The End Is Near
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Weekend Is Here........
Not much in plans this weekend. I have to work and have a load of other things to do before and after work. I am still working on my preps and plan to get the food saver out very soon and get to work on some more rice, beans, oats and other items to save. Our time is short and so is this post. You guys keep safe and have a good weekend.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Know The Nuts That Run This Country
List of Obama's Czars
1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke
Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will work with CENTCOM head Gen. David Petraeus to integrate U.S. civilian and military efforts in the region.
• 45 years of experience have made him a fixture of the Democrats' foreign policy establishment.
• Was U.S. ambassador to U.N., 1999-2001
• Brokered the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia
• Also served as Assistant secretary of state, East Asia and the Pacific (1976 to 1980); worked in foreign service (1962 to 1976)
• From 1972 through 1976, was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine.
2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley
Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Coordinates HIV/AIDS policy domestically and internationally.
• Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Was Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS
• Has Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery
Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor
• Will work to leverage government resources to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.
• Was Deputy Secretary and Chief Economist at the Labor Department (1997 to 1998)
• Is Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (2003 to present)
• Has PhD in economics from Harvard
• In 2008, made $1,200 in political donations, all of which went to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Wife is the granddaughter of a General Motors worker from Portland, Mich.
• Drives a 2000 Lincoln
4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin
Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Will coordinate all of the department's border security and law-enforcement efforts.
• Essentially had the same job under President Clinton; served as Attorney General Janet Reno's special representative on border issues, a job that he held while retaining the position of U.S. attorney for San Diego.
• This time, boss will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will expect him to handle illegal immigration and drug violence issues along the Mexican-American border
• Previous experience: Chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority (2006 to 2009); Secretary of Education for California (2005 to 2006); Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools (1998 to 2005); U.S. Attorney for San Diego (1993 to 1998)
• Graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School
• Talking about border security shortly before he was named Clinton border czar in 1995, said he wanted to focus on suspected smugglers of both drugs and people and was not interested in prosecuting “economic migrants.”
• Often tied to the 1994 border policy called “Operation Gatekeeper.” The policy shifted the U.S. focus from the arresting of immigrants who actually crossed the border to an increased border presence designed to stop border crossing in the first place. When Bersin left the position in 1998, border arrests were on pace for an 18-year low of just more than 200,000. Latino groups complained that Operation Gatekeeper was immoral, saying the program monitored the border near San Diego but simply forced illegal immigrants to other, more dangerous areas.
• Has given more than $50,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of it to Democrats.
5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes
Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Appointed: June 2009
Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior
• Charged with coordinating federal agencies to ease California's water shortage
• Graduate of Stanford Law School; clerked for U.S. District Court for the D.C., has been a partner at two big D.C. law firms
• Was deputy interior secretary under Bruce Babbitt during Clinton administration
• From 1993 to 1995, was chairman of the board at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit research center.
• As a lobbyist, represented the Southern California Metropolitan Water District in 2001
• In August 2008, wrote a policy report while working at the Progressive Policy Institute accusing the Bush administration of leaving a “damaging legacy” in their natural resource management policies
• Donated $2,300 to Clinton during 2008 campaign; after she withdrew, donated $2,300 to Obama
6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom
NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner
Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• A leader of the White House task force overseeing auto company bailouts; worked on restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
• Was special assistant to president of the United Steelworkers union from 1996-Feb 2009
• Has negotiated restructuring deals for more than 50 companies, getting major concessions from unions and companies.
• Was raised in New York in a pro-union family, which included a schoolteacher mother and unionized relatives.
• After working for the Service Employees International Union, got an MBA from Harvard University because he thought unions lacked business smarts, he said in a 1996 interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• From 1985 to 1990, he worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co., which specializes in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, before co-founding the investment-banking firm Keilin and Bloom.
7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross
Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Spent 12 years in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations trying to create a permanent agreement between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian territories
• In 1981, was named to President Ronald Reagan’s national security staff as the director of Near East and South Asian Affairs.
• Was director of the State Department’s Policy Planning office during President George H. W. Bush’s term.
• 1993: appointed to the position of Middle East coordinator, making him the top negotiator for peace between Israel and Palestinian territories
• After he left government in 2000, headed up Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a hawkish think tank with a pro-Israeli bent
8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern
Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State
• Responsible for developing international approaches to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1999; Was Head of the Initiative on Global Climate Change (1997 to 1999) and Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury (1999 to 2001)
• As a top aide to President Clinton, helped negotiate the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate pacts, both of which fell apart partially because of a lack of U.S. support during Bush administration.
• After Bush was elected to office, went to the Wilmer Hale law firm, where he is a partner in the regulatory and government affairs division.
• Was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues.
• Has written extensively on climate change, and has called on the American government and the international community to take a series of steps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Supports a national cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil
• Has law degree from Harvard
9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal
Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Will advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
• 2000-2006: served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
• Was an advocate for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this federal legislation
• Was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske
Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice
• Directs drug-control policy in the U.S.; is expected to shift drug policy to intervention, treatment and a reduction of problem drug use.
• Was police chief for the city of Seattle from 2000-2009
• Was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1998 to 2000); Police Chief for the city of Buffalo (1994 to 1998); Police chief of Fort Pierce, Fla. (N/A to 1994)
• A strong gun-control advocate, urged both the Washington legislature and the U.S. Congress to pass an assault-weapons ban and has worked to close the loophole that doesn't require background checks at gun shows
• 2003: admitted that busting people for personal marijuana possession was not a top priority of the Seattle police department.
• As Seattle police chief, assigned an officer full-time to the drug court, which commuted sentences of drug users who complete medical treatment in lieu of going to jail.
11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker
Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery.
• Some reports say he's been marginalized by Larry Summers.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman (1979-1987)
• Was Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1969 to 1974); Deputy Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1963 to 1965)
• Gave Obama campaign $2,300 in 2008.
12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner
Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA
• Coordinates energy and climate policy, emphasizing regulation and conservation.
• Was Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration (1993-2000)
• Was Florida Secretary of the Environment (1991 to 1993)
• Founded and continues to serve as a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also a principal of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that concentrates on emerging markets.
• Worked on the Socialist International's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which argues that the global community must work collectively to address environmental policies
• Described Bush administration as the "worst environmental administration ever"
• While orchestrating private discussions between the White House and auto industry officials on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, kept the talks as quiet as possible. Mary Nichols, the head of the California Air Resources Board, said, "We put nothing in writing, ever."
• 2003: A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of Browner, the former EPA chief.
13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois
Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Acts as a liaison between faith and secular community groups and the White House, often partnering with them to tackle social issues. Helps these groups apply for federal grants available to them.
• Is 26 years old
• Has master’s in public affairs from Princeton University; served as associate pastor
• Worked for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) as an intern and then as a fellow for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (DN. Y.).
• Hired as a legislative correspondent in Obama’s Senate office in May 2005
• In 2008, at the age of 25, was appointed director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign.
14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients
Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Charged with cutting costs and finding best practices throughout government.
• Has never worked in government before
• Was a chief executive and former management consultant
• Was founder of Portfolio Logic (2004 to present); Partner of the Washington Baseball Club (2004 to 2006); CEO of the Advisory Board (1998 to 2004)
• Has donated just over $90,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates
15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis
Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency
• Oversees the administration's initiative to restore the Great Lakes' environment.
• President of the Chicago-based environmentalist group Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Was a litigating attorney and served as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Served with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on the Montreal Protocol to protect the Earth’s ozone layer, and U.S. EPA’s Office of Regional Counsel in Chicago.
16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones
Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor
• Will focus on environmentally-friendly employment within the administration and boost support for the idea nationwide
• Rose from near obscurity in the Oakland, Calif., grassroots organizing scene to the leader of a national movement to spur the green economy.
• Founded Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas
• Also co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, which includes Bay Area PoliceWatch, a group devoted to "protect[ing] the community from police misconduct"
• Published New York Times best-seller The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, in October 2008
• Started career as a prison-reform advocate in Oakland, Calif., lobbying for reform of the juvenile justice system and youth-violence prevention programs
• Has law degree from Yale
• 2007: worked on the Green Jobs Act with then-Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the bill in the House
• 1993: was arrested at the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of cops in the Rodney King beating. "I was arrested simply for being a police observer," says Jones, who had just graduated from Yale Law School and was working with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
• 1999: was arrested in the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization
• Excerpt from a Nov. 2005 interview in the East Bay Express:
Jones had planned to move to Washington, DC, and had already landed a job and an apartment there. But in jail, he said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'" Although he already had a plane ticket, he decided to stay in San Francisco. "I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary." In the months that followed, he let go of any lingering thoughts that he might fit in with the status quo. "I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist." In 1994, the young activists formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center after an unsung hero of the civil-rights movement.
17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State
• Works to get help of foreign governments in moving toward closure of Guantanamo Bay, in fulfillment of Obama's promise to close the prison within a year of taking office.
• Was Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2005 to 2009); Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2001 to 2005); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997 to 2001)
18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle
Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Coordinates the development of the Administration's healthcare policy agenda.
• Experience: Managing Director, CCMP Capital (since 2001); Adjunct professor (focusing on healthcare policy), Wharton School of Business (since 2001); Commissioner, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (since 2001); Fellow, Harvard Institue of Politics (2000 to 2001); Director, Healthcare Financing Administration (1997 to 2000)
• Has law degree from Harvard
• Served as the OMB’s representative on health-care reform during Bill Clinton’s first term
• As head of the HHS Health Care Financing Administration under Clinton, ran the largest health insurance provider in America, overseeing $600 billion in payments annually to 74 million recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
• 2001: left government to take a year-long fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, where she was part of Harvard’s Health Care Policy Forum and led a weekly study group on reforming Medicare.
• During Bush administration, sat on the boards of many health companies, from medical treatment producers to hospital systems
• In September 2008, donated $2,300 each to Clinton and Barack Obama.
19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra
Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs
• Basically in charge of overseeing other federal agency CIOs and for setting technology policy across the government.
• Head of a federal technology budget that amounts to $71 billion annually
• Operation is housed in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and will likely have authority to question how money in departmental technology budgets is used
• Formerly head of the District of Columbia's technology operations
• Shortly after he joined the OMB, federal authorities raided his old District government office. They arrested two technology office managers and a subcontractor, charging them with a bribery scheme that allegedly defrauded the city out of at least $500,000. Kundra was not a suspect in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
• Has a masters from Maryland in information technology.
• Experience: Washington, D.C. Chief Technology Officer (2007 to 2009); State of Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade (2006 to 2007); CEO of computer security firm Creostar
20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair
Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA
• Nation’s top intelligence official.
• Retired four-star admiral.
• Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1968; sixth-generation naval officer
• Lacks professional roots in the world of intelligence
• Held a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff.
• Ran the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. Left IDA under a cloud of controversy in mid-2006.
21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell
Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Works to maintain the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas after recent hostilities
• Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1994
• Was special envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration and lead investigator into steroid use in Major League Baseball.
• 2000: led a fact-finding committee to study violence in the Middle East; 2001's Mitchell Report formed the basis for the road map for Middle East peace
22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg
Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Named to examine compensation practices at companies that have been bailed out more than once by the federal government
• Oversaw the payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
• Was the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which commemorates the students who died in the April 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech
• Founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLP (1992 to present), law firm specializing in mediation
• Was Chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy (1978 to 1980)
• While working with the Feinberg Group, donated over $150,000, nearly all of which has gone to Democratic candidates and political action committees. In 2007, donated $2,300 to 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani (R).
23. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein *
Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009
Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Will be responsible for reviewing draft regulations and assessing their costs and benefits
• Is a Harvard Law School professor; prior to that, was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School (1981-2008)
• Academic specialties: constitutional law, administrative law, and regulatory policy
• Obama: "Cass is not only a valued advisor, he is a dear friend"
• Known for advancing a field called "law and behavioral economics" that seeks to shape law and policy around the way research shows people actually behave; though embraced by conservatives, critics say it fails to account for the sometimes less-than-rational aspects of human behavior.
• In his 2002 book, Republic.com, discussed the drawbacks of limitless choices on the Internet that allow people to seek out only like-minded people and opinions that merely fortify their own views; he talked about the idea of the government requiring sites to link to opposing views. He later came to realize it was a "bad idea."
• In his 2004 book, Animal Rights, suggested that animals ought to be able to bring suit, with private citizens acting as their representatives, to ensure that animals are not treated in a way that violates current law.
• In a 2007 speech at Harvard he called for banning hunting in the U.S.
• The American Conservative Union started a website, Stop Sunstein, in an effort to keep him out of the White House.
24. Science Czar - John Holdren
Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008
Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy
• Top adviser to Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to other issues such as homeland security, energy and environmentalism
• Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1996-2009); Harvard University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy (1996-2009); University of California, Berkeley Professor of Energy and Resources Emeritus (1996 to present)
• Studied aerospace engineering and plasma physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where he earned his BS and MS — and Stanford University, where he received his doctorate in 1970
• Is an outspoken advocate of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
• In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.”
• In 1971, co-authored a paper in Global Ecology suggesting "some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century."
• Some conservative media outlets have called attention to a book Holdren co-authored in 1977 titled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, and Environment. The book reportedly includes this statement: "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution." Holdren's office says he "does not now and never has been an advocate of compulsory abortions or other repressive measures to limit fertility."
25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Leads oversight board that monitors money spent by the stimulus package
• Experience: Inspector General at the Interior Department (1999 to present); Director of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (1991 to 1999); Special Agent at the Secret Service (1970 to 1991)
• During his tenure at Interior, uncovered the shady dealings of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an investigation that eventually led to Abramoff's imprisonment and the resignation of Interior's no. 2, J. Steven Griles, for lying under oath about his own role in the scandal.
• On July 8, 2009, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a press release announcing an $18 million contract for a new recovery.gov web site, which quoted Devaney as saying, “We are pleased that another major milestone has been achieved."
26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration
Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will coordinate U.S. role in the aftermath of the genocide in Darfur
• Experience: Supreme Allied Command, NATO (2004 to 2005); Air Force assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs (2003 to 2004)
• Commanded all air operations during the Iraq war in 2003
• 2006: left Air Force position to join Obama’s staff after traveling to Africa with the then-Senator from Illinois, even though he was a Republican
• Has won a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Defense Superior Service Medal and 16 other awards
• Is a fluent Swahili speaker who grew up in the Congo
• Has called on the Obama administration to incentivize participation by the Sudanese government in peace talks by lifting sanctions, a position that is controversial. Also worked to position himself as the principal negotiator between the Sudanese government and its adversaries in Darfur, and is planning an international conference for September 2009
• Has M.A. in security studies from Georgetown
27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison
Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Leads the government's $700 billion financial rescue program in the office of financial stability
• Veteran Wall Street banker and interim head of the mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae
• Worked at Merrill Lynch for 28 years, reaching position of president and COO
• Was CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (2002 to 2008); CEO of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning (2000 to 2002)
• Has undergraduate degree from Yale and MBA from Stanford
• 2000: was John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign finance chairman
• In 2008, donated $2,300 to Obama's presidential campaign
28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce
• Will lead in the effort to eliminate wasteful government programs
• Will probably work to increase broadband access nationwide and computerize medical records
• Was Virginia’s secretary of technology (2005-2009)
• Has degree in public health from Johns Hopkins, Master's from Harvard in public policy
• Worked at Morgan Stanley as investment banker; also worked at Advisory Board, a health-care research and consultancy firm
• Has donated more than $24,000 since 1997 to various campaigns. With the exception of a $1,000 donation to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in 2004, all of Chopra’s contributions have gone to Democrats. From 2007 to 2008, Chopra donated $2,750 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security
• Under Obama's plan the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties. Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism.
• Has called for increased integration between the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense
• Graduated from Fordham University in 1977 after a year of intensive Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Cairo. Earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin before joining the CIA as an intelligence director in 1980.
• Is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker
• Was CIA deputy executive director (2001 to 2003) and National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chair (2004 to 2005)
• Worked at Analysis Corp, (2005 to 2008);
• Staunch supporter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program; defended the use of extraordinary rendition, saying it is “an absolutely vital tool.”
30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development
• Job entails coordinating transportation and housing initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for federal aid to economically hard-hit cities.
• Has undergraduate degree in world religions from Kings College; became an associate pastor at a Bronx church; earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College
• Was Bronx Borough President (2001-2009); President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (since 2007); City Council member (1998 to 2000)
• Many reporters say he has higher ambitions and will probably run for New York City mayor in the next ten years.
• Was an active campaigner for Obama, travelling across the country to speak on his behalf. He focused particularly on states with large Hispanic populations.
• The NY Daily News reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.
31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter
Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense
• Will coordinate the Pentagon's acquisitions, technology and logistics for weapons.
• Will oversee a weapons-buying system that Obama has placed at the top of his list of federal programs he wants to fix and will be asked to quickly weigh in on difficult decisions concerning at least 10 major defense programs, while also instantly dissecting the procurement system’s ailments so he can advise the administration on its Pentagon acquisition reform agenda
• Is a physicist and Harvard academic whose only previous Pentagon stint was in a mid-level policy post from 1993 until 1996 under the Clinton administration
• Graduated from Yale summa cum laude; studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a doctorate in theoretical physics.
• Chair of Harvard’s International Relations, Science & Security Area International Security Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (1993 to 1996); Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School (early 1990s)
• Has donated primarily to Democratic politicians since 2000. He donated $6,900 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2007 and 2008. He gave the same amount to then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during that same span.
32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore
Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State
• Will coordinate issues related to weapons of mass destruction across the government. His portfolio includes proliferation, nuclear and conventional arms control, threat reduction, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
• Position sits within the National Security Council.
• Is a veteran arms control negotiator.
• B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his PhD in government from Harvard University in 1984.
• After brief stints with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the RAND Corporation, joined the State Department during the Reagan administration in 1987. Held several positions there, including director of the Office of Regional Non-proliferation Affairs; special assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy Policy; and deputy to Ambassador-at-Large for Korean Affairs Robert Gallucci. Helped to negotiate the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Framework Treaty
• Joined the Clinton administration’s National Security Council in 1995 as an adviser on nonproliferation. Coordinated U.S. policy on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• Was Director, Council on Foreign Relations (2006 to 2009); Vice President for Global Security and Sustainability, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2005); Researcher, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2001 to 2005)
1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke
Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will work with CENTCOM head Gen. David Petraeus to integrate U.S. civilian and military efforts in the region.
• 45 years of experience have made him a fixture of the Democrats' foreign policy establishment.
• Was U.S. ambassador to U.N., 1999-2001
• Brokered the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia
• Also served as Assistant secretary of state, East Asia and the Pacific (1976 to 1980); worked in foreign service (1962 to 1976)
• From 1972 through 1976, was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine.
2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley
Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Coordinates HIV/AIDS policy domestically and internationally.
• Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Was Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS
• Has Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery
Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor
• Will work to leverage government resources to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.
• Was Deputy Secretary and Chief Economist at the Labor Department (1997 to 1998)
• Is Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (2003 to present)
• Has PhD in economics from Harvard
• In 2008, made $1,200 in political donations, all of which went to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Wife is the granddaughter of a General Motors worker from Portland, Mich.
• Drives a 2000 Lincoln
4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin
Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Will coordinate all of the department's border security and law-enforcement efforts.
• Essentially had the same job under President Clinton; served as Attorney General Janet Reno's special representative on border issues, a job that he held while retaining the position of U.S. attorney for San Diego.
• This time, boss will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will expect him to handle illegal immigration and drug violence issues along the Mexican-American border
• Previous experience: Chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority (2006 to 2009); Secretary of Education for California (2005 to 2006); Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools (1998 to 2005); U.S. Attorney for San Diego (1993 to 1998)
• Graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School
• Talking about border security shortly before he was named Clinton border czar in 1995, said he wanted to focus on suspected smugglers of both drugs and people and was not interested in prosecuting “economic migrants.”
• Often tied to the 1994 border policy called “Operation Gatekeeper.” The policy shifted the U.S. focus from the arresting of immigrants who actually crossed the border to an increased border presence designed to stop border crossing in the first place. When Bersin left the position in 1998, border arrests were on pace for an 18-year low of just more than 200,000. Latino groups complained that Operation Gatekeeper was immoral, saying the program monitored the border near San Diego but simply forced illegal immigrants to other, more dangerous areas.
• Has given more than $50,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of it to Democrats.
5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes
Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Appointed: June 2009
Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior
• Charged with coordinating federal agencies to ease California's water shortage
• Graduate of Stanford Law School; clerked for U.S. District Court for the D.C., has been a partner at two big D.C. law firms
• Was deputy interior secretary under Bruce Babbitt during Clinton administration
• From 1993 to 1995, was chairman of the board at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit research center.
• As a lobbyist, represented the Southern California Metropolitan Water District in 2001
• In August 2008, wrote a policy report while working at the Progressive Policy Institute accusing the Bush administration of leaving a “damaging legacy” in their natural resource management policies
• Donated $2,300 to Clinton during 2008 campaign; after she withdrew, donated $2,300 to Obama
6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom
NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner
Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• A leader of the White House task force overseeing auto company bailouts; worked on restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
• Was special assistant to president of the United Steelworkers union from 1996-Feb 2009
• Has negotiated restructuring deals for more than 50 companies, getting major concessions from unions and companies.
• Was raised in New York in a pro-union family, which included a schoolteacher mother and unionized relatives.
• After working for the Service Employees International Union, got an MBA from Harvard University because he thought unions lacked business smarts, he said in a 1996 interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• From 1985 to 1990, he worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co., which specializes in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, before co-founding the investment-banking firm Keilin and Bloom.
7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross
Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Spent 12 years in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations trying to create a permanent agreement between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian territories
• In 1981, was named to President Ronald Reagan’s national security staff as the director of Near East and South Asian Affairs.
• Was director of the State Department’s Policy Planning office during President George H. W. Bush’s term.
• 1993: appointed to the position of Middle East coordinator, making him the top negotiator for peace between Israel and Palestinian territories
• After he left government in 2000, headed up Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a hawkish think tank with a pro-Israeli bent
8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern
Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State
• Responsible for developing international approaches to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1999; Was Head of the Initiative on Global Climate Change (1997 to 1999) and Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury (1999 to 2001)
• As a top aide to President Clinton, helped negotiate the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate pacts, both of which fell apart partially because of a lack of U.S. support during Bush administration.
• After Bush was elected to office, went to the Wilmer Hale law firm, where he is a partner in the regulatory and government affairs division.
• Was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues.
• Has written extensively on climate change, and has called on the American government and the international community to take a series of steps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Supports a national cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil
• Has law degree from Harvard
9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal
Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Will advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
• 2000-2006: served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
• Was an advocate for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this federal legislation
• Was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske
Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice
• Directs drug-control policy in the U.S.; is expected to shift drug policy to intervention, treatment and a reduction of problem drug use.
• Was police chief for the city of Seattle from 2000-2009
• Was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1998 to 2000); Police Chief for the city of Buffalo (1994 to 1998); Police chief of Fort Pierce, Fla. (N/A to 1994)
• A strong gun-control advocate, urged both the Washington legislature and the U.S. Congress to pass an assault-weapons ban and has worked to close the loophole that doesn't require background checks at gun shows
• 2003: admitted that busting people for personal marijuana possession was not a top priority of the Seattle police department.
• As Seattle police chief, assigned an officer full-time to the drug court, which commuted sentences of drug users who complete medical treatment in lieu of going to jail.
11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker
Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery.
• Some reports say he's been marginalized by Larry Summers.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman (1979-1987)
• Was Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1969 to 1974); Deputy Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1963 to 1965)
• Gave Obama campaign $2,300 in 2008.
12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner
Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA
• Coordinates energy and climate policy, emphasizing regulation and conservation.
• Was Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration (1993-2000)
• Was Florida Secretary of the Environment (1991 to 1993)
• Founded and continues to serve as a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also a principal of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that concentrates on emerging markets.
• Worked on the Socialist International's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which argues that the global community must work collectively to address environmental policies
• Described Bush administration as the "worst environmental administration ever"
• While orchestrating private discussions between the White House and auto industry officials on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, kept the talks as quiet as possible. Mary Nichols, the head of the California Air Resources Board, said, "We put nothing in writing, ever."
• 2003: A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of Browner, the former EPA chief.
13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois
Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Acts as a liaison between faith and secular community groups and the White House, often partnering with them to tackle social issues. Helps these groups apply for federal grants available to them.
• Is 26 years old
• Has master’s in public affairs from Princeton University; served as associate pastor
• Worked for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) as an intern and then as a fellow for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (DN. Y.).
• Hired as a legislative correspondent in Obama’s Senate office in May 2005
• In 2008, at the age of 25, was appointed director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign.
14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients
Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Charged with cutting costs and finding best practices throughout government.
• Has never worked in government before
• Was a chief executive and former management consultant
• Was founder of Portfolio Logic (2004 to present); Partner of the Washington Baseball Club (2004 to 2006); CEO of the Advisory Board (1998 to 2004)
• Has donated just over $90,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates
15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis
Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency
• Oversees the administration's initiative to restore the Great Lakes' environment.
• President of the Chicago-based environmentalist group Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Was a litigating attorney and served as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Served with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on the Montreal Protocol to protect the Earth’s ozone layer, and U.S. EPA’s Office of Regional Counsel in Chicago.
16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones
Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor
• Will focus on environmentally-friendly employment within the administration and boost support for the idea nationwide
• Rose from near obscurity in the Oakland, Calif., grassroots organizing scene to the leader of a national movement to spur the green economy.
• Founded Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas
• Also co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, which includes Bay Area PoliceWatch, a group devoted to "protect[ing] the community from police misconduct"
• Published New York Times best-seller The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, in October 2008
• Started career as a prison-reform advocate in Oakland, Calif., lobbying for reform of the juvenile justice system and youth-violence prevention programs
• Has law degree from Yale
• 2007: worked on the Green Jobs Act with then-Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the bill in the House
• 1993: was arrested at the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of cops in the Rodney King beating. "I was arrested simply for being a police observer," says Jones, who had just graduated from Yale Law School and was working with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
• 1999: was arrested in the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization
• Excerpt from a Nov. 2005 interview in the East Bay Express:
Jones had planned to move to Washington, DC, and had already landed a job and an apartment there. But in jail, he said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'" Although he already had a plane ticket, he decided to stay in San Francisco. "I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary." In the months that followed, he let go of any lingering thoughts that he might fit in with the status quo. "I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist." In 1994, the young activists formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center after an unsung hero of the civil-rights movement.
17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State
• Works to get help of foreign governments in moving toward closure of Guantanamo Bay, in fulfillment of Obama's promise to close the prison within a year of taking office.
• Was Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2005 to 2009); Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2001 to 2005); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997 to 2001)
18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle
Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Coordinates the development of the Administration's healthcare policy agenda.
• Experience: Managing Director, CCMP Capital (since 2001); Adjunct professor (focusing on healthcare policy), Wharton School of Business (since 2001); Commissioner, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (since 2001); Fellow, Harvard Institue of Politics (2000 to 2001); Director, Healthcare Financing Administration (1997 to 2000)
• Has law degree from Harvard
• Served as the OMB’s representative on health-care reform during Bill Clinton’s first term
• As head of the HHS Health Care Financing Administration under Clinton, ran the largest health insurance provider in America, overseeing $600 billion in payments annually to 74 million recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
• 2001: left government to take a year-long fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, where she was part of Harvard’s Health Care Policy Forum and led a weekly study group on reforming Medicare.
• During Bush administration, sat on the boards of many health companies, from medical treatment producers to hospital systems
• In September 2008, donated $2,300 each to Clinton and Barack Obama.
19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra
Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs
• Basically in charge of overseeing other federal agency CIOs and for setting technology policy across the government.
• Head of a federal technology budget that amounts to $71 billion annually
• Operation is housed in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and will likely have authority to question how money in departmental technology budgets is used
• Formerly head of the District of Columbia's technology operations
• Shortly after he joined the OMB, federal authorities raided his old District government office. They arrested two technology office managers and a subcontractor, charging them with a bribery scheme that allegedly defrauded the city out of at least $500,000. Kundra was not a suspect in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
• Has a masters from Maryland in information technology.
• Experience: Washington, D.C. Chief Technology Officer (2007 to 2009); State of Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade (2006 to 2007); CEO of computer security firm Creostar
20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair
Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA
• Nation’s top intelligence official.
• Retired four-star admiral.
• Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1968; sixth-generation naval officer
• Lacks professional roots in the world of intelligence
• Held a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff.
• Ran the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. Left IDA under a cloud of controversy in mid-2006.
21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell
Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Works to maintain the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas after recent hostilities
• Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1994
• Was special envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration and lead investigator into steroid use in Major League Baseball.
• 2000: led a fact-finding committee to study violence in the Middle East; 2001's Mitchell Report formed the basis for the road map for Middle East peace
22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg
Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Named to examine compensation practices at companies that have been bailed out more than once by the federal government
• Oversaw the payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
• Was the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which commemorates the students who died in the April 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech
• Founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLP (1992 to present), law firm specializing in mediation
• Was Chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy (1978 to 1980)
• While working with the Feinberg Group, donated over $150,000, nearly all of which has gone to Democratic candidates and political action committees. In 2007, donated $2,300 to 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani (R).
23. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein *
Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009
Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Will be responsible for reviewing draft regulations and assessing their costs and benefits
• Is a Harvard Law School professor; prior to that, was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School (1981-2008)
• Academic specialties: constitutional law, administrative law, and regulatory policy
• Obama: "Cass is not only a valued advisor, he is a dear friend"
• Known for advancing a field called "law and behavioral economics" that seeks to shape law and policy around the way research shows people actually behave; though embraced by conservatives, critics say it fails to account for the sometimes less-than-rational aspects of human behavior.
• In his 2002 book, Republic.com, discussed the drawbacks of limitless choices on the Internet that allow people to seek out only like-minded people and opinions that merely fortify their own views; he talked about the idea of the government requiring sites to link to opposing views. He later came to realize it was a "bad idea."
• In his 2004 book, Animal Rights, suggested that animals ought to be able to bring suit, with private citizens acting as their representatives, to ensure that animals are not treated in a way that violates current law.
• In a 2007 speech at Harvard he called for banning hunting in the U.S.
• The American Conservative Union started a website, Stop Sunstein, in an effort to keep him out of the White House.
24. Science Czar - John Holdren
Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008
Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy
• Top adviser to Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to other issues such as homeland security, energy and environmentalism
• Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1996-2009); Harvard University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy (1996-2009); University of California, Berkeley Professor of Energy and Resources Emeritus (1996 to present)
• Studied aerospace engineering and plasma physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where he earned his BS and MS — and Stanford University, where he received his doctorate in 1970
• Is an outspoken advocate of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
• In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.”
• In 1971, co-authored a paper in Global Ecology suggesting "some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century."
• Some conservative media outlets have called attention to a book Holdren co-authored in 1977 titled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, and Environment. The book reportedly includes this statement: "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution." Holdren's office says he "does not now and never has been an advocate of compulsory abortions or other repressive measures to limit fertility."
25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Leads oversight board that monitors money spent by the stimulus package
• Experience: Inspector General at the Interior Department (1999 to present); Director of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (1991 to 1999); Special Agent at the Secret Service (1970 to 1991)
• During his tenure at Interior, uncovered the shady dealings of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an investigation that eventually led to Abramoff's imprisonment and the resignation of Interior's no. 2, J. Steven Griles, for lying under oath about his own role in the scandal.
• On July 8, 2009, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a press release announcing an $18 million contract for a new recovery.gov web site, which quoted Devaney as saying, “We are pleased that another major milestone has been achieved."
26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration
Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will coordinate U.S. role in the aftermath of the genocide in Darfur
• Experience: Supreme Allied Command, NATO (2004 to 2005); Air Force assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs (2003 to 2004)
• Commanded all air operations during the Iraq war in 2003
• 2006: left Air Force position to join Obama’s staff after traveling to Africa with the then-Senator from Illinois, even though he was a Republican
• Has won a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Defense Superior Service Medal and 16 other awards
• Is a fluent Swahili speaker who grew up in the Congo
• Has called on the Obama administration to incentivize participation by the Sudanese government in peace talks by lifting sanctions, a position that is controversial. Also worked to position himself as the principal negotiator between the Sudanese government and its adversaries in Darfur, and is planning an international conference for September 2009
• Has M.A. in security studies from Georgetown
27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison
Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Leads the government's $700 billion financial rescue program in the office of financial stability
• Veteran Wall Street banker and interim head of the mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae
• Worked at Merrill Lynch for 28 years, reaching position of president and COO
• Was CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (2002 to 2008); CEO of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning (2000 to 2002)
• Has undergraduate degree from Yale and MBA from Stanford
• 2000: was John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign finance chairman
• In 2008, donated $2,300 to Obama's presidential campaign
28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce
• Will lead in the effort to eliminate wasteful government programs
• Will probably work to increase broadband access nationwide and computerize medical records
• Was Virginia’s secretary of technology (2005-2009)
• Has degree in public health from Johns Hopkins, Master's from Harvard in public policy
• Worked at Morgan Stanley as investment banker; also worked at Advisory Board, a health-care research and consultancy firm
• Has donated more than $24,000 since 1997 to various campaigns. With the exception of a $1,000 donation to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in 2004, all of Chopra’s contributions have gone to Democrats. From 2007 to 2008, Chopra donated $2,750 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security
• Under Obama's plan the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties. Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism.
• Has called for increased integration between the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense
• Graduated from Fordham University in 1977 after a year of intensive Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Cairo. Earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin before joining the CIA as an intelligence director in 1980.
• Is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker
• Was CIA deputy executive director (2001 to 2003) and National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chair (2004 to 2005)
• Worked at Analysis Corp, (2005 to 2008);
• Staunch supporter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program; defended the use of extraordinary rendition, saying it is “an absolutely vital tool.”
30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development
• Job entails coordinating transportation and housing initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for federal aid to economically hard-hit cities.
• Has undergraduate degree in world religions from Kings College; became an associate pastor at a Bronx church; earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College
• Was Bronx Borough President (2001-2009); President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (since 2007); City Council member (1998 to 2000)
• Many reporters say he has higher ambitions and will probably run for New York City mayor in the next ten years.
• Was an active campaigner for Obama, travelling across the country to speak on his behalf. He focused particularly on states with large Hispanic populations.
• The NY Daily News reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.
31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter
Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense
• Will coordinate the Pentagon's acquisitions, technology and logistics for weapons.
• Will oversee a weapons-buying system that Obama has placed at the top of his list of federal programs he wants to fix and will be asked to quickly weigh in on difficult decisions concerning at least 10 major defense programs, while also instantly dissecting the procurement system’s ailments so he can advise the administration on its Pentagon acquisition reform agenda
• Is a physicist and Harvard academic whose only previous Pentagon stint was in a mid-level policy post from 1993 until 1996 under the Clinton administration
• Graduated from Yale summa cum laude; studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a doctorate in theoretical physics.
• Chair of Harvard’s International Relations, Science & Security Area International Security Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (1993 to 1996); Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School (early 1990s)
• Has donated primarily to Democratic politicians since 2000. He donated $6,900 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2007 and 2008. He gave the same amount to then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during that same span.
32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore
Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State
• Will coordinate issues related to weapons of mass destruction across the government. His portfolio includes proliferation, nuclear and conventional arms control, threat reduction, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
• Position sits within the National Security Council.
• Is a veteran arms control negotiator.
• B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his PhD in government from Harvard University in 1984.
• After brief stints with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the RAND Corporation, joined the State Department during the Reagan administration in 1987. Held several positions there, including director of the Office of Regional Non-proliferation Affairs; special assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy Policy; and deputy to Ambassador-at-Large for Korean Affairs Robert Gallucci. Helped to negotiate the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Framework Treaty
• Joined the Clinton administration’s National Security Council in 1995 as an adviser on nonproliferation. Coordinated U.S. policy on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• Was Director, Council on Foreign Relations (2006 to 2009); Vice President for Global Security and Sustainability, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2005); Researcher, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2001 to 2005)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Something in the Gulf Smells
Something in the Gulf Smells and it’s not the Deepwater Horizon Blowout
A friend e-mailed this to me, not sure if the facts of it are true but sounds true to me. Pete
This is not just my opinion... These are all verifiable facts... Question is, "Why isn't our esteemed press investigating and making this page one news and leading every broadcast... why aren't they interupting regularly scheduled prime time shows with "Dateline" type broadcasts!?!?!" For that matter, why isn't our justice department doing anyhting either!?!?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Four weeks before the BP blowout, Obama builds an alibi... "I am opening offshore drilling in all the Coastal U.S." Goldman Sachs dumps nearly all of its stock (40 %+) in BP, a very profitable winner. Days before, they dump the rest.
2. BP ignores the advice of all the drilling contractors on making the well safe. British Petroleum had a manager directing drilling who had never been on an offshore rig before and purposefully ignored all safety warnings. BP ignores TransOceanic warnings about a problem with the blowout preventer. BP ignores repeated warnings on numerous problems from numerous sub-contractors.
3. The well explodes under suspicious circumstances, but BP does nothing immediately to control it. Why? And the Dutch offer to have it controlled in 48 hours. They are ignored.
4. Obama sacks his National Intelligence Director (a Navy Admiral) who cannot comment on intelligence or the reasons he was sacked because of Federal Laws.
5. BP top-kills the well but fails as was predicted by numerous oil professionals causing downhole damage to the well which has caused a massive pollution of the southern U.S. The way they bungled everything, the Gulf may be dead for decades!
6. Obama now declares ALL drilling suspended in the Gulf and makes numerous PR trips to the Gulf to look as though he is outraged.
7. John Podesta is Obama's man that built his cabinet and all his Czars.
8. John Podesta is also head of George Soros' Center for American Progress (a socialist organization dedicated to killing capitalism in America and building, according to Soros, "A New World Order"). John Podesta's brother is the lead lobbyist for British Petroleum, whose services are now in huge demand.
9.Soros was a major contributor to Obama's campaign.
10. Soros invested $900 million in Petrobras, the Brazilian government controlled oil company that plans on drilling offshore in Brazil , yet cannot get the deepwater rigs operating in the Gulf.
11. Days after Soros' investment, Obama grants $2 billion of U.S. taxpayer's dollars to Petrobras to drill offshore in Brazil... the company nets over $15 Billion annually.
12. U.S. drilling companies must do something with their now idled rigs and are planning on moving them off to South America… to Petrobras which will supply the oil to the U.S. as an import.
13. Obama gives a patsy White House Oval Office speech on the disaster but, also during the speech, he states the need for Carbon Taxes... Cap and Trade!
14. The carbon tax exchange will be based in, you guessed it, Chicago... and called the CCX...The CHICAGO Climate Exchange
15. The Joyce Foundation -- A private U.S. foundation which provides funding and support to initiatives focusing on education, environment and employment in the Great Lakes region. The Joyce Foundation was established in 1948 by Beatrice Joyce Kean of Chicago. Since its inception, the foundation has made grants of more than $600 million. Some of those grants include $1.1 million to Richard Sandor in 2000-2001 to create the Chicago Climate Exchange. Former Board of Directors' members include President Barack Obama (1994-2002) and Valerie Jarrett, his top adviser.
16. Who will benefit from the Chicago Climate Exchange? You guessed it... Obama and his buddies, Goldman Sachs and the Chicago crew.
17. Who will benefit from Obama's shutdown of drilling in the Gulf? You guessed it... Obama and his buddy, George Soros.
18. Who benefits from Obama sending $2 Billion of taxpayer dollars to a company that Nets $15 Billion per year? You guessed it...Obama and his buddies.
19. Who is Obama getting to again? You guessed it... The American Citizens.
20. Barack Hussein Obama is intent on the total destruction of America. He does nothing to stop the Illegal invasion from Mexico, he does nothing to fix the banking problem, he does nothing to stop the blowout, he DOES NOTHING to stop the downfall of America while he plays golf, travels to Ohio for 10 minute speeches at a cost of $750,000, listens to Paul McCartney concerts, and goes to baseball games in NY. What do you expect from someone that never produced his birth certificate, has gone around the world apologizing for America 's past actions, and bowing to the head of the Muslim World.
Yes, something stinks!!!
How much is America going to take?
A friend e-mailed this to me, not sure if the facts of it are true but sounds true to me. Pete
This is not just my opinion... These are all verifiable facts... Question is, "Why isn't our esteemed press investigating and making this page one news and leading every broadcast... why aren't they interupting regularly scheduled prime time shows with "Dateline" type broadcasts!?!?!" For that matter, why isn't our justice department doing anyhting either!?!?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Four weeks before the BP blowout, Obama builds an alibi... "I am opening offshore drilling in all the Coastal U.S." Goldman Sachs dumps nearly all of its stock (40 %+) in BP, a very profitable winner. Days before, they dump the rest.
2. BP ignores the advice of all the drilling contractors on making the well safe. British Petroleum had a manager directing drilling who had never been on an offshore rig before and purposefully ignored all safety warnings. BP ignores TransOceanic warnings about a problem with the blowout preventer. BP ignores repeated warnings on numerous problems from numerous sub-contractors.
3. The well explodes under suspicious circumstances, but BP does nothing immediately to control it. Why? And the Dutch offer to have it controlled in 48 hours. They are ignored.
4. Obama sacks his National Intelligence Director (a Navy Admiral) who cannot comment on intelligence or the reasons he was sacked because of Federal Laws.
5. BP top-kills the well but fails as was predicted by numerous oil professionals causing downhole damage to the well which has caused a massive pollution of the southern U.S. The way they bungled everything, the Gulf may be dead for decades!
6. Obama now declares ALL drilling suspended in the Gulf and makes numerous PR trips to the Gulf to look as though he is outraged.
7. John Podesta is Obama's man that built his cabinet and all his Czars.
8. John Podesta is also head of George Soros' Center for American Progress (a socialist organization dedicated to killing capitalism in America and building, according to Soros, "A New World Order"). John Podesta's brother is the lead lobbyist for British Petroleum, whose services are now in huge demand.
9.Soros was a major contributor to Obama's campaign.
10. Soros invested $900 million in Petrobras, the Brazilian government controlled oil company that plans on drilling offshore in Brazil , yet cannot get the deepwater rigs operating in the Gulf.
11. Days after Soros' investment, Obama grants $2 billion of U.S. taxpayer's dollars to Petrobras to drill offshore in Brazil... the company nets over $15 Billion annually.
12. U.S. drilling companies must do something with their now idled rigs and are planning on moving them off to South America… to Petrobras which will supply the oil to the U.S. as an import.
13. Obama gives a patsy White House Oval Office speech on the disaster but, also during the speech, he states the need for Carbon Taxes... Cap and Trade!
14. The carbon tax exchange will be based in, you guessed it, Chicago... and called the CCX...The CHICAGO Climate Exchange
15. The Joyce Foundation -- A private U.S. foundation which provides funding and support to initiatives focusing on education, environment and employment in the Great Lakes region. The Joyce Foundation was established in 1948 by Beatrice Joyce Kean of Chicago. Since its inception, the foundation has made grants of more than $600 million. Some of those grants include $1.1 million to Richard Sandor in 2000-2001 to create the Chicago Climate Exchange. Former Board of Directors' members include President Barack Obama (1994-2002) and Valerie Jarrett, his top adviser.
16. Who will benefit from the Chicago Climate Exchange? You guessed it... Obama and his buddies, Goldman Sachs and the Chicago crew.
17. Who will benefit from Obama's shutdown of drilling in the Gulf? You guessed it... Obama and his buddy, George Soros.
18. Who benefits from Obama sending $2 Billion of taxpayer dollars to a company that Nets $15 Billion per year? You guessed it...Obama and his buddies.
19. Who is Obama getting to again? You guessed it... The American Citizens.
20. Barack Hussein Obama is intent on the total destruction of America. He does nothing to stop the Illegal invasion from Mexico, he does nothing to fix the banking problem, he does nothing to stop the blowout, he DOES NOTHING to stop the downfall of America while he plays golf, travels to Ohio for 10 minute speeches at a cost of $750,000, listens to Paul McCartney concerts, and goes to baseball games in NY. What do you expect from someone that never produced his birth certificate, has gone around the world apologizing for America 's past actions, and bowing to the head of the Muslim World.
Yes, something stinks!!!
How much is America going to take?
Something That Just Gets Me
I just can't get why people still have faith in Mr. Obama. I just can't understand it why these sick people still love and trust this fake man. He has lied time and time again and I'm sure more lies are on the way. He stands in front of the people of this country and tells them that thing are getting better and it is a big fat lie. He only puts 25% truth into anything he has to say, if that much. I get sick every time I see his face on T.V. because I know what's next, a big ass group of more lies. I just don't see why they trust this fool. I don't like him or any other fool from the government. I don't think any of them can tell the truth. OK just my little rant for this week.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Will This Country Survive?
I'm not sure this country will make it through the coming collapse. I think this time it is reset time, a complete redo. I'm sure a collapse is on it's way, I'm just like everyone else and have no idea when and where it will hit. All I can do is get ready for the collapse and try to plan for every event that I can plan for and keep adding to my preps to update my preps to match any new event I need to prepare for. Over all the basic items of survival is the best way to go, like food, ammo, guns, water and medical supplies. With a few needed extra items you can give yourself a good chance of survival. But remember just having survival gear will not save your life you need to know how to use it to stay alive.
I ask you to look at the news and read the blogs and make up your on mind about the coming collapse. I see the gloom and doom down the road and I hope you will or can see it too. The time is coming when this country will not be the same, not even close. Everything on this earth will change when the collapse hits. So my question to you is, "Will you be ready?" "Will you survive?" and "Will your family survive?"
I ask you to look at the news and read the blogs and make up your on mind about the coming collapse. I see the gloom and doom down the road and I hope you will or can see it too. The time is coming when this country will not be the same, not even close. Everything on this earth will change when the collapse hits. So my question to you is, "Will you be ready?" "Will you survive?" and "Will your family survive?"
Monday, July 26, 2010
Survival Acronyms
If you have a few that is not listed then please post a comment with your Acronyms.
When you find yourself in a survival situation always remember to S.T.O.P.
Stop
Think
Observe
Plan
The US Army uses the acronym S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L. to help soldiers’ remember how to survive.
Size up the situation
Undue haste makes waste
Remember were you are
Vanquish fear and panic
Improvise
Value living
Act like the natives
Live by your wits
72 Hour Kit – A bag of items intended to sustain the user for at least 72 hours. Also see BOB (bug out bag), Survival Kit, PSK
(personal survival kit).
AR-15 - Is the civilian version of the military M-16 and M-4 rifle.
BOB - Bug Out Bag. This is some kind of duffle or back pack equipped with emergency supplies.
BOL - Bug Out Location (A predetermined (hopefully well stocked) location that you would head to in case of an emergency)
BOV - Bug Out Vehicle (Get you to your BOL)
BIB - Bug In Bag (Similar to a BOB, but is designed to get you home - like if you are traveling)
Camo – Camouflage
CB - Citizen Band Radio
CBRN- Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear
CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
DOD - Department of Defense (USA).
EDC - Every Day Carry (this can be used to refer to items you always have with you: firearm, knife, mult-tool, etc.)
EMP - Electro-Magnetic Pulse
EOTWAWKI - End Of The World As We Know It. This means that the world as you know it has come to an end - some kind of world
wide event has happened, kiss your old life good-bye.
FAK - First Aid Kit
FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA’s mission is to support our US citizens and first responders to ensure that as
a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from,
and mitigate all hazards.
FRS - Family Radio Service
GMRS - General Mobile Radio Service
GPS - Global Positioning System
HDR - Humanitarian Daily Ration. They are food rations intended for humanitarian crises. Each is intended to serve as a single
person's full daily food supply, and contain somewhat over 2,200 calories. They have shelf-lives of about 3 years, and their contents
are designed to be acceptable to a variety of religious and ethnic groups.
LEO - Law Enforcement Officer
MRE - Meal Ready To Eat. This is a military ration. Its normal shelf life is several years. The contents are sealed in a tough plastic
coating.
Multi-tool - This is a combination survival knife, pliers and will usually have a wide assortment of tools built in. One example is the
Gerber Multi-tool.
NBC - Nuclear, Biological, Chemical
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is a US agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes
from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep citizens informed of the changing environment
around them.
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NVG - Night Vision Goggles
PSK - Personal Survival Kit.
SAK - Swiss Army Knife
SEAL - Sea, Air, Land
SERE - Survival, Evasion, Resistance, & Escape
SHTF - SH*T Hit The Fan. This means that some kind of event has happened. This is a term used in relation to your location. A SHTF
situation is not normally world wide.
SKS - A Soviet 7.62x39mm caliber semi-automatic rifle, designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS is an acronym for
Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova
Survival knife - A multi purpose knife used for survival in the wilderness.
USGS - U.S. Geological Survey. An unbiased, multi-disciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology,
geospatial information, and water, we are dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the landscape, our natural
resources, and the natural hazards that threaten us.
USAF - United States Air Force
USN - United States Navy
Zulu - Refers to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
When you find yourself in a survival situation always remember to S.T.O.P.
Stop
Think
Observe
Plan
The US Army uses the acronym S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L. to help soldiers’ remember how to survive.
Size up the situation
Undue haste makes waste
Remember were you are
Vanquish fear and panic
Improvise
Value living
Act like the natives
Live by your wits
72 Hour Kit – A bag of items intended to sustain the user for at least 72 hours. Also see BOB (bug out bag), Survival Kit, PSK
(personal survival kit).
AR-15 - Is the civilian version of the military M-16 and M-4 rifle.
BOB - Bug Out Bag. This is some kind of duffle or back pack equipped with emergency supplies.
BOL - Bug Out Location (A predetermined (hopefully well stocked) location that you would head to in case of an emergency)
BOV - Bug Out Vehicle (Get you to your BOL)
BIB - Bug In Bag (Similar to a BOB, but is designed to get you home - like if you are traveling)
Camo – Camouflage
CB - Citizen Band Radio
CBRN- Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear
CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
DOD - Department of Defense (USA).
EDC - Every Day Carry (this can be used to refer to items you always have with you: firearm, knife, mult-tool, etc.)
EMP - Electro-Magnetic Pulse
EOTWAWKI - End Of The World As We Know It. This means that the world as you know it has come to an end - some kind of world
wide event has happened, kiss your old life good-bye.
FAK - First Aid Kit
FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA’s mission is to support our US citizens and first responders to ensure that as
a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from,
and mitigate all hazards.
FRS - Family Radio Service
GMRS - General Mobile Radio Service
GPS - Global Positioning System
HDR - Humanitarian Daily Ration. They are food rations intended for humanitarian crises. Each is intended to serve as a single
person's full daily food supply, and contain somewhat over 2,200 calories. They have shelf-lives of about 3 years, and their contents
are designed to be acceptable to a variety of religious and ethnic groups.
LEO - Law Enforcement Officer
MRE - Meal Ready To Eat. This is a military ration. Its normal shelf life is several years. The contents are sealed in a tough plastic
coating.
Multi-tool - This is a combination survival knife, pliers and will usually have a wide assortment of tools built in. One example is the
Gerber Multi-tool.
NBC - Nuclear, Biological, Chemical
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is a US agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes
from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep citizens informed of the changing environment
around them.
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NVG - Night Vision Goggles
PSK - Personal Survival Kit.
SAK - Swiss Army Knife
SEAL - Sea, Air, Land
SERE - Survival, Evasion, Resistance, & Escape
SHTF - SH*T Hit The Fan. This means that some kind of event has happened. This is a term used in relation to your location. A SHTF
situation is not normally world wide.
SKS - A Soviet 7.62x39mm caliber semi-automatic rifle, designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS is an acronym for
Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova
Survival knife - A multi purpose knife used for survival in the wilderness.
USGS - U.S. Geological Survey. An unbiased, multi-disciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology,
geospatial information, and water, we are dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the landscape, our natural
resources, and the natural hazards that threaten us.
USAF - United States Air Force
USN - United States Navy
Zulu - Refers to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Urban Survival And A Cache System
I live in a city, it's not very big but is only 30 miles from a very large city. I don't plan to bug out but to stay in place for as long as I can. I do have a plan in case I need to bug out but I would like to stay in place and make a go of it. I know my area and the things I can get from different parts of my area. Like I know four places where I can get water from within a half mile of my home base. I know every store and what items it has in it to go after when the collapse hits. I have a list of fire stations, gas stations, drug stores, hardware stores and other stores to check out after the collapse. I plan to survive and I plan to do it with as much gear as I can store or find. I am working on setting up small area where I have cache tubes set up. I know as most survivalist know we can't always go with our first plan or even the second, so we have a back up plan for the back up plan. I know there may come a day when I need to bug out to save my life and my families lives. So I am in the process up setting up cache tubes with needed items in it. I have set out four so far and all are within a half mile of my home base. I know that when I'm out looking around for needed items I may need supplies but not want to or not be able to go to home base, so I have set out resupply tubes.
What's in each one:
50 rounds of 22LR
50 rounds of 9mm
100 rounds of .223
Datrex 3600 Emergency Food Bar
Six packs or Ramen noodles
Bic Lighter with Four Fire starter Bars
8'x8' Plastic Tarp 4-6mil
Two emergency candles
Bag or two of silica-gel (to help with water)
I set out the tubes so if I am out on a recon or looking for supplies I can restock and not have to go to home base. There may come a time where a person or small group is following me and I don't want to lead them to my home base. So I would walk around for days to look like a nomad with no home. I could use my supplies in my pack and go to all four tubes and get the other needed supplies and lead any one away from my home base. I do plan to set out four more tubes in the next few weeks to give me a total of eight cache tubes. All will be within 3/4 to one mile of my home base. After I have them all in place I will start to plant my bug out cache tubes. I think to start with I will put two tubes out for each route I have a plan for, which at this time is three ways out of my city. The first tube will be out at about two miles from home base and then the next will be out about five miles from the first tube. It's about 15-20 miles to my bug out area so I'm sure I will set up a few more for when I get near the new home base. I already have a nice cache set up at the bug out area with ammo, food, an extra gun or two and some other items. I have been working on this for over a year and still have a lot of work to do. I think every one needs a cache system for there survival. So sit down and plan one out if you have any questions just post it in the comments of e-mail me at californiasurvivalist2009@yahoo.com I will do my best to help you get started on your cache system.
What's in each one:
50 rounds of 22LR
50 rounds of 9mm
100 rounds of .223
Datrex 3600 Emergency Food Bar
Six packs or Ramen noodles
Bic Lighter with Four Fire starter Bars
8'x8' Plastic Tarp 4-6mil
Two emergency candles
Bag or two of silica-gel (to help with water)
I set out the tubes so if I am out on a recon or looking for supplies I can restock and not have to go to home base. There may come a time where a person or small group is following me and I don't want to lead them to my home base. So I would walk around for days to look like a nomad with no home. I could use my supplies in my pack and go to all four tubes and get the other needed supplies and lead any one away from my home base. I do plan to set out four more tubes in the next few weeks to give me a total of eight cache tubes. All will be within 3/4 to one mile of my home base. After I have them all in place I will start to plant my bug out cache tubes. I think to start with I will put two tubes out for each route I have a plan for, which at this time is three ways out of my city. The first tube will be out at about two miles from home base and then the next will be out about five miles from the first tube. It's about 15-20 miles to my bug out area so I'm sure I will set up a few more for when I get near the new home base. I already have a nice cache set up at the bug out area with ammo, food, an extra gun or two and some other items. I have been working on this for over a year and still have a lot of work to do. I think every one needs a cache system for there survival. So sit down and plan one out if you have any questions just post it in the comments of e-mail me at californiasurvivalist2009@yahoo.com I will do my best to help you get started on your cache system.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Clorox Bleach For Water Purification
Boiling Is Best
Short of using a very high-quality water filter, this is the most
reliable method for killing microbes and parasites. Bring water to a
rolling boil and keep it simmering for at least several minutes. Add
one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes for every 1,000 feet
above sea level. Cover the pot to shorten boiling time and conserve
fuel.
Liquid Clorox Bleach
In an emergency, think of this (one gallon of Regular Clorox Bleach)
as 3,800 gallons of drinking water.
When the tap water stops flowing, Regular Clorox Bleach isn't just a
laundry-aid, it's a lifesaver. Use it to purify water, and you'll have
something to drink.
It's the same in any natural disaster. As the shock wears off and the
days wear on, the biggest demand is for drinking water. Time after
time, relief crews hand out free Clorox Bleach with simple
instructions: use it to kill bacteria in your water and you'll have
purified water to drink. Here's how: (Store these directions with your
emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach.)
First let water stand until particles settle. Pour the clear water into an
uncontaminated container and add Regular Clorox Bleach per the
chart.* Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor.
If not, repeat dose. Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Keep an eyedropper
taped to your emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach, since purifying
small amounts of water requires only a few drops. See chart*
suggestions for storage bottle replacement.
Don't pour purified water into contaminated containers. To sanitize
water jugs first, see instructions** at right.
Without water and electricity, even everyday tasks are tough. In lieu
of steaming hot water, sanitize dishes with a little Clorox Bleach.
Just follow the directions below to keep dishes clean.
Whether you use Clorox Bleach in an emergency or for everyday
chores, it's always an environmentally sound choice. After its work
is done, Clorox Bleach breaks down to little more than salt and
water, which is good news anytime.
*Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification
2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox
Bleach.
(Only use Regular Clorox Bleach (not Fresh Scent or Lemon Fresh).
To insure that Clorox Bleach is at it's full strength, replace your
storage bottle every three months.)
(Clorox Bleach Sanitizing Solution)
Mix 1 tablespoon Regular Clorox Bleach with one gallon of water.
Always wash and rinse items first, then let each item soak in Clorox
Bleach Sanitizing Solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.
Short of using a very high-quality water filter, this is the most
reliable method for killing microbes and parasites. Bring water to a
rolling boil and keep it simmering for at least several minutes. Add
one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes for every 1,000 feet
above sea level. Cover the pot to shorten boiling time and conserve
fuel.
Liquid Clorox Bleach
In an emergency, think of this (one gallon of Regular Clorox Bleach)
as 3,800 gallons of drinking water.
When the tap water stops flowing, Regular Clorox Bleach isn't just a
laundry-aid, it's a lifesaver. Use it to purify water, and you'll have
something to drink.
It's the same in any natural disaster. As the shock wears off and the
days wear on, the biggest demand is for drinking water. Time after
time, relief crews hand out free Clorox Bleach with simple
instructions: use it to kill bacteria in your water and you'll have
purified water to drink. Here's how: (Store these directions with your
emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach.)
First let water stand until particles settle. Pour the clear water into an
uncontaminated container and add Regular Clorox Bleach per the
chart.* Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor.
If not, repeat dose. Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Keep an eyedropper
taped to your emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach, since purifying
small amounts of water requires only a few drops. See chart*
suggestions for storage bottle replacement.
Don't pour purified water into contaminated containers. To sanitize
water jugs first, see instructions** at right.
Without water and electricity, even everyday tasks are tough. In lieu
of steaming hot water, sanitize dishes with a little Clorox Bleach.
Just follow the directions below to keep dishes clean.
Whether you use Clorox Bleach in an emergency or for everyday
chores, it's always an environmentally sound choice. After its work
is done, Clorox Bleach breaks down to little more than salt and
water, which is good news anytime.
*Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification
2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox
Bleach.
(Only use Regular Clorox Bleach (not Fresh Scent or Lemon Fresh).
To insure that Clorox Bleach is at it's full strength, replace your
storage bottle every three months.)
(Clorox Bleach Sanitizing Solution)
Mix 1 tablespoon Regular Clorox Bleach with one gallon of water.
Always wash and rinse items first, then let each item soak in Clorox
Bleach Sanitizing Solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.
Friday, July 23, 2010
This Weekend......
I don't have any plans this weekend but I'm sure I will get some prepping in there. I do plan to get out to the range and shoot this weekend. I was going to go camping and still may go but not sure at this time. I have to work tonight and will have to see how tired I am after work. I do think I will make a few more 5 gal buckets with rice, beans or oats/grits. If you keep up with the news you can see that everything is getting better and life is about to be worry free again(lies, lies, and more lies) so if you do keep up with the news you then know we need to be in high gear with our prepping and stay ready. Now is the time to buckle down and stick to your plan for survival. Our time is running out and the collapse is near, if you can't see the collapse coming maybe you should join the Obama Team and sit back and hope the great one is right. But I can tell you Obama and the rest of the fools in office now are just a big group of dumb asses who are leading this country down a road of no return. If your not prepping now you may be to late to start, but as I tell everyone I talk to, start anyway and go full speed ahead to survival.
Have a good weekend and stay safe!!!!
Have a good weekend and stay safe!!!!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
What's Next For This Country?
So what's next for us in this country? As of June 2010 our rate of unemployment is 9.5%(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)But what is the real rate at? At the time of this posting the dollar is down, who would have ever thought the dollar was down. With the country going into a double-dip recession or as most think a new great depression. What will the road ahead have for this country? I think the collapse is very near and we are on a road to doom. Some people think this is just a bump in the road and things will get better in time, but I don't see it getting any better and with the cost of most items going up and more and more people becoming unemployed. The dollar is becoming just about as good as toilet paper and as time goes on I think it is going to get worse. Prepping is the only answer to staying alive and surviving the coming collapse. Most preppers have food for many months and a way to grow, hunt or fish for more food as time goes by. With seeds, ammo, guns, garden tools and skills to make these items work for you is a plan for survival we all need to have. Now is the time to get your butt in gear and plan to survive, stop make a plan and work on the plan to survive.
Keep your eye's open and your ear to the ground because the doom is very near.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
See what 50 years will do.
I'm very old school and a good ole country boy from North Carolina so I think a lot of this is right on the point.
Scenario:
Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.1956 - Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack's rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.2006 - School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.1956 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.1956 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.2006 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Billy breaks a window in his father's car and his Dad gives him a whipping.1956 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school.1956 - Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.2006 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Mary turns up pregnant.1956 - 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special school for expectant mothers.2006 - Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU. Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent's consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time.++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Pedro fails high school English.1956: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.2006: Pedro's cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't speak English.+++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.1956 - Ants die.2006 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.+++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary hugs him to comfort him.1956 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Is something wrong here????
Scenario:
Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.1956 - Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack's rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.2006 - School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.1956 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.1956 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.2006 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Billy breaks a window in his father's car and his Dad gives him a whipping.1956 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school.1956 - Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.2006 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Mary turns up pregnant.1956 - 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special school for expectant mothers.2006 - Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU. Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent's consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time.++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Pedro fails high school English.1956: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.2006: Pedro's cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't speak English.+++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.1956 - Ants die.2006 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.+++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary hugs him to comfort him.1956 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Is something wrong here????
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
What Is In Your B.O.B. ? Is It Time To Check It?
What do you have in your bug out bag(BOB) Is it set up for the wilderness and you live in the city? Or did you pack it full of great stuff ten or more years ago and have no idea of what is in the kit now. I ask each of you to take a few hours and check your BOB and make sure it is up to date and ready to do it's job. Remember it is a tool you may have to use to save your life. And if you have other kits like a car kit or a work kit (Get Home Bag,GHB) check them as well. I have a small note book that I keep a check list in and a log of dates when I last checked my bags, and it has a list of items that needs to be replaced because of the date. This works well for me and helps me to keep up with the items that have dates of use on them. Most of the items are in the first-aid kit part of the whole kit but I like to keep the meds up to date and fresh as I can. I pull old items to use now, like the Advil and other meds that are getting near the date when the FDA thinks it is out of date, and by the way I don't agree with the dates from the FDA because I have used two years old Advil and it still works. I'm sure as time goes on it gets to a point where it's not 100% and I'm sure the percentage goes down with time and climate. Get a small note book and start a list of items you need to check and put down the dates that they go out of date and about every 6 months or so check the kits and add new items and remove items you no longer need or have updated to better items. This kit is so important and is a big part of most survivalist plan of survival so spend the small amount of time to keep it up and ready to go. Just like most things in survival you need to put a little work and planing into it but if it's ever needed you will get a full return on your time and effort. Remember that survival is planing and doing, not thinking about it or getting to it later. The people who are ready for the collapse and have there gear up to date will have a much better percentage to survive. Keep your gear ready and working at all times, stay safe and stand ready for the collapse, because our time is short and our days are running out. The collapse is very near and our way of life is about to change forever.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Loss Of The 1st Amendment
The NAACP can say what ever it likes but if someone outside the group has a thought that they don't like then your a racist and right-wing nut. Here is where the BS gets kicked into full gear.
I found this at Yahoo:
Tea party group expels leader for ‘clearly offensive’ blog post.
Mark Williams, the tea party leader who wrote a blog post this week calling the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) racist, has been "expelled" from the National Tea Party Federation.
Williams wrote the blog post on Thursday in response to the NAACP's Tuesday declaration accusing the tea party movement of tolerating racist elements in its midst (see The Upshot's rundown on the week of attacks and counterattacks here). It was written as an imaginary letter to President Abraham Lincoln and accused the NAACP of being racist for using the word "colored" in its name. When some reacted to it in outrage, Williams deleted it from his website, declaring it time to "move forward."
The National Tea Party Federation apparently decided to move forward without Williams. Spokesman David Webb said on Face the Nation this morning that Williams and his Tea Party Express had been pushed out because Williams' posting was "clearly offensive."
The tea party movement has been growing in influence in American politics since it began as a series of rallies in 2009. Candidates endorsed by local and national organizations that are a part of the coalition have won surprising victories over establishment Republican Party candidates in states like Kentucky and Nevada.
Part of their challenge, however -- especially in handling broader debates about what they "are" -- is that there isn't a single Tea Party that speaks for all tea party activists. Rather, there are dozens of national and local organizations that loosely coordinate and all emerged in opposition to Wall Street bailouts that occurred under Presidents Bush and Obama and what they perceive as the Obama Administration's efforts to expand the role of government.
National Tea Party Federation's expulsion of Williams and the Tea Party Express could be the first of many internal disputes to define the national tea party identity.
By Andrew Golis
I found this at Yahoo:
Tea party group expels leader for ‘clearly offensive’ blog post.
Mark Williams, the tea party leader who wrote a blog post this week calling the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) racist, has been "expelled" from the National Tea Party Federation.
Williams wrote the blog post on Thursday in response to the NAACP's Tuesday declaration accusing the tea party movement of tolerating racist elements in its midst (see The Upshot's rundown on the week of attacks and counterattacks here). It was written as an imaginary letter to President Abraham Lincoln and accused the NAACP of being racist for using the word "colored" in its name. When some reacted to it in outrage, Williams deleted it from his website, declaring it time to "move forward."
The National Tea Party Federation apparently decided to move forward without Williams. Spokesman David Webb said on Face the Nation this morning that Williams and his Tea Party Express had been pushed out because Williams' posting was "clearly offensive."
The tea party movement has been growing in influence in American politics since it began as a series of rallies in 2009. Candidates endorsed by local and national organizations that are a part of the coalition have won surprising victories over establishment Republican Party candidates in states like Kentucky and Nevada.
Part of their challenge, however -- especially in handling broader debates about what they "are" -- is that there isn't a single Tea Party that speaks for all tea party activists. Rather, there are dozens of national and local organizations that loosely coordinate and all emerged in opposition to Wall Street bailouts that occurred under Presidents Bush and Obama and what they perceive as the Obama Administration's efforts to expand the role of government.
National Tea Party Federation's expulsion of Williams and the Tea Party Express could be the first of many internal disputes to define the national tea party identity.
By Andrew Golis
What Are You Working On?
What is your next survival project or what preps are you working on? I am still bagging rice, beans, oats, salt, sugar, and other dry goods with the food saver and then putting it in 5 gal. buckets. And as always I am working on getting more ammo, .223, .22LR, .38spl, 9mm, 12ga, and .270. I try to pick up a box or two of something every time I go to Wal-Mart or the gun store.
Keep your eye's open because our time is short and the collapse is near. Post your comments and tell us what your working on.
Keep your eye's open because our time is short and the collapse is near. Post your comments and tell us what your working on.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Could We Be Next????
Feds Ignore Due Process, First Amendment, Shut Down Thousands of Blogs
Posted By Kurt Nimmo On July 17, 2010
Infowars.com
July 17, 2010
Once again, the Obama administration has violated the Bill of Rights. Earlier this month, the feds took down a free Word press blogging platform and disabled more than 73,000 blogs. The action was completely ignored by the corporate media. The site, Blogetery.com, was told by its hosting service that the government had issued orders to shut down the site due to a “a history of abuse” related to copyrighted material
In late June, Joe Biden and Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel said the government would move to take down sites offering unauthorized movies and music. “Criminal copyright infringement occurs on a massive scale over the Internet, reportedly resulting in billions of dollars in losses to the U.S. economy,” said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara’s office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched “Operation In Our Sites” and executed seizure warrants against nine domain names.
Blogetery.com claimed the shut down of 73,000 blogs “was not a typical case, in which suspension and notification would be the norm. This was a critical matter brought to our attention by law enforcement officials. We had to immediately remove the server.”
“That seems odd,” notes Techdirt, a website that covers government policy, technology and legal issues. “If there was problematic content from some users, why not just take down that content or suspend those users. Taking down all 73,000 blogs seems… excessive.”
The DMCA’s takedown actions are a direct violation of the First Amendment under prior restraint. However, explains law professor Wendy Seltzer, because “DMCA takedowns are privately administered through ISPs… they have not received… constitutional scrutiny, despite their high risk of error.” Seltzer adds that “because DMCA takedown costs less to copyright claimants than a federal complaint and exposes claimants to few risks, it invites more frequent abuse or error than standard copyright law.”
TorrentFreak worries that the Blogetery.com case has set a precedent. “Fears remain… that this action is only the beginning, and that more sites will be targeted as the months roll on. Indeed, TorrentFreak has already received information that other sites, so far unnamed in the media, are being monitored by the authorities on copyright grounds,” writes a blogger on the site.
“They say it’s because of copyright infringement, but is it really?… it would seem that only sites/blogs which were streaming movies and TV shows were shut down initially, but upon further perusal, it seems like the Feds just arbitrarily shut down a server with several tens of thousands of bloggers on it without due process as is usual with this administration,” writes Smash Mouth Politics. “How soon before they find some reason to shut down other servers or networks? What’s probably infuriating to the bloggers who were shut down is that they have no recourse. They have no idea why the server was shut down. And the Feds are mum about it. Also, if the bloggers can even get a hold of the server admin, they’re refused any explanation of why.”
In October, 2004, more than 20 Independent Media Center websites and other internet services were taken offline, not in response to alleged copyright infringement but for political reasons. The disappearance of the Indymedia servers was shrouded in secrecy and the ISP and government would not provide an explanation. On October 20, 2004, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit in Texas and argued that “the public and the press have a clear and compelling interest in discovering under what authority the government was able to unilaterally prevent Internet publishers from exercising their First Amendment rights.”
It was later discovered that the ISP had shut down IndyMedia’s websites after they were contacted by the FBI. The FBI said a particular article on the website nantes.indymedia.org contained personal information and threats regarding two Swiss undercover police officers. It was later determined that the article contained neither threats nor names or address information and contained instead photographs of police agents provocateurs masquerading as anti-globalization protesters.
The Obama administration — in step with he Bush administration before it — does not have a problem ordering the government to violate the First, Fifth, and Tenth Amendments. In its declared effort to prevent online piracy of copyrighted material, the government has trashed the Bill of Rights. It has used the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to intimidate ISPs to shut down web sites.
In June, a Senate committee approved a dictatorial cybersecurity bill that would allow Obama to shut down the internet. The bill, known as the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, would grant Obama the authority to carry out emergency actions to protect critical parts of the internet, including ordering owners of critical infrastructure to implement emergency response plans, during a government declared cyber-emergency. Obama would supposedly need congressional approval to extend a national cyber-emergency beyond 120 days under an amendment to the legislation approved by the committee.
Posted By Kurt Nimmo On July 17, 2010
Infowars.com
July 17, 2010
Once again, the Obama administration has violated the Bill of Rights. Earlier this month, the feds took down a free Word press blogging platform and disabled more than 73,000 blogs. The action was completely ignored by the corporate media. The site, Blogetery.com, was told by its hosting service that the government had issued orders to shut down the site due to a “a history of abuse” related to copyrighted material
In late June, Joe Biden and Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel said the government would move to take down sites offering unauthorized movies and music. “Criminal copyright infringement occurs on a massive scale over the Internet, reportedly resulting in billions of dollars in losses to the U.S. economy,” said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara’s office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched “Operation In Our Sites” and executed seizure warrants against nine domain names.
Blogetery.com claimed the shut down of 73,000 blogs “was not a typical case, in which suspension and notification would be the norm. This was a critical matter brought to our attention by law enforcement officials. We had to immediately remove the server.”
“That seems odd,” notes Techdirt, a website that covers government policy, technology and legal issues. “If there was problematic content from some users, why not just take down that content or suspend those users. Taking down all 73,000 blogs seems… excessive.”
The DMCA’s takedown actions are a direct violation of the First Amendment under prior restraint. However, explains law professor Wendy Seltzer, because “DMCA takedowns are privately administered through ISPs… they have not received… constitutional scrutiny, despite their high risk of error.” Seltzer adds that “because DMCA takedown costs less to copyright claimants than a federal complaint and exposes claimants to few risks, it invites more frequent abuse or error than standard copyright law.”
TorrentFreak worries that the Blogetery.com case has set a precedent. “Fears remain… that this action is only the beginning, and that more sites will be targeted as the months roll on. Indeed, TorrentFreak has already received information that other sites, so far unnamed in the media, are being monitored by the authorities on copyright grounds,” writes a blogger on the site.
“They say it’s because of copyright infringement, but is it really?… it would seem that only sites/blogs which were streaming movies and TV shows were shut down initially, but upon further perusal, it seems like the Feds just arbitrarily shut down a server with several tens of thousands of bloggers on it without due process as is usual with this administration,” writes Smash Mouth Politics. “How soon before they find some reason to shut down other servers or networks? What’s probably infuriating to the bloggers who were shut down is that they have no recourse. They have no idea why the server was shut down. And the Feds are mum about it. Also, if the bloggers can even get a hold of the server admin, they’re refused any explanation of why.”
In October, 2004, more than 20 Independent Media Center websites and other internet services were taken offline, not in response to alleged copyright infringement but for political reasons. The disappearance of the Indymedia servers was shrouded in secrecy and the ISP and government would not provide an explanation. On October 20, 2004, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit in Texas and argued that “the public and the press have a clear and compelling interest in discovering under what authority the government was able to unilaterally prevent Internet publishers from exercising their First Amendment rights.”
It was later discovered that the ISP had shut down IndyMedia’s websites after they were contacted by the FBI. The FBI said a particular article on the website nantes.indymedia.org contained personal information and threats regarding two Swiss undercover police officers. It was later determined that the article contained neither threats nor names or address information and contained instead photographs of police agents provocateurs masquerading as anti-globalization protesters.
The Obama administration — in step with he Bush administration before it — does not have a problem ordering the government to violate the First, Fifth, and Tenth Amendments. In its declared effort to prevent online piracy of copyrighted material, the government has trashed the Bill of Rights. It has used the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to intimidate ISPs to shut down web sites.
In June, a Senate committee approved a dictatorial cybersecurity bill that would allow Obama to shut down the internet. The bill, known as the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, would grant Obama the authority to carry out emergency actions to protect critical parts of the internet, including ordering owners of critical infrastructure to implement emergency response plans, during a government declared cyber-emergency. Obama would supposedly need congressional approval to extend a national cyber-emergency beyond 120 days under an amendment to the legislation approved by the committee.
Friday, July 16, 2010
How To Start A Fire
Taken from American Survival Guide
The primary means of starting fire for European cultures over the last 1000
years (possibly longer) has been flint and steel. Building the flint and
steel fire has become one of the sporting events common to black powder
rendezvous. Because of this flint and steel sets and the knowledge
required to use them are available to anyone who wants to learn the
technique.
The four items needed to start a flint and steel fire are:
1. Flint, or some other hard rock.
2. A fire steel.
3. Something to catch sparks.
4. Tinder.
Flint has been the traditional stone because it is hard, and
breaks into keen edged fragments. Other stones will work, particularly the
quartz based minerals. Look for stones that break into relatively flat
sections with sharp edges.
The steel is struck against the sharp edge of a hard stone which shaves
off very small splinters of steel which are heated white hot by friction.
To strike a fire hold the char on Top of the flint, close to the edge and
strike the stone with a long sweeping downward stroke of the steel. Char
cloth can be wrapped around the stone. When a spark catches in the char, a
small glowing spot will appear. Blow on the spot gently and it will spread
into the char material.
The most critical is number 3, the spark catching material. The most common
material is charred cotton or linen cloth.
Char cloth is produced by heating in a low oxygen environment, producing a
charcoal like substance. Get a metal can that can be resealed. Put the
cloth to be charred in the can and seal it. Punch a small hole in the can
and put the whole mess in a fire. Watch for smoke escaping through the
hole in the can. When the smoke decreases slightly, remove the can from
the fire and stopper the hole with a nail or something. After the can
cools, look at the cloth. If it's dark brown, it wasn't heated long
enough. If it falls apart at the slightest touch, it was heated to long.
Experiment. The cloth needs to be 100% cotton, and free of dyes and other
synthetics. The heavier the cloth, the better.
Another good material to treat in this way is very rotten punk wood. Wood
so rotten that it can be broken off with your hands. Maple is the
preferred wood, but others work well also. Gather several different types
and see what works well. Experiment. Charred punk is not as consistant as
cloth, some will catch sparks very well, some won't at all. If it does
catch, it is next to impossible to kill. Don't throw away the charred punk
that won't catch sparks, it'll be useful later.
Char material will glow, but it does not produce an open flame. That is
the job of the tinder. Lay the glowing char in a birds next of fine dry
tinder. Shredded paper, dry grass, and cedar bark all work well. Gently
blow on the ember until the tinder bursts in to a flame.
On sunny days, a magnifying glass will get an ember going in the char
material very easily. From there to getting the tinder going is no
problem. The charred punk that you couldn't light with a spark will start
this way.
ANOTHER WAY - Bow and Drill
The four items needed to start a bow and drill fire are:
1. The bow.
2. Drill, or drills.
3. A flat plank.
4. A bearing block.
And some char material and tinder of course.
The first item required is a bow. 30" long and .5 to .75 inches thick. A
little bit of flex, but nothing like an arrow casting bow. Notch the ends
of the bow and tie on a heavy cord, leaving just enough slack to wrap the
cord around the drill. Nylon boot laces work very well, but any cord will
wear out rather quickly.
Drills should be bone dry, with no pitch or oil. Relatively soft drills
work better. Western Red Cedar, Red Alder, and Willow work well. Also try
White Cedar, Cottonwood, Birch, Aspen, and Poplars. Drills should be 6 to
8 inches long, with the bark stripped off, and .5 to .75 inches thick.
Round one end, and make a blunt point on the other.
The flat plank should be 2 to 3 inches wide and .5 to .75 inches thick. It
should be made from one of the woods used as a fire drill above. Cut a
triangular notch roughly .25 inch into the fireboard, this is to catch the
sawdust. At the point of the V gouge a small hole for the drill tip. Work
with that notch. To shallow and the dust forms a ring around the drill, to
narrow and the sawdust doesn't have the mass to support an ember.
Experiment.
Lastly, is the bearing block. This is what you hold in your hand to hold
the top of the drill. It should be slightly, or more bowl shaped, so the
the top of the drill doesn't wonder out. Common materials are hollowed out
stones, hardwood knots, and carved bones. The author recommends a one
ounce shot glass, as the shot glass is almost friction free when the drill
turns inside it.
Place something flat and dry under the fireboard (plank) to catch the ember
when it forms. Wrap the cord around the drill. Take shotglass in the
other hand to hold the top of the drill. Put the point of the drill in the
small hole at the V. Spin the drill with long smooth strokes of the bow.
Use moderate pressure. You want some pressure to create friction. In a
bit there should be smoke rising from the drill hole, and a wood dust pile
rising in the notch. Watch the sawdust pile, and when it seems to be
smoking on it's own carefully lift out the drill. If the sawdust
continues to smoke there is an ember in there that will burn its way
through the sawdust pile.
Now you can put some tinder on the pile and blow it into a flame, or light
a piece of char with the sawdust ember. Since the sawdust pile is hard to
move, and easy to blow away, it is easier to light the char with it.
Again, this is a good use of punk wood that won't work with the flint and
steel.
The time to think of matchless fires is sometime before your match supply
runs out. Collect the materials now, and they will be bone dry when you
need them.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Road Warrior Collapse?
Are we on the way to this type of collapse? Can this happen in this country? Lots of people will say no, and some will say yes. As I see it I would say yes we can and I think if the BS our leaders keep pushing on us keeps getting worse and worse we will be in a full Road Warrior Collapse down the road. It will be an all out fight just to survive and every man for himself. I know that when the collapse hits, what ever the reason for the collapse the first few days will be a crazy fight for whats left on the store shelves. I don't know what lies ahead for this country, but I do know it will not be nice. And a collapse is about a sure thing. Now is the time to prep non-stop and make plans to survive. We need to have food, water, medical supplies and guns and ammo on hand for after the collapse. If the collapse hits and you don't have it, I would say it's a good bet you will not be getting it. So make plans to survive and start prepping.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Thomas Jefferson
When we get piled
upon one another in large cities, as in Europe,
we shall become as corrupt as Europe .
Thomas Jefferson
The democracy will cease to exist
when you take away from those
who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
It is incumbent on every
generation to pay its own debts as it goes.
A principle which if acted on would save
one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson
I predict future happiness for
Americans if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the
pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
My reading of history convinces me
that most bad government results from too much
government.
Thomas Jefferson
No free man shall ever be debarred
the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson
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
The tree of liberty must be
refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson
To compel a man to subsidize with
his taxes the propagation of ideas which he
disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
'I believe that
banking institutions are more dangerous to
our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow
private banks to control the issue of their
currency, first by inflation, then by
deflation, the banks and corporations that will
grow up around the banks will deprive the people
of all property - until their children
wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers
conquered.'
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Empty Store Shelves Coming to America
I found this at infowars.com
National Inflation Association
July 13, 2010
The National Inflation Association today issued a warning to all Americans that empty store shelves will likely be coming to America as a result of government price controls during the upcoming hyperinflationary crisis. This morning, NIA released a video preview of what hyperinflation will look like in the U.S.
NIA’s six-minute video released today goes into detail about an event that took place just outside of Boston, Massachusetts in May of this year. This story was widely ignored by the nationwide mainstream media, but NIA believes it was one of the most important news events of the first half of 2010. Although this particular crisis in Boston was due to decaying infrastructure, NIA believes a currency crisis will lead to the same type of panic on a nationwide basis.
NIA hopes that this video serves as a wake-up call for Americans to take the necessary steps to prepare for hyperinflation and become educated about the U.S. economy. In Zimbabwe during hyperinflation, Zimbabweans were forced to transact in gold and silver. It’s only a matter of time before the U.S. dollar becomes worthless and the only Americans with wealth will be those who own gold and silver.
National Inflation Association
July 13, 2010
The National Inflation Association today issued a warning to all Americans that empty store shelves will likely be coming to America as a result of government price controls during the upcoming hyperinflationary crisis. This morning, NIA released a video preview of what hyperinflation will look like in the U.S.
NIA’s six-minute video released today goes into detail about an event that took place just outside of Boston, Massachusetts in May of this year. This story was widely ignored by the nationwide mainstream media, but NIA believes it was one of the most important news events of the first half of 2010. Although this particular crisis in Boston was due to decaying infrastructure, NIA believes a currency crisis will lead to the same type of panic on a nationwide basis.
NIA hopes that this video serves as a wake-up call for Americans to take the necessary steps to prepare for hyperinflation and become educated about the U.S. economy. In Zimbabwe during hyperinflation, Zimbabweans were forced to transact in gold and silver. It’s only a matter of time before the U.S. dollar becomes worthless and the only Americans with wealth will be those who own gold and silver.
Monday, July 12, 2010
A Day At The Range With My Little Lady
We got out to the range at about 11am and set up the 10'X10' tent and the chairs and then got to the shooting. It was me my son-in-law and my little lady. Over all she did well and shot good groups all day but I could not get her to keep that right arm down even a little. It was a good day and we shot a lot of ammo. And like my son-in-law has said a bad day shooting is still better than good day at work, but we had a great day shooting and plan to do this once a week. I think shooting is just as much a prep as my beans, rice and other foods. As always keep up your prepping and stay alert, because our time is getting short. Get out and do something to help you survive!!!!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
This Is a Great Blog......Check It Out
Wretha and her husband have lived off grid full time since December 2007, there have been ups and downs, but all in all it's been a great adventure. Now Wretha and her husband have been immortalized in an off grid book, click here to learn more about it.
http://wretha.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-wonderful-guest-book-giveaway.html
http://wretha.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-wonderful-guest-book-giveaway.html
A Little Spice Is Nice
MRE’s, Mac and Cheese, powdered potatoes, and canned vegetables are going to get really old, really quick after the collapse. If you have dedicated spices, herbs, and seasonings in your food preps your group’s morale will be a lot better. Some have a small spot in there garden for herbs and others have a stock of needed herbs and spices, one way or the other you will need and want them for your food prep's.
Some of the Items you will want to have on hand to help spice up your food. I know there are lots more but this is just a short list.
1.Salt
2.Black Pepper
3.Chili Powder
4.Garlic Powder
5.Onion Powder
6.Cinnamon (also great on fruit)
7.Bay Leaves
8.Parsley
9.Oregano
10.Basil
11.Allspice
12.Catnip
13.Cilantro
14.Clove
15.Ginger
16.Mustard Powder
17.Nutmeg
18.Peppermint
19.Rosemary
20.Saffron
21.Thyme
22.Vanilla
23.Sage
24.Mint
25.Meat Spices
26.Mrs. Dash
27.Cajun Seasoning
28.Honey
29.White Pepper
30.Horseradish
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