Online House Hunting

house for rent or sale in or near Sacramento, KY ? im looking for a house for rent or to buy a 3 bedroom house either in Sacramento, KY or near it. or mayb a apartment whats a good website to go to find one.

foreclosure or short sale? My husband talked me into buying a house 2.5 yrs ago in Sacramento, mortgage payments and bills are under my name. I have tenant living there now, I lost my job 9 months ago and my husband has been struggling with our part of mortgage payments and bills. I have a huge amount of my mom's money under my name in the money market account, I can transfer back to her anytime. I really want to get rid of the house, Is foreclosure or short sale is better? Where should I start and how bad is foreclosure and short sale. Do I have to pay the bank back and tax. Thanks for your help

How much should I bid on a Short Sale Home? I want to bid on a short sale home in West Sacramento, CA. The listing price is $200K. My sister is the president of the HOA and said the county assessor just re-appraised the houses in the community at $225K for tax adjustments. The house was originally sold for $361K two years ago...so I'm assuming a lot more is owed on the house than the asking price. The house is 2 years old, has about $30k worth of updates and is in excellent condition. Also, there are two other houses in the community on short sale for the same price. What would you think would be a good offer. I really like the house...and am thinking of offering a little more than the asking price. The house has been on the market as a short sale for 20 days as of today.

Me and my wife live in the sacramento area of california when we purchased our house I was unemployed and the ? sales person stated that we should put it in my wifes name soley. Due to me bringing are credit rating down are due to the fact that I didnt have a job, I signed off when we bought the home that it wasnt mines. Now due to the economy were thinking about letting our home go due to the price cuts in home. Our home has dropped by a 150,000 dollars we could buy our neighbors home for 150,000 cheaper .My question is would I be able to buy a home and not worry about my wifes house since Im offically not in any paperwork, but am married to her? thanks for your help?

When is a foreclosed property considered to be primary residence? we bought a house in sacramento in early 2006. Now due to a job relocation, I bought a second house in arkansas then let the bank forclose on the california house. Both our 1st and 2nd mortgages are refinances for less than the amount owed (i.e. did not take cash out and was just looking for a better rate). I just reached a settlement with the 2nd mortgage for $5000 dollar instead of the $38000 I owe. The first mortgage is foreclosing using a trustee sale so he cannot get a deficiency judgment. The deficiency will be around $80-$100K I have a few questions: 1. Can I claim my sacramento house as a primary residence to qualify for the federal mortgage debt relief? I was living there in February when I stopped making payments then I bought the new house in Arkansas in February. My wife and kid continued to live in the sacramento house until now and next month she have to vacate. She will be moving to Arkansas with me in december when she finishes her school. 2. Did they pass a similar law in california for state taxes? 3. When the bank sends me the 1099c to my Arkansas address, does this mean the amount is treated as money in arkansas (this could be a problem because arkansas WILL tax you for the amount forgiven) Any answers will be appreciated.

What does Lance Armstrong's stolen bike look like? Where can I see a picture/photo of the stolen bike? Can you post the exact URL? Thanks. Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong is calling on legions of Twitter users to track down a one-of-a-kind bicycle stolen from a northern California racing venue. Armstrong sent out a rallying cry to the more than 128,000 Twitter members who have signed up to receive the brief text messages he routinely fires off on the popular micro-blogging service. "Whoa! They just came to my room and said our truck was broken into and someone stole my time trial bike!" Armstrong wrote in a Twitter message sent before sunrise on Sunday. "APB out to the twitterati." The seven-time Tour de France champion had used the bicycle a day earlier at a rain-pelted, wind-pounded opening of the Amgen Tour of California. The 750-mile race continues through the week. Armstrong's bicycle was one of four stolen from an Astana team truck parked behind a hotel in the California capital city of Sacramento. The other bicycles reportedly belonged to team members Janez Brajkovic, Steve Morabito and Yaroslav Popovych. Armstrong later posted a picture of his stolen bicycle in a Twitter "twitpic" accompanied by the message "There is only one like it in the world therefore hard to pawn it off. Reward being offered." Replies ranging from supportive and empathetic to biting and cynical streamed back to Armstrong. "On it," a Twitter user with the screen name 'krenoir' replied to Armstrong on Tuesday. "Spread the word and get it found ... and the perps too!" Another Twitter follower wrote that he or she posted the bicycle's picture on social-networking website Facebook to "help spread the word in hope of finding this amazing machine." "Sorry to hear about the bike," Twitter member 'Hotonabike' said Tuesday in a message to Armstrong. "If it's any consolation, you can borrow mine." A Twitter member noticed what may have been the bicycle for sale at online auction house eBay, which was alerted and the page removed. "Why some lowlife would list this bike on eBay is beyond me," wrote Twitter user 'seaflite,' who sent a message revealing a defunct eBay page. "Definitely poor taste." Cancer-survivor Armstrong, 37, retired in 2005 but has set out to make a comeback. The California race is his second on a comeback trail that started last month in Australia, where he finished 29th place in the Tour Down Under. Armstrong intends to compete in this year's Tour de France. "Hitting the sack early tonight," Armstrong wrote in a Twitter update late Monday. Two days in the pouring rain has worn my old @$$ out." http://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/5327960/bike-armstrong-urges-twitterers

I'm on unemployment Califorinia? I recently passed a mobile home/manufactured housing salesperson licensing exam. I now have to send paper work to the dept. of housing and community development in Sacramento in order to receive a temporary license good for 120 days while they conduct a background check which, if I pass I will receive a two year license. My question is this: on the forms a licensed Dealer has to certify that they intend to employ me but promise I won't be involved in a sale until I get my temporary or two year license. My sales license has to be attached to a Dealer and I know one who will "Sponsor" me. In this type of job you are paid commission only and are considered a sub contractor. Will EDD think I'm actually working and stop my benefits? In other words, does EDD and the dept. of housing and community development share information? Thank you for your help

California Real Estate...Short Sales/REOs? I am currently in the market for a home i am living on the peninsula in the bay area but its just too expensive for me to buy a home here, so i am looking in the sacramento area (Rockin, lincoln, roseville) There seem to be tons of short sales and REOs. I have found a couple houses i am interested in but they are all short sales, basically my question is how long does it take to close /hear if your offer has been excepted with a short sale? i heard it can take forever... i have to stay in my rental until the lease is up in May, I was going to put in an offer this weekend and if i don't hear anything back by march i could i cancel my offer?

TAICOM INFORMATION CO LTD SCAM? I recenetly applied for a job online, the company had no problem replying back asap. They set up and interview online, through yahoo messenger, which I have never had experience. The job is an online job, offered at $17/hour, with a bonus of $150 for being hired! They offered me a job position of a Customer Sales Representative with their company, They had told me that I would be assigned with an agent that would teach me how to use the softwares, and assign daily duties. But in order to start the job, I was told to get a creditcard to purchase the 7 softwares needed for the job, costing a total of 3500 dollars, after that supposidly the company would pay the fee. Im kind of skeptical about giving out my personal info such as credit card information and direct deposit info from my bank BECAUSE THEY DONT SEND CHEQUES. I was sent a Congratulatory mail from the hiring manager, Michael Gilbert. He provided me with the a secondary office with the address of 4825 Parker Avenue, Sacramento, California. However when I had google earthed this address, it showed up as a random house. They havent provided me with a legit address for the head office in Beijing China, or a phone number, but they had already asked for my address, direct deposit info and credit card information. Please if anyone knows anything about this please feel free to reply!! Thanks!!!

what beach towns are affordable and safe in California? :D me and my family are moving (either this summer or later) we are moving with my moms friend and her son ( so its more affordable to live) and me, my mom, and my younger sister. my mom is a sales rep for flower nursery's and my mom's friend is an Executive director for a non-profit organization for families and children. were looking for a 4+ bedroom house with the maximum rent at 2,500 and a nice area with good (safe, like for families) and nice schools. don't suggest any towns that are major in northern california, such as San Fransisco, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Folsom, Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, etc. because i've been to all of those places.

I'm in financial trouble (who isn't?) - I don't know what else to do, so I'm asking the web...? I hate to post a question on here about what to do right now during these ridiculous economic times, since I'll just be asking what most people are probably wondering, but I'm slowly running out of options and could use advice from anyone who knows what to do: I'm mid 20s, I put myself through school, and I've been working full-time for almost 5 years now. I started up in the Sierras working at a hardware store, and moved to the Sacramento Area about three years ago when I needed to get closer to real opportunities. I slept in a living room for a year working at a low-paid corporate-level job, then got laid off when the housing/building industry slowed down our business (I got cut because I was one of the newest employees, with under a year in at the company). I got over that, fortunately, and found a temp-to-hire job and a new place to live all in the same weekend, just three weeks after the layoff, and my life was great for the rest of 2007. However, 2008 came along and my temp-to-hire job was downsized, even after I'd been promised a permanent position the month before. I was in less of a position to take a layoff this year than last year, as I had more debt to pay for and a higher rent. I looked for weeks in March for work and got a temporary job, then a new full-time sales job afterward and was employed again in May, but I was already in financial trouble for receiving pay late from my temp job, and I never quite made enough money to get out of trouble. In August, I found a better job (same pay level, but a much better employer) and I'm trying to keep it together, but its outside sales and requires a car, insurance, gas money, etc. so I moved again to a roommate situation in an apartment just 15 minutes from work in Sacramento. Well, I got my last commission check late from the company I left in August because they contested that I'd sold an order, so that plus getting my car towed during my first week at the new apartment just added to the trouble. Now its December, and I've sold very well for my current job but commissions come months after you earn them and I need the pay now to keep paying at least my rent and car payment (I don't have enough for much else right now, although I need to pay debts and my phone bill, etc.) I keep hoping for a change of luck, and I keep trying to stretch my money as far as possible, even though there isn't enough. I can't borrow from anyone, and believe it or not, I'm doing better than any of the 4 people left in my family, so no hope possible there. I have looked for weekend jobs and am still trying, but in my job I spend more like 80 hours a week working on generating business during these tough times. All I want to do is have enough money for my basic expenses so I can focus on my job without worrying about losing my place to live, my car, my insurance, or worsening my damaged credit - - since I don't know what else to do to recover my life and calm down for a change, I'm asking Yahoo. If anyone knows what I should do to fix this living hell now, please let me know. I realize mine is just one of thousands of tough luck stories, I'm sure, so this isn't meant to be a myopic complaint. I appreciate any help I can get now. Thanks.

Why are 4 out of 5 most miserable cities located in sunny liberal California (aka Golden State)? America's Five Most Miserable Cities No. 5: Sacramento, Calif. No state taxes $50,000 of income like California, with a rate of 9.55% for that middle-class tax bracket. Sacramento is a one-team sports town, and that team has been awful in recent years. The NBA's Kings have won just 26% of their games the past two-plus seasons. No. 4 Modesto, Calif. No. 3: Merced, Calif. No. 2 Miami, Fla. No. 1: Stockton, Calif. Unemployment has averaged 14.3% the past three years, which is third worst in the country among the 200 largest metro areas. The housing market collapsed as well, with home prices down 58% over the same time. All the California cities on the list are struggling with the inherent problems the state is facing, including high sales and income taxes and service cuts to help close massive budget shortfalls. http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-most-miserable-cities-2011.html

How far up the Sacramento River could I take a boat? I know that ocean-going ships can go up-river to the Port of Sacramento, but I'm thinking of something like those offshore race boats like they used to show on "Miami Vice." Also, are there any houses for sale on the river? And if I had one, could I install a boat dock? Cyndee- Thanks for answering. You say there are sturgeon in the river? That's something else I wouldn't have suspected. Mr. Jay- Don't sugarcoat it, tell me what you really think of the boat. (chuckle)

I'm thinking of buying a house in California? Right now i live in Redwood Shores in the SF Bay Area, but i went to look at some house in El Dorado Hills just east of Sacramento. It's a beautiful area, and the prices have dropped dramatically. Do you think it would be a good investment to purchase a home in this area? Isn't it a sure bet that real estate in California would once again rebound in 3-5 years? Also what are the cons of looking at houses that are in short sale and foreclosure? Thanks in advance!

Can anyone tell me some good free sites to post houses/condos/apartments etc. for sale/rent? Please only post free websites. Also if anyone knows of any greater Sacramento area websites, that would be great

Notice of trustees sale? The sale is at 7/10/2008 @9:30 am in sacramento california how long will i have to vacate to house

I am a renter and I just received a notice of trustees sale on my door? For the past couple of months I have been receiving foreclosure notices on the door and when I spoke with the owner about this she just tells me that she has taken care of this and to just keep paying my rent of $1300. So when I received this notice of trustees sale I called her right away. She told me not to worry about it and she has paid what she needed to pay already so it is fine. She told me to just pay her the $1300 tomorrow. Now the notice says that the house is going to be auctioned off on 6/18/08. When I do a search at the sacramento recorders office under her name the latest thing is a substitution tr, I do not know what that is. Can anyone help me. I am a mother of 4 kids and if this house is going to be sold I need to find a new one and quick. I will appreciate any helpful answers. Thank you

Good idea to buy?(condo)? there is a developing area 5 minutes from where i live(sacramento) where houses sell for really cheap prices. I have found several 'good buys' but i just found condos for sale that go for $195k for 2bed 2bath and $220k for 3bed 2 bath, both have their own garage and area seems pretty quiet. I wouldn't describe the town as upscale or really nice due to the fact that it's still new and there are all sorts of people living. Should i risk it and buy (risk it meaning i don't know how the area will develop) or should i wait taking(and paying more later)

With all the recalls I thought I would share:? this is an actual research page I found when working for a home vet and she loved it so much that she put it on her page..read it with an open mind...and think...here is her page also if you are interested..http://www.carinrennings.com (Don't read if you have a weak stomach) What's Really for Dinner? The Truth About Commercial Pet Food, by Tina Perry Cow brains. Sheep guts. Chicken heads. Road kill. Rancid grain. These are a few of the so-called nutritionally balanced ingredients found in the commercial pet food served to companion animals every day. More than 95 percent of US companion animals derive their nutritional needs from a single source: processed pet food. When people think of pet food, many envision whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the nutrition that a dog or cat may ever need -- images that pet food manufacturers promote in their advertisements. What these companies do not reveal is that instead of whole chickens they have substituted chicken heads, feet, and intestines. Those choice cuts of beef are really cow brains, tongues, esophagi, fetal tissue dangerously high in hormones, and possibly diseased and even cancerous meat. Those whole grains have had the starch removed for corn starch powder and the oil extracted for corn oil, or they are hulls and other remnants from the milling process. Grains used that are truly whole have usually been deemed unfit for human consumption because of mold, contaminants, poor quality, or poor handling practices. Pet food is one of the world’s most synthetic edible products, containing virtually no whole ingredients. Pet food manufacturers have become masters at inducing companion animals to eat things cat and dogs would normally spurn. Pet food scientists have learned that it's possible to take a mixture of inedible scraps, fortify it with artificial vitamins and minerals, preserve it so that it can sit on the shelf for more than a year, add dyes to make it attractive, and then extrude it into whimsical shapes that appeal to the human consumer. For this, pet food companies can expect to earn $9 billion in sales in 1996. Scraps and Byproducts For years, many care givers have tried to avoid feeding their companion animals people food leftovers, having been warned by veterinarians about the heath problems they can cause. Yet much scrap material from the human food industry is ending up in dogs and cat’s dinner bowls. What the consumer purchases and what the manufacturer advertises are often two entirely different products, and this difference threatens the animals healthy, especially as they age. Learning to read ingredient labels and taking the time to read them carefully is crucial to making an educated choice when purchasing pet food. Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight (heaviest first) under standards established by the Center for Veterinary Medicine for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The name of the product (in most states) is dictated by the regulations of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The trouble is, AAFCO standards can lead to deceptive product names due to the weight and volume variations between wet and dry ingredients. Also, the average consumer has no idea what the definitions for the listed ingredients mean. Preservatives, vitamins, minerals, flavorings, and cereal make up most of what the companion animal eats. It is not happenstance that four of the top five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational food production companies: Colgate Palmolive (which produces Hills Science Diet), Heinz, Nestle, and Mars )see The Corporate Connection). From a business standpoint, multi-national food companies owning pet food manufacturers is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have captive market in which to dump their waste products, and the pet food manufacturers have a direct source of bulk materials. Both make a profit from selling scraps that originate from places far worse than the dinner table. In his 1986 book Pet Allergies veterinarian Al Plechner sums up what goes into companion animals food: Condemned parts and animals rejected for human consumption are routinely rerouted for commercial pet foods. A similar fate applies to so-called 4-D animals. These are food animals picked up dead, or that are dying, diseased, or disabled, and do not meet human-food qualifications. They are processed straightaway for companion animal consumption. Little goes to waste. Says Plechner, Food processing refuse of all sorts winds up in your animals dinner bowls. Moldy grains. Rancid foods. Meat meal. The latter is ground-up slaughterhouse discards often containing disease-ridden tissue and high levels of hormones and pesticides, the very things that may have contributed to the death of the steer or hog. A decade later, his words still apply. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or other animals meet their ends at a slaughterhouse, the choice cuts -- lean muscle tissue and organs prized by humans -- are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. Whatever remains of the carcass (bones, blood, pus, intestines, ligaments, subcutaneous fat, hooves, horns, beaks, and any other parts not normally consumed by humans) is, according to the pet food industry, perfectly fit as a protein source for cat and dog food. The Pet Food Institute, the trade association of pet food manufacturers, acknowledges in its 1994 Fact Sheet the importance of using byproducts in pet foods as additional income for processors and farmers. The purchase and use of these ingredients by the pet food industry not only provides nutritional foods for pets at reasonable costs, but provides an important source of income to American farmers and processors of meat, poultry, and seafood products for human consumption. Many of these remnants are indigestible and provide a questionable source of nutrition. The amount of nutrition provided by meat byproducts, meals, and digests varies from vat to vat of this animal protein soup. A vat filled with chicken feet, beaks, and viscera is going to make available a lower amount of protein than a vat of breast meat. James Morris and Quinton Rogers, professors with Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of California at Davis Veterinary School of Medicine, assert that there is virtually no information on the bio-availability of nutrients for companion animals in many of the common dietary ingredients used in pet foods. These ingredients are generally byproducts of the meat, poultry and fishing industries, with the potential for wide variation in nutrient composition. Claims of nutritional adequacy of pet foods based on the current AAFCO nutrient allowances (profiles) do not give assurances of nutritional adequacy and will not until ingredients are analyzed and bioavailability values are incorporated. Meat byproducts, the catch-all term of the pet food industry, is a misnomer because these byproducts contain little if any meat. Byproducts contain little if any meat. Byproduct are animal parts leftover after the meat has been stripped from the bone. Chicken byproducts include heads, feet, entrails, lungs, spleens, kidneys, brains, livers, stomachs, noses, blood, and intestines free of their contents. What the pet food manufactures fail to mention is that most byproducts, digests and meals are also filled with other substances, such as cancerous tissue cut from the carcass, plastic foam packaging containing spoiled meat from supermarkets, ear tags, spoiled slaughterhouse meat, road kill, and pieces of downer animals. Canned Cannibalism Another source of meat that isn't mentioned on pet food labels is pet byproducts, the bodies of dogs and cats. In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that euthanized companion animals were found in pet foods. Although pet food company executives and the National Renderers Association vehemently denied the report, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the FDA confirmed the story. The pets serve a viable purpose by providing foodstuff for the animal feed chain, said Lea McGovern, chief of the FDA's animal feed safety branch. Because of the sheer volume of animals rendered and the similarity in protein content between poultry byproducts and processed dogs and cats, rendering plant workers say it would be impossible for purchasers to know the exact contents of what they buy. In fact, Sacramento Rendering cited by inspectors five times in the past two years for product-labeling violations. Grease and Grain The most nutritious dry pet food is no better than the worst if animals will not eat it. Pet food scientists have discovered that spraying the kibble or pellets with a combination of refined animal fat, lard, kitchen grease, and other oils too rancid or deemed inedible for humans makes an otherwise bland or distasteful product palatable. Animal fat is mainly packing house waste or supermarket trimmings from the packaging of meats. Animals love the taste of this sprayed fat, which also acts as a binding agent to which manufacturers may add other flavor enhancers. The pungent odor wafting from an open bag of pet food is created by this concoction. Restaurant grease has become a major component of feed-grade animal fat over the last 15 years. Often held in 50-gallon drums for weeks or months in extreme temperatures, this grease is usually kelp outside with no regard for its safety or further use. The rancid grease is then picked up by fat blenders who mix the animal and vegetable fats together, stabilize them with powerful antioxidants to prevent further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies. Rancid, heavily preserved fats are extremely difficult to digest and can lead to a host of animal health problems, including digestive upsets, diarrhea, gas, and bad breath. Once considered filler by the pet food industry, the amount of grain products included in pet food has risen over the last decade as the American population has focused its attention away from consuming beef and toward a healthier diet of grains and vegetables. Commonly two of the top three pet food ingredients are some form of grain products. For instance, Alpo's Beef Flavored Dinner lists ground yellow corn, soybean meal, and poultry byproduct meal as its top three ingredients. 9 Lives Crunchy Meals lists ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, and poultry byproduct meal as its top three ingredients. Of the top four ingredients of Purina's O.N.E. Dog Formula -- chicken, ground yellow corn, ground wheat, and corn gluten meal -- two are corn-based products from the same source. This is an industry practice known as splitting. When components of the same whole ingredient are listed separately (ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal) it appears that there is less corn than chicken, even when the whole ingredient may weigh more than the chicken. Soy is another common ingredient in many pet foods. It is used by the manufacturers to boost the claimed protein content and add bulk so that when animals eat a product containing soy they will fell more sated. Tofu is suitable for humans, but most forms of soybean do not agree with a dog or cat's digestive system. Like many other pet food ingredients, soy is virtually unusable by an animal's body. Being obligate carnivores, cats have little ability to digest any nutrients from soy. The problem is worse for dogs because they lack the essential amino acid to digest soy products. Soy has also been linked to bloat and gas in many dogs. Additives and Processing Pet food industry critics note that many of the ingredients (such as corn syrup and corn gluten meal) used as humectants to prevent oxidation also bind water molecules in such a way that the food actually sticks to the animal's colon and may cause blockage. Blockage of the colon may cause an increased risk of cancer of the colon or rectum. Two-thirds of the pet food manufactured in the United States contains synthetic preservatives added by the manufacturer. Of the remaining third, 90 percent includes ingredients already stabilized by synthetic preservatives. Because most pet food contains large percentages of added fat, a stabilizer is needed to maintain the quality of the food. Sodium nitrite, often used as a coloring agent, fixative, and preservative, has the ability to combine with natural stomach and food chemicals (secondary amends) to create nitrosamines, powerful cancer-causing agents, according to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives. Many pet foods advertised as preservative-free do not contain preservatives. Almost all rendered meats have synthetic preservatives added as stabilizer, but manufacturers aren't required to list preservatives they themselves haven't added. Premixed vitamin additives can also contain preservatives. In the 1003 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, veterinarian Philip Roudebush reported finding low concentrations of synthetic antioxidant preservatives in all analyzed samples of products labeled as chemical free or all-natural. Other types of additives depend on whether the pet food is semi-moist, dry or canned. Because semi-moist food contains 25-50 percent water, antimicrobial preservatives must be used. Propylene glycol was frequently used in cat food until it was pulled in 1992 for causing a variety of health problems. Processing greatly alters the nutritional value of the food ingredients. Veterinarian R. L. Wysong states in Rationale for Animal Nutrition: Processing is the wild card in nutritional value that is, by and large, simply ignored. Heating, freezing, dehydrating, canning, extruding, pelleting, baking and so forth, are so commonplace that they are simply thought of as synonymous with food itself. Because the ingredients that pet food companies use are not wholesome, and harsh manufacturing practices destroy what little nutritional value the food may have had in the first place, the final product must be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Questionable Nutrition How, then, can any pet food be guaranteed to be 100 percent complete or nutritionally adequate? As long as it meets the AAFCO minimum standards, such a guarantee can be on the label. Yet in 1994, feed tests conducted by the New York State Agriculture Department showed 7 percent of all pet foods analyzed failed chemical analyses for guaranteed nutrients. Other states report similar findings, with failure of analyzed feed ranging from to 12 percent. Even if a pet food meets AAFCO standards, certain nutritional requirements (for example, lysine) can vary between species by as much as seven-fold. Although manufacturers clam that millions of companion animals can thrive on a diet consisting of nothing by commercial pet food, research and an increasing number of veterinarians implicate processed pet food as a source of disease or as an exacerbating agent for a number of degenerative diseases. For example, kidney disease is on of the top three killers of companion animals. According to Plechner, the extra protein and harsh ingredients of many pet foods place an overload on the kidneys. Left untreated, the toxic buildup leads to vomiting, loss of appetite, uremic poisoning, and death. Wysong adds, In the last few years, large statistical studies have shown the link between the diet (of processed foods) and a variety of degenerative diseases, including cancer, heart disease, allergies, arthritis, obesity, dental disease, etc. After extensive research, the Animal Protection Institute (API) published a Pet Food Investigative Report to educate companion animal care givers about pet food ingredients, ingredient definitions, labeling, and dietary ailments resulting from processed commercial pet food, including the most commonly know brands. Yet, whether such food is purchased at the supermarket, pet store, or from a veterinarian, it makes little difference in terms of the quality -- only in the cost. Since the report was published earlier this year, API has conducted more research on holistic pet care and pet food alternatives, but still claims that the vast majority of pet foods available on the market today provide less that optimum nutrition for companion animals. It is sad to think that the food provided by animal care givers to their four-legged friends could be hazardous to the animals'; health and longevity. Care givers should assume responsibility for providing as healthful a diet as possible for the animals in the care. Consumers should be informed: speak with a holistic practitioner or herbalist, or consult your veterinarian (but be aware that a veterinarian's knowledge of nutrition may be limited to the two weeks of nutrition he or she had veterinary school 20 years ago). Although the ideal solution would be for companion animals to be fed only wholesome homemade and/or vegetarian diets, this is not an optician for everyone -- the cost and time commitment is sometimes prohibitive. By taking more moderate steps, however, care givers can still greatly improve companion animals' diet and quality of life. EDIT: On Carin Rennings page she lists recommended diets... she really researched them and its really helpful....go check it out..smile EDIT EDIT: sorry but it is still happening to the person that said its not... when I did my research I asked around and found out that the people that picked up the dead pets from the vets offices that did not want a private creamation actually had a company come in and pick the bodies up...really sick...valley protien I think was the name of the company... I am not just trying to "SCARE" people ...here is more proof....read this article JUST WRITTEN!! and see for yourself whats in your pet foods!! http://www.petfoodreport.com/aboutpetfood.htm#ingredients Edit: as far as ill timing and such... I think its just the right time!! people need to open their eyes...so sorry you 2 feel that way...smile http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

american history help!! 1: The California Gold Rush refers to: a golden river located in the newly-settled state of California. a rush of stories about gold in the West flooding the ears of Americans on the East coast. the influx of travelers to the American West that were in search of gold and wealth. the national effort of forcing thousands of Indians off their lands. 2: The application for California statehood caused turmoil in Congress because: it would upset the balance between the slave and free states in the Senate it would disturb the balance in the House between those who favored slavery and those who opposed it. Democrats would alow no more slave states into the Union Whigs would allow no more free states into the Union. 3: Many southerners supported the Compromise of 1850 because it: provided that cotton be substituted for currency legalized slavery in all the new territories provided for the creation of 5 states out of Texas provided for the return of fugitive slaves 4: Despite earlier efforts to settle the issue, slavery became a major issue in the 1840s and 1850s because the: US Supreme Court had a northern majority nation was expanding west evangelists of the Second Awakening raised the issue frequently existing political parties needed an issue which would unite their members 5: By opening the territory north of 36o 30' to slavery, the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the: Dred Scott decision Compromise of 1850 Missouri Compromise Wilmont Proviso 6: "Bleeding Kansas" gained its reputation for violence because of the: sporadic warfare between settlers on opposing sides in the battle over the slavery issue actions of various bandit gangs that roamed the territory before the arrival of federal marshals general lawlessness of cow towns like Dodge City and Abilene US Army's vicious tactics while driving the Indians out of the territory 7: The new Republican Party: quickly won voter support in the South in the elections of 1854 foes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act who were dedicated, among other purposes, to fighting slavery extension won the presidency in the 1856 elections supported lower taxes in order to bring down American industry 8: In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court ruled that: Dred Scott was not a citizen of the United States the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional Congress had no power to ban slavery in any territory All of the above 9: Which of the following was NOT TRUE about slavery as a labor system? slavery was worth more in terms of investment than all the land of the South as slavery spread in the Deep South, power became equally shared among all white southerners it was slavery that made possible the South's "mass production" of cotton for export only a minority of Southerners owned slaves 10: Manufacturing in the Old South lagged behind that in the North because: black labor was incompatible with industry white leaders in the South were more concerned with prestige than with profits the South lacked important natural resources cotton was more profitable than the industry 11: The southern demand that slavery be allowed to expand into the territories seems to have been motivated by the: expectation that slavery would be even more profitable in the West than in the South fear that free territories could be used as bases for spreading abolitionism into the South belief that expansion was necessary to allow the profitable sale of slaves none of the above 12: William Lloyd Garrison pledged his dedication to: shipping freed blacks back to Africa outlawing the slave trade preventing the expansion of slavery beyond the South the immediate abolition of slavery in the South 13: The most controversial aspect of the slavery issue during the first half of the 1800s was: the status of slavery in the territories the right of abolitionists to send their literature through the US mail the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law the prohibition of international slave trade 14: What was the significance of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin? It presented a view of slavery as an great good It presented the idea that slavery did not tear apart the black family It provoked a more aggressive anti-southern and anti-slavery position in those who were uncertain on the slavery issue All of the above 15: Harriet Tubman gained fame: in the gold fields of California as an African-American poet as an advocate for the Fugitive Slave Law by helping slaves escape to Canada 16: The Homestead Act provided: that indians should own their lands as individuals rather than collectively as tribes 160 acres of free land to anyone who would settle it and improve it over 5 years 40 acres of land to each former slave above the age of 21 that the land of former Confederates should not be confiscated by the government 17: The mining towns which developed in the West between 1860 and 1890: were often abandoned after the mines closed were mainly settled by men frequently suffered from lawlessness all of the above 18: The Union and Pacific Railroads met at: Charleston Sacramento Promontory Point Chicago 19: The conflict over slavery in Kansas: came about because the first settlers brough large numbers of slaves to the territory we resolved by the Crittenden Compromise was temporarily resolved by the Compromise of 1850 was greatly escalated by abolitionist-funded settlers and proslavery "border ruffians" from Missouri 20: The fanatical abolitionist John Brown made his first entry into violent antislavery politics by leading an armed raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia organizing a slave rebellion in Missouri killing five proslavery settlers in Kansas organizing an armed militia of blacks and whites to conduct escaped slaves to Canada 21: The existence of the "underground railroad" added to southern demands for: the admission of new slave states into the Union the death penalty for abolitionists a stricter federal Fugitive Slave Law the enslavement of free blacks in North and South 22: Among the notable advocates of compromise in the controversy over slaverin in the 1850s were: William Seward and Zachary Taylor Henry Clay and Daniel Webster John C. Calhoun and Abraham Lincoln Stephen Douglas and Harriet Tubman 23: Under the terms of the Compromise of 1850: California was admitted to the Union as a free state, and slavery in Utah and New Mexico would be left to popular sovereignty California was admited as a free state, and Utah and New Mexico were slave states California, Utah, and New Mexico were kept as territories but with slavery prohibited New Mexico and Texas were admitted as slave states and Utah and California as free states 24: The invention that transformed the southern cotton industry was the: sewing machine mechanical cotton picker cotton gin steamboat 25: Most Southerners viewed slaves as: equals superiors property politicians 26: Even though they owned no slaves, most southern whites supported the slave system because: they were bribed by the planter class they enjoyed the economic benefits of slavery they felt racially superior to blacks and hoped to one day be able to buy slaves they disliked the northern abolitionists 27: Most of the growth in the African-American slave population before 1860 came from: the illegal importation of slaves from Africa the re-enslavement of formerly free blacks natural reproduction the incorporation into the United States of new slave territories 28: Most slave owners treated their slaves as: objects to be beaten and brutallized as often as possible valuable investments members of the extended family sources of new technology 29: Most of the early abolitionists were motivated by: a desire to see an indpendent black republic in Africa anger at the negative economic consequences of slavery religious feeling against the sin of slavery a philosphical commitment to racial integration 30: The most prominent black abolitionist leader was Stephen Douglas Harriet Beecher Stowe William Lloyd Garrison Frederick Douglass

social studies help PLEASE i am begging you!!!? 1: The California Gold Rush refers to: a golden river located in the newly-settled state of California. a rush of stories about gold in the West flooding the ears of Americans on the East coast. the influx of travelers to the American West that were in search of gold and wealth. the national effort of forcing thousands of Indians off their lands. 2: The application for California statehood caused turmoil in Congress because: it would upset the balance between the slave and free states in the Senate it would disturb the balance in the House between those who favored slavery and those who opposed it. Democrats would alow no more slave states into the Union Whigs would allow no more free states into the Union. 3: Many southerners supported the Compromise of 1850 because it: provided that cotton be substituted for currency legalized slavery in all the new territories provided for the creation of 5 states out of Texas provided for the return of fugitive slaves 4: Despite earlier efforts to settle the issue, slavery became a major issue in the 1840s and 1850s because the: US Supreme Court had a northern majority nation was expanding west evangelists of the Second Awakening raised the issue frequently existing political parties needed an issue which would unite their members 5: By opening the territory north of 36o 30' to slavery, the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the: Dred Scott decision Compromise of 1850 Missouri Compromise Wilmont Proviso 6: "Bleeding Kansas" gained its reputation for violence because of the: sporadic warfare between settlers on opposing sides in the battle over the slavery issue actions of various bandit gangs that roamed the territory before the arrival of federal marshals general lawlessness of cow towns like Dodge City and Abilene US Army's vicious tactics while driving the Indians out of the territory 7: The new Republican Party: quickly won voter support in the South in the elections of 1854 foes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act who were dedicated, among other purposes, to fighting slavery extension won the presidency in the 1856 elections supported lower taxes in order to bring down American industry 8: In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court ruled that: Dred Scott was not a citizen of the United States the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional Congress had no power to ban slavery in any territory All of the above 9: Which of the following was NOT TRUE about slavery as a labor system? slavery was worth more in terms of investment than all the land of the South as slavery spread in the Deep South, power became equally shared among all white southerners it was slavery that made possible the South's "mass production" of cotton for export only a minority of Southerners owned slaves 10: Manufacturing in the Old South lagged behind that in the North because: black labor was incompatible with industry white leaders in the South were more concerned with prestige than with profits the South lacked important natural resources cotton was more profitable than the industry 11: The southern demand that slavery be allowed to expand into the territories seems to have been motivated by the: expectation that slavery would be even more profitable in the West than in the South fear that free territories could be used as bases for spreading abolitionism into the South belief that expansion was necessary to allow the profitable sale of slaves none of the above 12: William Lloyd Garrison pledged his dedication to: shipping freed blacks back to Africa outlawing the slave trade preventing the expansion of slavery beyond the South the immediate abolition of slavery in the South 13: The most controversial aspect of the slavery issue during the first half of the 1800s was: the status of slavery in the territories the right of abolitionists to send their literature through the US mail the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law the prohibition of international slave trade 14: What was the significance of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin? It presented a view of slavery as an great good It presented the idea that slavery did not tear apart the black family It provoked a more aggressive anti-southern and anti-slavery position in those who were uncertain on the slavery issue All of the above 15: Harriet Tubman gained fame: in the gold fields of California as an African-American poet as an advocate for the Fugitive Slave Law by helping slaves escape to Canada 16: The Homestead Act provided: that indians should own their lands as individuals rather than collectively as tribes 160 acres of free land to anyone who would settle it and improve it over 5 years 40 acres of land to each former slave above the age of 21 that the land of former Confederates should not be confiscated by the government 17: The mining towns which developed in the West between 1860 and 1890: were often abandoned after the mines closed were mainly settled by men frequently suffered from lawlessness all of the above 18: The Union and Pacific Railroads met at: Charleston Sacramento Promontory Point Chicago 19: The conflict over slavery in Kansas: came about because the first settlers brough large numbers of slaves to the territory we resolved by the Crittenden Compromise was temporarily resolved by the Compromise of 1850 was greatly escalated by abolitionist-funded settlers and proslavery "border ruffians" from Missouri 20: The fanatical abolitionist John Brown made his first entry into violent antislavery politics by killing five proslavery settlers in Kansas organizing a slave rebellion in Missouri leading an armed raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia organizing an armed militia of blacks and whites to conduct escaped slaves to Canada 21: The existence of the "underground railroad" added to southern demands for: the admission of new slave states into the Union the death penalty for abolitionists a stricter federal Fugitive Slave Law the enslavement of free blacks in North and South 22: Among the notable advocates of compromise in the controversy over slaverin in the 1850s were: William Seward and Zachary Taylor Henry Clay and Daniel Webster John C. Calhoun and Abraham Lincoln Stephen Douglas and Harriet Tubman 23: Under the terms of the Compromise of 1850: California was admitted to the Union as a free state, and slavery in Utah and New Mexico would be left to popular sovereignty California was admited as a free state, and Utah and New Mexico were slave states California, Utah, and New Mexico were kept as territories but with slavery prohibited New Mexico and Texas were admitted as slave states and Utah and California as free states 24: The invention that transformed the southern cotton industry was the: sewing machine mechanical cotton picker cotton gin steamboat 25: Most Southern slaveowners held: over a hundred slaves over fifty slaves fewer than ten slaves only one slave 26: Even though they owned no slaves, most southern whites supported the slave system because: they were bribed by the planter class they enjoyed the economic benefits of slavery they felt racially superior to blacks and hoped to one day be able to buy slaves they disliked the northern abolitionists 27: Most of the growth in the African-American slave population before 1860 came from: the illegal importation of slaves from Africa the re-enslavement of formerly free blacks natural reproduction the incorporation into the United States of new slave territories 28: Most slave owners treated their slaves as: objects to be beaten and brutallized as often as possible valuable investments members of the extended family sources of new technology 29: Most of the early abolitionists were motivated by: a desire to see an indpendent black republic in Africa anger at the negative economic consequences of slavery religious feeling against the sin of slavery a philosphical commitment to racial integration 30: The most prominent black abolitionist leader was Stephen Douglas Harriet Beecher Stowe William Lloyd Garrison Frederick Douglass

I thought Harvard was filled with smart people. Or is it filled with real dummies? Harvard’s Bet on Interest Rate Rise Cost $500 Million to Exit By John Lauerman and Michael McDonald Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Harvard University’s failed bet that interest rates would rise cost the world’s richest school at least $500 million in payments to escape derivatives that backfired. Harvard paid $497.6 million to investment banks during the fiscal year ended June 30 to get out of $1.1 billion of interest-rate swaps intended to hedge variable-rate debt for capital projects, the school’s annual report said. The university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said it also agreed to pay $425 million over 30 to 40 years to offset an additional $764 million in swaps. The transactions began losing value last year as central banks slashed benchmark lending rates, forcing the university to post collateral with lenders, said Daniel Shore, Harvard’s chief financial officer. Some agreements require that the parties post collateral if there are significant changes in interest rates. “When we went into the fall, we had some serious liquidity management issues we were dealing with and the collateral postings on the swaps was one,” Shore said in an interview yesterday. “In evaluating our liquidity position, we wanted to get some stability and some safety.” Harvard sold $2.5 billion in bonds in the fiscal year, in part to pay for the swap exit, even as the school’s endowment recorded its biggest loss in 40 years, the report released yesterday said. This is the first time the university has detailed the cost of exiting its swaps. Further Pressure “Substantial losses” in Harvard’s General Operating Account, a pool of cash from which bills are paid, further put pressure on the school, the report said. The net asset value of the account fell to $3.7 billion from $6.6 billion during the fiscal year, according to the report. Harvard has typically invested a large portion of this operating account alongside the endowment, generating “significant positive investment results,” the report said. This year, the endowment’s losses hurt Harvard’s cash, according to the report. Swaps are a type of derivative where two parties agree to exchange payments tied to a financing, typically receiving a variable-rate for a fixed-rate payment. The terminated contracts include three tied to $431.7 million of bonds the university sold in 2005 and 2007, the annual report said. Unwinding Swaps From New York to San Francisco Bay, tax-exempt issuers have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to unwind bond-and-swap transactions officials initially said would cut borrowing costs. The deals fell apart when municipal-bond insurers, who backed much of the underlying debt, lost their AAA ratings in 2008 and interest rates, instead of climbing, plunged to record lows in the worst credit crisis since the Great Depression. The swaps are often pegged to Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association lending benchmarks or the three- month dollar London-Interbank Offered Rate, known as Libor. Libor closed yesterday at 0.28 percent, from a 10-year high of 6.89 percent on June 1, 2000. Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; Georgetown University in Washington and Rockefeller University in New York have reported losses related to interest-rate swaps, in some cases prompting the schools to pay termination fees to end the contracts. Lawrence Summers The annual report provides new details on Harvard’s derivative-related losses. Many were entered into in 2004, said Harvard spokeswoman Christine Heenan. Lawrence Summers, director of President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council, was the university’s president at the time. White House spokesman Matthew Vogel declined to comment. Harvard Management Co., which administers the endowment, has been run since July 2008 by Jane Mendillo, former chief investment officer of nearby Wellesley College. She took over from Mohamed El-Erian, now chief executive officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., which oversees the world’s largest bond fund from Newport Beach, California. He succeeded Jack Meyer, who ran it for 15 years, in February 2006. Harvard’s loss “says that people don’t understand the complexity of the products they are buying and selling and that doesn’t begin and end with mortgage securities,” said Robert Doty, a municipal finance adviser at American Governmental Services in Sacramento, California. “It shows that with these products that are so highly complex, people are a long way from knowing as much about these products as they think they do,” he said. Financing Construction The Harvard swaps involved bonds sold to finance a medical research building, graduate housing, parking and a Center for Government and International Studies, according to reports from Moody’s Investors Service. They were also used to lock in rates for future bond sales for an expansion of the campus across the Charles River in Boston that has since b

Californians. Arnold Schwarzenegger is temporarly raising taxes in California. What is your thought on this? *Sourced from the Associated Press* SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday November 6th proposed a temporary 1.5 percent sales tax increase to deal with California's worsening fiscal crisis, which has created an $11.2 billion deficit in this year's budget. "We have a dramatic situation here and it takes dramatic solutions ... and immediate action," the governor said as he called the Legislature back into session to deal with the budget shortfall. "We must stop the bleeding." Just six weeks ago, Schwarzenegger signed an overdue state budget that was intended to close a $15.2 billion deficit. The rapid pace of decline in the national and state economies since then has reopened that gap and threatens to widen it even more in the months ahead. He said the state's economic condition has deteriorated significantly, with a cratering stock market and the continued decline of the housing industry. I meant to say that he is proposing a temporarly raise taxes. True,... When has there ever been a "Temporary" raise on taxes? He is proposing a $4.4 Billion in tax increases.