Mindconnection eNL, 2020-11-15

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Item 1. You may be wondering how a mentally retarded man with advanced dementia and a repugnant running mate managed to defeat an incumbent President whose job performance is A-level, without even bothering to campaign. In a word, fraud. The good news is this election is not over, and with each passing day more evidence of fraud emerges. AMAC, the honest alternative to AARP, released this news item the Friday after the socialists officially claimed victory: https://amac.us/be-of-good-cheer-this-is-not-over. And here's another uplifting analysis: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1325288935535255552.html

Item 2. Missouri police rescued over a dozen human trafficking victims and arrested 5 suspects. Read the full story here:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/missouri-officers-rescue-over-a-dozen-victims-arrest-5-human-trafficking-suspects_3560054.html . Please share with story with anyone who says we should "defund the police."

Item 3. Analog computing with neuron like devices? It is now possible! Read the full story here: https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/devices/memristor-first-single-device-to-act-like-a-neuron

Item 4. Justice is on the move, and the massive fraud that ruined the 2020 election is likely to be discounted from the results. Attorneys General of many states are taking action on election fraud, federal prosecutors are actively investigating, and various other agencies and authorities have been collecting mountains of evidence. Also, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9czKl_fnb4

Item 6. This site has been formed to fight election fraud (in other words, fight how the Democrats cheat): https://everylegalvote.com/country . Gee, I can remember a time when Democrats like LBJ and Tip O'Neil got rightfully elected on their own merits. I guess when you scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with candidates you have to resort to lying, cheating, and stealing. Exactly what these politicians do once they are in office!

Item 7. Joe Biden is calling himself the President-Elect. But he and his campaign are still sending out fund-raising pleas. They need funds to try to stop the dozens of investigations into election fraud. This is a tacit admission that such fraud not only exists but was essential to his fake "win." If the votes he allegedly got are correct, then why is he so worried?

Joe Biden is not the President-Elect, and that is very good news. Let's keep it that way by signing petitions and sending small donations toward the effort. Also, be sure to contact your state representatives for your state's upper and lower chamber, contact your state's Attorney General, and contact your state's Board of Elections--if your state is one that has been compromised by the fraud.

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Turning sentient human beings into unthinking and easily programmed automatons is a key strategy of the socialists who now seek to defund our police, let violent offenders out of prison en masse and prematurely, and disarm law-abiding citizens.

Unfortunately, stupidity is highly contagious. And it can reach Stage 4 in only a few months. Here are ten tips to protect yourself:

1. When a Stage 4 victim tries to infect you with some spewing of stupidity, respond by asking, "Can you give me an example?" This works especially well with Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers who simply repeat the slander they've heard or the libel they've read. For the past four years, we've had wave after wave of baseless accusations about the President. Amazingly, they even tried the "he hates immigrants" one even though Trump is married to an immigrant and she is the mother of his children.
    
2. When assaulted by a Stage 4 victim (the incivility, intimidation tactics, and bullying), don't get into a verbal fight. Shut them down quickly by saying you would respect their viewpoint if they actually had one of their own and didn't feel the need to bully other people in a vain effort to validate the view they are mindlessly repeating. Yes, they will take offense. But that's just too bad if their little feelings get hurt.
    
3. Identify the lamestream media threats in your environment and neutralize them. If someone quotes from the New York Times, reply by asking if they can cite a credible source instead.
    
4. Turn off news feeds and other sources of negativity and disinformation. Not only do these feed you a total line of crap, the negativity reduces your effective IQ by a significant amount.
    
5. Think of your values often. How have those values served you? Why did your parents, mentors, and role models instill those values in you? Framing ideas against your values can help you cut through the fog quickly.
    
6. Focus on what matters in life and what you enjoy. If your thoughts are usually centered on how good you feel by accomplishing X, Y, and Z today (close out a big project at work, repair damaged drywall at home, rake your neighbor's lawn clean as as surprise gift), you will be stimulating your brain's cognitive powers to engage rather than shut down.
    
7. Examine your circle of friends and associates. If everyone agrees with you on nearly everything, you are living in an echo chamber instead of being enriched by differing viewpoints. Just make sure those with differing viewpoints can substantiate them with reasonable arguments rather than using non-sequitors and other forms of irrationality. It should be the case that you place emphasis on different facts or values, not that one of you ignores the facts or lack values.
    
8. When asking someone to substantiate or explain their view (that differs from yours), do so with the goal of understanding their view. And let them know this, both explicitly and in how you proceed.
    
9. Make a point of reading books that will improve your understanding of history, geography, philosophy, civics, and economics. People with Stage 4 Stupidity usually have little or no knowledge in these areas (especially economics).
    
10. Don't waste brainpower trying to keep up with the fine details of current events; those details are probably wrong and won't matter a month from now.

Here is a more detailed analysis.

Please see this page for reference:
https://www.bradyware.com/business-vehicle-deductions-2020/

Either/or
========
For tax purposes, you can use either the Actual Expenses Method or the mileage deduction. If you expense the vehicle, you cannot also deduct mileage. If you expense the vehicle and keep it for any decent amount of time (probably over 10 years), you are giving the IRS thousands of dollars you could have kept while also doing much more record-keeping.

Yes, an expense is a top-line figure on your business return and a deduction is on your personal taxes. Which also means if you expense it you reduce your social security base while a deduction does not affect that. And the mileage deduction keeps giving a return, year after year.


Expense Method
===============
You can use the mileage deduction no matter how much or little you use the vehicle for business.

To use the Expense Method, the vehicle must be used at least 50% for business. Not dual-purpose trips you simply call business trips. I don't think you come anywhere close to 50%. An auditor may disregard your trip log by saying the number of miles you have is unreasonable (I know this from actual tax cases). An unreasonably low number of personal miles is a big red flag, and they look for that specifically.

The Expense Method, as with the mileage deduction, requires you to keep a trip log to show the % of trips that are personal vs. business (exception, a fleet vehicle with obviously no personal use). If you have one car, IRS knows you are using that car for personal use also.

If you claim this expense incorrectly and are audited, IRS will disallow the whole amount. You have three years to amend a return, but they have unlimited time to come back at you with assessment, interest, and penalties. Let's say you spend $35,000 on a gas hog and decide to expense it. You claim 60% business use in this scenario. IRS audits you five years later and asks for your mileage log. You kept one, but were at less than 50% use. So to avoid being charged with tax evasion, you say you don't have it. They are not going to waste time trying to help you come up with something, they will simply disallow the expense. That changes your tax due; you are now on the hook for interest and penalties, compounded for all the years they waited to look into this.

1. 50% business use threshold to be able to expense.
2. No additional benefit when expensing a gas hog.
3. You can expense only that portion of expenses that are for business use (for example, if 60% business use then only 60% of gasoline or repairs can be expensed).
4. Expensing provides smaller tax break than mileage deduction over the time you are likely to own the car.
5. Expensing would make sense for a car you used almost exclusively for business and were planning to replace every three years. For example, you own rental cars.
6. A 6,000lb vehicle would make sense if you need the features of such a heavy vehicle. For example, you own a plumbing company and you are buying a service van.

The depreciation limits for passenger autos acquired after September 27, 2017, and placed in service during 2020 are:
$10,100 for the first year ($18,100 with bonus depreciation),
$16,100 for the second year,
$9,700 for the third year, and
$5,760 for each succeeding year.

The tax break applies ONLY to business use. So if you spend $30,000 on a vehicle and drive it for business 60% of the time you will have an $18,000 expense item. Notice that this is ALREADY covered by the lighter car--$18,100 with bonus depreciation provided in 2020.


Mileage
=======
Mileage was 58 cents per mile last year. This year, it's down by half a cent.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-standard-mileage-rates-for-2020

If you drive 20,000 business miles per year, that's $11,500 per year. If you keep the car 15 years, that's a tax deduction of $172,500.
If you drive 15,000 business miles per year, that's $8,625 per year. If you keep the car 15 years, that's a tax deduction of $129.375.

Two cars compared
==============
1. Buick Enclave, $35,000 and you keep it for 10 years.
2. Actual Expense Method: $21,000 first year, if 60% business use. Zero for the next 9. You will spend far more on fuel than you get from your tax break.
3. Mileage Deduction: $10,000 a year (assuming over 15,000 miles but under 20,000) but you spend more on fuel than your tax break. Enclave gets only 19.1 MPG.

1. For $8,000 less, you buy a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. It gets up to 54MPG hwy and has a respectable 192 HP. You get $8,000 up front--sweet! This basically pays for your gas for several years!
2. Actual expense method, similar bad deal as with the Enclave but you can still expense it all in the first year, if 60% business use.
3. Mileage Deduction. Same deal as with the Enclave, but your tax break greatly exceeds your operating and maintenance costs. If you get 54MPG on the highway, it costs you less than 5 cents to drive each of those miles. If the mileage deduction is 58 cents per mile, can you see the advantage of a fuel-efficient car?

So there is no tax reason to buy a 6,000lb vehicle. Even if there were, the additional cost of doing so wipes out any tax gain (and then some).


Record-keeping
=============
The Expense Method requires you to log your trips to prove the vehicle had x% of business use. The Expense method does allow you to expense repairs (practically zero for my Camry in all the time I have had it), tires, and maintenance--but only that portion allowed for business use. So if you drove it 60% for business use, then only 60% of these expenses can be expensed on your taxes.

There is a HUGE catch with record-keeping. You can't keep claiming trips to Costco for business (as many people do) and yet have hardly any personal trips. The purpose of the trip must be business. When you file, you are supposed to (in the worksheets) show the number of business miles and the number of personal miles. These worksheets can be demanded during an audit.

The clear winner
================
The mileage deduction on your personal income tax provides you with a MUCH better tax break, far less audit risk, and less record-keeping.

This should all be clear now. If not, re-read.

The photos tell you something important about my credibility.

Statistics on 60th birthday, when these photos were taken:

• Height: 6'0"

• Wingspan: 6'1"

• Weight: 148lbs

• Bodyfat: Unknown, but well below what the Tanita scale says is 5%.

• Waist: 29

• Chest: 48

• Arms: 15

• Quads: 20

• Max bench press: Unknown, but I do three sets of 12 reps with 150 lbs to warm up on chest day

• Training days per week: 6

• Type of training: Split routine, heavy on supersets

• Meals per day: 7 on training days, 6 on rest day

• Percent of diet that is processed food: 0

• Amount of meat, wheat, corn, or soy eaten annually: 0

• Number of eggs eaten per day: Between 8 and 10

• Cholesterol: In normal range, on low side

• Last illness: 1971

• Last workout missed: Spring of 1977

This reaction comes from a position of not understanding what a vaccine is or how it works.

A vaccine does not act directly on a virus, the way an antibiotic acts directly on a bacterium (or all the bacteria invading your body). All it really does is stimulate your body to produce antigens that can prevent the virus from attaching to cell receptors. When the virus cannot invade cells to turn them into RNA-generating machines, it cannot propagate inside the body. Now, that is an oversimplification. The CDC has a more detailed explanation here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/understanding-vacc-work.html

From the CDC article, you can see the vaccine stimulates that adaptive response by imitating the infection. If you don't have the injected vaccine and your body encounters the actual virus, your body will attempt to respond in the manner described in the CDC article. The key here is the body must be able to respond to that stimulus, whether fake or real.

If your body is already overwhelmed with inflammation because you are a wheat addict or you have subjected it to frequent large doses of refined sugar, the response will be very weak. With a real virus, this can be a fatal situation (with Covid-19, it often is). With the fake stimulus, your body might have an adequate defense if given time.

If your body is healthy because you are on a real food diet, get adequate rest, stay active, and have a positive mental attitude, it will be able to wipe out the real virus pretty quickly.

Did you notice that, despite the threat to the general population that Covid-19 is alleged to be, Congress proceeded with the sleep-depriving clock change earlier this month? Adequate rest is number two on the list of factors needed for a healthy immune system. But then, Congress has been repeatedly informed for decades that every clock change causes a spike in both traffic fatalities and industrial accidents. They simply do not care.

While many people will wait for a fake stimulus to be tested, approved, and distributed, there is good reason to use the existing vaccine (the produce department) to equip yourself to defeat the virus now. As a bonus, the real food diet delays aging, improves physical appearance, improves body scent, and has about 10,000 other advantages over the fake food diet.

If you are on a real food diet, your body can handle the real virus. If you are on a fake food diet, you are at great risk until you can take the fake stimulus vaccine. Why anyone would want to wait is beyond me.

There's actually no reason for the pandemic to have even taken hold. If even half of the population had a diet based on real food, we'd have enough herd immunity that face coverings and social distancing would eliminate the virus within a few weeks at most.

You can do your part by explaining these facts to people in your normal circle of contacts and encouraging them to take the vaccine if they are not already doing so. Cover your face, wash your hands, stay six feet from others, and voila!

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

In the early evening locate Venus, the brightest object in the sky by looking west by northwest. Scan to your left, and find the shiny red planet (Mars). Now, in roughly a straight line that has formed, keep scanning to the left and you'll see a bright light almost the apparent size of Mars. That's Jupiter. It's 500 million miles away from Mars, while Mars is about 140,000 miles away from us. This distance is why Jupiter, with a radius of 43,000 miles, looks a little smaller than Mars which has a radius of only 2,000 miles (about half that of earth).

Saturn (960 million miles from us and radius of 36,000 miles) can also be seen with the naked eye. Alas, Neptune is 2.7 billion miles from us and has a radius of "only" 15,000 miles so it wasn't discovered by humans until 1836. That was the year of the Battle of the Alamo and also the year that Sam Colt patented his revolver. "God made men, but Sam Colt made them equal."

People who rely on bullying, lying, cheating, intimidating, and acts of violence to "persuade" others of their convictions have given the proof their convictions cannot withstand rational scrutiny. Such is the case with the political left in America today.