Post Scripts

Post by Jack Lee

What makes a state happy? LiveScience.com reports residents of happy states tend to be wealthier, better educated, more tolerant and more knowledgeable about healthy behaviors.

States that have more money have a greater ability to provide a solid infrastructure of police and fire protection, good schools and other amenities, making it easier for residents’ needs to be met.

Happier states have a large number of residents with advanced educations whose jobs are considered “super-creative.” These include architecture, engineering, computer and math occupations, library positions, arts and design work, as well as entertainment, sports and media occupations.

Continue reading “The Happiest States” »

by Jack Lee

A new Jaguar like this XK8 shown above will set you back about a $100 grand. Not a lot of them puttin around our little town of Chico.

It looks like America’s love affair with the automobile is over and I’m taking into account the current recession which has everyone tightening their belts. U.S. auto sales have dropped from 17 million a year to 10 million and this is due more to a cultural shift than a bad economy, although I’m sure the economy played a part. And another indication of this cultural change is that teenagers are in no rush to have a drivers license anymore, in fact only 1 in 3 by age 16 has a license.

Continue reading “Car Trends – The Meek Are Winning” »

Posted by Tina

Under the FEC regulation

11 CFR 110.20(i): “A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process of any person, such as a corporation, labor organization, political committee, or political organization with regard to such person’s Federal or non-Federal election-related activities, such as decisions concerning the making of contributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements in connection with elections for any Federal, State, or local office or decisions concerning the administration of a political committee.”

Additionally federal law, under 2 USC 441-Sec. 441e, also prohibits foreign donations.

(a) Prohibition It shall be unlawful for – (1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make – (A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election; (B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or (C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 434(f)(3) of this title); or (2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national. (b) “Foreign national” defined As used in this section, the term “foreign national” means – (1) a foreign principal, as such term is defined by section 611(b) of title 22, except that the term “foreign national” shall not include any individual who is a citizen of the United States; or (2) an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 1101(a)(22) of title 8) and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 1101(a)(20) of title 8.

by Jack Lee

There was something in this speech to disappoint everyone. Obama’s talking points were long on campaign style rhetoric and short on specifics. “Obama hoper’s” were looking for decisive action and some strong words about a lot of things, but specifically on support for gays in the military, healthcare and winding down the war’s in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they didn’t get it. The republicans weren’t expecting much and they got it.

It took just over an hour for the President to say almost nothing about all the hot button issues. A full half-hour into the speech, Obama briefly spoke about healthcare reform that has cost his party a lot of votes. And again, he gave lawmakers no specific guidance on how to move forward.

“I think it’s (healthcare) on life support, but it still has a pulse,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “If there is a way forward, some of us are really committed to finding it. It doesn’t look clear how we’re going to move it.” Another Senate moderate, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, had a similar assessment. Asked if it’s possible that no health care bill will emerge this year, Pryor responded: “I think it is a real possibility — I don’t know that it’s a probability. It’s very possible that health care is just a stalemate and you can’t solve it this year,” he said.

Obama acknowledged that his party would like to spend more time on less volatile subjects like the jobs issue to win back the voters that the healthcare debate has lost. “This is a complex issue, and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became,” the president said. “I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people. And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, the process left most Americans wondering, ‘What’s in it for me?'” I’m not sure that is what the American people were wondering at all, I think they were wondering when is this push towards socialism going to end?

Continue reading “Obama’s State of the Nation Speech – A lot of talk – few specifics” »

by Jack Lee

Since the 1980’s AIDS has swept over much of Africa, reducing entire villages to nothing but a memory. 1.2 million Africans have died and another 24.4 million are believe to be infected with HIV and/or AIDS. This one disease has changed the future of life on this continent forever. Is it then so far fetched to imagine that history could repeat itself, in a time when science and politics fail us and another plague-like event or even a man caused disaster could wreak global havoc on us in the not too distant future?

Near the middle of the 1300’s the Black Plague swept over Europe and killed almost 25 million people, that is nearly 50% of everyone living in Europe and this disease did it in just short five years.

Giovanni Boccaccio, author of The Decameron wrote, “Imagine waking up one morning and hearing your brother or sister complain of a headache. By the end of the week, you are the only one in your family left alive. Even worse, you are the only one of a very few in your town left alive.”

The black plague took three forms: the most common bubonic plague, which killed in an average of five to seven days; the pneumonic plague, which attacked the lungs and also killed in less than a week; and septicemic plague, which entered the bloodstream and could kill in less than a day.

* * * * * *
Continue reading “The Black Plague – Will History Repeat Itself?” »

In 2005 I wrote this article and it has been so popularly received on the net I thought I would post it again.

by Jack Lee

(BE ADVISED: There is no confict of interest here in my opinion on Rife – I’m 100% honest, unlike the Rife scammers)

Raymond Royal Rife, doctor of medicine, man of science…NOT! The first man ever to cure cancer virtually single-handed…NEVER DID! His great legacy grows despite every attempt by the AMA to discredit him as a fraud… PURE BALONEY, he is a fraud!

Although Rife died a convicted conman and a liar there are still dimwitted people who fall for his scam. One doesn’t need to look very hard to discover that Mr. Rife lied about his education, he lied about his diploma’s, he lied just about everything in order to create an illusion that he was some kind of great genius, an inventor of medical devices that could cure anything! Sadly, that great illusion lives on…especially on the internet where other con-men are still trying to make a buck off Rife’s quackery.

Thousands of true-believers (without any medical training of course) still tout his wacky science as fact. They want to believe so much, they even declare his obviously phony medical credentials as the real McCoy. Well, it must be one dandy conspiracy to hide Rife’s college records and force everyone on his alleged campus who might have seen him, heard him or been a classmate to lie and say they never heard of Rife! Well, if you believe that, what’s the point of reading any further? Your mind is made up, but for those who are not so clueless there’s a great story that follows:

The original “Rife Light Machine” was destroyed under suspicious circumstances well over 70 years ago, probably by Rife himself in order to avoid being exposed as a fraud. However, many creative knockoff products remain in use around the world, but not one has ever been proven to work. Uh, did you hear that…not one? No, not one …not ever…now how clear is that? I’m open to a complete retraction if you have any proof. Of course there will be people who swear they were cured of something, but without a medically accepted double blind study this is just worthless testimonial. Who knows if they were even sick or what cured them? You can’t know this unless it’s done under controlled circumstances according to the best scientific standards.

Continue reading “(Reprint) Royal Raymond Rife – King of Cons” »

RE Post Scripts Article “Tax Hell 2010 & 2011”

Quentin: It reminds me of the tar baby. the more they mess with it, the worse it gets! THIS tax for these people. THAT tax for those people. The best tax is a fair tax that everyone pays–voluntarily. If we taxed the purchase of stocks, commodities, derivatives, bonds, etc. at a mere 7.5%, we would raise more money than we do now, AND we could eliminate capital gains. This would spur investment, which would spur the economy, which would spur investment, which would raise revenues to the government. The revenues raised would be so great we could eliminate the National Debt in less than fifteen years. Don’t take my word for it, do the math yourself.

Jack: Quentin the problem as I see it with taxing the purchase of stocks, commodities, derivatives, bonds, etc. at 7.5% is that it would have a chilling effect on said purchases, people just wouldn’t buy them. For the last 3 1/2 years of recession your typical return on investment would have been far less than the taxes you paid to own it.

We try to grow our retirement portfolios at about 7-10% per annum (and thats being optimistic), now if you deduct for income tax and adjust for inflation, that brings us down to around 4.5 to 7.5% per annum; even without an income tax the yield would be so dismal compared to the investment risk that it would not make much such sense to invest in America. And what about the companies that depend on stock/bond sales for liquidity? Will they be forced to turn to the government for short term loans and what influence will that have because of all the strings that would be attached?

Continue reading “A Conversation on Taxation” »

Breaking News:

SEOUL, Jan 27 (Reuters) – North and South Korea on early Wednesday morning exchanged fire near a disputed sea border off the west coast of the peninsula.

Two ships in the area were apparently hit, one limped back to North Korea with fires visible on the decks, the other returned to port in the south, riddled with shell fragments. South Korea has called a meeting of top national security officials.

North Korea on Tuesday declared a no-sail zone in the Yellow Sea waters in a sign that it might fire artillery or short-range missiles, media reports said.

South Korea’s office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could not immediately confirm the reports. The area is near a contested sea border between the rival Koreas that was the site of a brief naval clash in November between the states, which are technically still at war.