Ok...California isn't in the lead on this. New York is. There was litigation in the NY Courts that led to what is known as their "Amazon Law" that lets NY force Amazon to collect NY sales tax by virtue of NY based third-party sellers having partnership agreements with Amazon. VT, MA, RI, IL, CO, GA, CT and now CA have since filed legislation to mimic what NY did. THIS DOESN'T mean the states can now compel remote sellers to collect their tax! It only applies where that seller has a partnership agreement with an in-state business pushing sales through their website. THAT said, we all owe the USE TAX. It's the law. I find it interesting that many of the same folks who rail about Democrats trying to raise taxes (which happens to be factually inaccurate) don't seem to care about breaking the law, resulting in budget deficits that leave states short of operating revenue that lead to discussions of the need to raise taxes! You can't complain about your kids getting a crappy education, the roads being bad, bridges failing, etc. if you don't pay the taxes you lawfully owe! That's as unpatriotic as you get. I find it hard to understand how the masses on the right fall for the complete ruse that they will somehow benefit from the Gov't giving tax breaks to the uber-wealthy and to Corporations who are buying those tax breaks with lobbying dollars. It's been proven to be bull time and again. Oil companies are reaping record profits while enjoying ridiculous tax breaks and shifting the burden of the shortfall to the rest of us! PLUS, we now have the privilege of perpetuating their ownership of the U.S. Government by our paying them $5.00/gallon! If you understand anything about investigative tactics in police work..."follow-the-money" almost always leads you back to the perpetrator. While there's plenty of blame to dole out on both sides of the aisle, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which major party is the prime offender. What can be said about this but wake up America! What happened to government for the people, by the people? The Constitution says "people" not "corporations!" As for the uncollected sales tax issue, there is an effort called the Streamlined Sales Tax Project aimed at encouraging Congress to lift the Supreme Court restrictions on requiring remote sellers to collect tax for the states in exchange for the states simplifying and making their laws more uniform so that it doesn't cost businesses so much to comply! Unsurprisingly, the bill continues to stall due to opposition by the majority of Republicans who don't want to be "perceived" as levying new taxes even though the taxes are already legally due and are just being criminally ignored. Thankfully this year there is some Republican support. Rep. Senator Mike Enzi of WY is cosponsoring the bill this session with Senator Richard Durbin of IL. Until REAL campaign finance reform is adopted and publicly funded political campaigns are MANDATORY and Corporate lobbying $ prohibited, this country will NOT be truly free.

I havent watched the show in a few years because I think it does a disservice to the general public and is very unrealistic. These people are eating 1,000-1200 calories a day and exercising 6-8 hours a day. They are at the ranch for around 16 weeks and then I think they are home for 2-3 months before the finale. I did hear Rachel interviewed on tv and she lost 155 lbs in 7 months(which would mean 4 mos at the ranch and 3 at home) ...that's an AVERAGE of 22 lbs. a month. Even Dr. Oz came out and said it is unhealthy to lose at the pace they do....and all his show seems to be about now is the latest weight loss diets/gimmicks. When you see people losing 12,15, 17 lbs in a week and then you get on the scale and see 1 lb, it makes YOU feel like the biggest loser..in that, how come you only lost a lb.? There's no way these people can keep up these routines when they return to their normal lives and are working again so of course they put weight back on. I also read an article a few years ago that what they don't show you is all the injuries they incur because they are pushed so hard from the get-go. You cant take a sedentary 300 lb person and expect them to walk a mile first time out or do 45 minutes at 3.5 on the treadmill, etc. without developing knee, hip and other injuries. I don't find the show inspiring at all because it is so unrealistic.

Jess: Yes, those people did that in 20 weeks (5 months), with lots of running & weight lifting, boxing, plus a high-fiber diet: lots of RAW veggies & fruits, lean fish & poultry, and low-fat. The dietician who designed Biggest Loser diet recommended at least 7 RAW fruits & veggies per day and 3 proteins. Always good to try new foods: I tried RAW Brussel sprouts (sliced thin) in salad and I'm addicted to it now. I tried FRESH turmeric yesterday (so yummy with chicken) and it was great in suppressing my appetite, didn't feel hungry for hours afterwards. I researched on turmeric since my Mom has diabetes, and even my skinny sisters are pre-diabetic. My blood-sugar is fine, but I need to bring down my triglycerides & cholesterol levels .. will have that tested end of this year. See excerpt from below link: "The published Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry confirmed that Turmeric could benefit diabetes. Turmeric, an ancient spice, can alter the pathological states of type 2 diabetes linked to heart disease, a dangerous complication of diabetes. In a new study on the reduction of formation of fatty deposits in the arteries, which is a risk for patients with type 2 diabetes it was found that curcuminoid extract can prevent this. Over a series of six months the study revealed the involvement of turmeric extract, curcumin does stop the fatty deposits forming on the inner surfaces of the arteries obstructing the blood flow." Avery July 31, 2015 at 9:15 pm I’ve bee using Turmeric powder for 8+ years. I keep it in a salt shaker and whenever, whatever I cook, from oatmeal to fish, vegetable, I put in about 3-4 shakes of Tumeric along w/a shake or two of Black or White Pepper, except of course in sweet foods, like Oatmeal, cookies, etc. Another great herb is “Fenugreek,” also from India and great for stabilizing blood sugar. Check w/your Doctors. RG February 18, 2015 at 8:42 am I was paying close to $500 per month on Diabetic Medicans. Since starting a Turmeric, I have stopped doctor prescribed Diabetic meds. What a savings! Dr Sheldon March 8, 2014 at 3:01 pm Transmax-resveratrol, an extract of purple grape skins, is a much more effective dietary alternatives to treat Type 2 Diabetes than Tumeric (curcumin). It, like Tumeric, can be used with drugs such as Metformin. In two recently published human clinical trials done by respected medical schools it was shown that transmax had the effect of reducing blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity, lowering blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, and even lowering body weight." *** From Straw: the 2 studies of resveratrol & diabetes are found in the below link. My grand-mother drank wine daily, she lived up to 98 year old. But I'm allergic to the sulfites in wine, and any purple-figment produce would do: be it red cabbage, red onion, red beets, or blueberries. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/8/prweb9794089.htm

Never plant the tall Mexican ruellia in Houston! ( I like the short clumping Katy ruellia.) That plant is the curse of my garden. My master gardener friend gave me on purple and one white. the purple has marched more than 1/2 way around the fence borders. She failed to mention that she pulled them all the time and her many paved pathways helped to keep them contained. I sprayed it with Round Up and it shot seeds at me and made popcorn sounds. (That hurt, too!) They grow 7 ft tall in up through my lemonade honeysuckle vine and laugh at me over the tops of the suburban fences. I have pull and paid others hundreds of dollars to pull and they keep coming back, since they also send out awful runners. This plant survived the poison ivy and brush killer and Ground Clear, as did wedellia. The wedellia was gone for three year, cam back and jumped to another bed. I would pour gasoline on them both if I knew that would kill them. The wedellia roots where it the leaf nodes touch the ground and smothered my daylilies.