Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
For Independent Minded People!
ISSN
2161-5543
“The notion that a radical is one
who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who
likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the
rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime;
he is a good citizen driven to despair.”
– H. L. Mencken
From The
Smiling Dog Saloon Files
In
This Issue:
1.
Where
the Middle Class & the Poor Meet-Running in Place
2.
Homeowners Guide to Saving Money-DIY Home
Maintenance
3.
Free Online Mini-Gunsmithing Lessons, Prepping
Chickens for Winter
4.
Make Your Own Soap, Insulate Your Attic, Save
Money Buying Beef
5.
The TSA says 75% of you are a risk
Running in Place: Where The Middle Class and The Poor
Meet
Public
opinion about the causes and consequences of poverty has historically
communicated negative stereotypes of the poor and a distrust of government
welfare programs. But as persistent financial insecurity has spread more widely
across the income spectrum, these attitudes are starting to shift. In 2008
Gallup found that 69 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the nation’s
efforts to deal with poverty. In June 2013 that percentage rose to 80 percent.
At
first read this might suggest a growing frustration with governmental
antipoverty programs as inefficient and with the poor as too reliant on entitlements.
But other data suggests an acknowledgment of the hard work and obstacles faced
by those living in poverty. In 1994 less than half (49 percent) of Americans
believed that most of the poor worked, as opposed to relying on government
handouts. Well prior to the current recession that figure had grown to 60
percent.
The
majority of Americans now believe that the middle class has less opportunity to
get ahead than in previous decades (52 percent), less job and financial
security (65 percent), and less expendable income after covering basic expenses
(60 percent).
The
majority (54 percent) also now name financial insecurity as the top concern of
the middle class. As the majority of Americans experience these concerns it has
become easier for a larger group to identify and empathize with the ongoing
financial instability that is a daily fact of life for those in poverty.
Education
is a strong case in point. As discussed in a new Demos report called Running in Place: Where the
Poor and the Middle Class Meet, today both low- and middle-income families
face economic hardship in providing their children with quality childcare and a
solid educational foundation from preschool through college. The consequences
of this are apparent in that the children of the rich are now pulling away from
the children of the middle class in educational achievement and access.
This
is not news, unfortunately. Stanford professor Sean Reardon has written
passionately and convincingly about this, making the point that a gap between
rich and middle class students exists in pretty much every educational
indicator that matters: grades, standardized test scores, high school and
college graduation rates, and even in participation in extracurricular
activities.
Reardon
suggests that rising income inequality explains only half of the growing gap.
|
The
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently released their
Skill Outlook for 2013, which measures the literacy, numeracy and
problem-solving skills in 24 technologically-advanced countries around the
world. The results do not bode well for the United States.
Click here to read the rest of the article. |
PM’s
Roundup of Useful Resources…
How To Prepare Your Chickens For Winter
With a few easy steps, keeping your chickens healthy during the winter can be accomplished and may even reward
you with egg-production year-round. When preparing your chickens for cold
weather, some areas to consider include lighting, heating, proper air flow in their coop, water and feedings.
Obviously, the best time to prepare for winter is during the
late summer or fall, as winter can be a very miserable time for your birds. Of course, some breeds are hardier than others, but, typically, all birds will need some
extra protection as those chilly months draw in. More at:
The
Homeowner’s Guide to Money-Saving DIY Home Maintenance: This is the most comprehensive
article in DIY home maintenance I've seen anywhere. Abby Hayes packed the
article with dozens of YouTube videos that walk you through everything from
installing a programmable thermostat to conducting a home energy audit.
Yes, you can make your own soap! It's easy!
read more here
read more here
Free Online Mini-Gunsmithing Lessons
read more here
The
Nanny State- Your Weekly
Dose of Government Misinformation
You Might Live in a
“No-Constitution Zone”
Where Your Rights Have Been Suspended!
Chances are, you never saw this on your local news.
If you live anywhere in the U.S., including Alaska or Hawaii and live
100 miles from the border be it the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf
of Mexico, the Great Lakes, Canada, or Mexico … Homeland Security says you are
currently in a “Constitution Free Zone.” Your 4th Amendment rights in
particular may no longer be active according to them.
Since 2008, the ACLU has been digging into this matter trying to find
out more through the Freedom of Information Act. So far, various law
enforcement agencies, politicians, and Federal agencies are keeping this on the
down low.
CISPA attack on Internet freedom of speech is back with a vengeance
(NaturalNews) It is an ominous threat to civil liberties that has already been shot down twice. But this time, the so-called Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, could become law if the American people fail to stop it. Mother Jones...
The
Parting Thought – Nothing to worry in the land of the free!
You, like me, are probably sick
of “government creep” into every area of your life.
It’s this intrusion that strips
you of your privacy, over-taxes you, hinders your investment returns, threatens
your healthcare, and reduces your quality of life.
The Transportation Security Agency believes that 75% of Americans are suspect. One indicator you are a "risk" while flying - Owning a passport.
Even for domestic flights, they scan government and private databases including car registration and employment information.
The TSA explained the new procedures in documents it had to release to comply with government regulations about the collection and use of individuals' data.
Of the program, bureaucratese-laden documents aside, the unwashed public has yet to be told.
Nobody can be certain exactly what, and how much, information the agency relies upon to assess the general public. It has a stifling amount of data at its fingertips: tax identification numbers, past travel itineraries, property records, physical characteristics, law enforcement, intelligence information and even credit scores
What's considered a red flag by the TSA? According to the un-named agent:
"Anyone who has never traveled outside the United States would not have a passport number on file and would therefore not be subject to the rules that the agency uses to determine risk."
The documents released by the TSA, however, admitted the agency was pre-screening all passengers in some fashion.
Aside from having a passport, the agency looks into things like an individual's travel itinerary, length of stay abroad and type of travel document, like a passport or visa. The TSA also requires airlines to hand over a traveler's passport number, even on domestic flights.
The TSA knows which passengers belong to frequent-flier miles, as well as past travel reservations, a type of record known as 'passenger name records.'
The new, enhanced screening procedures parallel the TSA's introduction of PreCheck, which, as it turns out, was more a distraction from the true TSA procedures than what it was stated to be: a convenience for travelers.
The TSA has harped on its goal of giving 25% of all passengers lighter screening by the end of 2014, meaning 75% of passengers are considered, at least, "low-risk" travelers
RELATED NOTE: Another Government Test Pilot Program
Underway
Meanwhile, Naren Ramakrishnan, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, admits that his research team is trying to protect individual privacy but that "somebody could potentially use this information in ways that are not intended."
“Until the next
revolution”, the Poor Man
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