Mindconnection eNL, 2008-04-06

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In this issue:

1. Product highlight
2. Brainpower tip
3. Finance tip
4. Security tip

5. Health tip/Fitness tip
6. Miscellany
7. Thought for the day

We're pretty excited about a new product called the jetBook. It's an impressive e-book reader. This device reads files in these popular formats: gif, jpg, mp3, pdf, and txt.

If you click on the photo, you can find out all kinds of information about it and you can even see a detailed comparison against Amazon's Kindle and Sony's eBook (how original of Sony to come up with that name).

The ECTACO jetBook e-Book Reader is a portable pocket library that can store thousands of books in many languages. It stores music and pictures, too.

The easy to scan, high-resolution 5-inch display has a viewing angle close to 180° and is fully customizable. Even readers who have difficulty seeing print books will benefit from its adjustable fonts. It weighs only 7.5 ounces.

jetBook features include:

• Adjustable font type and size.
• Auto page turn functionality.
• Bookmarks.
• Foreign language dictionaries: built-in English <-> Russian, English <-> Polish, and English explanatory dictionaries.
• Foreign language support for e-Book contents in Russian, Polish, English, Spanish, and other languages.
• Internal Li-ion polymer battery.
• MP3 player (built-in, no external device needed) that supports background playback.
• Screen rotation support for portrait and landscape modes.
• SD card slot.

USB cable, AC adapter, headset, and slim case are included in the standard package. 

Brainpower is a "use it or lose it" thing. If you are vigilant, exercise your mind, take on new challenges, work out tough problems, and avoid sources of brainwashing, you can be assured of being flush with brainpower. That assumes you don't have problems in the physical area.

Your brain is a physical organ, so take care to do more than just mental exercise to maintain and strengthen it. Do vigorous physical exercise, eat right, and get plenty of rest.

If you observe what's going on in the stupidity epidemic, you can see a confluence of factors. Those are pretty much the "not" side of what I just mentioned above. People get careless, submit to sources of brainwashing, forego challenges, eat wrong, don't sleep enough, etc.

A huge bonus of doing brainpower development activities is you enjoy life more. So, keep up the good work and have a good time doing it.

With the $9 trillion federal debt taking an obvious toll on households across America, people are looking for ways to reduce their expenses. Unfortunately, people are being seduced into trying to "opt out" of the federal income tax. As I've said before, this tax is a minor portion of your total tax load. Trying to opt out of it is a vain and pointless exercise.

One of the greatest dangers facing the average American is the IRS. This group, whose employees stole 4300 computers from their own offices in one year, sits in judgment of the rest of us. These people have unbridled power and no qualms about using it. When you submit your estimated taxes (or payroll taxes), you are essentially paying "protection money." You can think of yourself as having been shaken down by criminals, which is true. Or, you can think of yourself has having wisely made an insurance premium payment (which is also true).

Common sense not a defense

People object to the federal income tax for all kinds of reasons. One that is increasingly popular is that system just doesn't make sense. The IRS provides a net negative return on the huge sums of money CONgress spends on it (mostly due to its devastating impact on the economy).

The US Treasury would be richer if there were no IRS. And, we could claim to be a civilized country if our government didn't support an agency with such an atrocious record of human rights abuses. But these facts do not permit you to "opt out" of the federal income tax. Sorry, that's just the way it is. If someone tries to convince you to opt out based on logic, let that person know logic does not apply in this situation.

There is moral justification for not liking the federal income tax in general and the IRS in particular. But, there is no legal means of "opting out." And besides, fighting this one tax while ignoring the others is pointless. The federal income tax is not even close to being the single largest tax most Americans pay.

Because the IRS costs more than it produces, the government pays its bills via other means. One of those is the national sales tax. This is an unofficial, de facto tax. When the govt borrows, the cost of capital goes way up and businesses pass this cost along in every product and service you buy. Inflation is another component of this tax.

Disregarding your obligation to pay the federal income tax and/or file a tax return can cost you everything you own now and for the rest of your life. Being rather annoyed at this, many people have filed suit in federal court. Don't do this, unless being destitute and ostracized is one of your life goals.

Law suit can wipe you out

Contrary to popular opinion, the IRS is not bound by law, ethics, or logic except in superficial ways. It does what it does, and finds ways to "justify" atrocities after the fact. The IRS does this because fear is how it keeps us in line. And you should be afraid. Very afraid.

This is especially true in regard to frivolous law suits. These are defined by the IRS, not by you. Courts automatically accept the IRS definitions. The IRS has a list of more than 40 frivolous arguments that tax protestors use to avoid paying this one form of tax. Regardless of whether you think an argument is frivolous, it is frivolous if the IRS says it is. Remember, they make the rules.

If you use one of these arguments to reduce your federal income tax, the IRS can slap you with a $5,000 fine. And that's in addition to interest, penalties, and underlying tax. And don't forget they can harass you and anyone connected with you, cause you to lose your job, run up huge expenses for you, then go back all the way to your very first tax return (the Statute of Limitations does not apply in cases of suspected fraud) and fabricate additional taxes, interest, and penalties. You will never get out from underneath it. And that's for using one of these arguments "just between friends" (that is, between you and them). Take it to court, and it gets even worse.

Now, suppose you come down with a bad case of stupid and take one of these arguments to court. Now you also face a $25,000 fine and criminal charges. Now instead of paying a relatively small tax bill, you're into six figures plus prison time. Once you get out of prison (and bid your "buddies" goodbye while you bowleggedly make your way to the exit), the real fun begins. That's when the IRS puts a team of eager psychopaths on you to make sure you don't give them any further trouble.

In the final opinion in a case before federal Court of Appeals, the judge said, "Like moths to a flame, some people find themselves irresistibly drawn to the tax protestor movement's illusory claim that there is no legal requirement to pay federal income tax. And, like moths, these people sometimes get burned."

You can find detailed information on frivolous claims at www.irs.gov.

• www.ic3.gov is the site of the Internet Crime Compliant Center, a collaboration the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. They file and process complaints of cyber crime.
• www.staysafeonline.org is a nonprofit awareness group. It educates consumers, children, and small businesses about online safety and video tutorials and other resources.
• www.wi-fi.org belongs to the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit international organization. They produce a fair number of articles on wireless security. You might want to check out their Knowledge Center.

http://www.supplecity.com/articles/glossarynutrition.htm

1. Most dust particles in your house are bits of dead skin. So, apparently, are the brains of members of CONgress.
    

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