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Saturday, June 4, 2011

Start your own currency program, More tyranny in America, Credit Scores




Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin

A digest of urban survival resources


ISSN 2161-5543

In This Issue:

1.       Start your own community currency-end state controlled money

2.      The real scoop on your credit report

3.      Money for your creative project

4.      A glimmer of common sense on the ‘drug war’

5.      More useful prepper downloads – free, Drones to spy on Americans

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." --Unknown

Surly & Sour: the rise in rude and uncivil behavior


We're More Rude Than Ever, Poll Finds... 'It's about the daily assault of selfish, inconsiderate behavior that gets under people's skin on the highways, in the office, on TV, in stores and the myriad other settings where they encounter fellow Americans.'" (ABCNEWS.com)

In the study mentioned above, nearly eight in 10 respondents said lack of respect and courtesy is a serious national problem; 61% agreed that there was more rude behavior than in the past; people blamed parents for not instilling courtesy in their children, and popular culture for encouraging rude behavior


During the past 30 years we’ve all seen the weekly reports of rude behavior on air flights, among politicians and bureaucrats, among young children and youth, and adults alike – equal opportunity lunatics.
 

Our teacher friends, all report a rise in unruly, ill-mannered, boorish behavior among students. School bullying has become the target of national concern.


No matter who does the study, the results seem to be the same. Here, 79% feel people are ruder to each other now than just 10 years ago; 42% say they encounter rude behavior every day (Apr. 2002 Good Housekeeping)

What’s going on? We’re rude and we’re mean: there’s road rage, air rage, cellphone rage, checkout rage, bike rage, sports rage, parking rage, rail rage, bank rage, roller rage, boat rage, desk rage, car alarm rage, and drivers who even honk at people on crutches. And according to one expert, there’s also "funeral rage" – people actually flip the bird and cut off funeral processions (Dr. Frank Farley, former president, American Psychological Association)

Statistics prove that more than 8 in 10 of us, both with kids and without kids, agree that bad parenting -- the failure to instill good behavior in kids -- is the major cause of bad manners.


A new Census Bureau stat shows 47% of households are now made up of single parent families.  I firmly believe this trend began after WWII and was pushed along by Hollywood celebrities who popularized having children out of wedlock.  It takes a lot of work to raise children.  The crap on TV is another handicap to social morals.


Teachers often speak of how rude and poorly behaved students have become over the years and the ‘Do-Gooders’ have made discipline virtually impossible.  What do you think?


Tomatoes help prevent sunburn.  People who eat 5 tbs daily are 33% less likely to get sunburn.


PM’s ‘Betty Shocker’ Compendium of useful information…

The Real Scoop on your credit report

Even though there are ways to get estimated FICO scores and alternative credit scores for free, there are only two places to obtain your true FICO score, and neither is free...


Fair Isaac, which compiles the FICO score (800-319-4433, www.MyFICO.com. $19.95).

Equifax (866-493-9788, www.Equifax.com, select "Equifax Products," click the "Single Use Products" tab, then select "Complete Report." $39.95).


In May 2010, the US Senate approved an amendment to a financial industry overhaul bill that would give consumers a free look at their credit scores when they are rejected for a loan, credit card, insurance rate or apartment based on their scores.


Meanwhile, several free online credit score estimator tools can give you a reasonable idea where your score likely stands, including...

Bankrate.com (www.Bankrate.com/calculators.aspx, select "FICO Score Estimator" from the "Credit Card Calculators" section).

SmartCredit.com (www.SmartCredit.com, select "Smart Credit Report").




Be skeptical of "free credit score" offers. Many of these contain hidden costs... and the score provided is unlikely to be a FICO credit score. Each of us is entitled to receive a free copy of a credit report (which does not include a credit score but does give details of your credit history) each year from AnnualCreditReport.com. To protect yourself from identity theft and incorrect information, scan your report for listings that you don’t recognize or that don’t seem accurate.

A Chemical-Free
Weed Killer

The following solution is a safe, environmentally friendly weed killer...

In a spray bottle, combine 1 quart of water and either 1 ounce of distilled white vinegar or 1 ounce of gin, plus 1 capful of baby shampoo. Spray the weeds until they’re soaking wet. After a day or so, the weeds will turn brown, shrivel up and then die.

CAUTION: When using any type of weed killer, be certain to spray only the weeds, not any of the plants you want to keep.

More useful prepper guides – free downloads

OPM - A Federal Employee's Family Preparedness Guide http://www.opm.gov/emergency/pdf/NationalFamilyGuide.pdf

FEMA - Preparing Makes Sense. Get Ready Now


FEMA - Ready.gov




WANT TO FIND MONEY FOR YOUR CREATIVE PROJECT? KICKSTARTER HELPS

Kickstarter has an interesting idea of its own for funding creative projects: Post them to its site and let funders small or large decide who gets money.

“Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields," its website says.

I haven’t tried it yet (I have no ideas; I just type), but check it out at
http://www.kickstarter.com/ . With thanks to www.Sprouter.com for the tip.


Alternative or Community Currencies


   The dollar is not just in decline - it’s a mess!


As the Poor Man has reported, several states are now accepting or in the process of accepting gold and silver rather than Federal Reserve Notes due to their inflation-prone status.


According to the US Treasury, the Coinage Act of 1965, there is no statute mandating a private business must accept currency or coins for payment of goods and service.


Currently, there are more than 150 alternative currencies being accepted around the country.  In some states, retailers now have signs in place announcing they accept the Euro, the Loon or even the Peso.


In some foreign countries such as China, place a limit on the amount of US currency which can be exchanged.  India has announced they will no longer accept US dollars and Amsterdam severely limits where one can exchange US dollars.  Even the Chicago Mercantile Exchange now accepts gold to settle futures contracts.



The United Nations is warning that the U.S. dollar could collapse. The following is a brief excerpt from a recent news report put out by Reuters....



The United Nations warned on Wednesday of a possible crisis of confidence in, and even a “collapse” of, the U.S. dollar if its value against other currencies continued to decline.

In a mid-year review of the world economy, the UN economic division said such a development, stemming from the falling value of foreign dollar holdings, would imperil the global financial system.



BerkShares (www.berkshares.org) BerkShares are a local currency for the Berkshire region. Dubbed a "great economic experiment" by the New York Times, BerkShares are a tool for community empowerment, enabling merchants and consumers to plant the seeds for an alternative economic future for their communities. Launched in the fall of 2006, BerkShares had a robust initiation, with over one million BerkShares having been circulated in the first nine months and over two million to date. View television coverage of BerkShares by clicking here, and other international, national, and regional news coverage by clicking here.




Reason.tv: Bitcoin & the End of State-Controlled Money
Bitcoin is the world's first fully decentralized, peer-to-peer (p2p) virtual currency. It allows users to make anonymous and untraceable cash transactions anywhere in the world without any sort of real-world intermediary. So unlike PayPal and other online services, it can't be squeezed in the same way by governments or other control agents. Just how revolutionary is Bitcoin?
Reason.tv sat down with Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Jerry Brito to learn how Bitcoin operates and what the implications are for traditional state-based fiat currencies. "Whether Bitcoin succeeds or fails is neither here nor there," says Brito, who predicts that currencies in the future will almost certainly be deregulated and decentralized - with or without governments' consent.

"Advocates of a small but fast-growing digital currency network called bitcoin think they've found the answer (or, at the very least, an answer). If it is successful, claim its adherents, this totally- decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) currency could supplant the world's central bank-issued money, potentially providing savvy speculators with an opportunity to cash in on the greatest politically motivated market distortion of our time."




For every $10 the typical household earns before taxes, almost a full dollar now goes toward gas, a 40 percent bigger bite than normal.

Households spent an average of $369 on gas last month. In April 2009, they spent just $201. ---USA Today


The Nanny State Updates…

Tyranny in America – why we need a revolution…

A rural MO fellow got fined $90,000 (by the US Dept of Agriculture) for selling rabbits without a license.  His net profit was only $200.  Utter nonsense.  In the 1950s only one in twenty professions required a license, now it’s one in three!  Red tape and government bullcrap is killing this country and defies common sense and proof to other countries (which are laughing at our stupidity) that we’re no longer a free people.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending huge amounts of money to install surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of public schools so that government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.


The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that it will begin using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents and will place "potential offenders" in specific prevention and education programs.


17 year-old honor student in North Carolina named Ashley Smithwick accidentally took her father's lunch with her to school. It contained a small paring knife which he would use to slice up apples. So what happened to this standout student when the school discovered this? The school suspended her for the rest of the year and the police charged her with a misdemeanor


Do you remember how much was made of the "Misery Index" during the presidency of Jimmy Carter? At that time, the "Misery Index" was constantly making headlines in newspapers all across the country. Well, according to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics, if we calculated unemployment and inflation the same way that we did back during the Carter administration, then the Misery Index today would actually be higher than at any point during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.


Big Brother already has access to our permanent records, and soon he might literally be capable of looking over our shoulders…with unmanned drones.

The T-Hawk is a flying robot small enough to fit in your backpack and able to hover deftly, observe its surroundings, and pursue a target. The Draganflyer X6 is an ultraquiet miniature helicopter that weighs less than three pounds and can stealthily photograph subjects wherever they are—indoors or out. Unmanned

Read more:
http://www.utne.com/Science-Technology/Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles-Drones-Police-Surveillance.aspx#ixzz1ODZIRoDl



Most Americans don't realize how much the U.S. dollar has been devalued over the years. An item that cost $20.00 in 1970 would cost you $115.93 today. An item that cost $20.00 in 1913 would cost you $454.36 today.

The Parting Shot…The Fed is scuttling America

The United Nations warned on Wednesday of a possible crisis of confidence in, and even a “collapse” of, the U.S. dollar if its value against other currencies continued to decline.



In a mid-year review of the world economy, the UN economic division said such a development, stemming from the falling value of foreign dollar holdings, would imperil the global financial system.



Recently, U.S. Representative Ron Paul gave a speech on "The Patriot Act" on the floor of the House of Representatives. The following is a brief except from that speech....



Our Presidents can now, on their own:



*Order assassinations, including American citizens,
*Operate secret military tribunals,
*Engage in torture,
*Enforce indefinite imprisonment without due process,
*Order searches and seizures without proper warrants, gutting the 4th Amendment,
*Ignore the 60 day rule for reporting to the Congress the nature of any military operations as required by the War Power Resolution,
*Continue the Patriot Act abuses without oversight,
*Wage war at will,
*Treat all Americans as suspected terrorists at airports with TSA groping and nude x-raying.



And the Federal Reserve accommodates by counterfeiting the funds needed and not paid for by taxation and borrowing, permitting runaway spending, endless debt, and special interest bail-outs.

Finally, perhaps a return to some common sense?!

A slew of big-name former politicians are endorsing a report that says the war on drugs is not working and that drug enforcement policy needs to fundamentally change. The Global Commission on Drug Policy will urge a "paradigm shift" that emphasizes public health over criminalization tomorrow at a meeting in New York City, The Guardian reports.

Those backing the report include former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former Fed Chair Paul Volcker. Former elected leaders of Greece, Brazil and Colombia have also signed on.

Keep in mind, most government policies don’t work…

"The right to be let alone – the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men." – Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Olmstead v. U.S., 277 U.S. 438 (1928)



That’s it from your ‘Guardian’ – the Poor Man

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