Michael Snyder

Category 6? If Hurricane Irma Becomes The Strongest Hurricane In History, It Could Wipe Entire Cities Off The Map

Meteorologists have been shocked at how rapidly Hurricane Irma has been strengthening, and they are already warning that if it hits the United States as a high level category 5 storm the devastation would be absolutely unprecedented.  Of course we are already dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and many experts are already telling us that the economic damage done by that storm will easily surpass any other disaster in all of U.S. history.  But there is a very real possibility that Hurricane Irma could be even worse.  According to the National Hurricane Center, at 5 PM on Friday Irma already had sustained winds of 130 miles per hour.  But it is still very early, and as you will see below, next week it is expected to potentially develop into a category 5 storm with winds of 180 miles per hour or more.

I suppose that it is appropriate that such a powerful storm has a very powerful name.  In old German, the name “Irma” actually means “war goddess”…

The name Irma is a German baby name. In German the meaning of the name Irma is: Universal, from the Old German ‘irmin’. War goddess.

Irma began forming on Wednesday, and it intensified at a faster rate than any storm that we have seen in nearly 20 years…

Hurricane Irma formed early Wednesday in the warm waters off the coast of West Africa — and took just 30 hours to strengthen to a Category 3. That’s the fastest intensification rate in almost two decades. By Friday afternoon, the storm had also grown noticeably larger in size with a well-defined eye, a classic sign of a strong hurricane.

Though Irma poses no immediate threat to land, the outlook is ominous: In the Atlantic, Irma is expected to pass through some abnormally warm waters — the primary fuel source for storm systems. The official National Hurricane Center forecast says it will remain at major hurricane status for at least the next five days, and, in a worst-case scenario, Irma could eventually grow into one of the strongest hurricanes ever seen in the Atlantic.

So how powerful could Irma eventually become?

According to Michael Ventrice of the Weather Channel, Irma could easily become a “super typhoon” with “sustained speeds of over 180mph”…

Veteran USA forecaster Michael Ventrice posted the track model on Twitter overnight and warned it looked like the storm could be a “super typhoon”, with sustained speeds of over 180mph.

He wrote: “These are the highest windspeed forecasts I’ve ever seen in my 10 yrs of Atlantic hurricane forecasting.

“Irma is another retiree candidate.”

The scale we have right now really never envisioned storms that powerful.  In fact, some have suggested that we need to add a “category 6” to describe the kind of “super storms” that are now developing in the Atlantic.

One of the reasons why Irma is so unique is because it is a “Cape Verde hurricane”…

There are a few factors that worry hurricane forecasters more about this storm when compared to the myriad other tropical storms and hurricanes that tend to form in the Atlantic.

First, it’s a so-called Cape Verde storm, having formed off the west coast of Africa. These storms tend to be the ones that go on to affect the U.S., after gathering strength for many days during their march across the ocean. For example, Hurricane Andrew, which was the most recent Category 5 storm to hit the U.S. in 1992, was a Cape Verde-type storm.

Because they begin at a relatively low latitude and move west rather than northwest, it can be harder for upper level winds blowing across North America to pick up and steer these types of storms away from the U.S. coast.

Let us hope that this storm does get steered away from our coastlines at some point, but so far that is just not happening.

Many hurricanes are often weakened by wind shear, but that isn’t happening to Irma either.  In fact, CNN is reporting that “Irma will remain in a low-shear environment for the next several days”…

A strong high-pressure ridge to the north of Irma, over the Atlantic, is steering the storm to the west and limiting the wind shear in the upper levels of the atmosphere, which has allowed the storm to grow so quickly. Wind shear is like hurricane kryptonite, and prevents storms from forming or gaining strength.

Unfortunately, Irma will remain in a low-shear environment for the next several days, so there isn’t much hope that Irma will weaken any time soon.

Basically, conditions are nearly ideal for a “super storm” to develop, and if Irma does make it to the U.S. the destruction that it causes could be absolutely off the charts.

Of course at this point there is no guarantee that it will ever reach the United States.  But if it does, and if it is still a category 5 storm when it arrives, we could be facing an event unlike anything that we have ever seen before.

Do you remember Hurricane Katrina?  Well, scientists now know that when it hit New Orleans it had already been downgraded to just a “low category 3” storm…

To put this all in perspective, Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane out over some hot spots in the Gulf. But when it hit New Orleans, scientists now know, Katrina had winds at a low Category 3, and much of them Category 2, including the “left side winds” that then came down from the north and pushed the surge-swollen waters of Lake Pontchartrain over and through NOLA’s levees. (Hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, so when Katrina came ashore just east of New Orleans, its winds hit the city from the north.)

Only three Category 5s have come ashore in the United States in the past century — the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, Camille in 1969 and Andrew in 1992.

And Hurricane Harvey was just a category 4 storm.

If Hurricane Irma were to make landfall as a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 180 miles per hour, it would rip buildings and everything else in its path to shreds.

Next week we shall find out what happens.  Let us hope for the best, but let us also get prepared for the worst.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Hurricane Harvey Aftermath: 100,000 Homes Destroyed, A Million Vehicles Ruined And Bottled Water Being Sold For $99 A Case

It is now being estimated that the total amount of economic damage caused by Hurricane Harvey will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 190 billion dollars.  It is a disaster unlike anything that we have ever seen before in all of U.S. history, and federal officials are already admitting that they are literally going to be dealing with the aftermath of this storm for “years”.  At this point, more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed, “up to one million vehicles” have been ruined, and many retailers have already been caught engaging in extreme price gouging.  But this could be just the beginning, because this storm has already rendered many areas along the Gulf coast “uninhabitable” for an extended period of time, and as you will see at the end of this article another hurricane may be arriving early next month.

What we just witnessed in Houston is being called “a 1,000-year-flood”, and many basic necessities are now in extremely short supply.  So of course it was inevitable that this would lead to price gouging, and this is reportedly even happening at some of the largest retail chains.  For example, at one Best Buy store cases of bottled water were being sold for 42 dollars…

On Friday, a Twitter user shared a picture of cases of bottled water being sold at a Best Buy in Houston. One of the cases was being sold for $42 when it normally retailed for about $15.

A Best Buy spokesman later apologized, saying it was a ‘big mistake’.

But that water was quite cheap compared to prices in other parts of the city.  According to CNN, one convenience store in Houston was actually charging 20 dollars for a single gallon of gasoline and 99 dollars for a case of bottled water…

Texas officials say they’ve gotten hundreds of complaints about price gouging and scams in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

One convenience store in Houston reportedly charged $20 for a gallon of gas, $8.50 for a bottle of water and $99 for a case of water, according to the Texas Attorney General’s office.

The state has received 684 complaints in all, according to Kayleigh Lovvorn, a spokeswoman for the office.

It is inexcusable to take advantage of people during a crisis in this way.  So many are running low on food, water and other basic supplies, and to try to make a quick profit by engaging in price gouging just isn’t right.

In the end, many people are going to have to leave Houston and never look back.  To this day some parts of New Orleans still have not recovered from the devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused, and we are facing a similar scenario now with Houston.  According to AccuWeather president Joel Myers, it will be “weeks and possibly months” before people can even get back into certain parts of Houston…

Hurricane Harvey could be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history with a potential price tag of $190 billion, according to a preliminary estimate from private weather firm AccuWeather.

This is equal to the combined cost of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and represents a 1% economic hit to the gross national product, AccuWeather said.

“Parts of Houston, the United States’ fourth largest city, will be uninhabitable for weeks and possibly months due to water damage, mold, disease-ridden water and all that will follow this 1,000-year flood,” said AccuWeather president Joel Myers.

I don’t think that the U.S. population as a whole really grasps what has just taken place.

Large stretches of the 4th-largest city in the United States have been destroyed.  Millions that were living comfortable middle class lives have now lost everything that they worked for.  Large numbers of people did not have flood insurance, and so they will be leaning on the federal government for assistance.  Many did have flood insurance, and a significant number of insurance companies may end up going bankrupt because of all the claims that will be suddenly pouring in.  Houston was one of the most important hubs for economic activity in our entire nation, and the economic damage from this crisis will literally stretch on for years.

But despite everything that has happened, many are being very bitter and very cruel on social media and on the comments sections of major news websites.  Apparently many on the left do not believe that compassion is appropriate because this storm hit a conservative state like Texas.  Not everything has to be politicized, and it has greatly disturbed me to see just how cold many hearts in this nation have become.

And what is truly frightening is that another hurricane is potentially heading toward the Gulf of Mexico.  It is still way too early to project exactly if it will make landfall or where, but it is being reported that Hurricane Irma has already become a category 3 storm…

Hurricane Irma continued its rapid power grab Thursday, with wind speeds increasing by more than 55 mph since Wednesday to become a major Cat 3 storm.

In their 5 p.m. advisory, National Hurricane Center forecasters said sustained winds had climbed to 115 mph as the storm headed to the west, northwest at 12 mph. Irma remains in the far east Atlantic, just over 1,700 miles east of the Leeward Islands. Up and down changes in intensity are possible over the next few days, forecasters said, but the storm is expected to remain a major hurricane that could become a Cat 4 storm in four days.

I am proud of how the Trump administration is handling this crisis, and when I win my race for Congress I look forward to working with Trump to make sure that our nation is always prepared to handle this sort of event.

And please keep praying for Houston, because if another major hurricane were to hit that area it would be a nightmare beyond anything that any of us would ever want to imagine.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Unprecedented Disaster: Hurricane Harvey Has Shattered The Rainfall Record For The Continental United States

Never before have we seen a storm dump more than 50 inches of rain on a single location in the continental United States.  The previous record for rainfall in the continental United States occurred when Tropical Storm Amelia dumped 48 inches of rain on Medina, Texas in 1978.  But now one spot in southeast Texas has already received 52 inches of rain, and the rain continues to fall.  And overall, 14 different spots in the Houston area have already gotten more than 40 inches of rain.  Authorities are telling us that this will easily be the most costly disaster in all of U.S. history, but nobody will be able to truly assess the total damage that has been done until the rain finally stops.

Sadly, meteorologists say that some parts of Texas will continue to get more rain all the way through Thursday.  By that time, some areas may receive an additional 20 inches of rain on top of what they already have…

Wide swaths of southeast Texas have been devastated by Tropical Storm Harvey, with some areas drowning in nearly 40 inches of water — and Lone Star State residents are bracing for another beating with up to 20 more inches of rain.

If you have seen video of the flooding that is taking place in Houston, it is hard to imagine that things could get much worse.  As I mentioned above, many areas already have more than 40 inches of rain, and one spot in southeast Texas has actually gotten 52 inches of rain…

A preliminary report from a rain gauge on the Cedar Bayou, east of Highlands, Texas, reported 51.88 inches of rain as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Earlier in the day, a weather station southeast of Houston at Mary’s Creek at Winding Road, reported 49.32 inches of rain, the weather service said.

Both reports break the previous continental U.S. record of 48 inches set in 1978 in Medina, Texas, by Tropical Storm Amelia.

In addition to all of the rainfall, a major problem is the fact that river levels are rising to extremely dangerous levels.  One levee has already been breached, and water has gone over the top of the 108 foot spillway for the Addicks Reservoir for the first time in history…

An already-swollen reservoir west of downtown Houston overtopped its spillway Tuesday, sending an “uncontrolled release” of Harvey’s floodwaters into nearby neighborhoods, as a separate levee breach south of the city prompted an urgent warning for residents to leave immediately.

Floodwaters in the the Addicks Reservoir, located about 19 miles west of downtown, went over the top of the 108-foot spillway for the first time in history, threatening immediate surrounding subdivisions.

Unfortunately, disasters such as this tend to bring out the worst in people.  As I mentioned yesterday, police have been busy rounding up looters, and some businesses have been caught engaging in extreme price gouging…

Over the weekend, more than 500 complaints of price gouging were lodged with the Texas attorney general’s office, according to CNBC—including $99 cases of bottled water, gas at $10 a gallon and hotels tripled or quadrupled in price.

I suppose that it is just human nature to do that, but to me that is utterly shameful.

It is during times of testing that our character is truly revealed.  So many down in Houston have been absolutely incredible throughout this entire crisis, while others have shown all of us who they really and truly are.

Our fourth largest city is in the process of literally being destroyed, and I am so thankful for everyone that is working to rescue, house and feed those that are in desperate need.  Sadly, there are others that are not stepping up to the plate, and they are being greatly criticized for it.

According to former FEMA Director Michael Brown, the economic damage being done by this storm will ultimately make it “the most expensive natural disaster in American history”…

“There are several factors that make it worse than Katrina. For one, there is the scope of the flooding. Harris County and the surrounding areas are so saturated,” Brown told the Houston Chronicle.

“Also, the amount of damages will continue to grow. There will be mold and structural damages adding up.” Brown said when Tropical Storm Harvey finally goes away, it will leave an incredible bill for taxpayers to pick up.

“This will be unfathomably expensive for both the private sector and taxpayers,” Brown said. “This will be easily the most expensive natural disaster in American history.”

Please pray for southeast Texas and for all of the people that have had their lives turned completely upside down by this storm.  We have never seen anything like this before in the history of our country, and this crisis is still far from over.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Hurricane Harvey Has Dumped 15 Trillion Gallons Of Water On Texas And May Be The Most Expensive Natural Disaster In U.S. History

Authorities are now telling us that Hurricane Harvey may end up causing more economic damage than even Hurricane Katrina did.  We already knew that some parts of southeast Texas are going to be “uninhabitable for an extended period of time”, but the latest forecasts are calling for about 10 more inches of total rain than had previously been projected.  At this moment 15 trillion gallons of water have already been dumped on Texas, and the rain continues to fall.  You can get some idea of the devastation that has taken place in Houston by watching this drone footage.  Essentially, some communities along the southeast Texas coastline have been totally destroyed.

It would be bad enough if 15 trillion gallons of water were dropped anywhere in the continental United States, but for it to happen in the Houston area makes it a disaster of unprecedented proportions.  Houston is our fourth largest city, and that means that millions upon millions of people are being deeply affected by this storm.  As I mentioned above, some experts now believe that this could end up being the most expensive natural disaster in our history…

Tropical Storm Harvey has dropped more than 15 trillion gallons of water on Texas, triggering catastrophic, unprecedented flooding in the Houston area. The rains have broken all-time records, exceeding the rainfall totals seen during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.

There may be no parallel available to any other rainstorm in U.S. history, based on the number of people affected, amount of water involved, and other factors, meteorologists have warned.

Due to its wide geographic scope across America’s 4th-largest city, the ensuing flood disaster may rank as one of the most, if not the most, expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.

And 15 trillion gallons is just the current number.  Meteorologists are forecasting that another 6 trillion gallons of water will fall on Texas before this storm is over.

Just yesterday, authorities were warning that some areas may see more than 40 inches of total rain, but now many forecasts are calling for “as much as 50 inches of rain” before Hurricane Harvey finally leaves Texas…

As the water rose, the National Weather Service issued another ominous forecast: Before the storm is gone, some parts of Houston and its suburbs could get as much as 50 inches of rain. That would be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas.

FEMA’s Long predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA’s involvement for years.

“This disaster’s going to be a landmark event,” Long said.

If these forecasts are accurate, the rainfall levels will exceed any previous record.

In fact, the amount of rain that has already fallen on southeast Texas would be enough to completely fill the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and then fill it all the way to the top again.

FEMA officials are already saying that they are going to be in the Houston area for “years”.  Tens of thousands are already using temporary shelters, and it is being projected that 450,000 people will ultimately file for disaster assistance…

U.S. emergency management officials said on Monday they were expediting federal resources to Texas to help with rescue efforts after Hurricane Harvey swamped coastal areas of the state and forced 30,000 people to seek refuge in temporary shelters.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said more than 450,000 people were expected to seek disaster assistance due to flooding after Harvey made landfall during the weekend before weakening to tropical storm status.

Of course whenever there is a disaster such as this, bad people are going to try to take advantage of the situation.

According to Houston police chief Art Acevedo, a number of looters have already been arrested…

Acevedo also said officers are focused on protecting the city from looters as floodwater recede.

“We’ve already arrested a handful of looters. We’ve made it real clear to our community we’re going to do whatever it takes to protect their homes and their businesses,” Acevedo said. “And when people come from the outside to Houston, Texas, know we’re going to be out in the city, we’re not going to rest as a police department or law enforcement community until people restore their lives.”

I am proud of how the Trump administration and the authorities down in Texas are responding to this unprecedented crisis.  The loss of life appears to be minimal so far, and thousands of people have been rescued from their homes and vehicles.

We never give emergency responders the credit that they deserve.  Day after day they are saving lives in the most difficult of situations, and I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people that are working so hard to help Houston pull through this.

Please keep the people of Houston in your prayers, because this is truly the worst crisis that city has ever seen.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Hurricane Harvey Will Render Some Parts Of Texas ‘Uninhabitable For An Extended Period Of Time’

Do you remember what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans?  Well, now we are watching the same thing happen to southeast Texas.  On Friday, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a category 4 hurricane.  It is the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States in 12 years, and it is the most powerful storm to hit the state of Texas in at least 50 years.  One meteorologist is saying that what we are witnessing is “worse than the worst-case scenario for Houston”, and another stated that this storm “could easily be one of the worst flooding disasters in U.S. history”.

It would be difficult to overstate the devastation in the Houston area at this moment.  Hurricane Harvey has ripped roofs off of homes, turned vehicles over and snapped thousands of trees.  Thousands have been rescued from their homes and vehicles, and it is being reported that so far five people have died.  In fact, one woman’s dead body was actually spotted floating down the street.

According to the National Weather Service, over 24 inches of rain fell in Houston in just a 24 hour period.  More rain continues to fall in southeast Texas, and meteorologists are running out of adjectives to describe the nightmare that is currently unfolding…

“It’s catastrophic, unprecedented, epic — whatever adjective you want to use,” Patrick Blood, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told the Chronicle. “It’s pretty horrible right now.” The newspaper reported the weather service said five people have died in the Houston area in unconfirmed flood-related deaths.

The latest forecasts are telling us that we could see a total of 40 to 50 inches of rain in southeast Texas by Thursday, and so some areas will actually receive a “year’s worth of rain” in less than a week…

“A year’s worth of rain may fall in the span of a few days near the Texas Gulf Coast,” reported Weather.com. “A multi-day deluge of the Texas Gulf Coast with catastrophic and life-threatening flooding and destructive winds through could leave areas uninhabitable for an extended period of time, the National Weather Service has warned.”

Did you catch that last part?

The National Weather Service is actually saying that some portions of Texas could be “uninhabitable for an extended period of time” as a result of this storm.

It appears to be inevitable that more people are doing to die before this is all over.  Authorities are trying to rescue as many people as they can, but there just aren’t enough resources.

As the water continues to climb, some people are actually climbing into their attics in a desperate attempt to save themselves, but that is a very bad idea…

“We are getting calls from people climbing into their attic. This is along I-45 between downtown and Clear Lake,” Lindner said. “This is along Berry Bayou, Beamer Ditch, Turkey Creek, portions of Clear Creek, Vince Bayou, Little Vince Bayou in Pasadena,” he said. “Pretty much the entire southeast side of Harris County has had 13 to 15 inches of rain in three hours.”

Lindner said they’re also seeing flooding along portions of Hunting Bayou, downtown along Buffalo Bayou, Brays Bayou and Keegan’s Bayou.

Chief Art Acevedo tweeted,” have reports of people getting into attic to escape floodwater do not do so unless you have an ax or means to break through onto your roof.”

This is already being called “a once in a 500 year flood”, and the experts are already telling us that the total economic damage is going to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

Earlier this month, I wrote about an unusual series of events that would happen over a 40 day period starting with the recent solar eclipse, but of course at the time I couldn’t account for additional unexpected events such as Hurricane Harvey.  And I find it very interesting that this hurricane began forming just about the same time as the eclipse.  The following comes from Wikipedia…

The eighth named storm, third hurricane, and the first major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey developed from a tropical wave to the east of the Lesser Antilles on August 17. The storm crossed through the Windward Islands on the following day, passing just south of Barbados and later near Saint Vincent. Upon entering the Caribbean Sea, Harvey began to weaken due to moderate wind shear and degenerated into a tropical wave north of Colombia early on August 19. The remnants were monitored for regeneration as it continued west-northwestward across the Caribbean and the Yucatán Peninsula, before re-developing over the Bay of Campeche on August 23. Harvey then began to rapidly intensify on August 24, re-gaining tropical storm status and becoming a hurricane later that day. Moving generally northwestwards, Harvey’s intensification phase stalled slightly overnight from August 24–25, however Harvey soon resumed strengthening and became a Category 4 hurricane late on August 25. Hours later, Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, at peak intensity.

As a result of this storm, thousands could be trapped in their homes without power for an extended period of time.

Do you think that those that have been storing up food and emergency supplies all this time will be glad that they have done so?

Of course the answer to that question is obvious.  If you wait until disaster strikes to get prepared, it will be too late.  A whole lot of people down in Texas are going to end up in some very desperate situations because they never believed that something like this could ever happen to them.

For those of you that would like some helpful advice on getting prepared for future disasters, I would encourage you to check out a book that I co-authored with Barbara Fix entitled “Get Prepared Now”.  Barbara is a highly respected prepping expert, and she is also getting heavily involved in my campaign for Congress.  So much of the information in that book is timeless, and my hope is that we can encourage as many people as possible to start getting prepared because very troubled times are ahead of us.

Please pray for the people in Houston and throughout the entire southeast Texas area.  We truly have not seen a storm like this since Hurricane Katrina, and many portions of the Texas Gulf Coast will be changed forever by this disaster.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Why Does The Left Hate Us So Much?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Ever since I decided to run for Congress, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about how divided our nation is.  Donald Trump has become the most hated person in America, earlier this year a gunman tried to kill as many Republican members of Congress as possible at a baseball field in Virginia, and the mainstream media is fueling more hatred for conservatives on a daily basis.  I think that I was more than a bit naive in thinking that I wouldn’t be caught up in all of this when I decided to run for public office.  It has only been about a month, and so far I have been slandered repeatedly, my wife and daughter have been called all sorts of names, and even our faith has been attacked.  I have never seen the left so energized in my entire lifetime, but meanwhile those of us that are trying to move the United States in a more conservative direction are facing an uphill battle when it comes to raising funds.  If you believe that people like me should be running for Congress, I hope that you will support my campaign financially.  Since there is no incumbent running in my district, the race is completely wide open, and if I raise enough money I will win because I have the strongest message by a very wide margin.

So far we have created a tremendous amount of buzz all over the district.  On Friday I was down in Coeur d’Alene, and there are some wonderful conservative people down there that are super excited that I am running.  Everywhere we go we are finding that voters are resonating with my extremely conservative message, and if I have enough resources to get this message to every voter in the district, there is no way that I should lose this race.

But of course not everybody is pleased by all the buzz I am creating.

If I win this election, I am very rapidly going to become one of the most hated members of Congress in the entire country.  And the reason why I will be hated so much is because I will be what the left fears the most – a conservative with a backbone.

In the end, this is not a battle about tax rates, the size of government or how to fix our economy.  All of those are very important issues, but at the core this is a fight for the soul of our nation.

Over the past 100 years, we have seen big government leftists take power all over the world.  The “progressives” of today are driven by the same philosophies and are using the same tactics as the communists of the USSR, the brownshirts of Nazi Germany (Nazi: National Socialists), and the Maoists of Red China.  At this moment the “progressives” dominate most of the political systems on the entire planet, and they would love to fully take control of the United States as well, but there are enough of us that still love liberty and freedom to stand in their way.

In leftist societies, big government rapidly becomes the centerpiece of society.  And that is one reason why so many of these big government systems are so godless, because government essentially takes the place of God over time.

Two diametrically opposed worldviews are clashing in our country right now, and eventually one of those worldviews will be vanquished by the other.

For those of us that still believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the “progressives” of today are an existential threat.  If the left gets enough power, they will criminalize what we believe by making it “hate speech”.  Sadly, this is already starting to happen in local communities all over America.  And online, a number of social media companies have been making a renewed effort to censor conservative voices in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s surprise election victory last November.  They see how powerful the alternative media has become and they want to shut us up.

Unfortunately, I am seeing a lot of apathy among conservatives right now.  They seem to think that the battle is over because we got Donald Trump into the White House.  What they don’t understand is that the battle is just beginning.  We need people to stand up and fight like never before, and this is something that I talk about in my brand new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  If America does not change direction immediately, there isn’t going to be an America.

And actually that is going to be one of my major themes when I speak at Pastor Benjamin Faircloth’s church in Lavonia, Georgia later in August.  The “What’s Next Prophecy Conference” will be held on Saturday, August 19th and Sunday, August 20th, and it will also be available online for those that are not able to make it in person…

If you live anywhere near Lavonia, I hope that you will come and join us.  This is going to be one of my very few opportunities to travel out of state in the near future, because I am going to be spending almost all of my time traveling all over Idaho for my campaign.

You know, I have actually been criticized by certain Christians for moving into the world of politics.  They seem to believe that “ministry” can only be done in a “church”, and that therefore trying to take my message to a national platform in Washington D.C. must be a “mistake”.

But all I can tell them is that I must do what I feel like God is leading me to do.  And thankfully so many others out there have rallied to my cause and have donated to my campaign.  So far, the leading fundraiser in this race is an attorney from the Boise area named Dave Leroy, and in just four weeks I have already had far more donors than he did during the entire second quarter.  But because he is getting those big $1000 and $2000 checks and I am raising money $10 and $20 at a time, I have a gap to make up.

If you believe in what I am trying to do, I would like to ask for your help.  I am the most conservative candidate in this race by a very wide margin, and it is absolutely imperative that we fill this open seat with a very strong conservative that will relentlessly fight for liberty and freedom.

Most people don’t understand that you do not just vote at the ballot box.  The truth is that you also vote when you decide who to support financially.  So many Americans wouldn’t think twice about spending 20 bucks at a fast food place, but they will never even consider contributing that much toward the fight for the future of our nation.

Every generation of Americans has had to fight for liberty and freedom, and now it is our turn.  My family is putting so much on the line in this race, but there is no possible way that we will be successful without your help.  If you would like to contribute to this fight, you can do so right here or by using a contribution form on my website.  Thank you so much for standing with me, and if we all work together I believe that we will be able to accomplish truly great things…

Our Disneyland Economy

Disneyland is known as a place “where dreams come true” and where every story always has a happy ending.  But there is going to be no happy ending for the U.S. economy.  Wishful thinking has resulted in one of the greatest stock market rallies in history in recent months, but like all childhood fantasies, it won’t last.  The real economy continues to deteriorate, and we can see this even right outside of the gates of Disneyland.  Every night growing numbers of homeless people sleep on the pavement just steps away from “the happiest place on Earth”.  It can be fun to “play make believe” for a while, but eventually reality always catches up with us.

Without a doubt, the stock market has been on a tremendous run.  Since Donald Trump’s stunning election victory in November, the market has been setting record high after record high, and it is now up a total of 17 percent…

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its 23rd all time high of 2017 yesterday closing at 21,532.  There have been a total of 120 days where the markets have closed since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20th.  The ‘DOW’ has closed at all time highs 23 of those days for nearly 20% or one-fifth of the days the market has been open.  The market is up 9% since the inauguration. 

Since the election on November 8th the DOW has closed at record highs an amazing 40 times!   Nearly one-fourth or 24% of the 168 days the markets have closed have been record highs since the November 8th election.  The market is up 17% since the election!

If this surge was supported by hard economic data, that would be something to greatly celebrate, but that has not been the case at all.

Instead, stock prices have become completely disconnected from economic reality, and now we are facing one of the greatest stock bubbles of all time.  As Graham Summers has pointed out, stocks are now trading at price to sales ratios that we haven’t seen since the very height of the dotcom bubble…

Earnings, cash flow, and book value are all financial data points that can be massaged via a variety of gimmicks. As a result of this, valuing stocks based on Price to Earnings, Price to Cash Flow, and Price to Book Value can often lead to inaccurate valuations.

Sales on the other hand are all but impossible to gimmick. Either money came in the door, or it didn’t And, if a company is caught faking its sales numbers, someone is going to jail.

So the fact that stocks are now trading at a P/S ratio that matches the Tech Bubble (the single largest stock bubble in history) tells us that we’re truly trading at astronomical levels: levels associated with staggering levels of excess.

There is no possible way that this is sustainable, and just like before the 2008 crisis a whole host of experts are warning that disaster is imminent.  One of them is John Mauldin…

Looking with fresh eyes at the economic numbers and central bankers’ statements convinced me that we will soon be in deep trouble. I now feel that it’s highly likely we will face a major financial crisis, if not later this year, then by the end of 2018 at the latest. Just a few months ago, I thought we could avoid a crisis and muddle through. Now I think we’re past that point. The key decision-makers have (1) done nothing, (2) done the wrong thing, or (3) done the right thing too late.

Having realized this, I’m adjusting my research efforts. I believe a major crisis is coming. The questions now are, how severe will it be, and how will we get through it?

And even though the stock market has been surging deeper and deeper into bubble territory in recent months, the middle class has continued to shrink and poverty has continued to grow all over the country.  In fact, because so many homeless people have been sleeping at bus shelters across from Disneyland lately authorities decided to completely remove the benches that they had been sleeping on…

The vanishing benches were Anaheim’s response to complaints about the homeless population around Disneyland. Public work crews removed 20 benches from bus shelters after callers alerted City Hall to reports of vagrants drinking, defecating or smoking pot in the neighborhood near the amusement park’s entrance, officials said.

The situation is part of a larger struggle by Orange County to deal with a rising homeless population. A survey last year placed the number of those without shelter at 15,300 people, compared with 12,700 two years earlier.

But simply removing benches will not make the problem go away.

Homelessness has been growing so rapidly in Los Angeles that the the L.A. City Council actually asked Governor Jerry Brown to formally declare a state of emergency.

And in New York City, street homelessness is up 39 percent over the past year.

This is where the real economy is heading, but a rising stock market makes for much happier headlines.

Many major cities around the nation are passing laws to essentially make it illegal to be homeless.  Forcing homeless people to go somewhere else may mask the problem for a while, but it certainly doesn’t do anything to solve it.  In my new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”, I talk about how real love is not just about loving those that are just like us.  Rather, real love is about caring for people no matter what they look like and no matter what they are going through.

Unfortunately, the economic suffering that we are seeing right now is just the beginning.

Just like in 2008, the major financial crisis that is coming is going to greatly accelerate our economic problems.  And just like last time, millions of people are going to lose their jobs, and millions of people are going to lose their homes.

Homelessness is already worse in many parts of the nation that it was during the depths of the last recession, and what we are going to see during the next economic downturn is going to be absolutely unprecedented.

So don’t look down on those that need a helping hand, because in the not too distant future you may find yourself needing some help.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Michael Snyder’s New Book Entitled ‘Living A Life That Really Matters’ Has Just Been Released

Have you ever reached a point in life where things have gotten so bad that it seems impossible to ever turn things around?  In my new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”, I begin by sharing such a point in my own life about 20 years ago.  If someone would have told me at the time what my life would be like today, I would have laughed at them.  But God took the broken pieces of my life and turned them into a beautiful thing, and He can do the exact same thing for anyone else.

This is the most personal book that I have written, and it is quite a departure from my normal work.  If you follow my work on a regular basis, than you know that I like to write about politics, economics and the hard issues of our day in a way that the average person on the street can understand.  And I heavily document the points I make with facts, figures and statistics, and there are still lots of facts, figures and statistics in my new book.

But in this new book I hope to inspire people to reach for something more.  Instead of focusing so much on the problems, this book is absolutely packed with solutions.  In many ways, it is patterned after the Book of Proverbs.  There are literally hundreds of secrets that I have learned over the course of my 47 years embedded throughout the chapters of this book, and I wish that someone had shared all of these secrets with me when I was a young man.

So it is not a book that you will want to speed through.  There are literally life changing truths on every single page, and you may find yourself going back over some portions of the book time and time again.

This book is not written on a theoretical level.  I know that the secrets contained in this book work, because they have absolutely revolutionized my life.  But of course I didn’t invent these secrets.  Ultimately, every bit of wisdom that any of us have been given comes from the One that created us all.  Without God nothing is possible, but with Him all things are possible.

As I was writing this book, I often struggled to find the words to describe what it was about.  Sometimes my wife would even look at me with a puzzled look when I tried to explain it to her.  It is not a “self-help book” that will help you to become wealthy, famous or successful.  Neither is it an “inspirational” book that will give you warm fuzzies.  Rather, it is a book that is absolutely packed with life lessons that nobody else seems to want to talk about.  The following is the description of the book that is on Amazon…

Deep inside all of us is a yearning to live a life that is filled with meaning and purpose. We all want to feel good about our lives, and we all want something to look forward to when we get out of bed in the morning. As little children we were filled with hopes and dreams for the future, but for so many of us those dreams have long since faded. Instead, many of us drag ourselves through life feeling down, depressed and defeated. In this book Michael Snyder is going to share with you what he has learned about living an overflowing life. We were designed to love, to laugh, to discover, to create and to live lives that are filled with passion. Unfortunately, so many of us have bought into lies that have enabled the enemy to steal all of that from us. No matter how bad things may seem right now, God can take the broken pieces of your life and turn them into a beautiful thing. But you have got to be willing to break your old patterns and start doing things that will produce good fruit in your life. This book will help you to do that.

In order for our lives to function the way that they should, God must be at the center of our lives.  And He has given us instructions for how we are to live, but most of the population is completely disregarding those instructions.

Following His instructions will lead to life, love, blessing and peace, but so many people have been living another way for so long that they don’t even know that such a life is possible.

This book is going to be extremely controversial, and it is going to deeply challenge you as you read it.  But for those that embrace what I am sharing, it will be a completely life-changing experience.  In fact, I believe that this book is going to change more lives than anything else I have ever written.

After you have read the book, I hope that many of you will write to me and share how it has affected you.  Writing this book was an emotional experience for me, and I believe that it will help a lot of you wrestle with things that you have been dealing with for a very long time.

Near the end of the book I also share about why I am running for Congress, although in the future I hope to do an entire book about why we desperately need to try to get this nation to change course.

But this book is primarily about matters of the heart.  Most people I encounter in life are not living victorious lives.  Instead, most people out there seem to have had the life completely sucked out of them by all of the pain, heartache and trials that they have been through.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

You can live an overflowing life, and the greatest chapters of your life can still be ahead of you.

But if you keep falling into the same patterns that you have been following all along, you will keep getting the exact same results.

God has a better plan for you, and it starts with doing things His way.

So I very, very much encourage you to get my new book and to read it all the way through.  If you embrace what I share in this book and apply these principles to your own life, they will turn your life completely upside down.

Now that the book is finally out, you can find it in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  It will also be available from many other online retailers, but if you want to get it right away Amazon will be the place to go.

No matter what you have been through, God still has a plan for you.  And if He can turn my life completely around and use me to touch millions of people all over the world, then He can do it for anyone.

Thank you again for being such faithful readers.  Without all of you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do, and I can’t wait to hear what you all think of this new book…

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