Swine Flu Vaccinations - Another Reason To Homeschool?

National Home Education Legal Defense put out a bulletin today regarding the possibility of mandatory swine flu vaccinations in American schools this fall.

The bulletin says this:

On the website for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,it was announced that the federal government is committed to “developing a national response framework and action plan” to prepare for a more serious outbreak of the swine flu in the fall.

Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website does not state that the vaccinations will be “mandatory”, it does say that the federal government is “partnering” with state and local governments in this effort. That’s primarily because the federal government inherently does not have any Constitutional authority to mandate that school children receive any vaccinations. That authority is a power that is left to the States and to the people pursuant to the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Over time, however, the people in most states have allowed their elected officials to implement state laws that do mandate vaccinations for school children. According to the Congressional Research Service, in a report released in 2005, every state has a law requiring children to be vaccinated before they enrolled in a public or a private school.

Now we know that exemptions do exist - but they can be limited. What we do know is that the government can use the public purse as a coercive measure to get states to comply with various initiatives. Aside from that there is the larger issue of safety with these vaccines. The last time a flu epidemic hit in 1976, the vaccine used to combat it created more fatalities than the disease. (See my previous post on this issue). The reality is that pharmaceutical companies are in bed with government. We already know how many lobbyists for big Pharma are in Washington and in our own State houses. They look to government to mandate the use of their products and even help them to market them. This has been evidenced by HPV vaccine legislation that was attempted across the country. Why should American school children be used to prop up the financial bottomline for companies that have so much to gain from vaccination legislation? It's especially distasteful when used in the context of "preparedness" or "public safety", and of course the media is also employed to conjure up fear and to feed the public what it wants them to hear.

The NHELD bulletin goes on to say this:

For now, at least, it would appear that the federal government is relying on a more familiar technique to accomplish its goals. It is, once again, dangling federal tax dollars in front of state officials to get the states to do its bidding. The Health and Human Services Department website notes that the federal government will make available to the states “preparedness grants worth a total of $350 million” so the states can “step up” their “preparedness efforts.”

It is also highly interesting for parents to note that the Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, also indicated in news reports that “no final decision has been made on whether to vaccinate Americans” yet because it “depends largely on studies with experimental batches…[of the vaccine] to see if they’re safe and seem to work…” (Emphasis added).

Not to worry, though. She hopes that “all goes well”. If it does, she added, the federal government would buy the vaccine from manufacturers and share it among the states to get it to the “targeted population as soon as possible.” Whom did she say was first in line for the vaccine? School children, of course, would be first. In fact, the federal government’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “Schools are natural places” to offer those vaccines.

So while the State may at some point make mandates, you as a parent must consider, “Will the vaccines be safe for your child?” It may be hard to answer that question entirely, but some interesting items are revealed on the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. website. Their “Fact Sheet on Mandatory Vaccines” cites these facts:

- “The Centers for Disease Control admits that the reported number of adverse effects of vaccines is probably only 10% of actual adverse effects;”

- “Rampant conflicts of interest in the approval process has been the subject of several Congressional hearings, and a recent Congressional report concluded that the pharmaceutical industry has indeed exerted undue influence on mandatory vaccine legislation toward its own financial interests;”

- “The vaccine approval process has also been contaminated by flawed or incomplete clinical trials, and government officials have chosen to ignore negative results;” and

- “Mandatory vaccines violate the medical ethic of informed consent. A case could also be made that mandates for vaccines by school districts and legislatures is the de facto practice of medicine without a license.”

NHELD says this:

Aside from the controversies surrounding the possibility of adverse side effects, the efficacy of the vaccine, and whether or not parents actually will be provided with sufficient information to offer informed consent, parents need to consider whether they will have any ability to consent, at all, before their children are required to receive the vaccine.

Before this fall, parents need to ask, “Is my state mandating that my child obtain the swine flu vaccine as a prerequisite to attending school? After all, the states already require children to receive other vaccinations as a prerequisite to attending school. Will the swine flu, become just another one of the vaccinations already required?

An even better question to ask is, “Will the State be compelled to require children to receive the swine flu vaccine as a condition of the State receiving its share of the $350 million dollars that the federal government is providing to the States for swine flu preparedness?” That is the preferred method, to date, when the federal government wants to mandate the implementation of its will. Why wouldn’t the federal government utilize that same method when it comes to dictating what vaccinations your child will receive?

If the federal government does make such a deal with the States as a means to achieving its goal of having children vaccinated, what is a concerned parent to do? If a child cannot attend school, public or private, (private schools also already must comply with State imposed vaccination laws), without receiving the swine flu vaccination, and the parent objects to the child receiving the swine flu vaccine out of concern for possible adverse effects, the parent then either risks the child’s health, or risks the possibility of having the child be considered truant.

If the government makes swine flu vaccination mandatory for school kids - under whatever means in their power, do parents who object to the vaccine have a choice? Is there another solution?

NHELD says The answer to that is yes.

At that point, the parent can choose to homeschool. Most state laws regarding vaccination only apply to children upon entrance to public and private school. They do not require children who are homeschooled to obtain those vaccinations. That’s because the purpose of vaccination of the population in public and private school is to stop the spread of the disease in that community where the children congregate in large numbers, and where it is more difficult to control the spread of germs and to maintain a clean environment.

The purpose of the vaccination no longer exists, however, at least not anywhere near to the same extent, when children are educated at home. Their numbers are smaller and their environment is easier to maintain in a relatively germ free manner. While normally homeschooled children are not recluses, in the midst of an epidemic there is no need to fear that they will either get, or spread, the infectious disease because the parents can regulate their contact with other children. Nor is there any need to fear that their education will suffer when their education takes place in the home in any case. Their parents likely will remain highly motivated to keep the children from exposure during the outbreak, while at the same time to continue their educational routine unabated.

While there are many diverse reasons why parents homeschool, and while it is still uncertain at this time whether swine flu vaccinations will become mandatory, come this fall, there may be one more very good reason why parents may choose to homeschool.

Informed consent is a right parents must protect.
A parent should not be cited for medical neglect if they opt to refuse a certain treatment or vaccination for their child, yet we know that this happens. The question begs to be asked then - who is in control of the health of a child? The parent or the State? And if something DOES happen to the child as a result of treatment or vaccine, shouldn't the family have a right to sue and collect damages from the State, School district, and pharmaceutical company? Where is the liability?

Choices must be kept available, and if the school mandates things that you do not agree with, regarding vaccination or anything else, then your choice to homeschool may be appropriate.

Your child does NOT belong to the State.

Obama Checks Out New Stimulus Package

Sarkozy's look is also priceless....

I nominate this for photo of the week.

CT State Sovereignty Movement

We have heard about other states in the union putting forth legislation in their respective state houses to underscore and reiterate their Tenth Amendment rights, basically acknowledging that the Federal government has overstepped its bounds on numerous occasions. States are starting to stand up for themselves and send a message to the Feds that they no longer wish to be dictated to regarding a number of issues from education to gun control to establishment of martial law.

Here is the thrust of the State sovereignty movement (which by the way, is different than secessionist movements which seek to have a state leave the union all together):

"To restore and uphold the sovereignty and rights of the individual States as guaranteed by the tenth amendment of the United States Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

In any case, CT is no different, and in case you have been wondering, we do have a state sovereignty movement bubbling in our midst. There is a petition online as well as a paper petition circulating courtesy of Cort Wrotnowski (email: metaqubit at aol dot com).

Here is a draft of the CT State Sovereignty resolution which I recently obtained from Mr. Wrotnowski.

The last 6 points regarding nullification of Federal mandates and laws have to do with (including but not limited to):

1) Establishment of martial law - that the State can choose to disregard Federal mandates for this action and must have the State's legislature decide as to whether martial law should be instituted or not in Connecticut.

2) Involuntary servitude - that the State can reject any call for mandatory service other than a draft during a declared war - especially if there is a consequence of incarceration as a result of refusal.

3) Involuntary servitude for those under the age of 18 - that the state can reject any Federal mandate for such service - again - especially if there is a consequence of incarceration as a result of refusal.

4) Surrendering of power delegated or not delegated to any corporation or foreign government.

5) Connecticut reserves the right to reject any Federal mandate regarding limitations on religion, freedom of political speech and limitations on freedom of the press.

6) Connecticut will reserve the right to reject any Federal mandates which infringe on the right to keep and bear arms including prohibitions on the type and quantity of arms and ammunition. (Yes, Federal gun control is unconstitutional according to the 10th amendment!)

In fact, this resolution states that the State of CT can declare any federal law deemed to be unconstitutional by the Connecticut State Legislature to be unauthoritative, void, and of no force within the jurisdiction of the state.

Perhaps instead of wasting time in Hartford talking about exonerating witches and whether or not we should have store deposits for plastic bags, our elected state representatives ought to be protecting our State rights from the continual usurpation and power grab coming out of Washington DC.

Who will be the first legislator in Hartford to introduce and sponsor this, or a similar, resolution?
And will the Governor pledge to sign such a resolution?
This could very well be an important campaign issue for 2010 in our state.

Audit The Fed!

Democrats in the Senate blocked this measure to Audit the Federal Reserve!
Shame on them!!!
Anyone blocking this measure is a traitor to this country!
Start with that Senator from Nebraska!
If the Fed has nothing to hide, then they ought to be made to open their books!

Read more at Campaign for Liberty

STOP The PASS ACT! And More! Please Call TODAY!

Global Biometric Identification System!
Citizen Identification and Tracking!

REAL ID legislation is MORPHING into the PASS ACT! The REAL ID Act was hustled through congress in May of 2005 and it required states to standardize driver's licenses such that all Americans to would carry a standardized FEDERAL ID card with an embedded trackable chip. Many states rejected REAL ID, so now the PASS ACT seeks to change the name of that initiative and to try again, with even more biometrics ! Some states have rejected REAL ID legislation already but this is going to be another attempt to ram it down their throats by Congress.

More about why REAL-ID and the PASS ACT need to be stopped can be found here and here.

Here is an article about this bill.

In remarks made by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano - there was a bill proposed in the Senate last week known as PASS ID (Senate Bill 1261). PASS ID is a national security measure that DHS claims to fulfill a key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, namely that the Federal Government set a national standard for identification. (As if that is going to make us all safer!)

As usual, this legislation will make is such that the Federal Government sets the standard, and then pressures states to implement that standard. Of course, PASS ID is the bill that will provide an implementation mechanism. No doubt there will be funds tied to it to coerce states into copying and adopting this legislation.

DHS claims in its memo that, “It’s a common sense bill that’s been worked on with the nation’s governors in a bipartisan fashion. It already has bipartisan support. The National Sheriff’s Association endorsed it a couple of days ago. The Federal Law Enforcement Association just endorsed it as well, so we’ll have law enforcement support coming on board.”

We need to contact the members of the Senate committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs IMMEDIATELY to STOP THE PASS ACT - S.1261 - This is an unnecessary expense to our states AND it is an assault on our privacy and rights.

This Alert below has been provided by the STOP REAL ID COALITION and Restore the Republic and Campaign for Liberty.

Special interests groups are trying to force Democrats, Independents and Republicans to support this legislation. States have been and are working to ensure drivers licenses are secure documents and have document integrity. The federal government, in spite of the states, wants to set international standards that are not needed! The federal government wants control of your state drivers license. The federal government is bribing states to go along with its plans.

Our freedom and our rights are not for sale!

Some governors want to take the bribe money.

The senate committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will be considering the legislation very soon.

The PASS Act does not repeal the Real ID Act. It does repeal provisions of the Real ID Act; those provisions that are included in Title II of the Real ID Act 2005. The Real ID Act is still intact and is federal law.

The PASS Act contains many of the most egregious aspects of the Real ID Act; including the requirement for a digital facial image/photograph that will be mandated to be internationally facial recognition compatible.

There is not a federal law that prohibits the simultaneous use of CCTV/surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology in real time.

The PASS Act will do nothing to provide a higher level of National security. Under the provisions of the PASS Act the documents used to obtain a drivers license are not authenticated. These documents are called breeder documents.

Although requirements for new databases and the linking of databases are not part of the PASS Act the fact remains through AAMVA and NLETS states can still have information contained in their state Department of Motor Vehicles made available to both federal and international law enforcement agencies without a court order.

Two international agencies (AAMVA and the ICAO, an agency of the United Nations) were involved in U.S. policy and law - the Real ID Act 2005 and the newly proposed PASS Act. DHS has called AAMVA the hub and backbone of the Real ID Act. On AAMVA's own web-site it proclaims it is an international organization that serves law enforcement and motor vehicle administrators.

Both the Real ID Act and the PASS Act result in Americans being enrolled into a single global biometric identification system that links a persons body to their ability to buy and sell.

WE ARE ASKING EVERY AMERICAN TO CALL EACH OF THE SENATORS in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee AND SAY:

We are opposed to the Real ID Act and the PASS Act
We are opposed to being enrolled into a biometric identification system
We do not want our social security numbers in state DMV databases
We do not want RFID chips in our drivers licenses
We are opposed to the federal government intervening in the issuance of state drivers licenses

The First, Fourth and Tenth Amendments are under attack. The Second Amendment will follow. This is not a partisan issue. All Americans must take action now. 16 calls per American, 16 minutes (one minute per call) for a Lifetime of Freedom.

In fact, while you are calling them, you can ask them to do these four things:
1) KILL THE PASS ACT (S. 1261)

2) KILL CAP and TRADE - This bill which narrowly passed in the House and needs to be killed in the Senate - Tell your Senator that Senator Inhofe found that the EPA suppressed a report slamming Global Warming.

3) SUPPORT S. 604 - Audit The FEDERAL RESERVE - S. 604 is H.R.1207's companion bill in the U.S. Senate - It is a bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Senator Sanders, Bernard (VT) (introduced 3/16/2009)
Co-sponsors (Senator Jim DeMint (SC)
Latest Major Action: 3/16/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

4) Don't Ratify the treaty: United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child


MAIN CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD: (202) 224-3121

Here is a list of the PASS ACT SENATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS. PLEASE CALL EVERY ONE, IN ADDITION TO YOUR OWN STATE SENATORS:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (Connecticut and Committee Chair), DC voicemail: 202-224-4041, fax: 202-224-9750, CT: 800-225-5605

Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), DC phone: 202-224-2523, fax 202-224-2693

Sen. Daniel Akaka (Bill SPONSOR) DC phone: 202-224-6361, fax 202-224-2126,
HI: 808-522-8970

Sen. Michael Bennet (Colorado), DC phone 202-224-5852, fax: 202-224-5036

Sen. Roland Burris (Illinois), DC phone 202-224-2854 , fax: 202-228-3333

Sen. Thomas Carper (Delaware), DC phone: 202-224-2441,fax: 202-228-2190

Sen. Thomas Coburn (Oklahoma), DC phone: 202-224-5754, fax: 202-224-6008

Sen. John Ensign (Nevada), DC phone: 202-224-6244, fax: 202-228-2193

Sen. Lindsey Graham (So. Carolina), DC phone: 202-224-5972

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (Louisiana), DC voicemail: 202-224-5824,fax: 202-224-9735

Sen. Carl Levin (Michigan), DC phone: 202-224-6221, fax: 202-224-1388

Sen. John McCain (Arizona), DC phone: 202-224-2235, fax: 202-228-2862

Sen. Claire McCaskill (Missouri), DC phone: 202-224-6154, fax: 202-228-6326

Sen. Mark Pryor (Arkansas), DC phone: 202-224-2353, fax: 202-228-0908

Sen. Jon Tester(Montana), DC phone: 202-224-2644, fax: 202-224-8594

Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio), DC phone: 202-224-3353

Humor For The Holiday Weekend

More government micromanaging.
I can't wait for the ropes course.


Obamaman - Greg Morton

Happy 4th Of July!

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Troubled Malls

With unemployment rising and consumers being more careful with their money, it stands to reason that commercial real estate is suffering. Here are excerpts of one report which highlights some troubling news regarding some shopping malls, especially aging malls. The report does not cover most smaller strip malls and other shopping centers owned by private firms, which tend to be smaller, less profitable, and more vulnerable to a bad economy than regional malls.

America's Most Endangered Malls

Malls have a natural lifespan, as population centers shift, architecture evolves, and shopping habits change. But a sharp recession is clearly accelerating the demise of vulnerable retailers--and some of the shopping centers they inhabit. Plunging sales are one obvious reason. Many retailers are also saddled with heavy debt taken on in recent years to fund aggressive growth. And the credit crunch has made cash scarce for firms that need it most.

Those tough conditions have already driven retailers like Circuit City, Linens 'N Things, and Steve & Barry's out of business. Other chains are closing stores and slashing costs as they fight to survive. General Growth Properties, a Chicago firm that operates more than 200 malls--and owns the remnants of Century Plaza--declared bankruptcy in April and is working on a restructuring plan.

... By some estimates, about 10 percent of the America's malls could close within the next few years.

... As a rule of thumb, malls with sales of $250 per square foot or lower are struggling. "It's hard for many retailers to be profitable at $250," says Jim Sullivan of Green Street. [Green Street Advisors, an investment research firm in Newport Beach, Calif., that specializes in publicly owned real estate companies. ]

... But the following 10 malls still represent bleak snapshots of some of the weakest spots in the nation's retail economy.

Century III Mall, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Occupancy rate: 70 percent; sales per square foot: $200*). About 30 of the 120 stores at this suburban Pittsburgh mall have closed recently, including anchor tenant Steve & Barry's and KB Toys (both of which have declared bankruptcy), Old Navy, Ruby Tuesday's, and Macy's Furniture Outlet. The 30-year-old complex targets value shoppers but competes with nearby discounters like Wal-Mart and Kohl's. Other area malls with more upscale stores are doing better. Century's owner, Simon Property Group, may be looking to sell Century III.

Chambersburg Mall, Chambersburg, Pa. (62 percent; $234). Sales have held steady over the past year, but a bucolic location 60 miles southwest of Harrisburg makes this sleepy mall a perennial underperformer. K.B. Toys, Value City, and B. Moss closed their stores after declaring bankruptcy. Newcomers include discounters like Bolton's and Burlington Coat Factory, which are likely to generate little excitement.

Crossroads Mall, Omaha, Neb. (68 percent; $200*). Shoppers are fleeing this 50-year-old mall in central Omaha for suburban shopping centers that feel safer and more vibrant. The departure of Dillard's in 2008 left one of three anchor slots vacant. The Zales and Gordon's jewelry chains are also gone, along with Gap and most of the mall's food-court restaurants. According to press reports, owner Simon Property Group recently put the property up for sale.

Hickory Hollow Mall, Nashville, Tenn. (82 percent; $187). Dillard's has left, and other departed tenants include Linens 'N Things and Steve & Barry's, two of the biggest casualties of the recession. Two of four anchor slots are vacant, and the theater recently switched from first-run movies to late-run discount flicks. With a lack of retailers, the mall may convert some of its space to office use. One new tenant: the local police, who recently opened a recruiting station at the mall.

Highland Mall, Austin, Tex. (61 percent; $150*). While gleaming new stores have been springing up in some parts of Austin, this 38-year-old mall along I-35 has struggled to keep stores open--and avoid embarrassing controversies. Anchor JCPenney left in 2006, and this year Dillard's sued the mall's owners, claiming they let the mall become a "ghost town." The owners countersued, claiming that the suit is part of a scheme to help Dillard's get out of its lease early.

Palm Beach Mall, West Palm Beach, Fla. (82 percent; $250*). A year ago, the plan was to renovate this fading 42-year-old property. But that changed with the recession. Anchor tenants Dillard's and Macy's bolted within the last year, and in April, the mall's owners defaulted on a big bank payment, triggering a foreclosure lawsuit that could force the sale of the property. The power company even threatened to shut off the mall's electricity, but the bill was paid at the last minute. While remaining tenants like Sears and JC Penney await the outcome of litigation, other nearby malls are adding space and gaining customers.

SouthPark Mall, Moline, Ill. (84 percent; $225). The owners spent a couple of years trying to sell this Quad Cities landmark, built in 1974, but they finally gave up late last year. Local officials would like to see the aging property converted to a more modern "lifestyle mall" with boutiques, lounging areas, and an upscale ambiance. But modest local incomes probably can't support the major investment that would require. For now, the only upgrades at SouthPark are the construction of a few strip centers on "outlots" surrounding the mall, to be occupied by cheap restaurants and local service businesses.

Southridge Mall, Des Moines, Iowa. (84 percent; $168). The 2007 arrival of Steve & Barry's was supposed to mark a revival for this 34-year-old complex on Des Moines's South Side, which has been losing shoppers to more gentrified suburban malls. Then the discounter went bankrupt and closed its stores. The mall's owners have been trying to sell the property, and city officials have been working on ways to revitalize the entire area.

Towne Mall, Franklin, Ohio. (49 percent; $207). This aging structure between Cincinnati and Dayton has been troubled for years, as the owner, CBL & Associates, and local officials have deliberated over whether to tear it down and build something more modern. Towne Mall has one of the highest vacancy rates of any operating mall, with more closed stores than open ones.

Washington Crown Center, Washington, Pa. (70 percent; $265). Three of its biggest retailers--Macy's, Bon-Ton, and Gander Mountain--have suffered deep losses as consumers have cut spending. The mall's owner, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, is revamping some of its properties--but not Washington Crown Centre, one of the weakest malls in its portfolio. PREIT could end up selling some of its subpar properties, which leaves this mall vulnerable.

In Connecticut, General Growth, the owners of Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, have filed for bankruptcy.

Commercial real estate is not doing well at all.

Another Stimulus Story - Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work

How do you like THAT use of taxpayer money?

Hyperinflation - Audit The Fed - End The Fed!

The economic cycles of inflation/expansion/recession/depression are a direct result of deliberate manipulation of the money supply by the Federal Reserve.
Believe it!
Bernanke and company know EXACTLY what they are doing.

National Inflation Association

Helicopter Parents, Letting Go, And Homeschooling

I had the pleasure of attending a college orientation program these past two days. "The girl" went to the students sessions with her freshman peers, and the husband and I got to be with the parents.

Oh my goodness.... all I can say is what a blessing that we homeschooled our daughter!

First of all, many of these helicopter parents were a mess... the school was literally handing out Kleenex. Talk about separation anxiety!! Well, I know this is our third going off to college - but honestly... you'd think these people would get a grip. The kids are adults already! They have lives of their own already. And yet, they can't seem to let go and enjoy the fact that they are parents of college aged people! Do they even remember what it was like to be free of their own parents, and wanting that freedom? Do they understand that the purpose of raising children is for them to become independent adults? That they are supposed to move out and move on?

But wait just a minute - hold the phone... you know what the college program covered for us parents? They gave us homework of sorts. The college stressed what us parents have to in the next 8 weeks before the kiddos arrive to their respective dormitories - It amounted to undoing 12 plus years of some unfortunate education (or lack thereof) in just 8 weeks. We must:

1. Instill in them some sort of code of ethics..
2. Tell them they are now on their own and have to solve their own problems..
3. Talk to them about sex, drugs and alcohol and how to conduct themselves..
4. Talk to them about being serious about college studying and where to get help on campus if they need it...
5. Talk to them about being more independent adults and that they have to now learn how to do their own laundry and care for their personal articles..
6. Talk to them about thinking about the consequences of their behavior...
7. Tell them that you won't intervene on their behalf and that they have to deal with their own problems...
8. Talk to them about managing their own time...
9. Talk to them about handling their own finances...
10. Talk to them about how to take care of their health...
11. Talk to them about how sending them to college is a financial commitment and that they should respect your sacrifices to allow them the ability to attend college

etc..etc..etc... you get the picture.

It was all about teaching your child to be independent, and undoing middle and high school "Group Think" - all in the next 8 weeks before they arrive on campus!

Their message seemed to be that the college recognized that in the past 12 plus years, parents and schools have taught most kids to be dependent - collectivists - steeped in a culture of self absorption and focused on trivial matters, receptive to the sound bites of the day that can be predigested and poured into their minds, with behavior molded by peer pressure. And now the college is looking for that to be erased, in just 8 weeks. They think this can be done with some sort of heart to heart discussion on the ride home from orientation.

According to my daughter, many of these kids were just clueless. Some have never even made their own beds! or cooked a meal (honest!!) Some had no idea how much their college education was costing them (and their parents), and some have never been away from home. It's amazing how unprepared most kids are for an independent life at the age of 18! How oblivious they are to their own real life! (versus virtual text messaging drama and pop culture) Don't get me wrong - they all seem like really good kids that come from really good families and homes... but yet - we observed that something in their development was sorely lacking. Unfortunately, it seems to be an American affliction too.

Fortunately, my husband and I don't have to do any of those things that the college asked parents to do between now and the end of August. We have spent the last 17 years doing those things! We just have to buy her new room decorations and school books. We don't have to have those deep serious discussions. We've already had them; and more than once!

Yes...what a blessing that we homeschooled our daughter! She already knows all that stuff - and more - you see she has been managing her own time and her own life all along really... doing her own laundry since she's been able to reach the top of the washer and managing her own money for as long as she could work for it and make bank deposits. She already understands the consequences of her own behavior, and the importance of making the best and most of her college days. She already understands what her goals are and how to use her college experience to reach them. They are her goals - her hopes - her aspirations and not her parent's, not her friend's, and not anyone else's. She didn't have a school guidance counselor tell her where to apply or what she should study.

In fact, her maturity was remarkable in comparison to her orientation peers, as was her ability to discern the real messages behind the material being presented to her, even by the school! She unabashedly turned up her nose at an obviously biased book distributed to all incoming freshmen, entitled "Greasy Rider" - a book with a liberal agenda regarding french fry oil run automobiles - Al Gore - Microsoft - global warming - environmentalism and.... well ... you can guess the rest. I can think of a dozen or so other titles that would have been more beneficial for these kids, and so could she .... but I digress.

But I am not surprised, nor am I bragging really. My husband and I were just struck by the difference in not only about us as parents - and our attitudes about being ready to send our youngest and last little adult off to college - but about our own child and how we have raised her and her siblings.

For all the criticism about homeschooling and homeschooled kids, it is so apparent to me about what the real results are.
Don't talk to me about sheltering my kids.
Don't talk to me about socialization.
Don't talk to me about brainwashing versus instilling family values.
Don't talk to me about my lack of credentials to teach.
Don't talk to me about how my homeschooled child will be unprepared to meet the real world.

What we saw, heard and observed proved to us the real success of homeschooling and raising our child to be educated, self sufficient, confident, out-going and well rounded. She was not coddled, enabled, brainwashed, restricted, or otherwise damaged by homeschooling. Moreover, we have in return earned her respect, her love, her admiration and her thanks (even if we do get an occasional teenage eye roll).

She is ready to begin a new chapter in her life and we are ready to let her begin it, just as we will begin our own. And we are so very excited for our young adult and the opportunities she has before her.

We are not empty nesters.
We are successful parents.

The world is still her classroom.

Amen.

RFID Micro-chipping Of Everyone Is On The Horizon

Credit cards now have (Radio Frequency ID) RFID chips in them.
Supermarkets are already tracking your purchases with shopper cards and now scanners. This was talked about back in 2002.
Chipping people by implanting chips subdermally is already here.

This is going to be part of your Universal Healthcare too.
Why do you think they want to digitize all of our records?
They say it's to make healthcare cheaper... so do you believe that?
Currently they are chipping some soldiers and first responders, prisoners, the elderly, school children's backpacks and clothing, and the willing. When they get enough people buying into chipping they will make it so you won't have a choice. Some companies already chip their employees.



If you don't have State and Federal representatives busy drafting laws to protect you from being forced to get chipped then you better start talking to them about it.

This IS coming!
In fact, it is already here.
I don't know about you, but I am not a piece of inventory or some livestock.
Wake up America!!!!

Related article.
and
RFID Market Forecasts 2009-2019