Mindconnection eNL, 2012-09-02

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The good news is this power of eminent domain can also be used for good. A great example of this has it genesis in, of all places, the People's Republic of California. It's taking place in San Bernardino County.

Recall how banksters engineered the housing and mortgage crisis, abetted by officials of the federal "government." They stole hundreds of billions of dollars (in just this one scam), and got away with it.

As one actual representative (yes, there are a few representatives among all the misrepresentatives in CONgress) told a prominent bankster (this is a "quote" from memory, look it up if you want), "If one of my constituents did to one of your banks what your banks are doing to my constituents, he would go to prison."

But now a government wants to use government power to rescue bankster victims. Here's how it works. Local govts would buy mortgages from gougers (aka, "lenders") and gamblers (aka, "investors") but at the fair market price. They would use their power of eminent domain to seize the assets and compensate fairly.

This rescues the home owner, preserves the tax base, and prevents a slew of cascading problems. The only losers are the banksters who received trillions in federal "bailout" money, paid their execs huge bonuses, and refused to modify loan terms to something reasonable.

Even better, they would outsource the management of this program to a private company (for a fee). No hope of buying public officials, there. Why does it matter if you can't buy a public official to protect your racketeering scam? Because public officials typically hide behind the legal skirts of their office. However, if a private company is charged with the administration, a judge can pierce the corporate veil and send individuals to prison. While it's not a guarantee of honesty and transparency, the other way is a guarantee you will get neither.

This kind of "out of the box" thinking by government officials is truly good news. It proves that governments can actually govern, rather than simply existing as conduits of crime.

Statist rags such as the WSJ and NYT panned this program as wrong, thus providing proof that it's a good thing (they would not object if it were wrong).

An editorial in the WSJ even called it "constitutionally dubious," thereby proving the WSJ should not be writing editorials. The purpose of the Constitution is to constrain the federal government. It does not constrain state and local government, so it doesn't have any applicability to this program. In fact, as every naturalized citizen knows (and, unfortunately, few born here know), the Constitution leaves all unenumerated powers to the states and to the people.

When government serves the people, that's very good news. Let's hope this kind of thing spreads.

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Removed 2014-06-02

Similarly, the relative "differences" between Obama and Romney are immaterial. Both are employees of the elite criminals who own our courts, CONgress, etc. Pretending that choosing one employee over the other will somehow change who is in power is like switching checkout lines at Wal-Mart and expecting that to alter Wal-Mart's policies.

But if that's true (and it is), why bother voting at all? That's a good question, and there is one very good reason to vote. If you actually vote, that is.

The "election" does not determine who will actually run the office of POTUS. That will be done by the same folks who put the D and the R on the ballot (and it is the same folks). Yes, one inDUHvidual may be worse than the other, but you cannot choose the lesser of two evils without choosing an evil.

Another way of putting this is you can't pick up a turd from the clean end. Think about that when pondering this false choice.

So if these fake "elections" don't allow you to pick which end of the turd is cleaner than the other, what is their purpose?

If you think about it, you will see that the "election" is tool the criminals use to see how many people fall for their ruse yet again. The D and R boxes are code for "I approve of the crime, sleaze, and wanton destruction." If you check anything other than one of those two boxes, your vote counts. And that's the only way it does.

Remember, falling from from 20 feet will kill you just as surely as falling from 200. This is why climbers don't choose a 30 foot fall as the "lesser of two evils." Instead, we choose not to fall.

This logic applies to actions other than voting, too. Many things are relative, but some are not. Don't mindlessly apply a slogan just because it's catchy. Think about the facts involved, then apply the correct logic and you'll be able to determine how to proceed.

That said, we are probably going to be better off with anyone other than Obama. This is a matter of probability. Obama has worked diligently to become the second worst POTUS of all time, a feat previously thought impossible. You can easily calculate the odds we'd do worse, just by looking at the frequency of an Obama--once every 250 years. Of course, probability is not certainty.

What is certain is that checking one of the two "I approve of the crime" boxes on the ballot isn't going to end the crime. It's only going to tell the criminals that people can't see reality despite the overwhelming evidence. We need to send a different message. Rather than pretend you have a relative choice, exercise the only absolute choice you have.

Or, if your name is Kevin Brown you not only can cheat on your own taxes you can loot the tax stream of 4300 other people to make $103 million "disappear" and you can do that with complete IRS approval and support.

This is the same IRS known for aggressively destroying people merely on the suspicion they might have an unpaid tax liability. This is the same IRS that considers it proper to spend 25 times the amount of an alleged tax debt to collect it.

The rest of us victims of the 1040 income tax scam and its army of psychopath enforcers can take some comfort from the fact that Rangel, Geithner, and Brown can't escape death (though if you asked them they might deny that). Their passing would not be a loss. Some people make the world a better place. These three career criminals are not among those people.

Before I answer that, think about one other famous person. Despite being a public "servant" all his life, Harry Reid is a multi-millionaire. Raise an eyebrow for you, too? He, like the other three reprobates mentioned, has put worship of money way ahead of making an honest living. Laws do not matter to these people, and they think rules don't apply to them. Is that really any way to live?

It is good to manage your finances. It is not good to let the prospect financial gain warp you into a degenerate. If you're tempted to cheat someone to make a few bucks, stop to think of what that's doing to you. On the other hand, think of what it's doing for you to treat others right, follow

In this column, you will find many tips on how to improve your financial condition without sacrificing your human condition. Use money to help you live, don't live to accumulate money. You can't take it with you.

Are you disappointed that there's no practical tip? Well, let's take care of that right now. Here's one I'm finding many people are not doing. I cannot think of any good reason not to do this, so if you have not yet done it get going right away.

Put all of your regularly recurring bills on a cashback or rewards credit card. For example, the Discover card.

Advantages:

• You never miss a payment, even if disabled or away on a trip.
• Your payments occur on the schedule you desire (more or less), and you know what the amounts are ahead of time.
• You get an additional 2 to 3 weeks to actually pay, because of the c/c grace period.
• You get a % back from every c/c charge, and you can use that to pay the balance down.
• You can see all of your autopay history in your card statements.

The trick, of course, is to always pay off this card. Never carry a balance. If you already carry c/c balances, get a card from someone else just for this purpose (and don't let it leave the house). Discover is only one option among many, and you should not have any problems obtaining a cashback card. Don't worry about the APR, as you will never carry a balance on this card. You will pay it off before paying any other balances off, thus the cashback isn't swallowed up by interest charges.

I do have a prepaid cellphone for emergencies, only. It stays shut off and in my car. I don't carry it with me wherever I go.

The first problem I encountered with a cell phone is it presumed to make me accessible all the time. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't spend my life doing things of such little importance that constant interruption is a welcome thing.

If I go somewhere, it's because I have a reason to go there. I'm busy, so answering the phone makes no sense. Thus, no reason to be shackled to the silly thing. Note my use of "shackle," which leads us to the second problem.

The second problem is it "knows" where I am. That's how all these devices work. In other words, they do the same thing as the ankle bracelet tracking devices that criminals wear while out on release. What crime did you commit, that you feel you must provide the NSA and other federal agencies with your location 24 hours a day, every day?

There is nothing preventing an employee of any agency from misusing any information to conduct a crime. IRS employees have a long and storied record of just such misconduct. Why would you voluntarily wear a tracking device?

Smartphones are even worse. Not only do you give away your position, but you are carrying around a device that can make huge amounts of information about what you're doing available to anyone who can hack into the network. And thanks to the anti-Patriot Act, any low-level low-life with an employee ID number in a federal agency can tap that info without a court order or even probable cause. Think about identity theft, here. And worse.

Now, I'm not trying to say that carrying a cell phone will end your life or necessarily make you a crime target. But it does violate many fundamental principles of personal security.

Maybe for you, the best solution is you carry it sometimes but don't carry it all the time. For example, if you drive to work what does it matter that NSA or some other agency or anyone else even knows you are driving to work? That information is easily obtained in other ways. It's much harder to build a profile of where you go at all other times of the day, unless you are one of those zombies carrying around a tracking device. However, you might want to leave it at home if you're taking the dog for a walk or going out on the town for entertainment. Just make sure your pattern is such that you don't by process of elimination show when you're home and when you're not, much less where you go.

Try just shutting it off. You may need to remove the SIM card and/or the battery to end the tracking. Removing the battery was my standard defense measure for the last couple of years that I had a smartphone.

For some reason that I can't fathom, many people feel secure carrying a phone. If someone attempts to mug you what are you going to do, pull it out and beat the mugger with it? Call the cops and ask the mugger to wait half an hour until they arrive? Don't think so....

If you carry the phone so that you feel secure, consider getting a right to carry permit instead. When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away. So dialing a phone while you're being mugged is pointless. But you don't have to dial 911 for your Smith & Wesson to stop a crime in progress. Just the sight of it is, according to vast numbers of recorded incidents, enough to make the would be mugger flee.

His complaints include newbies giving him unsolicited advice as if they are experts, people jumping in ahead of him on machines, and a couple of guys who keep making remarks about how he's using too little weight.

My take on that? These people are simply insecure. Ignore their comments. It does not matter how much you lift, it matters how intensely you train. And you may not believe this, but I sometimes get this same crap over the amount of weight. The people who do this have some kind of problem, but it's not my problem. I've also noticed that, without exception, they do not understand anything about bodybuilding. Which is why they see training as "how much you lift."

Below are my other comments to this reader. Maybe you've had a similar issue. Maybe someone you are trying to get into a fitness program has this issue or thinks they will have it.

Age 50.

I'll also say your first mistake is using those machines. Generally, the serious trainers use free weights and the wannabes use the machines. There are exceptions, but that's the general rule. So learn the proper exercises and use free weights. You will build your stabilizer muscles and have better posture than if you rely on machines.

Don't give up just because you're picking up some negative vibes from a few people. Focus on the positive and those negatives have a way of going away.

Have you ever noticed how many cars are in gym parking lots at almost any time of day? People like going to those places, and there's often a lot of energy in the air. For many people, the fitness is a side benefit. Their main benefit is enjoying the ambiance. It's fun for them just to be there.

Others go consistently because they meet a "gym friend" or even a posse of such friends at the place. For years, I trained at a gym with the same motley crew who showed up at that same time. No particular reason why, we just showed up at that time. Yet this seemingly random factor resulted in our being supportive training partners. We encouraged each other, had lots of good laughs, traded war stories, and left the place with muscles pumped and spirits high.

At one gym in Oregon, several women consistently show up because they know their "gym husband" will be there (that's my long-time friend Jerome, who takes training very seriously and has the physique to prove it).

If you look for these other pluses, you may soon find the two annoying dudes have a different vibe toward you. It could be that your being annoyed with their behavior causes them to repeat it, so you're annoyed again and it's an endless loop. Something I've found effective in changing the bad dynamics is to ask a "bad vibe boy" for assistance (even if I don't actually need it). Something about "Can you please spot me for this next set?" ramps up the bro factor.

Personally, I don't go to gyms unless I'm traveling out of town. I have my own equipment at home. You should consider this approach, also. You don't need much. A good Olympic bench with a squat rack, an Olympic weight set (do not get any other style), and a small assortment of dumbbells plus a rack for them. You can buy all this for a year or two of gym membership fees. Also, install a chinning bar. It's a "must have" item for the serious body builder.

You can hire an in-home trainer, have a workout buddy meet you, or just train alone. I used to train alone, but now my neighbor's cat comes over at workout time and she thinks she's my personal trainer. She's really hilarious.

A note on posture. If you stand up "military style" -- shoulders back, chest out, eyes up -- you will look much bigger and stronger than if you adopt the wimp posture that is pretty much the norm today. This tends to get respectful glances in the gym. But the big payoff will come outside the gym. This is the power posture. Make it your posture, and check it often.

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.