deadissue.com

At the beginning of the summer i bought eight 12packs of Throwback Pepsi, which is Pepsi made with real suger rather than high fructose corn syrup. I stocked up mostly because I liked the taste, and I had also considered selling them on e-bay as they are rummored to go for $12 for a twelve papck. During that time I lost 16 pounds and went from a BMI 26.4 to a BMI of 24.1. At some point in there I stopped drinking regular Pepsi all together, and if I was traveling or out at a restaurant I would drink iced tea or water, but I am pretty sure that is the only major change I made to my diet. I did notice as I got lighter it was easier to exercise, I might run for an extra mile or ride my bike a little farther. Once my weight got under 180 pounds(at the beginning of the summer I weighed 184 pounds) I stopped getting sore when I exercised.

This experience made me realize two things, first, if you can lose a little bit of weight things really do get easier, and second, how bad is high fructose corn syrup?

Before John McCain went crazy he talked about work Americans won’t do and the need for migrant workers. Looks like he was right.

Looks like not only is pot legalization very popular it seems to have a coattail effect:

A ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in California could help propel endangered incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to re-election in November, according to a respected polling expert.

The presence of the pot legalization measure, Proposition 19, on the ballot is likely to entice many young Californians to vote in November when they otherwise would not have, declared Nate Silver of the New York Times on Wednesday evening. And young voters strongly lean Democratic, making them likely to pull the lever for Boxer.

Boxer, a three-term senator, is locked in a tight battle against former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, the Republican nominee. While the race has been virtually tied for weeks, Boxer has lately ticked up in the polls.

Kip with the two tallest building in Denver in the backround.

A couple of people have said that he looks to be deep in thought, the truth is, he was very interested in a squirrel.

I am starting to wonder if some people don’t see high unemployment as a benefit, After all it keeps inflation low and also leads to lower costs for businesses as desperate people will probably work cheaper. In fact any safety net available probably makes workers less desperate and thus raises the cost of workers for business.

It seems like policy makers might really want to look at this and perhaps find a minimum level of inflation that is acceptable and also a target unemployment rate that is lower than nine percent.

Seems like the best way to lower infant mortality is to improve living conditions.

The highest child mortality rates are found in sub-Saharan Africa [EPA]
The number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthday has fallen by a third since 1990, the United Nations Children Fund has said.

But the rate of decline is still way off a globally agreed target set to be met by 2015, Unicef said in a report on Friday.

It said the total number of under-five deaths decreased to 8.1 million per year in 2009 from 12.4 million per year in 1990, from 89 deaths per 1,000 live births to 60 in 2009.

The deaths are increasingly concentrated in India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and China. The highest rates were in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in eight children dies before their fifth birthday.

“The good news is that these estimates suggest 12,000 fewer children are dying each day around the world compared to 1990,” Unicef said in a statement.

“However the tragedy of preventable child deaths continues. Some 22,000 children under five still die each day, with some 70 per cent of these deaths occurring in the first year of the child’s life.”

The tea party candidates may sound crazy but I don’t hear them saying anything diiferent that other republicans. They may not hide their racism as well as more polished candidates, but they are the same Reagan republicans that have been around for most my life.

The article I linked to talks about some of Christine O’donnells nuttier positions and also makes the point that republicans don’t like poor people, even when that poor person is a true believer.

I have a feeling for most of the year the Broncos will be one good defensive player away frm winning a lot of games. Too bad they wasted a first round pick on a third round quarterback.

After watching all the hate groups trying to exploit 9/11 by threatening to burn Koran’s or trying to exploit the day for financial gain, I don’t see how anyone can claim Christianity makes this country better. In fact, after watching the ADL try to pile on the mosque as well, I guess I should say all organized religions are divisive and profit motivated. Maybe it is time to reconsider the tax excempt status we give to religion, and reevaluate the status we accord supernatural beliefs.

I have been traveling quite a bit the last few weeks which means I get to watch Fox news, while sitting around airport and hotel bars. First up was Sharan Angle, Harry Rieds opponent in Nevada. She still thinks that “second amendment remedies should be available if she loses. In other words she is advocating a terrorist attack if she loses.

Ken Buck is still talking about the benefits of rape and incest, but the national republican committee is funding and supporting these morons which makes me think that nationally republicans are pro-terrorist and pro-incest

Here is hoping I can make a link work from my ipad:

“America’s policy for almost 70 years has been to keep marijuana—arguably no more harmful than alcohol and used by 15 million Americans every month—confined to the illicit market, meaning we’ve given criminals a virtual monopoly on something that US researcher Jon Gettman estimates is a $36 billion a year industry, greater than corn and wheat combined,” Johnson wrote.

Last week, the California Council of Churches IMPACT, which claims to represent 21 denominations with 1.5 million worshipers, officially endorsed California’s Proposition 19, the ballot initiative that could see the state become the first in the Union to decriminalize marijuana by popular decree.

It is good to see churches doing something helpful politically and it also shows economic potential of marijuana legalization to maybe help end or at least lessen the recession we find ourselves in.