Mindconnection eNL, 2025-07-06

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Celebrating Freedom

• In the roughly since months between Liberation Day and this year's Independence Day, nearly $15 trillion of new investment has come into the USA. During the Communist Occupation, there was a shift of trillions of dollars in the other direction and a considerable stifling of the domestic economy. With a $37 trillion national debt, that much investment into the USA in such a short time is the proverbial manna from heaven.
  
  Most people, including myself, cannot readily grasp how big a number $1 trillion is. Think of one million. It's a thousand times a thousand, or 1,000,000. Now, multiply that by 1,000 again to get one billion. That's 1,000,000,000. Pretty big. Now multiply by 1,000 yet again, and you finally have 1 trillion. It's a 1 followed by 12 zeroes: 1,000,000,000,000. Our national debt consists of 37 of those. In the past 6 months, foreign companies have invested 15 of those in our country. And more is on the way. If you can grasp how much a trillion is, then you can understand what a game-changer this inflow of investment is for regular Americans. And if you can understand that, then you can also understand that voting for Democrats, who have been violently against this, is a financially stupid thing to do.
   
• President Trump's tariffs have brought China to its knees and greatly weakened Xi within the CCP. This caused China to back down on its plans to invade Taiwan. Now with the recent demonstration of our awesome striking power and Trump's willingness to use it, you can bet China won't be invading Taiwan any time soon. Score another victory!
   
• Riley Gaines wrote, "The U.S. Dept. of Education has found California in violation of Title IX for letting males compete in girls’ sports. CDE & CIF must restore records, titles & awards to female athletes AND send apology letters to every girl robbed by this discrimination. This is fantastic."
   
• Tesla became the first automaker in history to deliver a car that drove itself to the customer's home. The car wasn't tailgating, swerving, speeding, or engaging in any of the other insanely aggressive behavior that is so common on our roads today. Nor was it distracted by texting or anything else. Self-driving cars may be the solution to idiot-driving cars. In my day, the solution was a cop would pull you over and write you an expensive ticket. Get a few of these, and the state suspends your license. In many states, you have to take a remedial driving class to get it back. Many companies require their employees to take a defensive driving course to drive a company car. But ever since George Floyd committed suicide by fentanyl (he already had enough meth in his system to kill him, the fentanyl just got there first) and his autopsy was suppressed and consequently the lie he died from police brutality gave birth to "defund the police", our roads have become far more dangerous. Even with the safety features added to cars over the last decade, traffic fatalities are WAY up.
   
• As reported in the Epoch Times, "Americans in 100 of the largest metropolitan areas now have a median non-mortgage debt of $18,762 across four generations—baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z—which is down by 23.9 percent compared with $24,668 in 2024, financial services company LendingTree said in a June 24 report." That is a huge benefit of no longer being under Communist Occupation.
   
• We can expect the Prime Rate to go down, fairly soon. For one thing, the Fed's claims that the high rate is necessary is at odds with their keeping the rate extremely low through much of the Communist Occupation. For another, the OBBB delivers a massive economic stimulus and a decrease in the annual spending deficits. And thirdly, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is now caught up in major ethics scam. It revolves around his spending an astounding $2.5 billion for "renovations" to the Fed's HQ in Washington, DC. And then lying about it when investigators first looked into this theft. He may end up in prison by Christmas. Let's hope so.
   
• Since Liberation Day, rolling back the communist anti-economy measures has brought stunning results. Such as this one, which was reported even by the Associated Press (aka, the Associated Propaganda): In May, job openings surged to 7.8 million. This, despite the fact that the AP's "experts" predicted that Trump's "folly" would produce a decrease in the number of available jobs.
  
  That seems like enough jobs for all of the employable people in our top five most populous cities COMBINED. But is it? Look at the total populations here: https://www.biggestuscities.com/ and then use a multiplier that accounts for people under 18, people over 67 (typical retirement age), people who can't work due to disability or other reason, Illegal aliens (who are not supposed to have jobs), and people who are in illicit trades such as drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking. It is fair to criticize Trump for the loss of human trafficking jobs, which surged during the Communist Occupation--but those are not the kinds of jobs we want to be creating.
  
  Here's some math, not using spreadsheets, calculators, or paper: 8.3+3.8+2.7+2.3=1.7 = 18.8. If we round up 18.8 to 20 and take 1/4, that provides us with 5 million. If we go with 1/3, then we round down 18.8 to 18 and we get 6 million.
  
  But I found online that 60% of the population is employable. So now we can go back to 1/3 figure and simply double it. That means 12 million people. But if leave out NYC's 8.5 million people and say it's enough jobs for the top five most populous cities if you leave out NYC then we are pretty close. That's 13.5 million people times 60% or about 8 employable people. If you leave out NYC and LA, then the next 5 combined will do the trick.
  
  However, not all employable people are looking for jobs. Most have jobs or are not seeking them. The unemployment rate is 4.2%, so it is likely that less than 6 months since Trump took office, almost any American who is qualified to have a job can have one. Why almost? Not all jobs are desirable, but most of the new ones are. Not all jobs can be matched with qualified people, due to the very high qualifications required for some jobs. But the unqualified can up their qualifications by taking classes online or in person, among other measures. And not all jobs are evenly dispersed; to get one of these new ones you may have to relocate. Or start at a much lower position than you are qualified for. But make the effort and do your best, the future is up to you!
   
• "Parents can now opt kids out of LGBTQ classroom material", headline in 01 JUL 2025 issue of Tangle.
   
• Cat-eating Haitians are now being deported. Meow.

Make America Healthy Again is Working

• Dr. Robert Malone, whose effective IQ is about 1,000 orders of magnitude higher than that of the entire previous ACIP members combined, speaks out in the first session of the new ACIP: https://x.com/i/status/1937985251936244225
• RFK addresses why the USA will not contribute one more penny to Bill "depopulate the planet" Gates' GAVI. He does praise them, but points out what they must do differently: https://x.com/i/status/1937986463510982869 It's not a high bar for GAVI, but my guess is they won't jump even that low.

MTG on the One Big Beautiful Bill, 03 JUL:

Today, the House of Representatives delivered a major win for the American people by passing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), a historic piece of legislation that fulfills President Trump’s America First MAGA Agenda.

The OBBB is about keeping promises — the promises President Trump and every MAGA Republican made to the American people. Today, House Republicans delivered.

The OBBB makes the Trump Tax Cuts permanent, protecting families and small businesses from the largest tax hike in American history. It moves to eliminate the unfair death tax that punishes family farms and generational businesses with double taxation. And it ensures hardworking Americans keep more of what they earn by ending taxes on tips and overtime.

It also secures the border by fully restoring President Trump’s successful immigration policies and funding:

• At least 1 million deportations per year
• 10,000 new ICE agents
• 3,000 new Border Patrol agents
• And completing President Trump’s big, beautiful wall This bill is a win for American families, a win for our economy, and a win for our national security.

I’ve stood with President Trump since Day One, and I was proud to vote YES and help get this bill over the finish line. What an incredible gift to our country that President Trump will sign the OBBB into law tomorrow, on Independence Day, as we celebrate 249 years of American greatness.

America First,
Marjorie Taylor Greene

The Standard Deduction

And here's something MTG didn't mention: The standard deduction increases to $15,750 for single filers and $31,500 for married couples filing jointly. Back in 2015, I gave to Congressman Kevin Yoder the idea of a $6,000 standard deduction. The idea was the fewer filers who itemize, the fewer filers will be attacked by the IRS. Yoder drafted a tax bill and sent it to House Speaker Paul Ryan, who promptly gave it a smackdown and refused to do anything with it. Yoder, a Republican from Kansas, always booked his DC flights so that he'd sit next to [name forgotten], a Democrat from Missouri (both flew out of the Kansas City airport). The bill went bipartisan, bypassing Ryan. And in its final form, the standard deduction was $9,000 (for single filers).

Some people interpret this to mean your first $9,000 is not taxed. That isn't accurate. What it means is if you make $60,000 then only $51,000 of it will be taxed. So it's more accurate to say $9,000 of whatever you earned isn't taxed. For 2025, it's $15,750 that isn't taxed.

If you made $2,000 a month, you would be taxed on $24,000 - $15750 = $8,025. The average social security payment this year is $1976/month. All of your $8,025 would be taxed at 10%. Without that standard deduction, you'd pay (per IRS 2024 tables) 10% on the first $11,600 and 12% on the remaining $12,400.

But keep in mind that the single biggest tax you pay is the inflation tax. The IRS has a deleterious effect on the economy due to the massive compliance costs (about 15X what they bring in). By removing IRS from the lives of 10s of millions of American taxpayers, you also remove a huge set of compliance costs. And that means economic stimulation, which means greater receipts to the Treasury, which means less inflation engaged in to pay for federal spending. Increasing the standard deduction to some really high figure won't improve on this benefit, the current amount is doing the job of protecting so many innocent taxpayers from an agency that is known for incompetence, malice, moral depravity, and the personal enrichment of its employees through abuse of their office.

Nutcase Nancy, the Queen of Insider Trading, worked very hard to scuttle this benefit. She's jealous because with her millions of dollars of illicit stock trading income, the benefit to her is relatively minimal. She wants a tax cut for the rich, not for everyone else. Thus, she has been calling this benefit a wealth transfer to billionaires. If her constituents in Transfransisco would stop obsessing over their genitalia long enough to pay attention to what Nutcase is actually doing, they'd run the old bat out on a rail.

Sundry News

• Did you notice how President Trump included various parties in the effort to secure peace in the Middle East? Instead of the USA stepping in to bully people whose culture we do not understand, the peace process is now being led by the Qataris and the Egyptians. Trump has praised them for their hard work and is trusting them to bring this to a good conclusion.
   
• The Trump Derangement Syndrome crowd keeps harping on how Trump is "harming" America with tariffs, making it sound as if he came up with the idea. Prior to late 1917, tariffs were our government's primary income source. China just announced it will impose duties on European brandy, starting 05 July. Guess how much? Up to 34.9%, for the next five years.
   
• Yet another Trump Derangement Syndrome infested company has had to pay for its egregious election interference. Unfortunately, so far these corporate crimes are being tried in civil courts and the individuals responsible are not penalized because they hide behind the corporate veil. But with large enough penalties, the corporations will do the smart thing and fire those people. Recently, Paramount Global settled out of court for $16 million for crimes committed by its CBS property.
  
  A few more of these suits, and companies will fire the mentally ill proactively. That is, people exhibiting strong symptoms of TDS will be noted as a financial hazard to the company and let go. This would not include people who just don't like Trump or who prefer a Marxist POTUS over one that would be good for the country--those people are merely expressing an ignorant opinion. Companies would adopt a stance similar to how they decide who is making for a hostile work environment.
  
  You might have a Chicago Bears pennant in your cubicle which is situated in Kansas City. No problem, you are free to express your opinion. But if you put up a poster saying the Chiefs are all drug addicts and wife beaters, you have crossed the line into libel--that's a civil suit. And it creates a hostile work environment. If you spit into Chief's fans' coffee mugs, that's really hostile. If you go around trying to incite people to kill Chiefs fans, as the commies have done in relation to Trump, you have committed a felony prosecutable by the Attorney General's Office.
   
• Justice Jackson, who was shamefully added to the Supreme Court through "DEI" and was then (and is now) woefully underqualified compared to hundreds of other potential candidates, repeatedly shows she is incapable of passing a high school civics exam. Sometimes she really "steps in it". Recently, she went so off into la la land that Justice Barrett essentially reamed her a new one.
   
• Ruth Bader Ginsberg was a liberal judge, but also a fine legal mind. You could disagree with her, but you could not credibly call her insane, ignorant, or stupid. That is not the case with the three liberal judges now on the Supreme Court. Justice Jackson, if she had any morals, would resign; she is clearly a low-information person who struggles with basic logic and does not bother to research precedent cases. Justices Kagan and Sotomayor  are clearly victims of dementia; it is seldom that either one makes any sense. It is not so much their whacky conclusions that are the problem, it is how they reach them. And also the embarrassingly stupid questions they ask.
  
  With Ginsberg, you could see the stepping stones she used to get to her conclusions. She got accolades for her reasoning from her ideological counterpart, Justice Scalia. They were foes who admired each other so much they were also friends. These other three are the equivalent of putting a Toyota Prius engine in an Indy 500 car and expecting it to keep up. They just don't have the horsepower. It doesn't help that they have blown head gaskets and fouled spark plugs, either.

"Democrat" Party Update

• South Carolina Misrepresentative James Clyburn, who stridently backed Brainless in 2000, is now backing geronticidal Andrew Cuomo for NY State Governor. Clyburn said one reason why is, "He can effect lasting change." Change certainly lasted for Cuomo's nursing home victims. Like every other Democrat with a following, Clyburn has reached deep into the toilet to pull up is preferred turd to be the Democrat challenger for POTUS in 2028.
   
• It is no accident that the Dems are looking only to people with zero morals like Cuomo and/or extremely low intelligence like AOC. They are avidly Marxist, and Marx was neither moral nor bright. Marxism has always failed dramatically wherever it's been tried, and often with a ghastly body count. Nobody with a conscience or a viable IQ can support it. So the Dems have only the worst examples of human beings to push to the top of their party.
   
• New Jersey has long been a cesspool of communist sympathy, where voters allowed themselves to be gas lighted into voting "Democrat". But because doing that has been such a disaster for so long and the Republicans have proven to be good for citizens of New Jersey, that is changing. For example, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 825 is officially endorsing Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli. This has echoes of when Trump got a huge, very positive turnout in Brooklyn during the 2024 election.
   
• It's worth noting that when then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi went on stage at a concert held in Democrat stronghold New York, she was booed off the stage. Her message of hate, combined with her anti-America behavior while Speaker, made her repulsive even in a place where Democrats normally are welcomed with open arms.
   
• Fantastic news for the Republicans: Pete Buttigieg is the early leader in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. This guy's primary skill is incompetence. He stands no chance in a general election, even if it's moderately rigged. An absolute theft, as happened with Brainless in 2020, is no longer possible. As long as the Dems choose to lose by picking imbeciles to put on their slate, America has a bright future ahead. It's a mystery as to why the Dems don't come up with a platform that is actually desirable and then candidates who don't rely on lying, bullying, and corruption to get elected. With their current platform, those are the only kinds of candidates they can get.
   
• The DNC has lost several ultra-wealthy long-time donors and they are not getting regular people to support them, either. This is what happens when you cater to a tiny demographic (e.g., the LGBTQRSTUV), rely on a message of hate, and offer absolutely nothing positive.
  
  This is on top of other issues that turn people off, such as a horrendous record on the economy, on civil liberties, on securing our borders, on protecting our populace from violence (defunding the police and disarming citizens can have only one outcome), on international relations, and on energy policy.
  
  It also does not help that their faces to the public tend to be extremely stupid people like Cackling Kamala and AOC. Nor does it help the Dems that the man they tried to assassinate multiple times and waged lawfare against has has such spectacularly positive results in his first six months. It's also very damaging that they have lied so blatantly and been caught at it so often. Practically nobody trusts them anymore.
  
  Supporting Democrats is an act of self-immolation economically and in other ways; only the mentally ill will do it at this point. And there just are not enough crazies for the DNC to fund its operations. Perhaps it will be forced to dissolve, and a new party will emerge in its place.

Commie Update

This section is really an extension of the one that precedes it. The "Democrat" party has been full commie for a while, now.

• The OBBB shifts certain federal costs onto the states. Most states will be able to handle this, all they have to do is clamp down on fraud, waste, and abuse. Maybe a minor tax hike in there. But The People's Republic of California, which operates under the delusion it is an independent country except when it comes to accepting federal money, is going to have very serious problems. It will have to sharply reduce services and sharply increase taxes. Which is going to simultaneously stimulate strong election reform measures, a revolution against the communists, and even more exodus from the state. When the Census is taken ten years hence, the PRC will once again be California, a red state, albeit with perhaps half a dozen fewer House seats. This is very bad news for the communists, but they are the ones who chose to play hardball and bullets with Trump. Now they have lost a major means of stealing federal POTUS elections and a major means of stealing power in the House.
   
• "There’s a deeper pattern emerging: the OBBBA systematically cuts funding pipelines to key progressive power centers, like state welfare transfers, universities, climate lobbies, and left-leaning nonprofits masquerading as energy startups. These sectors weren’t just bloated— they were financial laundromats, funneling taxpayer money into ideological projects and washing part of it right back into Democrat coffers via consulting fees, campaign donations, and cushy board seats. The OBBBA doesn’t just cut spending— it cuts the hose. And right in time to start the 2026 midterms fundraising cycle." --Jeff Childers, Coffee & Covid, 05JUL2025. coffeeandcovid@substack.com
   
• As Trump's various cabinet members get attacked by communists in Senate and House hearings, they show that they came prepared and they turn the attack into a smackdown of whatever commie told whatever lies. When will the commies learn not to mess with the A Team?
• Pam Bondi sticks it to a communist who disrepected Bondi and attacked her competence. This is masterful: https://twitter.com/i/status/1937254072223998350.The commie then had the gall to claim Bondi was out of line!
   
• The commies have been referring to themselves as "Democrats" as if we mere citizens would not notice how dishonest that is. Now they have finally given up on that pretext, at least in The People's Republic of New York which is dominated and controlled by New York City. That particular city just elected as Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who calls himself a "Democratic Socialist" (talk about an oxymoron!). Of course, Bernie Sanders has been calling himself a "Socialist" for a long time and of course he is a darling of the "Democrat" Party.
• The "Democrat" Party has almost no "elected" (put in office by cheating) officials who aren't avid Marxists. This is a big reason they now have a funding crisis. Marxism attracts the least productive members of society, because of its "free ride" premise. It punishes the most productive members of society. Thus, it consists mostly of criminals and incompetents. And it always fails, without fail!

****The Stupidity Report****

Serious Stupidity to Know More About

• After Liberation Day, Mark Zuckerberg confessed to his role in undermining the 2020 election and his bad behavior in the intervening four years. He called for "more masculine energy" in the workplace and basically prostrated himself to seek forgiveness and be part of the MAGA movement. What he failed to do was clean house at Meta. The place is loaded with delusional lefties, and they are now saying they are in a state of "horror" and "grieving". People who are that mentally ill and stupid need to be fired. If Zuckerberg wants his mea culpa to have any credibility, then he needs to do more than just talk.
   
• Kamala "Single Digit IQ" Harris is delusional enough to be mulling over whether to run for Gruesome Newsome's governor seat or run for POTUS in 2028. She doesn't "get it" that someone so profoundly stupid can no longer rely on election cheating. The communists have lost two of their big fundraising scams, namely the money-laundering scheme known as USAID and the financial crimes operation known as Act Blue. The communists offer hatred, lies, war, economic devastation, and civil unrest. They do not offer one positive thing. So donations are slim and hardly anybody outside the CNN-zombie crowd wants to vote for them. So it won't matter what she does, she will lose. Such is the price of promoting abject stupidity as an offering to the voting public.
   

*****The Lefty Lies Report*****

Lefty Lies to Expose and Ridicule (after all, they are ridiculous lies)

• Known for her incredible stupidity, AOC has tried to position herself as "a Bronx girl" with a hardscrabble background. It turns out that she actually is from well-to-do Yorktown, about an hour away. She was outed by New York Assemblyman Matt Slater, who has provided his high school yearbook as evidence. Asking when the Dems will stop telling audacious lies is like asking when the Pope will stop being Catholic.
   
• The "Democrats" commies are claiming that the deployment of federal troops to protect innocent people when the local government does nothing is somehow illegal and in ordering this President Trump is "acting like a king." In 1957, President Eisenhower deployed 1,000 troops from the 101st Airborne to protect a handful of "negro" high school students so they could attend a newly desegregated high school. The Democrats cried foul over that, too. This is the party of Slavery, the party that opposed civil rights legislation for an entire century after slavery was abolished, and that now opposes Title IX.
   

*****The Scam Report*****

Serious Scams to Know More About

• The student loan forgiveness scam. During the Communist Occupation, this scam gained traction. Those poor students, they face 15% wage garnishment for defaulting on their loans! The reality is that 100% of these students chose stupid majors. College isn't something you do so you can feel good about it. It's something you pay for to get a return on your investment. Students who went into economically viable majors such as engineering have no problem repaying their student loans. And people who went to trade school instead of college do not even have these loans. The whole student loan thing allows colleges to be grossly inefficient and massively overcharge for an "education" that in most cases produces a graduate who lacks critical thinking skills and believes Marxism is good. When the communist regime fell on Liberation Day, this scam also fell. And now those students are responsible for their own stupid choices, they can't burden everyone else with the cost.
   

• The sunscreen scam. Smearing carcinogens on your skin to prevent skin cancer makes as much sense as killing chickens so they won't get the flu. Said flu, BTW, is rarely fatal. For decades, we were told here in America that our selfishness in using air conditioning or driving a car was killing off the Great Barrier Reef. During the Covid shutdown, the reef made a significant recovery. Why? There weren't millions of beach goers getting into the ocean with that toxic smear on their skin. Even with that many people, there was a pretty high dilution rate by the time the sunscreen hit the reef. So it is really very toxic. See this issue's Health and Fitness article for more insight into this issue and also into how to actually prevent skin cancer. For now, go to wherever you keep your sunscreen (if you use it) and toss it all in the trash. Do not, do not, do not put this on your kids as if it will somehow protect them.

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In other words, she and other lefties make much ado about nothing in particular. They agonize about Donald Trump but cannot say exactly why. This is classic non-thinking behavior. They have mindlessly accepted the idea "Trump is not only bad, but horrifically bad" even though all evidence supports the opposite conclusion.

Critical thinking would demand digging a little deeper. There are several formal critical thinking methods, for example the Five Questions method. Let's apply to the theme I just discussed:

1. Trump is a disaster. Q: What specifically is disastrous?
2. Trump is a misogynist, anti-immigrant, racist, and billionaire out to make his billionaire buddies rich. Q: Can you give an example of any of these?
3. a. He hates women. Q: You mean women like the female athletes he is working to protect from men taking away their titles and injuring them i the process? b. He hates immigrants. Q: So why is he married to one, and why is he so close to Elon Musk who is also an immigrant? c. He hates black people. Q: So why did wages for blacks drop during the Obama years but disproportionately rise during the Trump years? d. You mentioned Elon, there you go. Q: So have most billionaires (Soros, Zuckerberg, Bloomberg, Gates, etc.) worked so hard to undermine him and why is he working hard to make the 2017 Tax Cuts, which disproportionately benefit the poor permanent?
4. He's destroying the planet. Q: You do realize that not a single provision of the Green New Scam did anything to benefit the environment and that overall the GNS increased environmental damage, don't you?
5. His message of hate is destroying our society. Q: The word "love" got used dozens of times during his rallies, his actions show great love (look them up), and his policies show a love and respect for our laws, individual freedom, and people in general. As opposed to the hateful messages from the Democrat leaders, the violent riots by Democrats, and the lawfare by Democrats. Not to mention Democrat-controlled cities are in turmoil while Republican ones are not. How do you reconcile your hate statement against the actual outcomes?

I have used critical thinking for several decades. It has enabled me to solve "unsolvable" problems. For example, I was a contractor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. The plant had a feedwater system triggered automatic shutdown about three times a year. Each of these events cost roughly $1 million each. I got assigned to take a pass at this problem, so that engineering department could check the box that they looked at it. Previous analysis had all been done from the drawings. I walked down the system. I wasn't all that familiar with the system itself, but I had a solid understanding of principles that applied to its design and function. I applied critical thinking skills and solved the problem. The news was so fantastic for Baltimore Gas & Electric that the CEO wrote about it in his next Annual Letter to Shareholders. Of course, being merely a contractor, I did not get credit for this. The mere fact I solved this so quickly also angered non-thinkers who felt embarrassed that somebody showed them up.

The application of critical thinking skills isn't normal. Merely possessing them is a super power. Since most people don't bother to even think at all, your having critical thinking skills will put you way ahead of your peers.

One of the most common pitches this time of year is "pest control". All of these companies claim they are locally owned or family owned, which is never true. There may be a local franchise, but it's a national company. All of them say they apply safe products, which is sort of true. But if you ask them to send you a list of what they apply to your lawn and then look those chemicals up, you will find they are all "highly toxic" or "acutely toxic" to honeybees. These companies have a moral responsibility to not use those chemicals and you have a moral responsibility to not allow these chemicals to be used on your property.

But for argument's sake, let's assume you are as immoral as the companies peddling these products. You will pay (typically) $50 a month ($600 per year) and that requires a twelve month contract. If you quit within the contract time, there will be some clause in the contract requiring you to pay the "full price" because the $600 is the "discounted" price. The "full price" is some ghastly sum.

So let's keep going. OK, so you're an immoral person who does not mind killing off bees and thus endangering the human food supply and contributing to other terrible consequences. But you are not a stupid immoral person, you don't want to waste money. Should you "protect" your lawn from the long list of nasty critters the sales person says you are in danger of being attacked by?

Don't sign up, and see what happens. Perhaps you will get an infestation by one of those critters after all. You can go to a garden center and get a couple treatments' worth of insecticide for about $20. Or if you have ants, you can use diatomaceous earth and/or borax to get rid of them. If you have ants it's probably because your windows were installed with the drip pan incorrectly installed and the wet wood of your window frame attracts ants; that can easily be fixed (remove the trim, remove the window mounting screws, remove the rotted wood, add wood putty or new wood as needed, remount the window, fill the voids with the foam that comes in the blue can, reinstall the trim, recaulk as needed).

You don't have to be an immoral person to get rid of ants. Repairing your windows doesn't kill bees, and neither does using Borax or diatomaceous earth. The price difference is stunning, $30 or less versus $600 a year.

Some other pitches to be leery of:

• Tree trimming services. One of these came through my neighborhood about 15 years ago. Every tree they "trimmed" has since been cut down due to dying from infection. These people offered attractive prices, but they cut the limbs flush. I save money by paying more. I have a credentialed arborist do the work. Actually, I have a credentialed arborist look at my trees and give me an assessment. I've used the same arborist for a very long time now. Any time they prune, the trees look balanced. Sometimes, they will refuse to prune. My big cottonwood suffered multiple lightning strikes one summer, and I wanted it deadwooded. They refused to cut it, citing as their reason that the tree was already in shock and needed to heal. They offered instead to give it a root tea feeding and cut away some of the bark mess that would interfere with healing. They were adamant that I wait until spring and see how the tree is doing.
   
• Weed control services. This is similar to pest control, and it's just a bad idea. Keep your lawn mowed, and if you have a lot of dandelions spray them with vinegar or simply pick the nutritious leaves off and add them to various dishes that you make.
   
• Lawn mowing. Yes, some people should hire this done due to their infirmities or an impossible schedule. But with the equipment that is available today, you can make short work of this and save a ton of money. For example, I bought a Honda mower for $600. It was the top of the line push mower at Home Depot. Prior to this mower, it took me over an hour to mow my lawn and I got grass all over my pant legs. And the mowers were always hard to start. I tried three different mowers before I got this one. It starts easily, and I can mow front and back in about half the time it took me with any of the other mowers. String trimmer, similar story. I finally ponied up for a premium model and now instead of spending 20 minutes trying to start it and 40 minutes trying to trim (with the string sometimes ejecting completely out and other problems), I am usually done in 20 minutes from the time I pick it up. Unless I need to change string, and even that is quick and painless.
   
• Housecleaning. I definitely understand this one. But it should be use to supplement, not replace, your own home cleaning efforts. If all you do is have someone come in once a week for light cleaning generally and deep cleaning of one room, your home lacks sufficient hygiene. I am thinking about one of these services, but I will have rules. First, they will use my vacuum if their service includes vacuuming. I don't want spike proteins shed in some other home brought into my home. I have a Roomba that vacuums twice a week but I also vacuum manually; these efforts complement each other. Another restriction is no bleach. Just use the vinegar and baking soda I have. I am willing to bet that no service will agree to these terms, so instead of helping me they would make my home less clean. And there's no way I can remove the spike proteins or the chemicals they'd put into my air.
   
• New roof. Leave this up to your insurance adjuster, unless you really cannot wait until the next hail storm gives you an excuse to file a claim.
   
• Termite inspection. You can, and should do this yourself. Termites are not a threat, unless you give them a way into your home. Look at your landscaping, is dirt piled nearly to the top of your foundation? You can find plenty of videos and other info online about how to inspect for, and prevent, termite infestations. You do not need to pay $300 a year for monitoring.

It's not true that every sales person who stops by to pitch you something is trying to rip you off. But do not sign any contracts. Especially if they say anything that imposes a time limit. "I'll be in this area only until tomorrow" or "The sale ends today." Have them send you information and then take your time to review it carefully. As with the pest control, which all sounded good but it's an environmental disaster and very expensive compared to the alternatives.

Wasting while away

You can waste a lot of money away from home, also. Suppose you get a gym membership. Then you are pondering whether to hire a personal trainer for $50 an hour. If your program does not currently include Leg Day, then you'd be wasting your money.

If you do have some goal and need training guidance from a knowledgeable person, then start with getting Leg Day designed. Have that person work with you so that you can learn Leg Day exercises and how to do those exercises in good form. It should consist of a few variations of squats. If done correctly, you will take several days to recover from Leg Day. You will also notice more muscle in your arms, back, and chest despite not working those directly. That's because the positive hormonal changes will affect those muscles in a positive way.

Once you are comfortable with these exercises, perhaps after four sessions, talk with your trainer about adding in the (traditionally) three upper body workouts: chest and triceps, back and biceps, and shoulders. If your trainer insists on some other combination, it's not wrong. The trainer may say Arms Day, Back Day, and Chest Day. All fine. The important thing is to emphasize a different muscle set each time.

This is also the time of year when people waste money on sunscreen. During the Covid shutdown, the Great Barrier Reef, which "scientists" told us was dying due to global warming, recovered. The culprit? Millions of beachgoers slathered in sunscreen, getting into the ocean. Sunscreen is carcinogenic. It makes no sense that spreading carcinogens on your skin will somehow protect you from skin cancer. Don't buy that stuff. I have covered this subject before. It's worth another mention.

Waste Not?

Time is your ally when trying to avoid wasting money. Take time to research a purchase. You will often find it's unnecessary, harmful, overly costly, or some combination thereof.

5. Security tip

This is from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union:

Laura lost her job in a layoff and was looking for a new position. After one video interview, she received a perfect offer from a startup. They even promised a $2500 advance. When the check arrived, however, it was for $3500. The recruiter said she should cash the check and send back the extra $1000 rather than waiting for a new check. Just over a week later, though, she received a call from her financial institution. The check had been fake and the financial institution wouldn’t absorb the loss, so Laura’s account was in overdraft, and her contacts at the company were nowhere to be found. Laura didn’t get this money back, though she eventually found a job in her field that wasn’t a check fraud scam. To avoid falling prey to a similar scam, learn more about check fraud and how it works:

1. They offer you something you want, and it may seem too good to be true. It might be a job, a prize, or an overpayment for something you’re selling online, but it’s something desirable, perhaps unrealistically so.

2. They look like real checks. Checks or money orders can be counterfeited very convincingly, or a scammer might use a real check from someone whose identity was stolen.

3. Just because the funds are available, it doesn’t mean the check is valid. Your financial institution is required by law to make funds available promptly, and fake checks can take weeks to be detected.

4. If you’re the victim of a check scam, you’re on the hook for the funds – not your financial institution. You’re responsible for the stolen funds, not your financial institution. While you may have legal recourse if you can track down the scammer, they can be hard to find.

5. It’s easier to prevent check fraud than to address it after the fact. While you can report fraud to the FTC, the US Postal Inspection Service, and your State Attorney General, it’s easier to avoid fraud than to prosecute it or recover your funds.

Note from me:

Federal authorities will not even investigate a financial crime that is less than $10,000. And there is no hope of recovering any funds. The bandits have spent those funds by the time they have been caught.

6. Health tip/Fitness tips

Statistics when this photo was taken, 10 days before my 63rd birthday: Height: 6'0" Wingspan: 6'1" Weight: 152.6 lbs, which is more than the 148.8lbs from the 2022 shoot. I am also leaner for this one (notice the striations in my left pec). Bodyfat: Unknown, but well below what the Tanita scale says is 5% Waist: 29 Chest: 48 Arms: 15 Quads: 20.25   Max bench press: Unknown, but I do 4 sets of 10 reps with 150 lbs to warm up on chest day Max squat: Unknown, but I do 4 sets of 8 reps of front squats with 90lbs to start Leg Day Cholesterol: In normal range, on low side Testosterone: Above the upper limit of the normal range   Last illness: 1971 Last workout missed: Spring of 1977 Training days per week: 6 Type of training: Split routine, heavy on supersets   Meals per day: 7 on training days, 6 on rest day Number of eggs eaten per day: Between 7 and 10 Percent of diet that is processed food: 0 Amount of meat, wheat, corn, or soy eaten annually: 0 Number of clot shots received: 0. ********* See all of my climbing videos here: https://tinyurl.com/ClimbingSigChannel. Some cool climbing  videos: https://youtu.be/s4G0ssyJ3hc https://youtube.com/shorts/5919UDqCXDc https://youtube.com/shorts/jYvKJ9mKyyE My hardest climb ever, a 5.11d on lead: https://youtu.be/UT5h0heUUBc . I made a dumb mistake initially, letting the rope wrap over my shoulder. Watch what happens. The scale: Beginner: 5.6. 5.7. 5.8, 5.9  (roped) / VV, V0, V1, V2 (boulder) Intermediate: 5.10a, b, c, d ;5.11a, b, c, d  / V3, V4, V5, V6 Advanced: 5.12a, b, c, d; 5.13a, b, c, d. / V7, V8, V9, V10. Elite and Pro: Even harder. Almost nobody climbs at either level at any of the 6 local climbing gyms.

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

The Democrats use their personalities as birth control. Consequently, the more "Democrat" a county is, the lower its birthrate. And the differences are startling. The Republican population is above the replacement rate and growing, while the Dems are way below the replacement rate and going extinct. Not only that, people who grow up outside the delusional, destructive, hate-based Dem echo chambers have no desire to join that cult.