Obama Lacks Class and Dignity—There I’ve finally said it!

By Kellene Bishop

I have been biting my tongue on this topic for a long time now, not wanting to appear like I’m not giving him a chance. But today was the last straw.

Barack Obama has absolutely no Presidential class or dignity.

I was shocked when he was making his “presidential” speech, after he’d already won the election, and saw fit to take pot shots at President Bush. I know I was raised by good parents, but I would think that any parent who’s raising a future president of the United States would raise them with an awareness of dignity and civility. I expect to hear that kind of anti-Bush rhetoric during the politicking leading up to the election, but not afterwards, and frankly I don’t think it’s been done in recent history either. Why? Because it lacks class! It’s petty. This was supposed to be his first day of presidential regality and he sees fit to use it to promote his “nanny nanny noo noo” nonsense against President Bush.

Adding insult to injury, he crippled Washington D.C. financially by bankrupting them with the most lavish inaugural address in history, outspending Bush by over 4 to 1!

Our country is in MOURNING. Millions have lost their retirement, their jobs, their hope for a future, and he decides that elaborate excess is in the country’s best interest? During such an economic crisis, there are several U.S. Presidents that certainly would have firmly believed this to be undignified (Wilson, Roosevelt, Washington, Adams, etc.)

Since Obama has taken the reins of the Presidency, he continues to shift blame to what is going on in our nation to the previous President and the Republican party. Mr. President, be a man, not a martyr! Own up and fix it if you think it’s so bad! Don’t misunderstand. I’m not happy with how Bush performed his duties. And I feel that my convictions and beliefs have been betrayed in many aspects by the Republicans. However, Obama cannot continue to be believable in any way shape or form if he intends to put the blame of our country’s woes on the backs of any particular party or president. After all, Obama has stains on his hands for the mortgage mess we’re in as he was a part of insisting that government made economically questionable home loans. Obama screws up while taking the Oath of Office and sees fit to blame it on a Supreme Court justice? This is not behavior fitting of the president of our nation. Surely his mother raised him better than that! (How about the simple rule of “respect your elders?”)

How in the world does Obama think he’s promoting bi-partisanship when every time he speaks he sees fit to remind the American people that either a) They made a mistake in electing Bush in the first place (ouch…salt in the wound) or b) Our votes didn’t matter over the last 8 years because Obama is going to undo everything Bush ever did, or c) those who still do promote and believe in the Republican way of life are conquered human beings.

He continues to forget that the voters of this nation, to whom he is addressing, put Bush in office for two consecutive terms! And yet he sees fit to degrade that administration at every turn and to nullify ANYTHING that that administration did previously that Obama and the Democratic Party disagrees with. What good is the right to vote if your votes can merely be negated the next time someone comes along who doesn’t agree with them? To me that’s not a republic, that’s a monarchy. That kind of behavior is not indicative of a president of a free country, it’s indicative of a tyrant. And how does this behavior reinforce in any way his so-called goals of bipartisan cooperation. I’m starting to wonder seriously if we haven’t just been taken over by a King and his “King’s men.” In light of Obama’s complete disregard for the will of this nation’s people, he’s allowed for federal monies to be spent on stem cell research. Many people supported President Bush’s actions on stem-cell research. I, for one, certainly did, out of my devotion to the freedoms of the Constitution and my firmly held religious beliefs. It is immoral to take of the wealth from one people to give to another. And that’s exactly what he’s doing with this allocation. It is in violation of the religious beliefs of millions of Americans in our country as well. This isn’t even HIS money to allocate to such a cause. It is for the function of the government whose primary purpose is to protect the rights and freedoms of the people of this nation! Perhaps if we weren’t taxed so high, then private enterprise would still have money to fund such research themselves and not burden the American taxpayer with a process so repugnant to the senses of many.

I wonder how many other presidential policies he will attempt to reverse? Perhaps he’d like to teach George Washington a thing or two and decide to reverse his policy on the right to keep and bear arms… oh wait, Obama’s already trying to do that.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good"
-- George Washington

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed."
-- Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers at 184-188

Or perhaps he’d like to reinstitute the Sedition Act which Thomas Jefferson specifically abolished. Perhaps he’d like to reinstate the errors of other presidents while he’s at it such as the internment camps which violated the rights of hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Perhaps he’d like to get rid of the Declaration of Independence altogether so as not to be inconvenience with any conflict of conscience.

I don’t believe that the majority of our government-elected officials are serving the people any longer. They are serving themselves to get power and gain, and we apathetic sheep are allowing it. While Obama’s not even able to keep his campaign promises for an entire week, he’s sabotaging more of our country’s freedoms. Why doesn’t he show some dignity and put to rest the accusations of his heritage, to prove once and for all that he is legally able to be elected President of our nation instead of sending his dogs to the courthouse to use every convoluted and perverted law of privacy to protect that information from ever being released? If he has nothing to hide then why won’t he show this information instead of bullying his citizens in court, now at the cost to American taxpayers?

Here’s a warning “Mr. President.” If you are not able to even create a façade of class and decorum when you are in front of the cameras for all the world to see, then I suspect you are doing much worse behind our backs. Remember, the Declaration of Independence reads “…Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” I, for one, will not consent or stand idly by while you insult this great nation with your representation of us, nor will I allow you to strip us of any more of our liberties. You are truly the last straw—of the indignity of liberties lost. I will use all of my influence to right the real wrongs of our past leaders.

I suppose that if nothing else, I appreciate you for waking me up from my nap of stupor. Had it not been for your blatant and bold uncivilized behavior, I might still be sleeping.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Is Swiss Banking in Cahoots with the IRS?

Here’s food for thought for you. Is the Swiss Banking system actually cahoots in with the IRS and our government? I believe there is sufficient evidence to indicate that their recent buckling to legal maneuvering on the part of the U.S. and their supposed outrage at having to do so, is merely a ruse. I believe that there is reason to believe that there’s more to these actions of divulging names of their U.S. depositors than simply complying with the premise of a lawsuit. You decide.

So here’s the problem with the U.S. suing the Swiss Banking system to reveal the names of its account holders who may be guilty of tax fraud or tax evasion. You’ve got at least 2 wrongs that definitely aren’t making up any rights.

First of all, it’s a fishing expedition. None of these individuals have been proven in the U.S. to have committed tax fraud or tax evasion. And yet without formal indictments the U.S. feels that it has cause to subpoena every American-held account in Switzerland? No, instead the U.S. is making suppositions that if someone has an overseas account in the Swiss Banking system then they must be committing a crime. That kind of supposition is AGAINST our legal system and our due process of law.

Additionally, IF the government’s idea of tax fraud or evasion has ANYTHING to do with paying federal income taxes, then that too is illegal on our country’s part as federal income taxes are indeed illegal. We merely pay them out of fear, submission, and ignorance. No wonder we see IRS agents training with guns! I’m sorry. Someone tell me again why IRS tax collectors need to train with guns? Hey if it’s for their own self-defense, I’m all for it. But it’s the IRS who sanctions and REQUIRES such training. (Man, I’m sure many of you would love to work for a company that requires you to use a firearm instead of penalizing you from even storing one in your car on company property!) A repo man is not allowed to use a gun to get property back. Are we supposed to believe that the IRS is a government entity? Um…it is NOT. These are U.S. citizens who have been deceived into believing they work for an official government entity and are enforcing some kind of federal law by collecting taxes on our labor—at gun point if necessary! So why do the IRS have so much authority to spread fear into American citizens? Oh, yeah…now I get it – because the IRS cannot commit their actions with the strength of truth and the law behind them. They can only get away with what they do via force, fear, and brutal compulsion. If you don’t believe a word I’ve said in this regard, check on the testimony of countless former IRS Agents who have been fired and socially skewered for questioning the IRS tax system, unable to find any justification for the federal income tax, who they themselves do NOT pay a federal income tax as a result of their belief that the law is on their side — and join a million of other Americans who do not pay their federal income tax, and who have boldly attempted to get their findings out to the rest of the citizens in the U.S. One last note on the IRS — after decades of protestors taking this matter to courts of every level, to their IRS supervisors, and to legal mediation, there has yet to be ONE person who can show the LAW which enables the IRS to collect personal income tax. Even the Supreme Court found that the 16th Amendment did NOT provide any new power or authority to tax than the government had prior to the 16th Amendment.



Second fly in the ointment. Tax evasion is not illegal in Switzerland. And tax fraud has to be proven. The fact that the Swiss Banking system has collapsed to a law suit by the U.S. government has suspicion written all over it. The Swiss Banking system generated 36 percent of their income in the U.S. last year. They contribute to about 20 percent of their economic growth in their own nation every year. The fact that they would crumble like a sick dog due to a suit filed in a U.S. federal court is very suspicious to me. Either their nation is crumbling, or ours made a sweet deal with them. After acquiescing to providing 300 names to the U.S. (not evidence of any wrong-doing, mind you, just names, hence the “fishing expedition theory”) the U.S. turned around and sued for over 52,000 more names!! Now how much do you want to bet that the U.S. doesn’t even have cases filed for over 52,000 wealthy individuals they suspect of tax fraud or evasion? Switzerland has no legal justification to accommodate such a request other than bullying and fear or other reprisals. Peter V. Kunz, head of the business law department at the University of Bern stated, “Switzerland is afraid of fishing expeditions from abroad,” Kunz said. “It cannot be that just out of curiosity, without any hint of illegality, foreign authorities come to Switzerland and ask for information.” The ridiculous nature of what is happening is that Switzerland IS allowing individuals to get information simply out of curiosity!
Bank secrecy is literally a cash cow in the Swiss Banking systems. They could lose at least 50 percent of their depositors if they do not recover from this scandal immediately.

Michigan Senator Carl Levin who oversees the U.S. Senate subcommittee which is investigating United Bank of Switzerland proposed new laws this week to STOP Americans from acting freely with their own money and to prevent them from using offshore financial centers altogether. (This legislation was previously sponsored by Barack Obama!) That’s right. Our own currency and economy is going to hell in a hand basket, and this uppity senator wants to ensure that we all go down with it! At the very least they want to be able to put stiffer taxes on those with offshore accounts and give the Treasury Department the authority to take action against foreign jurisdictions that impede their efforts.

Our government claims that “conduct that actively facilitates tax evasion amounts to a declaration of war by offshore secrecy jurisdictions against honest, hardworking taxpayers. We’re determined to fight back and end the abuses inflicted on us by those tax havens.” In my opinion those who have placed some of their assets overseas are merely fighting the war that already exists within our own borders of illegal tax burdens and an economy that is unstable and out of control BECAUSE OF CHOICES WHICH OUR GOVERNMENT HAS MADE…not some act of God. To me, our government bullying one of our allies in this manner and attempting to eliminate this venue for the income earners of our nation is no different than them attempting to take our firearms away. I truly believe that they are indeed attempting to give us nothing to fight back with, including our own money.

Now how is this kind of reach of power even possible across country borders? Because of the Federal Reserve and its relationship with the World Bank, that’s how. And here we thought we lived in a republic, when in fact we are being governed by an international banking entity.

This problem will not fix itself folks. We don’t get to live in a republic if we do not act like free citizens and use our freedom to right wrongs. Take action. Start writing and start calling your government “leaders.”


Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Apathy to Bondage

As I shared earlier, bailing out the auto manufacturers of GM and Chrysler is a very bad idea. These companies have already shown that they are incapable of running a tight ship. And they could easily declare bankruptcy and never pay back the American taxpayers the money we’ve given them. Well, guess what? That’s exactly what GMs auditors are saying is going to happen with GM. In spite of the bailout monies given to them, there is still talk of filing for bankruptcy “protection.” I love how they call it that in corporate America. “Protection”…like the taxpayers are the bad guys for wanting their bailout money paid back.

As you know AIG has been granted MORE money. This is what really irks me. GM and Chrysler are auto manufacturers. I suppose you can expect that they will “miscalculate” money. But AIG is a money manager! Not only were they criminal in their handling of money previously, but we gave them a bailout and they’ve shown that they are consistent with their mismanagement of money yet again! What part of us giving them MORE money doesn’t seem incredibly ludicrous to anyone else out there?



And yet we Americans have allowed this insanity to rage on. Who reading this has actually taken time to write their government “leaders” and let them know that this is unacceptable? Very, very few. And since the rationale can be applied that the “very few” don’t reflect the sentiments of the majority, the insanity rages on because our government “leaders” have forgotten their responsibility is to solely defend and protect our freedoms. If such a crystal clear ruler was used when they made such insane financial decisions, then the bail out would never have happened in the first place, let alone the stimulus package. In what way do these monies defend and protect the freedoms of American citizens life, liberty, and possession of property? NONE. It only creates a heavier burden of bondage on us due to the horrific taxation that will follow.

I pray that it is not too late for Americans to take action and responsibility for the insurance of their own freedoms instead of continuing to delegate incompetents to do so.

In Freedom,

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

The Economy - Real Life, Real Time

*There's a brand spanking new house on my street that has lost over $10,000 in equity every single month for the last 10 months!

*The Dow is just barely above 7,000 points which is a critical support level of our economy. Once it goes down below that, then we will lose a significant number of investors who have reliably played a part in our economy.

*Banks STILL are not lending freely with the tax dollars we've provided them--whether it be home mortgages, business loans or auto loans. Previously banks would issue about 130% of the book value of a brand new car so long as you had a credit score above 680. Now you have to have a 750 credit score to get 105% of the book value for a brand new car! Wait a minute. I give you the money so that you can lend, and then you don't lend to those who gave you the money? Something is VERY wrong here.

*Cheese, produce, and grains have increased in price by as much as 400%. I used be able to buy an artichoke for less than a dollar each. Now it's nearly $4 each. A bag of wheat used to cost $8.99 for a 50 pound bag. Now it's as much as $45 for the same 50 pounds! The same goes for rice, cheese, milk, etc.

I don't know how "rich" Obama thinks the wealthy are, but he's ridiculous to think that the rich are going to be able to pull us out of the recession. Thinking that the government is the answer to this crisis is WORSE than "The Emperor's New Clothes" because the emperor is strutting around naked, trying to tell everyone that he's wearing new clothes, but he actually KNOWS that he's strutting around in his birthday suit!

There is discussion going on in Capital Hill right now that in order to "save" the elderly, they are going to take over the administration of retirement accounts. WHAT? You mean the same government who can't properly oversee the bankrupt Social Security accounts of our nation now want us to believe that they can handle our other retirement accounts? This is the same government which doesn't know the difference between a Promise and a Lie.

The government can't even count votes, can't pay their own taxes, overpays by BILLIONS of dollars for assets which they buy, can't "make" banks give loans even when they provide them with the money to do so, can't protect the freedom of our citizens — which is their number one responsibility — and can't even take the time to read what they are voting on, and yet we're supposed to believe that they are the sole solution for this economic meltdown? PUH-LEEZE!

If this keeps up we'll WISH we were living in a socialistic nation, only because it's the lesser evil to a monarchy!

I believe that there are still REAL Americans out there that are starting to recognize that they've been hoodwinked, who are not cowards as the Attorney General likes to call them. I think a Boston Tea Party is the least of our governments concerns.

The Government has forgotten their purpose – to SERVE the American people. Instead they are helping themselves to the fruits of the labors of the American people. They have forgotten that a FREE people are responsible for giving them any power in the first place, and that a FREE people have the rights to reclaim and reorganize that power.

People of America, exercise your rights and make those cell phones and e-mails, fax machines and overpriced stamps actually mean something. WRITE your legislatures, senators, congressmen, governors. Reclaim your freedoms! Our hard earned liberties which have cost the lives of thousands are being depleted more stringently and in more atrocious manners than any cause ever before!

Our lives, liberty and property depend on these freedoms. Our peace and happiness depend on these freedoms.

This crisis of our nation isn't just about "overcoming the economy". Warren Buffet was quoted today as saying that the American people “have overcome worse." No, they have NOT — to be completely forthright. They have NEVER been confronted with such a financial crisis COMBINED with a crisis of freedoms and rights! Their money AND their freedoms are being stripped away. This is a crisis that we have NEVER had to overcome previously. I PRAY that we have the strength to overcome it now.

To find out who your local legislatures, senators, congressmen, governors are to contact, please visit http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Why the Stimulus Package Works!

I think that the stimulus package is a GREAT idea. I think it just may stimulate a wealth of what this nation needs the most of right now…ACTION.

If you had been caught up in a natural disaster and went to the gas pump to purchase fuel only to find that the prices had been jacked up to $10 a gallon, surely you would take action right? You would call the authorities. You would demand that things be made right, right?

Then why are so many of our American citizens allowing for the same price gauging behavior now in the midst of this economic crisis?!

1100 pages of a bill that no one has read and yet our so-called leaders have voted for on our behalf. Really? On our behalf? Was it in our behalf that the gas station jacked up its price to $10 a gallon? No. It was opportunistic politicking. And it’s very much like price guaging.

So many citizens are in a panic mode. They are understandably demanding action. And as a result of our vulnerable pain and concern our political leaders who were voted into office to serve our needs are using such a dire situation to orchestrate their continued role of power and the charade of serving their fellowmen.

And since no one read the 1100 pages of a spending bill, we’re now hearing that there may need to be yet another spending bill to fill in the gaps!

The American people did not cry out for a bill to fix roads, IRS administrative costs, or STD prevention. I’m sorry. This may sound crass here. But why in the world should my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren have to be indebted with a tax burden just because someone can’t take time to use a condom or to manage their hormones?!

They NEED jobs and tax relief! And yet only 12 cents of every dollar we are burdened with in the form of taxes will even go to that end.

If these facts don’t bring you to take action to reclaim your freedom and dignity, then I’m not sure what will. You wouldn’t suffer yourself to endure such indignity of a price gauging at a gas station. Surely you will not stand for something so much worse!

I hope that this stimulus bill creates action on the part of our American citizens, as we’ve had a dearth of such action since the Regan era of capitalism. This bill is a prison sentence to generations upon generations. This bill certainly won’t create jobs. It will make some cronies wealthy, I’m sure. But no government can create jobs for a free people and have them continue to be free. Only we can truly be responsible for our living, our debts, and our future and still have freedom.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Bail Out Means…

When we used to hear the words “bail out” we would usually associate it with a sentence like, “I just had to bail out my crack addict cousin from jail.” I find myself wondering if it isn’t a coincidence that such a pairing of words is considered appropriate for what we find being implemented by our government today.

Based on the information that we’ve been fed by the media, yes, I believe it was a crime what Bernie Madoff did to his investors. Clearly he was derelict in his duties. However, I’m wondering why Madoff is a criminal and yet the heads of Goldman Sachs, AIG, Countrywide, and so many others aren’t considered a member of the criminal league? While Madoff is accused of abusing $50 billion, Goldman Sachs, AIG and others are truly guilty of abusing significantly more! And yet there are no criminal charges brought against these leaders. Were these professionals derelict in their duties? Yes. Were they apathetic towards their handling of others money? Yes. In such a world that we live in, there’s simply no excuse NOT to make money with so much money. Madoff was an idiot not to have succeeded in making a return on investments of over $50 billion as are the heads of so many of these Wall Street companies and banks. Yes, indeed these criminals are being bailed out at the expense of the honest tax paying citizens of this nation. And all for naught. Think about it. Does the bailout for these banks and investment companies do any good financially? I mean really! Does anyone think that once the nation has seen how such companies mismanage funds that any sane person is really going to trust these same companies with their retirement money? This bail out is as insane as throwing money at the Diamond Pet Food company who poisoned so many pets due to dereliction and apathy just so that they could recover from the financial hardship such an error created! Hey, while were at it, let’s go back in time and bailout all of the dot com companies that caused such a financial hardship for so many investors!

Of course we have politicians in favor of such payouts. Apparently many of them have a problem even acknowledging that such monies are coming from their tax dollars as many of them have not even paid their taxes!

General Motors and Chrysler just received a portion of this criminal action reward in the form of billions of dollars. Even more ridiculous is that these companies are already anticipating failure in spite of such a bail out, as they are already projecting a need for another $14 billion! I’m sorry. Would that kind of strategy work for any homeowner in the U.S. today? “Hey. I know you just gave me a loan of $1 million for a home I can’t currently afford. So in order to make up for the shortfall I need to borrow another $2 million.”

Here’s the even more insane aspect of this bailout. General Motors and Chrysler can STILL declare bankruptcy somewhere down the road and the American taxpayers will never be paid back. And yet the American people do not have the luxury of declaring bankruptcy as a result of our tax burden. Nope. You can file bankruptcy and be relieved of debt for everyone else in the world except the U.S. Government. You don’t pay them. You go to jail.

Perhaps if these automakers didn’t promote aggressive price haggling and foreign outsourcing of some of their production process they could have enjoyed more long-term customer loyalty. While I did not get the opportunity to vote against my tax dollars being used in such a criminally insane manner, I can vote now. And so should you. I intend to “vote” by solely rewarding automakers who are fiscally responsible with their companies. If money can be handled so haphazardly by these automakers, then I can’t help but wonder how conscientious these same automakers are in making my vehicle safe enough to transport my family in. I vote no more GM or Chrysler. If GM and Chrysler are willing to sell their soul to the devil (ie: government control in exchange for the money they received) then what are they willing to sell my safety for?

Does failure really deserve a reward such as those given on the backs of the taxpayers? In that case, perhaps the British should still rule our nation. NOT!

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Stated Income Loans…I told you so

I’ve read several stories today in the news of “victims” of foreclosure as a result of taking on mortgage loans that could not be paid for. As a longtime expert in this residential industry, I’d like to pull back the curtain on part of the problem so that you can better understand what goes on behind the scenes. How do these loans get originated in the first place? Who’s to blame?

First of all, allow me to say that there are at least 3 guilty parties in the origination of such loans. The ones that are the most common are known as “stated income loans.” Mind you that such loans are very, very difficult to come by now, but prior to the meltdown an individual who had a high enough score was able to merely “state” their income instead of providing tax returns, bank statements etc, and be approved for financing.

The initial problem was with the lenders themselves though. For example, the stated income program was originally created to be less burdensome to self-employed income earners. However, in their greed, lenders began to make such programs available to wage earners who could easily manifest pay stubs instead of stating their income, as well as fixed income earners, who could easily manifest their awards letters. Should either of these income groups also be self-employed, I see this stated program as an asset. However, if the borrower was merely a wage earner or living on fixed income, the approval of such borrowers on a stated income program was ripe for fraud.

As a wholesale account representative and as the owner of a retail loan origination business, I took a lot of flack from my clients (other residential mortgage brokers) and my own employees (licensed mortgage brokers) when I took the hard line stance that I would not approve or accept any stated income loans in which I knew the income stated was to be fraudulent, unreasonable, or just plain wrong. Too many times I heard the so-called professionals in my business call these “liar loans.” I would always retort that stated income loans were for one purpose and one purpose only—to eliminate the hassle of manifesting all of the documentation that would support the claimed income. Too often I had submissions from residential loan officers without any income stated whatsoever. Their plan being that as the wholesale account rep, I would join them in their fraudulent actions and tell them what the stated income amount needed to be in order to get their loan approved. Instead I would turn down the loan or approve it as a “No Documentation” loan which would carry with it a higher interest rate due to the higher risk. I would often tell the brokers “it’s called a stated income loan because the income is supposed to be STATED…not made up, not fabricated, not estimated." It’s to be a statement of fact.

In most cases I either lost the deals in my wholesale days because of this stance, or the broker would get wise and never send me a blank loan application again, ensuring that the income was “properly stated.” On one deal in particular with a broker...we'll call him Brian, who now owns a commercial loan origination company out of TX, swore up and down to me that his client really made the income she stated on the loan application. Unfortunately, not only did this woman not make the money stated on the application, but she missed her very first mortgage payment to our company and claimed that she had never stated any such income on her loan application. (Ironically, this same "Brian" spent time in jail shortly after this incidence for manslaughter (in MO) as he killed someone while driving drunk—in spite of the fact that his license was suspended due to other DUI violations. Guess when you break one law without the consideration of consequences, it’s easy to break others).

I lost many residential loan officers at my retail operation as well because of this. When the loan officer couldn’t get a “stated” loan approved in my shop because I turned it down from being submitted due to overinflated income, inevitably some wholesale account reps would tell my loan officers where they could work elsewhere for a less “unreasonable” person and get the deal through with no problem. Individuals who worked for me saw no problem finding the right people to work for who would look the other way and provide such perilous funding in spite of the facts. The deception was they were such nice and enjoyable people to work with otherwise. They simply saw no problem in falsifying the income in order to obtain the largest amount of financing their borrower would ever be responsible for.

While this blog may sound unintentionally bitter, it is as a result of the headlines and news stories I read today. The domino effect of so many of these “liar loans” being put into market is so huge today that there’s no longer any refuge for these individuals who would commit the crime in the first place of lying about income. Plus, there’s no respite for those homeowners who would take on a loan for a mortgage that they could not pay. Fortunately for the homeowners, it looks as if there is enough dirt on the hands of the lenders that many may end up getting out of foreclosure proceedings in spite of their illegal applications. Unfortunately, the big picture is as a result of the nefarious actions of many an entire nation now suffers an economic collapse of historical proportions.

The little acts of deception do add up folks. And in this instance it’s crumbling our entire nation financially. I believe in “opposition in all things.” If the little bits of deception add up, then certainly can’t the minor acts of honesty, heroism, and proactive efforts for good? I certainly hope so. In fact, I’m banking on it.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

New Number One Killer in America

I’ve recently read several studies which claim that heart disease and cancer are the number 2 causes of death in the United States. Unfortunately both of these numbers have not earned their respective positions as the number one and number two killer in the U.S.

The Institute of Medicine brought the travesty of the killings of American citizens to light. In the 1999 report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System put the annual death toll due to hospital care 44,000 to 98,000. However, other reports including on study published by Jama put the deaths at 225,000! Dr. Milt Hammerly MD assesses the annual body count at 204,000-301,000 killed by medical treatment each year. In other words, medical malpractice kills more American citizens each year than does heart disease or cancer.

Based on the fact that most institutions under-report their errors, Hammerly believes his estimate may be conservative. The high end estimate, developed in a 2003 report led by long-time nutrition-activist Gary Null, PhD, concludes that the annual mortalities due to medical intervention are between 783,000 and 999,000. The report, based on compilations of published studies of others (in addition to those in the JAMA article), concludes that medical intervention is the Nation's #1 killer.

Only half of NHS trusts fully comply with all the safety standards that they are expected to meet, and they do not always have effective systems in place to understand risk, properly report incidents or learn from them, the commission said.

Do you wonder why these deadly incidences aren’t improved? It comes down to good old fashioned ego.

Undoubtedly the healthcare industry hasn't been able to respond as swiftly to this problem as the airline industry did when it was confronted with serious problems two decades ago. The reason is a common scenario in which a pharmacist, or a nurse, notices something problematic in a patient's chart or prescription history. When one suggests a change, "the doctor gets huffy, indignant that the nurse or pharmacist is moving into his authority area."

In 2003, approximately $40 billion was spent on homeland security to prevent another terrorist attack like 9/11. If even a fraction of this effort had been spent on reducing preventable medical errors in hospitals the outcome would be monumental. The reality is that there has been no national collective will to change the deadly statistics. According to the follow-up 2005 IOM report, there has been little change in reducing preventable hospital tragedies since the 1999 IOM report. Why isn’t more done by oversight organizations to alter this deadly path? Money and denial.

Given the state of the economy at present, no doubt if hospitals were required to implement certain safety and management procedures additional costs would be involved. This would undoubtedly lead to the healthcare industry requesting their own bail out money. Yes, once again we have a situation of “we’ve screwed up, so can you pay us to undo our mess?” On the other hand there is a sizeable force of experts who continually claim that such a problem is not significant enough to require sweeping changes to the industry. Apparently they deem the number of deaths in ratio to the number of patients treated as a tolerable status.

Funny. You hear of one single solitary death as the result of someone misusing a gun and all of the 2nd Amendment Haters start opening their mouths and their pocket books to fight against Americans using firearms to protect themselves. (There are a total of 1500 accidental gun related deaths each year) And yet these same haters would leave us helpless and subject to the evident lack of expertise and integrity in the medical industry. In the meantime, malpractice insurance rates go up, so medical care costs go up in an effort offset the costs, and our insurance costs go up to prohibitively large premiums. And yet so much could be avoided if more professionals focused on mastering their chosen craft.

You have the right to protect yourself from all harm. If any medical advice to you doesn’t sound right, clear, or logical then ask for clarification or second opinions. Just because the doctor only planned on spending two minutes with you doesn’t mean that’s all you’re entitled to.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Where’s Jack Bauer When You Need Him?

This morning’s headline reads that our future Attorney General, Eric Holder, submits his opinion that waterboarding is considered torture. As I read this questionably newsworthy headline, I wondered what the military and other justice officials are allowed to use to coerce their prisoners into providing information necessary for the defense and expedition of justice in our country.

I firmly believe that the majority of the viewers of the popular “24” series are in part wrapped up in the show because of the common sense justice that seems to be dispatched regularly by “the good guys.” Today that kind of justice is an enviable fantasy for many military and law enforcement professionals. Many of us have a longing for what seems to be common sense justice because so many of us seemed to be robbed of it lately.

On “24” you can forget the gratuitous fighting in hand to hand combat style. If the bad guys pull a gun on Jack Bauer, he merely finishes things with an appropriate shot to the head. (Reminds me of a classic scene in one of the Raiders of the Lost Ark Series in which Indiana Jones is confronted by a display of a long fancy sword display, only to have Indi appropriately just pull out his gun and shoot the bad guy. I recall a loud roar of approval in the theatre during that scene.)

I have a really good friend who is a high level agent for the DEA. He has periodically bemoaned the way that their hands are tied in appropriately defending themselves against strung out, maniacal drug traffickers in the name of justice.

While I’m not saying I’m an advocate of waterboarding — I’d have to research it more — I wonder where the line will be drawn when it comes to worthwhile interrogation? Frankly, the mere act of an interrogator making vicious threats to a prisoner in order to get information could be considered “torture” if the case was made that the suspect/terrorist truly believed the threats to be true. I can just hear some attorney now claiming emotional duress. Putting a perpetrator in a four-walled concrete cell having to do “his business” in plain sight could be considered torture because it’s not “humane.” Making Paris Hilton wear prison garb could be considered a form of torture. When my mother was first married and still learning the domestic ropes, my father claims that having to eat her cooking was a form of torture. Recently in the news, a prison inmate claimed the chicken he had to eat from the prison cafeteria was a form of torture. Where do torture claims end and the ability to do a critical job for our nation’s security begin? It’s really beginning to appear today that the criminals have more rights and privileges than law abiding U.S. citizens. We certainly are proving that theory in other aspects of our nation’s operations.

There are actions and there are consequences of those who elect to compromise the democracy, virtue and freedoms of another. There’s torture and there’s effective coercion. There’s inhuman treatment and there’s protecting our freedom. I hope that we don’t lose sight of effective operations at the cost of our souls or our freedoms.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Our Nations Unemployment Rate: The Manifestation of a Sleeping Giant

Statistically, small business owners provide the largest percentage of jobs in the U.S. — yes an even larger percentage of jobs than all of those bail-out “worthy” industries. In spite of all of the bail out monies that were supposed to loosen up the purse strings of banks in order to strengthen small businesses in extremely tough times, small businesses have become ignored and have nothing to show for any of the so-called efforts on their behalf. In fact, even without the economic crisis that is truly upon us, historically small businesses get very, very little considerations, tax breaks, or other incentives to operate their businesses. As a result, the economic drain our nation is experiencing is merely a manifestation of a long time attitude apathy towards what really makes this country healthy. Is it any wonder that the job loss in the last 12 months has been the worst it’s been since the World War II era? Over 250,000,000 jobs were lost in 2008 and that doesn’t take into account the millions of individuals who were forced from full-time employment to part-time, nor does it take into account the self-employed individuals who have had to hang up their dreams and stand in the unemployment line with millions of others. In my opinion, the economic crisis could have been averted long ago, and even the Wall Street and mortgage disaster impact lessened had national and state leaders paid more attention to the needs of small business owners.

When a CEO runs a company into the ground, it’s an innocuous entity. The CEO is merely losing his regular pay check and other corporate perks. But when a true small business is run into the ground, chances are high that the life savings of the business owner, customers they’ve become friends with, and long-time employees they’ve connected with personally suffer through the carnage of such an event. By the time the doors are finally shut on a small business, great sacrifices have already been for its survival. Great personal financial risks such as mortgaging personal homes to the hilt, stripping it of all available equity only to find the value dropping far below the lien amount months later, and cashing in retirement and savings accounts just to last as long as possible in hopes that a life preserver will come their way. And yet for all of this sweat, tears and sacrifice, small business owners can’t lay claim to appropriate health insurance tax deductions, can’t get access to the same affordable health care packages that large corporations enjoy, and are inundated with paper work requirements while their larger counterparts have enormous legal and accounting teams to deceive their shareholders.

When a small business owner sees fit to terminate an employee who steals from them or conducts themselves inappropriately, the state still requires them to pay unemployment benefits unless such an infraction is specifically outlined in some kind of written form that the employee has manifested the receipt of.

Large corporations have money and staff to handle these items. Many such monies derived by secret government contract negotiations, unfair labor practices, political connections, and international outsource savings. In contract, small business owners are beat up every which way they turn. They pay sales taxes when they purchase items to make their businesses run better, or make their jobs easier, and then they are assessed additional taxes by their cities on those same items merely because they possess them.

Long ignored is the fact that small businesses historically pay better average wages than big corporations, and discounted is the fact that employees are typically more satisfied working for a smaller business. There is absolutely nothing done to throw a rope for small businesses in spite of their obvious strength to the economy which has been historically present for over a century!

We’ve heard the saying “money talks.” The current economic crisis is not as a result of Wall Street collapsing, a residential mortgage scandal, or the ineptness of the Federal Reserve. It’s an inevitable manifestation of ignoring the goose the lays the golden eggs. I wonder how much worse things have to get before the REAL talking money gets listened to.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Wake up Wal-Mart

The recent drop of Wal-Mart stock proves that you just can’t entice people enough to put up with your shenanigans, even if you’re big box Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart couldn’t win out over the Christmas holiday with everyone’s pocketbooks strapped, then you have to see that there’s a problem far worse than pricing at this big boxed embarrassment.

The worst thing the big box chain, or any business for that matter, can do is to be oblivious for the reasons behind the drop. Wal-Mart blames their 8% drop in stock value on “inclement weather, poor international numbers, and higher expenses.” Have they not read the astronomical customer complaints that their stores are receiving in record numbers nowadays?

“100% Disabled War Veteran was required to unload his disability cart and reload his purchases into a regular cart in order to take the items out of the store.”

“Customer slipped on water. Customer was scolded by the store manager for not being more careful.”

“Customer returned item due to its malfunction. Item was a replacement for previous malfunctioning item. Wal-Mart employee questioned the customer out loud, in front of large group of customers, as to the proper use of the item. The item? Bed sheets which were missing the elastic around the edges so that they could be put on the bed.

“Customer was called a “liar” by a Wal-Mart employee upon returning 30 minutes later with a bottle of Biotin due to the seal under the lid being broken. Customer had to drive over 20 minutes just to exchange a $7 item and be called a liar in front of other customer service guests.”
“Customer Service” at Wal-Mart has now been deemed broadly on the internet as Customer Torture. In my opinion, sales at Wal-Mart should have dropped more dramatically, but you had so many Wal-Mart customers who didn’t want to fight with the CS reps with a return or exchange so they just ate the money lost and went to Target to buy it instead.

There is a very good reason why Wal-Mart is now a verb, intended to mean a step down from quality ie: “We didn’t have the money to replace it, so we just “wallied” it for now.”

The ineptness runs uphill as well. Tens of thousands of customer complaints can be found on numerous websites including government business sites, and regularly include the accomplice of an incompetent manager or assistant manager. It’s bad enough that these stores bring such strife to the communities, leave behind big empty boxes, and train the consumer to accept the minimum in quality and customer abuse. But there seems to be absolutely NO respite when these valid problems arise either. It just adds insult to injury. Guess it’s high time for the stock prices to wake them up as well. May they continue to fall in accordance to their level of service… after the everyday customers get their money out of the stock, of course.

May Target and other big box stores take their cues from the Wallie Catastrophe and ensure that they do not end up on the same path. If you do, I assure you that you will be dealing with many more smiling customers instead of snarling ones—which by the way makes your employment to your community much more attractive as well.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Seeds of Preparedness

Many individuals I speak with about emergency preparedness are concerned of the cost of getting prepared and the amount of space they have to store everything. Today’s blog is just one way you can be successful at improving your state of preparedness without being paralyzed by cost or space.

In the fall, garden seeds are typically marked down dramatically. Are these safe to buy and store without immediately planting them in the ground? Well, usually, the answer is yes. I’ll clarify in a moment. Obviously, paying 70% off the original price of seeds is a bargain most can’t walk away from, and the space necessary to store seeds isn’t cumbersome even in a New York City apartment.

So how do you know when the seeds you buy off-season are going to do you any good in years to come, you ask? Ask the store supervisors how the seeds were stored. If they were displayed all summer out in the hot sun, then you’ll need to move on to another bargain. However, if they were stored in the store, or in the store greenhouse area the majority of the time, then you can be safe to purchase and store them for at least another 5 to 10 years. Even better is if you can store them individually packaged but in a larger container to prolong freshness. The key is for you to store them in a cool, dark and dry place. It was a way of life for our ancestors – they stored and traveled with seeds regularly. “Hey honey, be sure to grab the kids and the seeds. The mammoth is leaving soon.” Don’t let the modernization of a greenhouse throw you off your instincts.

Seeds are full of great nutrition as sprouts. An added bonus with this practice is if your seeds do sprout, then you know they are good and nutritious. In fact, in some cases, the sprouted seeds are MORE nutritious sprouted than as full grown plants, though perhaps not as enjoyable to eat. So, if you’re in doubt, prior to planting seeds in the typical manner, take a few and sprout them in doors. Sprouting typically involves water, some cheesecloth, and a small mason jar. Think about it – in an emergency, you’re not exactly going to have time to plant your seeds and then wait for the harvest if you’re starving and other food supplies are cut off. Some seeds take only 24 to 48 hours to sprout. As long as you have water (see my last blog) you’ll be able to survive that long without food while you’re waiting for the sprouts to develop.

And while I’m on the topic of sprouts, even though it’s a bit off topic of saving space, dried legumes and wheat grains are EXCELLENT sprouting resources. They are also quite easy to sprout and their nutritional value is dramatically compounded in this state. Additionally, wheat grains and dried legumes store for extremely long periods of time in a cool, dry, dark space, and the sprouting is virtually effortless. (In fact, my husband and I accidentally sprouted some lentils in our basement when we didn’t completely clean up a spill. Some the seeds had fallen down a drain pipe next to the water heater and sprouted soon after with nothing but moisture — no light.)

So I say take advantage of the seed sales you get at the end of the summer and in early fall. They are typically every bit as good and will store quite well. Whether you want edible vegetables and flowers, or showy foliage, go ahead and save a bundle of money! The space you save on “food storage” is great as well.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

“For Mature Adults Only”

I recently received a marketing book which had a blurb on the cover that warned me that the subject matter was not exactly something that one would share at church. While it certainly was not pornographic at all, several of the marketing highlights had to do with sales tactics used by a former “Madame” in New York City. While I appreciate a warning that something may be offensive to some persons, I take stronger offense to the term “Mature adult content” instead. Who in the world ever decided that one’s ability to tolerate raunch, foul language, and inappropriate conversations was an act of maturity??

I looked up the definition of “mature” with my good friend, Webster, and there is nothing noted in the official definition that would denote the word “mature” as meaning “less sensitive to offensive vocabulary,” “tolerant of a broad range of views,” “apathetic to societal indecencies,” etc. In fact, the word mature relates to “coming to a condition of full development” or “having attained a final or desired state.”

I’m sorry, but when I hear someone ridiculously use the “F” bomb I don’t automatically think, “Oh, this person has attained their desired state.” Instead I feel sorry for the person who clearly has no broader repertoire of vocabulary to choose from and wonder what school district they attended, etc.

When I overhear a vulgar conversation about things which I feel should be kept private or even sacred, I don’t envy the “mature” conversation that is taking place without me and I don’t find myself thinking “Wow, these adults have ‘come to a full development’.” Instead, I cringe at the obvious lack of tact and social graces these individuals are displaying at their present state of lowness and silently pray that they wake up some day to a more worthwhile part of themselves.

I don’t see vulgar, offensive, raunchy, or questionable actions or words as a sign of maturity or intelligence--in fact quite the opposite. I see it as an indicator of one’s lack of ability to think for themselves instead of joining the dumbed-down, apathetic masses. I see a lack of intelligence. I see a lack of beauty. I see an erosion of society and the worth of our human race. Ironically, one of the definitions of “mature” as noted by Webster is “belonging to the middle portion of erosion.” Now that, I believe, is a more fitting definition that I hope to remember the next time I’m “Warned” of “mature content.”

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

True Meaning of The 12 Days of Christmas

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

1. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.


2. Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.


3. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.


4. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.


5. The five golden rings recalled the Torah *or* Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.


6. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.


7. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.


8. The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.


9. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.


10. The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.


11. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.


12. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles'' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Power Brokering

The more I hear of businesses demanding a bail out, the more fearful I am of a socialist government taking over our nation. A bail out mentality is the benchmark of a socialistic, or even a communistic government. We give up our freedoms every time we accept “assistance” from the government, banks, or even a rich Uncle. What ever happened to the attitude of “Independence” in our great country? Perhaps that got thrown out as everyone started celebrating the “4th of July” instead of intended “Independence Day.” The value of our independence is worth more than all $700 billion- even for one person! I’m sure the hundreds of thousands who have spilt their blood so that we could truly be independent would be horrified at the thought of how weakly we value such freedom today. Much of that blood was spilt in order to abolish slavery, and yet we willingly enslave ourselves when we stand by and watch a sizeable portion of our lives, our futures, and that of our progenitors be sold out for $715 billion in total. (And that’s just what we know about.) I see a bail out as one trying to cheat consequences. And yet we all know that doing merely compounds the consequences as they were originally determined.

Bail outs have long- term consequences that you ultimately do not want. And you certainly do not want them for your children or grandchildren. And yet your government leaders are shackling us with these burdens without representing your interests and with every attempt to keep you in the dark as to their true consequences. These decisions are being made in a myopic and duplicitous manner by those with power with the intention that those who are working 2 and 3 jobs just to make ends meet will be too busy, too drained to give put up any resistance. You can say that it won’t come from our tax dollars…at least not in such a manner that it’s so obvious. Do you really think that our government printing up an extra $715 billion in our economy will have no affect on the value of our currency?

The value of our currency determines the value of your work. As the value of the dollar goes down, the need for you to work more hours increases just to obtain the necessities in life. In truth, we would gasp in outrage and plot an all out revolution if we clearly saw just how many of our hours we’re forced to work just to pay the debts which our out of control government has thrust upon us. And of course, the government has brokered the maximum amount of power when it comes to collecting their share. After all, who among us does not have a moment of fear when we hear the words IRS tax audit?

It’s apparent that we no longer broker money and monetized assets folks. We now broker power, and I’m not talking about electricity either. The attitude of the majority of our leaders is “money is nothing if it doesn’t come with power.” Why else would someone spend millions to win a position that only pays $165,000 a year? It’s the power that it buys, not their commitment to serving the people they represent.

Whatever happened to the police officers that children looked up to as heroes? Today we only see them use their power to violate the very laws they are supposed to enforce with the belief that they do so beyond reproach.

What ever happened to the professional basketball and football players that we used to look up to as superstars? Instead we see arrests for atrocious crimes knowing full well that the arrests only represent a small fraction of what’s actually being committed due to successful power brokering.

Thank goodness there’s still the Lance Armstrong, the Michael Phelps, and a few others like them to show us that there is still power and strength in goodness.

In closing I just wanted to share this little write-up by an anonymous author as they attempt toe explain the orchestrations of the bail outs to us.

Bail Out explained (Author Unknown)

Young Henry in Montana bought a horse from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day. The next day he drove up and said, "Sorry son but I have some bad news, the horse died." Henry replied, "Well, then just give me my money back." The farmer said, "Can't do that as I went and spent the money already" Henry said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse."

The farmer asked, "What are you going to do with him?" Henry said, "I'm going to raffle him off." The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead horse!" Henry said, "Sure I can, just watch me and I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Henry and asked, "What happened with that dead horse?" Henry said, "I raffled him off, sold 500 tickets at two dollars each, and made a $998 profit. The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"

Henry said, "Just the guy who won so I gave him his two dollars back." Henry grew up and works now for the government and he was the one who figured out how to "bail us out".

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Feds Deliver Tough Love to Credit Card Consumers

You’ve no doubt heard that the Feds will rule this week on new sweeping changes to the credit card industry. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/12/credit_cards_fed.html


Part of their proposal is that credit card companies will not be permitted to raise the interest rate on existing balances. While many seem to be thrilled with this prospect and feel that justice will be served, some are oblivious to the backlash that will inevitably occur, namely the elimination of several credit card companies due to their inability of maintaining profitability without the use of such monstrous tactics, and the elimination of credit cards being issued to anyone with less-than-perfect credit profiles.

Over 65,000 consumers have sent in feedback to the Feds on this topic along with stories of the aggressive tactics that credit card companies have taken to maintain profits, and to collect on delinquent debt. Many submitted lengthy stories as well, stories which showed that even a perfect payment history did not protect someone from “unfair” treatment at the hands of the credit card companies. There are an abundance of consumers in all aspects of society who feel they have been mistreated by the credit card companies. So it’s no wonder that this is the most involved consumers have been on any issue with the Feds.

While I agree with the premise of most of the proposals on this matter, there are obviously going to be some privileges that will be revoked with such regulations. One of which being the elimination of small credit card balance issuers who typically issue credit to high credit risk consumers. Many economists are attempting to sway the Feds due to this “downside” but personally, I think it’s GREAT.

This is the first time in a long time that I would find myself able to say this, but I think that both the proactive steps as well as the reactive scenarios are excellent for our economy. While the pill will be hard to swallow on both sides, we have become a society dangerously dependent on credit cards. At what point did we as consumers think that we needed so much more than we could actually pay for? In my opinion, those who are in tough financial times, thus possessing low credit scores, do not truly need the temptation of a credit card—at any rate or any available balance. Whether one is wealthy, middle-class, or poor, one does not truly need a credit card. As a society we have given away too much of our freedom and helped build these credit card companies to the flesh-eating monsters that they are. WE have created this monster. We only have ourselves to blame. I firmly believe that a dose of “tough love” will aid in eliminating some credit card companies and their high credit risk junkies, and that is a very good start.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

REAL Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas is supposed to be a heightened time of giving. Yet for many of us it ends up being a stressful time for spending money, going into debt, family quarrels, and all of the other less than intended results.

Let’s face it. When you get an e-mail from a business or a “holiday card” it’s usually an attempt to solicit more business from you. It may come in the form of “an unbelievable, time-sensitive discount” or an “end of the year blowout” etc. Makes you think that the only person who’s talking about a gift, is the business owner who’s trying to contrive one for themselves.

When we give gifts to friends and family, often the human part of us is plagued by giving in order to positively affect the way someone will think about us, or appreciate us. Even the best of hearts try not to give in order to get thanks, but it happens whether we intend for it or not.

It’s rare that we’re able to give in an unadulterated fashion, getting no thanks and no recognition. So I thought I’d share a couple of ideas with you to really have some fun giving and doing it in the right way.

1) Infiltrate a Salvation Army Store (or other such store). Load up on a stack of cash, whether it’s ones, fives, etc, and go where the needy go. Just start handing one out to each person, even the employees (Keep in mind if the person works there, they are likely struggling too). If you can do it in a traditional Christmas suit for better anonymity, the better. The key is to give, and to give anonymously. You’ll have a better feeling about the whole thing if you do not tell a SOUL that you did it.

2) Drive-Thru Dizzy: When you go through a drive thru for your next meal, tell the cashier that you’re also paying for the person behind you. It’s hilarious to think of that person pulling in behind you only to hear the cashier tell them that the stranger in front of them paid for their meal that day. This also works great at a manual toll booth.

3) Drop and Dash: You probably know what that is. You get a gift; leave it on the doorstep; knock; and RUN. Not the most original thought in the world, I agree, but I just LOVE doing this…especially this time of year (It’s even better if you have a night set of binoculars so you can see the expression on your face when they open their doors…of course you’ll be panting hard and perhaps fogging up the lenses). If it’s a gift card to a grocery store, or a grocery/superstore all in one, it’s an even better gift because it may actually help people to meet their perceived needs of affording gifts for their children/family. So be sure to do it BEFORE Christmas.

4) Investing in a Santa suit is great for being able to do a lot of acts of giving anonymously. And it seems to incorporate a special Christmas magic in yourself too. Santa seems to be magical to everyone, even those who are too old to still believe. As Santa (or Mrs. Clause, or a Christmas Elf, or a Christmas Fairy) you can make people’s lives brighter merely by going into a store and greeting everyone. Tiny candy canes are great to have on hand as well.

All of these ideas are about really giving of yourself while making it virtually impossible to do so with any alternative motives in mind and heart. These actions will ultimately give you one of the best Christmas’s ever!

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Water Blogged

Recently I’ve been inundated with requests from readers to know how I’ve personally prepared for the future. These requests have come about as a result of my blog post of Gerald Celente’s economic forecasts (see link here). In fact, I’ve even create an entirely new blog called Preparedness Pro, devoted exclusively to emergency preparedness in the categories of food (including cooking), water, first aid, self-defense, finances, and emotional preparedness. Be sure to add this one to your blogroll (http://preparednesspro.blogspot.com/) and check back often!

What makes me a pro? I’ve been practicing personal preparedness doggedly for over 9 years. Our house has 3 full rooms of necessary emergency supplies. Usually, instead of going to the store, I just go downstairs to our food storage room, grab what I need, and replenish about every 6 months or so. It will be up to you to decide whether or not what I share with you has merit.

First Things First—WATER!

If you have not started preparing for an emergency, do not start with food. Start with WATER! If you’ve already started a sufficient emergency supply food storage, you are probably like the majority of individuals and have put off storing water. “Where am I going to store those ugly barrels?” you ask? Believe me, that’s the last thing you’re going to care about when you need water.

How much water should I store?
You can go without food a heck of a lot longer than you can water. I know this may sound a bit overwhelming, but you really need to store enough water to provide you and your family with 1 gallon per day—minimum—for at least 3 months. Allow me to restate this. 1 gallon per person is MINIMUM. That’s a lot. But you don’t need to go back too far in history to realize that such a need could exist. Think of the hurricanes our nation has had in recent history. Is your area ripe for an earthquake? What if some moron crashes their chemical truck into your water supply?

Keep in mind that that one gallon of water is not just for drinking. It’s for hygiene, (and don’t even think that you’ll avoid bathing all together…this will foster serious illnesses, among other things) cooking, toilet use, laundry, and cleaning.

How do I store my water?
Store your water in NEW barrels. Please don’t store water you intend to use for drinking and cooking in barrels that have been used for something else. You will suffer, indeed. (It’s fine to use those kinds of barrels for water you will use exclusively for cleaning, etc.)

Please, please, please do not store your water in empty milk or soda pop bottles. They deteriorate. (Although is you have to choose one of them, pick the soda pop bottles instead. They last a bit longer)

Should I store purified water?
Don’t treat your water before storing it. Chance are very good that it’s already been sufficiently treated by your municipality. Besides, I would recommend treating your water prior to using it for drinking or cooking anyway. To do this you want to use 8 drops of pure chlorine per gallon of water.

You can fill your water barrels through the garden hose. As long as you let the water run through the hose a bit and there aren’t any bugs sitting in it, you’re fine. Surely you drank out of a hose when you were little and you’re no worse for wear, right? If you’re a purist, you can purchase a marine hose that is lined with an anti-bacterial coating. Those are readily available at your local hardware store.

Keep in mind that the water in your water heater, water bed, and toilet tanks is usable as well.

Iodine tablets, colloidal silver, and quality camping water filters are also a good preparedness step in the event you’re required to use water from sources you’re not familiar with.

One of the things that I stock up on as well are the little Xooma water sachets. These small, tea bag like sachets contain minerals and such that can bring your water to a good non-alkaline levels and infuse minerals in them. I personally believe that doing so helps for better hydration to the body. So I keep stocked up on these for an emergency as well. You can check them out at http://www.xoomaworldwide.com/WaterDiva/

How often do I replace the water?
We empty and refill our water barrels every two years. You don’t need to do it that often, but we’re a bit fanatical about things. You’re fine to go out 5 years prior to refilling them as long as it’s good water to begin with. You will want to aerate your water though prior to drinking it. Doing this is as simple as pouring it a few times from one container to another, such as a couple of pitchers.

Where am I supposed to store all this water?
If you’re in a small apartment, you will be pleasantly surprised how easily you can disguise a water barrel as an end table with a small round piece of plywood and a classy decorative tablecloth. We are fortunate enough to have enough space in our basement and have several of them lined up and then have plywood stacked on top of them to begin shelving for our food storage.

Note to wives: If your overzealous husband convinces you to store “an extra” eight 50-gallon barrels under one of the guest beds, you may want to think twice. It’s a family joke now when folks come to stay with us and sleep in the “water bed.”

Don’t buy into the myth that you can’t store your water barrels on cement. Clarification is that you should not store your water on cement that gets heated by the sun. So if you’re storing it outside, the sun will heat the cement, which will then heat your water. This makes water taste nasty. If you’re storing them outside, place the barrels on top of 2 x 4s.

You can store your water barrels outside in freezing weather, but you run the risk of them freezing and cracking. At the very least, you should not fill them up to maximum capacity to allow for the freezing expansion.

Conserving Water
Consider ways to conserve water in an emergency as well. Storing paper goods such as paper plates and cups will eliminate cleaning, and learning to cook with a pressure cooker which uses a minimum amount of water for cooking is also a good idea. (more on pressure cooking in a future blog.)

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.