Jonathan Kantrowitz

In addition to this blog, I blog on politics at

Connecticut Political Reporter

and My Left Nutmeg

My other blogs include:

Education Research Report

Health News Report

Archaeology News Report

Dental News Report

American Mating Habits

and

Renaissance Faires

I don’t believe much of this, but it is interesting ( and I’ve added emphasis and link:)

Source: The National Inflation Association

Congressman Ron Paul won this past weekend’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll of who CPAC members think will be the Republican nominee in the next Presidential election. While the mainstream media was quick to dismiss the straw poll results, there were 2,395 ballots cast in the straw poll, a CPAC record. The avalanche of articles coming out today in an attempt to discredit Ron Paul’s heroic efforts in Washington, show the ignorance of the mainstream media, which has lost touch with the educated American public.

One of NIA’s top 10 predictions for 2010 was that we would see a move this year towards a Libertarian third-party. Although Ron Paul is a member of the Republican party, he is a true Libertarian at heart. Ron Paul’s win at CPAC demonstrates that the Libertarian movement is beginning and NIA members are at the forefront of it. By helping spread the word about our documentary ‘The Dollar Bubble,’ which has now surpassed 510,000 views in less than three months, NIA members have done more to educate the American public about the real crisis ahead than all mainstream media outlets combined.

In Washington today, we have 100 Senators and 434 Congressmen who spend their days arguing back and forth about whether to raise or lower taxes. Federal taxes, as a share of the U.S. economy, have remained relatively flat since the end of World War II. The phony charade between politicians about taxes is being played out in an effort to distract Americans from the upcoming threat of massive inflation and potential hyperinflation.

We have one Congressman in Washington today, Ron Paul, who understands that inflation is the biggest threat to our economy and how the Federal Reserve and our fiat money system is the root cause of all our economic problems. The Federal Reserve’s manipulation of interest rates create the booms and busts, which transfer wealth from the middle class to the rich, while taking away our liberties and freedoms. Without the Federal Reserve, Washington would be forced to live within its means and all Americans would enjoy a higher standard of living. Unfortunately, the worse the U.S. economy gets, the more money the U.S. government spends. Americans will soon feel the pain of our deficit spending as massive inflation begins to take hold. The need to elect Ron Paul as President will soon become evident to all.

The only way it will be possible for us to prevent hyperinflation from occurring in the U.S. is to replace most people in Washington today with newly elected representatives who will act immediately to dramatically cut government spending in every way possible. Besides electing Ron Paul as President, we need to elect Peter Schiff and Rand Paul to the U.S. Senate, and support other politicians who believe in our cause. NIA is pleased to see that Sarah Palin has now endorsed Rand Paul in the Kentucky Senate Race; hopefully she will support Ron Paul for President as well.

NIA members understand the dangers ahead and how to invest appropriately in order to prosper during a hyperinflationary depression. However, our profits in gold, silver and agriculture won’t mean anything if our country is no longer worth living in. NIA believes most of our investment ideas will increase in purchasing power no matter what because massive inflation is inevitable, but hyperinflation is what we need to prevent if we want to avoid a societal collapse and the death of civilization.

President Obama has been deceiving the American public by not allowing Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac’s $6.3 trillion in debt to be on the U.S. government’s balance sheet and is now trying to redefine a balanced budget as to exclude interest payments on our national debt. With interest rates at their lowest levels possible, interest payments on our national debt are guaranteed to rapidly increase in the years ahead. Eventually, they are likely to rise to a level where more than half of the government’s tax receipts go towards paying the interest on our national debt.

In 2010, it is estimated that about 40% of the U.S. government’s tax receipts will be spent on defense. The U.S. military empire now consists of 700 military bases in 140 countries around the world. Although NIA believes the defense of our country should be the primary responsibility of the U.S. government, our defense spending is now almost as much as the rest of the world combined. Obama’s proposal for a three year U.S. government spending freeze beginning in 2011 is irrelevant because it excludes defense spending. The more we spend on perpetual wars, the more bankrupt our country becomes, making us less safe as a result.

History will look back at Ron Paul as the George Washington of our generation, because of his courage to protect the U.S. Constitution. If we followed the constitution, only gold and silver would be used as legal tender in the U.S. and the Federal Reserve wouldn’t be allowed to exist. There would be no bailouts of financial institutions on Wall Street that recklessly speculated in order to pay themselves huge bonuses. Financial institutions would be regulated by the free market and the threat of failure.

Government regulations are not the solution to economic problems, they create new problems that politicians try to solve by implementing more regulations. This endless cycle of doom has destroyed the free market that made the U.S. the superpower it is today, but soon will no longer be. We are rapidly approaching a U.S. dollar death spiral with every passing day.

There’s some truth hidden in this nonsense, especially about defense spending and perpetual war. I wonder how many conservatives support the libertarian view of social issues, by the way?

The latest Kaiser Tracking Poll finds the public still split on health care reform legislation, with 43 percent in favor and 43 percent opposed. However, the poll also finds that majorities of Americans of all political leanings support several provisions in the health reform proposals in Congress and most attribute delays in passing the legislation to political gamesmanship rather than policy disagreements.

As Democratic and GOP lawmakers prepare for the upcoming health reform summit, the February Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that at least six of every ten Republicans, Democrats and independents back at least some of the key provisions in the reform bills that have passed the House and Senate. They include measures that would: reform the way health insurance works, such as preventing insurers from excluding people because of pre-existing conditions; offer tax credits to small businesses to help their workers get coverage; create a new health insurance marketplace; help close the Medicare “doughnut hole” so that seniors would no longer face a period of having to pay the full cost of their medicines; and expand high-risk insurance pools for individuals who cannot get coverage elsewhere. Providing subsidies to lower and middle income people also received strong support from Democrats and independents and near majority support from Republicans.

Along with these areas of agreement were differences of opinion that broke along party lines. Expanding Medicaid received majority support from Democrats and independents, but was deemed important to pass into law by a much smaller share of Republicans, 34 percent. On the other hand, limiting malpractice lawsuit payments ranked second among priorities for Republicans, but barely cracked the top 10 for Democrats and independents.

More and Less Popular Provisions

Given a list of various elements of health care reform, more than two-thirds of the public overall said it was either “extremely” or “very important” that these changes be passed into law: reforming the way health insurance works ( 76%), providing tax credits to small businesses (72%), creating a health insurance exchange (71%), helping close the Medicare “doughnut hole” (71%), expanding high-risk insurance pools (70%), and providing financial help for lower- and middle-income people (68%). At the bottom of the list, though still receiving significant levels of support, were measures to allow insurers to sell policies across state lines (50%) or to limit future increases in Medicare provider payments (46%).

The February Tracking Poll did not examine public opinion on the full range of measures to finance health reform or the public option; subjects which have been addressed comprehensively in previous tracking polls.

All Sides Point to Politics as the Reason for the Delay in Passing Health Reform

Most Americans attribute the delays in passing health care reform to political gamesmanship, with 59 percent saying the delays are “more about both sides playing politics” and 25 percent saying they are “more about Republicans and Democrats having disagreements.” This sentiment runs the political gamut, with 61 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of independents and 53 percent of Republicans fingering political considerations as the primary reason for the delays.

The large majority of Democrats reported feeling frustration and disappointment about the legislation being stalled, as did a narrow majority of independents. Most Republicans reported feeling “relieved.”

Moving Forward from Here

The poll shows that after a long and intense debate, the public has mixed views about how quickly and how comprehensively to move on reform, but relatively few hope the matter is dropped altogether. Overall, 32 percent hope Congress will send some version of the House and Senate’s comprehensive overhaul legislation to the president, and another 20 percent support pulling out some key provisions on which there is broad agreement and just passing those. Another 22 percent would rather Congress put health care on hold and deal with other priorities. And a similar percentage (19%) would like to pull the plug on health care reform for 2010.

When all is said and done, 58 percent of Americans say they will be either disappointed or angry if Congress decides to stop working on health care reform. Thirty-eight percent say they expect to feel happy or relieved. The numbers are roughly reversed when the public is asked how they will feel if Congress passes reform, with 54 percent naming a positive emotion and 38 percent a negative one.

The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted February 11 through February 16, 2010, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,201 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (800) and cell phone (401, including 192 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error is higher.

The Guardian! says it best:

For some time, especially since his dramatic loss in the Democratic primaries and re-election as an independent in 2006, Lieberman has been a hate-figure for liberals and progressives, for his strident pro-war views and his annoying obstructionism and grandstanding over healthcare reform. Since Lieberman caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate, it was all the more galling to hear him speaking at the Republican national convention in support of John McCain and campaigning for McCain during the presidential election.

But what’s this? “Lieberman announces plan to introduce repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” says the senator’s website:

“To exclude one group of Americans from serving in the armed forces is contrary to our fundamental principles as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and weakens our defenses by denying our military the service of a large group of Americans who can help our cause. I am grateful for the leadership of President Obama to repeal the policy and the support of Secretary Gates and Chief of Staff Admiral Mullen.”

That should keep the progressive blogosphere happy with Lieberman. For approximately five minutes – until he calls for the immediate bombing of Iran or Canada or whatever country has displeased him most recently…

A new analysis released today by the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), reveals that Connecticut left 120 blanks in its Round 1 Race to the Top application, underscoring the need for lawmakers to pass reforms to improve the state’s standing before Round 2.

“It’s as if Connecticut were a high school student applying to college with a transcript full of incompletes,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN Chief Executive Officer. “This analysis is a wake-up call for Connecticut lawmakers. We have three months left in the legislative session to pass real education reforms to make our state competitive in the Race to the Top and close our worst-in-the-nation achievement gap.”

In January, Connecticut applied for the first round of the Race to the Top, the federal government’s highly coveted $4 billion competition to reward states that aggressively reform their public schools.

The Race to the Top application asks states to set targets to explain how they would meet specific reform goals. But, as ConnCAN’s analysis reveals, where other states provided specific, measurable goals in 24 categories over five years resulting in 120 blanks, Connecticut just left these answers incomplete. ConnCAN’s analysis stacks Connecticut’s application against three states—Colorado, Delaware and Florida—in three reform areas within the Race to the Top to provide a snapshot of the Connecticut application’s shortcomings.

Round 2 of the Race to the Top is due June 1. ConnCAN’s campaign, “Our Race to the Top,” is calling for four reforms to help Connecticut win the Race to the Top: measuring effectiveness, superstar principals, world-class standards and money follows the child.

New rules go into effect that protect credit card holders from a wide range of unfair practices, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) reminded constituents today. Key protections outlined in the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights, passed by Congress last year, will ensure credit card companies provide reliable, transparent information so consumers have the tools to make smart, informed decisions about their personal finances.

“The unfair and confusing practices used by some credit card companies have contributed to the massive debt our families now carry, and these new rules will empower consumers to reverse that problem,” said Himes. “These balanced regulations are good for consumers and good for the economy.”

Some of the key changes include:
· Credit card companies must give at least 45 days notice before increasing your interest rate, changing certain fees, or making other significant changes to the terms of your card.
· Credit card bills must provide information to clearly explain how long it will take to pay off the balance by making only minimum payments.
· Credit card companies will be restricted from allowing over-the-limit transactions without the card holders’ knowledge.
· Interest rate increases will, in most cases, be prohibited during the first year of the life of an account.
· Any changes to your billing will require a statement detailing those changes at least 21 days before the payment is due.

For more detailed information on the new consumer protections for credit card users, visit The Federal Reserve’s Consumer Information website.

I don’t eat or cook much meat, which is good, as reported here:

Frying meat on a gas burner may be more harmful to health than using an electric burner, because of the type of fumes it produces. Cooking fumes produced during high temperature frying have recently been classified as “probably carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

and here:

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagenic compounds that form when meat and fish are cooked at high temperatures especially meats that are grilled, pan-fried, broiled, or barbecued. The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services categorizes HCAs as human carcinogens that can increase the risk of certain types of cancers.

I try to keep a positive attitude, and I’m generally pretty happy and content, which is good according to this report:

People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy.

I do drink lots of good tea, which is good:

Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea, renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties, do penetrate into tissues of the eye. Their new report, the first documenting how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances, raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases.

And I take aspirin regularly, for which there is more good news:

Women who have completed treatment for early-stage breast cancer and who take aspirin have a nearly 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer death and a similar reduction in the risk of metastasis.

But unfortunately, don’t take ibuprofen:

The study found regular users of ibuprofen were 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than people who didn’t take ibuprofen. Also, people who took higher amounts of ibuprofen were less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than people who took smaller amounts of the drug. The results were the same regardless of age, smoking and caffeine intake.

I get a lot of fiber from fruits, vegetables and oatmeal, which is good:

Fiber not only increases the bulk of the food and moves it through the gastrointestinal tract more rapidly, but also helps in preventing constipation and possible colon and rectal cancer. Intake of fiber through various foods such as nuts, whole-grain flour, fruits, and vegetables is now associated with decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, lower insulin demand, increased stool bulk, softening of fecal contents, and improved laxative properties. Epidemiological studies have correlated high consumption of fiber with lower incidence of certain diseases such as cardiovascular and cancer of colon and rectum. Several conditions such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, breast cancer, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids have been connected to a low intake of fiber.

and it turns out oatmeal, which I eat almost every day, is even better for you than previously thought:

Oats may contribute to the relaxation of arteries and the prevention of atherosclerosis.Consumption of oats reduces blood pressure and chronic inflammation of the arterial wall, part of the process that eventually causes disease. These studies provide additional indications of the potential health benefit of oat consumption in the prevention of coronary heart disease beyond its known effect through lowering blood cholesterol. Findings from a more recent study soon to be published suggest that consuming oats and oat bran may reduce the risk of colon cancer, not only through high fiber content, but also through avenanthramides that slow or discourage proliferation of colon cancer cells.

I take Vitamin D:

Middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.

And the statin substitute red yeast rice, but I’m thinking of asking for a prescription to the real thing, as evidence mounts for all the good things statins do for you. This is just the latest:

Statins, a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels, have been successfully fighting heart disease for years. A new study has now found that the same drugs cut the risks of cataracts in men by almost 40%. One recent study, featured as part of a Time magazine cover story, showed that statins can reduce a person’s chance of dying from all combined diseases and conditions by 40%, something in the medical community called “all-cause mortality.”

I’m eating more blueberries and blackberries lately because of reports here:

Could eating blueberries help get rid of belly fat? And could a blueberry-enriched diet stem the conditions that lead to diabetes? New research gives tantalizing clues to the potential of blueberries in reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of phytochemicals _ naturally occurring antioxidants _ that blueberries contain.

and here:

It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis.

You are what you eat:

Mediterranean diet (yes):

The Mediterranean diet may be best known as a heart-healthy eating plan, but some studies suggest that it may also reduce the risk of diabetes, certain cancers, obesity and Alzheimer s disease.

Dark chocolate (yes) or, apparently, even small amounts of any chocolate:

Chocolate consumption once a week as opposed to none per week may lower their risk of stroke and the risk of death after suffering a stroke.

And what you drink:

Beer (not nearly enough, alas – red wine instead):

A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density and connective tissue. Moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.

Milk (no):

Drinking milk during pregnancy may help reduce your baby’s chances of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as an adult.

Soda (no!)

Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Although relatively rare, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly, and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive five years later. No association was seen between fruit juice consumption and pancreatic cancer.

The state of Connecticut administration has screwed up going after Federal funds in several new ways:

The Hartford Courant has the story as far as transportation funding goes:

Connecticut came away with absolutely nothing in a competition for $1.5 billion in federal transportation grants this week, angering the congressional delegation enough that it has demanded a meeting with federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood next week.

Connecticut is one of just nine states to come up empty.

“I was outraged when I got the news,” U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said Thursday afternoon. ” Chris Dodd was exceedingly angry. John Larson was not happy. We all called the White House. This is just unacceptable,” Himes said.

At least one state lawmaker is saying that Connecticut’s transportation department dropped the ball, particularly since this is the second time this month that the state has fared miserably in competition for major federal transportation aid. State DOT officials insist that they are as disappointed as anyone and that they’ve done everything possible to win a share of the money.

The loss also is a severe blow to the state’s battered construction industry, where unemployment runs about 30 percent, and many small contractors are struggling to stay solvent.

Altogether, the state sought $630 million from the federal transportation stimulus program known as TIGER — Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery. Of that, the state DOT sought $330 million, and individual cities and regional planning associations applied for $300 million.

The effect on Connecticut’s backlog of bridge, highway, railroad and port repairs could be profound. The state DOT had sought $170 million to help pay to replace the Moses Wheeler Bridge over the Housatonic River on I-95 between Stratford and Milford. That money also would have helped to create the New Britain-to-Hartford busway; rebuild the I-91 and I-95 interchange in New Haven; and construct a wheel-milling shop at the New Haven rail yard.

Not only that but the same article had even more bad news:

Connecticut actually performed poorly in a separate competition for high-speed rail funds. The DOT has said it would cost $800 million to $1 billion to rebuild Amtrak’s New Haven-to-Springfield line to accommodate commuter trains and 110 mph intercity trains; Connecticut came away with just $40 million of the Obama administration’s $8 billion funding bonanza for high-speed rail.

Larson and Dodd both have said that the state DOT needs to do a better job of preparing its case before the next round of high-speed rail funding is distributed.

Further details are provided by dc.streetsblog.org:

Among those likely-stalled proposals is the Stamford area’s Complete Streets and Transit Access pitch (available for download here), which asked for $21.3 million of federal money to promote new transit-oriented development in a low-income neighborhood while adding bike lanes and sidewalks to local streets and putting new jitney buses into circulation.

Meanwhile, Ted Mann reports in The Day, that Connecticut is unlikely to qualify for millions of dollars in Race To The Top funding:

Despite a frantic last-minute drive to Washington last month to submit Connecticut’s application for $192.7 million in federal education funding, the state is unlikely to get a dime of the new money this spring, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said Wednesday.

In a meeting with The Day’s editorial board, Courtney said he doubted Connecticut would be among the recipients of $1.35 billion in funding from the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program, in part because the state’s application to the competitive grant program was “kind of cobbled together pretty last-minute” by state officials.

The last-minute completion of the state application was among numerous complaints Courtney said he’s heard in conversations with local school superintendents, who also felt they had been insufficiently consulted in the development of Connecticut’s plan for the money.

(Reforms needed for a more effective application are discussed by ConnCan here.)

Ned Lamont’s reaction:

“The news today that Connecticut has missed out yet again on hundreds of millions in federal transportation dollars is sadly all too familiar. This is just another example of how we can no longer afford to do business as usual here in Connecticut. We can no longer afford to allow our jobs and infrastructure funding to go to other states simply because they are more aggressive than we are. We need a Governor who will fight for every job and every bit of money for our roads and bridges that we rightly deserve.”

“Connecticut is also expected — due to inaction — to miss out on $200 million in “Race to the Top” funds to revitalize our schools. Transportation and eduction — these are the keys to our state’s economic future. As Governor, I will roll up my sleeves, work with our leaders in Washington and fight to ensure Connecticut is at the forefront of this century’s transportation and education revolutions.”

Mismanagement in Hartford has cost our state a billion dollars in the past few days alone – and hundreds of millions more in the last few years. It’s time for a change – and a Democrat in the Governor’s seat!