I have known and practiced many money saving tips for years but I get a little lazy and it's a sporadic venture for me. Now that I've been out of school for over 5 months and have been unsuccessful in obtaining a full-time job I have come to the conclusion that I have officially become one of the millions of underemployed people in the USA and that I am currently underemployed.
One money saving tip that I haven't adhered to is that of not feeding a vending machine for snacks, especially at work. At $8.00 an hour, working between 4-6 hours a day, spending a couple of bucks for a soda and a snack costs me a quarter of my hourly wage.
Therefore today my lunch consists of a homemade sandwich, a butter bowl of microwave popcorn, and a bottle of purchased iced tea. I could reduce the cost of this by making my own air-popped corn and my own tea.
There are things I can't control, such as the economy, but I will endeavor to control that which I can and if I can't earn more money at least find ways to save what little I do earn.
The purpose of this Court is to establish the validity of any claim filed with the Court (CLC). The Court, then, through the Grand Jury, reviews the evidence and if "probable cause" (it appears that the accusation may be true based upon the evidence), and Indictment is presented to the Accused. The Accused, then, is given the opportunity to answer (go to court to defend his actions) before a trial (petit) jury. If he chooses not to answer, then the Unanswered Indictment is issued, as in the present matter.
Constitutionalists have turned infighting into an art form. It has gotten so bad to the point that those within the Patriot community have been slandered, libeled, and defamed by those very folks who claim to pursue the same ends that the other patriot does. The real problem with internalbalkanization is that by mentioning any particular instances of it, you inadvertently perpetuate it. This is because an individual (even one who is not party to a dispute and refuses to take sides) will be accused by followers of one of the disputed parties to be “secretly” siding with one against the other. The only real way around this is to have an objective third party arbitrator whose procedures and rulings are agreed to by the contending parties in the attempt to finally put the dispute to rest.
The following is the officially released unanswered indictment from the Committee of Safety – Common Law Court in the matter of Louis Baez v. Lukaz Rudkowski. On December 10th, 2012, the Grand Jury found probable cause on 5 counts against Luke Rudkowski. When reading this summary as well as the actual document itself, please keep in mind that Baez is the Accuser and that Rudkowski is the Accused.
Count 1: Fraud – The Accused, under false pretenses, collected monies from individuals who were led to believe that the donations were going to be allocated towards the 9/11 first responders’ medical expenses as well as the equipment expenses for We Are Change.
Count 2: Embezzlement – The Accused embezzled funds from donations intended for the medical expenses of 9/11 first responders as well as We Are Change equipment, into his own personal bank account between 2007 and 2009; he has collected funds exceeding $60,000 and has made large cash withdrawals nearly matching those deposits.
Count 3: Libel – The Accused repeatedly damaged the reputations of those individual members of We Are Change who inquired into the accounting (as required by their own Code of Conduct) by insinuating that those members work for the government as well as answering direct questions in a deceptive manner.
Count 4: Extortion – The Accused has deceived the We Are Change membership about the organization’s legal status, and raised money on a false pretext.
Count 5: Fraud – The Accused solicited for donations intended for a legal defense fund, on behalf of himself and two other We Are Change members, and retained all of the contributions after the charges that warranted the legal defense fund were dropped.
The Common Law Court Indicts Luke Rudkowski of Fraud, Embezzlement, Libel, and Extortion. I have for many years with the help of others been trying to show the 9/11 truth movement that one of their "rockstars" is a fraud. However many truthers refused to look at the evidence I provided. This is because to even question one of your "rockstars" makes you cointelpro.
Luke, someone who has not advanced the movement one freaking inch. So I tried to make videos show the records and still you refused. Then a friend told me about the Common law court. I for years tried Luke Via the court of public opinion. Yet fanboys and just plain assholes just dismissed it as me being jealous of Lukes Success.
People that just knew Luke because he knows how to put together videos with nice graphics on youtube. However, The CLC never heard of Luke. So proving Luke was a fraud was that much harder because I had to first go through the history of WeAreChange and Luke and the personal shit and why they should hear the case. I also had to prove beyond all doubt that Luke is a Thief and a fraud. I provided Emails and recorded and photos.
It took three long months and Luke had to do is basically put up a defense and Luke just didn't care because he thinks you will still give him money. I am not asking you to give it to me. FUND YOUR OWN ACTIVISM. Stop leaving it up to someone else to do. because you will create more frauds just looking to get rich and not make a difference.
Please read this report http://www.committee.org/LibertyTree/index.php?t=msg&th=308&start=0&rid=0&S=3275b77b2fb2780b9eafac362785e566
Or here is the direct link http://www.committee.org/Court/Unanswered_Indictment_120301_Baez_v_Rudkowski.pdf
May this be the end of Lukes Fraud and let real activism and personal responsibility begin!!
To: cryptome[at]earthlink.net Subject: MAJOR DAMNING EVIDENCE AGAINST LUKE RUDKOWSKI Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:41:37 -0400 From: spartacus[at]reborn.com
For the Past 2 years many of us have been fighting for transparency within the 9/11 Truth movement. Specifically, within Wearechange New York City as it pertains to the finances. We feel extremely reluctant to discuss the current situation with "WE ARE CHANGE", but it needs to be addressed if we are going to move forward in this movement. This situation has been extremely disruptive, and we hope we can all come to a resolution in a civil and honest manner.
It should be known that we have tried to deal with this in a private setting, hoping to shield the rest of the movement from this unnecessary drama. However, Luke Rudkowski has put us in a position where that is no longer possible.
Luke Rudkowski routed all donations totaling over $85,000 (according to the chip-in flash application gauge) to his PRIVATE BANK ACCOUNT
(just like Les Jamison of NY911truth did). Luke Rudkowski has 100% control of donations that come to We are change. Luke Rudkowski has yet to give a real detailed financial report in two years which is supposed to be provided according to voted on bylaws.
"All expenditures will be presented to the group with statements presented on the first meeting of every month detailing expenses and money accrued."- http://www.wearechange.org/?page_id=33
Back in March 2009 Luke and 2 others where arrested for attempting to question Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Luke set up a chip in to pay for the legal costs for all three people. However, it quickly changes to just be the Luke Legal Defense fund. According to the chip in widget Luke was able to raise $4,241.55.
If Lukasz was able to raise $4k for the legal defense fund, why does he have a legal aide lawyer? What has he done with the money he raised for a lawyer? We had to find this on a website that had the wearechange NY legal defense fund Chip-in widget embedded because again Luke is trying to cover his tracks.
Luke Rudkowski has made slanderous statements regarding the integrity and allegiance of myself and others and accused us of being cointelpro. The only crime we committed was asking questions and demanding answers about the bank account. Luke Rudkowski's false and slanderous accusations have given this movement a black eye. The punishment for asking questions to Luke Rudkowski is chapter deletion from main site without a democratic group vote. We will not allow Luke Rudkowski to become judge, jury and executioner in the case against devoted members.
Luke Rudkowski has refused and ignored any efforts by us and other members of WE ARE CHANGE to deal with this situation. Luke Rudkowski has ignored our request to see records. Instead Luke Rudkowski just accuses people of being negative or trying to cause the group to split. Luke Rudkowski had the same problem with Les Jamieson of NY911truth. According to Luke Rudkowski, Les did the same exact thing to him. THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL A HYPOCRITE!!!!
On December of 2009 in a Facebook status post Luke Rudkowski's ex-girlfriend, Sabrina Rivera, speaks out on his exploitation of the late Dan Wallace. In the status updates Sabrina also went on to explain that Luke used Dan Wallace's name for his own fame and still has the belongings of his to Sabrina Rivera. In actuality the real founder of WeAreChange is Dan Wallace.
The members of We Are Change New York have allowed Luke Rudkowski to become a dictator and allowed him to overrule democratically voted will of the members of We Are Change. This breaks the rule in the code of conduct that this is a leaderless movement. The members allow this because of fear of being ostracized by the group and falsely accused of being cointelpro.
The Crotch Shot Radio Show has obtained Luke's financial records from Dallas Carter who in turn gave them to us. These PDF files are the smoking gun. The Chip-in sheets will tell all with the bank statements
You can see that the only deposits are coming from the WE ARE CHANGE PayPal account. This is the money you donated going into his private bank account.
Then you can see him paying for his College Tuition at Brooklyn College. THAT IS NOT WEARECHANGE BUSINESS!
We saw as Luke Rudkowski withdrew $20,000 from WeAreChange's PayPal account. This was exactly $4473.10 that went to pay for his tuition at Brooklyn College. According to the Wearechange site on the now replaced chip-in application the donations are for fliers, DVD's and, events. It is interesting to see that Wearechange stopped using the Chip-in app which showed how much was collected and a description of purpose of the donation. They have replaced it with the non-transparent PayPal payment button.
When a donation is made the receipt says donation to Lukasz Rudkowski. This point was also made by Lindsey of theinfounderground.com called into The Piper report to confirm this.
In a recent Radio interview on Revolution Broadcasting marathon Luke admitted to mixing Wearechange money with his own and using Wearechange donation money to pay for college. This is still fraud no matter if he paid it back or not.
He has fought to have sole control of the finances of We Are Change. In addition he has been blocking any inquiry into the finances.
We are not saying Luke has not done any good of course he has. However, we can not ignore this obvious slap to the movements face.
He has been given massive amounts of trust and has been an inspiration to myself and others.
Wearechange North East Pennsylvania and WeAreChange Latino were kicked out for asking questions and demanding answers.
We again must not mimic behavior of the New World Order. There is no grey just a black and white. Once you cross that line then you are automatically working for the enemy.
We are 9/11 truthers which means we are honest in our ways and must keep each other in check. Any abuse allowed is the same as taking part in it.
We released these records to the New York State Attorney Generals Office last year and they have yet to charge Luke. Andrew Cuomo the New York State Attorney General is running for governor.
I finished the bedroom curtains last night. It took me three days for the complete project but keep in mind that I'm not working right now so I have the time to devote. I think they turned out pretty well but I'm waiting to see how the light of a sunset look streaming through them. It's been dreary and cold here for the last couple of weeks and I haven't seen a pretty orange/pink sunset in a while.
It's my hope that the sun will glint on the beads and will filter through the pattern of the crochet to shadow dance on the walls.
My cousin Cheryl is a photographer and has a beautiful cat. She has asked that I make her some berets for the cat to wear so she can do a photo shoot. I whipped out four little hats and will mail these out to her, probably tomorrow. I used the dogs sock monkies and faithful old kermit to model three of the hats.
Today I have to stick around the house. They are delivering the new tv. When the tv decided to crap out on us a couple of weeks ago Bob started researching the best prices and found a 47" for $599.00 through Tiger Direct and there was no shipping and handling. Now that is going to be some serious tv watching with that big of a screen. I know some people have larger but this will be the largest yet for me and I'm loving it.
I got a call last night from Borders and although I was supposed to work 4 hours in the store on Friday night I'm now being told that there is new management coming in and they want to interview all of the people that were intended as new hires (leftovers from the seasonal help) so will be setting up an appointment.
It's okay with me that they are taking their time. I was only working there part-time awaiting word from the federal government as to whether they are going to fund my training as a medical assistant through TRA. School starts February 1st and I should be hearing something official at least a week before school starts.
So...looking for more projects to keep me busy. Lord knows I have enough yarn stash that I can work on! There is always household cleaning to be done and I need to exercise. At best I've worked out 4 times since the first of the year and it's already the 20th. So much for New Years resolutions once again. Just like those Monday morning diets that last until Tuesday.
More snow on the way and the temperatures are still low teens and twenties. This cold snap has dragged on for several weeks now and it's starting to wear on people's nerves. We are all badly in need of a shot of spring.
For quite some time I've had a todo list of crocheting projects I've wanted to get to but had to put off until after the holidays. This week and last the time presented itself and my creative juices were flowing.
I had decided I wanted to crochet some curtains for our bedroom. All that was up at the windows was generic cranberry colored valances and the windows themself are really nice as the ivy growing on the house grows up around those bedroom windows, and the other back bedroom, and it's really pretty. I didn't want to put full curtains up and cover the view of the ivy so decided to make valances but I wanted to see some texture too so that when the evening sun comes in the window it would cast some pretty shadows around the room.
I basically made the design up myself by looking at several crochet patterns and winging it. I've been wanting to try some crocheting with beads too so my first attempt is the edging on these curtains. I just happened to have some cheap pony beads on hand so used them but it would have been really nice to invest in some more unique beads. Maybe another project.
I really only have one curtain completed...the one shown in the middle window of the picture posted below. You can see the contrast of the valances that were up at the window and also the one curtain, on the left, for which I haven't completed the edging (the edging was an afterthought while working on the second panel.)
This picture is just to show some of the beaded crochet edging detail. I'm hoping after the curtains have hung for a while the cotton will begin to stretch and will hang a little more loosely.
I doubt if I will pursue any addtional curtain crochet for a while but I sure do enjoy working with the beads and I have scarf designs playing around in my head now and can't wait to get started. I'm seeing some nice ladies Steelers black and gold beads on some scarves and shrugs for next season and some other fancy things. Oh if my body could just keep up with all of the thoughts whirling through my head. It's like a whirling durvish of ideas. (Thanks for the editing touch Kathy)
Along with several more inches of snow our tempertures have been in the teens and low 20's for several days and I just can't get warm. I'm so thankful that I've had the opportunity to be a winter bear and curl up in the easy chair with the dogs and some warm fleece blankets.
I haven't left the house since I returned on Monday night after working my last day of the seasonal job. Today I finally have to put on some makeup, a pair of boots and my warmest clothes and venture back out into the real world. I'm almost out of bread and with Bob gone I'm surviving mostly on "sammiches" so bread is of the utmost importance. I would have gotten the old bread maker out and opted for staying in a few more days but I have an eye exam scheduled and will be picking Amya up to stay the night.
In the meantime I've finished two knitted scarfs, watched Dr. Phil daily to see what is going on with Ted Williams, worked out on the WII a couple of days, gave two of the dogs a bath, read a little, started two movies but haven't finished either (I think I have ADD) and have done some additional housework and have started a third knitted scarf. I've also done quite a bit of internet research and have done a lot of soul searching and thinking. Mini-vacations are so therapeutic!
The blue scarf on the left is a mix of two different yarns, the pinkish one on the right is just a boucle type yarn I purchased at Big Lots for a dollar a ball. It works up very nice but I sure wouldn't want to crochet with it as it's nubby and it would be hard to see the stitches. Keeping the stitches separate on knitting needles is the way to go.
The third scarf will also be a mixture of two different yarns purchased at Big Lots. The colorful nubby yarn should only require one ball for the entire scarf but it will take at least two balls, maybe three of the other.
I've received my first molds for the cobblestones and am going to go purchase my mold release and concrete mix today. I think I'll wait until Bob is home to make my first mix though. He has had some experience at brick laying so I'll depend on his expertise for my first adventure in cobblestone making.
Well off to read an ebook and knit some more. Yes I can do both at once because I only have to look at the knitting when I turn the row.
With Pennsylvania's unemployment rate at a 25-year high, Gov. Rendell is pushing "green jobs" at every turn. He has doled out nearly $1 billion to renewable energy projects and wants additional alternative energy mandates. In reality, these mandates and subsidies will result in a net loss of jobs and necessarily escalate electricity prices.
Creating jobs in industries that depend on government assistance is not a sustainable way to stimulate the economy. Alternative energy, such as solar power, might not exist if it wasn't being subsidized by taxpayers. Navigant Consulting estimated that if federal tax credits for solar power and wind energy were discontinued, these industries would lose 77 percent of their employees. According to the Energy Information Administration, solar and wind energy receive over 50 times more in subsidies per MWH than coal, and nearly 100 times more than natural gas.
On top of federal subsidies, Pennsylvania has "invested" nearly $1 billion in renewable energy projects. According to Gov. Rendell, this has put only 8,300 people to work while costing taxpayers over $120,000 per green job. Dan Kerr, a mechanical contractor specializing in alternative energy projects, admitted he doesn't see "tax/rate payer provider funds truly making renewable energy projects more affordable over the long haul. Unless we see dramatic improvements in solar and wind technologies, they will continue to need an artificial boost through government mandates and incentives."
Moreover, these subsidies aren't actually creating jobs, on the whole. A Spanish study concluded that subsidizing renewable energy leads to a loss of 2.2 jobs for every one green job created. The study also found Spain needs to increase the cost of electricity by 31 percent to pay for its deficit, largely caused by renewable energy subsidies. Spain's unemployment is 19 percent, indicating green job growth is not an effective way to stimulate an economy. A similar study in Italy found each green job displaced 4.8 jobs in the overall economy.
Legislation in Pennsylvania, such as House Bill 80 and House Bill 2405, would dig the hole deeper by mandating that utility companies purchase even more electricity from alternative sources than they are already required.
Alternative energy mandates arbitrarily decide which energy sources are "green." Clean energy such as nuclear power and natural gas-which have minimal carbon dioxide emissions-do not make the list, while expensive sources like wind and solar do. Such bills replace sustainable energy jobs with jobs that are entirely dependent on taxpayer-funded subsidies, based on who has the best lobbyists.
Additionally, mandates kill jobs by raising electricity prices. States with binding renewable portfolio standards, like Pennsylvania, have electricity rates that are nearly 40 percent higher than states with no mandate. While state electricity costs are affected by other factors, alternative energy mandates necessitate higher energy prices. Pennsylvania's utility companies predict that HB 80 will add between $9 billion and $12 billion to electricity costs to meet proposed mandates by 2024.
Proponents for such mandates cite a study by Black and Veatch which claims HB 80 will boost the economy and create thousands of jobs. However, this study is based on faulty assumptions and fails to look at the other side of the ledger. These include presuming passage of federal Cap and Trade legislation, which would make fossil energy more expensive (and alternative sources more competitive) and assuming federal and state subsidies for alternative fuels continue.
If the government levies heavy taxes on traditional energy sources and provides subsidies and tax credits to renewable projects, it will create more jobs in such fields. However, job losses in the traditional sectors hit with new taxes will far exceed the number of new "green jobs." The Heritage Foundation estimated Pennsylvania, a state that gets nearly 50 percent of its energy from coal, will lose 46,762 jobs between 2012 and 2035 if Cap and Trade is passed.
A focus on green jobs discourages overall economic growth by redistributing private sector wealth to uncompetitive and unsustainable energy providers. Higher electricity prices hurt small businesses, resulting in fewer jobs. The plan to heavily subsidize "green" energy sources while simultaneously mandating their use is a prescription for economic decline rather than prosperity.
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Katrina Currie is a Research Associate for the Commonwealth Foundation (www.CommonwealthFoundation.org), a public policy education and research institute located in Harrisburg.
This post is mostly for Julie to explain a process I'm using to make scarves.
I'm frugal to a fault and although I love the more expensive yarns I do my best to make my own specialty yarns by mixing two, or more, skeins of unique yarns together.
Big Lots has been one of my favorite shopping stores and especially since they started carrying the Gala brands for $1.00 a ball. I find that for about $4 - $5 dollars I can create a one of a kind scarf that works up really quickly.
I knit to relax while watching tv so most of the time I will knit a straight garter stitch, knit every row, which means I don't have to count stitches or pay much attention to the work in progress.
I like soft yarns but I also like to contrast them with something colorful and different.
For this project I'm using a soft tweed like yarn that is a mixture of blue and brown along with a more colorful ladder yarn. I'm working with circular needles because they are easier for my little hands to manage and I can pull up the ends when I'm not working on it and keep the stitches from falling off more easily.
For this scarf I cast on 20 stitches of the blue tweed yarn. On the second row I mixed the tweed and the ladder yarn together and knit across the row.
On the next row I drop the ladder yarn and work two rows with only the tweed. The ladder yarn just lays on the side and on the third row I pick it up, along with the tweed (working a double strand) and knit across.
Repeat the process until the scarf is the length desired.
When it comes to the fringe I will probably just use the tweed yarn as the ladder yarn isn't quite as pliable. It all depends though...I might decide to not fringe at all.
I woke up at about 4:30 this morning and started the scarf but I will probably have it completed by lunch today. I'm on a mini-winter vacation so have time between blogging, checking my email and checking my Facebook updates to knit!
I have a box in the basement where I'm keeping my completed projects that will either be used for gifts throughout the year, at Christmas, or sold at the craft bazaars next fall / winter. Until I start making rocks I should get quite a few scarves completed.
