CDC Going After Booze

Because it makes us fat….kinda

The most comprehensive source I’ve come across (and referred to recently here) for uncovering what Americans are eating and drinking—including alcohol—is the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, last updated in 2010. And if this CDC alcohol study doesn’t appear so new, perhaps it’s because the “new” study cites the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in nearly half (43 percent) of its footnotes.

Not surprisingly, the two studies’ conclusions about how many calories Americans consume from alcohol are also nearly identical. USDA data put the number at 106 calories from alcohol (see Table 2-2 on page 12). The CDC study’s total is similar but slightly lower—99 calories.

While the USDA study concludes that “alcoholic beverages are a major calorie source for adults,” the CDC calls them “a top contributor to caloric intake.”

One place where the studies diverge—and where the CDC authors don’t address what I see as a key issue—is the fact that the average alcohol consumption patterns their research reveal actually mirror longstanding USDA recommendations.

“If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation—up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age,” reports the USDA in the same Dietary Guidelines for Americans that the CDC researchers know so well. “Moderate evidence suggests that moderate drinking of alcoholic beverages is not associated with weight gain.”

They know better than you!

h/t Mrs. Weer’d

Posted in Biology, Food, Politics | 1 Comment

I Welcome The Robot Overlords!

Umm Yeah

It is, perhaps, the most common plot in science fiction books and movies. Robots and intelligent machines develop superior powers and overwhelm their creators. But, although these are just stories, a co-founder of Skype, a leading scientist and a professor of philosophy believe there is enough of a danger that the threat technological development poses to human existence should be studied seriously.

Frankly I see it as fruitless. Either we come up with a plan to stop the rampaging robots….but since we planned it using technology and the internet…they already know, and will counter it BEFORE they rise up…or we horribly stunt our technology growth because some people had a nightmare after watching The Terminator.

Still it was good for a chuckle. Thanks Les!

Posted in Random, Safety, Technology | 1 Comment

“Gun Death” NYC

Again NYC has more blood on its hands.

The Manhattan mother of two young children found fatally stabbed in their tony Upper West Side apartment maintained a blog of her children, detailing the “precious hours” she spent with them.

Not really sure who killed the kids from the story, but this is what gun control does. Ban guns, and the monsters will just stab you to death, doesn’t really matter if knives are also banned.

Bloomberg’s paradise!

Posted in Gun Death? | 1 Comment

Evening LOLz

Via Nerdist

LOLZ!

Posted in Random | 3 Comments

“Hip Firing”

This last post got me thinking about the anti-rights saw of “Hip Firing”.

VPC has one of their great “studies” showing us how amazing it is!

First up they need to argue that semi-auto guns can be easily converted to full-auto, and somehow this is happening with some sort of frequency. Then with that hurdle stumbled over they show a bunch of pictures from OLD military training manuals on how to “Shoot From The Hip”.

Note the OLD part. Hip firing was taught to military members for quick-full-auto fire. The gun was pointed towards the target and the trigger was pulled, and the shooter would watch where their bullets impacted and “Walk” the gun onto target. This is still done with belt-fed machine guns (tho not from the hip because they’re heavy and kick like a mule), but not taught with assault rifles or sub-machine guns. Why? Well because you have between 6 and 10 seconds before your magazine runs dry, and spending any of that time “Walking” your gun onto target is depleting your magazine in a non-trivial amount. Hell just look at modern training, and how often full-auto is used.

Look at that, Digital-Camo BDUs, M4 Carbines, ACOG M68 Close Combat Optic (Thanks McThag, I know crap about glass!) scopes. This is the modern military training for battle. What don’t you hear? The chatter of full-auto fire. Also those ACOGs are fucking expensive, so they’re making sure their soldiers look through the damn things while they shoot!

Last it somehow seems that an extended pistol grip on a rifle is designed for “hip shooting”. Odd given that the pistol grip supplies such a natural grip when shooting a rifle with an in-line stock from the shoulder using the sights, but when you drop the rifle down to low ready you have to cock your wrist.

If you look at traditional rifle stocks it seems that the really old “Straight” stocks with no grip added at all will work the best as you can just grip the wrist of the rifle like you would the handle of a hammer to hold it low.

Of course I don’t know of any full-auto guns, or even semi-auto guns with a straight stock. Maybe because the designers never intended this as a mode of fire, and instead it was dreamed up by the tactical-Tommies before the idea got shot down by real-world shooting.

Oh well, maybe somebody will believe them….

Posted in Guns, Politics, Safety | 13 Comments

Public Transit: Its RACIST!

Yep, seems that the poorer neighborhoods in Boston only have buses, which suck and are slow, while more affluent (figuratively) have Subway access.

Makes me think of my wife’s (then girlfriend) Cambridge apartment. It was a studio. Bed in the living room, and a microscopic kitchen and bathroom…that’s the whole thing! She was paying $1,000 a month for it! Why so expensive? Well it was walking distance from the subway and a shopping center.

Outside of rent control and public housing, if you were to add subway access to a neighborhood the rents go UP, and guess who can’t live there anymore!

Yep, Economics are racist!

h/t Mrs. Weer’d

Posted in Politics | 3 Comments

“Gun Death” Probably MS13

This is their signature:

One man was injured and another arrested in a machete attack in southeast Oklahoma City, police said….According to a police report, Martinez cut the victim from head to toe.

Pure speculation if this was MS13, but they’re one of the most violent and dangerous gangs operating in America, and their weapon of choice is the Machete. Hey, but at least they don’t usually use guns! They’re the gun-banners kind of gang!

h/t Jennifer

Posted in Gun Death? | Leave a comment

Play Me Out: Nate Spencer

Nate is a close friend of mine, and this song is really awesome.

Posted in Music | Leave a comment

Yep They’re Going Back There!

Media Matters is trying to earn their Joyce Foundation check by repeating the same-old anti-rights bullshit!

In fact, the lower pictured weapon, a Mossberg 500 Tactical Persuader, has a number of features that increase its lethality compared to the top pictured shotgun. Contrary to what the graphic suggests, the only difference between the two weapons is not just the pistol grip featured on the Tactical Persuader. The Tactical Persuader also has an adjustable stock that can be removed from the firearm completely, which allows the gun length to be shortened for increased concealability. Furthermore, when combined with a pistol grip, the firearm can be more easily maneuvered, allowing the shooter to fire from the hip and more easily use the weapon from vehicles and in other close quarters situations.

An almost identical configuration was sought out by Suleman Talovic, a teenager who used a Mossberg-derivative pistol grip shotgun during a rampage that killed five and wounded four at the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 12, 2007. A recent report issued by the John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research found that firearms with assault weapon features are disproportionally used in mass shootings and that when used result in higher numbers of casualties.

Just because it isn’t true, or doesn’t make any sense doesn’t mean they won’t repeat it OVER AND OVER AGAIN! Dorks!

Also Sebastian does a better job at swatting at Joan than I could on this story:

In nearly all 50 states, including Minnesota, the mere use of deadly force in this circumstance is legitimate self-defense, as a forced entry into an occupied dwelling is considered prima facie evidence that a deadly threat exists in most states. Minnesota, following traditional common law, allows for deadly force to be used to prevent a forcible felony, though limited to one’s place of abode, and burglary is a felony in Minnesota….Regardless of whether castle doctrine has passed in Minnesota or not, there is already an absolute unqualified right to respond to burglars invading an occupied home in Minnesota with deadly force, but only if the purpose of such force is to prevent the continuing felony, or to protect life and limb. Murder is never lawful, and Minnesota, like most states, defines (in this case 2nd degree) murder as when someone ”causes the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of that person or another, but without premeditation,”

Yep, Joan is claiming that the “Stand Your Ground” law applies where it doesn’t apply (or simply confusing it with the “Castle Doctrine”…a law we even have here in Anti-Rights Massachusetts), and that somehow these laws legalize MURDER.

Yep, not true, and she likely knows it! But never let the truth get in the way of your political agenda.

The Brady Campaign “We are Better Than This” slogan is deeply ironic, isn’t it?

Posted in Guns, Politics | 15 Comments

Meta Election Results

LOL

Posted in Politics, Random | 2 Comments