Austin Bomber is Dead

Kevin Surbaugh

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I don't usually write about subjects like this. In fact, most of the articles on this blog, more recently, has been nothing more than sharing of press releases, however, having lived in Austin, TX, this was a subject of great interest to me.
When I first heard of the bombings, I had questions about things the national coverage was not answering. Things like where in Austin. To find those answers I had to go to the local news outlets.  Media, that I still have bookmarked in my browser.

Those, according to an article after the third bombing in the Austin American-Statesman were:

March 2, 2018 (6:55 a.m.) - Anthony Stephan House, 39, died after a package exploded at his house on March 2. In the package explosion on March 2, Austin police responded to a home in the 1100 block of Haverford Drive around 6:55 a.m.

March 12, 2018 (6:45 a.m.) -  a teenager who was killed in a package explosion around 6:45 a.m. Monday in the 4800 block of Oldfort Hill Drive.

 March 12, 2018 (11:49 a.m.) - Medics were sent out to the 6700 block of Galindo Street, near Montopolis and East Riverside drives in Southeast Austin at 11:49 a.m., EMS said.

 When my wife and I were in Texas, we actually looked at homes in the Montopolis neighborhood.

March 19, 2018  (8:30 p.m.) - First responders called to the Travis Country neighborhood in southwest Austin where a bomb exploded near the street in the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive, injuring two men in their 20s who were either riding or walking their bicycles. - KXAN TV

March 20, 2018 - Bomb explodes at FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas
March 20, 2018 - an unexploded bomb found at another southeast Austin FedEx location.

Then on March 21 as I was driving to my primary job, before 5 a.m., NPR reported that the bombing suspect was dead. At the time, details were sketchy.  We really didn't know if the suspect was him or her. Since then, we have learned, according to the Texas Tribune, that the suspect was at a Round Rock area hotel and was

Mark Anthony Conditt, Image via Facebook

Multiple reports have identified the man as 23-year-old Pflugerville resident Mark A. Conditt, though police hadn't confirmed that Wednesday afternoon.

According to the same article,

The suspect's death came after authorities had been tracking him for about 24 hours, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Police said they tracked him to a hotel in Round Rock north of Austin before sunrise. As they waited for more officers to arrive, he drove away. Police followed, and the man drove into a ditch, where he detonated his own bomb and an officer shot at him. 

All the media reports indicate that we still don't know what his motive was.

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Disclaimer: Kevin Surbaugh is an independent sales representative of Youngevity(YGYI) and is a shareholder in the publicly traded company. He also has positions in Coca-Cola (KO), Berkshire-Hathaway (BRK.B); (BRK.A), Simon Property Group (SPG), WalMart (WMT), but has no positions in any other stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 96 hours.
--- go ahead share your thoughts with me now, my ears are open. I'm always eager to hear what you think.

Youngevity International Completes Acquisition of Vaviente

Press Release

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SAN DIEGO, CA  - 
Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI), a leading omni-direct lifestyle company, today announced the acquisition of ViaViente, distributors of The ViaViente Miracle, a highly-concentrated, energizing whole fruit puree blend that is rich in Anti-Oxidants and naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals.
ViaViente was introduced to the public in 2003 following years of research that included studies of mineral-rich waters whose source is found in the Andes Mountains and flow thru Vilcabamba, Ecuador, a region known for its high concentration of centenarians. In 2007 ViaViente became the first product in the market to receive the coveted Brunswick Labs ORAC Seal of Certification for its Anti-Oxidant content.
“ViaViente is a welcome addition to Youngevity’s family of products and embodies our philosophy that nutrition can change the way a person ages.” Stated Dave Briskie, President, and CFO of Youngevity International, Inc. “Over the last two quarters, as our international footprint has begun to take hold, we sought to acquire companies whose distribution would be accretive to the integration of this international expansion. Similar to our recent acquisition of Nature Direct in Australia, ViaViente certainly checked these and other boxes, since more than seventy-five percent of their recent distribution is to Japan We feel very fortunate to be able to incorporate ViaViente’s products into Youngevity at this time and believe this acquisition to be an important strategic piece of our overall plan of expanding Youngevity’s distribution internationally.”  
Viaviente issued the following statement:
“For over 20 years, our management team has known the Youngevity founders and executives, Dr. Joel, Steve and Michelle Wallach, and have seen Youngevity grow as a company over those years. We believe Youngevity has the talent base and operational know-how, combined with technology to lead our distributors to higher levels across more countries. The ViaViente management team looks forward to a very bright future as a result of becoming part of Youngevity International.”

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Disclaimer: Kevin Surbaugh is an independent sales representative of Youngevity (YGYI) and is a shareholder in the publicly traded company. He also has positions in Coca-Cola (KO), Berkshire-Hathaway (BRK.B); (BRK.A), Simon Property Group (SPG), WalMart (WMT), but has no positions in any other stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 96 hours.
--- go ahead share your thoughts with me now, my ears are open. I'm always eager to hear what you think.

Thank You Physicrats

We would like to thank our newest supporter. This supporter of our ministry is the New Physiocrats League. Who are the New Physiocrats? According to their website, they are:

The New Physiocratic League is a political-economic framework and certification body, with a mission to create a world where we regain and amplify our earned income, and democratize our physical space. Policies of the New Physiocrats amount to significantly more money in your pocket, soaring purchasing power, and a return to spaces of great architecture & beauty.

Some of their objectives include shifting taxes from earned incomes, a system of taxes on unearned incomes, such as land, environment, and what they call negative externalities. They would also like to return Capital Gain Taxes to the markets back to the markets through Assisted Savings Program (ASP) accounts.  To learn more, I highly recommend checking them out at the New Physiocrats League.

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Disclaimer: Kevin Surbaugh is an independent sales representative of Youngevity (YGYI) and is a shareholder in the publicly traded company. He also has positions in Coca-Cola (KO), Berkshire-Hathaway (BRK.B); (BRK.A), Simon Property Group (SPG), WalMart (WMT), but has no positions in any other stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 96 hours.
--- go ahead share your thoughts with me now, my ears are open. I'm always eager to hear what you think.

Tax Tip: Smart Strategy for Itemizing Deductions

PRweb

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It’s been over a month since the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed, and throughout the country CPAs, taxpayers, and even the IRS are still sorting through the impacts of the 500+ page bill.

“The playing field has changed,” says CPA Gary Ensz of Ensz, Neimeyer & Associates. “The goalposts are no longer where they used to be.”

One tax strategy that will be popular with taxpayers who wish to itemize their deductions is called “bunching.” While it’s not new – Ensz has utilized bunching with his clients for years – it is expected to be an advantageous approach for those who wish to itemize within the restraints of the new tax bill.

Bunching – grouping and itemizing as many deductions as you can in one year, and then simply claiming the standard deduction the next year – is an approach Ensz says will benefit many taxpayers.

He notes that, for many clients, their charitable contributions make a big difference in their total itemized deductions. “The key,” he says, “is to be sure you’re getting the maximum value for each non-cash item you donate.”

To do so, Ensz has utilized a web-based software tool called Charity Deductions to help his staff and clients organize – and maximize – their charitable contributions.

In fact, after using the software for the first time in 2011, Ensz now actually pays the annual license fee for each of his clients. “It’s an absolute win-win,” he says. “Clients are happy they’re getting top value for their donations. And I’m happy because it’s an enormous time saver – which is a benefit that can’t be understated during tax season.”

“The new laws make it absolutely vital that taxpayers get fair market value for their charitable donations,” says David Anderson of Charity Deductions. “Our software allows them to accurately, legally maximize their itemized deductions.”

Tom Dembinski, a retired dentist in San Diego, has used the software since 2007. “It absolutely automates the process of giving,” he says. “Charity Deductions saves me an average of $750 each year, which is not bad for a $25 investment.”

The Charity Deductions software is extremely easy to use. Users simply enter the list of items they donated, and they receive an accurate fair market value for every single item. Their charity donations are combined with any other deductions they claim to yield the most optimized return possible.

In the past, the company sold over 50,000 licenses each year. With the new legislation in place, Anderson expect an increased demand from taxpayers searching for ways to maximize their itemized deductions.

ABOUT CHARITY DEDUCTIONS
CharityDeductions.com was established in 2003 as the first web-based valuation software for charitable donations. Featured in the Wall Street Journal and on ABC’s Good Morning America, it provides thousands of fair market values for charitable donations as well as tracking and organizing charitable money and mileage contributions. The San Luis Obispo, California-based company has made extensive use of customer feedback and a philosophy of ‘continuous improvement’ to develop a software application trusted by tens of thousands of taxpayers each year. Visit us at: http://www.charitydeductions.com

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Disclaimer: Kevin Surbaugh is an independent sales representative of Youngevity(YGYI) and is a shareholder in the publicly traded company. He also has positions in Coca-Cola (KO) but has no positions in any other stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 96 hours.
--- go ahead share your thoughts with me now, my ears are open. I'm always eager to hear what you think.