Mindconnection eNL, 2004-06-06

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In this issue:

1. Remember the Lessons
2. Product Highlights
3. Brainpower tip
4. Time tip

5. Finance tip
6. Security tips
7. Health tip/Fitness tip
8. Special Guy
9. Thought for the day

Ronald Reagan (see www.ronaldreagan.com) and I are from the same state--the Land of Lincoln. If it were in my power, I would rename it the Land of Reagan. Let me explain why.

Revisionist history says Lincoln freed the American plantation slaves, but that's not what he did. Yes, the era of plantation slavery ended coincidental to the Civil War. But, Eli Whitney's cotton gin made that a foregone conclusion anyhow. Lincoln changed our nation from a loose alliance of states and a republic to a sort of democracy controlled by a strong federal power--and he was a Republican! He did this without benefit of Constitutional Amendment. This ultimately was to our net benefit, because nations who did not make similar moves during that time ceased to exist within a generation or two (compare a world map of 1880 with one from 1920). But, it came about in a very costly way.

While Lincoln allegedly freed one group of people in a single nation, Reagan freed entire nations of people. I came of age during MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) and the constant threat of nuclear war. Reagan ended that. He ushered in the dissolution of the Soviet Union--which was slavery on a massive, multinational scale. Kennedy was asleep at the controls when the Berlin Wall went up. Reagan demanded that the Berlin Wall come down--and it came down.

When Reagan took office as our 40th President, we were a defeated nation quickly sliding into third world status. Excessive taxes had removed capital from capitalism and left our economy on life support. Incompetent foreign policy had left us vulnerable to all kinds of "bad guys" (just as it would in the 1990s, under the Clintons).  Carter's "wimpenomics" ruined our economy, and his "foreign wimpolicy" sent the message that we were easy targets.

One group of citizens had been held hostage for well over a year (something like 445 days--if memory serves), while President Carter did little more than make kissie-kissie noises about it. The very day Reagan took office, those hostages were released--because the people who held them hostage knew Reagan meant business. His first day in office was just a shadow of the liberations to come.

The anti-Reagan folks point to the huge federal budget deficits during Reagan's administration. I remember when Carter was elected. My mother said, "I hope I'm wrong about that man." She hoped in vain. Under Carter, our military was underfunded, and several key areas of government responsibility got short-shrifted. While Reagan wanted a balanced budget, he also realized he needed to do two things:

1. Rebuild our military and other key resources Carter had let atrophy.
2. Cut taxes, so we could put capital back into our capitalist economy and end our economic despair.

Thus, the deficits were created by Carter--not by Reagan.

Carter's tax increases cost us millions of jobs (we set a record for the number of layoffs in each year of Carter's administration, just as we did in each year of Clinton's administration), and threw the nation into an economic tailspin. The "national malaise" Carter whined about was inevitable. His response was to tell us to cut back and basically adjust to our new poverty. Remember the "sweater talks" he gave?

Reagan fixed the problems and brought us back from the brink. Thanks to his commonsense policies--mostly the large tax cuts--America once again became a prosperous country. It would take Bill Clinton just over seven years to undo that and send us spiraling into a deep recession. It would take George W. Bush three and a half years to get us back on course, using the same common sense tax cuts.

Ronald Reagan's last years were marked by advanced Alzheimer's Disease. But if you are old enough to remember the 1980 election debates, you may recall Reagan showed evidence of disorientation and memory gaps even then--and throughout his Presidency (his mother also had Alzheimer's).

So, he wasn't the greatest President of my time due to exceptional memory or mental prowess. He was the greatest President of my time due to his strength, character, convictions, common sense, and leadership. Those qualities saved our nation--for example, by freeing us from the parasitic effects of excessive taxation--effects that had devastated millions of lives. Even more remarkable, those qualities liberated nearly one billion people--and future generations--from slavery.

Though Ronald Reagan died without the ability to remember, let's not forget the lessons he taught us. He probably would not care whether we acknowledge him--he wasn't into ego. But, it would be a great tribute to this great man if we value his principles. We can do that by trying to practice them, and we can do that by expecting the same from the men and women who would seek public office.

And, don't forget the advice of an earlier eNL. When you shred documents, throw the pieces away over time. I keep the shreds in a bucket, and put a few in each trash bag. Reassembling my shreds would be a nightmare. Be sure to also put these in with any pet refuse, if you have cats or dogs.

But if you want real strength, you must take a different approach--work your core muscles. Taking this approach also gives you "presence" that the beach muscle folks just won't ever have. Plus, you will eliminate the most common cause of lower back pain.

Core muscle exercises include squats, deadlifts, modified deadlifts, and hanging leg raises.

Not the gym type? No problem. Try these exercises:

• Yardwork. Pushing a mower, pushing a wheelbarrow, hauling bags of dirt, squatting down and pulling weeds--all of these build core muscles.
  
• Sports. Climbing is pretty much the ultimate. Take lessons, so you learn how to do it right and enjoy it more. But also consider uphill walking, basketball, martial arts, and other sports that require moving your body weight against gravity without much rest. Baseball does not fall into this category.
  
• Kids. If you have 'em, play with them. Nature dictates you will have an improved physique from doing this. Romp around, chase them, lift them--just don't play rough with them. Remember the differences in size and weight.
  
• Stairs. If you don't have stairs in your home or office, find a place with stairs or bleachers, and spend half an hour straight running and walking up and down them. Do this twice a week, and you'll have a stronger back.