Fire destroyed a Torrance furniture store, just outside of Los Angeles, in 2004. The three-alarm fire, which required 49 firefighters to put out the flames, burned designer chairs down to their springs and even caused the roof to collapse. A beautiful, state-of-the-art furniture showroom quickly turned in to a hideous eye sore!

The cause of the fire? Arson. Did insurance pay to re-build the furniture store? Fortunately, yes! But how much business would be lost as a result of this furniture store having to relocate while their charred furniture store was being re-built? Why can’t the fire insurance company cover the potential-loss-of-business too? I would guess that the cost for a new furniture showroom would only be a fraction of the cost of loss that this business incurred as a result of the fire.

In my opinion, there is so much more that insurance companies should take into account than just damage to property. This store, which is now burned to the ground, is nothing more than a charred pile of rubble. Potential customers, who remember the store because they’ve driven by it so many times, will be sorely disappointed when they show up to find it appears to no longer exist. Although they quickly relocated, this was 2004, the days before convenient iPhone web surfing. They had no easy way of seeing if the store had just relocated, or no longer exists.

We visited the store while they were at their temporary location. It was 2006 and they were still waiting for their original showroom to be finished! They said, “Being in this strip mall really hurts our reputation… Now we get people in here expecting us to sell them cheap furniture from China. How many people are showing up at our old showroom and assume that we’re out of business?”

The good news is they’re now back in their showroom. It’s beautiful. It’s state-of-the-art. It’s full of exquisite fine furniture. But where are all the customers that used to frequent this place when it was in its pre-fire prime? Sure, insurance may have cut a check for $1 million to cover construction costs - that’s great! But could they at least eke out another $1-2 million to get the word out to Los Angeles residents that they’re back up and running?

On 9/11/01 America was scared. We had for only the 2nd time in our history, taken a real hit. This one was not a shot to the body like the one we had taken on December 7th, 1941. This was a Punch in the face. Our collective noses were bleeding. Americans were terrified. The whole country had been injured.

Then out of the smoke and darkness, our Government stepped forward and said sign this paper and We will keep you safe! Americans did not look at the paper because they were scared. Nobody thought of the consequences. All we wanted was to feel safe again. No one thought twice when President Bush signed into law The Patriot Act on October 26, 2001. The contrived acronym stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.

Eventually the smoke cleared, we wiped the blood from our noses, and the fear subsided. We started getting back into our normal routines, although the horror of 9-11 had been permanently etched upon our minds, engraved into our souls.

In 2002, George W signed the “Homeland Security Act” and created the United States Department of Homeland Security. With 9-11 behind us, freedom loving Americans began to wonder if the US Government was using 9-11 as an excuse to infringe upon our constitutional rights. People began to question if, in our state of panic, we’d given away the very rights and freedoms that make America, America! When the Act was first signed, it was suppose to “sunset” by the year 2005. Instead, George W made the Act permanent by signing it into law in 2006.

Now the Government had virtually unlimited power to do whatever it wanted under the disguise of keeping us safe! In our moment of weakness, We had willingly signed away our constitutional right to privacy, our protections against illegal search and seizure? The law is very far reaching and has been criticized as being a threat to our most basic liberties

I just think about the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been sacrificed to protect the very rights the so called “Patriot Act” has taken away. Just the thought makes me sick. It’s an affront to every American Soldier who has fought, been injured, or died to protect these rights for all American Citizens.

Soon after the Act was signed into law, we began seeing the Government use these powers to monitor United States Citizen’s phone logs, Internet traffic records, and bank and credit information. The FBI and other Government Agencies are abusing their newly expanded powers to investigate US Citizens who may or may not be involved in Criminal Activity. In fact, there is solid evidence that certain departments of the US Government and law enforcement are actually using the powers granted to them to stop terrorism to actually “fish” for criminals. As time has passed, more and more groups and individuals are coming forward to complain about the abuses and to demand an end to the US Patriot Act. The governments continued response is, they need the powers to keep us safe.

On November 5, 2009 an Army Psychiatrist opens fire on an Army base killing 12 people and wounding 31. We later learn that the government had been monitoring this person and had knowledge that he was in communication with known terrorists, yet they elected to do nothing.

On December 25th 2009, a Man boarded a plane heading to Detroit tries to ignite a bomb. Luckily, he was stopped by passengers. Again, the Patriot Act did not ensure our safety.

Since the Patriot Act was signed into law, it’s obvious that even though We have given up our freedoms in the name of Safety, nothing had changed. We are no safer then we were on September 10th 2001. All that has Changed is we’ve lost the basic Freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Today, it appears that the US Government is using the US Patriot Act as a way to ferret out would be criminals, but what about tomorrow? Since 2001, this great nation has been in constant “Crisis”. We had the Financial Crisis, Housing Crisis, Credit Crisis, and we are now in a Health Care Crisis. Seems like there is nothing better than a good Crisis to keep Americans from thinking about De-Industrialization, Inflation, the rise in fuel prices, Joblessness, and the coming consequences of our tremendous debt

Does anyone remember the Terrorism threat of the late 60’s & 70’s? What about the Civil Rights Activists and Anti-War Activists? I bet if the Government had the technology and the powers they have today, they could have nipped those movements in the bud.

Has anyone ever seen a Homeland Security truck in their neighborhood? You know, the ones with about 20 antennas on them. Do you think there is a possibility that they are driving around your neighborhood eaves dropping on you and your neighbors conversations? Better watch what you say. You wouldn’t want them coming down on you for being some anti government zealot or terrorist for saying what you really think. I wouldn’t want to see you get arrested because you we’re planning on attending a “Tea Party”.

How many rights do we have to lose? How far will we watch this once great Nation fall until we finally say enough? We’re being swindled out of our Children’s futures by the Global Corporations and a corrupt US Government. When do we start to say enough is enough? The time has come for all Americans to stand up for the freedoms and rights that our forefathers fought for and many true Patriots died for. The simple truth is we are stronger and safer as a Free America then We will ever be as a Government/Corporate Controlled America !!!

Do yourself a favor, take a few minutes to read the Bill of Rights and the American Constitution. These are the documents that were crafted by our forefathers to protect us not from terrorism, but from our own government and to ensure that all Americans would enjoy the freedom they worked so hard for.Today, America is still a Free Country, One Nation Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for ALL. Standing on the principles of freedom against a Corrupt Government is Americas Foundation. It seems we’re at a cross roads. We can stand up for what we know to be right, to fight as our forefathers have or we can let America fall.

It begins with a letter to your elected officials. Electing independent candidates who aren’t part of the status quo. Pushing for campaign finance reform so that the Global Corporations don’t control our Government. Participating in Protests, Rally’s and National Strikes!!!

Written by Your Bro LJ James AmericanBikerX.com with Thanks going out to NY-Biker.com for all their help

Emmerich’s film 2012 caused a big panic, and all the disaster-porn films we’ve seen for the last 50-60 years or so is scaring the heck out of viewers. So badly are they scared of the end that they are watching the same movies of disaster, over and over, with different actors, different titles, and different producers - all aimed to scare you and empty your pockets.The World Isn’t Coming To An End, it’s just Hollywood, trying to make a buck.

Let’s get real. Let’s discuss some of what’s going on:

1. Rumor: The World Ends With Planetary Alignment and the repositioning of the Earth along the Galactic Equator …. are they nuts! The phenomena of placement of the stars and galaxies in space is not new. These things all have occurred before, and it wasn’t the end of the world then and it won’t be now. Actually, the date predicted, Winter Solstice, 2012 is not as significant as other astronomical phenomena happening before this. This is just fear-mongering of the formerly unemployed ‘ of the world writers’ with nothing better to do than create movies to scare the smiles off of little kids.

2. The Mayan Prophesy says the world is coming to an end. There is no known prophesy that the world is coming to an End and whoever said that should know that it can’t be. The records of the Maya civilization were effectively destroyed, like all other Meso-American histories by the Conquering Spanish, and what was kept - was kept in secret archives to keep the truth away from the public because it would destroy the Catholic Church. The evidence indicated that the majority of the Meso-American population was, in fact, the lost tribes of Israel. This was written by Franciscan Monks at the time of the invasion, and British and other archeologists later. The actual Mayan Prophesy was simple - ‘Live naturally, in natural time, or your biosphere (Earth - our mother ship) would not survive. We’ll we did it. No lying about that. For the past umpteen years, we have been just like conquerors, raping, murdering, and killing mother earth. OOPS! I didn’t do it - you didn’t do it - the politicians allowed it - all for greed. Oil, Gold, Silver - rape the earth suffers the consequences. The end date of the Mayan Calendar had nothing to do with the end of the planet, it had to do with the end of an era.

2a. Note that when the Earth was first inhabited there was something of a 3 degree axis tilt and the planet was green, and water blue, and life was abundant. What by the name of God have we done to our mother?

2b. YIKES, we’re at 23 degree wobble now. Yes, something is happening, changes are occurring, but it’s not the end. It scares people to think that changes are coming - people fear change. CHANGE IS GOOD!

2c. People will die. Yes, we’ve burned fossil fuels, destroyed our air, cut down our forests, created deserts where there were none before and previously the planet cleansed itself with great floods. People are dying, we are more aware since Hurricane Katrina, that things are not right due to global warming, and Tsunamis, great floods, and thousands more deaths in countries where floods were a rarity.

2d. And there are many species are dying. Faster than ever before species are disappearing. One indication that might be considered, or two, are the frog population which began disappearing a few years back, and the bees. We are impacting nature and we don’t step lightly - our footprint is huge and visible, and we are destroying all of life without mistreatment of our mother.

2e. More diseases, more horrible, more incurable - a sick society and planet produce all forms of diseases.

3. It’s obviously human nature - It’s obvious that the nature of the human being is to conquer. The continuous development of warfare, atomic, and nuclear weaponry is solely aimed at the destruction of mankind and hurting the planet. Previously, we had been the only big bully playing with nukes, now every schoolyard bully has them and someone is likely to play war games just to demonstrate my ‘rocket’ is bigger than your ‘rocket’.

3a. The Belief in Ancient Religions - I must mention this, because this is the greatest manipulation of human beings’ behavior on Earth. Sorry, priests, ministers, rabbis, I honor you all for what you know, but your DOGMA is not helping the situation. Each one of you has chosen an individual branch as path of the Tree of Life, and none of you are on the Expressway to God. Please stop telling your people they are sinners - as men of God, many of you have been caught with your own pants down around your ankles and some honey taking some money for some SINFUL and LUSTFUL experience you needed to have. You dirty old sinner you. It may not have been you, but we all know of whom I speak. I am not judging you - just stop judging others and stop playing the blame game which results in guilt. As you know - guilt has absolutely no survival value, it is responsible for many illnesses that do not resolve and result in death. Stop guilting others, or …

3b. Humans Mistreat Each Other, Animals, Plants, and Mother Earth Too - imagine all the drilling, the cutting of trees, the burning of fields, everything normal and beautiful of earth destroyed by greed to steal the resources and be billionaires, all at the cost of our mother. Imagine our planet as a great big fluffy dog, filled with life. And the dog feels the burring of something drilling into it - just like a flea. And another, burning like burning the trees - the dog begins to scratch and shake fiercely and the fleas fall off. You got a parachute for when this happens to us?

4. The Mayan Calendar - Interestingly enough does end on the Winter Solstice, 2012. Why? Not because it’s the end of the world - it’s just the end of the 5th Cycle of Life on the Planet. The 6th Cycle that begins immediately thereafter and is called the Age of Enlightenment. It’s sounds like an exciting time to be alive - so get prepared!

WELCOME - this is reality.

Many of us will fall off, many of us will die. Are you prepared? Those who are not prepared, and those who think they are better or more greater, more important or more powerful than Mother Earth that we live on, will suffer.

Virgin Airline’s Richard Branson has made his fleet of Intergalactic Space ships to take the rich and wealthy off the planet, just like Roland Emmerich has set of Arks in his movie. Branson’s ticket price is much cheaper.

I’D RATHER STAY HERE ON EARTH

In 1987, the Harmonic Convergence, which was written about by Dr. Jose Arguelles, and my participation in it - by doing long travels through endless ruins, culminating at the El Tule Tree in Oaxaca in Mexico, spoke the prophesy that we had 25 years left of life as we knew it. We must return to natural, non-destructive living. Oops Earthlings, you blew it!

Now the cards are on the table. Natural disasters are not caused by nature but by those politicians who paid no heed to the warnings 20-30 years ago. Politicians refused to grant health to the planet at Kyoto and the disastrous earth changes continued.

What can the scenario possibly be — to cause the end of life as we know it? Who knows, asteroids, meteorites, some crazy Anti-Semitic Iranian ex-president who stole the presidency from the people in order to try to wipe out the State of Israel, some angry Korean president who is dying because of his anger at the United States over a 60 year old situation, or errors by our own major powers in their thinking that nuclear energy is stable enough to survive what our earth going through with hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, while this huge dog is shaking off us fleas.

HOW TO SURVIVE THIS?

Like a Boy Scout: Be prepared, more than anything else - it’s your mind and soul that need preparation. Since we all know that the soul is immortal, you will survive in one form or another. We have prepared the first of several guides on survival. This first one was just updated Nov. 2009, originally written in 1991 - to help you survive what is undoubtedly going to be a life-changing experience.

It’s called - “The World is a Mess, and We Are Responsible - Isn’t It Time To THINK RIGHT?

All real estate investors can expect bad news regarding this 4th quarter of 2009 after Freddie and Fannie requested a $400 billion ceiling in their credit pool.With this increase in available credit for the federal corporations, the Obama administration simply avoids the embarrassment and humiliation of addressing the failures of these institutions in public media, after all they already received more bailout money than any other corporation due to their close ties with government officials.

There is no better example of what happens when the government tries to manage a market than what has happened to these 2 government corporation and the corresponding performance of the housing market. Amid rising defaults, both made unusual disclosures recently, noting that the government’s pressure on them to assist the housing market could cost taxpayers.

But by lifting their credit lifelines, Congress avoided yet another bailout for Fannie and Freddie from an already embattled, bailout-happy Congress.

Consequently, even more tax payer dollars will go to the undeserved executive bonuses that the leaders of Fannie and Freddie will receive, since they got their bailout money before the initial pay guidelines were in place, and the increase in available credit does technically constitute a bailout.

Unlike Citigroup, Bank of America, AIG, Chrysler, and GM, Congress deemed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had not received “exceptional assistance” and therefore did not have to have their pay decisions scrutinized by the pay czar.

As poorly as these two institutions have performed over the past year, the possibility of their executives receiving their $6 million pay seems ridiculous.

In 2009 the credit lines for each of them were already increased from $100 billion to over $200 billion, and now they are requesting to have that amount doubled again to total more than $800 billion, which is backed only by our governments willingness to pay the interest, with taxpayer dollars. With a combined total of over 100 billion of our taxpayer dollars already doled out to Fannie and Freddie, the government simply allows more money for them.

Typically they buy mortgages from banks and bundle them for re-sale to investors who desire the yield indicated. Together, they own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion, or about half of all mortgages, reports indicate. Add in the 100’s of billions of dollars in securitizations remaining to be included in their balance sheets and you can see just how bleak things are for tax payers.

With the added padding of the funny money policies of the Treasury’s newly introduced flexible financing formula, Fannie and Freddie now get more tax payer money founded on a formula which increases their assistance based on the amount of money the lose each quarter. President Obama and this bailout happy congress have continued to boast about their efforts to stabilize the national real estate market through Fannie and Freddie, even while each federal corporation is under conservatorship and has been completely ineffective at it’s mission of preserving home prices.

As a taxpayer, you are left to wonder why all of your money is being spent on a secret bailout for federal corporations whose portfolios only continue to decline in value, by our President whose plans to stop or slow foreclosure have been an abject failure.

With new City Attorneys come new policies. In the City of Seattle, a new policy has been handed down regarding marijuana possession. They aren’t going to be prosecuted any more. As a Seattle criminal attorney I both like and (sort of) dislike this. Read on to find out why.

Before we begin, however, let’s clarify what will and will not be prosecuted. First, it’s only misdemeanor cases. This essentially means any case where the person has on their person under 40 grams of marijuana. Essentially somebody that has enough on them to smoke themselves (or with their friends). No drug czars will be going free because of this.

A potential consequence that immediately jumps out to people, particularly those deathly afraid of drugs, is that marijuana use will begin to run rampant throughout the city. People will start showing up high all over the place, not just in the comfort of their own homes or their favorite dance club. For many, this will restart the drug trade.

While possible, it is unlikely that anyone will see much difference. Though at times untrue, there is still a social stigma attached to smoking marijuana, and its distinctive smell makes it likely that people will refrain, for the most part, from smoking it wherever and whenever they want. People still have to show up for work with a clear mind.

One consequence I see, as a Seattle criminal attorney, is a likely drop in revenues for some people that have been making a tidy living off of these type of cases. All that business will be gone (and the city will be saving a ton of money too). Although I don’t market to this type of crowd or do this much business, for some it could be a pretty big hit.

This also means the loss of many of the fun search and seizure cases that are out there. Seattle criminal attorneys love nothing more than to get a search and seizure case. The cops usually don’t know what they are doing, and there is typically one huge mistake made in every search and seizure case (particularly if the client was smart enough not to give consent).

In the end, this law will have one great benefit, which the City Attorney was looking for - it will save a lot of money, both in investigation, police manpower, and time in the criminal courts. And college kids and dead heads can breathe a sigh of relief.