Do You Know How To “Barter?”
   In ‘preparedness’ circles, (aka “Preppers”) the term “barter,” is used, when describing a post Shit-Hit-The-Fan Scenario, (aka; “SHTF”) when goods and services are no longer be available, (through normal channels).  According to Wikipedia; “bartering is a method of exchange, by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services, without using a medium of exchange, such as money.” A lot of people think of bartering, as something to do, when they’re down an out, perhaps unemployed, or low on cash, (or BOTH!).  But nothing could be further from the truth. “Bartering” has been around for eons and, is a smart way, to acquire goods and services, — beneath the ‘radar’ screen. (Grab “The Rest of The Story,” HERE!)

Marilyn Campiz
SMSgt, USAFR (Ret)

Congressman Paul,

You made me realize I was not alone. I also served in the Air Force (at times the Air Force has felt like the mafia, pulling me back in when I wanted to walk away, 9 years AD, a few months IRR, TR, ART, and then finally 7 years AGR at HQ USSOUTHCOM…20 years). The USAF has three principles they adopted while I was in service to sum up who we are; Integrity First, Service before SELF and Excellence in all that WE do. There were many times that I had the opportunity to excel in leadership positions without regard to my rank. We were TAUGHT to challenge unlawful orders, to question authority and to know that the law, not rank, was our guiding light. I heard rumblings about a Dr. Paul when I was serving, and one of the Marines said…

Top 10 Cannabis Studies the Government Wished it Had Never Funded

10) MARIJUANA USE HAS NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY: A massive study of California HMO members funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found marijuana use caused no significant increase in mortality. Tobacco use was associated with increased risk of death. Sidney, S et al. Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 87 No. 4, April 1997. p. 585-590. Sept. 2002.

9) HEAVY MARIJUANA USE AS A YOUNG ADULT WON’T RUIN YOUR LIFE: Veterans Affairs scientists looked at whether heavy marijuana use as a young adult caused long-term problems later, studying identical twins in which one twin had been a heavy marijuana user for a year or longer but had stopped at least one month before the study, while the second twin had used marijuana no more than five times ever. Marijuana use had…

By James Smith
theintelhub.com

Due to Hurricane Isaac’s landfall and subsequent stalling, the Department of Homeland Security finds that they need 1,100,000 low sodium MRE’s to cope with the sudden demand.

And they literally need them TODAY! The shipment date is set for 1 September 2012.

From the solicitation:

FEMA requires Reduced Sodium Meals.   All meals must be shelf stable, self-heating, and include an entrée along with additional meal components that can be consumed either as part of the meal or reserved for a supplemental snack.

The meals should provide a variety of nutrient dense foods that reflect the basic food groups.  Saturated and trans fats, sodium and added sugars should be limited.  Nuts are NOT to be included due to diverticulitis and allergy conditions.

Meal components should be appropriate for consumption by the full range of disaster survivors including children and seniors (65 years and older).

Each…

By Jason Easley
POLITICUSUSA.COM

Mitt Romney’s convention speech was watched by 25 million Americans, which is 13 million fewer viewers than watched John McCain accept the Republican nomination in 2008.

Mitt Romney’s inability to captivate the nation resulted in a gain of only 5 million viewers from the second night to the third night of the Republican convention. The Romney campaign was counting on widespread viewership, outside of the GOP, but 39% of their audience came from Fox News. Fox was the top network with over 9 million viewers, followed by ABC (4.44 million), NBC (3.85 million), CBS (3.73 million), CNN (2.33 million), and MSNBC (1.88 million). In contrast, over 38 million Americans watched John McCain’s speech in 2008.

Every network lost viewers compared to 2008. According to TVNewser, “Fox News was just about flat compared to 2008, losing around -2% of its viewership, while NBC (-56%), ABC (-26%)…

BEFORE IT’S NEWS

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) wins (again) the most significant victory of his congressional career. He has taken his pet issue since the 1970s–the unwarranted power and secrecy of the Federal Reserve–from something pretty much no one but him cared about six years ago, through a bestselling book and mass movement by 2009, the second time he’s gotten the House of Representatives to vote to widen the government’s powers to audit the Fed’s activities.

Huffington Post with details about the vote  , and on Paul’s Democratic ally equally upset with the Fed’s lack of transparency, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio):

In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) to audit the Federal Reserve.

The first ever GAO (Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment…

RT.COM

The US Justice Department is being sued after failing to adhere to Freedom of Information Act requests for documents on a federal surveillance program that has targeted the email and phone conversations of Americans throughout the last five years.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based advocacy groups that fights to protect civil liberties in the digital age, filed a lawsuit on Thursday this week that names the Department of Justice as the sole defendant.

The EFF charges that the DoJ violated the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, by failing to expedite previous requests filed with the government for documents relating to a 2008 amendment included in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Under that year’s update to FISA, feds were awarded legal wiggle room to collect and comb through any communication originating in the United States that is sent abroad through email or phone, all under the…

The following was written by Lizzi Hollanders in response to a question about where to find information on evidence of the dangers of vaccines. It’s such good information that I am putting it here for all of us for future reference:

I encourage people to conduct your own research and not base choices on other people’s opinions. There is a great deal of information and misinformation out there. If people want to have an opinion on the vaccination dialogue then please back up statements with facts and citations to reliable and valid sources. Spreading fear and anxiety only magnifies the anxiety and does not create a supportive environment in which to really assess the facts and make a choice based on what is best suited to you and your family.

As for ourselves this is how we came to our decision and I offer it as an example of how…

By Michael Kelley
BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

The former Marine who was unlawfully detained and placed in a psychiatric institution by authorities is filing a civil lawsuit against government officials involved.

Brandon Raub, 26, was detained on August 16 in connection to Facebook posts critical of the government after authorities from the FBI, Secret Service and local Virginia police questioned him at his home in Chesterfiled, Va.

On August 20 a judge ordered Raub to spend up to 30 days in a psych ward, but on August 23 a circuit court judge dismissed the government’s case and ordered Raub’s immediate release because the petition for his detainment was “so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy.”

Now the decorated Marine veteran is suing the government officials who were involved in the unlwaful arrest and detention.

In an interview with his lawyer…