Friday, January 30, 2009

And somehow this appears to be being blamed on Obama...

From the Los Angeles Times
NEWS ANALYSIS

New political era? Same as the old one

The all-too-familiar machinery of partisan politics surfaces over the House economic stimulus vote.
By Peter Wallsten
January 29, 2009

Reporting from Washington - Democrats talked about the jobs to come from modernizing the electric grid, weatherizing homes, and repairing roads and bridges. Republicans too had ideas for reviving the economy, focusing on tax cuts and carefully targeted spending. But many in the GOP also wanted to talk about something else: sexually transmitted diseases.

As the House on Wednesday gave President Obama the first big legislative victory of his term, it was clear that his efforts so far had not delivered the post-partisan era that he called for in his inauguration address, when he proclaimed an end to the "petty grievances" and "worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics."

The fault lines of past ideological wars were in view during the fight over the $819-billion stimulus package, with shots coming from well-known conservative warriors such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Matt Drudge.

The familiar machinery of partisan politics, a fixture of the Clinton and Bush eras, kicked into operation undaunted as Republicans began running a TV advertisement in the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, charging that his support for the stimulus bill was tantamount to "wasting our hard-earned money."

Continued


While the idea that the Democratic administration should have done away with all partisan bickering within a week and a half of Inauguration Day is clearly absurd, the article seems almost happy about it. I have to wonder if Limp-ball's stated desire to see Obama fail has started to permeate the weak minded and attention driven. (I know nothing about Wallsten, so I could be miles off base here, but the article really annoyed me.)

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

"Only a doofus like you"...turns out the nasty brother was right

From the Washington Post via The Jew and the Carrot

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury
Monday, January 26, 2009; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.
HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," said the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies.

In the first study, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. The study was published in current issue of Environmental Health.

In the second study, the agriculture group found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was most common in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.

The use of mercury-contaminated caustic soda in the production of HFCS is common. The contamination occurs when mercury cells are used to produce caustic soda.
"The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercury. The good news is that mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good push to only use those ingredients," Wallinga said.


Fine when used in moderation, the ad says. Kinda like lead in paint is fine when used in moderation.