HERE COME THE BUGS

From NPR we read, "Every day in hospitals all over America, thousands of patients die of infections that used to be curable. But the antibiotics used to treat them anymore.
It's called , and it's largely a consequence of antibiotics overuse. The more germs are exposed to antibiotics, the faster they mutate to evade being vanquished.
To counter the growing trend, the Obama administration is moving on many fronts to speed the development of new antibiotics."
 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/06/04/188380562/obama-administration-seeks-to-loosen-antibiotic-approvals


Okay folks, fast tracking drugs is never a good idea and who knows the horrors that will lead to. While I'm not saying this is the best site, you may want to explore http://wakeup-world.com/ for information on boosting your immune system and how to use natural substances to help treat many ailments that have devehttp://wakeup-world.com/olped resistance. Let's face it, simple and natural is best and viruses and bacteria have not developed resistance to such things as cumin, tea tree oil and many other common products. A healthy body is generally safe. Get off the GMO's, soda, processed foods, artificial sweetners, BPA tainted products, eliminate the pesticides and chemicals in and around the home, fast foods and junk foods and avoid the issue altogether.

Above all, beware the new drugs!

BUY NOW, SAVE LATER

 

This is an important audible for all to consider.
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/30/186450423/how-a-trip-to-costco-can-work-as-an-investment-strategy

Essentially, the report says that since interest on savings is almost ZERO, it may make more sense to actually stock up on essential products as a hedge against inflation. No, not hoarding, but if you use a product on a regular basis, it may be wise to buy that product in bulk now, rather than pay higher prices later. 

For example, you see an add where pasta is for sale: Buy 10 for $1.00 each. You can afford to spend $20 for pasta, so you buy 20 packages. If pasta rises in price 10% over the course of the year, your investment has basically earned 10% interest. Where can you find that kind of a return?  

You have to be a savvy shopper. Often, things on sale, really aren't. They'll raise the price on an item one week, they put it on sale to the normal price the next. Net gain, ZERO. Further, you don't want items that you almost never use. So take stock of the products you buy the most and keep an eye out for 'real' sales and good buys. Be sure to check any expiration codes. No sense buying something with one day left on the code.

Of this you can be certain, food prices will rise; petro based products will rise. If you have the space and a little extra money, stocking up may be the best investment you can make.

THOSE WHO WOULD TAKE YOUR HOME

Here is a story from NPR that has also appeared in many other news outlets.


"With well over a million homes being repossessed, 2010 is shaping up to be a record year for foreclosures in the U.S. But there are serious questions about the way many have been carried out, and now prosecutors are investigating whether some of the country's largest banks committed fraud.
— GMAC Mortgage, Chase and Bank of America — in written statements basically say that the underlying facts behind these foreclosures were sound, and that they weren't taking people's homes for no reason. 

So, is this just a problem of the banks being sloppy and too casual with the paperwork? Attorney General Cordray thinks not.
"That's not what we have here," he says. "What we have here is lying under oath. The facts may or may not be correct. And this seems to have been an industry-wide practice, where the companies encouraged this and required it of their employees — to commit deliberate fraud on the court in case after case after case."

The financial interests involved here are the same that finance those who say they are for America's working class. Now it seems to me that since we gave these institutions billions of our tax dollars so they could continue to make record profits, why are they so hastily and so illegally trying to quickly foreclose on millions of homes? How is that being for the American worker? 

The article goes on to say, "We (Ohio) have filed a lawsuit against GMAC Mortgage and their parent company, Ally, and we consider each separate incident of a false affidavit filed in a case warranting full penalties of $25,000 per incident," he says.
That's $25,000 per homeowner, and there have been millions of foreclosures. This isn't just another shoe dropping for the mortgage industry.
"That is so much bigger than a shoe," Cordray exclaims.

I suggest that for every home foreclosed in this manner, that they be forced to pay the $25K per incident, and that those funds be used to help homeowners keep their homes. Now that would be a true economic stimulus.

Legislation that would have allowed lenders more flexibility in signing court documents and speeding up foreclosures had been sent to President Obama, but he's using a rare "pocket veto" to essential kill it. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130421557 )

When you vote in just a few short weeks ask yourself who will work in your best interest? Those who would take your home, or those who at least are trying to really help? Clearly, the Democrats have been a disappointment. The financial interests have long arms. But their fundamental motives are more in tune with what is needed.

When will we say enough is enough?

$4.90/GALLON!

We just received our contract price for fuel oil for next heating season and the price was $4.90/gallon. Our contract price for the 2007-2008 heating was $2.79/gallon. We used around 1,000 gallons to heat our home. We are not going to pay it! We have purchased a wood pellet furnace and bought 5 tons of pellets which should cover the majority of the heating season. Our pellet furnace, which is listed as carbon free, will be paid for in savings in one season! The pellets, at current prices, will save us some $3700/year. Assuming costs will rise proportionately, the pellets will always save us thousands of heating dollars every year while at the same time adding basically 0 carbon to the atmosphere.

Consumers are going to have to change their spending habits. Since the pellets are produced in Maine, it makes sense to alter our spending and use what makes sense for our region. This same approach would be wise to follow elsewhere. We have become so accustomed to mega-solutions that we have ignored a more rational regional approach to meeting our energy needs. While solar is certainly viable just about anywhere, at least as back-up power, it would seem to make sense to use it as a primary power source in sunnier regions. Wind turbine generators may be more viable in certain regions as would hydro in others.

It is no longer a question of being weaned off of oil imports. That option has passed. We have been hit upside the head by the oil rig 2x4 and the consumers must respond accordingly. While we can hope that a new administration will help our transition to more viable and environmentally friendly power supplies, don’t hold your breath. It could take years before the politicians, regardless of who is elected November, to make any kind of transitional financial support available. The power of oil is too entrenched to think that all will be right when we have a new president. Time is not on our side. If we wait for Washington to act, we will have lost the planet to the cockroaches. Smart money says bite the bullet and find alternative energy sources now. Buy high fuel efficient cars now-unfortunately they will probably have to be foreign since Detroit is still in its own dream world. And, while auto-makers are cutting back on making the big gas eaters, along with job losses, they do not get high marks for coming out with an affordable line of fuel efficient cars. Some of their hybrids to not get as good fuel economy as regular foreign imports and as usual; they will lag behind in innovation. Not sure what will come of it but the BBC had a report of a British auto-maker producing a gas vehicle that gets 80mpg. Apparently this is done by drastically reducing weight by using carbon fibers for the body work. Perhaps this is what we can do with all of the excess carbon, make cars with it.

On another front, the soaring cost of food has at least partly been attributed to the rise in the use of bio-fuels. “The food price index of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) rose by a steep but manageable 8% in 2006, but then much more sharply - by 24% - in 2007, and 53% in the first three months of this year alone - an unprecedented rise.” If you have shopped recently it is clear that prices are going up and as you know, once they are up, they tend not to come down too far. With gasoline basically at $4.00/gallon and a forecast of $5.00/gallon by September, it is clear that the consumer must act now to head off their own demise.

According to Michigan Business (5/31/08) “The steepest run-ups in food prices since 1990 are hurting grocery shoppers, restaurants and school cafeterias, but they're making others rich.
The winners in the new food economy include crop farmers selling corn and wheat for near-record highs after years of crushingly low prices. Ingredient makers like Cargill and ADM are rife with profits. Fertilizer and tractor companies are cashing in. Hedge funds who made big bets on rising wheat, soy and corn were spectacularly correct. Oil and gas companies, too - it takes natural gas to cook those Wheaties and diesel to haul them around the country.” Rising food and fuel prices are here to stay and there may even be spells of shortages. The American consumer will feel the bite, but they do not have to take the pain. Prudent and wise spending decisions now can soften the economic blow that lurks very large around the corner. Australian wheat is suffering under drought conditions and who knows what calamities are in store this summer.

Remember, you cannot rely on government to deal with these issues effectively. Just look at Louisiana and the toxic homes FEMA gave to those poor residents as housing. The recent NPR report about formaldehyde poisoning in the FEMA trailers should be a heads up regarding reliance on government. In my book, RAPING LOUISIANA: A DIARY OF DECEIT, government incompetence in dealing with disaster is well documented. Between energy and food issues, it would be wise to plan on how you will get through a not so short term period of economic contraction and transformation. With the power of the purse, the consumer can drive the changes in a way that makes sense. Time to wake up, read the signs of the times and take control of your life.