Stop Pulling the Wagon

WE ARE FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU!

What kind of problems are you having that your government can help you with?

Did you make a mistake and register to vote in the “wrong” political party?  Let our Auditors with the IRS show you ways to get those political donations routed to the “right” party so there won’t be any unpleasant questions about your tax returns.

Did you “accidentally” attend one of those Pro-Constitution” public rallies?  Let our folks with the Justice Department do a little “background” checking for you to make sure you are not getting in with the “wrong” crowd.  They will be happy to visit with your family, neighbors and friends.  Anything they turn up will be held in strict confidence and only shared with other helpful government agencies.

Do you own a business and “forgot” to make a contribution to the political party in power?  Your friends from the Environmental Protection Agency will be pleased to visit your place of business to help you comply with all 60,000 pages of Regulations.  Including all the sub-paragraphs and addendums which you are responsible to comply with.  (Helpful hint: You might want to keep your checkbook nearby.)

Having trouble keeping healthy or maybe have a Body Mass Index that does not comply with current government guidelines?  The Health & Human Services Department under the powers granted by the Affordable Care Act, and with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service, will be glad to review your eating and drinking choices. They will have available all the helpful data provided by your credit card companies and those popular “Club” and “Member Rewards” cards from your favorite stores, restaurants and “other” places of “indulgence”.  And, they will be supported by the Justice Department.

Now there is that pesky First Amendment to the Constitution which prohibits Congress from making any laws which infringe upon your rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press.

But, of course they won’t be making any such laws.

The Government doesn’t need them.  After all, they are only here to help you!

Bob Bandy

Jon Corzine has joined a list of political and business leaders who seem to have short and long term memory loss.  Jon, the former CEO of MF GLobal,  former United States Senator and former Governor of New Jersey has seemingly done for MF Global what he did for New Jersey.  That is cause them financial ruin.

However, when questioned by Congress about the apparent disappearance of some 1.2 Billion (thats Billion with a B) Dollars that seems to have vanished under his watch at MF Global he can only answer that he “never intended” to do anything wrong, nor can he remember signing, as CEO, the companies Financial Statements with false and misleading information on them.

Seems that supposedly good intentions and bad memories are the current escape route for corrupt office holders, CEO’s, and other public figures.  For example, Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General, who can’t remember when he found out about the “Fast and Furious” gun running debacle that has already caused the death of at least one U.S. Border Agent.

I wonder if good intentions and a poor memory will suffice for errors on my tax returns with the IRS?

Perhaps Mr. Jon Corzine should become a cellmate of Bernie Madoff so the two of them could play Monoply with each other for a number of years.  Lets see, would that be 30 years or 40  years.  Sorry, I can’t remember.

As for our forgetful Attorney General Eric Holder.  Maybe he could spend some time in an orange jumpsuit in a prison cell with a 230 pound, heavily tatooed lifer named Bubba.  I was thinking of a prison in Texas but a good friend suggested a jail in Juarez Mexico might be a more appropriate destination.

Just a thought.  I never intended any of them should come to any harm…. honest!   

Bob Bandy

Lets see if I have this straight.  Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, claims that until a few weeks ago he knew nothing about the “Fast and Furious” Gun Running Operation orchestrated out of the Justice Department of which he is the head.  He claims this even after it being documented that he was kept informed by people within “his” own Justice Department.

That leaves us with one of three possibilities:

(1) He is not telling the truth.

(2) He is not competent to be Attorney General.

(3) He is not telling the truth and he is incompetent.

At least he is surrounded by “good company”.  Washington D.C. is the Capitol of lies, incompetence and corruption.  A political Trifecta.

How else do you explain the 15 Trillion Dollars in debt and the continuing destruction of the Free Enterprise System which was once the foundation of our great nation.

The sad truth is that this same incompetence and systemic lies have spread to many, if not most, of our states, counties and cities.  We now find ourselves surrounded by leaders who will not tell us the truth and who continue to prove their incompetence by their inability to balance the public checkbook.

Bob Bandy

I remember when my daughter was young and used to go to birthday skating parties with her friends.  They had an Arcade at the skating rink and I would often pass the time with the games there.  One of my favorites was Whack-A Mole where the object is to whack the moles on the head with the mallet as they pop their heads up through the holes.  I was remembering this recently and it got me to thinking…….

I keep hearing members of our government asking why businesses are not hiring more employees and why they are re-locating to sites outside the United States?

Have any of these people asking these questions ever tried to start a business?  Have they ever tried to keep a business going?

Being a business owner, or potential business owner is like being a Mole in a game of Whack-A-Mole. Only you are not trying to avoid just one “Whacker” but multiple “WHACKERS”.

You will need a permit or license.  WHACK!  Your city, county, state will require an application and fees.

Where is your Environmental Impact Report?   WHACK!   The EPA will need a completed report and a fees.

Need to hire employees?  WHACK!  More forms, more requirements, more regulations.

You will need insurance against everything that could possibly happen or create a potential liability.  WHACK!

Need to terminate an employee?  WHACK!  WHACK!  WHACK!  More forms, more regulations, more requirements and sometimes attorneys.

Government mandated Health Insurance.  WHACK!

Did I mention potential Union involvement?  WHACK!

You finally beat the odds and make a profit.  Its now tax time.  WHACK!

And the game goes on.  Can be a lot of fun…….   unless you’re the Mole.

Bob Bandy

I HAVE A QUESTION. WHY IS BERNIE MADOFF IN PRISON FOR 150 YEARS WHILE 537 BERNIE MADOFF WANABE’S ARE LIVING A LIFE OF LUXURY AND INDOLENCE AT THE TAXPAYERS EXPENSE IN OUR NATIONS CAPITOL?

Supposedly ole’ Bernie is guilty of running an 80 Billion Dollar Ponzi scheme which bilked thousands of investors.  In the meantime, 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 memers of the Senate and 2 elected members of the Administration just scammed three hundred million Americans for another 2.4 Trillion Dollars to add to the 14.3 Trillion Dollar Ponzi scheme that is our nations National Debt.

After months of finger pointing, name calling and accusations they just pulled off another big one.  Lets see, they add 2.4 Trillion to the debt while they promise to reduce deficit spending 21 Billion Dollars.

Folks, 21 Billion Dollars is equal to the amount of debt they will be adding to the deficit in the next five days!

Remember, our children and grandchildren will “inherit” the 16.7 Trillion Dollar Debt forever!  That and whatever “our Representatives” continue to add to it !

And, there is no doubt this bunch will continue to add to the total.  All so they can perpetuate themselves as power brokers in public office.

Lets see, they spend an additional 2.4 Trillion dollars over and above the amount they will take in and for that they promise to reduce deficit spending by 21 Billion.  What are they planning on doing?  Taking five spending days off in the next year?  What a sacrifice!  Heck of a deal!     

Click on the following link for a “Casey At The Bat” spoof which I include just because its funny….  We have to remember to laugh at ourselves…. No offense intended….     

Bob Bandy

Right now there is a lot of discussion about the United States involvement and commitment in Afghanistan.  Legitimate questions are being asked as to why we are there, what is the U.S.  goal and exit strategy and just how much blood and treasure are we willing to invest in what kind of hoped for outcome.

While I was appalled at the treatment of Afghan women and children under the rule of the Taliban there is also questions in my mind as to whether we may have gotten ourselves “bogged down” in a country that seems to be contentedly lost in the 8th century.

I heard Ann Coulter comment on a television news and commentary program the other day that Afghanistan is a country with more goats than flush toilets.  While her comment was no doubt made somewhat tongue in cheek, it also highlighted the fact that this is a mostly Tribal Culture without rights for women or children and where the accepted norm is brutal enforcement of the harshest form of Islam.

A country with very little infrastructure such as electric power, roads, sanitation systems or public education system beyond the Muslim Madrassa’s where boys and young men are taught to hate everything about the “Evil West”.

A country whose only significant export and source of revenue is opium/heroin.  Whose government is enormously corrupt and does not have the trust of the people it pretends to govern.

So………   While I do not like to envision what would happen to the people, especially the women (including young girls) of Afghanistan if the United States were to leave, I also cannot think of a viable long range goal for our being there.  I find myself with questions that I do not have satisfactory answers for.

Maybe the National Organization for Women could open a headquarters in Kabul with branch offices in every village and town throughout the country?

Something to think about……..    

Bob Bandy