Spanish colonial efforts in the Americas necessitated doctrine addressing the relationship between the Spanish and indigenous populations. The welfare of the conquered Natives was addressed by the Laws of Burgos in 1512. Important to indigenous peoples, the laws attempted to regulate and dictate the interactions... Continue
Columnist
2013 was an eventful year for federal tax developments, beginning on January 1, 2013 with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), which permanently extended the Bush-era tax cuts for all but the highest income taxpayers. Listed below are some highlights... Continue
Benjamin Braddock, the part played by Dustin Hoffman in director Mike Nichol’s acclaimed film “The Graduate,” is taken aside by a dinner guest at the graduation party thrown for him by his parents and quietly told the secret to his future success. “Plastics,” the guest... Continue
Temelec is not a cheese. It is, however, a census-designated place, also known as a CDP. The United States Census Bureau created the designation for statistical purposes, and defines it as a concentration of population other than cities, towns and villages. As most of you... Continue
This time of year even people with a lot of money worry about money. An average American spends $786 on Christmas gifts. And now, with the halls un-decked and all those live trees dumped. What’s next? Yup, the tax man. I talk to folks who... Continue
Surveillance in the digital age is a universal reality at unprecedented scale, reaching into the intimate details of uncountable millions of individual lives. Now politely called “data-mining” to lessen it’s sense of violation, we used to call such activity espionage or spying and its “Peeping... Continue
Happy New Year. I love it. It’s time to reorganize. It’s time to think differently. My mother always used to tell me that when one wakes in the morning, the troubles of yesterday must be forgotten. It is a conscious decision. It is important to... Continue
The Millennials are the first generation of Americans who will see their living standards decline from that of their parent’s generation. The combination of harshly reduced living standards (enforced by the Wall Street/Washington austerity consensus), accompanied by markedly decreased job security and constant competition for... Continue
It’s notable that so much of that which make us uniquely human remains hidden until we die. Metaphysical strands and threads invisibly connect us to each other, things and events in which we had a part, stretching through time and space often unacknowledged and unseen.... Continue
Last minute shoppers need help and I’m just the guy to lend a helping hand. What better way to learn about history, particularly the history of our splendid town, than to give gifts that have stories. Because procrastinators, like me, are living amongst us, I... Continue