Bruce’s
Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A
digest of urban survival resources
ISSN 2161-5543
In This Issue:
1. Extreme
Couponing
2. More
on Seed Banks, Libraries
3. You
don’t need as much ‘stuff’ – Micro Homes
4. Gowing
anger in the US; Why America is losing its innovative edge
5. In
Defense of Freedom – Parting Thought
"If you put the federal government in charge of
the Sahara Desert , in five years there'd be a shortage of sand." ~ Milton Friedman
Growing Anger and Violence in America - a Portent of
things to come?
As unemployment hits 9.1 percent (much higher in
reality), Americans are losing their cool. A Newsweek/Daily Beast poll finds
rising anger levels affecting everything from work to sex drive. Gas and
grocery prices are soaring, the housing market is crashing to new lows, and yet
another dismal jobs report has confirmed a stubbornly high unemployment rate,
The Daily Beast's Douglas Schoen reports.
Three-quarters
of respondents think the country is on the wrong track. A majority say the
anxiety wrought by this recession has caused relationship problems and sleep
deficiency. Two-thirds even report being angry at God.
From the World
Bank - a 174-pager called "Multipolarity: The New Economic Order."
According to the report, by 2025 the dollar's reign as the world's reserve currency will be well and truly over.
Or as the economists at the World Bank put it (emphasis added):
The international monetary system is likely to cease being dominated by a single currency. Emerging-market countries [...] will become key players in financial markets. In short, a new world order with a more diffuse distribution of economic power is emerging.
According to the report, by 2025 the dollar's reign as the world's reserve currency will be well and truly over.
Or as the economists at the World Bank put it (emphasis added):
The international monetary system is likely to cease being dominated by a single currency. Emerging-market countries [...] will become key players in financial markets. In short, a new world order with a more diffuse distribution of economic power is emerging.
CNBC aired an interesting
program titled “Restoring the American Dream,” which showed why the US has lost its
number one ranking in the world in terms of technological development, indeed,
out of 40 countries, we rank 40 – the bottom of the barrel while China and
India race far ahead of us.
Up
until recently, we were always number one.
China now graduates more Engineering and Math higher degrees than we do
and our government has actually reduced funding for research to almost
nothing. Often, private businesses
develop the core innovation here but no one in the US will fund its development
but they do in S. Korea, China and India.
Also
pointed were the massive barriers government agencies have in place making
development here cumbersome and expensive.
Red tape and bureacracies are killing America.
The Big 3 Warehouse Club stores sold more than 128
million memberships last year - a 5.5% increase a year for the past five
years. Half the income derived by
Warehouse stores are from membership fees!
NOTE: Save up to 35% on alcohol
purchases at places like Costco…thanks to state laws, you don’t need to be a
member (same goes for prescriptions at Costco).
PM’s
‘Betty Shocker’ Compendium of Useful Stuff
Let’s face it: Most of us have more stuff than we need. (That is, unless, you’ve thrown your ballot in with
the tiny house movement.) More
clothes, more gizmos, more space, more tools, more junk. Accumulating life’s
flotsam seems nearly inescapable these days—and that doesn’t even take into
account all the stuff we instantly throw away. Chappell Ellison, a New
York-based writer and design critic, is documenting her attempt to rid herself
of unnecessary stuff on a photoblog called Everything
Must Go (which is also her conduit for ditching expendable
goods).
“In an attempt to learn how to live with less,”
Ellison writes on the website,
I’m giving away my things, one by one. Sometimes the object will be
accompanied by a personal narrative that might make you want the object more
(or less). In letting go of these objects and their memories, I hope to
understand more about the way in which we place meaning into the stuff that
surrounds us.
Read more: http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Everything-Must-Go-Give-Away-Chappell-Ellison.aspx#ixzz1ODZhZ7Jg
Read more: http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Everything-Must-Go-Give-Away-Chappell-Ellison.aspx#ixzz1ODZhZ7Jg
Homeowners can use red cedar
chips and wood shavings to solve a variety of problems around the home and garden.
Hang cedar chips in bags or scatter them in closets to repel insects, and use them as mulch around
the bases of trees and shrubs. Cedar wood shavings are also a common,
inexpensive pet bedding. However, the aromatic
oils that give cedar wood its insect-repellent properties and pleasant smell
can be dangerous to animals and some humans. For most
people, cedar shavings are not dangerous, but it may be necessary to use them
with caution, especially around small animals and people with existing
allergies or sensitivities.
Seed libraries allow patrons to “check out” seeds and
grow them on their own land. In exchange, the gardener or farmer
is asked to donate seeds to the library at harvest time. These will be used by
fellow library-goers in the next growing season. “Unlike a seed bank, the
libraries are living collections that change every time a gardener returns
seeds,” Organic Gardening writes.
The Richmond
Grows Seed Lending Library, housed in the Richmond
Public Library near Berkeley, California, celebrated its one-year anniversary
this month and has nearly 400 users. Carefully cataloged by type—herb, flower,
or edible—and degree of growing difficulty, the seeds are a small but powerful
force in bringing fresh food to all members the community, says Mother Earth News. The free program “provid[es] access to
fresh, healthy food in communities where it may not otherwise be available and
teach[es] everyone how much fun growing your own food can be.”
In addition to the seed-lending libraries spreading up
and down California—at Alameda Free Library and San Francisco Public Library’s
Potrero branch, for example—they are beginning to sprout elsewhere, such as at the Fairfield Public Library’s Fairfield Woods branch in
Connecticut, reports American Libraries.
World's Best Cat Litter™ is celebrating the launch of
our new all-natural Scented Multiple Cat Clumping Formula by hosting The
Sensible Feline — a collection of several cat-care products that prove you
don't have to sacrifice performance to be eco-friendly.
Visit sensiblefeline.com to learn
more. You can even win one of each in our Sensible Feline prize-pack!
How To Self-Publish a Book
This sounds easy. I created an account on Createspace.com. They are owned by Amazon. Great customer service. You have any question at all you hit a button that says “Call Me” and within 30 seconds they have a customer representative calling your phone. I downloaded a Microsoft Word template they provided.
This sounds easy. I created an account on Createspace.com. They are owned by Amazon. Great customer service. You have any question at all you hit a button that says “Call Me” and within 30 seconds they have a customer representative calling your phone. I downloaded a Microsoft Word template they provided.
Extreme Couponing, the popular TV show has made an…
“attitude adjustment in many of our friends and
family. As a result, a resource sharing group has formed amongst us. We share
work, ideas and tips on everything from budgeting to gardening. All of us have
curtailed the “luxuries” like gym memberships, expensive clothing, latte’s and
mochas from those expensive little stops on the way to work, dining at
restaurants, first run movies at the theater, etc.
Our discovery of the world of couponing has shown us
how to dramatically cut household and grocery expenses… look at
TheKrazyCouponLady.com and read their book, Pick Another Checkout Lane,
Honey. I never understood how couponing could make a difference until I
read this book. Our group now looks at coupons almost as a tax free source of
income, because it is saving us hundreds of dollars a month…no exaggeration.”
The extreme couponing phenomenon will not be around
forever. As thousands more pile on to the bandwagon, it is inevitable that food
producers and retailers will start changing the rules. So take advantage of
extreme couponing while you can.
Thankfully, there are some people out there that share
their knowledge for free on the Internet. The following are some of the best
extreme couponing sites around if you are interested in learning more....
|
Oil Change -- $9.99
|
Through June 14, Tire Kingdom, Merchants Tire, and NTB
are offering a conventional oil change for only $9.99 with this printable coupon. Keep in mind
that some competitors will match the offer if prefer going there
Donate
your old blankets and towels to animal shelters such as: HumaneSociety.org,
ASPCA.org, or PetFinder.com
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to
have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -- Benjamin Franklin
The Nanny State Updates…
Take these executive orders, for instance:
Executive Order 10995: Seizure of all communications
media - radio, television, newspapers, CB and Ham radio, telephones and the
internet (in effect, suspension of the first amendment)
Executive Order 10997: Seizure of all electrical power
and fossil fuels
Executive Order 10998: Seizure of all food sources,
farms and farm equipment. Food will be rationed. Today some states have
anti-hoarding laws on the books, stating that anything over a one week's supply
of food is considered hoarding and against the law.
Executive Order 10999: Seizure of all transportation
and control of all highways, interstates and seaports. Any vehicle, public or
private, can be taken.
Executive Order 11000: Seizure of all civilians for
work under Federal supervision.
Executive Order 11003: Seizure of all airports and
aircraft, public or private.
Executive Order 11004: Housing and Finance given
authority for population relocation.
Executive Order 12919: Directs various Cabinet
officials to be ready to take over virtually all aspects of the United States
economy during a "state of national emergency" at the direction of
the president.
Executive Order 13010: Directs FEMA to take control
over all government agencies in times of emergency. FEMA is under the direct
control of the executive (presidential) branch of government.
Executive Order 11490: Establishes presidential
control over all United States citizens, businesses, and churches in times of
"emergency
. ... we are
subject to a government that seeks at every turn to undermine our
constitutional rights ...
IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM…The Parting
thought…
1. On September 11, 2001 thousands of people lost their lives in a brutal assault on the American people and the American form of government. We mourn the loss of these innocent lives and insist that those who perpetrated these acts be held accountable.
2. This tragedy requires all Americans to examine carefully the steps our country may now take to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks.
3. We need to consider proposals calmly and deliberately with a determination not to erode the liberties and freedoms that are at the core of the American way of life.
4. We need to ensure that actions by our government uphold the principles of a democratic society, accountable government and international law, and that all decisions are taken in a manner consistent with the Constitution.
5. We can, as we have in the past, in times of war and of peace, reconcile the requirements of security with the demands of liberty.
6. We should resist the temptation to enact proposals in the mistaken belief that anything that may be called anti-terrorist will necessarily provide greater security.
7. We should resist efforts to target people because of their race, religion, ethnic background or appearance, including immigrants in general, Arab Americans and Muslims.
8. We affirm the right of peaceful dissent, protected by the First Amendment, now, when it is most at risk.
9. We should applaud our political leaders in the days ahead who have the courage to say that our freedoms should not be limited.
10. We must have faith in our democratic system and our Constitution, and in our ability to protect at the same time both the freedom and the security of all Americans.
-- National Press Club
http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/
1. On September 11, 2001 thousands of people lost their lives in a brutal assault on the American people and the American form of government. We mourn the loss of these innocent lives and insist that those who perpetrated these acts be held accountable.
2. This tragedy requires all Americans to examine carefully the steps our country may now take to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks.
3. We need to consider proposals calmly and deliberately with a determination not to erode the liberties and freedoms that are at the core of the American way of life.
4. We need to ensure that actions by our government uphold the principles of a democratic society, accountable government and international law, and that all decisions are taken in a manner consistent with the Constitution.
5. We can, as we have in the past, in times of war and of peace, reconcile the requirements of security with the demands of liberty.
6. We should resist the temptation to enact proposals in the mistaken belief that anything that may be called anti-terrorist will necessarily provide greater security.
7. We should resist efforts to target people because of their race, religion, ethnic background or appearance, including immigrants in general, Arab Americans and Muslims.
8. We affirm the right of peaceful dissent, protected by the First Amendment, now, when it is most at risk.
9. We should applaud our political leaders in the days ahead who have the courage to say that our freedoms should not be limited.
10. We must have faith in our democratic system and our Constitution, and in our ability to protect at the same time both the freedom and the security of all Americans.
-- National Press Club
http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/
Yours for
freedom in America, the Poor Man!
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