The Sunday 'Report;' 04/29/2012

What The National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
Nugent Reveals Details About the Alaskan Hunting Trip That Made Him a Target of the Feds

by Billy Hallowell,
theblaze.com
April 26, 2012
    Over the past few weeks, rocker Ted Nugent has been making headlines. From his controversial speech at the National Rifle Association conference to his recent drama over hunting missteps with the U.S. government, Nugent has had a busy month. In a radio interview with Glenn Beck this morning, the musician delved into the details surrounding his recent guilty plea for illegally killing a black bear in Alaska — details that appear to show he’s being targeted by the Feds.  During the discussion, Nugent described some of the regulations that are impeding landowners‘ and hunters’ rights, while reiterating his strong views on the importance of [....]
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nugent-tells-beck-about-the-alaskan-hunting-trip-that-made-him-a-target-of-the-feds/

Health care reform equals rebates in Texas
by David Hendricks,
mysanantonio.com
April 27, 2012
    Texans with health care insurance and Texas employers who pay all or part of their employees' health care insurance premiums will receive the highest amount of rebates from insurance companies this year under a little-known provision of the health care reform law that went into effect last year, a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation released Thursday states.  Not all Texans with health insurance and employers offering health insurance to workers will get rebates, but those that do will divide $186 million in rebates this year, the highest amount among states. Nationally, $1.3 billion in rebates will be issued by Aug. 1, according to a foundation estimate.  Individuals holding their own policies in Texas are expected to receive an average rebate of $193.53, the foundation estimated. Nationally, that average is $127.  Under the Affordable Care Act, health care insurance companies are [....]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Millions-will-get-health-insurance-rebate-3513824.php

Morning 'Smoothie' Recipes
smoothieweb.com,
April 11, 2012
What better way to start your day than with a healthy, nutritious Breakfast Smoothie. This smoothie recipe category features breakfast smoothie recipes designed to get you moving, fill you with energy and taste great at the same time. If you have any breakfast smoothie recipes you would like to share please send them to blenderman@smoothieweb.com, we would love to add them.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie with Flax Seed
    Although this blueberry banana smoothie would be delicious and healthy without adding the flax seed, it wouldn’t as full of fiber as it could be. Another healthful benefit from the flax seed is the boost of omega 3 it provides. Add to the a kick of protein and you have a very satisfying and healthy smoothie. Although it serves 2, feel free to drink the whole thing and make this a full-blown breakfast smoothie.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Blend Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Serving Size: 14 ounces
Calories per serving: 195
Fat per serving: 23
Smoothie Ingredients
•1 cup frozen blueberries
•1 banana
•6 ounces plain nonfat plain yogurt
•3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
•1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
•1/2 cup ice cubes
Instructions
Place your ingredients in the blender and start blending on low speed and then gradually increase the speed until all ingredients are smooth. Add another 30-60 seconds to add air which makes the smoothie lighter. Serves 2 so bring an extra glass.
POM Morning Protein Shake
I love pomegranate and POM is a wonderful way to get the great taste of pomegranate and the wonderful health benefits it provides. Pour POM into a smoothie, add some protein powder and a [....]
http://www.smoothieweb.com/category/breakfast-smoothie-recipes/

Ozark [Mo.] High School Ready to Push International Socialist Agenda
by "Bungalow Bill,"
bungalowbillscw.blogspot.com
April 26, 2012
    The caption by Dr. Sam Taylor read, “… Ozark has officially been accepted into the IB program and will become a fully-authorized school.”  What our school principal did not say is, “… any school willing to pay the exorbitant fees to the Switzerland based corporation can become a fully-authorized IB school.” If you pay, you play.  The sense of accomplishment is a hoax, no different from the process by which the Ozark School District was led into becoming a U.N. partnered, IB school.
    IB schools are required to teach and reinforce the doctrine of international socialism in each and every subject offered to its participants. It is this requirement that makes IB an indoctrination program and not an educational program, as our misleaders would have us believe.  In the very same week that Ozark became an IB school, the state of New Hampshire approved a bill allowing parents to pull their children from any school using the International Baccalaureate program and it also established a committee to study that same IB program.  You see, the facade is coming off of this U.N. educational system being implemented by those of the political left.  Sadly, our incompetent school board, with a wink and a nod from [....]
http://bungalowbillscw.blogspot.com/2012/04/ozark-high-school-ready-to-push.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Do You Know What the Constitution Really Means?
Staff Reports,
heritage.org
April 24, 2012
    With a handful of words, the Founders set forth a simple principle that protects a central liberty enjoyed by all in this Republic -- the freedom of speech, as recognized in the First Amendment. Yet after more than 200 years of history, liberals in Congress -- including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) -- aim to set that freedom on its head so they can further their efforts to silence their political opponents.  The proposal, which is known as the "People's Rights Amendment," would amend the Constitution and hold that constitutional rights are only for "natural persons," meaning that corporations and legal entities would no longer enjoy the freedoms the Constitution guarantees. That would apply not just to companies like General Electric, but also to newspapers, churches, nonprofits, businesses, labor unions and book publishers alike. Individuals acting collectively -- whatever their purpose -- would wave the freedom of speech goodbye.
    The Constitution should not be cast aside so quickly to achieve political ends, and its meaning must be carefully understood and respected. That's why The Heritage Foundation is proud to announce a new resource to help the American people and their elected representatives learn more about the history of our founding document. Heritage's Online Guide to the Constitution is a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of every single clause in the Constitution -- and it's available for free at ConstitutionOnline.com.
    Want to learn more about the freedom of speech that is now under assault? Though you're probably familiar with the phrase, "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," what does it really mean? Who does the freedom of speech and press apply to, who can restrict speech, and what constitutes "speech," anyway? Can you burn a flag? Is "hate speech" illegal? Is it permissible to [....]
http://links.heritage.org/hostedemail/email.htm?CID=11813333277&ch=CF4235E92718AD83258BC64AEA18AE4C&h=e50e864b77e7c4c4850611ee67265fb5&ei=WyuLTh8iN
http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

[Related Content]
Top 5 Things You Didn’t Know about the Constitution

by heritage.org
April 24, 2012
    Perhaps you were one of those people who carried around a pocket Constitution before it was cool (or at least before it became a campaign issue). Maybe you already knew about James Madison, Philadelphia, and how many Articles the Convention approved.  But we bet there are still a few things in the Constitution that even the most seasoned conservative didn’t know. You can learn all of these and more in The Heritage Guide to the Constitution—the only clause-by-clause examination of the whole Constitution and how it’s been interpreted over the years. And now its online!
1. Slaves aren’t in the Constitution, but Pirates are.
When the 13th Amendment was ratified, not a single word of the Constitution needed to be deleted. The word “slave” or “slavery” never
http://links.heritage.org/hostedemail/email.htm?CID=11816492689&ch=1DB829404A58E81D40F4E0B536FDC3CC&h=93c5e46d5cd60bcd09c5f349be80796f&ei=Wp0rrh8N5

Russia's Strategy
by George Friedman,
STRATfor.com
April 24, 2012
    The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 reversed a process that had been under way since the Russian Empire's emergence in the 17th century. It was ultimately to incorporate four general elements: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Siberia. The St. Petersburg-Moscow axis was its core, and Russia, Belorussia and Ukraine were its center of gravity. The borders were always dynamic, mostly expanding but periodically contracting as the international situation warranted. At its farthest extent, from 1945 to 1989, it reached central Germany, dominating the lands it seized in World War II. The Russian Empire was never at peace. As with many empires, there were always parts of it putting up (sometimes violent) resistance and parts that bordering powers coveted -- as well as parts of other nations that Russia coveted.
    The Russian Empire subverted the assumption that political and military power requires a strong economy: It was never prosperous, but it was frequently powerful. The Russians defeated Napoleon and Hitler and confronted the far wealthier Americans for more than four decades in the Cold War, in spite of having a less developed or less advanced economy. Its economic weakness certainly did undermine its military power at times, but to understand Russia, it is important to begin by understanding that the relationship between military and economic power is not a simple one.
Economy and Security
    There are many reasons for Russia's economic dysfunction, but the first explanation, if not the full explanation, is geography and transportation. The Russians and Ukrainians have some of the finest farmland in the world, comparable to that of the American Midwest. The difference is transportation, the ability to move [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/russias-strategy?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120424&utm_term=gweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=ce91626268764b83881d9affaee48470

Who Is 'Racist'?

by Dr. Thomas Sowell,
townhall.com 
April 24, 2012
    Whatever the ultimate outcome of the case against George Zimmerman for his shooting of Trayvon Martin, what has happened already is enough to turn the stomach of anyone who believes in either truth or justice.  An amazing proportion of the media has given us a painful demonstration of the thinking -- and lack of thinking -- that prevailed back in the days of the old Jim Crow South, where complexion counted more than facts in determining how people were treated.
    One of the first things presented in the media was a transcript of a conversation between George Zimmerman and a police dispatcher. The last line in most of the transcripts shown on TV was that of the police dispatcher telling Zimmerman not to continue following Trayvon Martin.  That became the basis of many media criticisms [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2012/04/24/who_is_racist/page/full/

Man who resisted police wins Supreme Court case

Police entered home without a warrant, homeowner was accused of obstructing police
clickondetroit.com,
April 21, 2012
LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Supreme Court says people can resist police officers who unlawfully enter their homes.  In a 5-2 decision, the court ordered that charges be dropped against Angel Moreno Junior, a western Michigan man who was accused of obstructing officers at his home in Holland. The officers were looking for someone and tried to enter the home without a warrant.  Lower courts had upheld charges of resisting police, based on a 2004 Supreme Court decision, but justices on Friday said that case was wrongly decided.  The opinion was written by Justice Diane Hathaway. She and two other Democrats on the court were joined by two Republican justices, a rare alliance.  The dissenters were Republican justices Stephen Markman and Robert Young Junior.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Man-who-resisted-police-wins-Supreme-Court-case/-/1719418/11359286/-/ufqpin/-/index.html

Why the FairTax has a tough time in the media
by Neil Boortz,
boortz.com
April 23, 2012
    This time we’ll use Daniel Malloy, the Washington correspondent for The Atlanta-Journal Constitution as our example. Example of what? Example of the type of reporting that makes it tough for The FairTax to gain a foothold with many who are tired of our present tax system.  Malloy was reporting on the fact that Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson, a Democrat (Yeah – THAT Hank Johnson. The one who said Guam is going to tip over and sink) showed up at a rally in front of the U.S. Capitol last Monday to push the FairTax. Johnson says he was there to promote a debate on major tax reform. Well good for him … there may be something there worth salvaging after all.  Let’s get to the reporting though. Malloy offers this bit of journalism regarding the FairTax:
“The idea is panned by liberals as shifting the tax burden from the rich who are able to save the bulk of their income to the poor who must spend almost all of it on basic needs.”
OK … yes. That’s what many liberals say about the FairTax. But they’re wrong; wholly and completely wrong. And you would [....]
http://www.boortz.com/weblogs/nealz-nuze/2012/apr/23/why-fairtax-has-tough-time-media/

How “Peak Oil” Will Affect You

by Michael Lombardi, MBA
for Profit Confidential
April 23, 2012
    Once the issue with Iran resolves itself, will oil prices crash? Many are saying “yes.” I think they are wrong.  Certainly oil prices are higher than they normally might be because of the ongoing conflict with Iran. And if war breaks out, oil prices will spike even higher.  On the other hand, I have to completely disagree with the position that oil prices will crash.  According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world supply of oil is just under 90 million barrels per day…about the same level as daily world consumption.  While some point to the fact that oil inventories in the U.S. are high (which is one of the factors why some point to a crash in oil prices), they are forgetting to note that oil inventories in other parts of the world are falling.  Most experts in the oil industry, including the IEA, agree that the oil wells supplying the world with oil are declining at a rate of three percent to five percent per year. That means that if there is no economic growth in the world, we still need to find roughly 3.6 million barrels a day more of oil to replace the wells that are running dry.
    If worldwide economic growth is 1.5%, this is another 1.35 million barrels per day needed to meet demand, bringing the total supply required to roughly five million barrels a day. To put this into perspective, Saudi Arabia exports about six million to six and a half million barrels per day. Five million barrels a day is a significant amount of oil that needs to be replaced.  In a recent interview, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE/RDS-B) stated that the era of cheap oil is over, which will mean sustained higher oil prices (source: Forbes, Apr. 23, 2012).  As oil wells deplete, we [....]
http://www.profitconfidential.com/

No Obamacare Exchanges

by Michael F. Cannon,
townhall.com
April 16, 2012
    Obamacare had a bad couple of days before the Supreme Court — so bad that President Obama made some ill-considered comments about the Court from which he still hasn't totally backpedaled. Though the oral arguments over the individual mandate and severability were encouraging, we cannot count on the Supremes to kill Obamacare. Opponents must keep fighting it on all fronts.  The most important front right now is to ensure that states do not create the health-insurance exchanges Obamacare needs in order to operate. Refusing to create exchanges is the most powerful thing states can do to take Obamacare down. Think of it as an insurance policy in case the Supreme Court whiffs.
    Exchanges are the new government bureaucracies through which millions of Americans will be compelled to purchase Obamacare's overpriced and overregulated health insurance. Through these bureaucracies, insurance companies will receive hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. Without these bureaucracies, Obamacare cannot work. 
Here are just a few reasons why states should refuse to create them.
    Jobs. Refusing to create an exchange will block Obamacare from imposing a tax on employers whose health benefits do not meet the federal government's definition of "essential" coverage. That tax can run as high as $3,000 per employee. A state that refuses to create an exchange will spare its employers from that tax, and will therefore enable them to create more jobs.
    Religious freedom. In blocking that employer tax, state [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/michaelfcannon/2012/04/16/no_obamacare_exchanges/page/full/

Time to Follow Sweden’s Lead on Fiscal Policy

by Daniel J. Mitchell,
townhall.com
April 16, 2012    Sweden has a very large and expensive welfare state, but it’s actually becoming a bit of a role model for economic reform. I’ve already commented on the country’s impressive school choice system and noted that the Swedes have partially privatized their Social Security system.  I even wrote a Cato study looking at the good and bad features of economic policy in the Nordic nations, and cited a Swedish parliamentarian who explained that his nation became rich because of small government and free markets and how he is hopeful his country is returning to its libertarian roots.  Notwithstanding the many admirable features of Sweden, I never thought they would be moving in the right direction on fiscal policy while [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2012/04/16/time_to_follow_swedens_lead_on_fiscal_policy/page/full/
[Related Material:]  http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/7779228/swedens-secret-recipe.thtml?fwcc=1&fwcl=1&fwl
[Related Material:]  http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-603.pdf
[Related Material:]  http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/InForAPenny_web.pdf#page=82
[Related Material:]  http://brennan.3cdn.net/c610802495d901dac3_76m6vqhpy.pdf

Death of DARPA's Superfast Hypersonic Glider Explained
by Tariq Malik,
SPACE.com
April 23, 2012
(with video)
    An ultra-fast U.S. military drone that streaked across the sky at 13,000 mph and met its demise in the Pacific was doomed by the excessive heat of hypersonic travel, which literally peeled away the drone's metal skin, military officials have revealed.  A seven-month study by the military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has found that the so-called [....]
http://www.space.com/15388-darpa-hypersonic-glider-demise-explained.html
Until Next Sunday....