Government Watchdog Warns about Menu Police

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Photo Credit: WNDA government watchdog organization on Thursday warned about the new menu police that could soon sweep the nation – and the legal liabilities that could be presented to food service operations from public schools to college cafeterias and others.

Under the resolution of a dispute that involved Lesley University in Massachusetts, according to a report from officials at the Washington watchdog Judicial Watch, food allergies have to be treated as a disability, and provisions made to accommodate those with that “disability.”

According to a settlement document cited by Judicial Watch, “Food allergies may constitute a disability under the [Americans with Disabilities Act]. .. Individuals with food allergies may have an autoimmune response to certain foods, the symptoms of which may include difficulty swallowing and breathing, asthma and anaphylaxis.”

Commented Judicial Watch, “Sounds pretty dramatic, but the food industry is now fearful of the widespread consequences of this decree. In fact, it leaves all facilities that serve food – schools and restaurants – exposed to legal challenges if they don’t accommodate people with food allergies.”

The fight over the college’s food services actually happened late in 2012.

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Gov. Christie Pokes Fun at Booker’s Senate Victory (+video)

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Photo Credit: Julio Cortez, APLeave it to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to make his congratulatory wishes to Sen.-elect Cory Booker a poke in the ribs.

A day after Booker beat Republican Steve Lonegan in a special U.S. Senate election, Christie playfully complimented the Democrat’s victory by getting in a joke about Booker’s favorite football team, the winless New York Giants.

“I’m happy for the mayor today and his victory last night,” Christie said, appearing with Booker and other officials at a groundbreaking for a supermarket. “It was the first win for the Giants all year. Little did Tom Coughlin (the team’s coach) know he’d have to rely on a washed-up tight end from Stanford. Desperate times call for desperate measures, don’t they, Cory?”

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Study: Conservative Baby Boom will Shift Nation Further Right

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Photo Credit: APA baby boom among conservatives could push the nation’s politics further right in the coming decades, especially since liberals aren’t having as many children, according to a new study of online dating habits of conservatives and liberals.

The study featured in a Harvard University Shorenstein Center review of recent surveys released Tuesday on how political polarization of the nation is impacting Washington’s budget talks is the first to challenge left-leaning pundits who have claimed that as the white population shrinks, the GOP will become marginalized.

Instead, the study in the authoritative journal Political Behavior, conducted by scholars from Brown and Penn State University, suggested that liberals could be the endangered species in the coming decades as conservatives, typically white, have more children than liberals. And those children, this study and others show, commonly follow the politics of their parents.

Deep in the study, “The Dating Preferences of Liberals and Conservatives,” the authors cite indications that conservative families are having more children than liberals and that could change the political tilt of the nation, according to their simulations. And, they added, it could happen faster than their tests show.

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Why Oreos Are As Addictive As Cocaine To Your Brain

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Photo Credit: WikipediaA small new study suggests the brain responds to Oreo cookies quite like it responds to actual drugs – at least if you’re a rat. The “pleasure center” of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, apparently gets just as activated in response to Oreos as it does to cocaine and morphine, which could actually have some major public health implications. While the study was done in rats, the authors say it’s likely relevant to humans as well, and could explain why people have such a hard time resisting eating an entire sleeve of the cookies. The study, which will be presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual conference next month, also made another discovery: Rats, like humans, like to eat Oreo’s creamy center first.

To test how the animals responded to Oreos vs. drugs, the team trained mice to navigate a maze. On one side, Oreo cookies were provided, and on the other side plain rice cakes were offered. As you’d guess, the rats were significantly more likely to spend time on the Oreo side of the maze. The team also compared these results to rats who were trained with morphine or cocaine rather than Oreos. They found that regardless of what “substance” the rats were offered (Oreos, cocaine, or morphine) they spent about the same amount of time on the “drug” side of the maze.

These behavioral data aren’t so surprising, but the researchers also reported some interesting neurological results. When rats were given Oreos, a protein called c-Fos was expressed strongly in an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is well known to be active in pleasure and addiction.

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5 Things Super Successful People Do Before 8 AM

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Photo Credit: WikipediaRise and shine! Morning time just became your new best friend. Love it or hate it, utilizing the morning hours before work may be the key to a successful and healthy lifestyle. That’s right, early rising is a common trait found in many CEOs, government officials, and other influential people. Margaret Thatcher was up every day at 5 a.m.; Frank Lloyd Wright at 4 am and Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney wakes at 4:30am just to name a few. I know what you’re thinking – you do your best work at night. Not so fast. According to Inc. Magazine, morning people have been found to be more proactive and more productive. In addition, the health benefits for those with a life before work go on and on. Let’s explore 5 of the things successful people do before 8 am.

1. Exercise. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Most people that work out daily, work out in the morning. Whether it’s a morning yoga session or a trip to the gym, exercising before work gives you a boost of energy for the day and that deserved sense of accomplishment. Anyone can tackle a pile of paperwork after 200 ab reps! Morning workouts also eliminate the possibility of flaking out on your cardio after a long day at work. Even if you aren’t bright eyed and bushy tailed at the thought of a 5 am jog, try waking up 15 minutes early for a quick bedside set of pushups or stretching. It’ll help wake up your body, and prep you for your day.

2. Map Out Your Day. Maximize your potential by mapping out your schedule for the day, as well as your goals and to dos. The morning is a good time for this as it is often one of the only quiet times a person gets throughout the day. The early hours foster easier reflection that helps when prioritizing your activities. They also allow for uninterrupted problem solving when trying to fit everything into your timetable. While scheduling, don’t forget about your mental health. Plan a 10 minute break after that stressful meeting for a quick walk around the block or a moment of meditation at your desk. Trying to eat healthy? Schedule a small window in the evening to pack a few nutritious snacks to bring to work the next day.

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We Lose About Five Days to Slow-Loading Computers Every Year

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Photo Credit: ShutterstockWe’ve all heard the old joke about a man who has a near-death experience and looks back on his life, only to discover, “man, I sure slept an awful lot.” Frankly, the joke never really made sense to me, because sleeping is an amazing way to pass the time. And it’s certainly better than sitting around and waiting for your computer to load stuff, which wastes an average of five days every year for most people, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by SanDisk (yep, the same company that probably manufactured your flash drive), surveyed more than 8,000 people in the United Kingdom, finding they lost more than 130 hours each year to waiting for their computers to load. It could be worse, though: in Italy, the average time-loss was seven days. Here in the United States, we only lose 4.9 days a year. Only.

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MSNBC President Wants ‘Investigation’ Into Fox News’ ‘Impossible’ Ratings Gain

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Photo Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesMegyn Kelly blew out Rachel Maddow in the key demo on Tuesday after losing to her the night before. “I have never seen it in all my years of cable,” says Phil Griffin.

Phil Griffin, president of MSNBC, says there’s something fishy about Tuesday’s ratings for the Fox News Channel, which were up significantly from a day earlier when Fox News debuted its new schedule. And he wants an investigation.

“Monday we had a really good day in the key demographic. On the night that Fox News debuted their three shows, we either tied or beat them in those hours,” Griffin said at a briefing, according to TVNewser.

“Tuesday — you guys should be doing some investigations; I have never seen it in all my years of cable — same overnight, same everything. And they doubled their ratings in a day? It is impossible.” Griffin continued, “I have never seen it. They did election-night numbers in the demo Tuesday.”

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Justice Scalia: ‘I Even Believe in the Devil’

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Photo Credit: AP/Jessica Hill,Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said he believes in the Devil as a living entity, “a real person,” and that the Devil is “smart” and “successful” in today’s world by convincing people to not believe in him or in God.
The topic came up in an interview with New York Magazine’s Jennifer Senior, which was published on Oct. 6.

“Hey, come on, that’s standard Catholic doctrine,” said Scalia, who is Catholic. “Every Catholic believes that…”

When asked by Senior, “Isn’t it frightening to believe in the Devil?” the Supreme Court justice said, “You’re looking at me as though I’m weird. My God! Are you so out of touch with most of America, most of which believes in the Devil? I mean, Jesus Christ believed in the Devil! It’s in the Gospels. You travel in circles that are so, so removed from mainstream America that you are appalled that anybody would believe in the Devil! Most of mankind has believed in the Devil, for all of history. Many more intelligent people than you or me have believed in the Devil.”

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Edward Snowden ‘Pictured out Shopping in Russia’

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Photo Credit: LIFE NEWSA photograph purporting to show Edward Snowden, the US intelligence leaker, out in public for the first time since being granted asylum, has been published by a Russian news website.

In the blurry image published by Life News, a casually dressed man sporting a goatee with sunglasses perched on his head is pictured pushing a supermarket trolley full of groceries across a road.

A car with partly legible Russian plates and a crossing sign identify the scene as in Russia.

“The photograph was taken in Moscow,” said Life News, which is known for its close ties to the Kremlin and security services.

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As U.S. Struggles with Health Reform, the Amish Go their Own Way

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Photo Credit: Reuters/Jonathan BachmanThe debate over U.S. healthcare reform that has gripped the nation and led to a government shutdown is of small concern in rural Pennsylvania’s Amish country for a very simple reason.

Along with eschewing cars and many other modern technologies, the descendants of 18th-Century German immigrants who practice the Amish and Old Order Mennonite religions, have effectively opted out of Obamacare, along with most federal safety net programs.

A little-known provision of the law with its roots in a 1950s battle over Social Security exempts these communities from the individual mandate, an element of the Affordable Care Act that requires most Americans to purchase health insurance in some form.

But it is not the idea of health insurance the Amish reject – the close-knit communities essentially insure themselves.

“We have our own health care,” said a retired Amish carpenter, who like other Amish interviewed for this story, asked that his name not be used because of a traditional aversion to publicity and bringing attention to oneself.

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