Mindconnection eNL, 2012-01-01

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In this issue:
Good News | Product Highlight | Brainpower | Finances | Security | Health/Fitness | Factoid | Thought 4 the Day

Here's something from the National Small Business Association:

While it has been an uphill battle, we have had some successes this year. Your participation has made these successes possible:

• Repeal of the 1099 Reporting Requirement for all goods and services (part of the Patient Protection Act). This repeal has saved businesses $35-$55 per 1099.
• Repeal of the 3% Withholding on government contracts.
• Long-term (6 years) SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Reauthorization funding.
• Ex-Im (6 month) reauthorization.

The banksters, gangsters, retards, and reprobates responsible for the vast spewing forth of federal mislegislation do sometimes back off from their crime spree to give the rest of us a break. The four examples above aren't a complete list of 2011 victories, and they won't be the last victories.

Please note that that first item happened mostly because CONgress and the IRS were flooded with "We will not comply with this insanity" letters and e-mails. The criminals in charge realized that enforcement of this over the top stupidity would have resulted in an all out rebellion culminating with an end to the IRS and the completely senseless Infernal Revenue Code (very bad public policy that actually reduces federal revenue). Unfortunately, "Make my day" didn't happen. Maybe next time.

Last time, I gave it a brief intro along with other e-book readers. But now I want to provide more depth and focus just on this one product. You can click on the picture of it for more information, too.

It's no secret that our K-12 schools are failing. The USA ranks dead last or close to it among industrialized nations for literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, geography, and many other important subjects. Not every kid does poorly, but in the aggregate American kids do just terrible.

Yet, the taxes we pay for schools are well above the mean. It's not the teachers causing this failure. It's the politics. What can parents do to help their school district become a producer of educated kids? You're looking at something that could be immensely helpful.

Because American kids are doing dismally in math and science, it’s here where you can truly make a difference. If you can get a jetBook K-12 for your kid or grandkid, that would help one student. Get your school to buy these, and you help many students.

Math

The device has a math reference section that provides good, clear tutorials on algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. Those are rather important subjects for anyone on a "quant" track. The term "quant" is short for "quantitative" and in reference to careers, it means any math-intensive career such as an engineer or scientist.

Some teachers cringe at the idea of students using calculators, and that viewpoint is correct where the student has yet to master basic mathematics. For higher mathematics, progress is very slow without a calculator. The jetBook K-12 has three calculators:

• Graphing calculator. It helps with applying trigonometry and geometry, converting equations to graphical representations of same. It’s extremely useful for working vector math and the other kinds of problems you find in electrical engineering courses, so any student on that track will benefit from this.
• Scientific calculator. It contains functions for solving trinomial, quadratic, and other complex equations.
• Accounting and loan calculator. After the mortgage crisis of 2008, there’s been a greater appreciation for the ability to calculate loans and work other financial problems. This tool helps students understand those kinds of problems.

Sciences

Chemistry. This has four sections: Chemistry reference tables, general chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and organic chemistry. The tables (A through T) are extensive, exceeding what you’d typically find in a good chemistry textbook. General Chemistry explains the basic facts and concepts of chemistry, with enough material for a whole semester. It doesn’t go into the calculations or the other heavy math that college chemistry students grind their way through. The sections on inorganic and organic chemistry take a similar approach.

• Periodic Table. This table’s wealth of information is usually underappreciated. It’s not just the facts on the table, but the patterns and relationships that emerge when you take the time to study it. Many students see a wall poster of this at school, but now they can have this on a mobile device and drill down on each element for the details.
• Physics. This has two sections: General Reference Data and Physics Reference Tables. That first section contains not just references, but what amounts to a college Physics 201 text (its coverage of mechanical physics is especially good).
• Earth Science. At nearly 1200 pages, this section provides textbook material for two semesters of serious study. The text is clear, and the graphics are excellent.
• Biology. At just over 1050 pages, this section provides textbook material for two semesters of serious study. As with the Earth Science area, the text is clear and the graphics are excellent.

Here's an example. Since the start of the "financial crisis," the Federal Reserve (which isn't federal and doesn't reserve anything) has created $29 trillion out of thin air and given it to the major banksters (who then lavished huge bonuses on their executives). Source: Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray, professor of economics at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

What's the difference between $29 trillion and, say, $400 billion? It's hard to picture. But compare it to, say, the population of 300 million people in the USA, and you can start to picture it.

This is a great comparison, because the creation of that money out of thin air was a currency debasement by that amount of money (inflation, in other words). And because it's a "taking" from dollar holders, that makes it a tax. How much was this tax per person?

• Divide 29 + 12 zeroes by 300 + 6 zeroes.
• The per capita tax is just under $97,000.

If "only" a $9 trillion counterfeiting operation, the tax would be only about $32,000 per capita. For a family of four, that would be $128,000. But it's not "only" $9 trillion. For a family of four, the damage is $388,000.

And now, with a little comparison, you can see just how egregious this stealing really is. No wonder that when Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, it wasn't by light of day. It was pretty much a cloak and dagger operation, and guess who got stabbed?

People talk about how the USA federal government "borrows" money. That's a misuse of terminology. The reality is the federal govt taxes us in an amount equal to the amount it spends. When it "borrows" from the Federal Reserve, the FR simply creates the money out of thin air. This inflates the money supply by the amount allegedly "borrowed." Because inflation means each existing dollar is worth that much less, the effect is a "taking" from existing dollar holders. In other words, it's a tax.

But the FR doesn't simply create this counterfeit money that causes us financial loss. It then records its theft as OUR debt on ITS books! Not only are we taxed (by inflation), we are also saddled with debt--that's two entries on the same side of the ledger instead of one on each side. Talk about cooking the books!

The way the FR does this, it's like the creep who stole your stereo invoices you for the value of what he took! Only in this case, there's much, much more money involved.

This scam is fundamentally different from the way borrowing works. Borrowing puts equal amounts on opposite sides of the ledger, not two entries on the debit side.

Rather than call it borrowing, we should call it debt-added taxation. Make a point of correcting the sycophants who refer to this robbery as "borrowing," because it's nothing of the sort and not nearly as benign.

Stimulating in the Economy

Now that we are clear on federal "borrowing," we can understand why even more federal debt-added taxation doesn't "stimulate" the economy. It does stimulate unemployment, as the data clearly show and as common horse sense would predict. Other things it stimulates in the economy include foreclosures, plant closings, store closings, unpaid loans, bankruptcies, cutbacks in city services, and cutbacks in county services.

People who rejoice in the fact that the USA ranks at the bottom of all industrialized nations in literacy will be pleased to know that Obamanomics also stimulates the closing of public libraries, due to the shrinking county tax base resulting from the other things this insanity stimulates.

So be careful when you encounter the propaganda about money "helping" the economy via federal "stimulus." This is not merely a false idea. It's outright fraud.

The money isn't the result of a transaction, for example I spend money (that I earned) on something I want. What enters the economy is not new wealth (none is created in this scam) or even wealth taken from another party or loaned by another party. As we just noted, it's debt-added taxation.

Just to make sure this point hits home: when the Federal Reserve creates this money out of thin air for the govt to "borrow" (instantly debasing the currency), that does not "inject" money into the economy. It taxes us by degrading the value of money already in the economy, and amazingly the FR adds debt by invoicing us for the amount we are taxed!

Accounting for Stimulus

To believe in the hocus pocus of "stimulus," you would have to do Enron style accounting. This kind of fraud is illegal, which is why Ken Lay, et al, went to prison. Also, we flunk second graders (used to flunk them, anyhow) for not being able to differentiate between adding and subtracting. It's an elementary concept. It is impossible to increase by decreasing.

So when the federal govt spends (transfers to wealthy individuals via govt contracts) money it does not have, this can never stimulate the economy. It can, and does, stimulate job loss and a whole string of other negative consequences. Thanks to Obama, we have the empirical data to prove this and no longer have to rely on difficult concepts such as 4 - 2 = 2 not 6.

Stop the Stealing

The effect all this stealing has on your financial security is anything but positive. Please let your misrepresentative in CONgress know that the rampant spending, inflating, stealing, debt creation, and "Ken Lay accounting" must stop.

About 90% of all federal govt expenditures are illegal (see the 10th Amendment), so reducing the spending to something approaching sensible does not involve any hard choices. Unless, of course, you're on the take and are accepting illegal payments to induce you to spend money your fellow Americans do not have.

It's no coincidence that most members of CONgress don't take long to become millionaires once they are in office. If we are silent, they will continue to pillage and steal. So speak up. Your financial future depends on it.

Boycotting the companies that commit crimes but have a "get out of jail" card. Then write to each member of their boards that you are boycotting and why. If enough of us do this, we can be powerfully effective. Even one person can be effective, and I'll give an example in a moment.

Whackos like those (mis)managing Circuit City did not pay attention to how consumers voted, and guess what? Circuit City went out of business. Had Circuit City listened to its customers, it would still be around. Some companies choose to ignore their customers, and their customers go elsewhere.

HP, on the other hand, listened to consumer complaints about outsourced tech support. Though not criminal, it was really bad. I wrote to every member of the Board on that one, and was very specific. In the years since then, my support experience with HP has been so good I can't gush enough about how great they treat customers.

Not long ago, I noticed a nearby BP gas station was closed. I began boycotting BP after their latest unmitigated disaster, though I should have started several disasters earlier. I sincerely hope BP turns things around. Probably, most everyone working for BP has that same hope. Can BP do an HP? Some very smart, dedicated people toil daily on the BP payroll. Perhaps some pressure on BP's board now can save those jobs.

It's looking like (what used to be) the airline industry is getting a hard lesson now. The last time I traveled by air, the TSA destroyed my laptop. Another time, it was a $900 camera (used for professional photography, as in magazine covers, and yes, I have a few of those on my dossier). Then there's all the groping and other ridiculous stuff. Not to mention the airlines themselves are getting in the "annoy the customer big time" game.

Alternatives to this airline lunacy are popping up all over. "If you have time to spare, go by air" is a common refrain on passenger trains. I love to travel Amtrak. It's fast, comfortable, and hassle-free. But there's also alternative air travel. Now you can hook up with private flyers to grab the extra seat. Really.

See: http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/100761.html

When I'm not training for a photoshoot, I am less careful about my portion size. That said, yesterday I ran a body fat measurement and it was 5.8%. Not quite photo ready, but still very lean.

In the winter, my metabolism is way, way up and that's how I stay warm when the thermostat is at 62 degrF. Mountain climbers have found that the difference between freezing in a sleeping bag and surviving is whether their bodies have sufficient fuel for the furnace.

Of course, all this fuel burning means eating more than in warm weather. It also means the time to get ready for that summer "cut" look is in cold weather. Much easier that way.

Age 50.

Those are extra calories, but they are very nutrient-dense calories. And tasty, too!

If your food consists of only nutrient-dense foods, then you can pretty well trust your hunger instinct and still stay lean even if you eat off schedule. Recently, I awoke to a really strong sense of hunger. My body was telling me something. So I mixed three scoops of raw oats with a few raisins, some nutmeg, some glutamine powder, a bit of the Optimum Nutrition MRP, and some water. This is a filling, nutrient-dense snack. And it wasn't bland; that's an important aspect of proper eating.

I'm guessing this hunger came on me that night because that day had been a back and biceps workout day, and that particular workout is brutal. It's why, though, I have the back development you see in the photo and why I have the big "peak" biceps when I flex my arms.

Satisfying the hunger in this way gave my body what it needed for repair, rather than giving my waistline something more to carry.

People worry about counting carbs or counting calories or counting whatever, and then wonder why the fat does not go away. If you want a strong, lean body then use nutrient dense foods and learn to enjoy what you're eating. That last part is extremely important. Rather than wolf down your food, make small portions and take the time to enjoy what you're eating.

There's a saying, "French women don't get fat." While there are exceptions, it's mostly true. Their secret is that they take the time to truly enjoy their eating experience. Quality trumps quantity. Not only do you avoid overeating, but the pleasure of enjoying good food is a stress-buster. If the food truly is good, it won't take much to satisfy you. Fill your grocery cart mostly in the produce department, and you'll be off to a good start.

Some things to put in your cart: leeks, mushrooms, broccoli, kale, endive, bok choy, red cabbage, yellow squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, white onion, red onion, radishes, carrots, and various types of whole peppers. That's just the veggies. Don't forget the fruits. In other departments, such things as beans, eggs, oat flour, olive oil, and garbonzo flour are good.

If some creep tossed any of the following into your cart, remove it: frozen pizza, frozen dinner, "reduced" anything anything (if it's reduced sugar, for example, they added some other poison), sauces, dressings, ground meat, canned meat, soda, fruit juice, and anything that says "corn syrup" on the label.

At www.supplecity.com, you'll find plenty of informative, authoritative articles on maintaining a lean, strong physique. It has nothing to do with long workouts or impossible to maintain diets. In fact:

• The best workouts are short and intense.
• A good diet contains far more flavors and satisfaction than the typical American diet.