Misery Index

An internal review prepared for President-elect Barack Obama says his incoming chief of staff had multiple conversations with Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich’s office, but no one close to Obama suspected that the governor might be trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat as prosecutors allege.

The report was released Tuesday as an Obama transition official confirmed that Obama and two of his top aides, Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarret, have been interviewed in connection with the federal investigation into Blagojevich.

Incoming White House attorney Greg Craig, who conducted the internal review at Obama’s request, found that the president-elect had no contact with Blagojevich or any of his staff about the Senate seat he vacated to take over the presidency.

Looking at the report that was released by the Obama Team, the review of contracts with Rod Blago will show that Rahm Emanuel had only “one or two” phone conversations with Blago.  The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the FBI captured 21 tape-recorded conversations between Blago’s office and Emanuel.  However, the report does say that one Obama “friend” who is not employed in the transition effort DID HAVE a brief conversation about the subject with a member of Blago’s staff.  Isn’t that just convenient?

This contact, described as a “pro-forma” courtesy call, was allegedly when Emanuel reportedly gave Blago a “heads up” that he was accepting Obama’s offer of the chief of staff job, and as a result, would be resigning his congressional seat.  As of this date, Emanuel has still not resigned his seat although he is working full time on the Obama Team, thus still receiving taxpayers money for doing absolutely nothing.

And why would anyone need to call the Governor of Illinois when you are a US Representative?  Why do you need to tell a state governor such information? 

Additionally, the report stated that Emanuel had “about four telephone conversations with John Harris, Chief of Staff to the Governor, on the subject of the senate seat.  In these conversations, Mr. Emanuel and Mr. Harris discussed the merits of potential candidates and the strategic benefit that each candidate would bring to the Senate seat.”  So just thoughts to ponder, is the merits of a potential candidate based upon how much is in their bank account, and how much they have to offer from said bank account?

And what the main stream media isn’t reporting, is that Obama, Emanuel and Valerie Jarret were interviewed last week by federal prosecutors probing the Blago’ seat bid.

Additional thoughts to ponder are if there were no conversations between Obama or his team and Balgo’s office, then why was Blago so mad?  Based on taped conversations cited by prosecutors, suggested Obama wouldn’t be helpful to him and called him a “vulgar term.”  Told by two other advisers Blago had to “suck it up” for two years, the FBI says it heard Blago complain “he has to give his motherf***er, his Senator.  F*** him.  For nothing?  F*** him!” 

As for the Feds investigation, one member described in Fitzgerald’s complaint hinted that Blago was frustraited by contacts with Obama and his staff.  “Blago said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat, the complaint states, referring to an individual many believe to be Jarret.  And even if the governor were to appoint a candidate favored by the Obama team, Blago said, “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.”

If Obama or anyone on the Obama Team did not have a conversation about the senate seat, then why does Blago have the attitude he does towards Obama?  The memo does not address the issue if anyone on Obama’s Team did know that Blago was trying to sell the seat, and if they did know, why did they not contact the authorities.

The Washington Post states:

The report helps explain the first part of the statement [about Obama wanting Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat"]  In his early conversations with the governor, Emanuel touted Jarrett as the best candidate, according to the Obama memo, before learning from Obama that he wanted to remain neutral on the subject.

“The President-Elect believed it appropriate to provide the names of multiple candidates to be considered, along with others, who were qualified to hold the seat and able to retain in a future election, Craig wrote.

But the report does not make clear why Blagojevich stated that he thought the Obama staff was “not willing to give me anything.”  It states that none of Obama’s staff ever suspected that the governor was seeking anything improper in exchange for the Seante Seat. […]

Emanuel offered six names as possible candidates after Jarrett withdrew hers to accept a job in the White House:  Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Jesse L. Jackson Jr.; Illinois Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes; Illinois Veterans Affairs Secretary Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq war: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan; and Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson.

I would be very curious as to see what an outside attorney would find on the matter, especially considering that The New York Times reported last week that “Emanuel Had Contact With Governor’s Office on Senate Seat”.  And The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that “Emanuel, Blagojevich Aides Discussed Senate Seat.”

And according to the Chicago Tribune, another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4th election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris.  The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the position of Chief of Staff in Obama’s administration if Obama should win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama, the source said.  On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.

Blagojevich and Harris, who resigned his state post Friday, are charged with plotting to sell the selection of Obama’s replacement in exchange for lucrative jobs or campaign cash for the governor.

In the meantime, let’s all go back to pretending that Obama is “The One” and has nothing to do with the corrupt Chicago politicians that all know each other, all have worked with each other at one time or another, and all that got him where he is today.

Meanwhile Rahm Emanuel still remains a congressman from the 5th District of Illinois, while working full time on the Obama Team, receiving income for doing nothing with his congressional seat, and has skipped a vote, yet he’s still a lawmaker.  On Emanuel’s personal office website, the last press release was two weeks before the election on Oct. 14.  Meanwhile, Obama has resigned his position effective Nov. 16th, as U.S. Senator, leaving the position open.  Illinois Governor Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell Obama’s seat in Congress, and many wanted him impeached however, the court ruled against a trial.

They also confiscated a Russian SKS assault rifle.

Miyashiro is charged with one count of threatening the life of the president or the president-elect, which is punishable by up to five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years probation.  He was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu without bail.

I did find a Mark Miyashiro on Facebook and fifdififdi from Hawaii with the same picture, and I did find a listing for a Mark Miyashiro in Kaneohe on “Merchant Circle” and he has written several articles on Helium.  Topics include gun ownership, racism, the death penalty, censorship, education and many touching on spirituality and mental illness.

He is also on “PrintNPo$t” and describes himself to be known as “The Unemployed Comic” and as the “first Okinawan-Jew Stand Up Comic in Hawaii.”

According to one of the articles, he had done his final broadcast on Mar 14, 97 after 20 years of TV.  He says that afterwards he traveled to Israel, NY, St. Louis and to Ghana and made documentaries and that he also became sick with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

According to his bio on Helium, he worked for “many video production companies and worked for several TV stations, at one time I was Production Manager for a Japanese Ind. TV station.  Currently I am teaching a class on editing for the Mentally ill.”

In one article titled “Schizophrenia:  what it is”, Miyashiro talks about fighting his demons with mental illness.  “.. I thought everyone had their voices.”  “I also go involved with conspiracy theories, the govt was out to get me, that I must stop the govt from it’s evil plans.  I still believe this is true it’s just that I keep my opinions to myself.”  “Yes life is an adventure, I accept my condition and try my best, there are times I feel I don’t need my meds anymore, but my family helps me with that area.”

Chances are this man “fell off the wagon” with his meds, and thus the paranoid delusions came back.  He’ll be found unfit to stand trial due to mental illness, and confided to a state hospital until a later time.

• “Man charged with threatening to kill Obama”, The Standard, 12DEC08
• “Obama Hawaii Death Threat; Agents Arrest Man”, The Huffington Post, 10DEC08
• “Man arrested for threatening Obama assassination”, FOOQU, UNK

First, on Sunday night, Greyhound passengers, many of whom had been at the downtown Seattle station at least two nights, said they were told by Greyhound staff that they had to leave because the company had run out of food and water at the terminal.

“They were feeding us two meals a day, trying to do the best they can, and they said they were going to put us in a shelter because buses were going to be down for the next couple of days,” a woman stated, adding that Greyhound officials promised to pick them back up as soon as the buses were running again.

Passengers were told Greyhound had found someplace better for them to stay, and they were bused to the Seattle Center emergency center, a homeless shelter.  A Greyhound passenger said that Greyhound, “told us that people would be expecting us.  We would have our own space with a bed and pillows and [services].”

The Greyhound bus dropped the people off at the shelter and advised them again they could stay there. 

The shelter “opened the doors for the homeless people at 9 [p.m.], but not for us.  They told us we couldn’t go in,” an abandoned Greyhound rider said.   Another abandoned rider said, “We got here, and they didn't know we were coming.  I can’t believe they did this!”

Unfortunately, the shelter at the Seattle Center turned the passengers away because the shelter does not take children.  Stacy Howard, a spokeswoman for the Salvation Army, said staff members had to turn away passengers because they were following protocol that calls for men to be sheltered separately from women and children.

That left families, kids and at least one pregnant woman outside on the Seattle Center property in sub-freezing temperatures Sunday night.

Another rider stated, “They said there was going to be beds, cots for us and blankets, and then they just kind of dropped us off here and apparently Salvation Army doesn’t know anything about what’s going on.”

So 60 men, women, and children weren’t allowed into the shelter.  The Greyhound bus that was used to bring the passengers to the shelter was still there when the group was told they would not be allowed in the shelter with their kids, but the driver drove away.

Eric Wesley, a spokesman for Greyhound, told KOMO/4 that Seattle police told them they could take the passengers to the shelter, and passengers had the option to stay at the Greyhound station, which is near the West Precinct contradicting what the stranded passengers said.

Seattle police spokesman Renee Witt told KOMO/4 a lieutenant was contacted by Greyhound, and a police lieutenant made arrangements with the shelter to take some of the stranded passengers, but because the shelter could not accept children they had to turn the group away when they arrived.

Meanwhile, around 9:48 p.m., 911 received a call involving 60 people outside the Pavilion Shelter, at the Seattle Center.  The caller relayed the story to 911 and police responded to the Greyhound bus station, only to find it closed.

At the Seattle Center, riders were left wondering where they would go and were frustrated with the lack of communication.  A police officer addressed the crowed at the scene saying, “I went to the Greyhound station, and it’s locked down.  I couldn’t get answers.”

The Seattle Police Department had to step in to help the passengers who were abandoned by Greyhound to find shelter.  The officers then responded to the Seattle Center, and with the assistance from the Seattle Police Communications, found available shelters. 

Three families with young children were transported to the YWCA.  The rest of the displaced individuals (about 40) were taken to “DESC” at 517 3rd Avenue.

Metro or Greyhound were not available to assist with the transportation, so all transports were completed by patrol and West Anti Crime Team. 

They were all in shelters, 1 1/2 hours after the original call. Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said the riders were picked up and taken to the Greyhound terminal Monday morning.

A Greyhound spokesman told the Seattle PI that the company has no plans to issue refunds to any of their passengers, although they will allow them to sleep in “heated buses” until they’re allowed to depart again.

As of Monday, Greyhound spokesman Wesley said no buses were rolling in or out of Seattle because the company did not want to endanger passengers on icy roads.  Wesley said more than 100 stranded passengers were sent to three homeless shelters or allowed to stay at the station.

In a light of good news, a catered meal by FareStart was called in by the Seattle Police Department.  The menu included halibut, chicken penne, grilled asparagus, salad and cheese and fruit plates.

And KIRO radio put out a call for drivers headed to Portland who were willing to take stranded drivers.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Meanwhile in Salt Lake City, dozens of Greyhound passengers, estimated around 50, headed to WA and OR are stranded at the SLC terminal.  By Monday, several passengers are called the “five-dayers” since the arrived at SLC last Thursday.

“We can’t keep on like this,” said a woman, who left Tampa FL, to resettle into Portland, saying people have slept for days in the corners of the public terminal and the closest thing to a shower was the bathroom sink.

Some said Sunday they have been there for several days, sleeping on the floor and getting food from homeless charities.  Many can’t afford to pay for a hotel room or go out to eat.

On rider says he thinks Greyhound never should have sold him a ticket in the first place.  “The road was already closed when they sold me a ticket,” he said.  “They knew.  They knew the buses couldn’t get out.”  The bus terminal manager told KUTV off camera the reason Greyhound sold the person a ticket to Portland, and continues to sell tickets to cities buses can’t currently travel to is because unlike an airline, Greyhound doesn’t have a reservation system, meaning the bus tickets can be used today, or a year from today, whenever the bus can travel there.  The tickets however, are non-refundable.

Since the media coverage, the five-dayers said an anonymous donor paid for 20 rooms at a motel for Sunday night, hamburgers and french fries were donated, and several people have brought toys, children’s books and food.

When Kathryn Jenson learned there were soldiers stranded, she took her laptop to the terminal and started buying plane tickets with the extra money she had in "Let’s Fly Em Home.”  The charity buys airfare for needy soldiers.  Thanks to her efforts, about 17 enlistees left the terminal.

Until there was media attention on their situation Sunday, several travelers say the company did little.  That night, Greyhound brought them pizza said spokeswoman Wambuagh.  “We do everything within the resources we have to assist our customers,” she said though she was unaware of similar situations in the past. 

She said Greyhound’s policy is to provide what the terminal can, as well as work with the Red Cross.  She said she was unable to reach the SLC Red Cross earlier, but called the organization on Monday, requesting 50 cots.

Wambaugh added that the Greyhound passengers do not usually get hotel vouchers during weather delays, but the company provides them a “warm, safe place to say,” she said, indicating the SLC bus terminal. [I guess that doesn’t apply in Seattle, eh?]

She also said that people had been waiting up to three days at the terminal, contradicting passenger stories, because of closures on Interstate 84 heading to the Northwest.  There, Wambuagh said, the company has provided food vouchers.

According to the travelers in SLC, those “food vouchers” haven’t been seen, saying all they’ve been given is occasional pizzas.  “Pizza is another means we consider of giving them food,” Wambaugh said.

Also, the company is offering to return people in SLC to where they started for free, unlike the stranded travelers in Seattle.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Last Friday, Greyhound began cancelling service north of Sacramento as road conditions north of Eugene, Oregon became to dangerous.  Many people are still stranded at that terminal.

There obviously Greyhound is not helping those passengers, as one  couple stated they were running out of money to buy food.

Sunday night, Greyhound began offering Sacramento travelers free rides back home.  The Red Cross began distributing blankets.

Monday morning Greyhound allowed Sacramento passengers to board a bus to Eugene, OR.  But Wambaugh said, “Once they get there they’ll have to stay.  We don’t know when the’ll be able to get out of there because of the road situation.”

Weary stranded travelers were happy when a man showed up at the terminal with food however, once the man tried to bring the food in for the people, a restaurant manager threw him out of the terminal.

Most have been told to not expect to get a bus out of the terminal until Christmas.

MY OWN PERSONAL GREYHOUND NIGHTMARE, MY FIRST TIME ON GREYHOUND AND MY LAST TIME EVER

Now I understand that the weather is causing the delays with Greyhound however, I’m pretty sure that the travelers lives are miserable between the delays and the way Greyhound handles things.

Several years back I had to take a bus from Jacksonville, NC to Las Vegas, NV on short notice and knew that my car would never make it.  I threw around the idea of renting a car however between the cost of renting the car and hotels, I began to look at airlines.  Once seeing their price for a one way ticket, I looked at trains and that was inaccessible.  So I looked at bus fares, which I was somewhere between $172 and $198 and decided to leave the driving to someone else.  I’d never been on a bus before and was up for the adventure.  I wish I had spoken to other people of their experiences with Greyhound before deciding on a bus.

The bus was suppose to leave on a Friday at 6:10 pm from Jacksonville, NC and arrive in Las Vegas, NV on Monday at 6:35am.  All I have to say is.. never again.

As soon as I got to the terminal, I knew I had problems.  First the bus was to arrive at 6:10 pm, but did not show up until nearly 6:45.  The driver hurried and pushed us on to the bus, and then he set the rules.  No one talking on cell phones or he would kick them off the bus.  If someone had headphones on, and he could hear the music as he walked by, he would kick them off the bus.

Needless to say, once we arrived in Raleigh we were suppose to transfer buses however, because our bus was late, we missed that bus.  It took about 30 minutes, but the called a driver in and made arrangements for us to get to Charlotte, NC.  This driver didn’t even have on any kind of uniform for Greyhound, and was wearing street clothes, and he drove like a maniac, nearly pushing a car off the road while changing lanes.

Of course we arrived in Charlotte, NC late, and the bus had left.  More than 40 of us stood around wondering what to do.  Me being the brave person, decided to ask what was going on.  The girl at the counter had no idea what I was talking about and said I had missed my bus and would have to wait 24 hours for the next bus.  I informed her that there were more than 40 people waiting, and we would all have to wait 24 hours?  She said hold on and yelled across the terminal to a man.  The man came up and I asked him the same.  He immediately gave me attitude and told me that if I didn’t stop asking questions about having to wait 24 hours for a bus, that he would kick me out of the terminal.  I immediately looked at his badge and reached for a pen and paper in my laptop bag.  I said “Your name is…..” and he immediately covered his badge up and said he didn’t work for Greyhound.

About 45 minutes later, while all of us are wondering what to do with no one telling us anything, there is an announcement that there will be a bus leaving for Charlotte in 15 minutes.  We all line up and as I hand my ticket to that same man that gave me attitude, I say to him “Thank you very much, you have a great evening”.  The man looked at me and yelled “You better get on that bus right now or I’ll kick you off and you’ll be left here waiting for 24 hours for the next bus.” 

This driver was a rather nice driver.  He was very well dressed in his uniform.  And he drove us safely through the night to Atlanta, GA and I felt that the worst of times was behind me.  Little did I know.

We arrived in Atlanta, GA late of course and the terminal was standing room only.  As picked up my luggage, I learned that I could “pre check” luggage for my next bus, which I did and I was glad to not have to lug around two bags, leaving me with my laptop bag and a backpack with my makeup, books, disks, personal information, you know, like what a woman would have in her purse.  My next bus was to go from Atlanta, GA to Dallas, TX.

As I entered the terminal, lines were already lined up at every gate clear to the far wall.  A girl and I had paired up and took turns waiting in line for what seemed like hours.  Our bus had left at 9:25 am, and here it was just after 10.  I don’t remember the exact time the next bus left but it seemed like it was around 2pm in the afternoon.  Two pm came and went, and then 2:30 and then 2:45 and finally they called the gate.  Needless to say, they overbooked and we were not allowed on the bus. 

I remembered immediately that my luggage was on the bus to Dallas and hurried to customer service asking them what to do.  The woman told me to not worry about it, that if my luggage wasn’t there when I got there, it would be because it got forwarded to my final destination but if I asked to get it off the bus, it wouldn’t happen as they weren’t going to take all the luggage off the bus just for me, and then repack it.

So we waited… and went across the street to this little convenience store, all the while hoping that I wouldn’t get shot, solicited, or approached since the Atlanta terminal isn’t in the best neighborhood.  While there, I learned of someone getting mugged on the other side of the terminal building.  It wasn’t a fun place.

We finally learned that we could get a bus out of Atlanta if we didn’t want to wait another 24 hours however, it was not going to Dallas.  It was going to Nashville, TN.  We both said fine and managed to be one of the first 10 in line.  My trip was now going off my own personal map. 

I don't’ remember much of the ride to Nashville as I think I finally slept for the first time on that bus.  I do remember we got into Nashville around midnight.  While there, we were harassed by the Nashville PD asking to see our tickets accusing us of being homeless people.  I wanted to say to the PD, excuse me, but do homeless people wear Izod, and Ralph Lauren?  As we waited in line, the PD started yelling to everyone, “If you have any drugs or weapons in your bags, you better pull them out now, because we are going to find them” and began doing random searches on people, which is a Constitutional violation.  Our next stop?  St. Louis, MO.

I don’t remember much of this trip either as I again tried to sleep.  We arrived that morning at St. Louis to what could only be described as a building that looked as if it was right out of the 1800s, and it was packed like a cattle pen.  Some people had been waiting there for 24 hours out of the terminal, especially for our bus, which the entire queue area was full.  There was nearly a riot here where people who had been waiting for the bus were arguing with the people who had just gotten in line.  It was a very, VERY interesting time, where about 30 people nearly began fighting with each other and was definitely NOT a safe situation.   But yet the few security that were there were laughing, and making jokes while pointing fingers at people. 

There must have been at least 300 people in this small terminal, and only one person working at the food counter.  And was rather disappointed when I asked for an egg sandwich and was told they were out of eggs.  So I asked for something else, now I can’t remember what, and she said it would take 20 minutes to fix.  So I said just coffee, she said sorry were out.  So I asked for bottled water.  Sorry…. try again.  I said forget it.

Greyhound finally must have noticed that all the passengers for the bus to Denver were a little “upset” and did a smart thing.  They brought out two busses to take us all, and let me tell you, I still think some people had to be left behind.  So off to Denver we go.

I don’t know what time we arrived in Denver anymore, but it was night but this was to be my last leg to Las Vegas.  I don’t remember much here other than when we got on the bus, the driver got lost because he didn’t know how to get to the Interstate, and a rider had to tell him the directions……

Once where were down off the mountain that driver got off the bus and another driver got on.  This guy was a total maniac.  He nearly took out several cars during this leg of the trip, and also got pulled over for speeding, and he did get a ticket.  And he left approximately 10 people behind on one stop.  We yelled at him to stop that people were running after the bus, but he did not stop.  I do not know what happened to them.

We finally arrived in Las Vegas, but not at 6:35 am on Monday, but on Tuesday at 2:00pm in the afternoon.  I immediately got off the bus and headed to check about my baggage.  It wasn’t there.  So here I am in Vegas wearing the same clothes I had put on Friday with no clothes to change into, nothing but my laptop bag, makeup, personal items and that was it.

I called Greyhound on Wednesday and my luggage still wasn’t there.  Finally on Thursday, it was there and I went downtown to pick it up.  I knew immediately I was in trouble.  My luggage had holes in it, the handles broken, zippers were busted, and I was missing quite a lot of items, including a leather jacket.  Total in all, I lost nearly $1,000 worth of items out of my luggage and my actual luggage containers themselves.  I filed a claim only to learn the max according to Greyhound was $250.  It was over a month later I received a check.

During this entire time there were similarities I noticed about Greyhound the entire way.  First, most drivers are unprofessional, rude, sexist and extremely unsafe.  Second, the actual bus itself is not in the best shape and most were dirty inside, including one where the toilet was overflowing.  Third, Greyhound overbooks all the time.  Most everyone I talked to along the way, and I talked to ALOT of people since we had nothing to do but wait since the buses were late or overbooked, is that most had their entire trip plans changed either from routing changes or having to actually wait anywhere from 4 to 48 hours for a bus.  Most Greyhound bus stations are NOT in the safest areas of town with most of them being filthy, and the bathrooms leaving a port-a-potty to be desired instead.  And most employees are either lazy and/or rude.  I also noticed while I was in Charlotte and Atlanta employees in “secluded areas” smoking pot.  How do I know they were Greyhound employees?  Simply, they were wearing uniforms.

My luggage was trashed an unusable at the end of the trip and I will honestly say that Greyhound employees are thieves.  Why do I say this?  Because the locks were broken on my luggage, and you could see were they used something sharp to cut open the luggage around the zipper.  I hope whoever got all my “stuff” thoroughly enjoyed them.

But yet, I feel lucky because I did arrive safe, although I don’t know how, and I arrived only 1 day later than I should have.  Never again though.  Next time I am in a situation where I need to take a long trip due on a short notice, I will spend the extra $150.00 to take a airline and forget leaving the driving to someone else.

SOURCES:

• “SPD Officers Find Shelter For 60 Displaced People”, SPD Blotter, 21DEC08
• “Snow:  Greyhound passengers stuck at shelter”, Seattle PI, 22DEC08
• “Stranded passengers left at homeless shelter”, Seattle PI, 21DEC08
• “Greyhound closes Seattle station”, Seattle Times, 22DEC08
• “Greyhound riders sick of Seattle:  ‘I’m just trying to get out of here’, Seattle PI, 22DEC08
• “Greyhound travelers stranded in Salt Lake”, Seattle PI, 22DEC08
• “Storm prolongs stranded travelers’ ordeal”, The Seattle Times, 22DEC08
• “Greyhound passengers stranded in SLC terminal”, The Seattle Times, 21DEC08
• “Greyhound Passengers Stuck In Salt Lake City”, KUTV, 22DEC08
• “Weather Keeps Sacramento Bus Riders Stranded”, NEWS 10, 23DEC08
• “Greyhound:  You Won’t Be Home for Christmas”, NEWS 10, 22DEC08

These badges all have to be approved to be purchased.  Wednesday of last week, the new badges were approved in a unanimous vote by the Board of Police Commissioners approving December purchase.  And believe it or not, the board seems to make purchases WITHOUT knowing prices, or so they claim.

At a press conference called Saturday morning after the Post-Dispatch disclosed the purchase, Isom, the new Chief, called the badge expenditures “outrageous.”  He said there will be no more such spending.

In Isom’s defense, he said the badges had been ordered before a purchase order had been issued by the Police Board. A statement from the department said Isom had already “dealt with those responsible for purchase.”

The St. Louis Police Department bought a chief badge, two assistant chief badges and two lieutenant colonel badges.  The previous chief took one of the $5,900 badges with him, when he was forced out of his job by the board.  The new chief has the other $5,900 badge and will soon have a $1,987 badge as “backup”.  Two other high ranking officers in the department are retiring next month, also taking their badge with them, thus those two badges need replaced.

St. Louis officers have been allowed to keep their badges when they retire.  “It had been a long standing tradition, presumably as an honor to officers who are leaving the department after risking their lives day in and day out,” according to Police Department spokeswoman Erica Van Ross.

Meanwhile in Muskogee, Oklahoma, new badges are being manufacturer as a morale booster.  Officer Brad Holt leanred having a view of the city hall, which includes the police station, displayed on the badges meant the federal government would pay $6,000 on the die cost of the badges.  There are 91 police officers in Muskogee, and the badges cost $59 each for a total price of $5,369.

In Collier County Florida, Collier County EMS is spending $9,000 on new badges.  The department bought 200 of them at $46 apiece.  Currently the Collier County EMS is on a hiring freeze due to the economy.  Earlier this year, the agency proposed cutting 24 medics and postponing the replacement of three ambulances.  Cheryl Wilson – Watson, EMS Spokesowman, says the money for the badge bill could not be used for salaries or anything other than clothing.  The money for the badges “is like buying new boots for paramedics.” 

Examples of badge costs from other agencies:

• St. Louis Count Police Chief Jerry Lee’s badge, $110.
• Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton’s badge, $61.
• Kansas City Police Chief James Corwin’s badge, $48.75.
• St. Louis Police Officer’s badge, $19.75.
• Missouri State Highway Patrol do not wear badges, but instead wear insignias on each collar, $3.15 each.
• Belvedere, CA Chief Mark Campbell, $200

SOURCES:

• “St. Louis police chief wears $5,900 badge; Kansas City’s is $48.75”, STLtoday, 21DEC08
• “No More Expensive Badges For St. Louis’ Top Cops”, FOX News, 20DEC08
• “New Police Badges ‘uniquely Muskogee’, Muskogee Phoenix, 12DEC08
• “EMS blowing the budge on new badges?”, MSNCB, 17DEC08

THE CONSPIRACY

One good website to use for an example of the conspiracy that FEMA is preparing for half-a-million bodies, is "The American Freedom Foundation".  On their page they rant "FEMA Body Containers" and "If these locations are know, why have patriot groups or individuals not taken them out?"  BTW, if anyone close to you has disappeared, according to the UAFF, it is because "Assassination of U.S. Citizens who are on the "RED LIST" will Commence on 10/1/2008!"  Oh, and they also have a link to a video titled "Was The Katrina Disaster Planned" and "FEMA:  The Plan to Kill America."

Oh and lets not forget about Alex Jones' Infowars, that states "Well, apparently the Government is expecting a half million people to die relatively soon..."

Then there is the mentality that "We are being told that these 'camps' are for terrorists or an influx of illegal aliens."  "I believe in the Bible and I believe that we are in the last days; the signs are all around us," found on Media Take Out, who claims "The Most Visited Black Website In The World."

Along the way I found the mentality that the NWO was going to take out 90% of the population, that those who were on the infamous "lists" would end up in one of these, or that the government is planning on a bio-terrorism attack.

THE VIDEOS

Here’s a short sampling of videos found on the subject.

For this one, turn your volume down at the beginning.  An air raid siren is bad enough, but a computerized version of an air raid siren is annoying

THE LOCATION IN GEORGIA

THE SEARCH

So lets take a look at some of the pictures that are posted out on the web of the Georgia Location.

Some of the first thoughts after looking at these pictures was that either these were for storage, or in fact they could hold a body.  But one thing bothered me in this, they are rather large to hold a single body.  Now what little I know about caskets is that due to some new EPA regulations, and some new cemetery regulations that caskets must be placed into what is called a vault in the ground.  So, I decided to find out what I could about vaults and their relationship to a casket.

A "funeral vault" according to "Free Patents Online" is that Patent 4845906 is a "two piece burial vault comprised of a cooperating pair of high density, molded polystrene members which are adapted to be frictionally, forcibly coupled together to surround, seal and enclose a conventional casket."  In other words, they are grave liners that is placed in the ground before a casket is lowered into the ground. Once the casket is in the ground, then the top is sealed and the grave is covered.

So the casket is placed inside the funeral vault to protect it from water penetrating and from the ground collapsing over time as the casket deteriorates  So the first thought after learning this was that FEMA or the NWS plans on killing us, but they are nice enough to give us a casket to be buried in.  This made absolutely no sense.  I will use Nazi Germany as an example, since many seem to compare these FEMA caskets and killing the population with it, that those who were executed or sent to the gas chamber were either cremated or buried in mass graves.  And even then, later those that had been buried in mass graves were exhumed and then their bodies were burned.  So this made absolutely no sense.  Why would our government want to kill us, and then give us a decent burial?

And in the case of a pandemic, since the vault's only real purpose to to protect the contents, and the elements from getting in, and doesn't seem to be a good choice to seal in bacteria or a virus, again, this made no sense in addition to the things are just too big to hold a single body.

But half a million of these things.  That's quite a LOT of funeral vaults to be in one place.  Now we all know that the Federal Government buys things in bulk, but buying half a million funeral vaults just in case?  That seemed rather extreme.  But then again, I thought, if you think on the scale of a biological attack on a major city, half a million people seems realistic, and may even might not be enough.  And why just outside Atlanta, GA.  Alex Jones rants that the CDC is located in Atlanta, so did the CDC purchase a half million funeral vaults at a central location.  Theoretically, the funeral vaults could be placed on a truck, and into the belly of a C-130 off to anywhere, and arrive in literally hours anywhere in the Continental United States within hours.

So I felt I needed to find out exactly who in our Federal Government was buying these things.

FEDERAL PURCHASING

On the web, many conspiracy website claim that the company that makes these funeral vaults is Polyguard and Co, who's parent company is Rocky Mountain Products.  So I took a look on the Federal Spending website and searched for Polyguard.  And I found that the Department of Veterans Affairs was in fact purchasing these funeral vaults from Polyguard.  In the first quarters of FY2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs made 25 transactions (not products) for a grand spending total of $463,861.00, which represented about 12% of Polyguard & Co.'s business.  The total purchase amount from FY2000 to FY2008 (first 2 quarters of 2008 only) was nearly $6 million with the largest amount spent in FY 2005 at $1.1 million, and the smallest amount in FY2001 when none were purchased.  Transactions for the first two quarters of FY2008 ranged from $732 up to $73,250.

Looking at the transaction data all the vault liners were sent to the same address. 

So the Federal Government does purchase vault liners through the Department of Veterans Affairs from Polyguard.  But what many people don't know is that the Federal Government pays for the burial of any veteran.  And these gave liners made by Polyguard are intended to bury veterans in national cemeteries.  In a Aloha Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America newsletter [PDF] from Hawaii, Miles Okamura, Cemetery Operations Manager, Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, Office of Veterans Services, described the Hawaii Veterans Cemetery-Kaneohe as a State Funded Cemetery for Veterans.  There is a $300 burial/inurnment fee that spouses/dependents pay and cost for the veteran is covered by the VA.  "Casket burials now require Polyguard Burial Vaults at the cost of $220 for family members and no charge for the Retiree, Veteran or Active Duty personnel.  The vaults were required to prevent the burial site from settling and collapsing following the burial."

Additionally, the vault liners that the VA purchases are not the same type as the ones sitting in GA. The ones that Polyguard makes would be deserving and befitting of that of a Veteran, not some a plain black vault.  And would the Federal Government kill half a million people, and then provide a "casket" for them, that appears to be top of the line?

So why would the VA keep funeral vaults in GA, when they are sent to Afton, WY?  So I decided to take a look around Afton, WY and found the site, in WY where the VA keeps the funeral vaults stored.  This is nothing more than a legitimate location for VA storage of funeral vaults located at 42.750018, -110.936857, contrary to MANY conspiracy theories of an additional FEMA casket location.

Additionally, Alex Jones InfoWars contacted Polyguard and this is their response.

Polyguard and Co.
Afton, WY 83110
1-800-654-1067

To Whom this May Concern:

As you all know, death is one of those issues that we all fear yet we all will go through it at some time in our life and we have most all experienced a loved one passing away.  In fact there is as average of 2.5 million deaths occurring each year.  Some are cremated and some are buried.  Most burials require an outside burial container to go around the casket to keep the ground from settling and the aesthetics of the cemetery beautiful with the least amount of maintenance needed.  Until about 30 years or so ago, the only outside burial containers available were concrete or wooden boxes.  Because of modern technology, there are now other alternatives to concrete such as fiberglass or polymers (plastic).

I am not sure how Polyguard became associated with the burial vaults that are stored in Georgia.  Those vaults are manufactured by our competitors in Georgia.  However, the manufacturers own the property they are stored on and there is no big secret surrounding the vaults.  Because of the manufacturing costs and the ability to manufacturers 2 parts probably ever 2-5 minutes, once the process begins, to be cost effective you manufacture until your raw products are gone.  This creates inventory that can be rotated and used as needed.

In the funeral service industry, there is a program called "pre-need" which allows families to go to a funeral home or cemetery and pre-pay for their funeral merchandise or services.  I would guess that most of these vaults have been pre-sold and they are meeting the requirement of the storage program set forth by the manufacturing company and the Federal Trade Commission who governs funeral service.  Because we do not own the vaults and are not the manufacture of the vaults, I cannot tell you those numbers for sure.

Many of you keep referencing a patent for a cremation container.  This product never even made it to the market as far as I know.  If it did, it is not the same product that is being stored at the manufacturers storage facility in Georgia.  DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO ITEMS!!!

If this information does not help ease your mind, you are welcome to call us.

Debbie Sainz
Polyguard & Co., LLC.

So this lead me to a dead end on Polyguard however, I had a new clue!  A similar company in Georgia in the same state the “FEMA caskets” were located.  It was time to do more looking.

ANOTHER COMPANY

I learned there was a company that made burial vaults, and they just happen to be located just out of Atlanta, GA.  Right down the road from where the alleged FEMA casket site is located.  That company is Vantage Products Corporation.  On their website, you can find the exact same burial vault, as is seen in the "FEMA casket" site.

 

The Basic Ultima
"Engineered to deliver unprecedented strength-to-weight makes Ultima safer to handle and inter in any weather conditions or cemetery terrain.  The superior V-locking seal system seals out the elements for ultimate protection, providing the peace of mind that families expect."

And I learned that this company has been trying to debunk the "FEMA casket" site theory.

Vice President of Operations Michael Lacey said that the theories regarding the property, and what's on it, aren't quite accurate.  According to Lacey, there are about 50,000 of the burial vaults on the property which Vantage leases, located at 1200 Madison Industrial Boulevard.  The land is leased from Conyers Welding & Supply and has for four or five years, a fact that Conyers Welding & Supply has confirmed.  Conyers Welding took over the lease when the property was purchased from Robert Usury in 2000.  Usury purchased the property in 1989, according to the information portal provided by the Morgan County Tax Assessor's Office and the Morgan County Online Public Property Portal.

As the vaults were placed on the site around 1997 or 1998, there may have been as many as 70,000 or 80,000 to begin with.  "It's no where near the quantity they talk about on the Internet,"  Lacy has said.  This quantity of burial vaults, Vantage's Standard Air Seal in black, also the least expensive model and the most in-demand, was made to cater to what Lacy calls the funeral industry's "pre-need".  This "pre-need" occurs when people make arrangements for their funeral before they actually pass away, so that the family doesn't have to go through the additional stress of making arrangements.  When these arrangements are made, the products are paid for; obviously, though, they are not yet needed.  So, Vantage stores the product until the person dies, and the product is needed.

Additionally, long time residents say the burial vaults have been there for over 10 years.

From:  MLacy@VantageProducts.com
Subject:  Fw:  Enquiry
Date:  29 July 2008 05:48:44 BDT
To: [Redacted]

[Redacted]

The property on Lions Club Road in Madison, Georgia is leased by Vantage Products.

The product stored on the property are standard burial vaults, please see our web page for information on this product - www.vantageproducts.com

The majority of cemeteries across the United States require the use of a burial vault when a body is interred.  The use of a burial vault, plastic or concrete, is to prevent the collapse of the ground in the cemetery and to protect the casket placed inside.

In the funeral and/or death care industry there is a common practice of people making their funeral arrangements prior to death.  Many people like to make their own selections for the casket and burial vaults that will be used at the time of their death.  Once this selection has been made the local funeral home that has made arrangements can purchase the burial vault product from Vantage Products and we will store it for them until that person dies.

We maintain detailed records of ownership of the products and require a certificate of ownership to be sent to use before products can be released.  Additionally, we are annually audited by several states including Georgia to insure that we have all of the products that our records indicate and that are on file with each of the participating states.

These products are not owned by any one individual person, company or the government.  Additionally, there are only about 50,000 vaults in storage in Madison, no where near the quantity that is being discussed openly on the net.

In the United States there are approximately 1,300,000 deaths each year.  Of those deaths there are about 900,000 in ground burials every year.  Only a small percentage of those people have pre arranged their burial.

I hope this has answered your questions.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions.

Cordially,
Michael A. Lacy
Vice President of Operations
Vantage Products Corporation
960 Almon Road
Covington, GA 30014
770-788-0136 Office
770-788-0361 Fax
404-545-8022 Cell
mlacy@vantageproducts.com

And lets look at the numbers now.  Lacy states there are about 50,000 of the burial vaults at this location (at the time of the writing of the letter).  If you look at a picture of a stack of vaults, there are approximately 20 in each stack.  If you divide 50,000 by 20, that means there are about 2,500 stacks of 20 each.

If you wish to believe the number of 500,000, dividing that by 20 you get 25,000 stacks of 20.  There is no way there are 25,000 stacks at the Georgia location.  2,500, yes.

ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS

I've shown that the location in Wyoming is for the VA.  I've shown that the location in Georgia is for Vantage.  But there is one more location that conspiracy theorists talk about, and that is at Ennis, Texas (32.320277, -96.608030) located right next to Interstate 45.  It does appear that there are more "FEMA caskets" here in the aerial view. 

The address is 640-646 Rumbo Road and is adjacent to the Anderson/I-45 Industrial Park [PDF aerial view] located on Metro Park Blvd.  I would like to say at this moment that Google Maps using their street view function is your friend.  You can see it yourself in a 360 view by clicking on "Street View".  Note the vantage point shown in the insert of the picture.

The location obviously holds sewage drain supplies.  And it just so happens that there is a plumbing company, Salik Plumbing located just down the street at 604 Rumbo Road who according to Manta is owned by Willie Salik.  According to a document for Texas titled "Maintenance Providers by County" [PDF], Willie Salik  MP0000803, is certified to maintain products made by Ecological Tanks.  Ecological Tanks are manufacturers of sewage systems.

Sorry, no "caskets" or even burial vaults here.

CONTINUED LIES

Although not many seem to know that the "FEMA caskets" are a legitimate place, they continue on with their theories without doing some real research.  Now it did take me a couple of hours to do the research for this post, but I learned exactly who owned what, their comments, and was able to decide for myself that this "FEMA casket" conspiracy is nothing more than a work of fiction.  People really need to stop believing everything they read on the Internet without researching it first.  It's not like people lie on the Internet, right?

But what angers me most is that people actually make money on these bogus stories.  Alex Jones InfoWars is a perfect example.  Lets take a look at his video on this topic.

Now lets look at exactly what he says.  First Alex Jones claims that the vaults are made by Polyguard. Secondly,  he says that the land is leased by FEMA. He additionally claims "We know this is FEMA.  We know that these are coffins.  Some people are debating that.  Because we have all the news articles where it says FEMA has ordered coffins and body bags by the millions.  This is just one stockpile."  And he additionally claims that the CDC has said they are "doing this" incase of a biological attack.  I don't know what Alex Jones has been smoking however, it has warped his mind. 

Here’s Alex Jones radio show on the topic of the plastic coffins.

I think I've pretty well proven that Alex Jones is "crazy" wrong.  I'd like to challenge Alex Jones to show the documentation that he has, primary source documents, not comments on the web, that prove what he is saying contradicting what both companies have said, and what federal records show.  I'm saying Alex, prove me wrong!  Prove to me that FEMA leases this land.  Prove to me that Polyguard manufactured and owns these "caskets".  Prove to me there are more "stockpiles".  Prove to me that what is in that video are coffins and not burial vaults.  And to take a quote from Alex Jones, “QUIT LIVING IN DENIAL” over you making money by spreading lies!  If you have so much evidence proving a huge conspiracy, why don’t you release those documents to the public.  I’m not talking about people saying something, cause as well all know, everyone tells the truth ALL the time, I’m talking primary source documents and pictures.

What makes me angry is that people like this make a living off telling stories that aren't accurately researched, and continue to feed the conspiracy theorists while making money off of it by selling lies.  Just take a look at the trailer for his  “Endgame” video via YouTube.  Or you can watch 13 different exerpts from the movie on YouTube beginning here.

OTHER POSSIBLE CONSPIRACIES

There are those that know that these burial vaults are made by Vantage, and that the GA location is their storage location however, they continue to reach for conspiracy theories. 

Now serious "people who have no life" conspiracy theory people try to link everything and anything together.  One such thing is Vantage and the Federal Government.  Vantage was founded in 1978.  The plant was a research and development facility of Hercules, Inc. before being purchased.  Hercules was primarily a chemical company, but also had a number of subsidiaries and was part of the Aqualon Group as was Vantage Products Hercules spun off from DuPont Corp in the early 1900s.  Hercules had major defense contracts with the Federal Government.  Because of a relationship from the early 1900s, and because Hercules had defense contracts, the conspiracy theory people believe of course there is a connection and a cover-up.  First, the 1900s?  Come on, that is seriously tin-foil.  Second, so what if a company had a defense contract?  There are hundreds of thousands of companies that have defense contracts and contracts with the federal government.  But in the conspiracy theorists eyes, this means a cover up, and that the US government wants to kill us all, by laying out in plain site, half a million caskets (50,000 burial vaults), that they have purchased (owned by funeral homes), in plain sight.  I'm surprised they haven't added Elvis in all of this.

Then there is the connection of the Board of Ashland include former top US govt. employees, and the former head of the Red Cross who became infamous during 9/11.  Ashland acquired Hercules, which owned the plant that Vantage now occupies.  And because Ashland, who has plants in more than 100 countries, is still involved in defense contracts, and biobased chemicals, that we are all doomed and it's a cover-up.  Yeah.. okay...

Oh and lets not forget that since Vantage's parent company is Rowan Technologies, and that Rowan manufacturers industrial furnace/ovens and welding apparatus, and since Rowan has DoD contracts, then the Feds are planning on killing us, cremating us, and throwing all our ashes into these burial vaults. 

Ya know, I think there is a good plot here for a movie.. some of these people seriously need to consider becoming fiction writers, oh wait.. they already are.

Oh an according to a post found on Neithercorp Forum, "We'll need to do a background check on Michael A. Lacey." and "Mr. Lacey has a few more questions to answer I think........"

I would like to remind those of you who choose to follow this path of thinking.  First, the property that the burial vaults is located on is private property.  If Vantage or Conyers Welding wish to, and you are caught on their property, they can prosecute you for trespassing.  Of course then conspiracy theorists would have a field day on this fact, and probably say that the person disappeared, which is why  both companies have chosen to not prosecute those who choose to trespass on their property.

I would also like to remind those of you who choose to try to do a background check on Lacey.  Unless you are a part of law enforcement, this is illegal unless you have a signed statement from Lacey that allows you to do said background check.  He can prosecute for this.

BOTTOM LINE - FEMA CASKETS DEBUNKED

No evidence of "FEMA caskets" to be found in any of the locations that conspiracy theorists claim. 

DISCLAIMER

This one is for the conspiracy theorists.  I do not currently work for the Federal Government.  I do not currently have any contract to work as a civilian for the Federal Government.  My significant other is the same.  I have nothing to hide or gain out of debunking the FEMA casket theory other than to learn for myself that it is entirely false.

Oh and yes, I used the word “currently” intentionally to help spurn the conspiracy theorists on in additional conspiracies of what relationships I have had, if any, with the Federal Government because they will focus on the word “currently” and wonder if I have ever had said relationship while debunking this conspiracy theory.     *Insert Evil Laugh Here*

Now I didn’t say I didn’t think there aren’t some “interesting” things going on in our government.  In fact I ran across some interesting documents while deciding to start a new series on my blog about conspiracies.  I’ll be covering them over time.  They include the “Prisoner Trains”, “Prison Camps”, strange military training and programs, the Civilian Inmate Labor Program (a biggie among those who believe in the FEMA caskets, prison camps, prison trains), and interesting documents.  I’ve already debunked a few, but a few things are still holding my interest, and are proving well, weird.

Next conspiracy in the series, the "Prisoner Trains".