Monday morning links

From killer diesel fumes to ruinous floods, every green initiative imposed on us by politicians has ended in disaster... and this is the great folly of our age, says CHRISTOPHER BOOKER

DEMOCRATS LOSE ARGUMENT, TRY TO BURN BOOKS

Dodd-Frank Helps Wall Street But Harms Small Banks

23 Ways Big Government Is Hurting the Poor

Dan Rather, Faux Marine

Democrats have zero leverage after Gorsuch

WaPo: Could it be? Is President Trump on a roll?

Prof Calls for Trump to Be Hanged, Random Republicans to Be Executed

Defiant conservatives invite Coulter to Berkeley after riots

The Deification of Hillary Clinton

ICE Agents Arrest 82 Illegals From 26 Different Countries In DC Area Operation

ICE is back to work

Time Magazine Gets Roasted After Falsely Claiming Republicans ‘Tore Up Senate Rules’ to Confirm Gorsuch

Reasonable Inferences About The Weird Obsession With Russia

Did the Obama Administration’s Abuse of Foreign-Intelligence Collection Start Before Trump?

Wikileaks Bombshell: Guccifer 2.0 Admits “Seth” Rich Was DNC Leaker

Trump’s airstrike on Syria delivers another blow to Obama’s legacy

WSJ: In Striking Syria, Trump Made All the Right Calls

MSNBC's O'Donnell: Putin 'Might Have Orchestrated' Syria Strike to Help Trump

Brit clergy bewildered by Islamist terror

"We'll never know why he did it"

The EU's Utter Contempt for European Freedom

Sweden will ´never go back´ to the days of mass immigration after failed asylum seeker launched Friday´s truck attack in Stockholm, says the country´s shell-shocked PM

One Week, Five Terror Attacks: Beginnings of Another 'Summer of Terror'?

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 05:57 | Comments (33) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

"Teaching Obesity, Selling Sickness"

Many of the same old wives tales including the favorite whipping boy of the health nuts; that sugar causes diabetes. It doesn't, diabetes is genetic. People of African or central America have diabetes at 2-3 times the rate of people of Northern European descent. And that brings us to the second myth about sugar and diabetes; the claim that American diabetes rates are rising and it is because of sugar. In fact the "rates" of diabetes hasn't changed. The percentage of ethnicities with a genetic predisposition to have diabetes has changed. As the numbers of American Indians, hispanics and blacks increase so won't the overall diabetes rate even while the rates within each of thhese groups does not change. Simple statistics that eludes the author.

Is sugar toxic or bad for you as the author claims? Sugar is probably the most studied food in the world and the only negative effect that scientists could discover is it increased the rate of dental carries. Sugar is essential for life. Too much sugar is for most people simply excess calories and depending on your genes will either be used as energy stored as fat or cause you to not be as hungry at your next meal. It isn't toxic any more than water is toxic.

The author also touched on two other bugaboos of the health nuts; high fructose corn syrup and "highly processed and refined foods manufactured by the likes of Kraft, Nestle, and PepsiCo". You can be assured that when these two things are cited in any article that it is a big BS alert.

#1 GoneWithTheWind on 2017-04-10 09:44 (Reply)

Your enormous opinions on diet and health are the scientific inverse of your evident pleasure hearing yourself speak them. You're the manbearpig of the topic: fiercely arguing your own reality into place no matter the facts against it.

#1.1 Ten on 2017-04-10 14:21 (Reply)

Yep, more superstition than anything else. I'm a bit suspicious of highly refined foods only because we weren't evolved in their presence, so I can't be sure our bodies are good at handling them, but why stop at sugar? Grain is as likely a culprit as anything else.

There's a type of obsession with purity that prevents a lot of people from talking sense on these topics. The link between obesity and diabetes is pretty convincing, for instance (statistically though not in every case), but as far as I can tell, what leads to obesity isn't any particular kind of food but simply an excess of calories of any kind.

#1.2 Wendy Laubach on 2017-04-10 17:17 (Reply)

DEMOCRATS LOSE ARGUMENT, TRY TO BURN BOOKS: They hate dissent, unless it's theirs.

The EU's Utter Contempt for European Freedom: Zey know BEST vot ist gut for ALLES!

#2 Sam L. on 2017-04-10 09:53 (Reply)

The workforce article carefully failed to discuss older workers. I was laid off from a job I had for 23 years in the home medical equipment field. With zero job prospects in a dying field I too embraced retraining. Having been a military medic and a civilian er tech I figured Medical Assistant would be a easy career change. School was as easy as I'd hoped and I thought I was set. Turns out in a field where the schools are churning out 20 year old Medical Assistants no one wants a 55 year old one no matter his experience.

#3 Robert Sendler on 2017-04-10 11:17 (Reply)

People eat junk because they didn't learn to cook or think it takes too much effort. The best thing you can do for your kids is cook them meals as often as possible. I cook 6-7 days a week, make my kid's lunch every morning, and make him breakfast (an egg and toast or sausage most days).

I gladly do it because I also like to eat well. I have outgrown my 'taste' for frozen or packaged meals, when I think homemade tastes better and doesn't take that much extra effort.

Watch those shows about the severely obese, and what are they eating? Fast food. Pizza. I don't see them preparing any meals at home. If they do, it is a microwaved frozen meal or fried foods.

When they are 'transformed' you see these people cooking their own meals with fresh fruit and vegetables. That's how you keep from getting obese.

Every parent should cook as much as possible for their children. You don't even necessarily have to 'teach' them how to cook - my mother really didn't do a whole lot of that. You just have to provide a home where that is the norm, and when they are adults they will want to recreate that experience.

#4 MissT on 2017-04-10 12:08 (Reply)

And of course, combine that with this advice from a trim 90 year-old man in my parish: "Keep moving."

#4.1 JJM on 2017-04-10 12:11 (Reply)

It isn't likely that anything in prepared foods at your local supermarket, fast food outlet or restaurant are "bad" for you. A pizza won't kill you and fried food has never been shown to be harmful. Most of what we believe and know about food and health is either false or exaggerated by those who intend to misinform. I like home cooked food but I just don't believe that my local Pizza Hut is sneaking bad things into my pizza. Well maybe the anchovies. I don't think Kentucky fried chicken is any worse for my health than chicken cooked at home. I do believe too many people simply never learned to cook and are too dependent on prepared foods but that is a totally different issue.

#4.2 OneGuy on 2017-04-11 10:08 (Reply)

Ready-made foods tend to be calorie-dense and so very quick and easy to get onto the plate. That's the only reason I can think they're treacherous for weight gain. I personally find it easier to keep my calorie totals in check when I have to spend more time producing meals from scratch, especially if I concentrate on vegetables rather than meats, grains, or dairy--all great food, but calorie-dense and easy to over-consume.

#4.2.1 Wendy Laubach on 2017-04-11 11:09 (Reply)

I don't disagree with that. Anyone dieting for any reason not just weight gain should pick and choose what they eat. I have three sons who eat everything in sight (grown now and paying for their own food). One boy had to gain 10 lbs to join the Army. The oldest now is 49 and still eats everything and is still thin as are the other two. Junk food, sugary and fatty foods, prepared foods, makes no difference they all have hollow legs. This isn't uncommon and that's why I'm just not sure that junk food or fast food, etc, is responsible for obesity or simply being overweight. It certainly seems to be mostly genetic just as being skinny seems to be genetic. But it is true that if your body wants to be 20-40 lbs heavier than you would like that you must discriminate between various foods. My wife's trick is to eat broccoli as we prepare the evening meal and then when we sit down to eat she isn't so hungry and broccoli is about 20 calories a cup. My dieting trick is don't go to all you can buffets.

#4.2.1.1 OneGuy on 2017-04-11 20:56 (Reply)

"We'll never know why he did it"

Oh, right.

"It doesn’t seem unreasonable to assume that Islam, as Masood understood it, poured fuel onto whatever it was that smoldered within him, and, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to assume that the example of jihad threw in the final, lighted match."

In a nutshell.

#5 JJM on 2017-04-10 12:36 (Reply)

QUOTE:

Dan Rather, Faux Marine

Dan Rather, in Rather Outspoken: "When I enlisted {in the Marines}, I simply didn't mention anything about the rheumatic fever. I got away with my deception for just a couple of months; when it was discovered, I was abruptly given a medical discharge—over my vociferous protest."

#6 Zachriel on 2017-04-10 13:09 (Reply)

So, do you think somebody who flunked out after half a semester should be able to claim they 'studied at Harvard'?

#6.1 Christopher B on 2017-04-10 13:51 (Reply)

Christopher B: So, do you think somebody who flunked out after half a semester should be able to claim they 'studied at Harvard'?

Someone who enlisted in the Marines then was kicked out after a couple of months due to their history of rheumatic fever should be able to claim they enlisted in the Marines then was kicked out after a couple of months due to their history of rheumatic fever.

#6.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-10 13:58 (Reply)

Easy enough to confirm his claim (except "the vociferous protest" part).
Just provide his official discharge papers.

#6.1.1.1 drowningpuppies on 2017-04-10 15:38 (Reply)

Typical fallacious response from you.

#6.1.1.2 DrTorch on 2017-04-10 19:09 (Reply)

Interesting to know, by his own admission, Rather was a deceptive person early on in his life. Not the sort of person you want giving you the evening news. His forging of documents to try to influence the outcome of the Bush presidential election was probably the first uncovering of the leftists' intentional use of "fake news."

Now we are more aware that the stuff that is coming out of the leftist mainstream press is pretty much all fake.

#6.2 Jim on 2017-04-10 14:12 (Reply)

QUOTE:

DEMOCRATS LOSE ARGUMENT, TRY TO BURN BOOKS ... But if the arguments in favor of global warming hysteria are so strong, why do they need to “trash the book”? Why not respond to its arguments?

Because public schools for children are the not proper venue for deciding scientific questions. If the authors have a valid point, they need to do the necessary research to convince their peers, not children.

#7 Zachriel on 2017-04-10 13:12 (Reply)

If dems and libs have a valid point, why the call for censorship?
Children can handle the truth.

#7.1 drowningpuppies on 2017-04-10 15:16 (Reply)

drowningpuppies: If dems and libs have a valid point, why the call for censorship?

Because public schools for children are the not proper venue for deciding scientific questions.

#7.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-11 08:57 (Reply)

Zzzzz : Because public schools for children are the not proper venue for deciding scientific questions.

So it is not "proper" for students in public schools to be acquainted with AGW "theory" and to understand the scientific arguments advanced for and against it?

Seriously, kiddies, that's propaganda not education.

#7.1.1.1 drowningpuppies on 2017-04-11 11:05 (Reply)

drowningpuppies: So it is not "proper" for students in public schools to be acquainted with AGW "theory" and to understand the scientific arguments advanced for and against it?

If anthropogenic climate science was under serious contention, then students should certainly be informed of the controversy, or the subject simply not taught to children. However, there is a strong scientific consensus on climate change, and it is reasonable for students to have a basic understanding of the topic.

This is no different than the controversy over evolution. There are legitimate arguments within the field of evolutionary biology, and there are even a few scientists who reject evolution entirely; however, there is a strong consensus concerning the basic facts of evolution within the scientific community.

drowningpuppies: Seriously, kiddies, that's propaganda not education.

It's not propaganda to teach children that the Earth is round and not flat.

#7.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-11 11:35 (Reply)

Zzzzz : If anthropogenic climate science was under serious contention...

Well, it is. They wrote a whole book about it.

Zzzzz : It's not propaganda to teach children that the Earth is round and not flat.

Another strawman argument, kiddies.

#7.1.1.1.1.1 drowningpuppies on 2017-04-11 13:24 (Reply)

drowningpuppies: They wrote a whole book about it.

A whole book!

Rowbotham, "Earth Not A Globe! An Experimental Inquiry into the True Figure of the Earth", 1865.

#7.1.1.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-11 14:56 (Reply)

I'm sure y'all read it.
Oh, wait... there's no serious contention to anthropogenic climate science.
Thanks, kiddies.
Lesson over for the day.

#7.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 drowningpuppies on 2017-04-11 15:07 (Reply)

drowningpuppies: Oh, wait... there's no serious contention to anthropogenic climate science.

Textbooks for children are not where scientific arguments are made. A review of the scientific literature shows strong support for anthropogenic climate change. The controversy is primarily social, not scientific.

#7.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-11 15:45 (Reply)

drowningpuppies: Another strawman argument

To make sure you can see the point:

It wasn't a strawman, but an example. Children are taught that the Earth is a globe because there is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is, in fact, a globe. Children are taught that life has evolved over millions of years because there is a strong scientific consensus that life has, in fact, evolved over millions of years. Children are taught about anthropogenic climate change because there is a strong scientific consensus that the climate, in fact, is changing due to human actions.

— Even if there is "a whole book" written that tries to claim there is a scientific controversy.

#7.1.1.1.1.1.2 Zachriel on 2017-04-11 15:06 (Reply)

How's things? Re the page error message, try reloading the website.

#7.1.1.1.1.1.2.1 Make money with Weebly (Link) on 2017-04-13 02:31 (Reply)

Funny* that you of all people write that...but only when you lose the rational argument

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_anaVcCXg

https://climatechangelive.org/index.php?pid=180

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/27/492860897/teaching-middle-schoolers-climate-change-without-terrifying-them

https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/education/pbs_modules/

https://infogalactic.com/info/No_Pressure_%28film%29

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=262

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/climate-change-long-reach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtW2rrLHs08

https://1010uk.org/solar-schools

*When I write "funny" I mean "more evidence that you're a habitual liar"

#7.2 DrTorch on 2017-04-10 16:15 (Reply)

DrTorch: Funny* that you of all people write that...but only when you lose the rational argument

Climate change is consensus science, just like evolutionary biology and Newtonian physics are consensus science. While there may be a few naysayers in science concerning evolution or climate change, for basic course instruction, teaching the canonical theory is entirely appropriate. You don't "teach the controversy" when the scientific community has largely rejected the basis for that controversy.

#7.2.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-11 09:02 (Reply)

No, no, no! You have it all wrong. Even if a large majority of scientists believed in AGW it is a mistake too stifle a dissenting opinion. If the science is so strong you don't need to burn the books and fire people who disagree. It is exactly because the left (mostly the left) is using these strong arm tactics that they are losing their credibility. To the left AGW is their religion and they are acting like it is the inquisition all over again. If the theory is to be proven do it with the weight of the evidence and stop with the fake data and fake charts. The warmies are their own worst enemy by refusing to show their data and then changing the data or making it up to fit their theory they lose credibility. It's a wonder the whole AGW movement ever survived the fake hockey stick and all the lies and fraud exposed by the leaked emails.

#7.2.1.1 IdahoBob on 2017-04-11 21:09 (Reply)

IdahoBob: Even if a large majority of scientists believed in AGW it is a mistake too stifle a dissenting opinion.

Even if a large majority of scientists believe the Earth is round it is a mistake too stifle a dissenting opinion.

No one is stifling opinion. Feel free to believe the Earth is flat. It's a matter of what is appropriate for teaching children.

#7.2.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2017-04-12 06:19 (Reply)

Hi, sometimes I receive a 404 error when I view this page. I thought you would like to know.

#7.3 Enrique Pilbin (Link) on 2017-04-10 23:04 (Reply)

Add Comment

Name
Email	(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications. Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u], [url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here. Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (word), underscore are made via _word_. E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications. To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: BBCode format allowed
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Maggie's Farm

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Monday, April 10. 2017

Monday morning links