Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Modern Survival Online
Thoughts on Survival and the World Today

Guest Post: Emergency Roadside Repairs

You’ve probably already read my review of the Paladin Go Bag and my use of it as an emergency roadside toolkit. In all honesty, an emergency roadside toolkit is completely worthless, unless you know how to use it. Today we’ll discuss a few problems which may occur while on the road, and how to correct them until you can get your vehicle home or to a service station. These instructions can be useful in normal circumstances, as well as in a disaster situation. At the least, they will save you the cost of a tow, in a disaster/bug-out situation these instructions could save your life.
You will find several safety warnings throughout this article, however, I’d like to start with a few disclaimers. This is not an auto repair for dummies article. If you know nothing about cars whatsoever, and can’t tell the difference between an alternator and a starter, stop reading right here. Seriously, stop. If you don’t know the basics of how a motor vehicle works under the hood, the information in this article, if used incorrectly, can seriously injure or possibly kill you. The lack of pictures is intentional. If you do not understand what part of your vehicle is being discussed, once again, then you should not attempt emergency repairs yourself. I am a hobbyist, not a certified mechanic, so I can not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Use common sense, and if something is beyond your capability, do not attempt it. Furthermore, neither of these fixes are permanent, and the appropriate parts should be replaced prior to further use.

First Scenario: How to Temporarily Fix a Leaking Radiator/Hose

It’s bound to happen to all of us at some point. We’re driving along the road, when suddenly the car is filled with the smell of antifreeze and you see steam coming out of the hood.

Important Note: Know the difference between steam and smoke. If you smell smoke coming out of the vents or engine compartment, you may have an engine fire. Stop the car IMMEDIATELY, turn off the engine, get out, and DO NOT open the hood, as this will only supply additional oxygen to the fire.

First of all, pull off to the side of the road as soon as safely possible and turn off the vehicle. If you are unable to pull off immediately, wind down your window and turn your heater on maximum strength until you can turn the vehicle off. The reason for this is that if your heater is on, heat is being diverted away from the engine and into the car itself, helping to prevent the engine from overheating.

Warning: Steam and hot antifreeze can BURN. Make sure you have protection from direct skin contact.

Once your vehicle has pulled off to the side of the road and been turned off, open your hood, if possible. You should use a glove or rag to open the hood safety catch, as there is a good chance the safety catch has been covered in antifreeze. Leave your vehicle’s hood open, and allow the engine and radiator to cool.

When the engine and radiator are cool enough to touch, it’s important to identify the source of the fluid leak. With the hood still open (and no-one near the engine compartment) turn the car back on, then slowly approach the engine compartment and identify the source of the leak. This could be a radiator hose, or a hole in the radiator itself.

Once you have identified the leak location, turn the vehicle off and allow it to cool again. Check your radiator fluid level. If you have lost a significant amount, it will be necessary to replace the lost fluid if you have more than 5 miles to travel. Distilled water is also an ideal emergency coolant for temperatures above freezing. Make sure you use distilled water, as the minerals in spring water or drinking water may corrode your coolant system, but can be used in a pinch. Just make sure you flush your coolant system after you’re done.

Now, time to patch that leak. If the leak is in your radiator itself, there’s not a whole lot you can do without a welder. If you carry a welder in your vehicle properly grounded to allow you to weld your vehicle, then your mechanical knowledge is vastly superior to mine and no doubt you already know how to fix this. If you do not have a welder, it’s best not to attempt to patch the radiator. You might be able to use epoxy to patch the radiator, but I have never tried it, and not only will the patch probably not hold, but will probably ruin your entire cooling system (radiator and water pump) should any of the epoxy come loose and enter the system. Lead solder will not work, as it has too low a melting point. Tape is going to melt and/or catch fire.

If your leak is in one of the hoses, you can apply a temporary patch using duct tape or electrical tape. Make sure your provide plenty of overlap, and tape at least 1 inch beyond the extend of the hole. It is important to note that this patch will not hold under high pressure, so it is imperative to follow the next step.

Warning: Do not attempt to open your radiator cap with your bare hand, as it may still be hot, and will burn you!

Once you have applied a temporary patch (if possible), the next step is to reduce the pressure inside your coolant system. The cooling system on most engines is a closed system, meaning that the radiator fluid is under pressure as it is circulated. Radiator caps are designed so that you can loosen the cap without allowing it to come off. By loosening the cap, your cooling system is no longer under pressure and will not leak as quickly. However, should your engine become rather hot, you will begin to loose radiator fluid through the top of the radiator, so it’s important to keep an eye on your temperature gauge, if you have one. If your vehicle starts to overheat, turn it off, check your patch, let it cool, then add more fluid and keep going.


Second Scenario: No Start/No Crank

There are many causes for why an engine might not start. However, there are also several methods for starting the engine in a pinch. Here is a step by step on how to try to get your engine started.

First, you need to determine if the no start condition is due to a dead battery. Do your headlights AND interior lights work. If neither work, or are extremely faint, then your battery is dead, and will need to be jump started. Depending on your transmission and fuel injection system (only manual transmissions work without electronic fuel injection normally work), it is possible to push start or drift start the vehicle. Turn the vehicle on and put the vehicle in second gear, hold down the clutch, and get the vehicle moving forward by having someone help push or drift downhill. Once the vehicle is going about 5 mph, release the clutch, and should the engine start, immediately push the clutch back in so the engine does not stall.

If both sets of lights work, or one works but not the other, you may have a short in your electrical system, resulting in one or more blown fuses. This is an easy fix, even if you don’t have any spare fuses. This is where a multi-meter comes in handy, as most automotive fuses have two terminals which you can use to quickly check for the blown fuse. Just make sure your engine is off first. Find the blown fuse, and replace it with another fuse with the same amp rating. Make sure you place the blown fuse in the good fuse’s location, and don’t remember to replace the bad fuse once you have a replacement. In the process, you will be disabling another part of your electrical system, such as the radio or power windows. A small sacrifice for being able to get your vehicle started again.

If your vehicle’s electrical system is fine and you have no blown fuses, then the starter is most likely beginning to go bad. Using an assistant, one person will need to gently but firmly beat on the starter with a hammer or large wrench while the other person attempts to start the vehicle. Make sure the vehicle’s emergency brake is on, so that the person under the vehicle is not accidentally crushed. This works by breaking loose the corrosion which may have been keeping the starter from turning.

Once you get your engine running, don’t turn it off, and drive directly to your home or other location you can work on the vehicle.

http://modernsurvivalonline.com/gues...dside-repairs/

Modern Survival Online
Thoughts on Survival and the World Today

Mini-survival kit - one example

Aug 30th, 2011 @ 02:26 am › Rourke

Sometimes a little can go a long ways. I remember as a teenager reading an article in SURVIVE Magazine where the author was going on an overnight trip on a houseboat with some friends. He wanted to bring a few supplies “just in case”. He managed to put a small kit in his suitcase – along with an Armalite AR-180 which had a folding stock. I was impressed with the article way back then.

Anyways – certain circumstances may demand that carrying a full-sized backpack kit is just not realistic. I decided to put together a small kit in a MTM Survivor Dry Box. The MTM Survivor Dry Box measures inside 8.2 x 5.0 x 4.4-Inch. This is not a large box. There is a built in compass and signaling mirror. Honestly – the compass is terrible. It does not work all that great – but it is better than nothing.

The box closes very securely with 3 separate latches. Once closed – it is very water resistant as it has a built in o-ring seal. There are also attachment points for a shoulder sling or to attach a rope. This thing is made rugged.

Above the contents of the kit are laid out. They are as follows:

• emergency blanket
• first aid kit
• zip-loc bag
• fire starting kit
• cylume lightsticks
• water purification tablets
• insect repellent
• paracord
• compass
• knife
• zip ties
• Maglite LED Flashlight with extra batteries
• Mini-LED light
• Glass cleaner packets for eye glasses
• food bars/crackers

There is room for a couple more items. I plan to add a small fishing kit as well as a cable saw. A couple comments about some of the contents. The zip-loc bag can be used for many things – including holding water. The firestarting kit contains a variety of items including matches, lighters, tinder and more. Insect repellent may not seem like much of a priority- but here in the Southeast – it is for me.

There is an endless number of kit variations that can be assembled – this is but one.

Rourke

http://modernsurvivalonline.com/mini...t-one-example/

AdvancedSurvivalGuide.com
Disaster Preparedness & Self-Reliance

http://advancedsurvivalguide.com/

AdvancedSurvivalGuide.com
Disaster Preparedness & Self-Reliance

PDFs for your Preparedness Library

http://advancedsurvivalguide.com/2011/09/01/pdfs-14/

http://advancedsurvivalguide.com/2011/0 ... ibrary-34/

http://advancedsurvivalguide.com/2011/08/18/pdfs-13/

http://advancedsurvivalguide.com/2011/08/11/pdfs-12/

AdvancedSurvivalGuide.com
Disaster Preparedness & Self-Reliance

Free Online topo-maps

http://www.usgsquads.com/index.php/map- ... /mapfinder

Investigation panel concludes U.S. government conspired with doctors to commit murderous medical experiments in Guatemala

Thursday, September 01, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) U.S. government medical researchers, including those from the National Institute of Health (NIH), engaged in heinous crimes through secret medical experiments on Guatemalan medical experiments, concluded an investigative report commissioned by President Obama. The report concluded that:

• The U.S. government knowingly funded and deliberately engaged in criminal medical experiments against Guatemalan prisoners from 1946 - 1948, and that the people engaged in these crimes were then promoted to high levels of influence in the medical community.

• At least 5,500 people were drafted into the experiments, including children, women and the mentally ill. The number deliberately infected with sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) exceeded 1,300 (that we know of).

• U.S. doctors and medical researchers knowingly and deliberately violated all the fundamental medical ethics including "do no harm."

• The victims of this criminal, government-run pharmaceutical experiment were mentally ill prisoners who were deliberate infected with STDs just to see what would happen.

• The victims were "not treated like human beings" but rather like laboratory animals and were deprived of basic human dignity in these heinous medical crimes.

• The purpose of the medical experiment was to test the effectiveness of penicillin for the pharmaceutical companies so they could sell the drug at high profit while claiming it had been "scientifically and clinically tested" to prevent the contraction of STDs.

• Victims were not even informed they were being infected with STDs. The entire experiment was a clandestine operation involving an admitted conspiracy between Big Pharma and the U.S. government. Undeniable evidence has now emerged that the doctors and medical researchers involved in the experiment actively took steps to hide what they were doing. (Because they knew they were engaged in EVIL actions.)

(Gee, I guess conspiracies really do exist, huh? All those people who dismiss "conspiracy theorists" have obviously never read actual U.S. history and have no knowledge of the way the pharmaceutical industry really works...)

• One purpose of these experiments was to "...find a reliable way of infecting subjects for future studies," reports the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-scientists-knew-...). "Doctors also poured bacteria onto wounds they had opened with needles on prisoners' penises, faces and arms. In some cases, infectious material was injected into their spines."

• Today, of course, the medical industry has long since found the perfect way to infect subjects for experimental studies -- Vaccines! Seriously: If these doctors, NIH researchers and government authorities would inject mentally ill prisoners with infectious diseases (directly into their spines), do you honestly think they wouldn't load up today's vaccines with live viruses and unleash mass vaccination campaigns to cause cancer, pandemics and other diseases that generate Big Pharma profits? (Grow up, folks. The medical industry is based on fundamental evils and criminal madness. The sooner you get that through your heads, the sooner you'll understand why there are no pharmaceutical cures for any disease -- they WANT you to be sick!)

"They should shock the conscience not in spite of their medical context, but precisely because of it," said commission chairwoman Amy Gutmann, who also serves as president of the University of Pennsylvania. "The people who were in the know, did want to keep it secret because if it would become more widely known, it would become the subject of public criticism," she said. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/usa-guatemala-syphilis-idUSN1E7...)

• Guatemala condemned the medical experiments as "crimes against humanity" and vowed to prosecute the United States government for its role in international courts.

• The Institute of Medicine was asked by President Obama to take part in the investigation of the criminal medical experiments on Guatemalans but had to recuse itself because of past ties with the research. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033455_In..._vaccines.html)

Details about Dr. John Cutler, the M.D. who carried out these medical crimes on behalf of the U.S. government and the NIH

• These crimes in Guatemala were carried out by a conventional medical doctor named Dr. John Cutler who was funded by a grant from the NIH.

• Dr. Cutler acted with complete alignment alongside the pharmaceutical industry's total disregard for human life. When one of the mentally ill victims who was infected with STDs began to show signs that she might die, Dr. Cutler proceeded to infect her with yet more syphilis and did nothing while she suffered and then died. This is how the pharmaceutical industry routinely operates in conspiracy with the NIH and government entities (see below).

• These medical experiments were not merely conducted in "foreign countries," by the way. After successfully sacrificing Guatemalans on the altar of pharmaceutical profits, Dr. John Cutler was granted permission to take part in the infamous Tuskegee experiments that targeted African Americans. That experiment went on for four decades until it was finally ended in 1972. Yes -- FOUR decades of government-run medical experiments on black Americans.

• After the Tuskegee experiments, Dr. John Cutler continued to run medical experiments on Americans in Terre Haute, Indiana, where prison inmates were deliberately infected with STDs.

• Dr. Cutler died in 2003 and probably went to Hell. He never apologized for his research, insisting that he was acting in an ethical manner as a doctor. (Seriously. This is yet another great example of how doctors suffer from egomaniacal self delusion that allows them to justify vaccines, chemotherapy and other deadly procedures that kill millions of innocent people every year.)

Other facts about Dr. John Cutler

• Dr. Cutler was a eugenicist -- a person obsessed with population control and shaping the future gene pool of the human race by deliberately killing "inferior" races. This is why his medical experiments, by the way, often targeted blacks, South Americans and other groups that he saw as "inferior."

• The U.S. government was so impressed with the criminal medical experiments and eugenics projects run by Dr. Cutler that he was made assistant U.S. Surgeon General in 1958! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_Cutler) Job well done, doctor! Here, have a raise!

• The medical university system was also impressed with Dr. John Cutler's crimes against blacks and Guatemalan prisoners, so he was appointed a professor of international health at the University of Pittsburgh in 1967. There, he served as the chairman of the department of health administration and was the dean of the Graduate School of Public Health (1968 - 1969). The University of Pittsburgh even held a lecture series in his name to honor his legacy! (Yes, this is how much the medical university system worships criminal murderers and soulless death dealers who run the pharmaceutical establishment.)

• As the truth about these experiments has surfaced, and the criminals involved in it are starting to be exposed, all the usual suspects are predictably coming out and insisting it's all terrible, terrible stuff. "This is a dark chapter in our history. It is important to shine the light of day on it. We owe it to the people of Guatemala who were experimented on, and we owe it to ourselves to recognize what a dark chapter it was," said Amy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania. Adding to that, Anita L. Allen, also of the University of Pennsylvania, added "Actually cruel and inhuman conduct took place. These are very grave human rights violations." (Yet they say nothing about similar crimes being conducted right now through the mass vaccination of our children with live viruses and chemical adjuvants...)

• Dr. Cutler's wife has admitted that he was steeped in the industry of population control. Both he and his wife reportedly contributed to the Population Council and Pathfinder International (http://saynsumthn.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/population-control-was-the-pas...). His wife, Eliese Cutler, later served as a board member of Planned Parenthood.

The real story is that this is all Standard Operating Procedure for the medical industrial complex

The real story in all this is not that the U.S. government waged a murderous medical experiment with the help of medical doctors who totally knew they were murdering people but did it anyway -- although that might seem like a whopper of a discovery all by itself. No, the real story here is that this is how the government pharmaceutical medical industrial complex operates every single day.

You think these experiments have stopped? You think the Guatemalan experiments were an isolated case of some mad doctor? Think again. Both the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical giants (especially the vaccine companies) have waged hundreds of illegal, inhumane medical experiments in just the last century.

We've published a list of the worst ones, in fact. And these are only the ones that somehow got found out. Behind the scenes, probably thousands of illegal medical experiments have been conducted in prisoners, mentally ill patients, children, senior citizens, soldiers and other people. See the list we've published at:

http://www.naturalnews.com/019189.html

and

http://www.naturalnews.com/019187.html

In fact, Dr. Jonas Salk, the widely-worshipped "God" of the vaccine industry and the hero of all those brainwashed scientists who ridiculously believe vaccines halted the polio pandemic, was himself a medical criminal who conducted illegal experiments on mentally ill patients (http://www.naturalnews.com/031564_Jo...periments.html). And no, polio vaccines did not stop polio. But we'll save that report for another day.

The vaccine industry is driven by profits, not any sort of respect for human life

The kind of heinous medical crimes against humanity that took place in Guatemala continue to this very day. The pharmaceutical industry (and the vaccine industry in particular) has zero respect for human life and will routinely sacrifice any number of lives to test some new experimental drug or vaccine they want to sell for profit.

In 2008, for example, Pfizer was caught engaging in illegal drug trials on Nigerian children. The crimes were so malicious -- eleven Nigerian children DIED in the trials -- that Nigerian officials actually issued arrest warrants for Pfizer researchers (http://www.naturalnews.com/023654.html).

Just recently, Pfizer has reluctantly been forced to begin compensating the families of some of those victims of the illegal drug trials (http://www.naturalnews.com/033358_Pf...periments.html).

Merck has long engaged in the use of the population for vaccine experiments involving things such as SV40 cancer viruses which even Merck's own top vaccine scientist admits was knowingly contained in the Polio vaccines given to tens of millions of Americans.

Watch this stunning video of a Merck scientist admitting all this: (seriously, watch this video and you will be absolutely stunned that the old media never reports any of this)
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=13EAAF...2F94D2CD90EF7B

This video was compiled by Dr. Len Horowitz, a leading vaccine researcher who exposes Big Pharma's lies about vaccinations, infectious disease and much more. (www.DrLenHorowitz.com)

Vaccines ARE the medical experiment!

Today, pharma-run medical experimentation on humans continues en masse through mass vaccination schemes. Vaccines are made with experimental, unproven viral fragments and often contain LIVE viruses that cause infectious disease. The Institute of Medicine even admitted all this in its latest report on vaccine adverse reactions (http://www.naturalnews.com/033447_In..._vaccines.html).

Every year, flu vaccines are pushed onto the population with no randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies whatsoever. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to show that flu vaccines are either safe or effective. In fact, all the evidence shows that flu vaccines are all but worthless in actually preventing flu infections (http://www.naturalnews.com/029641_va...k_science.html).

At the same time, vaccines contain thimerosal (methyl mercury), aluminum, polysorbate and chemical adjuvants that are highly toxic to the human nervous system. When these are all injected into little children, they often suffer seizures or even death (http://www.naturalnews.com/029586_Au..._vaccines.html).

This is no different from Dr. John Cutler and the U.S. government injecting the spinal columns of Guatemalan prisoners with infected materials. This is ROUTINE in the medical industry. They do it every single day in the vaccine industry.

The Gardasil HPV vaccine, by the way, has been linked with numerous deaths of teenage girls (http://www.naturalnews.com/030991_Gardasil_vaccine.html).

Medical conspiracy becomes medical fact

The really astonishing thing about this story is that these Guatemalan medical experiments only became widely known through the conventional media after Susan M. Reverby, a historian at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, discovered the Guatemalan experiments while researching information on the Tuskegee medical experiments.

All this suddenly burst onto the scene in 2010 only because an academic in the university system went public with it. If the alternative media had published a story about all this, the mainstream media would have totally ignored it and pretended it was all some "conspiracy theory."

But as you quickly learn if you read NaturalNews, what was once dismissed as conspiracy theory eventually becomes acknowledged as conspiracy fact. Most of the medical industry's top priorities are all pursued through conspiracies involving drug companies, the CDC, the FDA, medical journals and countless doctors and researchers who routinely accept bribes and falsify "scientific" studies to produce the results they want (http://www.naturalnews.com/028194_Sc...rch_fraud.html).

Of course, nearly everything the alternative media like NaturalNews.com and InfoWars.com publishes about vaccines, the FDA, the pharmaceutical companies and processed food companies is completely true -- and much of that truth reveals crimes against humanity that are far worse than the Guatemalan medical experiments. Yet these things go completely unreported. Don't expect Anderson "CIA" Cooper to cover this on CNN. Don't expect any admission by the media that the vaccine industry or the government does anything bad to anyone, ever!

To hear the old media tell it, vaccines are good for you. Drug companies are loving, compassionate companies that respect life and are seeking cures. What they don't tell you is that vaccines are essentially manufactured by taking rooms full of primates imprisoned in cages, injecting them with diseases, waiting for those diseases to fester in their organs, then "harvesting" those diseased organs from the dying primates, blending them up into a bloody liquid mass, then processing that into a liquid that's loaded into vaccine vials and injected into the bodies of little children.

That's the truth about the vaccine industry, and it's a truth you will never hear reported in the sick, deceptive mainstream media which only reluctantly reported this Guatemalan story because they couldn't cover it up quickly enough.

All the vaccine pushing "skeptics" and "quack watchers" out there, by the way, think these Guatemalan medical experiments are just great! The more experiments, the better. They fully support any and all crimes against humanity as long as pharmaceutical profits can be achieved in the process.

Know one thing: Wherever on planet Earth that you find the most heinous, barbaric and inhumane crimes being committed (Nazi Germany, for example), you always find a medical doctor nearby, often running the show. Who oversaw the gassing of the Jews in Nazi Germany? Medical doctors. Who ran the Guatemalan medical experiments? Medical doctors. Who pushed for the mass fluoride poisoning of the populations of North American cities? Medical doctors.


Throughout the history of modern medicine, medical doctors have been the criminals, the masterminds, the henchmen and the slithering serpents who carried out the worst crimes ever recorded in human history. No wonder the symbol of western medicine is the Caducaes -- two serpents intertwined in the shape of human DNA, climbing a staff which indicates domination and control.

The message of this symbol which adorns countless hospitals, doctor's offices and clinics across the western world, is very clear: We shall wield control over human biology in the name of pure evil (the serpents).

And if you think these murderous, government-funded medical experiments conducted in Guatemala were bad, then I dare you to look in the mirror. If you take vaccines, YOU ARE THE EXPERIMENT.

http://www.naturalnews.com/033483_Gu...periments.html

Mike Adams: Exposes Vaccine Industry Ties to Military Involvement with Institute of Medicine 1/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBXfIrrw ... re=related



Mike Adams: Exposes Vaccine Industry Ties to Military Involvement with Institute of Medicine 2/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG4RhacK ... re=related



Mike Adams: Exposes Vaccine Industry Ties to Military Involvement with Institute of Medicine 3/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUVxWeZe ... re=related



Aug 29, 2011

http://www.naturalnews.com/ The Institute of Medicine is suddenly in the news following the release of its vaccine "adverse events" research which found that MMR vaccines actually cause measles, seizures and anaphylactic shock. The old media predictably distorted the story and used it to deceptively announce that "vaccines are not linked to autism!"

In falsely reporting this study from the IoM, however, the old media reporters never bothered to even read the adverse reactions report. Nor did they ask a few simple questions such as "Who is funding the Institute of Medicine? And what is the agenda of the IoM?"

http://www.naturalnews.com/033455_Insti ... cines.html

'SMART METERS' - THE NEW SILENT KILLER
PART 1 of 2

By: Devvy
September 2, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

“The electromagnetic field is the perfect secret agent: you cannot see it, you cannot smell it, you cannot hear it, and its effects are slow but relentless.” -By Volter Hertenstein, MP Bavarian Parliament

I ask NWVs to post this column on a Friday because it does require many hours of reading to fully understand the issue. By necessity, this new column is two parts as I'm trying, as I did in my first column, to put as much credible information all together in one place to make it easier for everyone fighting this new silent killer. We're all pressed for time. Thank you to everyone who sent in reference material in our efforts to share the truth and what we can do to stop this madness.

There is a major war being waged in this country, although you'd never know it by the silence from the old, disgraced media (ABC, CBS, NBC) and all the cable "news" networks. This new assault on our bodies and privacy is over another relatively new piece of technology that allegedly will save energy; it will also cost tens of thousands of jobs for meter readers. When I say millions of Americans are up in arms over this, I am not exaggerating.

If you are unfamiliar with this issue, please read my first column first on this to get a full understanding of how dangerous those 'smart meters' are and why you don't want one on your home or business. It contains not only my battle against having one installed on my house (update in Part II), but the very best expert opinions from individuals who have studied wireless RF (radio frequency) for decades:

My fight against the 'smart meter'

Since that column was published, my email box has been overflowing with questions, which I will address as best I can in this column. Hundreds of emails describe how people's health has suffered serious deleterious effects after the meters were installed - before the individual even knew about possible dangers to their health. When I say utility companies are forcing this installation of those meters, I am not exaggerating. I know of one instance here in Texas where a utility company installation man forced his way onto the person's property and physically pushed the lady of the house mulitple times (in other words, he assaulted her) in his attempt to install the meter after she told him she did not want the meter installed and to get off her property. I have spoken with her on the phone, but due to legal reasons, cannot be more specific right now.

Wisconsin Utilities Bullying Customers Over Smart Meters

"The nationwide roll-out of transmitting radio frequency utility meters, known as smart meters, has intensified since the federal push and funding for them came through the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Wisconsin utilities got $21.5 million of the $3.4 billion awarded for smart grid projects, including meter installation. But people who are sensitive to the effects of microwave radiation and electrical fields cannot tolerate the new source of emissions. And some Wisconsin utility companies have been bullying their paying customers who have resisted the installation of smart meters, or requested their removal for health reasons.

"In fact, the chronic bursts or pulsing of smart meters have not been proven to be biologically safe for anyone. Current federal standards are grossly out of date, not taking into account the growing levels of microwave radiation exposure people now get 24/7 from various sources. Furthermore, FDA/FCC standards are based solely on the heating effect of microwave radiation on a large, grown man, ignoring numerous studies that point to other effects, including irregular heartbeats, melatonin depletion, which affects sleep, and abnormal mast cell proliferation, which affects the immune system and inflammation levels."

Here are just two examples from California:

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Wowak Enabling Illegal “Smart” Meter Installations

"Despite Public Outcry, Sheriff Refuses to Enforce County Law Banning Wireless Network - Santa Cruz, CA- "This morning at approximately 7:45am, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a “smart” meter protest at the Wellington Energy yard at 38th and Portola in the unincorporated Opal Cliffs area of Santa Cruz County where PG&E contractors Wellington Energy are based. Wellington has been installing wireless “smart” meters throughout the county, violating ordinances in Capitola, Watsonville, and the County[1] that prohibit installations due to urgent concerns about health impacts from the meters’ wireless pulses, which have been measured at 100 times the strength of a cell phone[2], as well as privacy violations, ongoing accuracy issues and a series of fires and explosions caused by the new meters.

"Thousands of people have submitted written health complaints to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and in May the World Health Organization made an earth shattering declaration- that non-ionizing radiation from cell phones, cell towers, wifi, and “smart” meters, has been linked with a number of cancers. “Smart” meter radiation is now categorized as a class 2b carcinogen in the same cancer causing category as lead, DDT, and engine exhaust.[3] Nevertheless, PG&E continues to maintain that their meters are safe."Two More Arrested at Santa Cruz County Smart Meter Protest - PG&E Covering Logo on Trucks to Sneak into Backyards as Illegal Installations Begin

Santa Cruz County, Calif.- "Two people were arrested Friday afternoon by Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Dept. for peacefully blocking smart meter installation trucks as they attempted to drive out of a yard in the Pleasure Point neighborhood of Santa Cruz County.

PG&E has stated that they do not intend to respect laws in Santa Cruz County, Capitola, and Watsonville that prohibit wireless meter installation- laws that were passed to protect the public from identified health and safety risks from the new meters. The two protesters who are affiliated with StopSmartMeters! were charged with misdemeanor obstruction, and released with court date in August."

Why are utility companies pushing so hard to install one of those dangerous meters on every house, apartment, retail and commercial building in this country? Because of something called the $2 trillion dollar 'Smart grid' and BIG money. Advocates for the 'smart meters' (especially those who stand to make billions of dollars destroying your body) claim they save energy. One State Attorney General doesn't see it that way:

State of Connecticut - Office of the Attorney General George Jepsen

Jepsen Urges State Regulators to Reject CL & Ps Plan to Replace Electric Meters
February 8, 2011

"To evaluate the technical capabilities and reliability of the advanced metering system, state regulators previously approved a limited study of 10,000 meters. Between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2009, CL&P tested the meters on 1,251 residential and 1,186 small commercial and industrial customers, who volunteered and were paid for their participation in the study. The company reported its results to the DPUC on Feb. 25, 2010. "The pilot results showed no beneficial impact on total energy usage," Jepsen said." In addition to to the serious health risks from 'smart meters', the other major issue people have is privacy.

Spring 2011 - Industry Week - Leadership in Manufacturing

"The demand portion includes how to control energy inside the consumer space: smart meters on buildings, smart thermostats and smart appliances, to name a few." How to control your energy use in your own home. "In the initial stages of smart-grid development, companies, governments and consumers have focused on changing attitudes on the demand side, Geschickter says." Conditioning by those who will control how much power is "allowed" into your home, apartment, business. 'Smart meters' are nothing but surveillance without a warrant.

Billions of Taxpayer $$$ Wasted on Risky Technology

"This is federal coercion on a grand scale. President Obama is pushing to expose most U.S. citizens to constant radiofrequency/lectromagnetic radiation (RF/EMR) everywhere. Wireless broadband sends RF/EMR throughout an area rather than directly through a shielded wire or cable to the electronic device being used. Constantly exposing everyone inside and outside of their homes and workplaces in over 98% of the U.S. to unprecedented levels and frequencies of RF/EMR with wireless signals is a dangerous, unsanctioned, mass experiment done without consent that must not occur. This initiative risks our finances, our health, privacy, cyber security, the ability of people with medical device implants to function and more.

"If this radiation were a drug, increasing the dose and type would not be allowed without thorough evaluation of safety because like drugs, it can cause changes in the biology of the body. This radiation promotes degenerative diseases and premature aging even at levels of RF/EMR below FCC limits. Numerous other risks to human health from radiofrequency/microwave (RF/MW) radiation exposure, particularly to children and persons with disabilities, at levels below the current FCC limits are summarized in the review articles published in the March 2009 issue of Pathophysiology that are based on The BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF) (The BioInitiative Report).

"Many people who have developed a hypersensitivity to this form of radiation and struggle to shield themselves from increasing levels of this energy throughout the United States wonder where they can go to escape from the widespread wireless radiation of this proposal.

Smart meters send and receive wireless RF/MW signals throughout homes and businesses. These smart meter RF/MW levels are far higher than those already reported to cause health risks. Compliance is not safety, since the existing FCC safety limits are under challenge, and have already been called ‘insufficient to protect public health’ by some federal agencies.

"Medical Device Malfunction Risk from Electromagnetic Interference. Wireless broadband RF/MW radiation can cause medical devices to malfunction. Medical implants such as those to control the shaking of Parkinson’s disease are turned off by the electromagnetic interference(EMI) caused by the signal. Spurious RF signals are already reported in published studies to interfere with critical care equipment, ventilators, pain pumps, wireless insulin pumps and other medical devices."

Dirty Electricity - "Dirty Electricity tells the story of Dr. Samuel Milham, the scientist who first alerted the world about the frightening link between occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic pollution, and human disease. Milham takes readers through his early years and education, following the twisting path that led to his discovery that most of the twentieth century diseases of civilization, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and suicide, are caused by electromagnetic field exposure." Very important.

Health Concerns Grow:

Consumers Are Getting Sick From Wireless Smart Meters

Last year, one state says no to 'Smart Grid' --- for now

Smart grid technology rollout stalls in Hawaii

Hawaii regulators scuttle plan for expanded rollout of smart grid technology

HONOLULU (AP) -- "Hawaii regulators have rejected plans for a broad expansion of smart grid electric technology that would have been paid for by residents and businesses. Hawaiian Electric Co., the state's primary utility, had envisioned a $115 million smart grid project reaching 451,000 locations on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. But the utility's proposal fell apart when the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission on Monday denied a request for expanded testing of the technology on Oahu. The "smart grid" concept relies on installing new electric meters that can wirelessly communicate with the utility, allowing it to better distribute power and handle additional renewable energy."

Maryland PSC Denies BGE’s Stimulus-Funded Smart Meter Request - June 23, 2010"The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) on Monday issued an order denying Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.’s (BGE’s) application to deploy smart meters to all its customers because ratepayers would be saddled with financial and technological risks. The move “deeply disappointed, frustrated, and frankly surprised” the utility, because the smart grid project had received a $200 million federal stimulus grant from the Department of Energy last October—the largest amount awarded to a utility."

Some progress has been made regarding protecting your privacy (you have to read my first column to get the facts on the mining of data from your home and selling it).
PG&E Smart Meter Invasion of Privacy - short video you should watch

Same threats I have received from Reliant Energy & ONCOR Propaganda piece:

Oncor Brings Smart Grid to 3 Million Texans, Privacy IntactOklahoma State House Passes Smart Grid Privacy Bill
Texas - Smart Meter Data Belongs to the Customer - March 17, 2011

"In Texas, lawmakers actually did something good related to the smart meter debacle– they included in the law that the data about your electricity usage belongs to you, the customer."
Can the data still be harvested from third parties tapping into the wireless transmission? I am told yes and it is happening.

After the cow is out of the barn:

California Decides on Data Access and Privacy Standards for Smart Meter Data

"Many young companies have sprung up based on being able to access consumers’ Smart Meter data and package it in some meaningful form."

Smart Meters and Security: Locking Up the Grid

"Public utility companies are really hot right now for smart grids -- electrical grids that use Internet technology and special meters to make energy delivery more efficient. However, they're getting static from both lawmakers and security researchers who say they're dragging their feet in making sure their systems are secure.

"Despite reports earlier this year about spies penetrating the computers that help control America's electrical grid, utility companies appear to be slow in clamping down on security, and that perception has led to a tongue-lashing from a House of Representatives committee.

"U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D, N.Y.) as accused the utilities of exploiting a loophole that allows them to avoid complying with Federal cybersecurity requirements. Also, a security researcher's revelations of flaws in the smart meters utilities are installing throughout the country added fuel to the fire."

That report was back in August 2009 and California has just now gotten around to issuing guidelines regarding data mining? Lovely.

As I mentioned in my first column, several individuals got together, pooled their money and hired an energy attorney to represent them at a hearing in front of the Maine PUC (Public Utility Commission). They won; here is the press release:

Skelton, Taintor & Abbott Wins Landmark Smart Meter Case

Of course, the "customer" out there in Maine has to pay a price for opting out to protect their health: "Choosing a digital smart meter with the wireless transmitter turned off will carry an initial charge of $20, plus a monthly charge of $10.50. Keeping an existing mechanical meter will cost $40 upfront, plus $12 a month. The cost of relocating an existing meter is highly variable, but typically expensive." Shame on those commissioners for sticking to the people of their state instead of forcing the utility company to replace the meter with an old analog meter at no cost to the consumer.

PART TWO: Can you opt out of having a 'smart meter' in your state? What if I already have one installed? Should I file a lawsuit? Is there a state or federal law requiring a 'smart meter' be installed on your home or business? Update on my case. For part two click below.

Click here for part -----> 1, 2,

Additional Research Resources:
More key publications on the dangers of wireless RFs - including cell phones from the International EMF AllianceMR AND RFR updated news from around the world August 2010 to March 2011DNA Damage and Genotoxicity

March 30, 2011 New Studies by Prof. Yuri Grigoriev et al, Biophysics, 2011,
Chairman of the Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing

Radiation Protection, Moscow (Russian Federation)
Smart Meters, Dirty Electricity and Disease - short video you should watchA New Electromagnetic Exposure Metric: High Frequency Voltage Transients

Associated with Increased Cancer Incidence in a California School
BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF)

Wireless Safety Summit to be held in Washington, DC, Oct. 5 & 6, 2011
Click here for full details on the summit and more

Additional information:
1 - Smart Grid: How Secure Will You Be?
2 - The General Government's big propaganda site
Unconstitutionally stealing the fruits of your labor:
3 - LADWP Received $60 million for Smart Grid Project
4 - Smart Meter Consumers Anger Grows Over Higher Utility Bills
5 - The Smart Grid/Smart Meter Scam
6 - Smart meters: California PUC issues sweeping data access orders
(170 pages) - forget your health concerns
7 - PUC Admits SmartMeter Health Crisis; Opt-Out Plan Falls Short
8 - The Netherlands - Smart energy meter will not be compulsory

© 2011 - NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved

Devvy Kidd authored the booklets, Why A Bankrupt America and Blind Loyalty; 2 million copies sold. Devvy appears on radio shows all over the country. She left the Republican Party in 1996 and has been an independent voter ever since. Devvy isn't left, right or in the middle; she is a constitutionalist who believes in the supreme law of the land, not some political party.

Devvy's regularly posted new columns are on her site at: www.devvy.com. You can also sign up for her free email alerts.

E-mail is: devvyk@earthlink.net

http://newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd507.htm

'SMART METERS' - THE NEW SILENT KILLER
PART 2 of 2

By: Devvy
September 2, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

At the end of Part I , I posed these questions:

Can you opt out of having a 'smart meter' in your state?

What if I already have one installed? Should I file a lawsuit?

Is there a state or federal law requiring a 'smart meter' be installed on your home or business?

This mess is a complicated issue with states around the country doing one thing while another is doing nothing.

Regarding lawsuits: One thing I have learned over the past two decades from brilliant constitutional attorneys who have become dear friends - never, ever go into court poorly prepared because the end result is bad case law on the books.

We when feel threatened or harmed, the first inclination is to file a lawsuit. But, due to millions of laws on the books at both the federal and state level, one becomes frustrated and driven to insanity by tracing one statute to the next from one bureaucracy to another. Here in Texas, a lawsuit over the 'smart meter' failed because of jurisdiction. On Aug. 13, 2010, Texas Civil District Court judge Lorraine Raggio dismissed a class action lawsuit against ONCOR. That case was about new smart meters overcharging customers by ONCOR. Judge Raggio ruled that the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) was the entity that had to be approached for looking into and ruling on the accuracy of the meters.

There was another unsuccessful lawsuit filed earlier this year, Cynthia Johnson v ONCOR, which had a lot of good arguments, but, again, wrong jurisdiction. There is a central theme regarding the 'smart meter' onslaught which appears in the filings in the Johnson case. The first I read about it was in the letter from ONCOR to me:



In ONCOR's response to Ms. Johnson, they, of course, make the claim there are no health risks involved, but also bring forward the pesky little jurisdictional issue - page 18. ONCOR falls under the jurisdiction of the Texas PUC. On page 20, the discussion begins regarding something known as PURA. As you can see on page one of the letter to me from ONCOR, they talk about PURPA. All of this revolves around whether or not there is a federal or state law which requires anyone to have the specific 'smart meter'. Now, I spent a considerable amount of time researching this, including the law cited by ONCOR in their letter to me, H.B. 2129, which uses the word "encourages" not mandatory.

I also was sent this very valuable piece of comprehensive research on this important question:Smart Meters: No Federal Mandate

How about here in Texas? In ONCOR's letter, they site the previously mentioned bill, H.B. 2129Please note this part of that law:

SECTION 6. Chapter 31, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 31.005 to read as follows:Sec. 31.005. CUSTOMER-OPTION PROGRAMS. (a) This section applies to:
(1) a municipally owned electric utility;
(2) an electric cooperative;
(3) an electric utility;
(4) a power marketer;
(5) a retail electric provider; and
(6) a transmission and distribution utility. And: (5) a program that encourages the deployment of advanced electricity meters;

Encourages does not mean mandatory.

On August 29, 2011, my state representative, Jim Landtroop, forwarded me email from Gabriel Cardenas, Legislative Assistant, Governmental Relations Division, Public Utility Commission of Texas, who opened his email with this statement:

As you may know, in 2005, the federal government passed legislation that required states to consider the adoption of advanced metering infrastructure (Energy Policy Act of 2005). That same year, the Texas Legislature adopted law that encouraged the deployment of new advanced metering technology.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) then established standards for the features and deployment of the smart meters (PUC Substantive Rules 25.130.

Consider and encouraged does not mean mandatory.

Going to the URL provided by Mr. Cardenas, here, one sees this on page one for 25.130:(d) Deployment and use of advanced meters.

(1) Deployment and use of AMS by an electric utility is voluntary unless otherwise ordered by the commission.

So far, I cannot find any such order by the Texas PUC.

There is one other source I need to cite and wish to thank Debra Medina (who ran for Governor here last year against Rick Perry; I voted for her) for bringing it to my attention: Texas Utilities Code - Section 39.107.

Metering And Billing Services

Debra was told by JP Urban at the PUC that Sec. 39.107 of the Utilities Code provides the authority for installation of the meters and in fact, "he said, was the directive to install the meters." Debra disagrees with his statement and after reading it, so do I.

Now, let's go back to page two of ONCOR's letter to me (image above). They provide fine print stating they have the right to enter a retail customer's premises to do this that and the other. I am not a retail premise nor is my personal residence.

So, where do we stand legally? Citizens in dozens of states are fighting with their utility companies. They are sending letters telling the utility company to stay off their property. They are putting locks on their old analog meters so a utility company's installer can't removetheir old meter. They are spending money to purchase kits ($299.00) in an effort to keep the 'smart meter' from functioning the way it is supposed to when installed. However, in my opinion, the utility companies are going to find out and come after the homeowner for tampering with their equipment and then the homeowner will have even more legal problems.

First thing you must do is research the rules and laws set by your state's PUC (Public Utility Commission).

The aforementioned lawsuits were thrown out because the plaintiffs did not take their case to the PUC first. I can't tell anyone what to do, but based on those couple of court decisions already on the books, I would not recommend filing a lawsuit until you exhaust your right to petition your state PUC and see what they rule. You can retain legal counsel and ask others in your state to become petitioners (see below). There are a lot of lawyer jokes out there, but when you're dealing with state bureaucracies where billions of dollars (and political cloud is purchased by lobbyists), you absolutely need qualified legal counsel to represent you.

Many folks are printing out some of the expert opinions listed at the bottom of my first column and presenting them at city council meetings to let folks know how dangerous those meters are. However, as has been the case over and over in California with almost two dozencounties banning the meters, I'm afraid it's largely symbolic as it all goes back to the PUC. Out there, PG & E continues to install those meters regardless of what city councils have voted because they know the California PUC has jurisdiction. It's good to attend a city council meeting and hand out a nice flyer with facts, but the real fight has to be with your state PUC first while you petition your state representative.

I recommend you write a snail mail letter to your state representative (regardless if they're out of session or not) if you have or are experiencing new health issues that did not exist before the 'smart meter' was attached to your home. List your new health problems. Tell your state representative that your legislature must step up now and pass a simple law that says no citizen, owner of an apartment building or retail or commercial building can be forced to have one of those 'smart meters' forcibly installed. You can print out (or simply dump all onto a CD) the expert opinions provided at the bottom of my first column and include it with your letter. Putting it onto a CD is more cost effective and your state rep can just pop it into his/her computer. Politely remind your state rep next year is an election year and do they want one of those dangerous things on their home?

You can notify your utility carrier that you refuse to have them install the meter, but, they can and will shut off your power.

As I said in my first column, the only reason there isn't a 'smart meter' now attached to my home is I have locks on my six foot fences and ONCOR can't get into the back yard unless I unlock the gates. At this point in time, they have lied about access to our home, but that will be addressed at our hearing. Here in Texas, the PUC has a law on the books that utility companies cannot shut off the power to a home that has a disabled person residing there. That is the only thing that has kept ONCOR from flipping the switch and turning off my power because my husband has a long list of serious health problems. ONCOR was notified of this prior to their July 20, 2011, letter via certified mail.

Of course, that didn't stop ONCOR in their letter; image two at the bottom of the page where they threaten to 'suspend' delivery of power to my home knowing full well they would be in violation of PUC law. My case can be the second landmark case in the country. Texas is a huge state compared to Maine as far as getting a favorable decision for the rest of the country. PUC's watch what other ones are doing throughout the country.

If you read my first column, you know I have retained legal counsel to present our arguments to the Texas PUC. My husband and I are petitioners. Hiring legal counsel costs a great deal of money and like many, John and I live on a fixed income. A few people have comeforward who are able to contribute financially to my case and are now petitioners.

They have sent their checks in various amounts. We are pooling those funds so the financial burden gets shared, just as the folks did in Maine. Tommy Cryer is our attorney representing us as petitioners. He will be filing for a hearing in front of the Texas PUC. I am still gathering some documentation for him and checking a few more things with the Texas PUC, so this isn't going to happen tomorrow. We only have one shot at this so we need to be fully prepared. If you would like to become a petitioner in my case as a few others have done, please contact me by email: devvyk@earthlink.net and I will give you the specifics as well as what we can expect as far as the financial burden. In the end, John and I will be responsible if not enough funds are available at the end of the case. But, the more petitioners we have who can contribute financially to the legal defense fund, well, the easier it will be for all of us. I have been doing all the research so far regarding health issues and the information provided above regarding laws here in Texas to cut down on billable hours, but Tommy will have to do the legal part.

To date, the utility companies here in Texas (and elsewhere) are simply picking people off one by one. The more numbers we have as petitioners in front of the PUC, the more clout we will have and not just financially.

If you decide to join my case here in Texas and become a petitioner, you will not have to appear at the hearing as Tommy will be representing all of us. No hearing date is set yet, but all petitioners in my case will be kept up to date as we carefully proceed.

If you live in the State of Texas, this case is very important and can have a tremendous impact in other states. We will have two issues before the PUC:

1. Can any utility company in Texas force you to allow them to install a 'smart meter' on your home against your wishes even though there is no federal or state law requiring installation?

With the amount of expert opinions warning 'smart meters' are a "ticking time bomb against human beings," I believe we can win this argument because as far as I can find from all my research, there is no mandatory requirement for the specific 'smart meter'. This is all about massive amounts of money for the utility companies and that 'smart grid'.

2. Your utility company installed a 'smart meter' on your property without your knowledge and without informing you of the very real risks involved. Can the Texas PUC legally force the utility company to remove the 'smart meter' and reinstall the analog meters (which I have on my house? Can the PUC force the cost of such replacement onto the utility company or will the people in Texas get reamed like they did in Maine as discussed above?

If you are unable, and I do understand, to become a petitioner in my case, perhaps you can make a donation that's comfortable for your situation. As long time readers of my columns and old newsletter dating back to the mid-1990s know, I am always up front in projects I undertake and for the rare occasion when I ask for donations, every penny goes only for that project. If you would like to make a donation, which will be greatly appreciated, please send your check or MO to:

Tommy Cryer Attorney at Law
7330 Fern Ave., Suite 1102
Shreveport, LA 71105
In the memo section, please write: smart meter defense fund

Click here for part -----> 1, 2,

© 2011 - NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved

Devvy Kidd authored the booklets, Why A Bankrupt America and Blind Loyalty; 2 million copies sold. Devvy appears on radio shows all over the country. She left the Republican Party in 1996 and has been an independent voter ever since. Devvy isn't left, right or in the middle; she is a constitutionalist who believes in the supreme law of the land, not some political party.

Devvy's regularly posted new columns are on her site at: www.devvy.com. You can also sign up for her free email alerts.

E-mail is: devvyk@earthlink.net

http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd508.htm

Feds Take Woman's Lemon Tree

September 2, 2011 by UPI - United Press International, Inc.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forced a Wisconsin woman to turn over her lemon tree on grounds it could spread disease.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman says she’s more than a little sour now that the U.S. government has forced her to turn over her lemon tree on the grounds that it could spread disease.

Bridget Donovan bought the tree online for $70 nearly three years ago and planted it in the yard of her Waukesha home, where she and her niece nurtured it, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

It grew and yielded lemons and seemed to be healthy.

Then she got a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Unfortunately, Meyer Lemon Tree (the seller) shipped your tree in violation of multiple quarantine laws enacted to prevent the spread of harmful plant diseases and pests,” the letter stated.

The Journal Sentinel said the tree had come from Florida, under quarantine at the time of the purchase because of diseases, and the government tracked where nursery stock had been shipped.

Last week, the Journal Sentinel said, she uprooted the tree, with five unripened lemons, and put it in a trash bag, as instructed.

A USDA officer met her at the school where she works to pick up the tree.

Alyn Kiel, a spokeswoman for USDA, said about 1,000 citrus plant owners have been affected by the seizures.

Meanwhile, Meyer Lemon Tree, which lists a Georgia address, apologized and offered Donovan a free replacement tree.

“I just hope the USDA is correct in that these (replacement trees) are now compliant, and I don’t have them show up again in three years,” Donovan said. “I’ll be on a citrus watch list.”

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/...on-tree-41574/