Have you noticed there is never a reference to published data regarding the effectiveness of masks on controlling the spread of the Wuhan flu (thank you China). Stop and think about this. In all the messages you have heard or read from the “experts” in regards to wearing a mask has there been any data presented backing up the request to mask up? I mean data not just a quote from some expert. You’re expected to accept their word as fact. They expect you to trust them. Well, after decades of the politicians, both the reds and the blues, saying one thing but doing something else who is going to trust them. No one and the data shows it.

Doing a search I came across this article from the University of California San Francisco. It doesn’t provide any hard data. There’s alot of ” I think . . . ” quotes and references but that’s it. But there was a link pointing to this paper. Finally, a credible document that I hoped would provide answers. Yes, I have read it – more than once. I strongly, suggest you educate yourself and read it while sitting home alone this Thanksgiving. Quoting from section 4 Mask Efficacy Studies sums up the situation as it was when the paper was published in April and most likely still today.

“Although no randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the use
of masks as source control for SARS-CoV-2 has been published, a number of studies have attempted to indirectly estimate the efficacy of masks.”

This current report published from Bond University in Australia is another interesting slant on the mask debate.

My personal opinion is that if government officials succumb to forcing citizens by enacting laws, like Boise’s newly elected progressive mayor, threatening the arrest of citizens for not wearing a mask they have failed at their duty of educating the citizenry. This near impossible task is a making of their own. It brings us back to the self-induced lack of trust in our elected officials. I ask you – if someone you do not trust asks you to do something how likely are you to heed that request?

This lack of trust is on display again as the vaccine’s get closer to being released. I’ve come across polls where a high majority of respondents will not be getting the shot or shots. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that are all the buzz currently are built upon new and untested technology. So again a challenge lies ahead in convincing the populace these vaccines will be safe even though no long term trials will be done. I’m curious if the manufacturers will be shielded from future lawsuits in the case there are lurking issues. Will the government have to resort to forcing the vaccines on the citizenry. Time will tell.

Are you ready to begin paying an additional $42-70 per year to register your vehicle in Ada County while all those large pickups, delivery vans (think UPS, FedEx, etc.), school buses and  semi’s you see during your driving in the county will be subject to zero increase in fees? I stress this increase will be on top of the fee you are currently paying and only applicable to Ada county residents.  ACHD is proposing this fee increase and it will be showing up on this November’s ballot.

I am all for paying my fair share to maintain local roads.  I do get upset when the many heavy vehicles that cause far more wear and tear to the roads then my passenger vehicle will not be paying their fair share.

Read the proposal. The ballot language does a decent job of trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the uninformed reader. If you disagree as I do spread the news and then vote in November.

A bright side to this is that the common practice of Boise residents  registering their vehicles in low cost counties where they may have a cabin/vacation home is being scrutinized.  Many of these people have not been indicating that Boise, i.e. Ada county is their primary residence and thus keeping the Boise/Ada property tax exemption.  These folks may be tagged and subject to losing the property tax exemption. We can only hope.

OK. I have come to grips with the fact that Paula and I will be having to pay Uncle Sam a 4 digit sum do to an arcane IRS regulation implemented by the Obama administration as part of the punishment to those bad awful too big too fail companies and 1 per centers. This payment  stems from a spinoff/merger that Hewlett-Packard Enterprises did last year with a foreign owned entity – Micro Focus. Bottom line is we have to pay capital gains tax on the shares received. Typically, capital gains taxes are only paid when you sell. But, that is the gotcha’ in this circumstance you pay even though you haven’t sold them. Yes, the shares received are in the value of 5 digits (very low range) but in a steady downward trend since last year. So there is somewhat of a silver lining to this high finance gambit.

What I can’t come to grips with are the many folks, based on my personal conversations  and reading threads running on the HP Alumni Financial forum who are oblivious to this requirement. These folks knowingly and intentionally are not determining if they have to pay the tax or not. Me? I have spent countless hours over the last few days checking, double checking and then reviewing every which way from Sunday to ensure my numbers are valid. Their attitude is if they get caught they will pony up then and only then. Add to their head in the sand mentality is that big league brokers like Vanguard, Schwab, etc. are not wholly tuned into this requirement since HPE is the first and only corporation to be affected by this IRS regulation. I have also found out that most likely those not reporting will not get caught. So once again someone playing by the rules is penalized while the guilty nonchalantly breeze through life with the loudest voices wanting the government, i.e. taxpayers, to bail them out or have pity on their misfortunes, ignorance and poor decisions.