnamed sources, distortions……  whatever it takes.

The “Deep State” has within their camp numerous collaborating “partners”.  The Federal Education and University Cartel, Tabloid Media Mafia, Hollywood Groupies, Big Tech Underworld.  Plus all the Government Unions dependent on the continued status “as is”.  A metastasized group of supporters.

What did you think was going to happen?  Want to get a visit from a government FBI agent?  How about an IRS Audit?  Maybe you would prefer having Robert De Niro screaming the ‘F’ word at your family and kids while you are having dinner at Denny’s?

I know I am always grateful when a Google Algorithm thanks me on my cell phone for shopping at Walmart for my underwear.  Aren’t you?

It is what it is and we seem stuck with it.

Bob Bandy – December 2020

 photo by Bob Bandy

End of the Trail by James Earle Fraser

WHEN PEOPLE FIND OUT THEY CAN VOTE THEMSELVES MONEY, THAT WILL BE THE END OF THE REPUBLIC – Benjamin Franklin

What Benjamin Franklin, and other early writers, saw was a potential weakness in the  Republic as founded that would allow Congress to prostitute itself  by rewarding those who would vote for them with funds from the public Treasury.  In other words, voters can vote money from the Treasury into their own pocket by simply voting for the “right” members of Congress.  (Voting – Achilles Heel of Democracy?  Jan. 2019 – SPTW)

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ARE WE THERE YET?

As I approach the end of my own trail I am reminded that I should have acquired some perspective and sound reasoning along that trail.

At this time, The United States as I have known and cherished since childhood, hangs on the ragged edge of oblivion and becoming a relic in the dustbin of history.

It appears to me now that we have sold our Birthright of Freedom for a bowl of lentil stew just as Esau sold his Firstborn Birthright to Jacob.  Genesis 25:29-34.

With this just held election, if one is to trust the voting results (count me out), a majority of voters seem to have succumbed to the siren call of a Socialist promised Utopia.

History seems to have purged itself of the fact that every time this has been tried in the past it has failed and the great unwashed masses end up being enslaved to a chosen few small ruling class that governs by force.  Cuba, Venezuela, USSR, etc. etc.

With the Mainstream Media, Academia, Hollywood Left, “Big Tech” (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.) and various “Deep State” Government Agencies firmly in control of censorship and allowing you only to read and hear what they deem as correct, George Orwell’s 1984 Big Brother is becoming firmly entrenched, just some 36 years later than he predicted.

Another weapon being used is so-called “Political Correctness” and “Social Justice” being implemented under use and threat of violence.  “Accept what we demand or we will burn your cities then move out to your suburbs with demands you comply”.  Scary stuff to most citizens.

I am long past just being concerned about what is coming.  The “Radical Left” is in the process of closing all the doors to Freedom that this country was founded on. 

In just the last couple of days, Charles Schumer – New York Senator – said “Give us two more Senators and we will change America”.  Those two Senate Seats are hanging in the balance in Georgia in a run-off election in January.

Those who still believe in Freedom as spelled out in our Constitution need to rally together with the slim hope it can still be salvaged. 

Are you scared yet or do you want to welcome a Socialist States of America?

Bob Bandy – November 2020

Our Constitution was written in great part to provide a guarantee to all Americans certain Rights and Freedoms.  The First 10 Articles/Amendments to the Constitution spell these out clearly.

While a number of these Amendments are under attack by various groups, organizations, companies  and quasi-government agencies as well as on the campus’s of many of our Colleges and Universities, this writing is particularly directed at the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press.

Article I – First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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Companies like Google, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and many College’s and “Movements” have now decided they should be in charge of what we are allowed to read or say and have developed their own “Truth Bureaus” and filters on what is, and is not allowed to appear in print or spoken in public forums and, coming soon, in your homes and private gatherings. 

Expect Churches, especially Christian Churches to become even more restricted or very tightly monitored and regulated.  Already Pastors and Ministers must be careful of what is said from the pulpit for fear of bringing on the wrath of the Dark Lords in Sacramento, Washington D.C. or headquarters of powerful, influential groups with their own social agendas. 

I am quite sure that they would censor our very thoughts if and when it becomes possible and I believe they are working on it in their “Dark Chambers of Horror”.

It’s all about control.  Think George Orwell’s ‘1984’ and “Big Brother” (published 1949 by Secker & Warburg).  

Can a “Borg Progressive Collective Society” be far behind? (in the Search box type – The Borg Initiative – for an article I wrote back in March 2019 on the theme of central command and control . 

This could all seem like just a scary intellectual exercise if the potential impact on our freedom was not so deadly serious.

So how do we deal with this seemingly unstoppable march to control what we are allowed to say, write and eventually even think?  I’m not sure.  So far I have come up with three possible scenarios.  

#1.  Go ahead and speak your mind.  Expect to be sent to a Chinese Communist inspired “Re-education Labor Camp” sponsored by a Consortium backed by Google, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook,  the “Deep State”, Hollywood,  “Mainstream” Media, “New Age” Academia and “Uber Billionaires” like George Soros.  After some time at one of these camps you will emerge as a glassy eyed drone chanting a Mantra of how much you love Political Correctness, all the while with downcast eyes and carefully folded hands while closing each repeat of the approved Kumbaya Mantra with a soft “Yes Master”.  You will no longer be burdened with the need to think for yourself.  

#2  Go off the “Grid” and move to a remote place in the frozen tundra of Alaska, a place in the desert or deep woods or any other hard to reach location.  None, or only minimum communication with this “Progressive Approved United States”.   My personal favorite is the “Cabin in the woods with a good dog, fishing gear, good guns, my wife and a minimum two year supply of staple goods.  However, as attractive as this option sounds I must admit my advanced years would make such a rustic retreat a real challenge. 

#3  Pay someone to steal my identity.  That way those in charge of our “Brave New World” of total Government Control could make life miserable for whatever poor soul is now stuck with my “old” identity.   Since I live in California I could then clothe myself in secondhand clothing, wander into the nearest State office, tell them, in broken English, I am here ill-legally from an unnamed foreign land, without papers or documentation of any kind.  Give them an untraceable name (remember no documentation is required).  Maybe I could become Phineas Ulysses Phartswehl?  In California it is against the law to question Citizenship and  I can then demand directions to the nearest State facilities where I can receive free public aid, free housing and free medical care.  California, with its “Open Borders” laws is a wonderful place to “get lost in” if you are “on the ‘Lam’. As a bonus,  maybe whoever paid to take my “old” identity could help pay for all this with his tax money.  Win-Win!

Given time I am sure I, or one of my readers could come up with other alternatives.  Move to Paraguay anyone?

Just a thought but you might want to save this article to a thumb drive, separate hard drive or printed copy before Google – et-al decide to have the ghouls in their “Truth Bureau” edit it for content and you end up with a  page of “Kumbaya” implanted on your mind.

Bob Bandy – October 2020