Artwork By Glenn Marshall, Motion Effects By George RedHawk

“You do not become who you really are, it is simply the discovery that you are Consciousness prior to any image, thought, label or belief.”   ~Anon I mus (Spiritually Anonymous)

Red Moon

“Give me five minutes to explain taxes to you: The top marginal tax rate is currently 39.6 percent, which remember, is an altogether different thing from the effective tax rate that wealthy people end up actually paying after taking advantage of various tax loopholes. What does that even mean - a ‘marginal tax’ rate of 39.6 percent? Does it mean the average person pays 39.6% in taxes? No. Does it mean that the income earners in the top one percent pays 39.6% in taxes? NO! Here’s what a marginal tax rate of 39.6% means: First, as of 2013 the top tax rate for individuals currently doesn’t begin unless you earn $406,750 dollars. Actually, that tax rate doesn’t even take effect until you make $406,750 + $1 dollar. Got that part? That’s important. Here’s the tricky detail that most people miss: the 39.6% tax rate is only applicable on anything OVER $406,750 dollars. So if you made $406,752 dollars, then only two ($2) of those dollars will be taxed at the highest rate of 39.6%…and the other $406,750 is not. Of course, this does not take into account the numerous tax loopholes that I alluded to earlier. Thus, if the top marginal tax rate is 39.6 percent, then after using any number of tax loopholes, write offs and various other cheats, it’s entirely possible earn over $406,750 dollars per year and still pay even less in taxes than a working class American earning much less. SN: this applies only to people who do actual work for a paycheck. If, on the other hand, your primary income is from inheritance or stock investments and you pay all your bills off of that interest (aka “capital gains”), then your taxes work differently altogether (hint: they’re even lower). Take multi-billionaire Mitt Romney, for example. In 2010 he only paid an effective (real) tax rate of 13.9 percent, odds are that’s much lower than the tax rate you (or your parents) just paid. Here’s the last thing you should remember: Only one percent of Americans make $400,750 a year or higher. Stated differently, the top income tax rate effects around 3.5 million —out of 350,000,000 Americans. And that’s only on the dollars ABOVE $400,750. BOO HOO right? Approximately 3.5 million Americans might, maybe, perhaps *possibly* have to pay the top federal income tax rate…but only on anything above $406,750 dollars…and only if they refuse to take advantage of ridiculously huge tax loopholes so big you could fly a jumbo jet through them. THAT is what conservatives are crying about when they complain about the top tax rate. That’s it.”

— This is why whining about the top tax rate is a joke and Republicans are the party for the Greedy One Percent (and the deluded suckers “future millionaires“ who repeatedly vote for them)

“Keeping the internet open is critical for us. It powers social movements, and provides a global platform for people of color, LGBTQ folks and the most marginalized communities to tell their own stories, run their own businesses and route around powerful gatekeepers.”—Candace Clement, Free Press Action Fund Campaign Director via @fight4future​

Starting today, June 11, U.S. internet providers will be legally allowed to censor and block websites and apps, and force you to pay extra fees to to access your favorite places online. Your internet sanctuaries, the communities you are part of, the ones you have help build up, could be decimated.

Will it happen today? No. Next week? Probably not. The changes will not be swift. They will come piece by piece. A slow, tempered death to the free and open internet we love.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You can still make a difference, Tumblr. We need the House of Representatives to sign a discharge petition in support of the Congressional Review Act that would force a vote on the floor.

Contact your reps—let them know you support net neutrality.

It’s so easy. Just go to BattleForTheNet.com, fill out the form, and follow their directions from there.

They have an updated widget for you to throw on your websites to urge others to make a difference. You can put it on your Tumblr. Let your followers know what you stand for, encourage them to do the same. It’s so easy to do. Just copy and paste their small line of code right into the customize theme page on the web.

Go, go, go, go. We know you have that passion in you. We’re fighting right alongside you.

3 ST∆TES

Got this image before sleep last night. How I presume my body is divided.

Researchers created a tomato that contains Resveratrol - One tomato is equivalent to about 50 bottles of red wine

Given the opportunity to drink fifty bottles of wine or eat one tomato, which would you choose?

Scientists at the John Innes Centre have found a way to produce industrial quantities of useful natural compounds efficiently, by growing them in tomatoes.

The compounds are phenylpropanoids like Resveratrol, the compound found in wine which has been reported to extend lifespan in animal studies, and Genistein, the compound found in soybean which has been suggested to play a role in prevention of steroid-hormone related cancers, particularly breast cancer.

READ MORE ON JOHN INNES CENTRE

Ref: Multi-level engineering facilitates the production of phenylpropanoid compounds in tomato. Nature Communications (26 October 2015) | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9635

“If you don’t have a plan, you become part of somebody else’s plan.” ― Terence McKenna

Don’t be someone’s cog in the machine.

Alzheimer’s May Not Originate in the Brain

Authored by Kenny Walter, Digital Reporter, R&D Magazine

The long assumption that Alzheimer’s disease originates in the brain may not be true after all— as new findings indicate the disease could be triggered by breakdowns elsewhere in the body.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) believe that the new discovery could lead to new drug therapies that may be able to stop or slow the disease down without acting directly on the brain, an often complex, sensitive and hard-to-reach target.

Read more: https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/11/alzheimers-may-not-originate-brain