Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In this issue:
PM’s newest ebook “How to Beat the Bureaucrats”-excerpt below
4 Things not to buy at Costco
TSA Funnies
New PayPal Alternatives
160+FREE Preparedness files-for subscribers-only
New download site address for PM II
"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." - Thomas Jefferson,
Funny TSA photos posted & more!
Like many, the Poor Man got full of turkey & stuffing. For the rest of the week we’ll live on leftovers plus I made a generous pot of chili using our own tomatoes and deer meat…yummy and goes great with shredded cheddar cheese and some leftover biscuits!
The annual spending race has kicked off & retailers are sure hoping you keep the Black Friday tradition alive by purchasing more stuff that you don’t need or that will be obsolete before the next holiday season. It would appear the recession is now officially over with.
The Poor Man has completed another ebook titled How to Screw the Bureaucrats: Terrorcrats Gone Wild. In my research it was scary to learn how many citizens are tired of the chicanery posed by bureaucrats at every level of government and how much it cost this nation. As many have suggested that unions have lost their way over the years, I would argue most bureaucrats have lost their way too and become agents of an out of control government quagmire which burden our system and greatly stunts job growth.
Bureaucratic bungling & BS cost this country billions
And it’s time to put an end to it.
This ebook will cover some of the stats as well as legitimate ways of defeating them and what to avoid (knowing this will keep you out of jail) plus I wind it up with a collection of whimsical revenge stunts you can use to inflict punishment.
I placed a test ad on my eBay storefront on turkey day…after the test we’ll place it on our download site for easy access. A complete description & PayPal link now appears on our site. http://poormansurvival.com/BeatBureaucrats.aspx
It’s available now as an emailed PDF to save shipping costs. I’m going to try an experiment by offering it on a strictly donation basis and will offer a link to a huge library of self sufficiency how to materials as a bonus. We’ll see how it goes…if you’d like a copy now, send a donation using your PayPal account and our email address of poormansurvivor@yahoo.com
America has been compromised by Washington…
But does anyone care or remember?
Most folks would agree that the Poor Man practically gives his how-to library away compared to others on the net or eBay selling similar materials…we’re sure not getting rich doing it and if I could afford to, I’d give everything away so you can prepare for the unpredictable and volatile future. Scroll down to get the link to nearly 180 free survival reports and how to order our new ebook…this is for subscribers only and the link will not appear on our public blog sites.
Finally, the TSA continues to amaze and anger much of the public and as we have stated, these stroke n gropes are a violation of your civil rights. Private citizens have caught more terrorists than the government…it’s like our gun laws. They’ve not prevented bad guys from getting guns, only honest citizens (who have the most to fear and lose to the government). The TSA crap is just another step toward creating an atmosphere of obedience among the serfs (you & I)…the march continues to total dominance.
From Jeffrey Goldberg writing for The Atlantic…
But come November 24th, here’s an idea you might try to make the day extra-special. It’s a one-word idea: Kilts.
Think about it — if you’re a male, and you want to bollix-up the nonsensical airport security-industrial complex, one way to do so would be to wear a kilt. If nothing else, this will cause TSA employees to throw up their hands in disgust. If you want to go the extra extra mile, I suggest commando-style kilt-wearing. While it is probably illegal to fly without pants, I can’t imagine that it’s illegal to fly without underpants.
So put on a kilt, and strike a blow against stupidity!
I can’t help but wonder if this entire TSA crap is less about security, but rather the airport security devices sold by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. Well, as our rights are diminished in the name of security, here’s a chuckle for you-cute country song on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a8jGVXOMsw
In the past few months we’ve written about new laws that have gone into effect which curtail your freedoms such as the new passport rules, costs and restrictions on law abiding citizens, the new law forbidding you to mail tobacco to soldiers, etc. Slowly but surely we’re all cooking. It’s all about conditioning the sheep-most terrorists caught are on the way here, caught by civilians…not innocent Americans going about their business. Folks, did stringent gun control laws stop bad guys from getting guns -NO!
Just like most events in this country, it’s about the money. Corporate America sells the security devices so of course they push for this crap.
Go to the Group site to see some humorous TSA photos I placed.
Due to my holiday schedule…this is a short bulletin for the week!
The people are the masters of both Congress and the courts, not to
overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who would pervert it!
-- Abraham Lincoln
4 Things Not to Buy at Costco
Most of us are notoriously poor at assessing a true bargain, says C.W. Park, professor of marketing at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and editor of The Journal of Consumer Psychology. Seduced by the prospect of saving money, we give in to impulse buys. Eventually, we regret the purchase or throw much of a past-its-prime product away. It's called the Costco Effect, and it's actually part of the store's incredibly successful retail strategy. But the effect on your wallet is that you spent more than you would have if you'd never seen that "bargain.”
The Poor Man likes their meat dept., good pharmacy and tires are usually a good deal and it’s the only place I can find the 5lb or larger bags of baking soda which we use for so many things. Get the rest at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111341/things-not-to-buy-at-costco
Updated government grant resources
To view the Grants.gov Fall 2010 Newsletter please click here:
http://www.grants.gov//help/newsletter.jsp
More, Extreme Weapons Resource Site
http://www.weaponscombat.com/
From Pig Book 2010 from the Citizens Against Government Waste. It's clear that Congress could save billions by a one to five-year hiatus on spending. The country would not collapse. Yes, some people might lose jobs. Others would gain. Would Mississippi collapse without the $10 million for the Sustainable Energy Research Center? Or, would or country go down without ten C-17 aircraft that cost $2.5 billion?
http://www.cagw.org/reports/pig-book/2010/
eBay Exec Takes Social Commerce Ideas and Launches Yardsellr
A former eBay executive thinks he can bring the excitement of
eBay's early days to Facebook through his startup, Yardsellr. We
chatted with Danny Leffel to learn more about his ideas on social
commerce, Facebook and more.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m11/i24/s03
FBI Wants Expanded Internet Wiretapping Capabilities
The FBI is lobbying tech companies including Google and Facebook to win support for an Obama administration proposal to expand its Internet wiretapping capabilities, according to a report in the New York Times. The administration is urging Congress to revise the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), claiming that law enforcement needs to keep pace with technological changes. The original law, passed in 1994, compels telecommunications and broadband companies to make their services wiretap-ready.
Collection Of FREE Internet Business
& Marketing Gifts That You Can
Start Profiting From Today!"
The Poor Man hasn’t had time to check ‘em all out but worth a ‘look see’
http://seorevengetactics.com/
Will a Food Bubble Be the Next Phase of Financial Chaos?
Is a "food bubble" the next financial crisis on the horizon? Some of the same sinister forces that brought down stocks and housing seem to be aligning to push the price of food products into the danger zone for nations and consumers around the globe.
Food prices soared 21% in Egypt and 17% in India last year. The UK has experienced a 22% increase in the past three years. Wheat and corn prices have gone up 57% over the past six months, with sugar rising 55% and rice not far behind at 45%. Food riots in Mozambique recently killed twelve people. Every nation will be affected by steep increases in these fundamental dietary necessities of the world's food supply and we’ve seen fuel and food jump overnight in the US…bet you a Big Mac it continues!
Another Tear Gas substitute…good on nasty attack dogs.
Formaldehyde-97% solution. Place in a spray or aerosol dispenser and fire away. Will temporarily blind the attacker.
Extreme Survival Guide For The Modern World!
One stop online resource for learning extreme survival skills.
Forget sissy government issued “emergency preparedness” leaflets written for the weak and vulnerable.
Take ownership of your and your families survival in an emergency or disaster, don’t rely on “authorities” or other civil defense type organizations – Read our survival guides NOW.
http://www.weaponscombat.com/
New, Viable alternatives to PayPal Debut
Over the years we’ve all heard horror stories about losing money due some of its practices and with the IRS now snooping on those who make more than $20K or more than 200 annual transactions, it might be time to consider other tools to send and receive money.
Popmoney.com which launched last year and ZashPay.com work like PayPal for payments in that you only need the recipients email address or mobile phone number. If you have a PayPal account, you must first fund it via a bank account or credit card while the above services transfer money directly from your bank account directly to the person you are paying. Both services are offshoots of CashEdge and Fizerv respectively. Sender and receiver must hold accounts on these services.
More and more banks are now offering the above services in order to eliminate checks and some banks will set up these accounts automatically for you. Each require a verification process which takes about 48 hours. ZashPay charges 75 cents to and cash up to $500.
Two more services worth looking at include AlertPay and Obopay, each of which work essentially like PayPal and can be used on mobile services as well. AlertPay accepts money orders and lets you send money to people in 190 countries.
Check them out but exercise normal prudence and caution.
<<<>>>
Cherry Stuffed Pork Chops-thanks Tina for this after holiday entre idea!
Get some nice porch chops about ¾ or 1” thick & butterfly them
Tenderize them if desired (beat them silly with a mallet)
Stuff with dried cherries or other fruit and nuts if desired
Wrap with bacom
Bake at 350 - about 10 minutes before they’re done…
Coat with a light brown sugar topping and bake another 10 minutes
The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.
Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — and that’s before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.
Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time — in pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.
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The signs of deflation are around us:
Consumer Prices Are Flat. U.S. consumer inflation decelerated in October, according to the Labor Department. The consumer price index increased 0.2% in October. And the core CPI, excluding food and energy costs, was flat for the third straight month. In the past year, the core CPI rate is up 0.6%, the slowest pace on record.
Housing Slump Is Getting Worse. Housing starts plunged 11.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 519,000 from 588,000 in September. That was far worse than the forecast of 598,000. And in October, Clear Capital declared they were seeing the quickest decline in home values since mid-2009, with prices dropping 6% over September and October. Looking ahead, the picture remains grim: Standard & Poor's predicts that home prices will fall another 7% to 10% through 2011.
So it's understandable that Americans think prices will remain flat and potentially go lower. The problem is our "deflation" is localized. Across the world, especially in emerging markets, prices are going higher.
Here are some recent gold facts from the World Gold Council ...
Total gold demand in the third quarter of 2010 was 922 tonnes, an increase of 12% from the same period a year ago. In U.S. dollar value terms, demand grew 43% to $36.4 billion over the same period.
Demand for gold jewelry increased by 8% from third quarter of last year, with four of the best performing markets — India, China, Russia and Turkey — accounting for 63% of global demand.
The total value of net retail investments during the quarter was a record $9.6 billion, representing a 60% increase from the year-earlier quarter. The largest contribution to total demand growth came from bar hoarding, which increased 44% from the previous year.
Gold jewelry demand is likely to exceed that of 2009 due to an anticipated recovery in India, the most significant gold jewelry market, and continuing strength in China.
Bottom line: Americans continue to be lulled into thinking everything is hunky dory!
More TSA horror stories emerge
But other stories did emerge over the weekend that appear factual -- and that are indeed quite cringe-worthy. One retired special-education teacher on his way to a wedding in Florida had an experience with that he, or anyone who hears about it, likely won't soon forget. A bladder cancer survivor, Thomas Sawyer now wears a wears a urostomy bag, which collects his urine through an opening in his stomach. When the bag was fondled by a TSA agent after the bag set off alarms in the airport's scanner, urine spilled all over Sawyer's clothes.
Post holiday stories report how few delays there were at airports as the protest fizzled. Did mainstream media miss the point again? There is still a significant portion of Americans who are tired of seeing their rights go up in smoke…every day another right is eroded and the sheep won’t bleat.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101122/ts_yblog_thelookout/more-tsa-horror-stories-emerge-while-agency-ponders-what-to-do
“The Internet becomes the tactical nuke of the digital age,”Doug Kass told CNBC. “I believe cybercrime is going to explode exponentially next year as the web is invaded by hackers.”---Commenting on the likelihood of attack on NYSE
A few facts about how bureaucrats screw things up in the US:
An excerpt from out new ebook How to Beat the Bureaucrat
In 1910, the United States had a population of 92 million; of that population, 950,000 were government employees (all levels). This yielded just over 1 percent of the total, or 1 government employee per 97 people.
In 2010, the United States has a population of 308 million; of that population, 21.3 million are government employees (all levels). This yields 6.9 percent of the total, or 1 government employee per 14 people.
In the space of one single century, therefore, the number of government employees in relation to the population has increased by 693 percent.
And, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' figures for 2009, the average government salary is $123,000 per year, which means: 21.3 million bureaucrats are costing this country a whopping $2.6 trillion annually.
And, considering that the entire GDP for 2010 will be approximately $13.3 trillion, this further means: Government employees are being "employed" to the tune of nearly 20 percent of what the entire country will produce this year.
In 1910, by comparison, the GDP was $33.4 billion and the average government salary was $750 per year -- so, 950,000 workers at that time cost us $713 million, or 2.1 percent of that year's GDP.
Now, just for fun, let's apply that 2.1 percent rate to our current GDP, yielding $279 billion, which we can refer to as the amount of money truly needed to pay the bureaucrats to run the country properly. Which, actually, is being pretty charitable, as even in 1910 we had interventionist bureaucrats paid to do little more than hamper trade and restrict the functioning of the free market.
Since we are spending $2.6 trillion instead, however, that means we still pay $2.3 trillion more on government salaries than legitimate operations for our population would dictate.
Yes, government "sucks" alright; it is sucking the monetary lifeblood right out of the country.
Can you imagine what that $2.3 trillion yearly -- itself over 17 percent of our GDP -- could do to the United States' poverty cycle if we fired all those extra bureaucrats and left that money in private hands, to be saved and invested into our economy?
No, we hand it over to incompetent, lazy and overpaid government workers instead -- and then wonder why our freedoms and economic growth are in the toilet.
And that's just salaries, people. When you further consider what it is that most of those bureaucrats are doing -- i.e., whiling away their hours constructing mountains of stupid, stifling, subversive and self-defeating regulatory silliness -- it's pretty clear that those wasted dollars have a negative impact far beyond their actual value, for such controls obliterate the producers' abilities to produce even more. Source: Christian Science Monitor
Two-thirds of Americans say they are willing to give up their rights for added security via TSA pat downs. Where are our Founding Fathers when you need them? As the Poor Man’s mom always said…the masses are asses & they prove it every day.
PARTING SHOTS-Do Stringent Gov’t BS Rules make you feel safe?
The new TSA pat down rules, the new passport rules, gun laws, the new laws preventing tobacco sales to servicemen, etc. are not about safety, they are about control and conditioning.
Post 911 laws and the Patriot Act have only infringed on our rights, they have not helped national security but they help the government train Americans to operate as told and we’re paying for this tyranny with our tax dollars. Do you see the irony? Is it any wonder most high school graduates no nothing about the Bill of Rights or the Constitution?
TSA passenger screenings have resulted in tons of confiscations of items which we now have to pay to get rid of. Tens of thousands of dangerous nail clippers, bottles of shampoo and the like - do you feel any safer?
Think about it, for the most part it is private citizens who catch the bad guys, not the government, yet, we’re treated like dependent children. Government propaganda would have us believe that due to gun laws and background checks that the bad guys no longer have a clue about where to buy guns. If you believe that, I have some swamp land I’d like to sell you.
Recently I mentioned that Microsoft, my web host, recently abandoned its blogging program and migrated it to Wordpress. We were under the impression that that wouldn’t take place until after Jan 2011-but they did it now and you can no longer access the files of Poor Man II there…however, you can now use this link to access these 11 preparedness files. Must be subscriber to access.
The media is reporting things are looking rosier on the economic front as folks are already spending more money for the holidays. Kind of perplexing due to the fact there has been no appreciable jump in the jobs picture and what little improvement has occurred is most likely due to temporary holiday hiring!
Happy spending!
The hidden bonus resource for our readers only…more than 160 downloadable preparedness files-FREE! Must be subscriber to access.
That’s it for the short week - hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday.
The stuffed Poor Man…your new head of Surveillance Information Network (SIN) - watching out for the undesirables in your life!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
A Shallow Planet Production
Our Mission: To protect and promote your freedom, civil rights, financial well being and overall self reliance in these turbulent times.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Don't Touch my Junk-Muslim Women
Bruce’s Poor Man Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Get your current issue of Homeland Security Today
2. I want to be a consumer when I grow up
3. Touch my junk, will Muslim women submit to pat downs-WARNING: Immature Subject Matter from Reason Magazine
4. The ‘sissy’ generation-Daily Crux interview excerpt
5. Make a home made slingshot
6. Something(s) are very wrong in America=creating its destruction
It might be more worthwhile if we stopped wringing our hands and started ringing our congressmen. ~Author Unknown
Join the Resistance-Support American Workers, Dump New TSA Pat Down Rules
It will come as no surprise to readers but even Glen Beck did a piece about how the Communists have taken over the US. Positive feedback on last week’s issue came in within the hour of its posting!
As outsourcing decimates American industry, there are a few shining lights among executives and entrepreneurs keeping jobs here in the home front and Reader’s Digest (Dec/Jan ’10) issue included an inspiring story about New York fashion designer, Anna Sui, who is fighting to keep her collections made in the United States.
Poll Shows More Want Job Stimulus before Deficit Cuts
“More voters express support for spending that spurs job creation than for efforts to cut the deficit, according to a poll released today.” (Bloomberg)
Public miseducation is succeeding.
It Happened in ‘free’ America…storm of protests coming from everywhere
WASHINGTON -- After weeks of public outcry and lawsuit threats, the administration bowed to demands Monday and announced that airport full-body scans will now include an array of free outpatient diagnostic services and microbrew selections. TSA Administrator John Pistole said the concession will "retool airport scanners for quick radiology, CAT scans, MRIs, bone densitometry, ultrasounds, and more for weary travelers."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said travelers can choose "long or short consultations" with the attending physicians. Travelers can also opt out of consultations "and just take their free scans and beer into secure waiting areas."
For a clever look at what TSA stands for go to Reason’s site-WARNING: Immature Subject Matter
http://reason.com/blog/2010/11/19/reasontv-44-ways-to-say-tsa-wh
But seriously folks…
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has crossed the line. As if subjecting millions of Americans to X-rated x-ray scans and public groping sessions weren't bad enough, the agency now threatens $11,000 in fines against anyone refusing to submit to humiliation at the airport.
Oceanside, Calif., resident John Tyner found this out after he posted on YouTube a video of his degrading encounter with TSA screeners. Mr. Tyner's catchy phrase, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested," spread quickly, thanks to attention provided by the Drudge Report. TSA was not amused, and an official announced Monday that Mr. Tyner faces punishment for leaving the airport without submitting to the high-tech or low-tech molestation options.
The term is not used lightly. Under 18 U.S. Code Section 2244, " 'sexual contact' means the intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh or buttocks of any person with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade." It's no coincidence that TSA initiated sexual-contact pat-downs after fliers began to refuse the pornographic scanners. There can be no question that when threats of civil punishment are used to ensure compliance, those encounters with the TSA lose their status as a voluntary transaction. It's even more outrageous that these unnecessary searches are being conducted on children.
There's also no doubt that some rogue TSA agents seek self-gratification at the expense of passengers. In January, a TSA agent planted white powder in the bags of passengers, according to documents posted on the Smoking Gun website. Apparently, scaring members of the public into thinking they were being busted for smuggling drugs made for a good "joke." The new screening rules open yet more opportunities for the worst elements at TSA.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano insists that anyone who has a problem with the state of affairs simply shouldn't fly. Unelected bureaucrats like Ms. Napolitano - known across the blogosphere as Big Sister - have no business making decisions that touch upon such a fundamental right as the ability of innocent citizens to travel freely. In Ms. Napolitano's view, Americans wishing to visit family and friends across the country exercise a privilege granted by the government.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has avoided answering a question about whether hijab-wearing Muslim women would be given the same security X-rays – or full-body pat-downs – as other passengers.
When the Poor Man was growing up, ‘don’t touch my junk’ meant keeping your hands off my baseball card collection!
Join thousands of others in a petition demanding action against the intrusive airport screening procedures implemented by Janet Napolitano and send #HYPERLINK "http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=226969"a letter to Congress, President Obama and others telling them exactly what you think about the issue.
The American people have been gypped and lied to, we’ve been shortchanged by those in government who always promise a better tomorrow and delivery nothing…no energy independence, no solutions to illegal immigration, no fair tax system, no fiscal prudence, no one in jail from the Wall Street meltdown…not a damn thing from government. I want my money back!
Virtually everything today is in one way or another a potential danger to U.S. national security. There are foreign terrorists, of course. Beyond that authorities cite drug cartels, downturns in the economy, espionage, street gangs, counterfeit goods, right-wing militias, left-wing environmentalists and the multiple personalities of Mother Nature.
Source: Washington Times
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Over the 20th century, the federal government has assumed a vast and unprecedented set of powers. The human imperative is to fight those in power who wish to subvert natural law and freedom, something most US political leaders have forgotten in their pursuit of the nanny state.
--The Poor Man, Political Muckraker
This week’s useful resources!
Clear that hard drive
In 2003, students from MIT bought 158 used hard drives from eBay and other second hand sources. Credit cards numbers, financial information, data files, medical records, browsing histories, emails and more were all recovered from these disks, despite the fact that 60% of them were formatted before they were sold.
So, how do you make sure that your data is gone for good? You need to use a secure disk wipe utility. They used to be the preserve of government agencies, but now everyone can get a hold of software that will exceed or meet the Department of Defense standards for the secure deletion of data. Here’s how to do it with Darik’s Boot and Nuke, (DBAN).
1. First, make sure that all the data you want to keep is backed up and copied to another source, because once this process is complete, you will not be able to recover any data from your hard drive.
2. Download the free DBAN software from their website. It downloads as an ISO file
http://www.dban.org/download
3. For more on how to clear the drive, go to our friends at WorldStart at:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/darik's-boot-and-nuke
DIY Solar Hot Water Heater Plans-Free
http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/solar-hot-water-z10m0zgri.aspx?utm_content=11.17.10+DIY&utm_campaign=DIY&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
Woodcraft & Camping 100 year old classic about the ways of surviving in the woods by George Washington Sears aka: Nessmuk. Get a free PDF copy of it:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads/pdf/woodcraft-and-camping.pdf
Lanae Paaverud, the Social Networking Nanny, Wins Top Honors in Mom Business Competition
From among thousands of contestants, Lanae Paaverud, the Social Networking Nanny has been ranked #30 in StartupNation.com’s 2010 Leading Moms in Business competition, sponsored by Infusionsoft. The Poor Man wrote about her last year!
Get a free, printable gun target from Nat’l Shooting Foundation
http://nssf.org/targets/
RECIPE FOR HOME MADE RYE HARD TACK
1 c of water
½ c of vegetable oil
1-¼ tsp salt
½ tsp of honey
1 egg
½ c powdered milk
Blend all of the above…
Mix 1-1/3 c of rye flour, 1-¼ c of wheat flour, ¼ c of wheat germ, 1-½ c of soy flour and add to liquid. Knead well to make dough & roll out on floured board about the size of a pie crust. Cut into cracker size pieces & bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Make a Portable Candle Lamp-great for camping or emergencies…
Place a tea candle inside a baby food jar (yeah, clean the jar 1st).
Tea candles are cheap and sold at most dollar stores. There is enough room in the jar to store a couple of candles and packs of matches, use the lid to make a waterproof seal.
This is an old military trick we picked up years ago.
Good Emergency Weapon
Newer slingshots with wrist guards make a good, silent weapon and can be quite deadly and accurate (with practice) using marbles, ball bearings, etc. Always have an extra rubber sling on hand as well. You can pick these up rather cheaply at sporting goods stores and departments or online. Here are few sites I chose at random.
http://www.selfdefenseweapons.com/slingshot.htm
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/819659/make_an_amazing_slingshot_like_weapon_in_minutes/
The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade including floats and live animals from the Central Park Zoo began in 1924. Three years later, the first giant balloon character - one of my favorites, Felix the Cat.
For left over turkey recipes, go to:
www.AllRecipes.com
www.CooksRecipes.com
Just type in ‘turkey leftovers’ into the search box.
"Restraint of government is the true liberty and freedom of the people."
-- John P. Reid
Left wing activities…our weekly rant
Want to keep up with national security issues? All good little citizens should so check out this monthly online magazine-Homeland Security Today.
http://ipaperus.ipaperus.com/HomelandSecurityToday/October2010/
Socialists to tea party: we'll crack open your heads
Yes, those are American socialists and they are calling for revolution here in America. Glenn plays the disturbing audio of radical leftists who want to 'fight' Tea Party members, saying if they fail to open their minds, they'll just open their heads. Hear the audio played on radio today. ( Transcript, Insider Audio)
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/magazine/
More Communist Activity
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Revolutionary Communist Party USA has announced a "Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America," and members say they are planning for a "revolution" against capitalism, with violence if necessary.
The politicians have it easy. At the end of November, the unemployment insurance extension is set to expire. With the unemployment rate still hovering around ten percent, this means that millions of Americans will be without mortgage payments, groceries, and heat. They will be without Christmas presents, winter coats, and school supplies. Sure, maybe a job will pop up. Maybe from one of the hundreds of applications that they sent out, they will get a call back. They will keep hoping and applying, and maybe it will finally pay off. But undoubtedly, the rent will be due.
Graft, payola, bribery…that’s what Washington calls it but this is how business is accomplished in foreign countries. In America, we call them campaign contributions.
Parting Shots…What is wrong with government & why we need radical change!
I know a lot of people I speak with or who email me are fed up with government encroachments at every level. They do not know what to do. They feel powerless and not everyone wants to run for office in order to correct things. Recently, someone sent me a story about a jerk off city councilman who sent cops after some elementary school kids having their 2nd bake sale in a community park because they didn’t have a license. When approached by local media he was unapologetic explaining his need to give these kids an example in there is a ‘cost of doing business.’
From teachers suspending children for bringing an aspirin or plastic bread knife to cut their lunch, to an idiot city councilman trouncing an entrepreneurial spirit, this country has gotten itself into a zero tolerance mode or in reality, a zero common sense mode.
Friends, this is what is wrong government and this Nazi like attitude permeates every level of government from politicians to local building inspectors. We have to many people in power who have no common sense and we need to get rid of them and this alarming anti-citizen attitude.
Politicians have bankrupted this country, discourage business start ups and job creation and have violated the Constitution that it is no longer tolerable.
What's wrong with America today
Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that "something is wrong" with our country.
Television personalities like Glenn Beck are drawing incredible audiences as people try to determine how America came to possess the world's weakest major currency, a broken health care system, and a socialist-leaning president.
For an unvarnished take on "what's wrong with America," we sat down with Daily Crux Editor in Chief Brian Hunt. As you'll read in just a moment, we're facing three major problems that could lead to long-term disaster in the coming years. You'll also find we should take some serious advice from Jim Rogers... and Clint Eastwood.
The Daily Crux: Fox personality Glenn Beck has become wildly popular with his argument that "there is something wrong with America." What's your take on the situation?
Brian Hunt: Well, Glenn is right... There is something very wrong with America right now.
My belief is based on karma... on the idea that you reap what you sow.
We're sowing some bad stuff these days... We're generating a lot of bad karma. The bad news is that the government is behind most of it, and it will continue to make things worse. The good news is that you can take action to make sure you're protected.
Three of the major areas where we're headed down a dark path are: One, our crazy tax system and our perverse attitude toward success. Two, our food system, which is building weak and unhealthy people from the ground up. And three, a problem Clint Eastwood succinctly summed up in a recent interview, when he said America is living in a "sissy generation"... only he didn't use the word "sissy."
Crux: Let's start with taxes.
Hunt: As I said, the problem we have with taxes in the U.S. could be called our perverse attitude toward success. Read the rest at:
http://www.thedailycrux.com/reports/internal/20091109-CRX-Wrong-Report.asp
I still see a rough road ahead for many Americans as we're still a nation suffering from the consequences of addictive spending of money we've never had.
Let's look at some sobering statistics:
Nearly 2 million people have a negative equity of 5% or less in their homes
Another 1.5 million people have a negative equity of 5-10% in their homes
Over 9 million people have a negative equity of over 20% in their homes
Right now over 14 million Americans are upside down in their mortgages, and this doesn't include the figures of those who have already defaulted on their loans. And for each 5% fall in home prices, close to another 2 million borrowers drop below zero equity in their homes. With most Americans having the majority of their wealth tied up in their home purchase, they're in danger of losing everything.
With consumers making up 70% of the United States economy, the loss of this magnitude of wealth will severely hamper any recovery efforts. We will simply not have the money to spend to get us out of this mess. According to the Campbell Real Estate Timing Letter, "we're facing a no growth/low growth economy--and this means the U.S. jobless rate will go even higher in the next two to four coming quarters." With true unemployment in the double digits, how can we expect any kind of recovery?
The simple truth is-look around you. Do you like what you see in this country? The job of the government isn’t to make everything more difficult or more expensive, it is to serve.
Government stupidity & need for control vis a vis over regulation, is costing Americans thousands of jobs and compliance wastes countless hours of time.
Passive aggression no longer works; voting no longer works…you need to get active in exposing government corruption, needless red tape and more. Get your local media involved wherever possible in order to embarrass the jerk responsible for government nonsense.
The Poor Man got asked to appear on a mid-MI TV station as a commentator on high MI utility prices, in particular, water bills. Should be interesting. Just remember…
If people behaved like governments, you'd call the cops. ~Kelvin Throop
Have a happy Thanksgiving and despite my rants, know there is still plenty to be thankful about. There will be NO Thursday PMB issue!
That’s it for this week from your fed up Poor Man! Stay tuned for the next issue as we’ll be sharing some incredible preparedness resources and details of a new ebook we’re working on to fight the mindless bureaucrats who wreak havoc on citizens.
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Get your current issue of Homeland Security Today
2. I want to be a consumer when I grow up
3. Touch my junk, will Muslim women submit to pat downs-WARNING: Immature Subject Matter from Reason Magazine
4. The ‘sissy’ generation-Daily Crux interview excerpt
5. Make a home made slingshot
6. Something(s) are very wrong in America=creating its destruction
It might be more worthwhile if we stopped wringing our hands and started ringing our congressmen. ~Author Unknown
Join the Resistance-Support American Workers, Dump New TSA Pat Down Rules
It will come as no surprise to readers but even Glen Beck did a piece about how the Communists have taken over the US. Positive feedback on last week’s issue came in within the hour of its posting!
As outsourcing decimates American industry, there are a few shining lights among executives and entrepreneurs keeping jobs here in the home front and Reader’s Digest (Dec/Jan ’10) issue included an inspiring story about New York fashion designer, Anna Sui, who is fighting to keep her collections made in the United States.
Poll Shows More Want Job Stimulus before Deficit Cuts
“More voters express support for spending that spurs job creation than for efforts to cut the deficit, according to a poll released today.” (Bloomberg)
Public miseducation is succeeding.
It Happened in ‘free’ America…storm of protests coming from everywhere
WASHINGTON -- After weeks of public outcry and lawsuit threats, the administration bowed to demands Monday and announced that airport full-body scans will now include an array of free outpatient diagnostic services and microbrew selections. TSA Administrator John Pistole said the concession will "retool airport scanners for quick radiology, CAT scans, MRIs, bone densitometry, ultrasounds, and more for weary travelers."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said travelers can choose "long or short consultations" with the attending physicians. Travelers can also opt out of consultations "and just take their free scans and beer into secure waiting areas."
For a clever look at what TSA stands for go to Reason’s site-WARNING: Immature Subject Matter
http://reason.com/blog/2010/11/19/reasontv-44-ways-to-say-tsa-wh
But seriously folks…
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has crossed the line. As if subjecting millions of Americans to X-rated x-ray scans and public groping sessions weren't bad enough, the agency now threatens $11,000 in fines against anyone refusing to submit to humiliation at the airport.
Oceanside, Calif., resident John Tyner found this out after he posted on YouTube a video of his degrading encounter with TSA screeners. Mr. Tyner's catchy phrase, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested," spread quickly, thanks to attention provided by the Drudge Report. TSA was not amused, and an official announced Monday that Mr. Tyner faces punishment for leaving the airport without submitting to the high-tech or low-tech molestation options.
The term is not used lightly. Under 18 U.S. Code Section 2244, " 'sexual contact' means the intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh or buttocks of any person with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade." It's no coincidence that TSA initiated sexual-contact pat-downs after fliers began to refuse the pornographic scanners. There can be no question that when threats of civil punishment are used to ensure compliance, those encounters with the TSA lose their status as a voluntary transaction. It's even more outrageous that these unnecessary searches are being conducted on children.
There's also no doubt that some rogue TSA agents seek self-gratification at the expense of passengers. In January, a TSA agent planted white powder in the bags of passengers, according to documents posted on the Smoking Gun website. Apparently, scaring members of the public into thinking they were being busted for smuggling drugs made for a good "joke." The new screening rules open yet more opportunities for the worst elements at TSA.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano insists that anyone who has a problem with the state of affairs simply shouldn't fly. Unelected bureaucrats like Ms. Napolitano - known across the blogosphere as Big Sister - have no business making decisions that touch upon such a fundamental right as the ability of innocent citizens to travel freely. In Ms. Napolitano's view, Americans wishing to visit family and friends across the country exercise a privilege granted by the government.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has avoided answering a question about whether hijab-wearing Muslim women would be given the same security X-rays – or full-body pat-downs – as other passengers.
When the Poor Man was growing up, ‘don’t touch my junk’ meant keeping your hands off my baseball card collection!
Join thousands of others in a petition demanding action against the intrusive airport screening procedures implemented by Janet Napolitano and send #HYPERLINK "http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=226969"a letter to Congress, President Obama and others telling them exactly what you think about the issue.
The American people have been gypped and lied to, we’ve been shortchanged by those in government who always promise a better tomorrow and delivery nothing…no energy independence, no solutions to illegal immigration, no fair tax system, no fiscal prudence, no one in jail from the Wall Street meltdown…not a damn thing from government. I want my money back!
Virtually everything today is in one way or another a potential danger to U.S. national security. There are foreign terrorists, of course. Beyond that authorities cite drug cartels, downturns in the economy, espionage, street gangs, counterfeit goods, right-wing militias, left-wing environmentalists and the multiple personalities of Mother Nature.
Source: Washington Times
>>><<<
Over the 20th century, the federal government has assumed a vast and unprecedented set of powers. The human imperative is to fight those in power who wish to subvert natural law and freedom, something most US political leaders have forgotten in their pursuit of the nanny state.
--The Poor Man, Political Muckraker
This week’s useful resources!
Clear that hard drive
In 2003, students from MIT bought 158 used hard drives from eBay and other second hand sources. Credit cards numbers, financial information, data files, medical records, browsing histories, emails and more were all recovered from these disks, despite the fact that 60% of them were formatted before they were sold.
So, how do you make sure that your data is gone for good? You need to use a secure disk wipe utility. They used to be the preserve of government agencies, but now everyone can get a hold of software that will exceed or meet the Department of Defense standards for the secure deletion of data. Here’s how to do it with Darik’s Boot and Nuke, (DBAN).
1. First, make sure that all the data you want to keep is backed up and copied to another source, because once this process is complete, you will not be able to recover any data from your hard drive.
2. Download the free DBAN software from their website. It downloads as an ISO file
http://www.dban.org/download
3. For more on how to clear the drive, go to our friends at WorldStart at:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/darik's-boot-and-nuke
DIY Solar Hot Water Heater Plans-Free
http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/solar-hot-water-z10m0zgri.aspx?utm_content=11.17.10+DIY&utm_campaign=DIY&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
Woodcraft & Camping 100 year old classic about the ways of surviving in the woods by George Washington Sears aka: Nessmuk. Get a free PDF copy of it:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads/pdf/woodcraft-and-camping.pdf
Lanae Paaverud, the Social Networking Nanny, Wins Top Honors in Mom Business Competition
From among thousands of contestants, Lanae Paaverud, the Social Networking Nanny has been ranked #30 in StartupNation.com’s 2010 Leading Moms in Business competition, sponsored by Infusionsoft. The Poor Man wrote about her last year!
Get a free, printable gun target from Nat’l Shooting Foundation
http://nssf.org/targets/
RECIPE FOR HOME MADE RYE HARD TACK
1 c of water
½ c of vegetable oil
1-¼ tsp salt
½ tsp of honey
1 egg
½ c powdered milk
Blend all of the above…
Mix 1-1/3 c of rye flour, 1-¼ c of wheat flour, ¼ c of wheat germ, 1-½ c of soy flour and add to liquid. Knead well to make dough & roll out on floured board about the size of a pie crust. Cut into cracker size pieces & bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Make a Portable Candle Lamp-great for camping or emergencies…
Place a tea candle inside a baby food jar (yeah, clean the jar 1st).
Tea candles are cheap and sold at most dollar stores. There is enough room in the jar to store a couple of candles and packs of matches, use the lid to make a waterproof seal.
This is an old military trick we picked up years ago.
Good Emergency Weapon
Newer slingshots with wrist guards make a good, silent weapon and can be quite deadly and accurate (with practice) using marbles, ball bearings, etc. Always have an extra rubber sling on hand as well. You can pick these up rather cheaply at sporting goods stores and departments or online. Here are few sites I chose at random.
http://www.selfdefenseweapons.com/slingshot.htm
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/819659/make_an_amazing_slingshot_like_weapon_in_minutes/
The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade including floats and live animals from the Central Park Zoo began in 1924. Three years later, the first giant balloon character - one of my favorites, Felix the Cat.
For left over turkey recipes, go to:
www.AllRecipes.com
www.CooksRecipes.com
Just type in ‘turkey leftovers’ into the search box.
"Restraint of government is the true liberty and freedom of the people."
-- John P. Reid
Left wing activities…our weekly rant
Want to keep up with national security issues? All good little citizens should so check out this monthly online magazine-Homeland Security Today.
http://ipaperus.ipaperus.com/HomelandSecurityToday/October2010/
Socialists to tea party: we'll crack open your heads
Yes, those are American socialists and they are calling for revolution here in America. Glenn plays the disturbing audio of radical leftists who want to 'fight' Tea Party members, saying if they fail to open their minds, they'll just open their heads. Hear the audio played on radio today. ( Transcript, Insider Audio)
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/magazine/
More Communist Activity
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Revolutionary Communist Party USA has announced a "Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America," and members say they are planning for a "revolution" against capitalism, with violence if necessary.
The politicians have it easy. At the end of November, the unemployment insurance extension is set to expire. With the unemployment rate still hovering around ten percent, this means that millions of Americans will be without mortgage payments, groceries, and heat. They will be without Christmas presents, winter coats, and school supplies. Sure, maybe a job will pop up. Maybe from one of the hundreds of applications that they sent out, they will get a call back. They will keep hoping and applying, and maybe it will finally pay off. But undoubtedly, the rent will be due.
Graft, payola, bribery…that’s what Washington calls it but this is how business is accomplished in foreign countries. In America, we call them campaign contributions.
Parting Shots…What is wrong with government & why we need radical change!
I know a lot of people I speak with or who email me are fed up with government encroachments at every level. They do not know what to do. They feel powerless and not everyone wants to run for office in order to correct things. Recently, someone sent me a story about a jerk off city councilman who sent cops after some elementary school kids having their 2nd bake sale in a community park because they didn’t have a license. When approached by local media he was unapologetic explaining his need to give these kids an example in there is a ‘cost of doing business.’
From teachers suspending children for bringing an aspirin or plastic bread knife to cut their lunch, to an idiot city councilman trouncing an entrepreneurial spirit, this country has gotten itself into a zero tolerance mode or in reality, a zero common sense mode.
Friends, this is what is wrong government and this Nazi like attitude permeates every level of government from politicians to local building inspectors. We have to many people in power who have no common sense and we need to get rid of them and this alarming anti-citizen attitude.
Politicians have bankrupted this country, discourage business start ups and job creation and have violated the Constitution that it is no longer tolerable.
What's wrong with America today
Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that "something is wrong" with our country.
Television personalities like Glenn Beck are drawing incredible audiences as people try to determine how America came to possess the world's weakest major currency, a broken health care system, and a socialist-leaning president.
For an unvarnished take on "what's wrong with America," we sat down with Daily Crux Editor in Chief Brian Hunt. As you'll read in just a moment, we're facing three major problems that could lead to long-term disaster in the coming years. You'll also find we should take some serious advice from Jim Rogers... and Clint Eastwood.
The Daily Crux: Fox personality Glenn Beck has become wildly popular with his argument that "there is something wrong with America." What's your take on the situation?
Brian Hunt: Well, Glenn is right... There is something very wrong with America right now.
My belief is based on karma... on the idea that you reap what you sow.
We're sowing some bad stuff these days... We're generating a lot of bad karma. The bad news is that the government is behind most of it, and it will continue to make things worse. The good news is that you can take action to make sure you're protected.
Three of the major areas where we're headed down a dark path are: One, our crazy tax system and our perverse attitude toward success. Two, our food system, which is building weak and unhealthy people from the ground up. And three, a problem Clint Eastwood succinctly summed up in a recent interview, when he said America is living in a "sissy generation"... only he didn't use the word "sissy."
Crux: Let's start with taxes.
Hunt: As I said, the problem we have with taxes in the U.S. could be called our perverse attitude toward success. Read the rest at:
http://www.thedailycrux.com/reports/internal/20091109-CRX-Wrong-Report.asp
I still see a rough road ahead for many Americans as we're still a nation suffering from the consequences of addictive spending of money we've never had.
Let's look at some sobering statistics:
Nearly 2 million people have a negative equity of 5% or less in their homes
Another 1.5 million people have a negative equity of 5-10% in their homes
Over 9 million people have a negative equity of over 20% in their homes
Right now over 14 million Americans are upside down in their mortgages, and this doesn't include the figures of those who have already defaulted on their loans. And for each 5% fall in home prices, close to another 2 million borrowers drop below zero equity in their homes. With most Americans having the majority of their wealth tied up in their home purchase, they're in danger of losing everything.
With consumers making up 70% of the United States economy, the loss of this magnitude of wealth will severely hamper any recovery efforts. We will simply not have the money to spend to get us out of this mess. According to the Campbell Real Estate Timing Letter, "we're facing a no growth/low growth economy--and this means the U.S. jobless rate will go even higher in the next two to four coming quarters." With true unemployment in the double digits, how can we expect any kind of recovery?
The simple truth is-look around you. Do you like what you see in this country? The job of the government isn’t to make everything more difficult or more expensive, it is to serve.
Government stupidity & need for control vis a vis over regulation, is costing Americans thousands of jobs and compliance wastes countless hours of time.
Passive aggression no longer works; voting no longer works…you need to get active in exposing government corruption, needless red tape and more. Get your local media involved wherever possible in order to embarrass the jerk responsible for government nonsense.
The Poor Man got asked to appear on a mid-MI TV station as a commentator on high MI utility prices, in particular, water bills. Should be interesting. Just remember…
If people behaved like governments, you'd call the cops. ~Kelvin Throop
Have a happy Thanksgiving and despite my rants, know there is still plenty to be thankful about. There will be NO Thursday PMB issue!
That’s it for this week from your fed up Poor Man! Stay tuned for the next issue as we’ll be sharing some incredible preparedness resources and details of a new ebook we’re working on to fight the mindless bureaucrats who wreak havoc on citizens.
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
A Shallow Planet Production
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Food Stamps as Collateral-Poor Man's Take on Crazy Economy
Bruce’s Poor Man Recession Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Communists are now our friends
2. 10 Riskiest places to give out Social Security number
3. Cool products you can get for free
4. Send a free ecard or one with money
5. Humorous cartoon movie explaining Fed moves
6. How to properly check basement for water problems
7. Surviving in the City
Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values. Gold was an objective value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'"
-- Ayn Rand
The Paradox of US Recession-Or, Can I use food stamps as collateral?
There is much confusion in America surrounding the recession. The nightly news brings stories of homeless and hungry, foreclosures and federal actions…but we also see stories of sold out Carnival Cruise ships limping back to the United States or one day staggering sales of new video games and Ipod phones.
I see record shattering prices paid at auction for all kinds of items (including a recent gun auction we attended, but that doesn’t surprise me as much) and I can’t help but wonder - where are these people getting the money?
Train traffic is another economic indicator and a set of tracks runs very close to our home and it runs 24/7. Last night, within a 25-minute time span, seven trains went by. That tells us someone isn’t hurting.
Does everyone get a good paycheck, perhaps working for the government? We know government workers earn on average 60% more than there private sector counterparts, but even state and local governments are hurting. So many contradictory messages floating about such as this one:
Car, retail sales boost outlook for economy
The economic outlook has brightened noticeably in recent days, with a splurge of car-buying by consumers unexpectedly lifting retail sales and businesses putting some of their nearly $2 trillion in stashed cash to work buying other companies with an eye toward growth.
According to the US Census, which has a data base dating back to 1946 for federal employment, current "civilian" employment is about the same it was during the Regan era - slightly under 2,000,000. The largest growth in Federal employment since 9/11 is for TSA (airport security) and the . We now have more than 19 million federal employees (about 310 million citizens).
Scroll down to near the end of this week’s bulletin to watch a damn cute little video which explains the Fed’s QE2 actions…you’ll love it. Thanks Mike for sharing!
As I’ve written previously, here in MI it’s tough to get a tradesman to even return a call. They all must be busy working on other projects? The local commissars still think everyone has a whole bunch of money and income as they discriminate against lower cost housing projects…so exactly what gives?
http://www.givemeliberty.org/
This is the time of year to stock up on seasonal grocery items such as turkey and baking goods. Purchase extra sale items and stockpile them away for later in the year. If you find butter, for example, on sale, buy extra and freeze it.
Finally, it would appear many eBay customers believe I offer lay-away. At last count, I had a dozen unpaid purchases from my storefront?! A large uptick in slow paying ebayers.
Here’s what readers can buy the Poor Man for Christmas…get me a Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the zero emission, solar & battery powered aircraft. I’ve always wanted a helicopter, but this will work!
When the socialist economies of Eastern Europe disintegrated, the cause was evident to nearly everyone: the stifling directives of central planning had all but obliterated individual initiative and accountability. The cure was just as obvious: a healthy dose of entrepreneurship and private enterprise."
-- Dr. Lawrence W. Reed
(1953-) President of the Foundation for Economic Education
This week’s cool stuff n resources
Cool Products and Services You Can Get for Free
Look hard enough and you can find a bevy of 100% discounts, especially online. "Facebook is a great source of freebies right now, as so many brands try to attract fans and establish themselves," says Julia Scott, who runs the popular blog BargainBabe.com.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111305/cool-products-and-services-you-can-get-for-free
One App Will Set You Free…SIRI Personal Assistant uses natural language processing and personal preferences/context to understand complex requests using your voice commands as prompts. Cost-FREE
www.Siri.com
DIY Clay Pot Smoker & Other Projects Can be found at:
www.Instructables.com
10 Riskiest Places to Give Your Social Security Number
We should always be leary about giving our social security number, but at some places, it is more risky to do so. McAfee looked at places that have had the most data breaches.
More consumers are selling the gift cards they already possess for around 10% to 20% less than face value to third-party sites like GiftCards.com, CardHub.com, PlasticJungle.com and GiftCardRescue.com. Sales at GiftCardRescue.com are up 1,000% through October of this year compared to the same period in 2009, says Kuadey. PlasticJungle.com says sales have more than doubled through the middle of this year. “People would rather use the cash anywhere they like than be restricted to a specific store,” says Dan Horne, professor of marketing who tracks the gift-card industry at Providence College. In turn, consumers who shop at specific stores can buy the cards at a discount; for example, GiftCards.com recently listed a SpaFinder gift card worth $100 for $86 and a $37 Home Depot card for …
Read more: Why Cash Is the New Plastic - Spending - Budgeting - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/budgeting/3-signs-cash-is-making-a-comeback/#ixzz15M6hNraq
Send a free Thanksgiving e-card…animated and personalized with your message
www.Care2.com/send/catthanks1.html
Even though the popularity of gift cards seems to have waned somewhat, try this new service to make it more personal by uploading a special image and message. Go to:
www.GiftCardMall.com
Does your kid have a wish list?
Send a letter to Santa via Macy’s which has placed special boxes at their mall locations. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Dave Guindon’s eBay feedback analyzer software-free
http://www.feedbackanalyzer.com/download.php
If your furnace quits or breaks down try these eight simple solutions before you call for service help. You can solve the problem and avoid a $200 service call.
http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Heating---Cooling/Furnace-Repair/simple-furnace-fixes?pmcode=IAFEC967&_mid=765734&_rid=765734.595400.338589
Make Your Own Windshield Scratch Remover
Ever see those guys standing on a street corner offering to remove scratches from your auto glass free of charge? Most of the time it is a scam designed to bilk your insurance company. Grit on your wiper blades will cause scratches (along with neighborhood kids) making night time driving a pain in the butt as the light from oncoming cars can be blinding especially as one gets older. Try this home made approach before calling your insurance agent.
Ingredients
Jeweler’s rouge
4 oz. of ammonia
1 gal of water
Get out that handy portable drill you have and fasten a lamb’ wool buffing pad to it. You might want to wear some rubber gloves and use a safety rated indoor/outdoor extension cord for your drill.
Rub the rouge onto the buffing pad until it is coated with powder. Place on your windshield where the scratches are and turn on. If the scratches aren’t too deep, this action will restore the glass. Afterward, mix the ammonia and water in a bucket (this is why you might want rubber gloves) and wash the windshield and then dry with some paper towels.
Note: you can get the rouge from a jeweler and ask for a grade suitable for polishing glass.
Damp Basement?
We didn’t find basements too often while living in AZ but MI has many and they’re often referred to as MI basements due to dampness. Here’s a pretty quick way to determine if the moisture is seepage from inside or merely condensation from inside.
Tape a piece of aluminum foil tightly to the inside of your basement wall. After a few days, examine the foil. If the wall side is wet, you have seepage. If the room side is wet, the problem is condensation. If both sides are wet, you need to waterproof that basement and use a dehumidifier.
Surviving in the City
This article appears on the End Times Report webpage
(http://www.endtimesreport.com/Surviving_in_the_City.html) and should be required reading for any individual
who is preparing for 'hard times', regardless of cause. This article is from Christopher Parrett's book,
"The
LDS Preparedness Manual" which is posted for free downloading to any and all at
http://www.abysmal.com/LDS/Preparedness/ The author also has a web site at
www.anothervoiceofwarning.org This has been around since Y2K days and is still relevant.
Download one of the themed shopping lists from FreePrintableGroceryList.com. The Thanksgiving list features a cute turkey graphic and lists items commonly purchased for that holiday. The site also has a Christmas menu planner and a gift-shopping list template. Everything at the site is free to download and print, and you can choose from PDF or editable DOC versions. (The DOC versions are especially handy, because you can type right into the lists using Microsoft Word or another compatible word processing program.) Here's link to the holiday lists, but be sure to check out the master grocery list and other printables as well:
www.FreePrintableGroceryList.com/category/holiday
Vanishing Point: How to disappear in America without a trace
http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/vanish.htm
May we be a channel of blessings for all that we meet.
-- Edgar Cayce, American spiritualist (1877-1945)
Guest Editorial
Our Vanishing Rights
Our inalienable rights, guaranteed by the United States Constitution, have steadily become alienable. The actions of Congress and the States are restricting our freedom.
Years ago, with the advent of the automobile, when codifying this new means of transportation, states decreed that having a driver's license was a right. Today, having a driver's license is a privilege. It would be awkward, if not impossible, for the courts to penalize individuals by taking away their right to drive a vehicle.
In many states, you can be ticketed for not having a seat belt fastened when driving a vehicle or not wearing a helmet operating a motorcycle and riding a bicycle.
There are federal and state laws preventing smoking in certain prescribed areas. There are a multitude of rules and regulations dictating how businesses, professions, and manufacturing can be managed.
Politically correct speech, though not a formal law, is an incursion on our vocabulary. A subtle control on how we express ourselves.
Undeniably, some of these laws, such as requiring seat belts and helmets, are logical measures to lessen injuries if there are accidents. Non-the-less, if some people are foolish enough not to take these precautions, it is their constitutional right to make those choices. This philosophy of "the government knows what is best for you" leads to complete control of our lives. Big Brother telling us what to do is a Dictatorship not a Democracy.
Some of these controls and restrictions may be unconstitutional. Yet, there is no uproar by the passive public, which results in the further removal of our rights. One feature in the proposed national health insurance plan calls for mandatory insurance for all citizens.
The appeal and success of our Republic is based largely upon the freedom its citizens enjoy, unrestricted by authority. Let's not squander anymore of our constitutional rights to our control-seeking, elected officials. Vote the incumbents out of office to re-establish that they are our servants, not our masters.
By: A. Woodrow
Author, How to Make Your Vote Count
Founder, Democracy Conservator Foundation
"Preserving our democratic representative government through smart voting"
http://www.DemocracyConservator.org
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2785668/are_our_constitutional_rights_eroding.html
Sidebar:
Your property rights are under assault
There’s no doubt private property was one of the founding tenets of our country but state and local governments have increasingly violated those rights.
Private property rights have attributes in addition to determining the use of a resource. One is the exclusive right to the services of the resource…
weakened private property rights are socialism and “commonly owned” resources. Under socialism, government agents—those whom the government assigns—exercise control over resources. The rights of these agents to make decisions about the property they control have expanded greatly in America without regard to the rights of the citizens who have paid for the property.
http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg802
http://prfamerica.org/speeches/10th/USPrivatePropertyRightsUnderIntlAssault.html
http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-pi210.html
I have no need to run for president anymore. The Democratic Party has adopted my platform!
--Norman Thomas-Socialist Party/1940
Thanks Mike for sharing this…
I Should Have Moved to OK vs. Communist MI…drat!!!
Several weeks ago, OK passed a law, declaring Oklahoma as a Sovereign state, not under the Federal Government directives. Joining Texas, Montana and Utah as the only states to do so. More states are likely to follow: Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolina's, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, West Virginia,Mississippi, Florida. Save your confederate money, it appears the South is about to rise up once again. HJR 1003 (Wooops!)
The federal Government has made bold steps to take away our guns. Oklahoma, a week ago, passed a law confirming people in this state have the right to bear arms and transport them in their vehicles.
Just this month, the state has voted and passed a law that ALL driver's license exams will be printed in English, and only English, and no other language. They have been called racist for doing this, but the fact is that ALL of the road signs are in English only.
Oklahoma recently passed a law in the state to incarcerate all illegal immigrants, and ship them back to where they came from unless they want to get a green card and become an American citizen.
The property which every man has in his own labor, as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable.
--Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations
Oddities:
**A Mystery Missile if fired off the coast of California to who knows where and no one will admit who or what did it.
In the same area a cruise ship is disabled, the Chinese have submarines in the area and the president is in Asia for 10 days. A few days earlier UFO's were spotted and filmed over New York City and El Paso, Tx and Pennsylvania
**Airport security began confiscating little old ladies' knitting needles and breaking the mouse-sized nail files off of passengers' nail clippers. Surprisingly, no decrease in the number of hijacking attempts by little old ladies and manicurists was noted.
**Humorous, must-watch animated video explaining Fed economic actions.
http://www.examiner.com/right-side-politics-in-national/quantitative-easing-explained-video
Subscriber Specials-Announcements
How low is Your Wallet?
Create a fat Wallet Here
No Cost
http://social.peoplestring.com/brenda763/blog/27189/
Foxfire Series Vol 1-6 + Bonus Reports
Only $5 postage paid!
http://www.poormansurvival.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Parting Thoughts…our friends in China
A reader sent this note-I find it hard to argue with…ever wonder why we’ve cozied up to Communist China, once an avowed enemy? It’s because the US is becoming more communist every day and we‘re now owned by it!
There was a time when we rounded up Communists, now we’re their buddy. We have Communists within & without…for the first time, true income equality will appear (for all but the political class), but the only thing available to share will be poverty. Ask a Russian.
Chinese missiles can ravage U.S. bases
China's military can destroy five out of six U.S. bases in Asia with waves of missile strikes as the result of its large-scale military buildup that threatens U.S. access and freedom of navigation in East Asia, according to a forthcoming congressional report.
Communism in the United States is something of an anomaly. The basic principles of communism are, by design, at odds with the free enterprise foundation of U.S. capitalism. The freedom of individuals to privately own property, start a business, and own the means of production is a basic tenet of U.S. government, and communism opposes this arrangement. However, there have been, are, and probably always will be communists in the United States.
Charges that the federal government is inching ever closer to communism are far from new – this 1955 academic editorial contends that arresting all card-carrying members of the communist party would have little effect on our march toward communism: Our own politicians will get us there quite handily on their own.
The Von Mises Institute, in Human Action, argues that Marxist redistribution is a direct form of coercive suppression. They say that both the initial and ongoing forms of redistribution are direct coercion of the victims.
Milton Friedman argued that the absence of voluntary economic activity in communism makes it too easy for repressive political leaders to grant themselves coercive powers. Friedman's view was also shared by Friedrich Hayek and John Maynard Keynes, both of whom believed that capitalism is vital for freedom to survive and thrive.
When most middle class wealth is built on jobs, no jobs = no middle class. So will the jobs be back soon? Short answer: No. And the main reason, politicians' speeches to the contrary being lies, is deliberate government policy
In Saving Freedom, Senator Jim DeMint addresses his concern that the United States - the world's great bastion of freedom - is sliding toward socialism. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, health care, financial markets, real estate, businesses, and religion. The walls between government and the private sector are getting thinner every day.
Out-of-control government spending and increased debt are draining the economic and political strength of our people. Senator DeMint provides a firsthand account of the behind-the-scenes actions in Congress that are altering the character of our Nation. He illuminates key principles of freedom and how they are being compromised by big government. More important, he lays out an action plan to reclaim America's freedom based on legislation that would reduce debt, fix Social Security, and provide a tax credit for every family to buy health insurance.
That’s it for this issue from your merry muckraker-I am looking out for you!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
http://www.OldBookNook.com
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Communists are now our friends
2. 10 Riskiest places to give out Social Security number
3. Cool products you can get for free
4. Send a free ecard or one with money
5. Humorous cartoon movie explaining Fed moves
6. How to properly check basement for water problems
7. Surviving in the City
Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values. Gold was an objective value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'"
-- Ayn Rand
The Paradox of US Recession-Or, Can I use food stamps as collateral?
There is much confusion in America surrounding the recession. The nightly news brings stories of homeless and hungry, foreclosures and federal actions…but we also see stories of sold out Carnival Cruise ships limping back to the United States or one day staggering sales of new video games and Ipod phones.
I see record shattering prices paid at auction for all kinds of items (including a recent gun auction we attended, but that doesn’t surprise me as much) and I can’t help but wonder - where are these people getting the money?
Train traffic is another economic indicator and a set of tracks runs very close to our home and it runs 24/7. Last night, within a 25-minute time span, seven trains went by. That tells us someone isn’t hurting.
Does everyone get a good paycheck, perhaps working for the government? We know government workers earn on average 60% more than there private sector counterparts, but even state and local governments are hurting. So many contradictory messages floating about such as this one:
Car, retail sales boost outlook for economy
The economic outlook has brightened noticeably in recent days, with a splurge of car-buying by consumers unexpectedly lifting retail sales and businesses putting some of their nearly $2 trillion in stashed cash to work buying other companies with an eye toward growth.
According to the US Census, which has a data base dating back to 1946 for federal employment, current "civilian" employment is about the same it was during the Regan era - slightly under 2,000,000. The largest growth in Federal employment since 9/11 is for TSA (airport security) and the . We now have more than 19 million federal employees (about 310 million citizens).
Scroll down to near the end of this week’s bulletin to watch a damn cute little video which explains the Fed’s QE2 actions…you’ll love it. Thanks Mike for sharing!
As I’ve written previously, here in MI it’s tough to get a tradesman to even return a call. They all must be busy working on other projects? The local commissars still think everyone has a whole bunch of money and income as they discriminate against lower cost housing projects…so exactly what gives?
http://www.givemeliberty.org/
This is the time of year to stock up on seasonal grocery items such as turkey and baking goods. Purchase extra sale items and stockpile them away for later in the year. If you find butter, for example, on sale, buy extra and freeze it.
Finally, it would appear many eBay customers believe I offer lay-away. At last count, I had a dozen unpaid purchases from my storefront?! A large uptick in slow paying ebayers.
Here’s what readers can buy the Poor Man for Christmas…get me a Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the zero emission, solar & battery powered aircraft. I’ve always wanted a helicopter, but this will work!
When the socialist economies of Eastern Europe disintegrated, the cause was evident to nearly everyone: the stifling directives of central planning had all but obliterated individual initiative and accountability. The cure was just as obvious: a healthy dose of entrepreneurship and private enterprise."
-- Dr. Lawrence W. Reed
(1953-) President of the Foundation for Economic Education
This week’s cool stuff n resources
Cool Products and Services You Can Get for Free
Look hard enough and you can find a bevy of 100% discounts, especially online. "Facebook is a great source of freebies right now, as so many brands try to attract fans and establish themselves," says Julia Scott, who runs the popular blog BargainBabe.com.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111305/cool-products-and-services-you-can-get-for-free
One App Will Set You Free…SIRI Personal Assistant uses natural language processing and personal preferences/context to understand complex requests using your voice commands as prompts. Cost-FREE
www.Siri.com
DIY Clay Pot Smoker & Other Projects Can be found at:
www.Instructables.com
10 Riskiest Places to Give Your Social Security Number
We should always be leary about giving our social security number, but at some places, it is more risky to do so. McAfee looked at places that have had the most data breaches.
More consumers are selling the gift cards they already possess for around 10% to 20% less than face value to third-party sites like GiftCards.com, CardHub.com, PlasticJungle.com and GiftCardRescue.com. Sales at GiftCardRescue.com are up 1,000% through October of this year compared to the same period in 2009, says Kuadey. PlasticJungle.com says sales have more than doubled through the middle of this year. “People would rather use the cash anywhere they like than be restricted to a specific store,” says Dan Horne, professor of marketing who tracks the gift-card industry at Providence College. In turn, consumers who shop at specific stores can buy the cards at a discount; for example, GiftCards.com recently listed a SpaFinder gift card worth $100 for $86 and a $37 Home Depot card for …
Read more: Why Cash Is the New Plastic - Spending - Budgeting - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/budgeting/3-signs-cash-is-making-a-comeback/#ixzz15M6hNraq
Send a free Thanksgiving e-card…animated and personalized with your message
www.Care2.com/send/catthanks1.html
Even though the popularity of gift cards seems to have waned somewhat, try this new service to make it more personal by uploading a special image and message. Go to:
www.GiftCardMall.com
Does your kid have a wish list?
Send a letter to Santa via Macy’s which has placed special boxes at their mall locations. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Dave Guindon’s eBay feedback analyzer software-free
http://www.feedbackanalyzer.com/download.php
If your furnace quits or breaks down try these eight simple solutions before you call for service help. You can solve the problem and avoid a $200 service call.
http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Heating---Cooling/Furnace-Repair/simple-furnace-fixes?pmcode=IAFEC967&_mid=765734&_rid=765734.595400.338589
Make Your Own Windshield Scratch Remover
Ever see those guys standing on a street corner offering to remove scratches from your auto glass free of charge? Most of the time it is a scam designed to bilk your insurance company. Grit on your wiper blades will cause scratches (along with neighborhood kids) making night time driving a pain in the butt as the light from oncoming cars can be blinding especially as one gets older. Try this home made approach before calling your insurance agent.
Ingredients
Jeweler’s rouge
4 oz. of ammonia
1 gal of water
Get out that handy portable drill you have and fasten a lamb’ wool buffing pad to it. You might want to wear some rubber gloves and use a safety rated indoor/outdoor extension cord for your drill.
Rub the rouge onto the buffing pad until it is coated with powder. Place on your windshield where the scratches are and turn on. If the scratches aren’t too deep, this action will restore the glass. Afterward, mix the ammonia and water in a bucket (this is why you might want rubber gloves) and wash the windshield and then dry with some paper towels.
Note: you can get the rouge from a jeweler and ask for a grade suitable for polishing glass.
Damp Basement?
We didn’t find basements too often while living in AZ but MI has many and they’re often referred to as MI basements due to dampness. Here’s a pretty quick way to determine if the moisture is seepage from inside or merely condensation from inside.
Tape a piece of aluminum foil tightly to the inside of your basement wall. After a few days, examine the foil. If the wall side is wet, you have seepage. If the room side is wet, the problem is condensation. If both sides are wet, you need to waterproof that basement and use a dehumidifier.
Surviving in the City
This article appears on the End Times Report webpage
(http://www.endtimesreport.com/Surviving_in_the_City.html) and should be required reading for any individual
who is preparing for 'hard times', regardless of cause. This article is from Christopher Parrett's book,
"The
LDS Preparedness Manual" which is posted for free downloading to any and all at
http://www.abysmal.com/LDS/Preparedness/ The author also has a web site at
www.anothervoiceofwarning.org This has been around since Y2K days and is still relevant.
Download one of the themed shopping lists from FreePrintableGroceryList.com. The Thanksgiving list features a cute turkey graphic and lists items commonly purchased for that holiday. The site also has a Christmas menu planner and a gift-shopping list template. Everything at the site is free to download and print, and you can choose from PDF or editable DOC versions. (The DOC versions are especially handy, because you can type right into the lists using Microsoft Word or another compatible word processing program.) Here's link to the holiday lists, but be sure to check out the master grocery list and other printables as well:
www.FreePrintableGroceryList.com/category/holiday
Vanishing Point: How to disappear in America without a trace
http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/vanish.htm
May we be a channel of blessings for all that we meet.
-- Edgar Cayce, American spiritualist (1877-1945)
Guest Editorial
Our Vanishing Rights
Our inalienable rights, guaranteed by the United States Constitution, have steadily become alienable. The actions of Congress and the States are restricting our freedom.
Years ago, with the advent of the automobile, when codifying this new means of transportation, states decreed that having a driver's license was a right. Today, having a driver's license is a privilege. It would be awkward, if not impossible, for the courts to penalize individuals by taking away their right to drive a vehicle.
In many states, you can be ticketed for not having a seat belt fastened when driving a vehicle or not wearing a helmet operating a motorcycle and riding a bicycle.
There are federal and state laws preventing smoking in certain prescribed areas. There are a multitude of rules and regulations dictating how businesses, professions, and manufacturing can be managed.
Politically correct speech, though not a formal law, is an incursion on our vocabulary. A subtle control on how we express ourselves.
Undeniably, some of these laws, such as requiring seat belts and helmets, are logical measures to lessen injuries if there are accidents. Non-the-less, if some people are foolish enough not to take these precautions, it is their constitutional right to make those choices. This philosophy of "the government knows what is best for you" leads to complete control of our lives. Big Brother telling us what to do is a Dictatorship not a Democracy.
Some of these controls and restrictions may be unconstitutional. Yet, there is no uproar by the passive public, which results in the further removal of our rights. One feature in the proposed national health insurance plan calls for mandatory insurance for all citizens.
The appeal and success of our Republic is based largely upon the freedom its citizens enjoy, unrestricted by authority. Let's not squander anymore of our constitutional rights to our control-seeking, elected officials. Vote the incumbents out of office to re-establish that they are our servants, not our masters.
By: A. Woodrow
Author, How to Make Your Vote Count
Founder, Democracy Conservator Foundation
"Preserving our democratic representative government through smart voting"
http://www.DemocracyConservator.org
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2785668/are_our_constitutional_rights_eroding.html
Sidebar:
Your property rights are under assault
There’s no doubt private property was one of the founding tenets of our country but state and local governments have increasingly violated those rights.
Private property rights have attributes in addition to determining the use of a resource. One is the exclusive right to the services of the resource…
weakened private property rights are socialism and “commonly owned” resources. Under socialism, government agents—those whom the government assigns—exercise control over resources. The rights of these agents to make decisions about the property they control have expanded greatly in America without regard to the rights of the citizens who have paid for the property.
http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg802
http://prfamerica.org/speeches/10th/USPrivatePropertyRightsUnderIntlAssault.html
http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-pi210.html
I have no need to run for president anymore. The Democratic Party has adopted my platform!
--Norman Thomas-Socialist Party/1940
Thanks Mike for sharing this…
I Should Have Moved to OK vs. Communist MI…drat!!!
Several weeks ago, OK passed a law, declaring Oklahoma as a Sovereign state, not under the Federal Government directives. Joining Texas, Montana and Utah as the only states to do so. More states are likely to follow: Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolina's, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, West Virginia,Mississippi, Florida. Save your confederate money, it appears the South is about to rise up once again. HJR 1003 (Wooops!)
The federal Government has made bold steps to take away our guns. Oklahoma, a week ago, passed a law confirming people in this state have the right to bear arms and transport them in their vehicles.
Just this month, the state has voted and passed a law that ALL driver's license exams will be printed in English, and only English, and no other language. They have been called racist for doing this, but the fact is that ALL of the road signs are in English only.
Oklahoma recently passed a law in the state to incarcerate all illegal immigrants, and ship them back to where they came from unless they want to get a green card and become an American citizen.
The property which every man has in his own labor, as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable.
--Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations
Oddities:
**A Mystery Missile if fired off the coast of California to who knows where and no one will admit who or what did it.
In the same area a cruise ship is disabled, the Chinese have submarines in the area and the president is in Asia for 10 days. A few days earlier UFO's were spotted and filmed over New York City and El Paso, Tx and Pennsylvania
**Airport security began confiscating little old ladies' knitting needles and breaking the mouse-sized nail files off of passengers' nail clippers. Surprisingly, no decrease in the number of hijacking attempts by little old ladies and manicurists was noted.
**Humorous, must-watch animated video explaining Fed economic actions.
http://www.examiner.com/right-side-politics-in-national/quantitative-easing-explained-video
Subscriber Specials-Announcements
How low is Your Wallet?
Create a fat Wallet Here
No Cost
http://social.peoplestring.com/brenda763/blog/27189/
Foxfire Series Vol 1-6 + Bonus Reports
Only $5 postage paid!
http://www.poormansurvival.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Parting Thoughts…our friends in China
A reader sent this note-I find it hard to argue with…ever wonder why we’ve cozied up to Communist China, once an avowed enemy? It’s because the US is becoming more communist every day and we‘re now owned by it!
There was a time when we rounded up Communists, now we’re their buddy. We have Communists within & without…for the first time, true income equality will appear (for all but the political class), but the only thing available to share will be poverty. Ask a Russian.
Chinese missiles can ravage U.S. bases
China's military can destroy five out of six U.S. bases in Asia with waves of missile strikes as the result of its large-scale military buildup that threatens U.S. access and freedom of navigation in East Asia, according to a forthcoming congressional report.
Communism in the United States is something of an anomaly. The basic principles of communism are, by design, at odds with the free enterprise foundation of U.S. capitalism. The freedom of individuals to privately own property, start a business, and own the means of production is a basic tenet of U.S. government, and communism opposes this arrangement. However, there have been, are, and probably always will be communists in the United States.
Charges that the federal government is inching ever closer to communism are far from new – this 1955 academic editorial contends that arresting all card-carrying members of the communist party would have little effect on our march toward communism: Our own politicians will get us there quite handily on their own.
The Von Mises Institute, in Human Action, argues that Marxist redistribution is a direct form of coercive suppression. They say that both the initial and ongoing forms of redistribution are direct coercion of the victims.
Milton Friedman argued that the absence of voluntary economic activity in communism makes it too easy for repressive political leaders to grant themselves coercive powers. Friedman's view was also shared by Friedrich Hayek and John Maynard Keynes, both of whom believed that capitalism is vital for freedom to survive and thrive.
When most middle class wealth is built on jobs, no jobs = no middle class. So will the jobs be back soon? Short answer: No. And the main reason, politicians' speeches to the contrary being lies, is deliberate government policy
In Saving Freedom, Senator Jim DeMint addresses his concern that the United States - the world's great bastion of freedom - is sliding toward socialism. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, health care, financial markets, real estate, businesses, and religion. The walls between government and the private sector are getting thinner every day.
Out-of-control government spending and increased debt are draining the economic and political strength of our people. Senator DeMint provides a firsthand account of the behind-the-scenes actions in Congress that are altering the character of our Nation. He illuminates key principles of freedom and how they are being compromised by big government. More important, he lays out an action plan to reclaim America's freedom based on legislation that would reduce debt, fix Social Security, and provide a tax credit for every family to buy health insurance.
That’s it for this issue from your merry muckraker-I am looking out for you!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
http://www.OldBookNook.com
A Shallow Planet Production
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
$70 Folgers, $11 for an Ear of Corn-Food Inflation Coming?
Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
War Vets Unhappy
Improve Herbal Product Safety
The Coming Suburban Welfare State
Rent college textbooks vs. buying them
Black Friday Shopping Myths
Do Not Call - register your cell numbers now
$77 for a Can of Folgers Coffee? $11 for an Ear of Corn?
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."
-- Ayn Rand
BBB-Shakedown Group?
According to reports on ABC News the Better Business Bureau is nothing more than a scam; low ratings given to those who don’t pay up and join the BBB. An Anonymous blogger paid $425 to have Hamas, the terrorist group, get an “A” rating from the BBB…supposedly a Neo Nazi group also managed to get a high rating.
Head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, shocked the world this week. It's time to start discussing a gold-backed currency, he said. Maybe the crown of creation of modern economics - its centrally managed money - was not such a good idea after all. The Poor Man has written repeatedly - the dollar only has value as long as people have faith in it.
How’s your faith? Is what we preach each week finally sinking in?
Speaking of faith, President Obama took a whoopin this week on the world stage and was essentially shot down by Germany, China, South Korea and others on currency talks - three strikes and you’re out Mr. President!
Generic brands, brown-bag lunches, and fewer trips to the beauty salon are three of the top ways U.S. consumers are looking to save money, according to a recent survey. Look a little further down the list, though, and you'll find that more and more Americans are also cutting back on their cable TV and cell phone service.
A recent Harris Interactive survey found that a good 22 percent of consumers either scaled back their cable service or canceled it completely in the last six months, and an additional 21 percent gave the idea serious thought.
Now that elections are over with, it’s the same old song. Our first revelation is it’s going to be politics as usual from Kentucky. Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) who campaigned on principles, fiscal responsibility and slashing the pork from our budgets announced that he was going to grab as much pork as he could for the Bluegrass State. Politics as usual replacing principles.
It’s clear that there will be no shrinkage of the Federal Government. It’s equally clear that the next two years will be spent jockeying for political position for the 2012 elections. There will be nothing done to fix the economy, create jobs or put food on your table…which is why the Poor Man repeats, voting is a waste of time.
$11 for an ear of corn? See the result of coming massive food inflation
Fox News Interview-watch that holiday food bill!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIGp7T2_bV0
Finally, a bit of entertainment as heard on the Rush show…Musical version of Barak, Don’t You Come Back no More…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHoy94xO8yM&feature=player_embedded
Economics, the dismal science!
This week’s odds n ends
Improve Your Safety with this Herbal Products Site-thanks Amanda!
With all the supplements and herbs out there on the market now-a-days I think we should look into herbal safety.
Scientific Monograms - this gives you a list of the common plant names with their scientific name. Clicking on the name will take you to a page with a picture of the herb, and some information.
Herbal Fact Sheet - here you will find another list of herbs, and you can click on them to get in-depth information. (Including what it is used to treat, what medicines it interacts poorly with, and so on.)
Check this site out, if you take herbal supplements, or even if you are thinking about taking herbal supplements. It could save your life.
http://www.herbalsafety.utep.edu/
DealNews Publishes Top Black Friday Shopping Myths
Online merchants can offer shoppers deals during the holidays
that are as good as or better than Black Friday deals offered by
retailers, according to DealNews, which published a list of top
Black-Friday shopping myths.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m11/i10/s03
Association of Mature Citizens-easy alternative to AARP
http://joinamac.us
Cut 10-60% off the cost of college textbooks by renting them (look for them on Amazon too). Here are a few sites to check for renting. Share this with others.
www.chegg.com
www.CollegeBookRenter.com
www.BookRenter.com
REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.
REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked .
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx
Your Thanksgiving Survival Guide
If you're a food lover, this is the season for you! Whether you're looking for something you've never tried before, or just want to put a new spin on an old family recipe, Food Network is the place to go. There's no telling how inspired you'll be after watching these foodies do their thing!
And if you need a few ideas to perk up your décor for the holidays, look no further than HGTV. These pros know a thing or two about putting together an amazing motif on a tight schedule. This Thanksgiving, give them a show they won't forget with HGTV and Food Network.
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This is HARD to Believe but It’s True.
$25 is All It Takes! See What All The Fuss Is About:
http://tinyurl.com/2bqybtt
Money in 48 Hours or Less - EVERY TIME...
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As we warned more than a month ago, the Fed's action would take place & would increase inflation in the US-just look at commodity prices such as butter & fuel. Our readers wrote "thanks for the warning...my wife saved a lot off our grocery bill alone this month due to your forecast...so glad we signed up for your free letter.' - Barb & Jeff of MI
The Coming Suburban Welfare State
Some have predicted that high-energy costs, either due to decreasing supply of oil or costs associated with carbon emission mitigation, will soon push people out of their cars and onto public transportation.
But there’s something else happening: people are getting sick of spending time in transit at all, making city living increasingly attractive. We are now increasingly able to infill “scrap-time” during our days with useful activity, and location-based social networks make it possible to maximize personal connections as we move about. We are engineering our own serendipity to generate real value from every moment. Why would we squander that potential by spending time in transit of any kind?
In the future, I predict:
Air travel will be reserved for trips greater than 500 miles
Trains will be used for trips less than 500 miles
Bicycles, walking, and local transit will be used within cities
Any local trip longer than 20 minutes will be seen as burdensome
Cars will be seen as a luxury to be used for road-trips + utility hauling
More at: http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/the-coming-suburban-welfare-state/
"Bill of Rights is Void where prohibited by Law".
Email From Disgusted Iraq Veteran + Other Closing thoughts.
The World Bank has just suggested that the international currency markets be put back on a gold standard…we’ve seen an immediate rise in prices (inflation) as the Fed floods the world with unbacked paper dollars.
But would a return to a gold standard work? Frankly, we don’t know. I suspect it might only if other key countries did the same…
On a closing note. A few days we ago America celebrated Veteran’s Day.
I was almost startled to learn how many vets are mad at Washington on a number of counts. “Think about it. Go fight in a war, risk your life day after day, come home, go back and do it all over again fighting for your rights in America which have been decimated by our own government. Can’t get decent medical treatment, can’t cross the Canadian border without a passport (yet I could go to Iraq & fight), can’t open a bank account without a slave number…”
Civil Liberties at Risk
... I'm disgusted with this president," Romero told the America's Future Now breakout session…
In an interview with POLITICO, Romero confirmed the gist of the quote, though he emphasized it wasn't intended as an ad hominem attack.
"I'm not disgusted at President Obama personally. It's President Obama's policies on civil liberties and national security issues I'm disgusted by. It's not a personal attack," Romero said.
While liberals of various stripes have or had gripes with how Obama has conducted himself since taking office, civil libertarians may well be the most disillusioned at this point.
The administration still uses state secrets to shield themselves from litigation. There's no prosecution for criminal acts of the Bush administration. Surveillance powers put in place under the Patriot Act have been renewed. If there has been change in the civil liberties context, I frankly don't see it."
“Patriots or Extremists?” we looked at the growth of private militias in this country. Now we turn to a group whose founder says he doesn't need a militia. That's because his organization is recruiting its members... right out of the military and law enforcement.
"If we're going to watch while our country dies and think that there's nothing we can do about it, we're wrong," says Richard Mack, a former sheriff.
The Oath Keepers aren't in Las Vegas looking for gamblers. They're seeking out police officers, sheriff's deputies, military veterans, even active duty members of the Armed Forces. If you've taken an oath to protect this nation, the Oath Keepers want you.
So are the Oath Keepers a militia group? “We don't need to be. We're the military and the police," says Stewart.
The Oath Keepers call on their members to disobey any orders, as they put it, "to disarm the American people," or "to force citizens into detention camps." It's a pledge Rhodes recites in an anti-Obama DVD called: "The Fall of the Republic." See what’s wrong with government at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6HdJ3ndrvE
Ironically, the Poor Man has been down this week with a sore back, something caused by a military related injury he sustained during a training exercise during the Viet Nam era.
Thanks Bob for sending these excerpts to us. As Bob is fond of saying (from his uncle, a former Senator) There aren’t enough real Americans left in Washington to hold up the American Flag! (This is condensed from the original email sent to us)
It’s a horrid shame. I return from fighting Communists in Korea,
Only to find my own country sh___ing on our freedoms here.
---RFP, Retired US Army, 1929-2009
We’re inclined to agree but feel that extends to state and local government officials as well. Hail to the commissar! Is there any reason to be paranoid in this country!?
Some had a glimmer of hope for the future of our country ....
... and the rest of you are prepping even harder than ever!
P.S.: Most of you will be caught unprepared for the ugliness ahead. Many of you are clueless about what you need to do to prepare yourself. That’s not your fault; you just don’t have the experience of having lived through the tumultuous times in our past so have no sense of what it takes to survive rioting, civil breakdown and political violence. Life was just too easy for those of you who came of age in the 80s, 90s and the turn of the century.
http://www.PoormanSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Bruce’s Poor Man Recession Bulletin is an independent, all about urban survival and self reliance and loaded with helpful information on recession survival, gardening, money saving, money making, alternative energy, government bullcrap, privacy and security as well as gold…no apologies, not fancy & definitely politically incorrect.
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
War Vets Unhappy
Improve Herbal Product Safety
The Coming Suburban Welfare State
Rent college textbooks vs. buying them
Black Friday Shopping Myths
Do Not Call - register your cell numbers now
$77 for a Can of Folgers Coffee? $11 for an Ear of Corn?
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."
-- Ayn Rand
BBB-Shakedown Group?
According to reports on ABC News the Better Business Bureau is nothing more than a scam; low ratings given to those who don’t pay up and join the BBB. An Anonymous blogger paid $425 to have Hamas, the terrorist group, get an “A” rating from the BBB…supposedly a Neo Nazi group also managed to get a high rating.
Head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, shocked the world this week. It's time to start discussing a gold-backed currency, he said. Maybe the crown of creation of modern economics - its centrally managed money - was not such a good idea after all. The Poor Man has written repeatedly - the dollar only has value as long as people have faith in it.
How’s your faith? Is what we preach each week finally sinking in?
Speaking of faith, President Obama took a whoopin this week on the world stage and was essentially shot down by Germany, China, South Korea and others on currency talks - three strikes and you’re out Mr. President!
Generic brands, brown-bag lunches, and fewer trips to the beauty salon are three of the top ways U.S. consumers are looking to save money, according to a recent survey. Look a little further down the list, though, and you'll find that more and more Americans are also cutting back on their cable TV and cell phone service.
A recent Harris Interactive survey found that a good 22 percent of consumers either scaled back their cable service or canceled it completely in the last six months, and an additional 21 percent gave the idea serious thought.
Now that elections are over with, it’s the same old song. Our first revelation is it’s going to be politics as usual from Kentucky. Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) who campaigned on principles, fiscal responsibility and slashing the pork from our budgets announced that he was going to grab as much pork as he could for the Bluegrass State. Politics as usual replacing principles.
It’s clear that there will be no shrinkage of the Federal Government. It’s equally clear that the next two years will be spent jockeying for political position for the 2012 elections. There will be nothing done to fix the economy, create jobs or put food on your table…which is why the Poor Man repeats, voting is a waste of time.
$11 for an ear of corn? See the result of coming massive food inflation
Fox News Interview-watch that holiday food bill!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIGp7T2_bV0
Finally, a bit of entertainment as heard on the Rush show…Musical version of Barak, Don’t You Come Back no More…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHoy94xO8yM&feature=player_embedded
Economics, the dismal science!
This week’s odds n ends
Improve Your Safety with this Herbal Products Site-thanks Amanda!
With all the supplements and herbs out there on the market now-a-days I think we should look into herbal safety.
Scientific Monograms - this gives you a list of the common plant names with their scientific name. Clicking on the name will take you to a page with a picture of the herb, and some information.
Herbal Fact Sheet - here you will find another list of herbs, and you can click on them to get in-depth information. (Including what it is used to treat, what medicines it interacts poorly with, and so on.)
Check this site out, if you take herbal supplements, or even if you are thinking about taking herbal supplements. It could save your life.
http://www.herbalsafety.utep.edu/
DealNews Publishes Top Black Friday Shopping Myths
Online merchants can offer shoppers deals during the holidays
that are as good as or better than Black Friday deals offered by
retailers, according to DealNews, which published a list of top
Black-Friday shopping myths.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m11/i10/s03
Association of Mature Citizens-easy alternative to AARP
http://joinamac.us
Cut 10-60% off the cost of college textbooks by renting them (look for them on Amazon too). Here are a few sites to check for renting. Share this with others.
www.chegg.com
www.CollegeBookRenter.com
www.BookRenter.com
REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.
REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked .
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx
Your Thanksgiving Survival Guide
If you're a food lover, this is the season for you! Whether you're looking for something you've never tried before, or just want to put a new spin on an old family recipe, Food Network is the place to go. There's no telling how inspired you'll be after watching these foodies do their thing!
And if you need a few ideas to perk up your décor for the holidays, look no further than HGTV. These pros know a thing or two about putting together an amazing motif on a tight schedule. This Thanksgiving, give them a show they won't forget with HGTV and Food Network.
Subscriber Announcements
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Making Money Is Just Too Easy!
This is HARD to Believe but It’s True.
$25 is All It Takes! See What All The Fuss Is About:
http://tinyurl.com/2bqybtt
Money in 48 Hours or Less - EVERY TIME...
It's 100% free no strings attached. This video shows you EXACTLY
how to get cash anytime you want, as much as you want - in 48 hrs
or less. Nothing to buy, no experience, no marketing knowledge, no
product, no website, NO LIST, no autoresponder! ==> bit.ly/c0ofcW
<<>>
As we warned more than a month ago, the Fed's action would take place & would increase inflation in the US-just look at commodity prices such as butter & fuel. Our readers wrote "thanks for the warning...my wife saved a lot off our grocery bill alone this month due to your forecast...so glad we signed up for your free letter.' - Barb & Jeff of MI
The Coming Suburban Welfare State
Some have predicted that high-energy costs, either due to decreasing supply of oil or costs associated with carbon emission mitigation, will soon push people out of their cars and onto public transportation.
But there’s something else happening: people are getting sick of spending time in transit at all, making city living increasingly attractive. We are now increasingly able to infill “scrap-time” during our days with useful activity, and location-based social networks make it possible to maximize personal connections as we move about. We are engineering our own serendipity to generate real value from every moment. Why would we squander that potential by spending time in transit of any kind?
In the future, I predict:
Air travel will be reserved for trips greater than 500 miles
Trains will be used for trips less than 500 miles
Bicycles, walking, and local transit will be used within cities
Any local trip longer than 20 minutes will be seen as burdensome
Cars will be seen as a luxury to be used for road-trips + utility hauling
More at: http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/the-coming-suburban-welfare-state/
"Bill of Rights is Void where prohibited by Law".
Email From Disgusted Iraq Veteran + Other Closing thoughts.
The World Bank has just suggested that the international currency markets be put back on a gold standard…we’ve seen an immediate rise in prices (inflation) as the Fed floods the world with unbacked paper dollars.
But would a return to a gold standard work? Frankly, we don’t know. I suspect it might only if other key countries did the same…
On a closing note. A few days we ago America celebrated Veteran’s Day.
I was almost startled to learn how many vets are mad at Washington on a number of counts. “Think about it. Go fight in a war, risk your life day after day, come home, go back and do it all over again fighting for your rights in America which have been decimated by our own government. Can’t get decent medical treatment, can’t cross the Canadian border without a passport (yet I could go to Iraq & fight), can’t open a bank account without a slave number…”
Civil Liberties at Risk
... I'm disgusted with this president," Romero told the America's Future Now breakout session…
In an interview with POLITICO, Romero confirmed the gist of the quote, though he emphasized it wasn't intended as an ad hominem attack.
"I'm not disgusted at President Obama personally. It's President Obama's policies on civil liberties and national security issues I'm disgusted by. It's not a personal attack," Romero said.
While liberals of various stripes have or had gripes with how Obama has conducted himself since taking office, civil libertarians may well be the most disillusioned at this point.
The administration still uses state secrets to shield themselves from litigation. There's no prosecution for criminal acts of the Bush administration. Surveillance powers put in place under the Patriot Act have been renewed. If there has been change in the civil liberties context, I frankly don't see it."
“Patriots or Extremists?” we looked at the growth of private militias in this country. Now we turn to a group whose founder says he doesn't need a militia. That's because his organization is recruiting its members... right out of the military and law enforcement.
"If we're going to watch while our country dies and think that there's nothing we can do about it, we're wrong," says Richard Mack, a former sheriff.
The Oath Keepers aren't in Las Vegas looking for gamblers. They're seeking out police officers, sheriff's deputies, military veterans, even active duty members of the Armed Forces. If you've taken an oath to protect this nation, the Oath Keepers want you.
So are the Oath Keepers a militia group? “We don't need to be. We're the military and the police," says Stewart.
The Oath Keepers call on their members to disobey any orders, as they put it, "to disarm the American people," or "to force citizens into detention camps." It's a pledge Rhodes recites in an anti-Obama DVD called: "The Fall of the Republic." See what’s wrong with government at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6HdJ3ndrvE
Ironically, the Poor Man has been down this week with a sore back, something caused by a military related injury he sustained during a training exercise during the Viet Nam era.
Thanks Bob for sending these excerpts to us. As Bob is fond of saying (from his uncle, a former Senator) There aren’t enough real Americans left in Washington to hold up the American Flag! (This is condensed from the original email sent to us)
It’s a horrid shame. I return from fighting Communists in Korea,
Only to find my own country sh___ing on our freedoms here.
---RFP, Retired US Army, 1929-2009
We’re inclined to agree but feel that extends to state and local government officials as well. Hail to the commissar! Is there any reason to be paranoid in this country!?
Some had a glimmer of hope for the future of our country ....
... and the rest of you are prepping even harder than ever!
P.S.: Most of you will be caught unprepared for the ugliness ahead. Many of you are clueless about what you need to do to prepare yourself. That’s not your fault; you just don’t have the experience of having lived through the tumultuous times in our past so have no sense of what it takes to survive rioting, civil breakdown and political violence. Life was just too easy for those of you who came of age in the 80s, 90s and the turn of the century.
http://www.PoormanSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Bruce’s Poor Man Recession Bulletin is an independent, all about urban survival and self reliance and loaded with helpful information on recession survival, gardening, money saving, money making, alternative energy, government bullcrap, privacy and security as well as gold…no apologies, not fancy & definitely politically incorrect.
A Shallow Planet Production
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Surgical Shopping, Fed QE2 Makes Prices Rise/Scams
Bruce’s Poor Man Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
Http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Living in small homes
2. Free credit scores
3. Don’t waste your money on these auto scams
4. Avoid or Post Scams at Site Jabber
5. Free magazine archives
6. Rise of the Surgical Shopper
On account of us being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only
people in the world that has to keep a government four years no matter what it
does."
-- Will Rogers
“We Will Bury You.” Was Khruschev right or will we do it ourselves?
…Musings on fighting City Hall & the state of America
Some of you may not remember the famous 1956 speech made by the Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev about how Communism would bury the United States. His premise was the working class would rise up and bury capitalism from within.
That may come to pass and as we have witnessed much of the middle class disappearing, losers to the capitalism game and indeed, our country has adopted many of the planks of the Communist Party (as outlined two issues ago). Capitalism is good so long as greed doesn’t get in the way and the playing field remains level…something which has not happened here in recent years.
As most of us know too, just because something is a law, doesn’t make it right or ethical. Most would agree, for example, the right to vote for women or Blacks was against the law at one time and that did not make it right.
The income tax was against the law until globalists infested Congress and managed to amend the Constitution and allowed the fed to take control of our currency.
As America slowly succumbs to a socialistic state, run by county commissars and politburos, we will see more of our Bill of Rights vanish and there is no easy way to fight back.
Locally, there is a fellow now serving time in prison for his attempts at fighting local government infractions. Larry Wilcox chased a state trooper off his waste management business property after the cop had pulled over a suspected traffic scofflaw onto his business parking lot. To make a long story short, Larry soon faced a Waco-like visit from several state and local ‘authorities,’ complete with helicopters and tanks.
Larry, not one to take things lightly, filed liens on the property of something like 80 local cops, judges, and other government types. A big no-no as government types dislike any use of the legal system against them. They will use it to BURY you however and will use overwhelming numbers and resources (using your tax dollars, of course) to achieve that goal.
The average politician is ego driven and somewhat childish by nature and should be nurtured in advance through bribes and favors in the form of campaign contributions and the like.
Therefore, one should know that you never attack a superior force head-on.
All Warfare is based on deception
--Sun-Tzu, Art of War
My friends, let this be a lesson. Without massive public support, you cannot fight city hall. You must use a bigger city hall such as the federal government to file grievances against local government agencies and most good lawyers can find violations of civil rights laws against local politicians and other government critters…this happened frequently with ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) laws. When this law was enacted, plenty of local governments got slammed by inventive citizens.
Another useful tool is rumor. For example, local tradesman and retailers don’t take kindly to local bureau twits when they learn their action costs them money and business. Of course, let others spread the news. You simply plant the seeds.
It all sounds Machiavellian and it is. So let the feds or others do the dirty work whenever possible.
"[I]f we won’t choose to pay the price of liberty, then by default we shall suffer the cost of servitude -- whether it be the iron chains of a tyrannical oligarchy or the regulatory chains of unelected, faceless bureaucrats. When we witness our neighbors abused by tyrants, will we skulk away and hope we’re not next? Or will we stand by them and challenge -- as freedom-loving Americans—the tyranny of lawless leaders."
-- Phil Trieb
Source: The New American,
This week’s good stuff & it’s all good!
Build an Earth Sheltered Home for $5K-kind of cool! Scroll down further to read more about small homes.
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/12/01/hand-build-an-earth-sheltered-house-for-5000/
Magazines provide a fascinating look back into history. When you read them, you can get a sense of what was going on at the time they were written, what the popular sentiment about certain issues was at the time, and get a glimpse into how people lived their lives.
This site provides old magazine articles on a plethora of different topics and they're free! All you have to do is choose a category that interests you, click into it, and start reading. The articles are saved in .PDF files so that they're easy to save.
http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/
You've probably seen the "free" credit score offers. Technically they are free,
but you have to sign up for a trial of credit monitoring service and give them
a credit card. Fail to cancel the service before the trial expires, and they charge
your credit card.
Fortunately, you can get your credit score completely free, and without giving
up your credit card number. The truly free credit score comes from Credit Karma
http://www.creditkarma.com/
Pouring This Stuff In Your Car Is Money Down The Drain
As the economy has plummeted and the recovery has stagnated, it seems that companies promising false hope are on the rise. In the automotive realm, these are the firms peddling formulas that claim to solve various mechanical problems such as engine knocks, transmission slippage and oil consumption. Some even claim that their products will enable your car’s engine to harmlessly run without oil. Preying on the ignorance and wishful desires of the public, these products are snake oil of the first order
http://autos.aol.com/article/automotive-alchemy/
Food Inflation Accelerating
Cooking oils, left behind in this year’s surge in agriculture prices, are poised to catch up with grains as record demand cuts stockpiles by the most in 17 years.
Inventories of soybean oil and palm oil, used by Nestle SA and Unilever and in everything from Hellmann’s mayonnaise to Snickers candy bars, will drop 12 percent in the coming year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-31/food-inflation-rising-as-cooking-oil-poised-to-catch-up-with-grain-gains.html
From the National Science Foundation. If you run across a questionable site, one that looks too good to be true, you can now come to Site Jabber and find out if it is on the up an up! Or if you've already been scammed, you can head to Site Jabber and write a review of the site that scammed you so that others can avoid the same fate
http://www.sitejabber.com/
USPS to Raise Priority Mail Rates in January
The USPS is raising the rates of Priority Mail packages in
January and is introducing two new Priority Mail envelopes.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m11/i08/s01
Recipe Gold Mine, where you will find the mother lode of recipes
http://recipegoldmine.com/
As a survival expert I’m trained to survive extremes in weather, wildlife, terrains and scenarios of all types. Surviving an extreme government is the last thing I planned for. I never thought we would need to prepare for Uncle Sam poking his finger in our chests.
Like many of us, I’m tired. I’m tired of ever expanding and encroaching government and the career politicians and bureaucrats that staff them. I’m tired of our Constitution being treated like a speed bump to the agendas of those trying to strip our freedoms at every turn. I’m tired of ever increasing taxes from the local to the federal levels and those that are busy spending and hocking our futures. I’m tired of many in the mainstream media and their near constant spin.
The video premiere for The Brian Brawdy Show, Liberty’s Line in the Sand at Livestream.com/brianbrawdy.
Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
Live Well in Less than 1,000 Square Feet
From Natural Home, by Carol Venolia
During the past 60 years, the size of American homes has exploded, but the trend is now moving in the opposite direction, proving once more that bigger isn’t always better. In 1950 the average American home size was 983 square feet; by 2009 the average home was 2,343 square feet — even as family size shrank. Finally, it appears people are rethinking housing size. In 2010, average home size is down 9 percent, and many communities — such as California’s Marin County and Georgia’s DeKalbe County — have enacted laws limiting new home size.
A moment’s thought yields a multitude of reasons to consider living in less than 1,000 square feet. Smaller homes generally cost less and require less maintenance than larger ones. A small house consumes fewer natural resources in construction and requires less energy for heating and cooling. But perhaps the most compelling reason for going small is that it feels good. People who live in small, well-designed houses say their homes feel cozier, and they love having everything they need within reach.
Design makes all the difference. A poorly designed 900-square-foot house can feel smaller than a well-designed 400-square-foot house. Homes feel cramped when they have small, dark rooms and insufficient storage space. Well-designed small spaces feel open, efficient and cozy. As architect and small-space specialist Henry Yorke Mann proves in his homes, living in a cozy space doesn’t mean sacrificing convenience or livability. “You don’t want to get too mean about things,” he said.
The Spirit of the Sea
Keith and Judy Scott loved the 450-square-foot cabin Mann designed for them on their British Columbia property so much that they moved out of their main house and now live happily in the small home. “We never thought we could live in 450 square feet,” Keith said. “The home we’d lived in was 5,000 square feet. But the spaces just work right. They’re not too big, and they’re not too small.”
How did the architect do it? “Anyone who’s lived on a boat knows that there are lots of things you can do to save space,” Mann said. He hid storage everywhere, including under the stairs, and he didn’t skimp on quality. The materials are beautiful and earthy. The kitchen and bathroom are efficient and luxurious. Keith calls the sleeping loft “a really comfortable nest.” The vaulted ceiling is expansive, and thoughtfully placed glass embraces the sky, trees, birds and water.
“A home has to have a spirit,” Mann said. “It has to have its own presence — something you can settle into, that you can be quiet in. It’s a question of design; that’s the most important thing.”
“It’s like a little jewel box, a beautiful piece of wood work,” Keith said. “I wish everybody would build half the size of house and use the space right — and use an architect to design it.”
Tumbleweed: A Tiny Home Tumbles Along
In the past 12 years, Jay Shafer has lived in homes with less than 100 square feet. At 130 square feet, the first tiny house he built in Iowa City, Iowa, was too small for the city’s minimum house size requirement, so Shafer put it on wheels and called it a trailer. Through his Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, Shafer has spent the past decade designing and building tiny homes for those who share his love of intense coziness.
“When it comes to my domestic environment, anything that’s not working for me works against me,” Shafer said. “More stuff means more space and more cost. So I’m liberated by small spaces.”
It all comes down to quality of space, not quantity. And storage. “If your stuff’s not out of sight, it can drive you crazy,” Shafer said. “On the other hand, when everything you need is right there in reach, it feels great.”
Now that Shafer is married and has a baby, he’s added another criterion. “To make a small space feel big, every individual has to have private space,” he said. Shafer designed a 400-square-foot home for his family, with private space for all. Someday, he imagines each family member having their own tiny house on wheels — “kind of a little family village.”
A Garden Home Grows Great Little Spaces
Michael Ann Brown wanted a small house in a large garden. Her 1,200-square-foot house just felt too big. She disliked unused space and fondly recalled once having lived in a small trailer with a big sunroom.
The result is a 996-square-foot, one-bedroom house, perched high on her south-facing slope. The main living areas face south for passive solar gain. Outdoor spaces include a screened porch on the east, a narrow porch on the south (to avoid blocking winter sun), a deep west-facing porch for shade from the hot afternoon sun, and a cool summer patio on the north. The outdoor rooms expand the living space and make the house more energy-efficient. “I absolutely love that west porch,” Michael Ann said. “I cook out there. I often bring out a glass of wine, sit in the porch swing and watch the sunset. Who needs more?”
Indoors, the architects used some classic spatial tricks. They kept the living spaces open to one another yet subtly divided, striking a balance between lots of small rooms, which feels cramped, and one big room, which is uninteresting. You can subtly divide spaces using ceiling or floor height. In this case, they designed the floor slab so it steps down two feet from a higher bedroom/bathroom/laundry/storage area to a lower living/dining/kitchen. This helps subtly divide the spaces and gives the living areas a space-expanding 10-foot ceiling while giving the bedrooms and bathrooms a more intimate feeling, and maintains money-saving flat ceiling framing.
Well-placed windows and French doors add to the feeling of space and light. “I like the amount of glass and the views outward,” Michael Ann said. “At the same time, I like how solid and cozy this small house feels.”
Excerpted from Natural Home, a national magazine that provides practical ideas, inspiring examples and expert opinions about healthy, ecologically sound, beautiful homes. To read more articles from Natural Home magazine, please visit www.NaturalHomeMagazine.com or call (800) 340-5846 to subscribe. (C) 2010
Most governments are an expensive, unnecessary inconvenience.
US Banks at Risk of Insolvency…PM reported this previously
Nouriel Roubini, the star economist whose gloomy forecasts have earned him the nickname of Dr. Doom, is at it again…
This time he has taken to Twitter to predict pain. The New York University professor was reacting to a report by Laurie Goodman, senior managing director at Amherst Securities, who says one in five distressed homeowners in the U.S. faces, or may face, foreclosure, Housing Wire reports.
She says 11.5 million home loans are non-performing or highly distressed at present.
And Roubini says that spells trouble. “Amherst Securities Goodman estimates that 11.5 million households could default on their mortgages, not the 4 million priced in by markets,” he tweets.
“If 11.5 million more households default on their mortgages, most U.S. banks would be insolvent again. That's why Goodman's estimates are scary.”
http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/RoubiniUSBanksatRiskofInsolvency/2010/11/09/id/376510?s=al&promo_code=B132-1
>>><<< Is Every Corporation bent on screwing its market?
…mirrors what the Poor Man has been saying for years & why you need a Plan B!
Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes Blog, has a very interesting post about a long time seller who was just suspended by eBay for one year because she had a couple of low DSR hits. Be sure and read some of the comments on Ina’s post.
What this tells me is what I have been telling my readers for years: You never want to put all your eggs in one basket. eBay is still a good place to sell –but if you think they care the slightest bit about you, your financial well-being, profits or success you are mistaken. You are nothing but a fee-machine.
eBay is a corporation. They answer to Wall Street –not eBay members. All eBay policies are driven by one thing – earning more fees. Anything that gets in the way of that is road- kill to them. Lest you think I am being too harsh –most (but not all) large public corporations are like this. I have had experiences with Google that are far worse than this. There is something about these types of businesses. Once the original founders leave or they just get so big –they forget what got them there and take on an arrogance that is only matched by government bureaucrats.
Your only defense is to expand your business to other venues such as Amazon, your own website, Facebook and other selling venues such as Etsy, OnlineAuctions.com, ePier, Bonanza and so on. eBay is still a good place to sell and many sellers including myself are making good money there –but you would be foolish to think that eBay cares a whit about you. Everyone needs a Plan-B. Read more at Skip McGrath’s excellent newsletter:
http://www.skipmcgrath.com/newsletters/current.shtml
“There’s no business that’s too small for government to torture.” - John Stossel
Parting shots…
During the past couple of issues I’ve pointed our what I believe has been the folly of the fed. I’m not alone as other world leaders have cried foul too as has our own Ron Paul. As a result of the fed action…
Silver EXPLODES 5.8%! Gold surging!
Global firestorm raging over Fed
One of our readers wrote to thank me for the ‘heads up’ as to how this action will prove costly to the American public via more inflation…
”thanks for the information you provide. I told my wife to stock up on stuff and she did. Thank goodness too as the very next day, butter went up 50 cents a pound! Your advice has saved our family a lot of money and time over the past few months. We recommend your letter to everyone we know.”
Ron Paul: Fed Will 'Self Destruct' as Easing Kills the Dollar…
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, says the Federal Reserve will eventually self-destruct because of its efforts to revive the U.S. economy with more monetary easing.
Paul told CNBC that the Fed’s decision last Wednesday to spend an additional $600 billion in quantitative easing — government bonds in a bid to make loans cheaper and get Americans to spend more — won't work and will destroy the dollar's value around the world.
“They (the Fed) can’t manage a dollar like this,” Paul told CNBC. “People are going to desert the dollar. I think the Chinese are hinting that already: They’re not wanting our dollars as much as they want raw materials and other things."
As a result of renewed inflationary pressures brought about by the fed, Americans are becoming what’s being termed surgical shoppers.
The days when shopping was a leisure activity unto itself are over, at the nation's largest shopping centers and beyond. Americans are being precise in how they shop, regardless of what they are buying.
They're visiting fewer stores, checking off their lists and walking away. They're spending fewer minutes online when they shop. They aren't stockpiling food or clothes or much of anything that I can see.
The shift is greatest among low-income Americans.
You can see it during the wee hours of the morning on the first day of each month. That's when government assistance electronically drops into debit cards of millions of Americans. So they line up to get the basics just after midnight, a scene that's increasingly common across the country. Stores that close overnight report crowds first thing in the morning.
The commercial real estate industry is likely to keep struggling in part because of more targeted shopping by Americans. J.C. Penney Co. CEO Mike Ullman calls this behavior "appointment shopping." He's seeing more shoppers only visiting stores when they have a specific reason to buy - Christmas, back-to-school, Mother's Day or another occasion.
Meanwhile, websites like Groupon are becoming more popular. Since its launch in late 2008, the site has attracted 25 million subscribers around the world. They band together to get the lowest price on an item, then pounce.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101108/ap_on_bi_ge/us_consumer_chill_surgical_shopping
http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/RonPaul-Fed-SelfDestruct-easing/2010/11/08/id/376340?s=al&promo_code=B113-1
That’s it for this issue from your friendly tightwad and agitator-the Poor Man!
Visit our sites, spend your money, support my cause!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Your choice for urban survival resources
Http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Living in small homes
2. Free credit scores
3. Don’t waste your money on these auto scams
4. Avoid or Post Scams at Site Jabber
5. Free magazine archives
6. Rise of the Surgical Shopper
On account of us being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only
people in the world that has to keep a government four years no matter what it
does."
-- Will Rogers
“We Will Bury You.” Was Khruschev right or will we do it ourselves?
…Musings on fighting City Hall & the state of America
Some of you may not remember the famous 1956 speech made by the Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev about how Communism would bury the United States. His premise was the working class would rise up and bury capitalism from within.
That may come to pass and as we have witnessed much of the middle class disappearing, losers to the capitalism game and indeed, our country has adopted many of the planks of the Communist Party (as outlined two issues ago). Capitalism is good so long as greed doesn’t get in the way and the playing field remains level…something which has not happened here in recent years.
As most of us know too, just because something is a law, doesn’t make it right or ethical. Most would agree, for example, the right to vote for women or Blacks was against the law at one time and that did not make it right.
The income tax was against the law until globalists infested Congress and managed to amend the Constitution and allowed the fed to take control of our currency.
As America slowly succumbs to a socialistic state, run by county commissars and politburos, we will see more of our Bill of Rights vanish and there is no easy way to fight back.
Locally, there is a fellow now serving time in prison for his attempts at fighting local government infractions. Larry Wilcox chased a state trooper off his waste management business property after the cop had pulled over a suspected traffic scofflaw onto his business parking lot. To make a long story short, Larry soon faced a Waco-like visit from several state and local ‘authorities,’ complete with helicopters and tanks.
Larry, not one to take things lightly, filed liens on the property of something like 80 local cops, judges, and other government types. A big no-no as government types dislike any use of the legal system against them. They will use it to BURY you however and will use overwhelming numbers and resources (using your tax dollars, of course) to achieve that goal.
The average politician is ego driven and somewhat childish by nature and should be nurtured in advance through bribes and favors in the form of campaign contributions and the like.
Therefore, one should know that you never attack a superior force head-on.
All Warfare is based on deception
--Sun-Tzu, Art of War
My friends, let this be a lesson. Without massive public support, you cannot fight city hall. You must use a bigger city hall such as the federal government to file grievances against local government agencies and most good lawyers can find violations of civil rights laws against local politicians and other government critters…this happened frequently with ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) laws. When this law was enacted, plenty of local governments got slammed by inventive citizens.
Another useful tool is rumor. For example, local tradesman and retailers don’t take kindly to local bureau twits when they learn their action costs them money and business. Of course, let others spread the news. You simply plant the seeds.
It all sounds Machiavellian and it is. So let the feds or others do the dirty work whenever possible.
"[I]f we won’t choose to pay the price of liberty, then by default we shall suffer the cost of servitude -- whether it be the iron chains of a tyrannical oligarchy or the regulatory chains of unelected, faceless bureaucrats. When we witness our neighbors abused by tyrants, will we skulk away and hope we’re not next? Or will we stand by them and challenge -- as freedom-loving Americans—the tyranny of lawless leaders."
-- Phil Trieb
Source: The New American,
This week’s good stuff & it’s all good!
Build an Earth Sheltered Home for $5K-kind of cool! Scroll down further to read more about small homes.
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/12/01/hand-build-an-earth-sheltered-house-for-5000/
Magazines provide a fascinating look back into history. When you read them, you can get a sense of what was going on at the time they were written, what the popular sentiment about certain issues was at the time, and get a glimpse into how people lived their lives.
This site provides old magazine articles on a plethora of different topics and they're free! All you have to do is choose a category that interests you, click into it, and start reading. The articles are saved in .PDF files so that they're easy to save.
http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/
You've probably seen the "free" credit score offers. Technically they are free,
but you have to sign up for a trial of credit monitoring service and give them
a credit card. Fail to cancel the service before the trial expires, and they charge
your credit card.
Fortunately, you can get your credit score completely free, and without giving
up your credit card number. The truly free credit score comes from Credit Karma
http://www.creditkarma.com/
Pouring This Stuff In Your Car Is Money Down The Drain
As the economy has plummeted and the recovery has stagnated, it seems that companies promising false hope are on the rise. In the automotive realm, these are the firms peddling formulas that claim to solve various mechanical problems such as engine knocks, transmission slippage and oil consumption. Some even claim that their products will enable your car’s engine to harmlessly run without oil. Preying on the ignorance and wishful desires of the public, these products are snake oil of the first order
http://autos.aol.com/article/automotive-alchemy/
Food Inflation Accelerating
Cooking oils, left behind in this year’s surge in agriculture prices, are poised to catch up with grains as record demand cuts stockpiles by the most in 17 years.
Inventories of soybean oil and palm oil, used by Nestle SA and Unilever and in everything from Hellmann’s mayonnaise to Snickers candy bars, will drop 12 percent in the coming year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-31/food-inflation-rising-as-cooking-oil-poised-to-catch-up-with-grain-gains.html
From the National Science Foundation. If you run across a questionable site, one that looks too good to be true, you can now come to Site Jabber and find out if it is on the up an up! Or if you've already been scammed, you can head to Site Jabber and write a review of the site that scammed you so that others can avoid the same fate
http://www.sitejabber.com/
USPS to Raise Priority Mail Rates in January
The USPS is raising the rates of Priority Mail packages in
January and is introducing two new Priority Mail envelopes.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m11/i08/s01
Recipe Gold Mine, where you will find the mother lode of recipes
http://recipegoldmine.com/
As a survival expert I’m trained to survive extremes in weather, wildlife, terrains and scenarios of all types. Surviving an extreme government is the last thing I planned for. I never thought we would need to prepare for Uncle Sam poking his finger in our chests.
Like many of us, I’m tired. I’m tired of ever expanding and encroaching government and the career politicians and bureaucrats that staff them. I’m tired of our Constitution being treated like a speed bump to the agendas of those trying to strip our freedoms at every turn. I’m tired of ever increasing taxes from the local to the federal levels and those that are busy spending and hocking our futures. I’m tired of many in the mainstream media and their near constant spin.
The video premiere for The Brian Brawdy Show, Liberty’s Line in the Sand at Livestream.com/brianbrawdy.
Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
Live Well in Less than 1,000 Square Feet
From Natural Home, by Carol Venolia
During the past 60 years, the size of American homes has exploded, but the trend is now moving in the opposite direction, proving once more that bigger isn’t always better. In 1950 the average American home size was 983 square feet; by 2009 the average home was 2,343 square feet — even as family size shrank. Finally, it appears people are rethinking housing size. In 2010, average home size is down 9 percent, and many communities — such as California’s Marin County and Georgia’s DeKalbe County — have enacted laws limiting new home size.
A moment’s thought yields a multitude of reasons to consider living in less than 1,000 square feet. Smaller homes generally cost less and require less maintenance than larger ones. A small house consumes fewer natural resources in construction and requires less energy for heating and cooling. But perhaps the most compelling reason for going small is that it feels good. People who live in small, well-designed houses say their homes feel cozier, and they love having everything they need within reach.
Design makes all the difference. A poorly designed 900-square-foot house can feel smaller than a well-designed 400-square-foot house. Homes feel cramped when they have small, dark rooms and insufficient storage space. Well-designed small spaces feel open, efficient and cozy. As architect and small-space specialist Henry Yorke Mann proves in his homes, living in a cozy space doesn’t mean sacrificing convenience or livability. “You don’t want to get too mean about things,” he said.
The Spirit of the Sea
Keith and Judy Scott loved the 450-square-foot cabin Mann designed for them on their British Columbia property so much that they moved out of their main house and now live happily in the small home. “We never thought we could live in 450 square feet,” Keith said. “The home we’d lived in was 5,000 square feet. But the spaces just work right. They’re not too big, and they’re not too small.”
How did the architect do it? “Anyone who’s lived on a boat knows that there are lots of things you can do to save space,” Mann said. He hid storage everywhere, including under the stairs, and he didn’t skimp on quality. The materials are beautiful and earthy. The kitchen and bathroom are efficient and luxurious. Keith calls the sleeping loft “a really comfortable nest.” The vaulted ceiling is expansive, and thoughtfully placed glass embraces the sky, trees, birds and water.
“A home has to have a spirit,” Mann said. “It has to have its own presence — something you can settle into, that you can be quiet in. It’s a question of design; that’s the most important thing.”
“It’s like a little jewel box, a beautiful piece of wood work,” Keith said. “I wish everybody would build half the size of house and use the space right — and use an architect to design it.”
Tumbleweed: A Tiny Home Tumbles Along
In the past 12 years, Jay Shafer has lived in homes with less than 100 square feet. At 130 square feet, the first tiny house he built in Iowa City, Iowa, was too small for the city’s minimum house size requirement, so Shafer put it on wheels and called it a trailer. Through his Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, Shafer has spent the past decade designing and building tiny homes for those who share his love of intense coziness.
“When it comes to my domestic environment, anything that’s not working for me works against me,” Shafer said. “More stuff means more space and more cost. So I’m liberated by small spaces.”
It all comes down to quality of space, not quantity. And storage. “If your stuff’s not out of sight, it can drive you crazy,” Shafer said. “On the other hand, when everything you need is right there in reach, it feels great.”
Now that Shafer is married and has a baby, he’s added another criterion. “To make a small space feel big, every individual has to have private space,” he said. Shafer designed a 400-square-foot home for his family, with private space for all. Someday, he imagines each family member having their own tiny house on wheels — “kind of a little family village.”
A Garden Home Grows Great Little Spaces
Michael Ann Brown wanted a small house in a large garden. Her 1,200-square-foot house just felt too big. She disliked unused space and fondly recalled once having lived in a small trailer with a big sunroom.
The result is a 996-square-foot, one-bedroom house, perched high on her south-facing slope. The main living areas face south for passive solar gain. Outdoor spaces include a screened porch on the east, a narrow porch on the south (to avoid blocking winter sun), a deep west-facing porch for shade from the hot afternoon sun, and a cool summer patio on the north. The outdoor rooms expand the living space and make the house more energy-efficient. “I absolutely love that west porch,” Michael Ann said. “I cook out there. I often bring out a glass of wine, sit in the porch swing and watch the sunset. Who needs more?”
Indoors, the architects used some classic spatial tricks. They kept the living spaces open to one another yet subtly divided, striking a balance between lots of small rooms, which feels cramped, and one big room, which is uninteresting. You can subtly divide spaces using ceiling or floor height. In this case, they designed the floor slab so it steps down two feet from a higher bedroom/bathroom/laundry/storage area to a lower living/dining/kitchen. This helps subtly divide the spaces and gives the living areas a space-expanding 10-foot ceiling while giving the bedrooms and bathrooms a more intimate feeling, and maintains money-saving flat ceiling framing.
Well-placed windows and French doors add to the feeling of space and light. “I like the amount of glass and the views outward,” Michael Ann said. “At the same time, I like how solid and cozy this small house feels.”
Excerpted from Natural Home, a national magazine that provides practical ideas, inspiring examples and expert opinions about healthy, ecologically sound, beautiful homes. To read more articles from Natural Home magazine, please visit www.NaturalHomeMagazine.com or call (800) 340-5846 to subscribe. (C) 2010
Most governments are an expensive, unnecessary inconvenience.
US Banks at Risk of Insolvency…PM reported this previously
Nouriel Roubini, the star economist whose gloomy forecasts have earned him the nickname of Dr. Doom, is at it again…
This time he has taken to Twitter to predict pain. The New York University professor was reacting to a report by Laurie Goodman, senior managing director at Amherst Securities, who says one in five distressed homeowners in the U.S. faces, or may face, foreclosure, Housing Wire reports.
She says 11.5 million home loans are non-performing or highly distressed at present.
And Roubini says that spells trouble. “Amherst Securities Goodman estimates that 11.5 million households could default on their mortgages, not the 4 million priced in by markets,” he tweets.
“If 11.5 million more households default on their mortgages, most U.S. banks would be insolvent again. That's why Goodman's estimates are scary.”
http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/RoubiniUSBanksatRiskofInsolvency/2010/11/09/id/376510?s=al&promo_code=B132-1
>>><<< Is Every Corporation bent on screwing its market?
…mirrors what the Poor Man has been saying for years & why you need a Plan B!
Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes Blog, has a very interesting post about a long time seller who was just suspended by eBay for one year because she had a couple of low DSR hits. Be sure and read some of the comments on Ina’s post.
What this tells me is what I have been telling my readers for years: You never want to put all your eggs in one basket. eBay is still a good place to sell –but if you think they care the slightest bit about you, your financial well-being, profits or success you are mistaken. You are nothing but a fee-machine.
eBay is a corporation. They answer to Wall Street –not eBay members. All eBay policies are driven by one thing – earning more fees. Anything that gets in the way of that is road- kill to them. Lest you think I am being too harsh –most (but not all) large public corporations are like this. I have had experiences with Google that are far worse than this. There is something about these types of businesses. Once the original founders leave or they just get so big –they forget what got them there and take on an arrogance that is only matched by government bureaucrats.
Your only defense is to expand your business to other venues such as Amazon, your own website, Facebook and other selling venues such as Etsy, OnlineAuctions.com, ePier, Bonanza and so on. eBay is still a good place to sell and many sellers including myself are making good money there –but you would be foolish to think that eBay cares a whit about you. Everyone needs a Plan-B. Read more at Skip McGrath’s excellent newsletter:
http://www.skipmcgrath.com/newsletters/current.shtml
“There’s no business that’s too small for government to torture.” - John Stossel
Parting shots…
During the past couple of issues I’ve pointed our what I believe has been the folly of the fed. I’m not alone as other world leaders have cried foul too as has our own Ron Paul. As a result of the fed action…
Silver EXPLODES 5.8%! Gold surging!
Global firestorm raging over Fed
One of our readers wrote to thank me for the ‘heads up’ as to how this action will prove costly to the American public via more inflation…
”thanks for the information you provide. I told my wife to stock up on stuff and she did. Thank goodness too as the very next day, butter went up 50 cents a pound! Your advice has saved our family a lot of money and time over the past few months. We recommend your letter to everyone we know.”
Ron Paul: Fed Will 'Self Destruct' as Easing Kills the Dollar…
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, says the Federal Reserve will eventually self-destruct because of its efforts to revive the U.S. economy with more monetary easing.
Paul told CNBC that the Fed’s decision last Wednesday to spend an additional $600 billion in quantitative easing — government bonds in a bid to make loans cheaper and get Americans to spend more — won't work and will destroy the dollar's value around the world.
“They (the Fed) can’t manage a dollar like this,” Paul told CNBC. “People are going to desert the dollar. I think the Chinese are hinting that already: They’re not wanting our dollars as much as they want raw materials and other things."
As a result of renewed inflationary pressures brought about by the fed, Americans are becoming what’s being termed surgical shoppers.
The days when shopping was a leisure activity unto itself are over, at the nation's largest shopping centers and beyond. Americans are being precise in how they shop, regardless of what they are buying.
They're visiting fewer stores, checking off their lists and walking away. They're spending fewer minutes online when they shop. They aren't stockpiling food or clothes or much of anything that I can see.
The shift is greatest among low-income Americans.
You can see it during the wee hours of the morning on the first day of each month. That's when government assistance electronically drops into debit cards of millions of Americans. So they line up to get the basics just after midnight, a scene that's increasingly common across the country. Stores that close overnight report crowds first thing in the morning.
The commercial real estate industry is likely to keep struggling in part because of more targeted shopping by Americans. J.C. Penney Co. CEO Mike Ullman calls this behavior "appointment shopping." He's seeing more shoppers only visiting stores when they have a specific reason to buy - Christmas, back-to-school, Mother's Day or another occasion.
Meanwhile, websites like Groupon are becoming more popular. Since its launch in late 2008, the site has attracted 25 million subscribers around the world. They band together to get the lowest price on an item, then pounce.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101108/ap_on_bi_ge/us_consumer_chill_surgical_shopping
http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/RonPaul-Fed-SelfDestruct-easing/2010/11/08/id/376340?s=al&promo_code=B113-1
That’s it for this issue from your friendly tightwad and agitator-the Poor Man!
Visit our sites, spend your money, support my cause!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
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