Travel, culture and history with Jim
El Salvador – pre-trip
The Flight The flight is from Seattle to San Salvador with United Airlines, leaving at 5:40 PM from Seattle, stopping for almost three hours in Los Angeles, and landing in San Salvador about 5:30 AM. An overnight flight. I most likely will take a taxi to my hotel in Santa Ana. They have indicated my…
The Joy of Planning for Travel
This year I have started traveling again. I went to Taiwan in March and am now planning a trip for El Salvador in August, which happens to coincide with my birthday. As I have embarked on these two trips, I have become quite aware that a significant part of the enjoyment I experience happens before…
Tax Rates for Individuals and Corporations in the USA since 1950
Most Americans seem unaware that individual and corporate tax rates are the lowest in 75 years Below is a clean, data-driven summary (1950–2026, USA) using representative benchmark years (since yearly statutory structures are complex and bracketed). 1) US Tax Rates (Top Marginal) — 1950–2026 Key Takeaways 3) Middle Class Size (Share of Population) Trend: 4) 📉 Graph:…
Wealth inequality in the USA
From a brief prompt, AI delivered the following: To put that into perspective, the richest 1% have a total wealth of approximately $55 trillion, roughly equal to the combined wealth of the entire bottom 90%!!! Wealth distribution in the US is quite skewed. The top 1% of households hold around 30.5% of the country’s wealth,…
USA involvement in Iran
This is the result of a quick AI query. Special note that it leaves out the killing of over 100 schoolgirls by the USA and the destruction of many hospitals, universities and other infrastructure by the USA and Israel. Note also that it leaves out the Iran Contra affair in which the USA illegally sold…
Spreading Peace and Freedom (sarcasm intended)
Here’s a list of countries where the USA has been involved in various military actions, coups, assassinations, or economic sanctions since World War II: Latin America and Caribbean: Asia: Africa: Europe: Middle East: This list is not exhaustive, and there may be other countries where the USA has been involved in various capacities. Would you…
Costa Rica
An attempt to recapture a travel adventure from 1987 In March of 1987, I had completed another two years at the University of Washington to obtain teaching certifications in biology, chemistry and general science. I had previously graduated in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. I will brag that I finished with a 3.86…
Turkey
This is an attempt to recapture the 45 days I spent in the country of Turkey in the Winter of 1983. I had written extensively in journals about this time period, but have been unable to locate my journals, so I am left with my memory. As I have been recollecting this journey, so many…
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