Mine Will Be A Good Death

The United States has seen birthrates decline.  The current birth rate is 13.68 babies per 1000 people.  In a country like Niger is is 50.06 per 1000, Afghanistan 39.3, Mexico 18.87, Iraq 28.19 and Ethiopia is 42.59.  The nation's population growth rate however is .9%.  If you look at the numbers since 2000 the birthrate has gone from 14.2/1000 people to 13.68/1000 or a drop of .52 per 1000 people.  The death rate has gone from 8.7/1000 people to 8.39/1000 people. It has dropped .31.  Our birthrate is dropping faster than our death rate.  4,293,434 babies are born each year yet only 2,633,180 people die each year. The way the US continues to construct its social welfare systems from social security to now Obamacare this equation will not work.  Both programs are entirely based on the young subsidizing the old generation after generation.  Did no one see this train wreck before they passed the law?

This is going to sound very harsh -- but we are prolonging life well beyond what we should. We are saving babies we should not.  Through humanitarian efforts we have reduced the death rate in a country like Niger from 23.17 deaths per 1000 people in 2000 to 13.76 per 1000 people in 2012 but we have done NOTHING to quell the birthrate of over 50 per 1000 people.  We cannot address one end of life while ignoring the other.

In developed countries, the necessary replacement rate is about 2.1. Since replacement cannot occur if a child does not grow to maturity and have their own offspring, the need for the extra .1 child (a 5% buffer) per woman is due to the potential for death and those who choose or are unable to have children. In less developed countries, the replacement rate is around 2.3 due to higher childhood and adult death rates.

With total fertility rates of 7.37 in Niger (as of mid-2007), the resultant growth in these countries' populations is expected to be phenomenal over the next few years, unless growth rates and total fertility rates drop. The total fertility rate in the US in 2010 was only 1.931. We are not replacing ourselves.  Our increase in population now (and this started in about 2002 when the birthrate dropped below replacement rate) is due to immigration. If we really do want to take care of ourselves immigration policy has got to change.

The number of immigrants (legal and illegal) in the country hit a new record of 40 million in 2010, a 28 percent increase over the total in 2000.  In 2010, 23% of immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) lived in poverty, compared to 13.5% of natives and their children. Immigrants and their children accounted for one-fourth of all persons in poverty.  The children of immigrants account for one-third of all children in poverty.  In 2010, 36% of immigrant-headed households used at least one major welfare program (primarily food assistance and Medicaid) compared to 23 percent of native households.

Of adult immigrants (25 to 65), 28 percent have not completed high school, compared to 7 percent of natives.  The large share of immigrants with relatively little education is one of the primary reasons for their lower socioeconomic status, not their legal status or unwillingness to work. New immigration (legal and illegal) plus births to immigrants added 22.5 million residents to the country over the last decade, equal to 80 percent of total U.S. population growth.

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free;

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless,

Tempest-tossed to me!

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

This was written by Emma Lazarus as a sonnet in 1883; its lines appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty placed there in 1903. It is a wonderful creed and it does describe the fabric of Early America. The welfare system in the United States didn't begin until in the 1930s during the Great Depression -- three decades after this sonnet was included as a part of our informal immigration philosophy. The start of the American welfare state found expression in the work-creation policies of the New Deal. Love the New Deal or hate it -- it was "work fare". It was at least molded in creating jobs and engaging people in WORK. It was believed then that character and self confidence was supported by feeling useful.  That part of the New Deal is hard to argue with. Today we reward sloth and we do little to encourage people to discover what they are capable of.  We give them no incentive.

Times have changed and so must we.  The United States has ceased to be a land of opportunity where one can achieve based on what an immigrant is willing to invest -- be it financial or sweat.  It is a land of hand outs.  We are allowing native born people to not only subsidize other native born people but to heavily subsidize immigrants.  If you come here you come to work.  If you can't afford to bring your family then you bring them when you can afford it. I would not expect it any other way were I the one immigrating.  When I lived in Mexico as a kid, I never dreamed to speak English to anyone. I was on their turf and I respected that. A bleeding heart will more often than not bleed out. Hard decisions are hard.

Malthusian economics is often called the "economics of death" and it gets a bad rap for being focused on pessimism; it is brutal in a "nature" sense.  The great Malthusian dread was that "indiscriminate charity" would lead to exponential growth in the population in poverty, increased charges to the public purse to support this growing army of the dependent, and, eventually, the catastrophe of national bankruptcy. Though Malthusianism has since come to be identified with the issue of general over-population, the original Malthusian concern was more specifically with the fear of over-population by the dependent poor! 

In the United States in 2010 the birthrate to women whose household income was under $10K was 98.30 babies per 1000 people.  The rate for household incomes over $75K was 54.80 per 1000, just at half the rate of those earning under $10K. As the income increases on the chart the birth rate declines in a unbroken trajectory.  So have we created a perfect Malthusian storm? I would argue, yes we have.  And the programs and the trajectory that the United States in on only projects worse.

We can't reward people for having babies they can't afford. I was in line one day at a store and the cashier and the lady at the register were bragging about how many babies their daughters each had and how much free stuff they were each getting because of it.  We shouldn't prolong life just to have our heartbeat a little longer; give me the right to end my life when I want to and I will! We can't bring aid to countries that refuse to change their behavior. If people could keep their own earnings and not allow the government to redistribute it -- yes, there would be a generation of suffering.  There would. But until something changes we are all going to fail and suffer in ways you have yet to imagine. The birthrate in poverty is growing and it is exponential.  It will kill all of us or reduce us to tribes and bands of survivalists.  I wish I had been born in the 40s.  Those of us who are now reaching middle age did enjoy a wonderful childhood; for that I am grateful. Our aging is going to get harder and harder. I am happy to take care of myself if my government will let me keep what is MINE and allow me to do that.

For those of you reaching your twilight years -- good for you!  You had a blessed generation rife with opportunity; you all had the chance to do very well for yourselves and even if you did not, you have some safety nets in place that will probably outlast you.  For you young people, I am sorry this has happened to you.  I am sorry that you will carry the burden of bad government decisions.  I am sorry that you will have only two outcomes: 1) you will live in what amounts to be a communist society where each of you pools everything and a centralized government will hand back to you an "equal" share regardless of how much you contributed or 2) you will live in warring tribes, fighting to keep what is yours from marauders and thieves. It is my hope that you will take pity on the elderly like I will be and allow me to fend for myself unattacked and unassaulted.  If you really NEED it, I will share and we can work together. I will teach you with my experience and you can help me with your youth.  If you demand to take it from me and insist on leaving me with nothing, I will gladly die trying to protect myself and my well-being and mine will be a "good death".

 

 

Car Buying in the Not-So-Distant Future

Imagine this…

You are going to buy new car.  You are on a budget and you only need a commuter car to get you to work and back -- the commute is 20 miles each way.  You live in southern California where the weather is glorious nearly all of the time.  You know pretty much what you want and what you need and you know very well what you can afford.

You go into your local used car dealership only to find it empty and closed down.  Confused you drive down to your local "New Car Mall" and are stunned at what you see... A sea of cars, all roughly the same color, all the same style and only subtle differences.  You go into to talk to someone and ask what the heck is going on.

There is a very long line that snakes around the building and you take your spot in line.  People are chatting as they wait and you try to pick up bits of information.  Some seem elated to be there!  One lady comes bouncing out of the dealership holding up a set of keys to her new car!  She is telling everyone that it was FREE!  She got a free car. You think "wow, she must have won some contest."

The line moves slowly. As people come out of the building a few more are happy but many seem very angry. Some are screaming that their cars were free; others that they only cost $100 and others are seething with anger and stay silent as they storm away.  It is quite a confusing spectacle.  You finally get up to the customer service person and say you need to talk to a salesman about getting a used commuter car. 

She tells you, "Oh you can't buy a used car anymore.  It is against the law." 

You think you are dreaming so you play along and say, "Okay show me a new one". A man comes out leads you over to three cars that are slightly different shades of white, about the same size and have only subtle differences.  One is a coupe, one is a hatchback and one is a four door -- all the same model.  These ones happen to be Fords.  You glance across the street at the Toyota dealership and see the SAME three cars in their lot and they are Toyotas over there.  Next door they are called Chevys…   

Definitely a dream. 

He asks you which one you want. 

You say, NONE of them!  You say, "I want a little red, 4-speed, hatchback for around $12,000, preferably used!" 

He shakes his head and tells you that is no longer available that used cars are now against the law, they just aren't safe enough.  These are the only three that are approved by the government and these are your three choices.  

You ask him, "How much do they cost?" 

He asks, "How much do you make?" 

You say, "What difference does that make?" 

He says before he can quote you a price you must provide your personal and financial information to their dealership.  He then tells you that if you leave WITHOUT a car you will have to pay them $100! Oh and for every year that you go without one of these cars you will have to pay more and more. 

This has GOT to be a dream, right? So you continue to play along. 

You provide him your details and he plugs them in to some computer kiosk thing and it spits out a number.  He shakes his head and tells you that you make too much money and that you will have to pay full price.

You are stunned.  You are a waitress and a student.  But the tips that are reported can be pretty good. You tell him though that you can barely pay your bills and you are amazed that what you make is considered "too much". He tells you that is what the computer said and what it says is SO!

You point out that a lady just left hollering that her car was free!  What gives? He says, well she has 12 kids and she is underemployed so her car has to be free.  You HAVE to pay full price to help offset the cost of giving that lady her free car.

It's a dream. It’s just a dream…

He begins to list all the options that come on the cars… Seatbelts, back up camera, GPS navigation, On-Star, 28 airbags, ergonomic, heated, power seats, built in child seat, heated mirrors, 4-wheel drive, studded snow tires, it has the new automatic braking system that can sense a slow down ahead to avoid a crash, it can parallel park itself, it is electric, it comes with a helmet too that you must wear while driving it and it does not come with a radio of any kind .

You tell him he is nuts. All you want is a very basic commuter car to get you to and from your work and school.  I don't need all of these options and you WANT a radio.

He looks at you as though you have two heads. He says, "Haven't you been paying attention? The government mandates that you have all of these safety options -- they want you to be safe!  It is for your own good.  Oh and the radio causes people to get distracted while driving so they are no longer allowed in cars.

You say, "Why the snow tires and 4-wheel drive?"

He says, "Well it is POSSIBLE it could snow. It has before in southern California and you have to be prepared for ANYTHING that is possible."

"Why the heated, power seats with all the ergonomics?"

"You might strain your back on long drives and this will help avoid that."

You tell him your commute is 20 miles. He tells you that doesn't matter.

You tell him that you don't have a kid and you are never going to have a child -- it isn't medically possible you say sadly.

He says well every must have a built in child seat no matter what -- just in case…you might adopt!

You then tell him that you don't WANT an electric car and there isn't a charging station at school or at home.  He says that they have taken care of that and your landlord will be fined until he installs one for you. Of course your rent is going to go up to cover the installation and the higher electricity bills and your tuition is going to have to go up too to cover those costs for the school.  He looks at his list of your information and says, "Lucky you!  There is a charging station right where you work! But of course you are going to get a cut in pay so your boss can afford to pay his electric bill."

No, not a dream. This is a freakin' nightmare!

In frustration you tell him to just show you the damned hatchback.  He opens the door and you slide in to the driver's seat.  You look around and it isn't bad to look at. You ask for the keys -- he gives them to you. As you reach for the ignition you notice a credit card swipe machine mounted in the dash. You ask him what the heck it is for.

"Oh that?" he says, "It is for when you start the car. You need to swipe you credit card until you have paid your deductible."

"What?"

"Yes" He says, "Until you have reached your deductible you have to swipe your card each time you start it."

"Deductible for what?" you stammer.

He goes on to explain that any time you use your car you must pay.  Although there are some trips that are free.  If you are going to the post office, if you are going to a volunteer job with a federally licensed organization, if you are dropping your child off at a public school or if you are going to a rally those trips are all free!

"But I don't have kids! Can I get another free trip instead?" you ask.

Nope that's all the car will allow.

"I pay all my bills online and I use FedEx. I never go to the post office."

He just looks at you blankly and says that these are the ONLY free trips and there aren't any substitutions. Period.

"How does the car know where I am going? You ask sarcastically.

He very seriously says, "Oh it KNOWS."

Wake up, wake up, wake up you think to yourself.

Well how much will it cost every year?  He looks as his tablet and swipes a few times and says, "For this car only $12,000."

You shriek, "TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS?" You only take home $3000 a month. That is one-third of your take home pay!

You ask him how it all works. He tells you that each time you make a trip the car totals up the mileage and then charges your card whatever the government rate is for mileage.  Right now that is 48.5 cents a mile. 

But wait he says, excitedly, "You get 80% of your miles paid for after you meet your deductible! Isn't that great?"

You tell him that you only drive about 10,000 miles a year - you would have to drive nearly 25,000 miles a year to meet your deductible. You will never reach your deductible. And what the heck does the 80% mean?

He goes on to explain that when you swipe your card it knows how many miles you have driven and once you have drive enough miles to pay off your deductible then you only pay 80% of the 48.5 cents or 10 cents!  Oh and you still get those FREE trips!

You stop, collect your thoughts and summarize to him all you have been told.

 

1. I can't buy a used car; I must buy a new one.

2. I only have three to choose from all slightly different shades of white.

3. They come with options I don't want or need.

4. It doesn’t come with options I DO want.

5. I have to pay full price for the car because I work hard and earn a living -- the price is non-negotiable yet other people who don't work hard are getting the same car for free. I have to pay more so they can pay less.

6. The car charges me 48.5 cents a mile each time I use it until I have driven 25K miles, even though I will never drive that much and then it only charges me 10 cents a mile after that.  

7. IF I had kids dropping them off at school would be free ONLY if they attended public school.

8. Even if I go across the street to the Toyota dealership my choices are pretty much the same.

9. My tuition is going up, my rent is going up and my wage is going to go down to offset the mandatory electric charging system that is being required to be provided for MY car.

10. AND you are going to charge me $100 if I leave her without a car.

He says, "YES, you got it! Welcome to the Affordable CAR Act!"

And you realize it isn't a dream…

 

 

 

 

The UN-Affordable Care Act or ObamaDoesn'tCare

In 2008, when George W. Bush was president, according to Gallup, 14.9 percent of adult residents of the United States lacked health insurance coverage. That increased to 16.2 percent in 2009, the year that Obama was inaugurated, and to 16.4 percent in 2010, the year that Obama signed his law requiring that all Americans have health insurance.

In the first half of 2011, according to data released by Gallup in 2001, the percentage of adults in the United States lacking health insurance ticked up to 16.8 percent - that is 55,440,000 people based on a population of 330 million.

That conclusion is based on Gallup’s interviews with 177,237 American adults from January through June of this year. The interviews were part of the ongoing Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey.

Today it is being estimated that an additional 37 MILLION people will be dropped by their insurance. Add the 55.5 mil to the 37 mil and we now have 92 million people uninsured or 28% of the population.  In addition 75% of all new job growth is part time and specifically does NOT offer benefits. 

Florida Blue, for example, is terminating about 300,000 policies, about 80 percent of its individual policies in the state. Kaiser Permanente in California has sent notices to 160,000 people – about half of its individual business in the state. Insurer Highmark in Pittsburgh is dropping about 20 percent of its individual market customers, while Independence Blue Cross, the major insurer in Philadelphia, is dropping about 45 percent.

Before Obamacare, a lot more people had jobs; those jobs provided their insurance. Millions of people have LOST their insurance due to Obamacare. McDonalds hired 62,000 people AFTER getting a waiver from having to change their insurance coverage for their employees. They can't afford it and we won't pay $10 for a Big Mac.

Executives at several staffing firms told Reuters that the law, which requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide healthcare coverage or incur penalties, was a frequently cited factor in requests for part-time workers. A decision to delay the mandate until 2015 has not made much of a difference in hiring decisions, they added.

"Us and other people are hiring part-time because we don't know what the costs are going to be to hire full-time," said Steven Raz, founder of Cornerstone Search Group, a staffing firm in Parsippany, New Jersey (he needs a grammar lesson). "We are being cautious."

Raz said his company started seeing a rise in part-time positions in late 2012 and the trend gathered steam early this year. He estimates his firm has seen an increase of between 10 percent and 15 percent compared with last year.

Other staffing firms have also noted a shift.

"They have put some of the full-time positions on hold and are hiring part-time employees so they won't have to pay out the benefits," said Client Staffing Solutions' Darin Hovendick. "There is so much uncertainty. It's really tough to design a budget when you don't know the final cost involved."

Part time jobs also don't show up on the unemployment numbers. Ironically, if enough businesses hire, say, two 20-hour workers instead of one 40-hour worker, there could be an apparent improvement in the unemployment figures. The unemployment data counts a person as “employed” if they worked at least ONE hour in the reporting period. By switching from full-time workers to a larger number of part-time workers, it would make it appear that unemployment dropped — even though the total amount paid to workers remained unchanged.

Citing from a New Jersey example the cheapest plan Horizon offers on the exchange that covers two 55-year-olds would cost $1,217 per month, a 63 percent increase from what the one New Jersey couple was paying. That plan, another New Jersey man, Mark Butler said, only offers 50 percent coinsurance and 50 percent prescription drug coverage, and has a $5,000 family deductible. They could also choose a plan with a $1,546 per month premium that offers a 20 percent coinsurance and $2,000 family deductible. None of this is affordable.  Take into consideration also that at this age, statistically speaking our income level has peaked.  It trends downward as we get older.

Butler goes on to say, "If my small business makes $100,000 in a given year — not a lot of money in Morris County — I will have to pay between 15 percent and 19 percent of my pretax income on health insurance," Butler said. "That is not affordable."

So in conclusion the "Affordable" Care Act is not affordable.  Fewer not more citizens are covered by health insurance.  The young, who are already saddled with paying of the national debt, are being gouged and are being forced to subsidize higher risk individuals in the pool.  In what universe does this make sense?

I don't often quote Bill Clinton but he gave us a pearl of wisdom where Barak Hussein Obama is concerned:

Obama, Bill Clinton said, “doesn’t know how to be president” and is “incompetent.” For once I agree with Bill!

 

 

Peace Through Strength

There is a sad irony going on in the world today…  America, once a great and powerful nation was both loved and feared.  We had one "equal" and that was the Soviet Union. When the USSR fell apart it left us…the U.S.  We only needed to rattle a saber and bad guys often just stopped whatever nefarious deeds they were doing and scattered.  Things were good.  Good not just for us but really for the rest of the world.  We, while we sure could have been, were not bullies.  Just because we COULD be if we chose -- we often got labeled as such.  We weren't. They were jealous.

This power brought peace…not just here but all over.  It isn't because you USE your might that brings about good behavior -- it is because you COULD.  The military was a fighting force -- not a humanitarian force.  But because it was so mighty it brought the world more humanity.  

As this nation creeps closer and closer to mediocrity and to being just one of many like us, our ability to feed the starving, to help the oppressed and to be the do-gooders that we have always been, is slipping away. In our power and benevolence we have fed more people, aided more nations and done more good than any nation on earth in our short 230+ year lifetime. We are mere children on the planet. There are nations that have existed for twice, three, four times our life that have done nary a fraction of what we have done. We were able to do all this good because we were powerful.

As our strength wanes we continue to TRY to be the leader and the feeder of the world…and in doing so we are neglecting our own.  We are sending billions of dollars in aid abroad and we can't pay our own bills. If a parent allows herself to starve to death by giving all of the food to her child, who will feed the child when she is dead?

There is no such thing as global peace through agreement -- stop even imagining it.  We are animals and we all have self interested motivations.  There will always, I mean ALWAYS be a nation or faction fighting to be on top -- the ONLY way to keep that in check is to be on top and to gently kick them off the ladder they are scrambling up.  We will never be able to call them down from the bottom by negotiating. 

Europe has been a negotiator for a good long time and Europe is weak.  They look good and it looks appealing that they all sort of get along -- but in a sense they have to.  They share borders; they are geographically vulnerable to one another.  We are not.  Even when Europe is lamenting that the US has too much power we need to let them vent and go about our business.  The only reason they have the freedom to lament is because we had the power to let them. It is because we were mighty that they are not all speaking German.  How quickly we forget.

The United States of America needs to get back to the basics of lifting weights, eating right and getting enough sleep.  We need to let the world have their skirmishes because they will.  We need to regain a single mindedness that we are #1!  Notre Dame doesn't go into a bowl game saying "we are number #1 but let's all just decide we can all be #1".  Being #1 allows us to be both the mighty force we must be and the benevolent care giver we want to be.

On this anniversary of the attacks on the United States let's all get together for a single cause.  Let's all decide that we want a strong coach, a powerful leader who puts our nation first.  Let's all step back and look at the formula that will produce the results we want.  Whether you are a global peace person or you simply like the idea that we can kick ass.  It is ONLY through power that we will get either… This is the only way that we can all get what we want… Think about it.

 

Syria: The Rest of the Story

The official Western narrative against Syria goes something like this:

"The Syrian government has abused basic human rights, maintains deep ties with rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea, and just recently launched a chemical weapons strike on hundreds of its own people. In addition to killing its own people, the Assad regime is serving to destabilize an already unstable Middle East. Assad must go…"

Now for the rest of the story…

Syria is none of our business in the context of the above statement.  Neither side is a "good guy" and for our president to even THINK of going in there borders on utter insanity.  He and is loose lipped cronies who demanded swift action to the gassing of a group of people need to save face and not look like the buffoons they really are. The spouted off in a knee jerk way to news…"We must DO something!" they clamored. The sad fact is that an overthrow of Syrian President Assad has long been in the works.  This is a deadly and dangerous performance -- all the chess pieces began to move when the U.S. backed each of the Middle East uprisings… To date, rulers have been forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt (twice), Libya, and Yemen; civil uprisings have erupted in Bahrain and Syria; major protests have broken out in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Sudan; and minor protests have occurred in Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Western Sahara.

The real aim of the US, it is being said, is to remove all the independent governments in the Middle East, to destroy the popular movements in order to secure the domination of this key strategic and oil rich region. Pretty sinister and frighteningly believable.

This is about natural resources and energy my friends…this time it is not oil but liquefied natural gas or LNG. The US has plenty of it and we don't need it -- and if we are smart we will keep it that way. Europe however is thirsty.  This has NOTHING to do with any children who were or were not gassed.

Have you not wondered why Russia is so concerned? Russia has the world’s largest reserves of natural gas. Which country has the second largest reserves? Iran.

Iran, however, is isolated with no current ability to export its vast energy supplies to Europe. Russia has its eye on the potential profits of bringing Iranian oil and gas online for Europe. For this reason, (among myriad others) it has sought to solidify its relations with Iran. Of course, the most direct route for moving Iran’s energy supplies to Europe is right through the heart of Iraq and into Syria. So, it appears that Russia’s alliance with Syria has less to do with Syria and much more to do with the Iranian gas that may soon flow into Syria. As we already said, Europe is thirsty.

Assad wants to cut a deal with Russia and will not work with the U.S. or Israel.  So of course we want him out. Russia has stepped up its diplomatic and trade activities in the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to enhance its geopolitical clout and gain access to, and at least partial control over, the region's oil and gas reserves. Among the former global superpower's tactics: linking arms deals and debt-forgiveness to energy deals. The strategy has been most apparent in former client states of the ­Soviet Union including Libya, Iraq and Syria, although by no means limited to such countries. Moreover, Moscow has not shied away from courting the authoritarian regimes of countries such as Iran, Syria and Libya that are or have been shunned by the US and other western governments. So Russia is shopping for partners and picking all the ones we are not friendly with.  Reagan would be outraged.

Sadly, when it comes to the US (and of course Israel), it does have a very hidden agenda: one that involves lying to its people about what any future intervention is all about, and the fabrication of narrative about chemical weapons and a bloody regime hell bent on massacring every man, woman and child from the "brave resistance." What they all fail to mention is that all such "rebels" are merely paid for mercenaries of the Qatari emir, whose sole interest is to accrue even more wealth even if it means the deaths of thousands of Syrians in the process.

A bigger read through of the events in Syria reveals an even more complicated web: one that has Qatar facing off against Syria, with both using Syria as a pawn in a great natural resource chess game, and with Israel and the US both on the side of the petrodollars, while Russia and to a lesser extent China, form the counterbalancing axis and refuse to permit a wholesale overthrow of the local government which would unlock even more geopolitical leverage for the gulf states.

Up until today, we would have thought that when push comes to shove, Russia would relent. However, with the arrival of a whole lot of submarines in Cyprus, the games just got very serious. After all the vital interests of Gazprom, the largest extractor of natural gas and one of the largest companies in the world and perhaps the most important "company" in the world - are suddenly at stake.

I see two take aways here.  One is that the Syrian outrage is a big lie.  I am not saying that Obama is the FIRST president to lie to us about this but he is the CURRENT president and there are a lot of very powerful and very dangerous characters at play now.  This has got to stop.  The second is that we MUST recognize and EMBRACE that we may have the largest oil reserves on the planet. It is estimated that this area dubbed the Green River formation, contains a massive three trillion barrels of oil, half of which is currently recoverable. To give you an idea for how significant that number actually is, three trillion is approximately equivalent to the rest of the world’s proven reserves combined.

We can and must rely on ourselves…if we do, we can stay out of this nasty and never ending turmoil.

 

Obamacare, Drugs and My Future

I have an autoimmune disease.  I had NOTHING to do with getting it.  It just happened one day.  I do my best to take care of myself.  I am eligible to be 100% disabled and could, tomorrow, live off the dime of the taxpayer.  I could depend on all of you for my income and my healthcare.  I choose NOT to do that.  I want to work and I work hard.  I also have worked very hard at bettering myself professionally and making myself more valuable.  One would assume doing that would also lead to a betterment of my income and standard of living.  We should reward those who work hard and are willing to solve problems.  Ah, alas 'tis not so… 

I have a new job that pays nearly 50% more than my former job.  I have a new insurance provider.  Anthem.  I have to pay a portion of my monthly premium as my employer does not pay 100% of the option I chose. I accept that because I DID chose that more expensive option.  So that comes off the top of my paycheck.  I am on a certain medication that I take once a month.  It is called Simponi and it is a single injection that suppresses my immune system. My disease causes my immune system to be in overdrive.  I have had this disease now for 18 years.  I have been through the gamut of medications.  Some work. Some don't. Some make me very, very sick. This one -- Simponi -- works.  It isn't a medication I WANT to have to take.  It makes me susceptible to nasty infections (deadly ones) and it opens me up to certain cancers.  If I do not take it though I am in agony and life really sucks.  It is that game you play when you pick the lesser of the evils.

Anthem for me is a joke.  With any injectible medication they are only willing to cover 60% of the cost.  That is okay when the cost is $100, you or I would pay $40.  It is not okay when the cost of ONE injection is $2500.  Yes, I said $2500 per dose.  My monthly out of pocket expense for ONE DOSE is $1000.  That doesn't take into account ANY of the other accompanying medications -- there are several.  This disease is not fun in any way folks - it is not fun to have and it is no fun to treat.  Simponi is a newer medication so I decided to price Enbrel instead.  I have been on it in the past; my results are not as good with Enbrel as they are with Simponi but I realized that I might have to be willing to suffer some in order to be able to treat my disease, able to AFFORD to treat my disease.  Enbrel is a WEEKLY injection but it has been on the market for a decade and half and one might assume the price had come down.  Um, no.  My co-pay on Embrel is $938 per dose.  Multiply that by 4 and we are looking at $3752 a MONTH! That is $48,776 a YEAR for ONE medication and that is WITH insurance!  Yes there are "support programs" from the drug companies…  Enbrel will help you with your co-pay for a maximum of $4000 per 6 months.  That is nearly consumed in the first month…  LOVELY, eh?

So I am now simply working to treat my disease.  With this new "raise" and new insurance company and Obama's taxes on the "rich", I am taking home less than I was with my old job.  Why should a person like me NOT go on disability?  I am working MY ass off so someone else can sit on theirs and collect welfare, food stamps, medicaid…this is an f-ing joke.  I am a department head of a County Government with a ton of responsibility and a staff to manage.  I carry a weapon at times when I do code enforcement calls.  I am giving a lot of myself to my job and my community and this is what my nation gives me back.  Where is the assistance for the people who want to stay healthy enough to be IN the workforce?  For the people who have invested in themselves enough to be valuable citizens and valuable employees?  I WANT to be a contributor but I don't get any help until I am not one.

The drug companies are a bad guy in this too.  They discount the drug 50% to the insurance company.  THEN they offer, in the case of Enbrel, $8000 a year in discounts to the consumer.  How many products do you know that could withstand that level of "discount" and still turn a profit?

I found the following on a medical advice website and wanted to laugh. One-fifty? I would LOVE that co-pay! 

"You have insurance and, supposedly, it covers your medicines. However, you still get stuck with a portion of the bill that the insurance company calls a “copay.” In some cases these copays can run more than $150/ month per medication (e.g. Enbrel). If you are on more than one of these expensive, branded medications the copays can really add up. What are your options?"

Frankly I have no options.  I have to spend over 25% of my take home pay on ONE dose of one medication.  The intent of the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare) is to make sure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care," said Brian Rosen, a senior vice president of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He adds that there is a danger that the insurance marketplaces "will discriminate against the patients with the highest medical need. That would completely undermine the spirit of the ACA."

The group has been joined by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., in urging state officials to reconsider the policy. The high copays "could prevent many patients from receiving the lifesaving treatments they need because of prohibitively high cost," Matsui wrote to the state.  Cancer drugs and autoimmune drugs fall into the same category of costs and how they are treated in the marketplace.

Leukemia patient Lisa Lusk worries about what will happen to her. A nursing assistant who lives near Fresno, Lusk is hoping to return to work in the next few months. When that happens, she expects to lose emergency coverage she's now getting through the state. And the medication Lusk takes to manage her chronic form of the disease costs more than $5,000 a month.  

I sure can identify with Lisa and her fears. "I'm scared that when I get a job my co-pay may be more than $1,500 a month," said Lusk. "I'll just be working to pay for my medications." 

The crux is that I am already there and Obamacare has not even fully kicked in yet.  If this is the future for people who are NOT yet there, where will that put me?

Sinister Despotism

Watergate, 1972. The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the official organization of Nixon's campaign. In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the president's staff, including testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up the questionable (and illegal) goings-on that had taken place after the break-in. After a protracted series of bitter court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators; he ultimately complied. (Wikipedia)

Nixon was trying to win an election and he lied about having done or been a part of any of this.

So now we are in 2013. That sort of thing doesn't happen anymore now does it?  Read the conversation between Senator Mark Kirk and our Attorney General, Eric Holder only four days ago.

"Mr. Attorney General, I want to take you to the Verizon scandal and -- which I understand takes us to possibly monitoring up to 120 million calls. You know, when government bureaucrats are sloppy, they're usually really sloppy. Want to just ask, could you assure to us that no phone inside the Capitol were monitored of members of Congress that would give a future executive branch, if they started pulling this kind of thing off, would give them unique leverage over the legislature?

Holder replied, "With all due respect, Senator, I don't think this is an appropriate setting for me to discuss that issue. I'd be more than glad to come back in a -- in an appropriate setting to discuss the issues that you have raised," noting they were speaking in public.
Kirk, a Naval intelligence officer, was not satisfied with Holder's answer.

Said Kirk, "I would interrupt you and say the correct answer would be say no, we stayed within our lane, and I'm assuring you we did not spy on members of Congress." (Suntimes.com)

The top leadership in this administration must go. Feinstein, Holder, Obama and Biden -- they are defending all of their actions.  Eric Holder has more arrows in him than Custer did but HE is still alive (metaphorically speaking).  When is enough ENOUGH?  The Obama administration is so outrageously overreaching its authority that it is downright frightening…terrifying and infuriating.  Sure the Patriot Act followed 9/11 under the watch of George W. Bush.  It SEEMED appropriate then -- hindsight is 20/20.  We now have over a decade of hindsight.  In Obama's re-election speech he said that Al Qaida was on the run and dwindling.  Were that true why the massive expansion of the Patriot Act? Why so many things?  Hopefully you all knew when he was pandering for your vote that Al Qaida and all its spin offs were alive and well…  So that was a lie, one of so many. 

This is sinister and I am now willing to go into the dark thoughts and wonder what the big picture is.  They have taken away your privacy -- you might as well be micro chipped.  They want to take away our/your guns.  They control all your water with the EPA clean water act -- it ain't just about clean water folks, read the fine print and the EPA answers to NO ONE.  And they now control your food sources -- Monsanto owns you and what you eat.  Your meat is being process by Somalis and the Chinese's…it really and truly is. There are nations out there filled with people who don't like you or me.  Two of which are Somalia and China? You though the guy licking your taco shells at Taco Bell was bad?! I am NOT at ALL a conspiracy person -- but this is sick and treacherous…  It is very simple and very bad. It is an equation that adds up to really terrible outcomes.

Today folks your liberty is gone…GONE.  You have no privacy you have few rights against this sort of autocratic leadership.  How is it that he is able to still be the President of the formerly freest nation on the planet?  Was the Kool-Aid that good?  Why aren't you who voted for him outraged?  You should be more angry than I am.  He didn't fool me.  Don't you feel duped?  Do you feel a little regret? A lot?  You should feel partly responsible. Do you?  This is a dangerous man you handed the reins to.  He is dangerous, calculated and sinister. 

Angry. Really Angry About Healthcare "Reform"

First I want to apologize for my tone…I will come across as being angry.  I am angry. I am mad as hell.

May 13, 2013 on the AP wire…

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Cancer patients could face high costs for medications under President Barack Obama's health care law, industry analysts and advocates warn.

Where you live could make a huge difference in what you'll pay.

To try to keep premiums low, some states are allowing insurers to charge patients a hefty share of the cost for expensive medications used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other life-altering chronic diseases."

Thank you so much Mr. F-ing Obama... I am already facing a HUGE co-pay for my med EVERY MONTH for my rheumatoid arthritis... and now with your dumb-ass healthcare "reform" you might be ending my working career...  I cannot work my ass off just to pay for a medication...and that is exactly what you are doing to people like me. If this comes to pass I too will be "on the dole" and I will become one of the statistics I so loathe...a net taker. I will not be able to afford the "reform". You Barak will have forced me and people like me to become dependants when we have worked all our lives to be INDEPENDENT.   I am ALREADY giving the government 40% of my paycheck. I am now giving a drug company 25% of my take home pay for ONE medication and that is likely to go up now?  That is insanity.

So who did Obamacare actually help?  NO ONE.  We already had Medicare and Medicaid for the uninsured and the uninsurable.  For those who choose not to work -- you are on your own.  There IS work out there -- make no mistake.  It just is harder than many people want to work…or it pays less than they think they are worth or it is "beneath them".  Nothing is beneath any of us for honest work.  Finding a job is hard work -- but it isn't impossible.  As an insurable person (meaning I can't just buy it from anyone) I was faced with three choices. (Also note that my chronic disease is through no fault of my own -- I did not choose my parents or their genes). My three choices are:

1) Go on government assistance and not work so I would "qualify" for aid.  That was a no. 

2) The second choice was to pay for my own through the Cover Colorado -- not great coverage but sure was better than none. 

3) Or I could pursue a job and fight for a job that provided coverage. 

I was on Cover Colorado for a while and kept healthy enough to work as a contractor -- it was work I could find so I did it. I still had to pay for my own healthcare premiums -- it is NOT free. I was not feeling great but I was healthy enough to work and that is what I did. My "window of wellness" was just enough to get through a work week with maybe a little left over for a horseback ride -- often not anything left over. Running and riding my bike was OUT!  Then I looked for jobs that would provide me coverage and I took a job that was far less pay than I wanted and not at all the "dream job" I wanted and still I made it work.  In fact at times it was a miserable  place to work -- but it was my job and it provided me with things that I could not provide for myself.  It is called a COMPROMISE.  I don't have the RIGHT to have a great job -- I have the RIGHT TO THE FREEDOM to pursue it.

I am not a silver spoon kid.  I don't want to hear any "Yeah but you had this advantage or that advantage". I was a WAITRESS for much of my 20s.  I didn't go to college until my late 20s and that was because I wanted to BE more and EARN more than a waitress did.  I paid for EVERY DIME of my own education and at the beginning cobbled together classes in between part time work at a construction company, waitressing, teaching preschool and cleaning houses.  I left the house at 6AM and didn't get home until 10-10:30PM almost every night. It was quite a juggling act but we were in a recession at the time and it was all I could do to make ends meet.

I face not one but two chronic diseases and I still took care of what was in front of me.  If I told you my life story you would nominate me for an Oprah award - and yet I don't want your pity and I don't want the government's handouts.  I want the freedom to pursue a career and be a useful part of society.  It was not all f-ing joy and roses.  But I knew it was up to me to get anywhere if I didn't want to stay where I was.  I have been through the wringer more than once.  The best thing one can do is stand up, dust yourself off and put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.

The young and healthy -- those who don't want to buy healthcare insurance have the RIGHT to not buy it -- now all of you with kids who thought this was a good idea…your kids are going to be paying MUCH higher rates for their health insurance to offset all of those who are costly to insure. You don't think your rates are going to go up if you keep your kid on your plan until he or she is 26? Think again. Your kids and their kids will be soaked to pay off the national debt and your kids will be soaked to pay for people who don't want to pay for themselves. The well-off and wealthy who choose to self-insure and can afford it, have the right to self insure. 

The sick and hilarious irony in all this "healthcare reform" is that nothing is working the way we were told it would work.  Face it -- all he wanted to do is 1) have his name on something big and 2) win an election. He told us this would be a saving grace for people like me -- people who were faced with pre-existing conditions.  We would now be insured like everyone else.  That no one could turn us away.  Well that is all hunky-dory Barak -- but SOMEONE has got to pay for it!  For someone who is willing to work and can be kept healthy enough to work -- some support is a good investment.  Allow someone like me to produce more than I consume.  That is the whole idea of an HMO -- spread out the risk.  They actually work.  But the federal government is so busy trying to win the hearts and minds of a class of people who will continue to vote for them as long as the support doesn't run out.  Give them a freebie and you have got their vote.  It is sickening.

Do you realize that only 44% of the US population over the age of 18 is actually IN THE WORKFORCE?  That means that over HALF the US population of people over the age of 18 are NOT WORKING!! This includes those who are retired. A record 5.4 million workers and their dependents have signed up to collect federal disability checks since President Obama took office. These people are no longer counted as "unemployed" so they make the unemployment rate look good.  Why are they now suddenly "disabled" when they were not before Obama took office?

"We see a lot of people applying for disability once their unemployment insurance expires," said Matthew Rutledge, a research economist at Boston College's Center for Retirement Research.

The number of applications last year was up 24% compared with 2008, Social Security Administration data show.

As the Congressional Budget Office explained : "When opportunities for employment are plentiful, some people who could quality for (disability insurance) benefits find working more attractive ... when employment opportunities are scarce, some of these people participate in the DI program instead."  That means folks that they ARE healthy enough to WORK!  I am all for support for those who are truly disabled but for those who "find it more attractive" -- please, that means you CAN WORK and you should work.  And again there is work out there if you are willing.

The explosive growth in disability enrollment also "helps explain some of the drop in the labor force participation rate," noted economist Ed Yardeni on his blog.

In fact, the participation rate — the share of working-age people who have or are looking for a job — has fallen to 63.8% compared with 65.7% at the start of Obama's term.

Ironically, this drives down the unemployment rate, which simply measures how many people are looking for work but haven't been able to find it. When people quit looking or sign up for disability benefits, they no longer count as unemployed.

The problem is that few people who get on disability will ever participate in the labor force again. Think about that for a moment they will NEVER WORK AGAIN and they have no incentive to ever work again -- every one of us needs the next generation to pay into social security for our own benefits.  Sadly, that is the way the program was set up. In fact, the vast bulk of those who exit Social Security Disability Insurance do so either because they hit retirement age or died -- not because they have now decided to work again.

So in closing this sucks! I will be penalized if I want to work and produce and I will be rewarded if I become a dependant.  Isn't that just a little screwed up?  I ask everyone out there -- is this right? Is this good? Can you really, really still support this?

I could go on and on -- but I have to get in the shower and get myself ready for WORK!

 

 

Homemade Cleaners: Save Money and Be Safer

I began searching for good every day ways to clean my new stainless steel appliances...and got a litte off track and carried away! LOL  That would be me.

This is going to nearly amount to an advertisement for white vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda, but they are some of the best cleaners we have ever produced.  Think about it -- 200 years ago no one had oxy-clean, Spray-n-Wash or Dawn.  They had washed their clothing and some how came out with whites looking WHITE...  not to say that their work clothes didn't get dingy -- buy their Sunday best was probably as clean as ours if not cleaner.

I have cobbled together a list (all borrowed -- NONE invented by me) of cleaners for just about every need you could imagine.  Whether you switch to one of these methods permanently or you just do it in a pinch when you have run out of your normal product -- they do work.  They key is they are cheaper, safer and reduce waste and toxins in your household.

Some of these are "REALLY?  No duh!" but there are folks out there who reach for a cleaner or gizmo before they rely on their own common sense!  So let's condition ourselves not to reach for gizmos and products and see if we can make one signifigant change in how we think about some of these products!

I would LOVE feedback on the ones you try!

Air Fresheners

Most commercial air fresheners do not freshen the air at all. Instead, they mask one odor with another, coat your nasal passages with an undetectable oil film, or diminish your sense of smell with a nerve-deadening agent. For a safer alternative, you may wish to try one of the following.

Ventilation. Open windows or doors in the house for at least a short period every day. This will also help to reduce toxic fumes that may be building up indoors.

Vinegar. Distribute partially filled saucers of vinegar around the room or boil 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in 1 cup of water to eliminate unpleasant cooking odors.

Cinnamon and Cloves. Boil these spices for a fragrant smell. For ease of cleaning, make a cheesecloth bag to contain these spices, and boil the cheesecloth bag. An excellent alternative when entertaining is to steep spiced tea or cider.

Potpourri. Buy or make your own potpourri from your favorite herbs and spices. Place the potpourri in a small basket or jar or in small sachet bags.

Kitchen And Food Odors

Vanilla*. Place pure vanilla on a cotton ball in a small saucer. Place the saucer in the car or refrigerator to remove odors. It is reported to remove even skunk odors. Keep the cottonball out of reach of children; vanilla has a high alcohol content.

Baking Soda. Place a partially filled saucer of baking soda on the refrigerator shelf. Replace every two months and when you do, pour the contents of the used box down the drain to remove odors and keep the drain clean.Baking soda can also be used to deodorize bottles by filling them with undiluted baking soda and allowing the bottles to soak overnight. Then wash as usual.

Borax*. Empty the garbage frequently and clean the can as needed. To inhibit growth of odor-producing molds and bacteria, sprinkle 1/2 cup Borax in the bottom of the garbage can.

Vinegar or Celery Stalk. To avoid or remove onion odors from your hands, rub white vinegar on your hands before and after slicing. Rubbing hands with the end of a celery stalk will also remove the odor.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Vinegar and Salt. Mix together for a good surface cleaner.

Baking Soda. Dissolve 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1 quart warm water for a general cleaner. Or use baking soda on a damp sponge. Baking soda will clean and deodorize all kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

Carpet And Rug Cleaner (See also Spot removers)

IF YOU PLAN TO SHAMPOO YOUR CARPET, FIRST TRY A PRE-CLEANING TREATMENT. Sweep the carpet, which will make the nap stand up and loosen the embedded din. Next vacuum. With this work alone, the rug should show a noticeable improvement, so much in fact that you may decide to delay the shampooing.

To neutralize odors: Borax* and cornmeal. Sprinkle the carpet with a mixture of 1 cup Borax and 2 cups cornmeal. Let this mixture stand for an hour before vacuuming.

Another alternative is Baking Soda. Making certain that the carpet is dry, sprinkle baking soda liberally over the entire carpet. Wait at least 15 minutes, or overnight if the odor is particularly bad, before vacuuming.

Decal Remover

Vinegar. To remove no-slip decals from the bathtub, saturate a cloth or sponge and squeeze hot vinegar over decals. Vinegar also removes stick-on hooks from painted walls. Saturate a cloth or sponge with vinegar and squeeze the liquid behind the hook so that the vinegar comes in contact with the adhesive. In addition, vinegar can be used to remove price tags and other decals from glass, wood, and china. Paint the label or decal with several coats of white vinegar. Give the vinegar time to soak in and after several minutes the decal can be rubbed off.

Disinfectant

Soap. Regular cleaning with plain soap and hot water will kill some bacteria. Keep things dry. Mold, mildew, and bacteria cannot live without moisture.

Borax has long been recognized for its disinfectant and deodorizing properties. Mix 1/2 cup Borax into 1 gallon hot water and clean with this solution.

Isopropyl Alcohol*. This is an excellent disinfectant. Sponge and allow to dry. (It must dry to do its job.) Use in a well-ventilated area and wear gloves.

Drain Cleaners and Drain Openers

Prevention. To avoid clogging drains, use a drain strainer to trap food particles and hair; collect grease in cans rather than pouring it down the drain; pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain weekly to melt fat that may be building up in the drain; or weekly put some vinegar and baking soda down your drain to break down fat and keep your drain smelling fresh.

Plunger. A time-honored drain opener is the plunger. This inexpensive tool will usually break up the clog and allow it to float away. It may take more than a few plunges to unclog the drain. DO NOT USE THIS METHOD AFTER ANY COMMERCIAL DRAIN OPENER HAS BEEN USED OR IS STILL PRESENT IN THE STANDING WATER.

Baking Soda and Vinegar. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain. Add 1/2 cup white vinegar and cover the drain if possible. Let set for a few minutes, then pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain to flush it. The combination of baking soda and vinegar can break down fatty acids into soap and glycerine, allowing the clog to wash down the drain. DO NOT USE THIS METHOD AFTER ANY COMMERCIAL DRAIN OPENER HAS BEEN USED OR IS STILL PRESENT IN THE STANDING WATER.

Salt and Baking Soda. Pour 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain. Follow with 6 cups boiling water. Let sit overnight and then flush with water. The hot water should help dissolve the clog and the baking soda and salt serve as an abrasive to break through the clog.

Mechanical Snake (and Garden Hose). A flexible metal snake can be purchased or rented. It is threaded down the clogged drain and manually pushes the clog away. If used in conjunction with a running garden hose, it can even clear a blockage in the main drain to the street. First crank the snake and feed it into the pipe. Next withdraw the snake and flush the pipe by inserting a garden hose with the water turned on full. With some luck, it may save you the expense of a plumber.

Floor Cleaners and Floor Polishes

Vinegar. A few drops in the cleaning water will help remove grease particles. Dull, greasy film on no-wax linoleum can be washed away with 1/2 cup white vinegar mixed into 1/2 gallon water. Your floor will look sparkling clean.

For Linoleum: Mild Detergent. Damp mop using a mild detergent and water for day to day cleaning. Keep water away from seams and edges to prevent loosening of the tiles. To preserve the linoleum floor you may wish to add a capful of baby oil to the mop water.

For Wood Floors: Vegetable Oil and Vinegar. Mix a 1 to 1 ratio of oil and vinegar into a solution and apply a thin coat. Rub in well.

For Painted Wooden Floors: Washing Soda*. Mix 1 teaspoon washing soda into 1 gallon hot water and wash the floor with a mop, sponge, or soft bristled brush. This solution can also be used to remove mildew.

For Rubber Tiles: Mild Detergent. Avoid oils, solvents, and strong alkalis as they will harm the surface. Wash with clear water, a mild detergent, and a clean mop.

For Brick and Stone Floors: Vinegar. Mix 1 cup white vinegar into 1 gallon water. Scrub the floor with a brush and the vinegar solution. Rinse with clean water.

For Ceramic Tile: Vinegar. Mix 1/4 cup white vinegar (more if very dirty) into 1 gallon water. This solution removes most dirt without scrubbing and doesn't leave a film. Washing ceramic tiles with soap does not work very well in hard water areas as it leaves an insoluble film.

Club Soda. Polishing your floor with Club Soda will make it sparkle.

Oil Soap (Like Murphy's). Use according to package directions.

Wax Remover

For Vinyl and Asbestos Tiles: Club Soda. Remove wax buildup by pouring a small amount of club soda on a section. Scrub this in well. Let it soak in a few minutes and wipe clean.

For Linoleum Flooring: Isopropyl Alcohol*. To remove old wax by mopping, mix a solution of 3 pans water to 1 pan rubbing alcohol. Scrub this in well and rinse thoroughly. Be sure the area is well-ventilated and wear gloves.

* Special Problems - Floors

To remove black heel marks: Baking Soda. Rub the heel mark with a paste of baking soda and water. Don't use too much water or the baking soda will lose its abrasive quality.

To remove tar: Scrape up excess tar with the side of a dull knife. Rub again with your fingernail, a Popsicle stick, or anything that won't scratch the floor. Finally, wipe up the tar with a dry cloth.

To remove crayon marks: Toothpaste. Crayon marks on the floor may be removed by rubbing them with a damp cloth containing toothpaste. Toothpaste will not work well on wallpaper or porous surfaces.

To remove grease from wood floors: Ice Cube or Cold Water. If you spill grease on a wood floor, immediately place an ice cube or very cold water on the spot. The grease will harden and can then be scraped off with a knife. Then iron a piece of cloth over the grease spot.

Furniture Polish

The idea behind furniture polish for wood products is to absorb oil into the wood. Many oils commonly found in our kitchens work very well.

Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil and Lemon Juice (I have to keep my dogs out for a while or they will lick everything I just polished!). Mix 2 parts oil and 1 part lemon juice. Apply and polish with a soft cloth. This leaves furniture looking and smelling good.

For Unfinished Wood: Mineral Oil*. Mineral oil is flammable. Apply sparingly with a soft cloth. For lemon oil polish, dissolve 1 teaspoon lemon oil into 1 pint mineral oil. CAUTION: Mineral spirits should never be substituted for mineral oil as it can be dangerous when inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

For Mahogany: Vinegar. Mix equal pans white vinegar and warm water. Wipe onto wood and then polish with a chamois cloth.

* Special Problems (furniture)

For Grease Spots: Salt. Immediately pour salt on the grease spot to absorb grease and prevent staining.

For Scratches: Lemon Juice and Vegetable Oil. Mix equal pans of lemon juice and salad oil. Rub into scratches with a soft cloth until scratches disappear.

For Water Spots: Toothpaste. To remove water marks, rub gently with toothpaste on a damp cloth.

For Washing Wood: Mild Soap. Dampen cloth with a solution of water and mild soap, such as Ivory or Murphy's Oil Soap. Wring the cloth almost dry and wipe the furniture section by section, drying with a clean dry cloth as you go so that no section stays wet.

For Refinishing Old Furniture: Commercial Oil Soap. Before you set to work on an old piece of furniture with chemical finish removers, try Vegetable Oil Soap. This simple, nontoxic solvent may be all the help an antique needs. Follow label directions.

Hair Products

For Hair Gel: Gelatin. Dissolve 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin in 1 cup warm water. Keep refrigerated and use as you would a purchased gel.

For Hair Spray: Citrus. Chop 1 lemon (or orange for dry hair). Place in a pot and cover with 2 cups of hot water. Boil until only half remains. Cool and strain. Add more water if needed. Refrigerate in a spray bottle.

 Laundry Products

White Vinegar. Eliminate soap residue by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the washer's final rinse. Vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics but strong enough to dissolve alkalies in soaps and detergents. Vinegar also breaks down uric acid, so adding 1 cup vinegar to the rinse water is especially good for babies' clothes. To get wool and cotton blankets soft and fluffy as new, add 2 cups white vinegar to a full tub of rinse water. DO NOT USE VINEGAR IF YOU ADD CHLORINE BLEACH TO YOUR RINSE WATER. IT WILL PRODUCE HARMFUL VAPORS.

Baking Soda. 1/4 to 1/2 cup baking soda per wash load makes clothes feel soft and smell fresh.

Dry Bleach*. Dry bleaches containing sodium perborate are of low toxicity (unless in strong solution, then they can be irritating to the skin). Use according to package directions.

Baking Soda. You can cut the amount of chlorine bleach used in your wash by half when you add 1/2 cup baking soda to top loading machines or 1/4 cup to front loaders.

Vinegar. To remove smoky odor from clothes, fill your bathtub with hot water. Add 1 cup white vinegar. Hang garments above the steaming bath water.

Cornstarch. For homemade laundry starch, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Place in a spray bottle. Shake before using. Clearly label the contents of the spray bottle.

Lime And Mineral Deposit Remover

Vinegar and Paper Towels. Hard lime deposits around faucets can be softened for easy removal by covering the deposits with vinegar-soaked paper towels. Leave the paper towels on for about one hour before cleaning. Leaves chrome clean and shiny.

For Plastic and Metal Shower heads: Vinegar. To remove deposits which may be clogging your metal shower head, combine 1/2 cup white vinegar and one quart water. Then completely submerge the shower head and boil 15 minutes. If you have a plastic shower head, combine 1 pint white vinegar and 1 pint hot water. Then completely submerge the shower head and soak for about one hour.  If for any reason you cannot get the shower head off -- fill a baggie with solution, put the filled bag up with the shower head IN it and then rubber band, tape or twist tie it in place to let the head soak in it.

METAL CLEANERS AND METAL POLISHES

Aluminum

Cream of Tartar. To remove stains and discoloration from aluminum cookware, fill cookware with hot water and add 2 tablespoons cream of tartar to each quart of water. Bring solution to a boil and simmer ten minutes. Wash as usual and dry.

Vinegar. To clean an aluminum coffeepot and remove lime deposits, boil equal pans of water and white vinegar. Boiling time depends upon how heavy deposits are.

Brass

Olive Oil. Brass will look brighter and require less polishing if rubbed with a cloth moistened with olive oil after each polishing. Olive oil retards tarnish.

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste.

Lemon and Salt or Baking Soda. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt and rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water, and dry. Or use a slice of lemon sprinkled with baking soda. Rub brass with the lemon slice, rinse with water, and dry.

Vinegar and Salt. Pour vinegar over the surface. Sprinkle salt over the acid and rub in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.

Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar. Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar. Apply, leave on for 5 minutes and then wash in warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.

Bronze

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste.Apply paste to bronze and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean, warm water, and polish dry.

Chrome

Vinegar. To clean chrome, wipe with a soft cloth dipped in undiluted white or cider vinegar.

Baby Oil. Apply baby oil with a soft cloth and polish to remove stains from chrome trim on faucets, kitchen appliances, vehicles, etc.

Copper

Vinegar and Salt. If copper is tarnished, boil article in a pot of water with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar for several hours. Wash with soap in hot water. Rinse and dry.

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply the paste to copper and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water, and polish dry.

Lemon and Salt or Baking Soda. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt, and rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water, and dry. Or use a slice of lemon sprinkled with baking soda. Rub copper with the lemon slice and rinse with water and dry.

Vinegar and Salt. Pour vinegar over the surface Sprinkle salt over the acid and rub in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.

Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar. Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar. Apply, leave on for 5 minutes, and then wash in warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.

Gold

Soapy Water. Wash in lukewarm soapy water and dry with a cotton cloth. Polish with a chamois cloth.

Toothpaste. Clean with toothpaste and a soft toothbrush.

Pewter

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply paste to pewter and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water, and polish dry.

Silver

Polishing silver while wearing rubber gloves promotes tarnish. Instead, choose plastic or cotton gloves.

Baking Soda. Apply a paste of baking soda and water.Rub, rinse, and polish dry with a soft cloth. To remove tarnish from silverware, sprinkle baking soda on a damp cloth and rub it on the silverware until tarnish is gone. Rinse and dry well.

Aluminum Foil, Baking Soda, and Salt. Place a sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of a pan, add 2-3 inches of water, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Add silver pieces, boil 2-3 minutes, making sure the water covers the silver pieces. Remove silver, rinse, dry, and buff with a soft cloth. This method cleans the design and crevices of silver pieces.

Toothpaste. To clean off tarnish, coat the silver with toothpaste, then run it under warm water, work it into a foam, and rinse it off. For stubborn stains or intricate grooves, use an old soft-bristled toothbrush.

Stainless Steel

Olive Oil. Rub stainless steel sinks with olive oil to remove streaks.

Vinegar. To clean and polish stainless steel, simply moisten a cloth with undiluted white or cider vinegar and wipe clean. Can also be used to remove heat stains on stainless steel cutlery.

Club Soda. Remove streaks or heat stains from stainless steel by rubbing with club soda.

Oven Cleaner

Prevention. Put a sheet of aluminum foil on the floor of the oven, underneath but not touching the heating element. Although this may slightly affect the browning of the food, the foil can be easily disposed of when soiled. Clean up the spill as soon as it occurs.

Salt. While the oven is still warm, sprinkle salt on the spill. If the spill is completely dry, wet the spill lightly before sprinkling on salt. When the oven cools down, scrape away the spill and wash the area clean.

Vinegar. Retard grease buildup in your oven by dampening your cleaning rag in vinegar and water before wiping out your oven.

Baking Soda and Very Fine Steel Wool. Sprinkle water followed by a layer of baking soda. Rub gently with a very fine steel wool pad for tough spots. Wipe off scum with dry paper towels or a sponge. Rinse well and wipe dry.

Arm & Hammer Oven Cleaner. Consumers Union chemists declared this product nontoxic. Use according to label directions.

Paint Brush Renewer

Vinegar. Soften hard paintbrushes in hot vinegar for a few minutes. Then wash paintbrush in soap and warm water and set out to dry.

PEST CONTROL

Helpful predators around the home include frogs, spiders, ladybugs, praying mantis, and dragonflies. Keeping these beneficial creatures around can help you reduce pest populations.

Ants

Vinegar. Wash counter tops, cabinets, and floor with equal pans vinegar and water to deter ant infestations.

Flour and Borax*. Mix 1 cup flour and 2 cups borax in a quart jar. Punch holes in the jar lid. Sprinkle the contents around the house foundation. Keep borax out of the reach of children and pets.

Bone meal or powdered charcoal or lemon. Set up barriers where ants are entering. They will generally not cross lines of bone meal or powdered charcoal. If you can find a hole where ants are entering the house, squeeze the juice of a lemon in the hole or crack. Then slice up the lemon and put the peeling all around the entrance.

Pennyroyal*, Spearmint, Southernwood, and Tansy. Growing these plants around the border of your home will deter ants and the aphids they carry.

Fleas

Vacuum. Vacuum, remove the vacuum bag, seal it, and dispose of it immediately outside your home.

Vinegar. A ratio of 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 quart water (per 40 pounds of pet weight) in their drinking water helps to keep your pets free of fleas and ticks.

Fennel, Rosemary, Red Cedar Shavings*, Sassafras*, Eucalyptus*, or Pennyroyal*. Spread leaves or shavings of these plants under and around the pet's bed.

Flies

Prevention: Keep kitchen garbage tightly closed. Sprinkle dry soap or borax into garbage cans after they've been washed and allowed to dry; it acts as a repellent.

Orange. Scratch the skin of an orange and leave it out; the citrus acts as a repellent.

Cloves. Hang clusters of cloves to repel flies.

Mint or Basil. Mint planted around the home repels flies. A pot of basil set on the windowsill or table helps to repel fleas. Keep basil well-watered from the bottom so that it produces a stronger scent. Dried ground leaves left in small bowls or hung in muslin bags are also effective.

Sugar and Corn Syrup. Make your own fly paper by boiling sugar, corn syrup, and water together. Place mixture onto brown paper and hang or set out.

Garden

There are many strategies for controlling garden pests without unduly upsetting the local ecology of your garden.These strategies include cultural controls (nutrition, resistant varieties, inter-planting, timed planting, crop rotation, mulch, trap crops, and cultivation), mechanical controls (handpicking, physical barriers, traps), biological controls (predatory and parasitic insects, microbes), and sprays and dusts. Because information is too varied to make suggestions in this limited space, we refer you to your library, colleges, and Extension Office for details on integrated and natural pest control. Extension offices can be found under local government in the phone book.

Mice

Mashed potato powder or buds. Place instant mashed potato powder or buds in strategic places with a dish of water close by. After eating the powder or buds mice will need water. This causes fatal bloating.

Mouse Traps. Use according to label directions.

Moles

Castor Oil* and Liquid Detergent. Whip together 1 tablespoon Castor oil and 2 tablespoons liquid detergent in a blender until the mixture is like shaving cream. Add 6 tablespoons water and whip again. Keep this mixture out of the reach of your children and pets. Take a garden sprinkling can and fill with warm water. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil mixture and stir. Sprinkle immediately over the areas of greatest mole infestation. For best results, apply after a rain or thorough watering. If moles are drawn to your lawn because of the grubs feeding in the soil, you may be able to rid yourself of both pests by spreading milky spore disease to kill the grubs.

Mosquitoes

Prevention. Encourage natural predators such as dragonflies or praying mantises. Eliminate pools of stagnant water. Avoid wearing perfume, bright colors, flowery prints, and bright jewelry as these items attract mosquitoes.

Citronella. Burn citronella candles to repel insects.

Tansy or Basil. Plant tansy or basil around the patio and house to repel mosquitoes.

Moths

If you can see moths, these aren't the ones to worry about. Moths that cause damage to clothes are too small to notice. It is the larvae of these moths that eat fabric. Prevention. Store items in a clean condition; moth larvae especially like areas soiled with food stains.

Rosemary, Mint, Thyme, Cloves, and Ginseng (optional). Chicago area weavers and spinners use 1/2 pound rosemary, 1/2 pound mint, 1/4 pound thyme, 1/4 pound ginseng (optional), and 2 tablespoons cloves. Mix and put in cheesecloth bags and place in closets or drawers.

Dried Lavender or Rosemary and Mint. Make sachets of dried lavender or equal portions of rosemary and mint. Place in closets, drawers, or closed containers to moth proof garments.

Rosemary, Sage, Mint, Dried Lemon Peel, and Cinnamon. Mix handfuls of first three ingredients. Add a little lemon peel and a pinch of cinnamon. Place in muslin bags.

Molasses, Vinegar, and Yellow Container. To trap moths, mix 1 pan molasses with 2 pans vinegar and place in a yellow container to attract moths. Clean regularly.

Clothes Dryer. Kill moth eggs by running garment through a warm dryer.

Roaches

Prevention. Close off all gaps around pipes and electric lines where they enter the house by using cement or screening. Caulk small cracks along baseboards, walls, cupboards, and around pipes, sinks, and bathtub fixtures. Seal food tightly. Rinse food off dishes that are left overnight. Do not leave pet food out overnight.

Hedge Apples (Osage Orange). Cut hedge apples in half and place several in the basement, around in cabinets, or under the house to repel roaches.

Flour, Cocoa Powder, and Borax*. Mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 4 tablespoons borax, and 1 tablespoon cocoa. Set the mixture out in dishes. CAUTION: Borax is toxic if eaten. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

Borax* and Flour. Mix 1/2 cup borax and 1/4 cup flour and fill a glass jar. Punch small holes in jar lid. Sprinkle powder along baseboards and door sills. Caution: Borax is toxic if eaten. This recipe may not be for you if there are young children or pets in the house.

Oatmeal, Flour, and Plaster of Paris. Mix equal pans and set in dishes. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

Baking Soda and Powdered Sugar. Mix equal pans and spread around infested area.

Porcelain Cleaner

Cream of Tartar. To clean porcelain surfaces, rub with cream of tartar sprinkled on a damp cloth. Works well on light stains.

 Rust Remover

Peeled Potatoes and Baking Soda or Salt. To remove rust from tinware, rub with a peeled potato dipped in a mild abrasive such as baking soda or salt.

Aluminum Foil. Briskly scrub rust spots on car bumpers with a piece of crumpled aluminum foil, shiny side up. Also works well on the chrome shafts of golf clubs.

Scouring Powder

The amount of chlorine in scouring powder is not significant enough to cause harm, but if you want to totally avoid chlorine or are sensitive to it follow these recipes.

Non-Chlorine Scouring Powder. Several commercially available products.

Baking Soda or Dry Table Salt. Both of these substances are mild abrasives and can be used as an alternative to chlorine scouring powders. Simply put either baking soda or salt on a sponge or the surface you wish to clean and then scour and nose.

Shoe Polish

Cold Pressed Nut Oil, Olive Oil, Walnut Oil, or Beeswax. Apply oil to leather product and buff with a chamois cloth to a shine.

Lemon Juice. Lemon juice is good polish for black or tan leather shoes. Follow by buffing with a soft cloth.

Vinegar. Remove water stains on leather by rubbing with a cloth dipped in a vinegar and water solution.

Petroleum Jelly. A dab of petroleum jelly rubbed into patent leather gives a glistening shine and prevents cracking in the winter.

Vinegar. To shine patent leather, moisten a soft cloth with white vinegar and wipe clean all patent leather articles. The color of the leather may be slightly changed.

Art-Gum Eraser and Sandpaper or Emery Board. Dirt marks on suede can be rubbed out with an art-gum eraser. Then buff lightly with sandpaper or an emery board.

Spot Removers

To remove grease from concrete flooring: Dry Cement.  Sprinkle dry cement over grease. Allow it to absorb the grease, then sweep up.

Carpet

General tips on stain removal: Clean up spills as fast as you can. Blot or scrape up as much of the spill as possible, blotting from the outside toward the center. Test the stain remover on an area under the sofa and wait 15 minutes to see if it damages the carpet color. After you clean the carpet, blot it dry and weigh down a small cushion of paper towels with a heavy object to soak up

all the moisture. Don't panic!

General stains:

Borax*. Use according to label directions. Borax can be toxic if ingested.

Blood stains:

Cold water or Club Soda. Sponge stain immediately with cold water or club soda and dry with a towel. Repeat as necessary.

Ink stains:

Cream of Tartar and Lemon Juice. Place cream of tartar on the ink stain and squeeze a few drops of ice on top. Rub into the stain for a minute, brush off the powder with a clean brush and sponge immediately with warm water, being careful not to saturate the carpet backing. Repeat if necessary.

Isopropyl Alcohol* Be sure to wear gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. Blot rubbing alcohol onto stain.

Non-oily stains:

Vinegar and Liquid Soap. Mix together 1 teaspoon of white vinegar, 1 teaspoon liquid detergent, and 1 pint lukewarm water. Apply this mixture to the non-oily stain with a soft brush or towel. Rub gently. Rinse with a towel dampened in clean water. Blot dry. Repeat this process until the stain is removed. Dry the carpet quickly using a fan or blow dryer. There is a chance that vinegar may bleach some dark, sensitive colors, so try it on an inconspicuous area first.

Soot stains:

Salt. Sprinkle the area generously with salt. Allow the salt to settle for at least 15 minutes before vacuuming.

Stains and odors:

Vinegar and Liquid Soap. Vinegar will kill the odor of urine and prevent staining if you can get to the spot right away. First absorb as much moisture as you can with dry paper towels. Next rinse the area with warm water and apply vinegar and soap solution into the stain using a clean cloth or paper towel and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse with a towel dampened in clean water and blot dry.There is a chance that vinegar may bleach some dark, sensitive colors, so try it on an inconspicuous area first.

CLOTHES

De-yellow silk or wool:

Vinegar. Mix 1 tablespoon white vinegar in 1 pint of water. Sponge with this solution and rinse. Wash as usual.

Chocolate:

Club Soda. Soak stain with club soda before washing.

Cola:

White Vinegar. Apply undiluted vinegar directly to the stain within 24 hours. Wash as usual.

Perspiration stain:

White Vinegar or Lemon Juice. Sponge stains with a weak solution of white vinegar or lemon juice.

Grease on suede:

Vinegar. Sponge spot with a cloth dipped in vinegar. Dry and restore nap by brushing with a suede brush.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

IF YOU DO USE BLEACH TO CLEAN YOUR TOILET BOWL, NEVER MIX BLEACH WITH VINEGAR, TOILET BOWL CLEANER, OR AMMONIA. The combination of bleach with any of these substances produces a toxic gas which can be hazardous.

Baking Soda and Vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda into the bowl, then drizzle with vinegar and scour with a toilet brush. This combination both cleans and deodorizes.

Borax* and Lemon Juice. For removing a stubborn stain, like toilet bowl ring, mix enough borax and lemon juice into a paste which can cover the entire ring. Flush toilet to wet the sides, then rub on paste. Let sit for 2 hours and scrub thoroughly. For less stubborn toilet bowl rings, sprinkle baking soda around the rim and scrub with a toilet brush.

Tub And Tile Cleaner

Baking Soda. Sprinkle baking soda like you would scouring powder. Rub with a damp sponge. Rinse thoroughly.

Vinegar and Baking Soda. To remove film buildup on bathtubs, apply vinegar full-strength to a sponge and wipe with vinegar first. Next, use baking soda as you would scouring powder. Rub with a damp sponge and rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Vinegar. Vinegar removes most dirt without scrubbing and doesn't leave a film. Use 1/4 cup (or more) vinegar to 1 gallon water.

Baking Soda. To clean grout, put 3 cups baking soda into a medium-sized bowl and add 1 cup warm water. Mix into a smooth paste and scrub into grout with a sponge or toothbrush. Rinse thoroughly and dispose of leftover paste when finished.

Window And Glass Cleaner

A few tips on window washing: (1) never wash windows while the sun is shining on them because they dry too quickly and leave streaks; (2) when polishing windows use up and down strokes on one side of the window and side to side strokes on the other to tell which side requires extra polishing; and (3) to polish windows or mirrors to a sparkling shine, try a natural linen towel or other soft cloth, a clean, damp chamois cloth, a squeegee, or crumpled newspaper. One word of warning about newspaper:while newspaper does leave glass lint-free with a dirt-resistant film, persons with sensitivities to fumes from newsprint may wish to avoid the use of newspaper as a cleaning tool.

Vinegar. Wash windows or glass with a mixture of equal pans of white vinegar and warm water. Dry with a soft cloth. Leaves windows and glass streakless. To remove those stubborn hard water sprinkler spots and streaks, use undiluted vinegar.

Borax* or Washing Soda*. Two tablespoons of borax or washing soda mixed into 3 cups water makes a good window cleaner. Apply to surface and wipe dry.

Lemon Juice. Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice in 1 quart water. Apply to surface and wipe dry.

Baking Soda. To clean cut glass, sprinkle baking soda on a damp rag and clean glass. Rinse with clean water and polish with a soft cloth.

Scratches, Stains, And Discoloration In Windows And Glass

Toothpaste. Rub a little toothpaste into the scratch. Polish with a soft cloth.

Dry Mustard* and Vinegar. Mix 1 pan dry mustard and 1 pan white vinegar into a paste. Apply paste to the scratch. Polish with a soft cloth. AVOID EYE CONTACT; DRY MUSTARD CAN BE DAMAGING TO THE CORNEA.

Windshield Wiper Fluid

Vinegar. When you have to leave your car outside overnight in the winter, mix 3 pans vinegar to 1 pan water and coat the windows with this solution. This vinegar and water combination will keep windshields ice and frost-free.

References: MUCH of this this information comes from the Guide to Hazardous Products Around the Home, part of the Household Hazardous Waste Project in Missouri.