The Following is excerpted from: 

My own comments follow

California Globe Newsletter

Friday November 4, 2022

Politicized Education Explains Steep Academic Declines and Big Achievement Gaps in California

The state spends nearly $25,000 per student in K-12, yet we are ranked #40 nationally

By Frank Xu, November 3, 2022 2:50 am

Woke Policies and Actors to Blame

Contrary to the propagandist notion that progressive education policies can produce better and fairer results, our next generation in America’s most progressive and diverse state are worse off academically, compared with three years ago and compared with their peers elsewhere. So, what happened?

During the last three years, California schools have embarked on a pilgrimage to lead the nation in embracing far-left ideological dogmas. In 2021, it became the first state in America to mandate ethnic studies for high school graduation. The finalized state curriculum still contains key elements of critical pedagogy that emphasize racialized identities, collective struggles and victimhood, while a more radical version called Liberated Ethnic Studies is making inroads in many local school districts.

The California State Board of Education has been considering a revolutionary mathematics framework for its public K-12 schools. Instead of focusing on improving proficiency, the new framework touts anti-racism, and decentering whiteness as worthy goals on one hand, and proposes eliminating gifted programs and advanced tracking in the name of equity.

In addition to championing woke curricular changes, California schools have also chased the political fashion trend of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). A plethora of school boards voted to approve “Board Policy 0415- Equity,” pledging to dismantle “a history of exclusion, discrimination, and segregation.”

My group, Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER), undertook a pioneering research project that examined the prevalence of thought indoctrination in 44 California school districts.  Our empirical study, looking into board policies, school district developments, and board meeting minutes, found that 24 of these districts, including 10 elementary school districts, have official DEI policies and 30 expended public education funds on paid DEI training such as professional development sessions and curricular development.

Indeed, radical ideologues and education bureaucrats, who are driven by political agendas, money and a desire to protect the status quo, should take much of the blame for the abysmal state of public education in California. But at the institutional level, teachers’ unions are the biggest culprit. Not only have they poured massive funds to support partisan candidates at the national and state levels, unions are now putting a thumb on the scale in local school board races.

My group’s latest research pilot discovered that over $600,000 have been injected into a handful of school board campaigns in San Diego as of October 27, 2022. Traditionally, school board candidates spent $5,000 or less in their campaigns. But in San Diego Unified School District, the San Diego Education Association PAC has put in over $150,000 to help two of its hand-picked candidates and a stunning $91,000 to oppose a pro-education candidate.

Disastrous Outcomes Hurt the Disadvantaged Disproportionately

Proponents of woke education pride themselves as the arbiters of love, tolerance and truth. But the reality shows a stark contrast. Deteriorating educational results hurt vulnerable students the most. According to both the Nation’s Report Card and CDE’s Smarter Balanced results, learning gaps affecting low-income students, English learners and “students of color” have deepened. According to Ibram X. Kendi, “If discrimination is creating equity, then it is antiracist. If discrimination is creating inequity, then it is racist.” By this standard, policies contributing to the increasing academic achievement gap must be the opposite of “anti-racism” and a sign of discrimination.

Something is clearly wrong in our public education system. The state spends nearly $25,000 per student in K-12, yet we are ranked #40 nationally. Politicized, agenda-driven education has victimized countless California students and teachers’ unions overshadow the education policy making processes from Sacramento all the way down to local communities.

Nothing changes if nothing changes.

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My commentary on the above

I can’t really add much to this.  This is a clear explanation of what happens when you teach WOKE policies and they are incorporated with Critical Race Theory teachings.  California is destroying its education system and with it the future of its children.

A Key paragraph in the above is:  “Indeed, radical ideologues and education bureaucrats, who are driven by political agendas, money and a desire to protect the status quo, should take much of the blame for the abysmal state of public education in California. But at the institutional level, TEACHERS UNIONS ARE THE BIGGEST CULPRIT (my emphasis). Not only have they poured massive funds to support partisan candidates at the national and state levels, unions are now putting a thumb on the scale in local school board races.”

Teachers Unions are in effect, “buying” the loyalty of School Boards and those School Boards first priority ought to be educating their students and not “bowing” to the Teachers Unions “WOKE” political agenda.

Teachers Unions are making a massive and sustained effort to influence K-12 grade students with the Propaganda, Grooming and Indoctrination of the Agenda of the LGBTQ, Transgender, Gender Identity and Critical Race Theory groups.  Their focus on the 5-13 year old youth of our nation is most damaging as youth in this age group are the most easily influenced and can be permanently damaged psychologically as well as mutilated physically.  This is a crime against our children and in my mind unforgiveable.

Bob Bandy – November 2022

I encourage you to share this excellent article from the California Globe Newsletter by Frank XU with family and friends.

one of my better days

THIS IS NOT MY USUAL POSTING

I have posted more than 200 articles over the last 13+ years on many subjects.  Obviously some are better than others and on those articles, where comments were or are allowed, I get a variety of comments and feedback.  Sheer volume of comments keeps me from reading all of them.  I normally gravitate to the shorter “pithy” ones.  Some of my better (in my mind) receive few, and sometimes, no comments.  Others amaze me with the numbers I receive. For example one article I wrote 2 1/2 years ago will today still receive sometimes 30-50 comments in a single day (one day I received 73) and I have received thousands of comments since publishing it.  Keeping in mind that articles are often shared, reposted on other sites, etc. that is an amazing number of comments on a 30 month old article.  

In the left column of the home page there is a “Search For Articles” box.  The Search Box is not case sensitive. You can simply type in a title, a subject or even a key word and then click enter on your keyboard and the search feature will bring up an article or articles on that subject.  For example if you type  Clinton  in the search box it will bring up any and all articles regarding the Clinton Crime Duo.  

Since beginning my writings many thousands of readers have either subscribed or follow my meandering on a Bookmark, RSS Feed or other means.  Trying to find all of my articles – including the not-so-good ones – on a Back – Back – Back basis at the bottom of each page can be a time consuming task. 

Consider the following an exercise in using the “Search” feature.  To repeat the above, just pick a title from the following list, type it, or copy and paste it, from the list in the Search For Articles box and press enter on your keyboard.  The list is purposefully in no particular order and represents an effort to sample some of what I deem better pieces I have written based on either reader feedback or my own judgement.  You are encouraged and free to enjoy or reject them, share them, save them, print them or whatever your choose.  You might even want to print this page/list out  and use it as a checklist in your own “quest for the best”.  For your reading entertainment. 

HAVE FUN:  

Pick a title and type (or copy and paste) into the Search For Articles box

The Nearly Perfect Nation Of Bob – Kingdom of the Locust – Momma Tried – Gender Studies – Critical Bob Theory Boundaries – The Drums of Equity – Go To Your Room And Stay There – Junk Science Ala Carte – The Great Green Race II – You Can’t Make This Stuff Up – Fair Share Taxes and Global Climate Change – Erasing History – Equity Policies and Guaranteed Outcomes – What is a Fair Share – California High Speed Rail 2.0 – The Borg Initiative – The Garden – Oximorons Non Taxpaying Taxpayers – Two Graves – Survival in an Idiocracy – Storage Wars and Government – Clipboard Freedom – Paperwork Reduction – The Social Security Ponzi Scheme – Tipping Point – A Journey to the Dark Side – Was Is Will Always Be – Fixing Income Inequality – Bring On The Clowns – Mark of the Beast – Third Grade Math Party – Vote For Me – Pull The Plug – Protecting The Most Vulnerable – Little Red Hen Oil Company – Boiling The Frog

Don’t forget you can also experiment with a search word of your own choosing, like Frog or Barbarian or ?????

Have Fun and hope some of these articles make you think, whether you agree with my thoughts or not.  My goal has always been to stir thought, not agreement.  I’m not with the Kool Aid drinking crowd.  I am also “WOKE” Free and proud of it.

Bob Bandy – November 2022

California Governor Gavin Newsom

photo – CALmatters

NOT TO INCLUDE ALL, BUT

WHY I DESPISE (MOST) POLITICIANS

My experience from observation with politicians is that most of the time they lie and the rest of the time they don’t tell the truth.

They will write a piece of legislation that increases taxes and call it something like “Mom, The Flag and Apple Pie”

For example:  Congress recently passed, and our President signed, a bill called the INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022 in the amount of 737 Billion Dollars.  437 Billion of those Dollars are to be spent as an “investment” and 300 Billion of the Dollars are to be used for “Inflation Reduction” (keeping in mind that all of this money is borrowed money and borrowing money causes inflation).  Most of the $437 Billion Dollars is earmarked for Climate Change spending, i.e., buying Solar Panels, Windmills and related items mostly from China.  In other words, China is going to make a pile of money from our Inflation Reduction Act and the U.S. will be able to receive and install the Climate Change Windmills and Solar Panels sometime in the next 2-5 years (if all goes well).  In the process, China, who thumbs its nose at the Paris Climate Accords, will pollute the environment in the process of producing these windmills, solar panels etc. while banking the 350 or so Billion Dollars from the American Taxpayers….  Money which will have to be borrowed and added to our 31 Trillion Dollar National Debt.  “MOM, THE FLAG AND APPLE PIE”.

Example #2:  California Infanticide Bill.  “Boy Wonder” Governor Gavin Newsom wants to reward the radical element of the Pro-Abortion crowd who supported him in his election by giving them a Post-Natal (labeled as Peri-Natal) Abortion period of 28 days after a live birth.  This legislation, in various formats, is already being attempted in other states.  Of course, being politicians, his Democratic Controlled Legislature can’t call it “The Post Live Birth Abortion Authorization Act” as that won’t set well with the voters so, being politicians they will seek a way to redefine existing law to achieve their desired goal.

What to do?  I know, says Assemblyman Foghorn.  We will introduce a “new” Bill and call it: California Reproductive Health AB2223.  We will fill this Bill with the usual “Boiler Plate” and “Legal Jargon” to the point the average person has no idea what it says and then we will “bury” in this Bill the following:

“This bill will delete the requirement that a coroner hold inquests for deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion, and would delete the requirement that an unattended fetal death be handled as a death without medical attendance. The bill would prohibit using the coroner’s statements on the certificate of fetal death to establish, bring, or support a criminal prosecution or civil cause of damages against any person.”  You might want to read that again.  Slowly.

LET’S SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE I CAN MAKE ANGRY TODAY

The above photo was taken at a “Drag Queen” performance for a group of children.  These Drag Queens are men masquerading as overly made up, sexually and suggestively dressed women flaunting themselves before 5-8 year old children.  These “Drag Queens” are being guarded by Anti-Government ANTIFA Radicals, funded in part by Anti-American zealot George Soros, armed with AR-15 rifles and flanked by an LGBTQ  Pride Flag.  This stirred up no interest from the Justice Department or FBI.

The above photo is a group of Pro-Life demonstrators doing a “sit in” at an Abortion Clinic.  Recently a man was arrested by the FBI/Justice Department for singing a Hymn during a “sit in”.  This man is facing a possible 11 year prison sentence for his “crime”. 

The above photo is a group of parents at a School Board meeting protesting against the sexually explicit books and curriculum found at their grade school children’s Library and in their study materials.  At one point the Justice Department labeled them as “Terrorists” and instituted investigations pending prosecution.

The above photo is of the remains of a Pro-Life office destroyed by Abortion Rights Activists.  No interest in investigating this from the FBI or Justice Department.

This is Ma & Pa of the Clinton Crime Family.  They live the “jet set high life” in good part from funds flushed through their “charitable” “Foundation”.  No IRS Audits here.  Nothing to see.  Instead these IRS folks will concentrate their efforts on “Joe or Jill Sixpack” hoping to find a math error on his/her Tax Return so they can run up thousands of dollars in fees, penalties and legal costs.  Maybe even file a lien on their home or property and ruin their life.

This is a photo of the “mostly peaceful” riot and looting of Madison, Wisconsin where millions of dollars in damage was done in the name of “racial justice”.  Part of the damage included the looting and burning of stores owned by people of color.  What few looters and burners who were arrested were quickly released and any criminal record “expunged”.  No need to bother the folks at Justice Department or the FBI.  This kind of destruction is allowed if your cause is politically correct.  To bad about all the good folks who lost everything.

This is a photo of a third trimester fetus in the womb.  Those who favor abortion without any restraints don’t like this photo because it makes the near born look “too human” in appearance.

I could go on but have probably stirred up enough hornets nests for one day. 

No Adults, No Rules, No Mercy.

(Lord of the Flies)

Bob Bandy – October 2022

WE ALL HAVE THE OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE AMONG US

I am sure there are some out there who are going to be angry with me for what I am writing.  That’s okay.  Be angry.  I am past angry, I am outraged with what I see is happening in some of our schools nationwide to the young, vulnerable and innocent youth of America.  Our children are more important than your opinion of me.

First, let me say that I am not a “Gay Basher”, I do not hate Gay People or other members of the LGBTQ community.  I have worked with, shared food with and respected many of this group for many years.

I am writing about the latest militant activist generation of this group coming out of our new “WOKE” Colleges and becoming “Educators” in our Grade Schools with an agenda to indoctrinate and recruit CHILDREN into the Gay and Transgender elements of our society.

We do not allow CHILDREN to buy guns, get drivers licenses, serve in the military, be doctors or work in dangerous jobs for a reason.  They are not mature enough to make life changing decisions about something they do not understand.  Children do not understand sexuality and fall easy prey to teachers whom they respect. 

What I am witnessing that has me so irate is what is happening in some of our schools with the youngest and most vulnerable of our children.  I am talking especially about little ones in the K-6th Grade.

There are many well documented reports:

• I have seen on television video clips of strident, militant LGBTQ Grade School Teachers bragging about how they love sharing their “orientation” with their grade school students.  “Teach them while they are young”.
• Giving children instruction on how to choose their own preferred pro-nouns and choice of sexual identity.
• Children in grades 3-6 being given graphic pictorial curriculum on sexual body parts and their functions – even reports of how to perform oral sex on one another.
• Giving CHILDREN the knowledge of full acceptance of all types of sex in the LGBTQ community. 
• Full support for those CHILDREN who decide they are Transgender and how to “transfer” to the sex of their choice.  In many locations the schools are making available the pharmaceuticals and other resources for CHILDREN, PRE-TEENS and EARLY TEENS to pursue these life changing decisions, often without parental consent.
• In many, many locations throughout America Schools are restricting or prohibiting parents from access to these curriculum or any parental rights to exclude their own child from these materials.
• A school is forced to permit a “suddenly” “Transgender” boy access to the girls Locker Room and Showers.

Are you angry yet?  Many people are very upset about what is happening but afraid of the power of those “pushing” this agenda, including Teachers Unions and the National LGBTQ Community.  Fear of being “Cancelled”, reprisals from employers, even government agencies that are in the “pockets” of the above powers.

We, me, you and all our fellow citizens and neighbors need to be (non-violently) pounding on the tables at School Board Meetings, writing, calling and challenging our elected leaders at all levels and speaking out boldly against this monstrous abuse of all our CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, NEIGHBORS CHILDREN and all CHILDREN everywhere. 

The above is pure evil.  Our CHILDREN deserve to be children and play as children.  They must not be rushed into the world of adult sexuality and the adult decisions that come with it.

Children our our most treasured and vulnerable asset.  We must protect them.  Be angry with me if you wish.  Hate me if you wish.  But, if you agree that our children must be protected, please share your thoughts, copies of this and similar articles with your family, your neighbors, your School Board, Educators/Teachers,  your elected officials, anybody who will listen and help stop this madness.

For those readers of Faith – Pray for our Children.

Bob Bandy – October 2022

WHATS WRONG WITH CALIFORNIA? – HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU GOT?

LIFE IN A ONE PARTY STATE

If you wanted to make a list of what ails California it would be a very long list.  Basically we have a state that is completely under the control of one very far left party under the leadership of an ego-centric, far left policy devotee with unbridled ambition, no common sense and who displays little in the way of personal integrity – example – “The French Laundry” incident. 

A man, who as Mayor of San Francisco, turned the Pearl of the West Coast into a drug and crime ridden pest hole littered with homeless encampments and despair.  Now he appears bent on doing for the rest of California, as Governor, what he did to San Francisco.

I am copying below a well written article from the California Globe that well outlines coming disasters because of poor decisions by our Governor and one party ruled Legislature.  The article is by Karen Anderson, dated September 1, 2022  and can be found on their website:  CaliforniaGlobe.com 

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An Unhappy Labor Day for California Workers

‘California state lawmakers just can’t keep their laws off our livelihoods’

By Karen Anderson, September 1, 2022 2:45 am

Labor Day pays tribute to America’s workers, but here in California, job-killing legislation and regulations continue to harm independent professionals, small-business owners and essential workers across the state.

Currently awaiting passage in the California State Senate, the bill known as Assembly Bill 257, or the “Fast Food Accountability and Standards (FAST) Recovery Act,” seeks to install a 13-member council of unelected political appointees, with no business experience needed, to oversee California’s entire fast-food restaurant industry. Appointed by the governor and by a scant few individuals from the Democrat-led super-majority legislature, council members would come from labor advocacy groups, unions, and the very state regulatory agencies that enforce labor laws.

This posse of union-backed appointees would have absolute power to establish wage rates, working hours and other broad rules that could put a small restaurant or franchisee out of business. Layers of burdensome regulations will inevitably result in increased operating costs for restaurants, higher prices for consumers and fewer jobs. A provision that allows the Labor Commissioner to pursue “joint employer” claims could upend the franchise business model and prompt some brands to leave the state altogether.

Meanwhile, another board of unelected officials continues to wreak havoc on California’s trucking industry. The California Air Resources Board (CARB), which determines emission standards in California, is comprised of 16 members appointed mostly by the governor. In just a few short months on Jan. 1, 2023, nearly one-quarter of trucks serving Los Angeles-area ports will be prohibited from entering the gates when the latest round of CARB rules banning engines older than 2010 could sideline 80,000 trucks in California. Because of manufacturing shortages due to the pandemic, the dearth of new trucks being produced makes it almost impossible for fleets to comply by the deadline.

If CARB doesn’t put truckers out of business, Assembly Bill 5 will. Now in effect on the trucking industry after ongoing legal challenges came to an end this June, the anti-freelancer law AB 5 applies to 70,000 independent owner-operator truckers who can no longer conduct business as independent contractors in the state of California.

The double whammy of CARB regulations and AB 5 on trucking can be traced to cronyism at the Capitol. The author of AB 5, former San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, recently accepted a position as leader of the powerful California Labor Federation representing 2,100 unions. Not coincidentally, Gonzalez’s husband Nathan Fletcher served on CARB from 2019 to 2022, appointed by Gov. Newsom during the height of Gonzalez’s destructive AB 5 policymaking.

Since its passage in Sept. 2019, AB 5 has shattered the careers of hundreds of thousands of independent contractors across a vast array of professions — everyone from transcriptionists, performing artists and pharmacists to forensic nurses, mall Santas, music therapists, translators, video journalists and tutors. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the California Trucking Association’s lawsuit against AB 5, more job destruction is on the way, threatening the already-tenuous supply chain.

Whether banning independent contracting, banning pre-2010 trucks, banning gas-powered lawn equipment used by gardeners and landscapers, or banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, California state lawmakers just can’t keep their laws off our livelihoods. The heavy-handedness of their decisions fails to take into account the economic realities for the average small-business owner or solo-preneur. On this Labor Day, Sacramento should instead start focusing on retaining small businesses in the state rather than creating barriers and burdens that are bankrupting the working class.

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What is really frustrating is that the governor keeps coming out with ideas like mandating purchasing of electric cars (which the majority of Californians can’t afford) and then mandating “everything” be carbon neutral and, oh, by the way we don’t have the electric grid or infrastructure to support all of his mandates.  And then he wonders why there is a mass exodus from our state to places that are more business friendly with lower taxes.  Duh!

Seems to me California is well on the way to repeat the “brain-dead” High Speed Rail System which has wasted Tens of Billions of Dollars and never hauled a single passenger a single mile…….  and likely never will.  For a history of this doomed project use the article search box on the left and type in: California’s High Speed Rail 2.0 and hit enter or simply go to:

www.stoppullingthewagon.com/?s=high+speed+rail     

for a series of articles on this “boon-doggle”.

Karen Anderson is right:  ‘California state lawmakers just can’t keep their laws off our livelihoods’

Bob Bandy – September 2022