Keep Our Service Free-Donate

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Angry Americans, Seed Banks, Extreme Couponing


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.


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


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.

To start a seed-lending library in your area, visit Richmond Grows for tips and resources.



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.


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/



Yours for freedom in America, the Poor Man!



Follow us on Facebook




 Twitter






Keep our services free, visit our sites…

Check our Resources



New self sufficiency books added weekly




A Shallow Planet Production

No comments: