1.  There is a national 'Gas-Out' scheduled for May 15th, asking American consumers to NOT purchase gasoline.  The 'theory' is that by creating a gas surplus, the cost will drop.  Organizers claim that a similar 1997 effort resulted in a next day decrease of 30 cents per gallon, although their 'data' has never been substantiated, and critics point out that it does not matter if you alter your purchasing habits, when the exact total consumption is merely spread over different days! 
     If you really want to bring the demand down, and increase supply, you must alter your consumption habits, ie., carpool, use public transportation, drive more gasoline economical vehicles, shorten and smarten trip-routes, keep vehicles properly maintained, stay home and 'snuggle,' etc.

2.  It is no longer safe to feed your pets or children!  Melamine, the same substance used as a stiffening agent in the manufacture of shelving products, has been found in hundreds of brands of pet foods, as well as pigs, cows, poultry and fish.  The only upside seems to be that it may serve as a substitue for Viagra! 

3.  There is currently an investigation of 'dollar discount stores' - of all national brand company names - for substandard ingredients for items such as Crest, Colgate and other brand name toothpastes, as well as food products, such as cake mixes, cereals, etc.  It seems that when these products are manufactured and/or imported from elsewhere, essential ingredients are not up to U.S. standards, and the results may be devastating - or deadly!  My Mother always said, "Be careful what you eat!"