QOTD: Mark Steyn on the Militarization of the IRS

Posted on June 17, 2013 | Comments Off on QOTD: Mark Steyn on the Militarization of the IRS

A bureaucracy is bad. A politicized bureaucracy is worse. A paramilitary politicized bureaucracy is nuts. And, in fact, evil. There is no reason in a civilized society why the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Paperwork should have his own SEAL Team Six.

—Mark Steyn

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QOTD: Are You SURE You Don’t Have Something to Hide?

Posted on June 16, 2013 | Comments Off on QOTD: Are You SURE You Don’t Have Something to Hide?

Estimates of the current size of the body of federal criminal law vary. It has been reported that the Congressional Research Service cannot even count the current number of federal crimes. These laws are scattered in over 50 titles of the United States Code, encompassing roughly 27,000 pages. Worse yet, the statutory code sections often incorporate, by reference, the provisions and sanctions of administrative regulations promulgated by various regulatory agencies under congressional authorization. Estimates of how many such regulations exist are even less well settled, but the ABA thinks there are ”nearly 10,000.”

—James Duane, law school professor

(Note that state, county, and city laws and regulations are not included here.)

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Mediterranean Diet Among The Best For Type 2 Diabetes

Posted on June 16, 2013 | 1 comment

…announces an article at Reuters.  An excerpt:

Ajala and her colleagues reviewed the results of 20 studies comparing the effect of seven popular diets on adults with type 2 diabetes. Mediterranean diets, low-carb diets, high-protein diets and low glycemic index diets – which rank foods by how quickly their carbs turn into glucose – all lowered participants’ blood sugar.

After following the diet for at least six months, the people on a Mediterranean eating plan also lost an average of 4 pounds. No other diet had a significant impact on weight, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“We were quite surprised by the Mediterranean diet in particular,” Ajala said. “I would have thought that low-carb would have been the best for losing weight, but Mediterranean seems to be better.”

Beautiful woman smiling as she is wine tasting on a summer day.Here’s the traditional healthy Mediterranean diet.

The researchers also found that HDL cholesterol (“good cholesterol) and triglycerides improved on the Mediterranean diet, low-carb diets, and low glycemic index diets.  Those moves tend to protect against heart disease.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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QOTD: Robert Morris on Computer Security

Posted on June 15, 2013 | Comments Off on QOTD: Robert Morris on Computer Security

“The three golden rules to ensure computer security are: do not own a computer; do not power it on; and do not use it.”

—Robert Morris Sr., a computer security expert who worked at NSA for many years

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European Expert Panel Simplifies Blood Pressure Goals

Posted on June 15, 2013 | Comments Off on European Expert Panel Simplifies Blood Pressure Goals

Details are at Forbes: 

Perhaps the biggest single change in the new document is the adoption of a single systolic blood pressure target for almost all patients: 140 mmHg, This replaces the previous, more complicated target, which included both systolic and diastolic recommendations for different levels of risk (140/90 mmHg for moderate to low risk patients and 130/80 mmHg target for high risk patients).  One of the authors, Robert Fagard, commented: “there was not enough evidence to justify two targets.”

Thirty or 40% of Europeans have high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and premature death.

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QOTD: Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Posted on June 14, 2013 | Comments Off on QOTD: Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

Posted on June 14, 2013 | Comments Off on Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

…in Europeans, according to a recent research report in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease. The study at hand lasted over six years and involved over 3,000 participants.

Learn about metabolic syndrome.

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QOTD: Barack Obama on Tyranny

Posted on June 13, 2013 | Comments Off on QOTD: Barack Obama on Tyranny

“Unfortunately you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all of our problems. Some of these same voices do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices.”

—Barack Obama in a commencement address at Ohio State University, May, 2013

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QOTD: William Jacobson on Government’s Data Mining

Posted on June 12, 2013 | Comments Off on QOTD: William Jacobson on Government’s Data Mining

Prosecutors have become kings, with the ability to find a crime committed by just about anyone.  Data mining and access to internet activity can help find terrorists, but it also can be used to find crimes which were not previously known to have been committed by political opponents.

A “find the target first, then find the crime” political approach requires access to information of an unprecedented level.  Which is exactly what is happening.

The issue goes beyond the NSA programs.  Obamacare is a form of data mining.

Obamacare will put into the hands of the IRS medical and health information of an unprecedented level.  As bad as leaks as to which websites you visit would be, the threat of leakage of your medical information could be equally devastating to freedom of speech and the political process.  It would take a mere nod and a wink to convince someone that participation in the political process was not worth it if the result was the exposure of sensitive medical issues.

You can’t separate the data mining, the culture of intimidation, and criminalization of daily life.

—William A. Jacobson

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If You Like to “Head” the Ball When You Play Soccer…

Posted on June 11, 2013 | Comments Off on If You Like to “Head” the Ball When You Play Soccer…

…I’d reconsider.  According to an article a MedPageToday:

Soccer players who repeatedly “head” the ball had changes in brain microstructure and performance on neurocognitive testing, suggesting that this popular maneuver may lead to long-term subconcussive brain injury, researchers reported.

 That doesn’t sound good.

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