Hot chocolate a better Valentine’s choice

Being religious may not make you healthier after all

Online programs boost produce consumption

Mediterranean Diet May Help Keep You Smarter

Plus lots more.

Sam Stein:

The Fair Elections Now Act, which would set up a publicly-financed campaign system, is favored by a two-to-one margin (62 to 31 percent), according to the survey. Fifty percent of Republicans support the proposal compared to 40 percent who oppose it.

There is one major caveat — voters almost instinctively say that they are in favor of strong campaign finance reform legislation. It’s the office holders who are the obstacle.

The Democrats will pretend they want it, then they’ll let the Republicans scuttle it.

I’m definitely in favor of public financing of campaigns, but that’s only part of the story. The Citizens United film that was the basis of the recent Supreme Court decision wasn’t part of any candidate’s campaign.

The Fair Elections Now Act wouldn’t stop entities from airing any lies they want to about any candidate.

AP:

The Obama administration on Monday asked California’s largest for-profit health insurer to justify plans to hike customers’ premiums by as much as 39 percent, a move that could affect some 800,000 customers.

And that insurer can tell the Obama administration to go suck on a very sour lemon. What is this announcement supposed to accomplish?

Political Wire:

At the DNC winter meeting, President Obama insisted he wasn’t willing to abandon health care reform…

However, the New York Times notes he “did not rule out scaling back the scope of the legislation in hopes of drawing more support for a health care plan.”

And Sam Stein says, “Exclusive: Sebelius Says Obama Will ‘Accelerate’ Health Care Reform After Bipartisan Meeting”

So how’s all that reaching out to Republicans working out for you, Democrats?

Obama Losing Independent Voters

Wall Street ‘Fat Cats’ Revolt, Send Money to GOP

You know things are bad when they’ve lost establishment liberal E.J. Dionne:

Some Senate Democratic moderates are petrified that Republicans will make terrible trouble if health care is passed through the “reconciliation process.” If Democrats are that intimidated by Republicans, they should just give up their majority.

The Fix:

By making the filibuster a political issue, the White House may be hoping to turn the base’s anger at the way things are being done in Washington away from an inward focus on the party’s unwillingness to change the rules and toward Republicans for their legislative blocking.

Wrong, White House, you could turn the base’s anger by DOING SOMETHING about the filibuster, not by talking about it. Honestly, these guys are the best the Democrats can do?

riverdaughter:

So, someone wrote an editorial at WaPo asking why liberals are so condescending and Chris Bowers wrote a post upholding the right of liberals to be condescending jerks.  He cites scientists as his models of excellence:

Less than 10% of scientists consider themselves Republicans or conservatives.  Why shouldn’t liberals consider their positions to be based on fact and reason, and see conservative views as largely illegitimate?…

So, 9 out of 10 scientists do not consider themselves to be Republican or conservative, eh, Chris?  Let me tell you something about the scientists I know, since I am one and work with them all fricking day long.  Most of the scientists I know voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary of 2008.  Yeah, they used their abilities to reason and examine the facts to determine that when it came to a choice between Obama and Clinton, the choice was clear.  There was NO DATA TO SUPPORT OBAMA.  We looked and looked and looked and all we could find were missing data points.  He was tofu.  You and your creative class wannabes slapped some progressive special sauce on him and called him a savior.   We looked at his anti-war creds, which is all you guys seemed to care about, and there was no there there…

You are not a scientist, Chris, as your stupid pick of weakling president shows.  Please don’t try to be one of us.

It was Chris Bowers who proclaimed, “Wow, we nominated the black guy!” after his cohorts had spent months calling Hillary supporters racists.

I don’t know why anyone pays any attention to this kid.

In the comments, someone brought up Donna Brazile talking about the Old Coalition vs. the New Coalition, so I was moved to bring up the fact that Brazile bragged about the fact that Karl Rove advised her on how the New Coalition should be put together. (Yes, the link is to No Quarter. But the original is no longer available at The City Edition.)

She really put one over on old Karl, didn’t she? Following his advice on shoving working people out of the party?

Avedon (after a link to a post at Corrente):

DU has signed on to the STFU program.

My comment: DU joined the STFU crowd in early 2008.

And Corrente has its own problems. The fact that I’m not allowed to post articles or comments there is proof positive that so-called progressives will never be able to join together to accomplish anything.

Lambert agrees with me 99.9% of the time, but it’s that last .1%, you see, that’s so effing important that it has to be weeded out and destroyed, along with the person who dared to say it. That is the very definition of so-called progressivism, that no one is pure enough for anyone else, and therefore no one can work together with anyone else.

Herding cats? You bet.

The Daily Howler:

Is our nation dying before our eyes? Here’s the start of Paul Krugman’s new column…

We’ve always known that America’s reign as the world’s greatest nation would eventually end. But most of us imagined that our downfall, when it came, would be something grand and tragic.

What we’re getting instead is less a tragedy than a deadly farce. Instead of fraying under the strain of imperial overstretch, we’re paralyzed by procedure. Instead of re-enacting the decline and fall of Rome, we’re re-enacting the dissolution of 18th-century Poland…

America’s downfall is playing out as a deadly farce, Krugman says. Krugman refers to ways in which your nation stands “paralyzed by procedure.” But we’re also paralyzed by sheer inanity…

This is the way Keith Olbermann started Friday night’s latest embarrassment. There are words for this sort of thing: Silly, inane, not accurate:…

Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow?

The jig is up for Sarah Palin: 1200 official State of Alaska e-mails reveal her husband is almost co-governor, reveal she coached her staff on how to disguise the amount of electrical work needed at the governor’s mansion to hook up her tanning bed.

Progressives will never grab the national discussion and drag it back into reasonable territory by adopting the tactics of the right.

Scientists try to measure love

Relax with a Stick of This

Can Mindful Eating Help You Lose Weight?

A Good Way to Ditch Belly Fat (Without Dieting)

Plus lots more.

From Politico, via email:

President Barack Obama told Katie Couric during a Super Bowl pregame interview that he plans to hold a health-reform summit with congressional leaders later this month. “I want to come back [after the Presidents' Day congressional recess] and have a large meeting –  Republicans and Democrats — to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there, and move it forward,” Obama said.

Yeah, that’ll do it. Those Republicans will just roll over and play dead.

Washington Post:

Obama warned that Democrats must change how they work with Republicans, who have blocked many of Obama’s initiatives and now are buoyed by the prospect of major gains in this fall’s congressional elections.

Obama said Republicans must be drawn into a public debate about the best way to address the nation’s long-term challenges. In the end, he said, that would result in the best policy for the American people, which in turn would be the best politics for Democrats.

“We can’t solve all of our problems alone,” Obama said. “So we need to extend our hands to the other side — we’ve been working on it — because if we’re going to change the ways of Washington, we’re going to have to change its tone.”

What do you call it when you keep doing the same stupid things over and over, expecting different results each time? Oh yeah, insanity.

Swine Flu Fades

Helmets Reduce the Risk of Head Injuries Among Skiers and Snowboarders by 35 Percent

New Compound Could Become Important New Antidepressant

Tips for lowering blood pressure

Plus lots more.

Think Progress:

Wall Street Republicans Form ‘Action Tank’ To Push Corporate Agenda

Just two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of opening the floodgates of corporate donations into electoral politics, a class of Wall Street Republicans have assembled around a new GOP group that aims to capitalize on corporate America’s empowerment. According to The New York Times, the group aims to “develop and market conservative ideas.”

Because corporations are so weak, and have so little influence. And because conservative ideas get no coverage.

Super Bowl Stress Can Spark Heart Attacks

Many women unaware of heart disease signs

Study fails to link saturated fat, heart disease

Men who eat soy may have lower lung cancer risk

Plus lots more.

Paul Krugman:

A confusing employment report this morning: employment down, but unemployment also down. Nor is this a story about workers dropping out of the labor force; the report shows an increase in the employment-population ratio, the percentage of adults who are working. What?

OK, the trick is that there are two different surveys.