Mindconnection eNL, 2013-05-19

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But compare this to the actual deficit spending revealed by the GAO's audit of the USA's federal government. It was a staggering $6 trillion. That's not good news, except that Obama was caught yet again in yet another very big lie. It seems he consistently confuses the White House with Burger King, home of the Whopper.

Back to the good news on offense spending, er, I mean "defense" spending. That is the first year to year decrease in 15 years. So perhaps it portends a trend. The USA still spends more than nearly all other nations combined and is spending 69% more than it did in 2001.

More good news: The blowback from recent crimes committed by the Institute of Reprobates and Sociopaths is getting serious attention. The nation's second largest political party is now recommending the common-sense solution: Disband this band of bandits. Unfortunately, this party has only one seat in CONgress. The other seats are occupied by the Demopublicans/Republocrats. But that, too, may change. And the Reprobates might be the key to a massive rejection of The Party and its idiotic, blatantly criminal practices. A lawful federal government is looking more possible, now.

The DVBPR5 captures audio and video, discreetly. And, yes, you can even write with it. As you can see, it's a handsome pen. But because of the hidden camera inside it, this is no ordinary handsome pen.

Use it to take still photos, record video, or capture conversation. Use it to take audio, visual, and written notes in lectures, meetings, and interviews. Just put the pen in your pocket, and the hidden camera records everything you see and hear.

More uses:

• Wear while interviewing someone, to capture the interview.
• Connect via USB and you have a camera for Skype or a video conference with friends or coworkers.
• Capture footage for security purposes at school events, association dinners, or political events.
• Provide to store clerks to obtain extra video for robbery follow-up.
• Supervisors can wear to "catch" employees doing things right and record that for promotion or other incentives.
• Wear at public event; capture pickpockets and others you might not normally notice.
• Wear while walking dog, document anything unusual in your neighborhood.

I am speaking mostly of those "leaders" in Washington, DC (District of Corruption). Yes, that's not the only place where we find record-setting stupidity (and, of course, record-setting crime). It is, however, where the most powerful (and damaging) politicians congregate.

But why are these politicians and others in high places such morons? Think about their environment, for a moment. They are surrounded by psychopaths, sycophants, and screw-ups. This is not a positive environment. Have you noticed you can't think straight when you're under great duress (thus the advice, take a deep breath and relax)? Our "leaders" (people put into power dynastically or by other criteria unrelated to merit, ability, or competence) are in that negative environment and this is no doubt contributing to their abject stupidity.

Just a comment on that third characteristic (screw-ups). The stupidity level in the environment where the powerful dwell is so bad that Obama's birth certificate forgery team has produced a third "original" document that contains many of the same red flag fraud markers of the first two "original" documents.

Most of us start life with ample intelligence, but it's under constant attack. You can do much to protect your intelligence by adjusting your environment as much as is practical, and taking care to respond appropriately to the things you can't control.

Examples:

• Your boss blames you for his mistakes, and is quick to criticize you. A good boss accepts responsibility (and thus blame), and coaches rather than criticizes. Your boss' incompetence is no reflection on you. Your response should be to consider the source and disregard your boss' negativity.
   
• Your neighbor likes to pick arguments with you. Rather than descend into this negative waste of time, just say "Thank you, I'll think about that" and walk off. Never argue with an idiot; a passerby can't tell which one of you is the idiot.
   
• You're a manager and a certain employee always agrees with you. Rather than feel that this person is "a team player," you should be thinking this person is redundant. You are human, and you make mistakes. A real team player will provide honest input so you can make better decisions.
   
• Suppose your circle of friends includes someone who is usually drunk, or someone who is frequently fired and chronically unemployed. My question to you is, "Why?" You are dissipating your time and mental energies with a screw-up. Think of other characteristics that a screw-up might have. Your buddy habitually cheats on his wife; why is he your buddy?

Don't get into a judgmental mode, where you're trying to establish blame and build a case against someone. That just creates more of the mental negative energy that drains brainpower and leads to stupidity. The key is to eliminate toxicity from your environment, not create toxicity as a sort of defense.

You can offset much of the stupidity-engendering energy by creating positive energy. For example, a friend loses her job. After months of not finding another one, she takes a menial, low-paying position so she can at least pay her bills. If your response is to give her your support and encouragement, you create a positive flow of energy.

On the other hand, suppose this is the sixth job in a row she got fired from due to some behavior such as showing up late or tossing food at her boss. She's a screw-up.

Eliminate that endless spiral of stupidity by surrounding yourself with people who are empathetic, honest, and responsible. You might not be a national "leader" as a result, but you will lead a smarter, happier life.

The next day he drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news. The donkey died."

Chuck replied, "Well then, just give me my money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Chuck said, "OK then, just bring me the dead donkey."

The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?

Chuck said, "I'm going to raffle him off."

The farmer said, You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"

Chuck said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"

Chuck said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.00."

The farmer said, "Didn"t anyone complain?"

Chuck said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."
 

Chuck now works for the federal government.

Federal, state, and local agencies often work together for public safety, even ensuring the safety and civil rights of those caught in the act. The work many of these people do is just brilliant.

Here's a video of your tax dollars being used appropriately: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyPL7hV2ERQ

If you spot dangerous behavior, call it in. If you spot any danger, call it in. Note the word "dangerous" not "suspicious." It is not our job to spy on each other and sic Big Brother on innocent citizens. But it is our civic responsibility to help the public safety officers do their jobs.

A few weeks ago, I called in a dangerous power line situation while on the way to the bank (so I could deposit some inflated dollars that probably lost a good chunk of their value just on the trip there). The city's fine team of first responders solved the hazard promptly.

Government can work. Real government does. If we can work toward restoring lawful government at the federal level, we will all be more secure. Talk to your misrepresentatives about the 9th and 10th Amendments. Their response does not matter; the fact you bring these up does.

"What's the fastest way to lose weight?"

The correct answer, of course, is to have your arms and legs amputated. But let's reframe the question to articulate what people actually mean when they ask it.

"How can I improve my body composition so I'm not embarrassed to be in summer clothes or even a swimsuit this summer?"

The answer to that question is a bit more nuanced, and less dramatic, than the answer to the original one.

First, realize that you can't undo months of poor decision-making in only a few weeks.

Age 51.
Click for more detail.

Adopt a longer time-frame.

Don't worry about what people think of how you look. Focus on improving your choices so that you see permanent positive change. If you're fatter than you'd like to be, people can still accept you and enjoy being around you. But if you're stressed out and crabby from binge dieting, it doesn't matter how you look; people won't like being around you. Ditto if you are constantly talking about your "weight loss" program or "diet" instead of something interesting.

Binge dieting is stressful. It's also harmful. And it's rather pointless.

Make lean a lifestyle, and enjoy it. This doesn't mean you have to constantly obsess over food. Actually, it means the opposite. Some points to consider:

• If you're binge-eating, address the reason why. Do something about the problem, rather than reacting to it mindlessly by gorging.
• Examine the quality of what you eat. It should be mostly fruits and vegetables. Try to eliminate all processed foods.
• The bounty of delicious, nutritious foods is truly amazing. Try to pick up some new fruit or vegetable every time you grocery shop. For example, if your idea of a salad green is iceberg lettuce, try romaine this week. Next week, try endives.
• Eat kale every day. Seriously.
• Control your portion size. Put the food on your plate, then put containers and serving dishes away or out of site (may not be possible in all settings).
• Eating six small meals a day optimizes your metabolism versus any other eating pattern.
• Eat out only infrequently. Never order anything fried. Do order sauce-free.
• No soft drinks.
• If you're inactive, find physical activities you enjoy and start doing them.
• Don't let your exercise program consist only of walking. It's too light of an exercise to give you what you really need.
• Avoid depressing people, morons, whiners, complainers, and drama queens. These people merely raise your stress level.
• Go out of your way to do something kind for someone else, every day. If you don't think this reduces stress-response eating, you haven't tried it.

I also want to point out that you don't have to put up with as much stress as you probably think you do. If someone's getting under your skin, confront and criticize the behavior (not the person). Always talk in terms of the behavior. Not "You are a jerk," but "You need to pick up your leaves, rather than just blowing them onto my lawn."

Few people confront their boss about abusive behavior. Now, the last boss I had as a W-2 employee is a wonderful human being I thoroughly enjoyed working for/with. As were some other previous bosses. But during my W-2 years, I had a few bosses who needed to be "managed up."

My first tip here is to remember that your boss is a person. Just like you. That means mutual respect, for one thing. And odds are your boss is an employee, just like you. So your boss isn't somehow immune to being taken to task. Just do it firmly and politely. Be direct and discreet.

"Failing to tell me about a deadline and then expecting me to work late is something you do regularly. And this needs to stop."

Never challenge your boss in front of others, unless it's in a meeting with the HR rep. My own experience there is that ripping my abusive boss a new a--hole in such a meeting is a great way to get a hefty raise and be immune from further abuse. But you must have documented examples of abuse and be able to rattle off the facts without notes. The documented part is critical; your boss will "get it" that anyone higher up can read that documentation. This gives you enormous power. Just don't let that go to your head. Try to steer things back to the positive outcomes you want and the changes your boss needs to make to be an effective manager.

I don't recommend going the HR route unless you have no other choice. Your boss will probably hate you from then on, and that's not the best situation.

You really want to change your boss from being abusive to being supportive. A bit more charm is in order, to accomplish that. To confront your boss without going the HR route, arrange for a private meeting. It can be in your boss' office with the door closed. Or maybe you just go for a walk around the grounds.

Start off with something positive. For example, "I like my job. That's why I'm good at it. And I really want to make you look good."

Then explain the problem. "But your behavior as of late is making that very difficult. I want to discuss how we can improve our working relationship. Do you want to be a better supervisor?"

Don't get into an argument. And don't air all of your grievances. Your goal is to convince your boss to change a bit, not to conclude that you're unhappy working there. Just give an example of something that you want done differently. And then suggest an alternative way your boss can approach things. Ask your boss for a commitment to do better. Don't offer to do anything in exchange, but if your boss brings it up then be open to that.

Even if your boss doesn't grow up and start acting like an adult, you will at least know that you got to say your piece. Start talking to your vendors, suppliers, competitors, and industry peers about their companies and keep an ear open for career opportunities. We call this "networking." It's how you move up to a better job. Packing on several pounds of blubber is not how you do that.

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.

"Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth."