This weekend i'm playing catch up with a few of the older posts, i have collected. If i continue to post on the weekends it will be this kind of thing.


I hope all you all are being mindful and watchful of what is going on in the world around you and the Government and it's doings, the Bible calls this "walking circumspectly".


Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

We don't need to worry about conspiracy's when we have them doing stuff like this right out in the public. As i have said in the past we have the great Country on earth right now (for the people) but it make you wonder what they are really doing. There is a lot of spying on the American people going on. On Sundays blog i might go into some of it, post some of the articles i have found about it. You need to keep your eyes open and be mindful of the things going on around you.


Bush signs new rules on government wiretapping


July 11, 2008 - 2:08am


WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush signed a bill Thursday that overhauls rules about government eavesdropping and grants immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the U.S. spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases.
He called it "landmark legislation that is vital to the security of our people."
Bush signed the measure in a Rose Garden ceremony a day after the Senate sent it to him, following nearly a year of debate in the Democratic-led Congress over surveillance rules and the warrantless wiretapping program Bush initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was a battle that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks and Democrats' fears of being portrayed as weak when it comes to protecting the country.
Its passage was a major victory for Bush, an unpopular lame-duck president who nevertheless has been able to prevail over Congress on most issues of national security and intelligence disputes.
Bush said the 9/11 attack "changed our country forever" and taught the intelligence community that it must know who America's enemies are talking to and what they are saying.
"In the aftermath of 9/11," Bush said, "few would have imagined that we would be standing here seven years later without another attack on American soil. The fact that the terrorists have failed to strike our shores again does not mean that our enemies have given up."
Even before Bush signed the legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would challenge the new law in court.
The president said the bill gives the government anti-terror tools it needs without compromising Americans' civil liberties.
Bush was joined at the ceremony by Vice President Dick Cheney, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and more than a dozen members of Congress.
The ACLU's lawsuit was filed on behalf of several civil rights groups. It wants a federal judge in New York to rule that the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech and the right against unlawful search and seizure. It also asks that the judge permanently block intelligence officials from conducting surveillance under the law.
"The new law gives the government the power to conduct dragnet surveillance that has no connection to terrorism or criminal activity of any kind," said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, in a conference call to reporters.
"A law like this is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution and with the most basic democratic values," he said.
Roger Atwood, communications director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization for the region, said the new law will impede the group's work.
"The mere suspicion that information provided to us, to our staff, will be accessed by the U.S. government can seriously affect WOLA's credibility and our effectiveness in Latin America in moving our work forward," Atwood said in the conference call.



With the West Nile Virus on the lose, i heard this on the news and figured it might help someone. Follow up to the earilier article.


What Can I Plant to Keep Mosquitoes Away?


July 11, 2008 - 4:59pm



Patty in Newburg writes: "Help! Please tell me what I can plant to chase away the swarms of mosquitoes we have every summer. I heard that if we planted lemon grass in pots, and placed them all around the yard, we might be able to enjoy a cookout. Is this true?"
Nope. Sorry, Patty. The only way a plant in a pot can protect you from pests is if you heave the pot at the annoying teenagers next door.
Lemon scented plants can protect you from mosquitoes, but only if you crush up the leaves of the plants and rub them on your skin. That's the basis of the only two non-DEET insect repellants on the market that have been shown to be effective in clinical studies: "Repel Lemon Eucalyptus," whose active ingredient is based on a strongly scented plant from Australia, and "Bite Blocker," whose active ingredient comes from a lemon-scented geranium.
(Gardens Alive sells Bite Blocker under the "Sting Free" brand name. Hey-GA! Mosquitoes don't sting -- they bite!)
Mosquito Repelling Plants & How to Use Them
Patty in Newburg writes: "Help! Please tell me what I can plant to eliminate the swarms of mosquitoes we have every summer."
Ah yes, the old "Mosquito repelling plant" trick. Sorry Patty, no plant can repel mosquitoes. Unless it's a lemon-scented herb whose leaves you crush and rub on your exposed skin.
In University studies, lemon-scented thyme was the clear winner. A good rubbing with its lemony leaves provided as much protection as some concentrations of the nasty toxic chemical repellant DEET. But while it's very attractive, lemon thyme is a small plant, and you'd need a lot of it to produce much repellant.
That's why I grow lemon balm in pots instead. Now, lemon balm is invasive and must be kept under control, but it's also a rapid grower whose wonderfully lemon-scented leaves are very effective at keeping mosquitoes away. And the famous "Mosquito repelling plant" you used to see being sold out of the backs of magazines is another possibility.
It's a lemon-scented geranium; and while it won't keep skeeters away in a pot, it will if you crush up its leaves and run them on your skin.
And Joel Coates, an Iowa State University researcher, feels that catnip is the equal of any of them. Just don't blame me if your cat tries to bat you around the floor.
Or Use Garlic to Safely Spray Skeeters Away
Liquid garlic oil-based products with names like Mosquito Barrier, Garlic Barrier and St. Gabriel's Natural Mosquito Repellant rid the sprayed area of mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers and other Pests of Summer for two to six weeks. Mosquitoes don't travel far, so these sprays will allow you to be outside safely at dusk with nothing on your skin but your clothes.


"Mosquito Barrier" and "Garlic Barrier" are available in both highly concentrated and dilute formulations in a variety of sizes, you mix them with water and apply using any standard sprayer. "Mosquito Repellent" from St. Gabriel Laboratories is a pre-mixed 16 percent formula in a quart-sized spray bottle you hook up to a garden hose to treat 5,000 square feet of outdoor area. You'll find all three products (and other, similar ones) at some retail outlets and on the web -- just search the names.
These sprays are very safe. They don't affect people, pets, birds, earthworms or the like. Garlic sprays are even approved for use in organic agriculture by OMRI (the Organic Materials Review Institute), the agency charged with deciding which pest controls can be used on certified organically grown crops.
Mosquitoes making you miserable? Follow this Easy Plan!

1. Drain all standing water on your property, especially your clogged up gutters. Mosquitoes don't travel far, and eliminating their breeding sites near your home can sometimes eliminate them completely.

2. Use mosquito dunks or granules containing BTI on ponds and other standing water you can't drain. These completely non-toxic products are safe for you're your family, birds, pets, fish and such, but prevent mosquito breeding for a full month.

3. Ddon't use the chemical repellant DEET. Its absorbed into your bloodstream; and that's the last place you need more toxins.

4. Instead grow lemon-scented herbs or catnip and rub the leaves on your skin; they can be as effective as the nasty chemical repellant DEET.

5. Don't use bug zappers; mosquitoes are not attracted to them.

6. Instead, spray outdoor areas with a garlic based repellant.

7. Get a Mosquito Magnet; a propane-powered device that attracts and kills the pests without poisons.




Got the following email from a few friends, so i figured i would post it here also. If you have any money in these i would watch out.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is keeping secret itsofficial list of 90 troubled banks, ABC News has obtained other listsprepared by several research groups and financial analysts.The lists use versions of the so-called "Texas ratio" which compare a bank'sassets and reserves to its non-performing loans, based on financial datamade public by the FDIC in March.Analysts say banks with a ratio over 100 per cent would be the most likelyto fail, based on what happened to Texas savings and loans during the 1980'sBankCityStateTexas-ratio


Colorado Federal Savings BankGreenwood VillageCO 244.8

Eastern Savings Bank, FSBHunt ValleyMD 222.7

Integrity BankAlpharettaGA 191.6

Ameribank, Inc.WelchWV 153.7

First Priority BankBradentonFL 122.6

First Security National BankNorcrossGA 112.1

Magnet BankSalt Lake CityUT 110.4

Security Pacific BankLos AngelesCA 102.8

First National Bank of BrookfieldBrookfieldIL 102.1

The State Bank of LeboLeboKS 100.6


Source: Research Associates of America



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