Hurricane Season: Seven Basics for Emergency Kits

Okay, folks, it's peak hurricane season, again. Nobody in a hurricane-prone area should be caught off-guard. If you live anywhere along the East or Gulf coast, you should be ready with a 72-hour emergency kit for you and your family now. And, don't forget your pets. Even if you don't live in a hurricane area, keeping an emergency kit on hand at all times is just smart because you never know when trouble will come.

Do you have these basics for your home? The American Red Cross recommends:

1. Keep at least a three-day supply of water per person. Each person requires one gallon per day for drinking, food preparation and sanitation or 3 gallons for 3 days for each person. 
2. Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking, and little or no water. Don't forget a manual can opener.
3. Assemble a first aid kit for your home and one for each car. Do not forget your prescription drugs or specialized medical equipment or supplies. 
4. Include other necessary tools and supplies for daily living, sanitation, and clean-up during recovery in your evacuation kit. This should include cash since ATMs will not work without electricity, and banks will be closed. Include at least one complete change of clothing and footwear per person. Also, take bedding or sleeping bags if you must evacuate to a shelter. 
5. Assess the special needs of family members with special requirements, such as infants and elderly or disabled persons. Plan ahead, especially if they will need specialized care or continuous electricity for medical equipment. 
6. Include entertainment items to pass the time and provide psychological relief during the storm. Board games and other games that don’t require batteries or electricity. Books, travel board games and a deck of cards are good choices.
7. Keep important financial and personal records in a waterproof, portable container. Take these with you if you have to evacuate. Before the storm, make copies or scan them onto a computer disk and send them to a trusted friend or family member who lives in another part of the country. Make a list of important phone numbers, including friends and family members. 

Remember your pets. Do not leave your pets behind.

1. Plan ahead as to where your pet will be sheltered. This may include accompanying you to a pet-friendly shelter; most require advanced registration and proof of vaccinations. Kennels outside evacuation zones are another option; make reservations early. Make reservations early if you hope to stay at pet-friendly hotels or motels. Arrange foster care of your pets with friends or family members, if needed.
2. Make sure your pet has current tags on its collar and carry proof of rabies vaccination and a recent photograph of your pet. Put the phone number of a friend or family member on the tag, too, in case your pet gets loose and is found by someone.
3. Keep pets in sturdy, secure pet carriers throughout the storm, even if you remain in your home. Keep them on leashes or harnesses when they are out of the carrier.
4. Pack a minimum of a week's supply of food, water, and other provisions, such as medication or cat litter.
5. Talk to your veterinarian about tranquilizers for your pets, especially if they have a history of becoming highly stressed during storms or when traveling. Include toys or comfort items for your pet, too. 

Store your kit in a convenient place known to all family members. Keep a smaller version of the supplies' kit in the trunk of your car. Keep items in airtight plastic bags. Change your stored water supply every six months so it stays fresh. Review your kit and family needs at least once a year. Keep the items that you would most likely need during an evacuation in an easy-to carry container," such as a covered trash container, a camping backpack, or a duffle bag.

For more information, go to
http://www.hurricanesafety.org/hurricanesafetychecklists.shtml

Heroes & Traitors: The Debt Ceiling Votes

Below is the list of the heroes in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate who had the courage to stand up to their leadership and vote against the debt ceiling raise deal. It proved, once again, that politics makes for strange bedfellows. For example, it is rare that Florida's conservative Rep. Cliff Stearns and liberal Rep. Corrine Brown vote alike.

U.S. Senate, August 2, 2011: The legislation passed with a final total of 74 yeses and 26 noes. The heroes who voted NO (against raising the debt ceiling):

• Ayotte, Kelly NH-R
• Chambliss, Clarence GA-R
• Coats, Daniel IN-R
• Coburn, Thomas OK-R
• DeMint, James SC-D
• Gillibrand, Kirsten NY-D
• Graham, Lindsey SC-R
• Grassley, Charles IA-R
• Harkin, Thomas IA-D
• Hatch, Orrin UT-R
• Heller, Dean NV-R
• Inhofe, James OK-R
• Johnson, Ron WI-R
• Lautenberg, Frank NJ-D
• Lee, Mike UT-R
• Menéndez, Robert NJ-D
• Merkley, Jeff OR-D
• Moran, Jerry KS-R
• Nelson, Earl NE-D
• Paul, Rand KY-R
• Rubio, Marco FL-R
• Sanders, Bernard VT-I
• Sessions, Jefferson AL-R
• Shelby, Richard AL-R
• Toomey, Patrick PA-R
• Vitter, David LA-R

Senate traitors who were endorsed by the Tea Party and cowardly voted FOR Harry Reid's debt ceiling bill:

• Boozman, John AR-R
• Burr, Richard NC-R
• Crapo, Michael ID-R
• Hoeven, John ND-R
• Portman, Robert OH-R
• Thune, John SD-R

The House of Representatives voted on August 1, 2011 with 269 yeas, 161 nays, and 3 not voting. The House heroes who voted AGAINST raising the debt ceiling are:

• Ackerman, Gary NY-D
• Akin, William MO-R
• Amash, Justin MI-R
• Bachmann, Michele MN-R
• Baldwin, Tammy WI-D
• Becerra, Xavier CA-D
• Bishop, Robert UT-R
• Blumenauer, Earl OR-D
• Boswell, Leonard IA-D
• Braley, Bruce IA-D
• Brooks, Mo AL-R
• Broun, Paul GA-R
• Brown, Corrine FL-D
• Buerkle, Ann Marie NY-R
• Burton, Danny IN-R
• Butterfield, George NC-D
• Capuano, Michael MA-D
• Cardoza, Dennis CA-D
• Carson, Andre IN-D
• Chaffetz, Jason UT-R
• Chu, Judy CA-D
• Clarke, Hansen MI-D
• Clarke, Yvette NY-D
• Cleaver, Emanuel MO-D
• Cohen, Stephen TN-D
• Conyers, John MI-D
• Cravaack, Chip MN-R
• Crowley, Joseph NY-D
• Cummings, Elijah MD-D
• Davis, Geoffrey KY-R
• DeFazio, Peter OR-D
• DeGette, Diana CO-D
• DeLauro, Rosa CT-D
• DesJarlais, Scott TN-R
• Doyle, Michael PA-D
• Duncan, Jeff SC-R
• Edwards, Donna MD-D
• Ellison, Keith MN-D
• Engel, Eliot NY-D
• Farr, Samuel CA-D
• Filner, Robert CA-D
• Flake, Jeffrey AZ-R
• Fleischmann, Chuck TN-R
• Fleming, John LA-R
• Forbes, James VA-R
• Frank, Barnett MA-D
• Franks, Trent AZ-R
• Fudge, Marcia OH-D
• Garrett, Ernest NJ-R
• Gingrey, John GA-R
• Gohmert, Louis TX-R
• Gonzalez, Charles TX-D
• Gowdy, Trey SC-R
• Graves, Tom GA-R
• Green, Alexander TX-D
• Griffith, Morgan VA-R
• Grijalva, Raul AZ-D
• Hahn, Janice CA-D
• Hall, Ralph TX-R
• Harris, Andy MD-R
• Hartzler, Vicky MO-R
• Hastings, Alcee FL-D
• Holt, Rush NJ-D
• Honda, Mike CA-D
• Huelskamp, Tim KS-R
• Hultgren, Randy IL-R
• Hunter, Duncan CA-R
• Jackson, Jesse IL-D
• Johnson, Timothy IL-R
• Jones, Walter NC-R
• Jordan, Jim OH-R
• Kaptur, Marcia OH-D
• King, Steve IA-R
• Kingston, Jack GA-R
• Kissell, Larry NC-D
• Kucinich, Dennis OH-D
• Labrador, Raul ID-R
• Lamborn, Doug CO-R
• Landry, Jeff LA-R
• Larson, John CT-D
• Latham, Thomas IA-R
• Lee, Barbara CA-D
• Lewis, John GA-D
• Loebsack, David IA-D
• Lofgren, Zoe CA-D
• Lujan, Ben NM-D
• Mack, Connie FL-R
• Maloney, Carolyn NY-D
• Markey, Edward MA-D
• Matsui, Doris CA-D
• McClintock, Tom CA-R
• McCollum, Betty MN-D
• McDermott, James WA-D
• McGovern, James MA-D
• McIntyre, Mike NC-D
• McNerney, Jerry CA-D
• Miller, Brad NC-D
• Miller, George CA-D
• Moran, James VA-D
• Mulvaney, Mick SC-R
• Murphy, Christopher CT-D
• Nadler, Jerrold NY-D
• Napolitano, Grace CA-D
• Neal, Richard MA-D
• Neugebauer, Randy TX-R
• Nunes, Devin CA-R
• Olver, John MA-D
• Pallone, Frank NJ-D
• Pastor, Edward AZ-D
• Paul, Ronald TX-R
• Payne, Donald NJ-D
• Pearce, Stevan NM-R
• Peters, Gary MI-D
• Pingree, Chellie ME-D
• Poe, Ted TX-R
• Posey, Bill FL-R
• Price, David NC-D
• Quayle, Ben AZ-R
• Rangel, Charles NY-D
• Rehberg, Dennis MT-R
• Reyes, Silvestre TX-D
• Richardson, Laura CA-D
• Roby, Martha AL-R
• Rokita, Todd IN-R
• Ross, Dennis FL-R
• Roybal-Allard, Lucille CA-D
• Ryan, Timothy OH-D
• Sanchez, Linda CA-D
• Sarbanes, John MD-D
• Scalise, Steve LA-R
• Schakowsky, Janice IL-D
• IL R Schweikert, David AZ-R
• Scott, Austin GA-R
• Scott, Robert VA-D
• Scott, Tim SC-R
• Serrano, Jose NY-D
• Slaughter, Louise NY-D
• Smith, Adam WA-D
• Southerland, Steve FL-R
• Stark, Fortney CA-D
• Stearns, Clifford FL-R
• Stutzman, Marlin IN-R
• Sutton, Betty OH-D
• Thompson, Bennie MS-D
• Tierney, John MA-D
• Tipton, Scott CO-R
• Tonko, Paul NY-D
• Towns, Edolphus NY-D
• Turner, Michael OH-R
• Velázquez, Nydia NY-D
• Visclosky, Peter IN-D
• Walsh, Joe IL-R
• Waters, Maxine CA-D
• Watt, Melvin NC-D
• Waxman, Henry CA-D
• Welch, Peter VT-D
• Westmoreland, Lynn GA-R
• Wilson, Addison SC-R
• Woolsey, Lynn CA-D
• Yarmuth, John KY-D
• Yoder, Kevin KS-R

House traitors who cowardly voted FOR the debt ceiling raise despite Tea Party endorsements are:

• Adams, Sandra FL-R
• Bass, Charles NH-R
• Benishek, Dan MI-R
• Berg, Rick ND-R
• Bilbray, Brian CA-R
• Black, Diane TN-R
• Bucshon, Larry IN-R
• Calvert, Kenneth CA-R
• Camp, David MI-R
• Campbell, John CA-R
• Canseco, Quico TX-R
• Chabot, Steven OH-R
• Coffman, Michael CO-R
• Cole, Thomas OK-R
• Crawford, Rick AR-R
• Denham, Jeff CA-R
• Dold, Robert IL-R
• Duffy, Sean WI-R
• Ellmers, Renee NC-R
• Fincher, Stephen TN-R
• Fitzpatrick, Michael PA-R
• Flores, Bill TX-R
• Fortenberry, Jeffrey NE-R
• Gallegly, Elton CA-R
• Gardner, Cory CO-R
• Gibbs, Bob OH-R
• Gosar, Paul AZ-R
• Griffin, Tim AR-R
• Grimm, Mike NY-R
• Guinta, Frank NH-R
• Hanna, Richard NY-R
• Heck, Joe NV-R
• Herger, Walter CA-R
• Herrera, Jaime WA-R
• Huizenga, Bill MI-R
• Jenkins, Lynn KS-R
• Johnson, Bill OH-R
• Kelly, Mike PA-R
• Kinzinger, Adam IL-R
• Lankford, James OK-R
• Lewis, Charles CA-R
• Long, Billy MO-R
• Lucas, Frank OK-R
• Lummis, Cynthia WY-R
• Lungren, Daniel CA-R
• Marino, Thomas PA-R
• McCarthy, Kevin CA-R
• McCotter, Thaddeus MI-R
• McKeon, Howard CA-R
• McKinley, David WV-R
• McMorris Rodgers, Cathy WA-R
• Meehan, Patrick PA-R
• Miller, Candice MI-R
• Miller, Gary CA-R
• Nunnelee, Alan MS-R
• Paulsen, Erik MN-R
• Pompeo, Mike KS-R
• Renacci, Jim OH-R
• Ribble, Reid WI-R
• Rivera, David FL-R
• Rohrabacher, Dana CA-R
• Royce, Edward CA-R
• Runyan, Jon NJ-R
• Schilling, Bobby IL-R
• Simpson, Michael ID-R
• Smith, Adrian NE-R
• Stivers, Steve OH-R
• Sullivan, John OK-R
• Terry, Lee NE-R
• Upton, Frederick MI-R
• Walberg, Timothy MI-R
• Walden, Greg OR-R
• Webster, Daniel FL-R
• West, Allen FL-R
• Womack, Steve AR-R
• Young, Todd IN-R

Correction: Who Owns the National Debt?

On my last post, I made an error in reporting who owns the federal debt, and I apologize for any confusion it may have caused. I originally reported 86 percent is owned by and owed to Americans. Here are the correct facts:


The total public debt as of 8/1/2011 is $14.3 trillion or $46,708 per U.S. citizen. It is higher than the total value of China's, the United Kingdom's and Australia's economies together. Our national debt is growing by $3.5 billion per day or $2 million per minute.

Only 32 percent or about $4.6 trillion is owned by the federal government (intragovernmental holdings) as IOUs for Social Security, federal pensions, etc. About $3 trillion is owed to Social Security and the Federal Reserve Bank holds about $2 trillion.

About $5.3 trillion or 37 percent are private holdings by American investors, corporations (especially banks and pension funds), and holdings by state and local governments.

The remaining $4.4 trillion or 30 percent is owned by foreigners. China owns 8 percent of our debt or about $1.2 billion. This makes the Chinese the third largest holder of U.S. debt. Only the Social Security Trust Fund and the Federal Reserve Bank hold more.

Therefore, about $9.9 trillion or 69 percent, not 86 percent, of the national debt is owned by and owed to Americans.

Sources used include: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/ss/How-Much-US-Debt-Does-China-Own.htm  http://www.usdebtclock.org/

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np
http://www.fms.treas.gov/bulletin/index.html
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt
http://www.defeatthedebt.com/

Picturing the National Debt

The website http://usdebt.kleptocracy.us/ has created a series of graphic images of what our current and future national debt looks like. I highly recommend taking a look at it. It helps one understand what is facing us or, more accurately, our children, if we do not get our national spending under control.


One hundred million dollars, stacked, would be a pallet-load on a standard shipping pallet. It would stand about chest high on an average size man. Still, it is a trifle compared to our debt.

One billion dollars would require ten $100,000,000 pallets. Although more impressive, it is still a drop in the bucket.

Now, take 20,000 of those $100,000,000 pallets and stack them double-high. To equal a trillion dollars, you would fill a football field with double-stacked pallets. In 2010, the U.S. government racked up a deficit of $1.7 trillion or one-and-a-half football fields of double-stacked pallets.

The total national debt for 2011 is projected to total $15 trillion, "20% of the entire world's combined GDP (Gross Domestic Product)" and more than 100% of the value of all goods and services (GDP) produced in our country. To equal $15 trillion, take these $100,000,000 pallets and stack them 60 pallets high, and then fill two football fields with these 60-pallet stacks. If the Statue of Liberty was placed next to the them, the stacks would reach chest-high on Lady Liberty.

Now, if you are not depressed and distressed enough, take a look at our nation's unfunded liabilities. To fully fund the Medicare, Medicare Prescription Drug, Social Security, Military and federal civil servant pension plans as currently structured would require -- are you ready? -- $114.5 trillion dollars. (This figure does not include Obamacare, by the way.) A single layer of our double-stacked pallets would equal $1 trillion dollars so the total would soar to 114-1/2 layers high, well over the tops of the fallen World Trade Center towers, almost three-quarters higher than the Empire State building, and higher than the 1,976-story Freedom Tower under-construction at Ground Zero. That is how much $114,500,000,000,000 is.

It is easy to depersonalize these numbers. We say, it is the government's debt or it is owed to others, such as China and other countries. Some say the national debt does not concern or effect them. Well, these facts may surprise you:

Who is the government? "We the People of the United States" are the Constitution's first words. The U.S. government is not some disembodied entity. It is you and me together; we are the government. Thus, the national debt is our debt. We owe it. And, it may surprise you, but most of it -- about 86 percent -- is owed, not to other nations, but to ourselves. Government agencies borrow and lend to one another. In other words, we take money from one of our hands and give it to the other.

For example, you have probably heard about the "Social Security Trust Fund." The naive think this is some kind of special savings account set up by the government to protect the funds received from our paycheck withholdings until they are needed when we retire. The sad truth is all of those funds -- every single dollar of it -- has been lent back to the federal government to be included in the general revenues used to pay all the government's bills. It is not reserved to pay just Social Security claims, as many falsely believe. The so-called Social Security Trust Fund is just a stack of IOU's (government bonds) from the U.S. Treasury. These bonds are a promise to you that you will pay yourself back sometime in the future when you need the funds. The same is true for most of the other unfunded retirement promises owed to veterans and federal pensioners. Can you spell P-O-N-Z-I scheme?

For additional information, go to www.USdebtclock.org.