From Capital Eye:

The nation’s congressional candidates — 1,374 in all — raised $168.5 million between April and June of this year and spent $73.6 million of that. That includes anyone with an open committee, whether they’re running in 2010, 2012 or beyond.

Reducing Levels Of Specific Protein Delays Aging Of Multiple Tissues In Lab Mice

Health Benefits Of Physical Activity More Pronounced In Women

Sip This for Breakfast to Curb Hunger

Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is Effective In Treating Chronic Insomnia

Plus lots more.

Simple Changes to Improve Your Mind, Mood, and Outlook

Tip of the Week: Eliminate the Word “Should”

Organic food is no healthier, study finds

How to Avoid Heatstroke

Plus lots more.

We’d rather just keep losing issue battles and elections over stupid stuff.

Ian Welsh wants to know, “Why Can’t Progressives Lobby Or Fundraise Effectively?”, considering how cheaply our politicians can be bought by the right wing.

My comment:

The so-called left has never been willing to fund any long-term projects other than those that form silos around particular issues and individual races.

The problem is that each issue battle and each individual race has to fight against a more than 40-year, multi-billion dollar campaign to convince Americans that rich people and their corporations are always good and should never have to pay taxes, and gummint is always bad and wasteful and will control your life.

I have been preaching since mid 2001 that a concerted effort to combat the misinformation is the only thing that will change this situation.
http://makethemaccountable.com/index.php/progressive-media-strategy/

Unfortunately, considering the lack of response I’ve gotten, I’m now convinced that even when the Republicans have managed to thoroughly discredit Barack Obama and pin all of Bush’s failures on him, the so-called left will still not see the need for such a concerted effort.

… because there was so much for the right wing to attack Hillary on, but Obama “couldn’t” be attacked, especially on race?

Political Wire:

TPM observes a dramatic escalation “of Obama-hatred out there that really does cross over into a purely racial territory. This has gotten especially worse in the aftermath of Obama’s comments and subsequent mea culpa on the Henry Louis Gates arrest, but the pattern has been there all the same.”

…when all about you are losing theirs… you’ll be a Man, my son!” – Rudyard Kipling

Fox News is one of the few outlets reporting the quip from the attorney that should be emblazoned on the foreheads of the guys sharing their various brands of beer on the taxpayers’ dime. I couldn’t agree more, Ms. Murphy:

The woman who made the 911 call that launched America into a national debate on race said Wednesday that she was unfairly called a “racist” after she reported a possible break-in at the Cambridge, Mass., home of black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr…

“Now that the tapes are out, I hope people can see that I tried to be careful and honest with my words,” she said. “It never occurred to me that the way that I reported what I saw be analyzed by an entire nation.”…

Whalen’s attorney, Wendy Murphy, seized the opportunity Wednesday to criticize President Obama’s invitation to host both Gates and Crowley for a beer summit at the White House.

“The three highly trained guys who reacted badly are getting together for a beer,” she said.  ”But the one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge.”

Secrets to Living Younger

U.S. states to get “significant” obesity money

Painkillers are about to get safer

Gloomy Days Dim Cognitive Powers of the Depressed

Plus lots more.

Dakinikat at The Confluence points out the  new article in The Economist, “The Obama Cult,” which reminds us that epic fail is guaranteed when expectations are fanned to too high a level:

All presidential candidates promise more than they can possibly deliver. This sets them up for failure. But because the Obama cult has stoked expectations among its devotees to such unprecedented heights, he is especially likely to disappoint. Mr Healy predicts that he will end up as a failed president.

And Gallup, as if on cue, shows us what happens when you disappoint:

You may remember that Obama’s chief political advisor, David Axelrod, performed another miracle, getting Deval Patrick elected governor of Massachusetts. Now that Patrick has had HIS “The Candidate” moment, his re-election bid is in trouble:

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) “has seen a huge drop in his standing among voters and faces a tough road to a second term,” according to a new Boston Globe poll.

Do people like Axelrod care at all about the many lives that have been adversely affected by their monumental failures, or is it just a game to them?

Almost 10 Percent of U.S. Medical Costs Tied to Obesity

Divorce Undermines Health

Many Cancer Survivors Don’t Adopt Healthy Lifestyle

In Study, Texting Lifts Crash Risk by Large Margin

Plus lots more.

Swine flu could hit up to 40 percent in US

More Evidence In Favor Of Healthy Lifestyle In Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease

Allergy drugs may fight diabetes, obesity

Unhooking the Obesity-Diabetes Connection

Plus lots more.

New posts at Many Years Young 7/26/09

Summer’s Freshest Produce: Tomatoes

Losing Weight Can Be as Simple as Breathing In

Progressive Resistance Strength Training Helps Older People In Daily Life

Innovation: Is the future of healthcare online?

Plus lots more.

New posts at Many Years Young 7/25/09

First defense against swine flu – seasonal vaccine

One type of heart attack seen on decline in U.S.

Barry Popkin: Why the World Is Fat

Stress, Bad Bedtime Habits Cause Insomnia

Plus lots more.

Longer Life For Milk Drinkers, Study Suggests

Even Healthy Lungs Labor At Acceptable Ozone Levels

Physical activity can be protective against dementia

Attention Training Might Help Stroke Victims

Plus lots more.

Random thoughts while shopping at the supermarket

Changing Behavior Is Challenging, but not Impossible

Radical rest: Creative ways to (finally!) relax

Close Caregiver Relationship May Slow Alzheimer’s Decline

Plus lots more.

Last night’s episode of Top Chef Masters on Bravo, which has been mostly pretty dull, tried to pit the masters against each other but instead turned into something pretty wonderful.

The challenge was that each chef bought ingredients for one of the other chefs to use to create his dish.

The producers were probably hoping to set the chefs at each others’ throats, but that’s not what happened. Each chef chose ingredients that he thought would challenge the other, but not debilitate him.

The cameraderie that built up through the hour was powerful, and it’s the first episode where all four chefs produced excellent dishes.

Related Bravo question: With all the shows about vapid rich people doing vapid things, why is there not even one show about ordinary people doing things to improve the lives of the less fortunate? Isn’t there any money to be made showing people doing things that make us happy?