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Georgia GOPer Attacking Free School Lunch Expensed $4,200 In Meals

Make these people pay for their own lunches! Unlike poor kids, they certainly earn enough!

http://bitly.com/1ktwlMc

The rich think economic inequality is unfair because it isn't systemic enough.

http://bit.ly/1c0u9BJ

EU report reveals massive scope of secret NSA surveillance

http://bit.ly/1aPfM3y

Last week, Judge Edward Korman—a Reagan appointee to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York—confirmed that federal authorities can search the electronic devices of any American within 100 miles of any border without the need to obtain a warrant.

OMGWTF???

http://bit.ly/KEcGsH

Police becoming more militarized

http://bit.ly/KLvZAg

Chemical spill causes rush for water in West Virginia

http://lat.ms/1ap4Ltk

Doctor are warning that if Congress cuts food stamps, the federal government could be socked with bigger health bills. Maybe not immediately, they say, but over time if the poor wind up in doctors' offices or hospitals as a result.

Among the health risks of hunger are spiked rates of diabetes and developmental problems for young children down the road.

http://bitly.com/1gJvPow

The only really good thing about this

Other than finding out how many friends we have (and since I know not one of our friends is fabulously wealthy, every tiny donation means a *ton*), which is a given, is the fact that we were able to get the fines dropped on Ana's library card. Just whispering the word "foreclosure" was enough to get the librarian to do it for us. Eva's card is the one with the bigger fine, we really should have to prove our tough financial situation to get that done. The NYPL doesn't exactly advertise that they will drop fines if you really, really, really cannot afford to pay them, but they will.

And with less money, we can't afford to buy books right now (booooooooo!), so we need a functional library card.

A real life friend of mine who is unable to help us financially has offered to let us into her job at Costco on her membership, so I just need to find a third friend to drive us there and back, on the promise of getting to get stuff. Costco is way at the other end of the island, I don't want to spend that much time on the bus. If I can get some of my groceries there, whatever is cheaper there instead of closer to me, that will be a huge help. We actually have several supermarkets within walking distance (or on the train, which is free here), so I need to start shopping around more. If we qualify for food stamps, which we ought to, I want to reserve that mostly for the farmer's market, because they give you an extra $2 for every $5 spent, and often the food is cheaper than comparable products at the supermarket. (I'm thinking about the dollar-per-pound apples. They've had to raise the price slightly, that farmer, but it's still damn cheap.)

This post is brought to you by the letter F.

As in fungible, which is one of my all time favorite words. As you might guess by the name, it is just fun to say! Fungible, fungible, fungible, try it! Not like the word fungi, which is just a lie. A fungus among us is not a fun guy, it is a mushroom.

...

I may be a bit tipsy from the excitement of knowing I have friends who want to help me out. You'll note that this is the most cheerful and prolific I've been in ages. Kinda wish I didn't need my friends to help me out, but you have to take what you can get.

Anyway, somebody asked which is better, straight cash for the house or stuff, and my response is that it's all fungible. If we don't have to spend money on stuff, we can save it for the house, so it all evens out. And other than sending thank yous just as fast as I can type them (or mail them, for those who got a bonus level thingy) I'm trying to pretend that money isn't even there, because if you start thinking you have money, pretty soon you *don't*. And really, we don't. That money is for the mortgage company. (Well, that's a depressing way of framing it. Remind me not to post those thoughts on the gofundme page. "Help make rich bankers even richer! And, incidentally, save our home!")

I've re-upped the amazon thing, though I'm trying to set priority levels on everything. Other than the pet food (which they will insist on eating) nothing there is super urgent, and even with the pet food we have another week and a half left before I buy more*. If you have a better idea for something to be put on there, or have a gift card or bonus rewards or a coupon to some other site that would be cheaper, and want to help that way, let me know.

* and if it comes to that, several people on this block already give two of my cats snacks, it would be little trouble for me to ask them to give them more food, they love my cats for some reason. If we do qualify for food stamps, I will apply with Pet Food Stamps. That can't hurt, and the worst they can do is say no.

Well, it can't all be about me, me, me.

How about some articles?

How useless is a Chocolate Teapot?

http://bit.ly/1hI5bPX

Op-ed: Disney takes a chainsaw to the Star Wars expanded universe

http://bit.ly/1cMkqTd

Romanian Official: British Bankers Worse Than Roma Beggars

http://bitly.com/1eu8cjB

Survey finds dads defy stereotypes about black fatherhood
By most measures, report says, black fathers are at least as involved with their kids as other men in similar living situations.

http://lat.ms/1l6rJH9

Number of Americans looking for work at lowest level since 1970s
Unemployment rate falls to 6.7% but only 74,000 jobs added
Big rise in number of people dropping out of jobs market
Participation rate at lowest level for 40 years

From the comments: All official US unemployment data are completely fraudulent. John Williams of Shadowstats who applies an earlier US methodology for calculating unemployment estimates US unemployment to be 23%. That seems to correlate much better with 91.8 million working-age adults not in the labor force.
http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts

http://bit.ly/1m06Cqn

Florida moves ahead with bill legalizing "warning shots"

Because what they really need down in Florida are more people shooting their guns.

http://fxn.ws/KACd69

Gov. Paul LePage released information on Tuesday that he says demonstrates that welfare benefits in Maine are being abused. But the data LePage cited to make his case for abuse represent a tiny fraction of all transactions involving electronic benefits cards issued to the state’s welfare recipients.

The second paragraph has an interesting example of plural data in the wild. I thought that subspecies was extinct! The comments tear into the data even more than the article does.

http://bit.ly/19eqN3t

For my own edification

I already know where I can cut our grocery budget and we still eat healthy foods. Cook less, eat more leftovers, make sure nothing goes to waste. Less meat, more eggs, lots more beans and lentils. Less red peppers, more green. Less green apples (sorry, Eva), more red. Easy.

But all the same, I want to encourage myself by writing down what I spend on dinner. Until I hit up the store, prices are estimates.

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