Dick Young's #1 Summer Vacation Pick!

Published: Fri, 07/05/13

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In This Issue:
Obamacare—the Train Wreck Begins! By Richard C. Young
Obama Approval Rating Collapses to Shocking New Record Low! By Richard C. Young
Survive with Liquid Armor Nanotechnology By E.J. Smith
Clinging to Our Fossil Fuels Past Plays to the Strengths of Russia and Iran By Richard C. Young
The Heck with the National Party By Richard C. Young
The Best and Worst from our 1,200 Mile Harley Road Trip: Part I By Richard C. Young
The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: Part II By Richard C. Young
Fair Tax or Flat Tax? By E.J. Smith
Immigration Bill Horror By Richard C. Young
IRS Target Rate is 100% when “Tea Party”, “Patriots", or "9/11" Named By E.J. Smith

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New May Client Letter: Investing with Risk in Mind Companies operating in generally safe industries are not always a safe investment. Enron, after all, was classified as a boring pipeline company. Fannie Mae carried the implicit backing of the full faith and credit of the United States. Both companies cost many investors their fortunes. Read more here!

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IRS Target Rate is 100% when “Tea Party”, “Patriots”, or “9/11″ Named

Michigan’s Rep. Sandy Levin is claiming “progressives” were targeted just as much as the tea party groups, but as The Wall Street Journal reports:

Mr. Levin also released a series of IRS “Be On the Lookout” (BOLO) lists that included the word “progressive” as an identifying keyword on a spreadsheet. The point was to show that right and left were both singled out, so voila, no political favoritism at the IRS.

Sorry, Sandy. On Thursday, Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George shot down the supposed gotcha moment. Mr. George explained in a letter that his report on IRS targeting had looked at all the criteria the IRS was using from May 2010 to May 2012 to identify political cases. His investigators “found no indication in any of these other materials that ‘Progressives’ was a term used to refer cases for scrutiny for political campaign intervention,” wrote Mr. George.

Mr. Levin’s confusion—we’re being generous—may have come from the fact that the word progressive does appear on a different BOLO, tagged as “Historical.” But that’s not the same “emerging issues” BOLO that the tea party groups were on, and it didn’t send applications through the same IRS route for additional scrutiny.

The entry for “progressive” also specifies that agents should look for groups that use that word or appear to conduct partisan activities while applying for 501(c)(3) status, which allows zero political partisan activity. That’s a different can of beans than the election-year slow-rolling of the many conservative groups that were targeted while applying for 501(c)(4) status, which does allow partisan activity as well as direct engagement with political campaigns.

Altogether, Mr. George explained, six tax-exempt applicants that used the word “progressive” were among the 298 flagged for extra scrutiny between May 2010 and May 2012. Another 14 groups with the word “progressive” were not selected for scrutiny, coming out to a “targeting” rate of 30%. “In comparison,” Mr. George wrote, “our audit found that 100 percent of the tax-exempt applications with Tea Party, Patriots, or 9/12 in their names were processed.”

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Immigration Bill Horror

Mark Steyn, writing at National Review, flabbergasts readers with this breaking news item, just perfect for Republican members of the House to grab onto. Mark tells Americans that Senator John Hoeven (R.ND), an alleged author of the Corker-Hoeven Amendment to the immigration bill, now says he has no idea what was in the legislation he wrote. Hard to believe, is it not?

Here we have another in a mounting pile of evidence in favor of Americans taking back our federal government from Washington and returning most of the civilian duties of government to the states.This was the intention in the original Articles of Confederation by the Founders, including Jefferson, Mason and Henry. A quick reading of the Articles of Confederation will allow you to quickly see how far off course we have gotten from the states’ rights compact intended by our Founders.

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Fair Tax or Flat Tax?

Is a “Fair Tax” or a “Flat Tax” better? The answer is both are better than what we’ve got now. But real tax reform is wishful thinking. As Stephen Moore of The Wall Street Journal writes:

On Thursday Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and ranking Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah unveiled their sweeping tax reform plan. It’s eloquently simple—a blank-slate, literally. But is it a gimmick? And what are the prospects this year for reform?

The plan starts with the presumption that the tax rate on individual filers and corporations will be shaved to as low as possible, perhaps down to 20% (from 39.6% for individuals and 35% on corporations), and that all deductions and carve outs will be eliminated. The senators stress that tax expenditures and other provisions should be added back only if they help expand the economy, make the code “fairer” or advance important policy objectives.

To some, this is unworkable. To others, it’s a brilliant strategy to put the onus on special interest lobbies to justify their favored treatment. The “blank slate” idea is meant to show the trade-off between deductions and tax rates. “Every $2 trillion of individual tax expenditures that are added back would, on average, raise each of the seven individual income tax brackets by between 1.3 and 2.2 percentage points from what they would be under the blank slate,” the letter states. “Likewise, every $200 billion of corporate tax expenditures that are added back would, on average, raise the top corporate income tax rate by 1.5 percentage points.”

Tax reform advocates, like Americans for Tax Reform, say they strongly support the notion the senators put forward of broadening the tax base and lowering the rate. But skepticism abounds. One Senate tax aide tells me, “I’m afraid senators will line up to defend a lot of the worst and most expensive deductions in the code, in order to score points with special interests. Who is going to vote against them?”

Blueberries contain a compound called Pterostilbene, which helps prevent the deposit of plaque in the arteries and prevents some of the damage caused by oxidized cholesterol. Blueberries are also a cancer fighter. Jonny Bowden writes, “A University of Illinois study tested different fruits for the presence of a particular flavonoid that inhibits a cancer-promoting enzyme. Of all the fruits tested, wild blueberries showed the greatest anticancer activity.”

Twelve hundred miles on a motorcycle through ninety-degree heat and roving thunderstorms offers challenges. I have assembled a best and worst list just perfect if you find your family heading to New England this summer. In no special order, but with the best first, here’s my list for you.

Best Town for a 3-Day Stay:

In the summer months, Debbie and I live in Newport, RI, and no town in New England offers all of what Newport does. You have a never-ending choice of great B&Bs and historic inns, such as the impeccable Hilltop Inn or Francis Malbone House, and the centrally located, Nobel House owned Hotel Viking. Directly across from the Viking on Bellevue Ave. is a run of four of the best shops in Newport: Newport Wine Cellar, The Petit Gourmet, La Maison de Coco, and Frank Antonio Hair & Make Up. A short walk on Bellevue heading south is the not-to-be-missed Isoude (beautifully crafted clothing) and Farmesthetics Skincare Apothecary.

Where do you eat? As in all tourist towns, there’s no end of tourist traps and just plain junkers. But I have a short list of beauties for you. Stick with my list, or you will probably end up sorry.

We love eating at Fluke’s great third-floor bar overlooking Newport’s harbor. The terrific staff, welcoming owners, whom we know well, and imaginative menu of small and large plates make Fluke a no-brainer first choice in its class.

A BYOB experience awaits you at Thames Street Kitchen, which may be or not why you want to eat there. We know the owners (twins who are spouses of the chefs) and visit them weekly when in town. The small but delightfully eclectic menu is always a surprise and a major homerun for us. You no doubt will find it as well. Avoid the nearby package store and instead buy your wine from the aforementioned knowledgeable Newport Wine Cellar or from Bellevue Wine.

If New England seafood, including a raw bar, is your choice, you want Scales & Shells on lower Thames. A warning: it’s cash only and parking can be a bear, as it can be in much of Newport. You will certainly get ticketed—or worse—if you get my drift.

For Italian, a lot of places trumpet their award-winning positions, but our favs are Pasta Beach on Memorial Blvd for takeout and Mamma Luisa on Thames for more formal Italian dinning. Finally, Tallulah on Thames offers locally sourced ingredients, lovely presentation, and another detail-oriented chef/spouse team. But be in no rush, as the Tallulah experience requires patience. Wine and beer only here.

Next post I will lead off with the best non-Newport destination. We would never miss a stay in this great little town. Don’t miss this post.

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The Heck with the National Party

Only 17 of the 234 house Republicans elected last year came from a district won by Obama. As such, the remaining 217 reps can, with no fear of losing their seats, take a states’ rights’ approach and vote no on the immigration bill. These young reps should pay zero attention to the Republican leadership and do what is right for their districts and, for that matter, America. Given the historical magnitude of the disaster we have in Washington today, the only hope left is a powerful nationwide states’ rights movement away from central government, as intended by the Founders in the Constitution. If every Republican in Congress were to read the original Articles of Confederation, each would clearly see that our country was intended to be an informal confederation of states giving few powers to the central government beyond the defense of each of the states if attacked. No standing army was intended, no year-round central government, no central government departments. The intent was a weak president with a limited term who was to be nothing more than a meeting manager.

The Founders intended a federal republic and wanted no part of a democracy. Where did recent presidents get the notion that America is a democracy? It’s the Battle Hymn of the Republic not “of the democracy,” is it not? Do Americans pledge allegiance to the republic or to the democracy? It is time to take a hard line in the House. States’ rights Republicans have the firepower to tell House leadership and the national Republican Party to buzz off and vote no on immigration legislation.The Wall Street Journal‘s Gerald Seib explains that newer House members simply don’t see the world the same as the Washington D.C. establishment.

Many House Republicans—particularly the younger freshmen and sophomore members who now make up a stunning 46% of the caucus—don’t much care what conventional wisdom says they should do. They are happy to rock the boat.

Two weeks ago, conventional wisdom said, as the majority party, House Republicans simply had to muster the votes needed to pass a farm bill despite misgivings about its size and shape. Instead, 62 House Republicans rebelled and voted against it because of its cost, and the bill failed.

Now, conventional wisdom says the national Republican Party’s imperative to build bridges to Hispanic voters, as well as business-community support, means House Republicans must pass a comprehensive immigration bill. Yet that simply isn’t the way the world looks to many House Republicans.

Thomas Friedman is on the money here. I have been writing about the case for American leadership in renewable energy. Mr. Friedman offers support.

But I would not get caught up in the anti-carbon pollution details of the president’s speech. I’d focus on the larger messages. The first is that we need to reorder our priorities and start talking about the things that are most consequential for our families, communities, nation and world. That starts with how we’re going to power the global economy at a time when the planet is on track to grow from seven billion to nine billion people in 40 years, and most of them will want to live like Americans, with American-style cars, homes and consumption patterns. If we don’t find a cleaner way to grow, we’re going to smoke up, choke up and burn up this planet so much faster than anyone predicts. That traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet highway in 2010 that stretched for 60 miles, involved 10,000 vehicles and took 10 days to unlock is a harbinger of what will come.

Kevlar body armor can stop a bullet but it will not stop a knife strike, especially from a 230 pound thug. Kevlar treated with BAE Systems’ liquid armor will stop both and weigh half as much. Check it out:

From BAE Systems:

We can engineer amazing things…

Technologists have harnessed the power of an ‘intelligent’ liquid that hardens when struck – and it promises to be a radical advance in body armour, giving frontline soldiers better protection against bullets and much more mobility in the harshest operating environments

Flexible friend on the front line

BAE Systems engineers are developing radical new ‘Liquid Armour’ that combines with more traditional protective materials such as Kevlar to give soldiers high levels of protection but much greater freedom of movement.

This innovative engineering technique takes advantage of the distinctive properties of ‘shear-thickening’ fluids, whose particles collide when disturbed, and can even lock together to form a solid barrier.

Kevlar armour is stiff, uncomfortable and can impede movement. Used to cover the torso it can be hot and heavy to wear, contributing to fatigue, particularly in extreme operating environments such as Afghanistan. But Kevlar combined with a counter-intuitive liquid can produce body armour that is 45% thinner, without any safety compromise.

The liquid armour technology is part of a project to create future body armour that gives soldiers greater ballistic protection and ease of movement in combat situations.
Stewart Penney, Head of Business Development for Design and Materials Technologies at BAE Systems, said:

“The technology is best explained by the example of stirring water with a spoon. In water you feel little resistance to the spoon, whereas with ‘liquid armour’, you would feel significant resistance as the elements in the fluid lock together. The faster you stir, the harder it gets, so when a projectile impacts the material at speed, it hardens very quickly and absorbs the impact energy.”

When traditional Kevlar is struck by a bullet, the impact area is small and shows a significant ‘dent’. It can save a soldier from death, but still causes considerable pain. When liquid armour is struck by a bullet the force is spread over a wider area and the depth of penetration is less because the reduced flow of the fluids restricts the motion of the fabric, dispersing the energy over a wider area. As a result, the material is less likely to distort than standard body armour – and after impact the liquid armour returns to a flexible form.

Trials conducted at BAE Systems’ Advanced Technology Centre have demonstrated the liquid armour’s properties. There are plans to further develop the liquid armour to create a lightweight version of the material and incorporate it into body armour systems.

And the team is looking at how the technology could be used in other sectors – there is business potential for a version that could be of interest to police forces and ambulance crews.

A never-ending cascade of cover-ups, outright lies and deceptions has finally registered with Americans. The Obama administration can neither be trusted nor believed. It is just that simple. Ed Carson at Investors Business Daily outlines the results of a poll conducted by that organization that found record low disapproval of the President.

President Obama’s approval rating tumbled to a record low as Americans reacted to the government’s sweeping surveillance programs and other scandals, according to the latest IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index.

The Presidential Leadership Index fell to 43.2 from 48.9 a month earlier. The 11.7% slide was the worst since Obama took office. For the fourth straight month, the reading stood below 50, signaling disapproval.

Revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance of Americans’ phone records and Internet activity dominated recent headlines. Meanwhile, more news came out about the IRS’ targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

“Each day that passes there’s a new mention of these things,” TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence President Raghavan Mayur said of the NSA, IRS and other scandals. “They seem to kind of fester. They don’t seem to go away.”

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Obamacare—the Train Wreck Begins!

Cato Institute’s Michael Tanner explains the unworkable nature of Obamacare and outlines the economic burden it would be for the country.

In postponing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate until after the 2014 mid-term elections, the Obama administration has tacitly admitted what critics of the law have long contended: that Obamacare is unworkable and would be a significant burden for American business and the economy at large. Stay tuned for further dominoes falling.

Actually, the Administration’s decision to postpone the employer mandate may make a bad situation worse. Because the individual mandate remains in place, workers may now face a situation where they must purchase their own insurance or pay a penalty because their employers don’t provide coverage. In effect, the administration’s decision shifts the cost from employers to workers. This hardly seems fair, and may force the administration to rethink the individual mandate as well.