The Hollywood Liberal

Scientists Create Glow-in-the-Dark Dog
South Korean scientists said on Wednesday they have created a glowing dog using a cloning technique that could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. A research team from Seoul National University (SNU) said the genetically modified female beagle, named Tegon and born in 2009, has been found to glow fluorescent green under ultraviolet light if fed a doxycycline antibiotic.

Like we’ll need infrastructure in this country
Stop asking for infrastructure spending, can’t you see we’re building a bridge into the 18th Century

pic via erlin1 at flickr.com

Dear advocates of having roads to drive on that remain paved or bridges that don’t collapse — don’t you people know there are at least three or four countries out there that haven’t been invaded or occupied?

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The engineers found that overall, the cost of failing to invest more in the nation’s roads and bridges would total $3.1 trillion in lost GDP growth by 2020. For workers, the toll of investing only at current levels would be equally daunting: 877,000 jobs would also be lost. Already, the report found, deficient and deteriorating surface transportation cost us $130 billion in 2010.

Cry me a river (no wait, there’s no need as one will soon be arriving when that nearby dam breaches).  Have you not caught on to our nation’s brilliant jobs strategy? Instead of spending trillions on internal improvements (screw you Henry Clay!) we’ll spend it occupying every “ran”, “raq” or “stan” we damn well feel like, the more vowels the better.

Soon, the only jobs will be in the military (or para-military) until you can finally retire and collect Social Security at 65, 67, 69, 71 oh screw it you cannot retire, somebody has to pay for the tax cuts of Luke Russert II, and various and sundry Bushes.

Just remember how free you are, you ungrateful bastard.

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Late Late Night FDL: Don’t Wanna Be No Mother, Don’t Wanna Be No Wife
Gina Sicilia — Don’t Wanna Be No Mother, Don’t Wanna Be No Wife.

Gina Sicilia — Don’t Wanna Be No Mother, Don’t Wanna Be No Wife.

What’s on your mind?

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Early Morning Swim

• Boehner’s had enough Teabagging.
• Shorter McCain: Hey everyone! Look at meeeee!
• What’s on tap for the kabuki show today.
• Also, Al Gore is fat.
• Shorter Quitter: Hey everyone! Look at meeeee!

• Boehner’s had enough Teabagging.
• Shorter McCain: Hey everyone! Look at meeeee!
• What’s on tap for the kabuki show today.
• Also, Al Gore is fat.
• Shorter Quitter: Hey everyone! Look at meeeee!

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Yes to Moderation, No to Centrism
What the country yearns for is moderation. What we hear about is the political center. But centrism has become the enemy of moderation.

By E.J. Dionne, Jr.

What the country yearns for is moderation. What we hear about is the political center. But centrism has become the enemy of moderation.

Related Entries

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Sarah Palin Move Stokes Speculation
WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has scheduled a trip to Iowa, stoking speculation she might join the presidential race. Tea Party of America…

Heated Debate Spurs GOP Infighting
Talks on the issue of raising the debt ceiling got heated on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. As lawmakers work to strike a deal to avert…

Sunil Adam: Why #@%* Hit the Debt Ceiling

Cain Apologizes For Comments That May Have ‘Betrayed’ Commitment To Constitution
WASHINGTON — Republican Herman Cain is apologizing to Muslim leaders for vitriolic remarks he made about Islam while campaigning for the presidential nomination. The former…

LIVE UPDATES: Debt Ceiling Deadline Looms
Neither the House nor the Senate has a clear path forward for must-pass legislation to allow the government to continue to borrow to pay its…

“Healthy Meal”: The Right-Wing Media Rages Against Healthier Happy Meals

Following McDonald’s decision to offer “more nutritionally-balanced” Happy Meals and First Lady Michelle Obama’s praise of its move, the right-wing media jumped to attack McDonald’s for supposedly bending to the will of the “fat police” and making Happy Meals “less happy.” However, numerous studies show that childhood obesity leads to significant health problems, and moreover, McDonald’s reportedly made their decision in part so that parents could feel “less guilty” about buying their kids Happy Meals.

McDonald’s Makes Apple Slices A Regular Part Of “Happy Meal”

McDonald’s “Announces Commitments To Offer Improved Nutrition Choices.” From a July 26 McDonald’s press release:

Today, McDonald’s USA president Jan Fields announced the company’s “Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices.” The comprehensive plan aims to help customers — especially families and children — make nutrition-minded choices whether visiting McDonald’s or eating elsewhere.

Menu changes underway include the addition of more nutritionally-balanced choices that meet McDonald’s reputation for great taste and affordability, along with an increased focus on providing nutrition information that enable customers and employees to make simple, informed menu decisions.

“McDonald’s will always try to do the right thing, and we know we can help make a difference in our communities,” said Jan Fields, president, McDonald’s USA. “The commitments we’re announcing today will guide the future evolution of our menu and marketing.” [McDonald’s,

[MichelleMalkin.com,

2007–2009 County Obesity Prevalence Among
Low-Income Children Aged 2 to 4 Years

 

[CDC, accessed 7/27/11]

Overweight And Obese Children Are More Likely To Become Obese Adults. From First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign’s website:

Obese children may experience immediate health consequences which can lead to weight-related health problems in adulthood. Obese children and teens have been found to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and abnormal glucose tolerance. In a sample of 5-to 17-year-olds, almost 60% of overweight children had at least one CVD risk factor and 25% of overweight children had two or more CVD risk factors. In addition, studies have shown that obese children and teens are more likely to become obese as adults. [Let’s Move, accessed 7/27/11]

And McDonald’s Happy Meal Change Was The Result Of A Business Decision

LA Times: “Business Strategy For McDonald’s Is To Make Parents Feel Less Guilty” About Buying Happy Meals. From a July 25 Los Angeles Times article:

The business strategy for McDonald’s is to make parents feel less guilty about feeding fast food to their children, so they’ll become more frequent customers.

“People tell us they want to feel good about visiting us regularly, about the food options that we serve, and want to visit us even more often,” [President of McDonald’s USA Jan] Fields said. [LA Times, 7/25/11]

Ex-Buchanan Biz Partner Accused FL GOPer Of ‘Running’ Donations Through Dealership
A former business partner of Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) told federal officials back in 2009 that the congressman instructed him to have employees of their car dealership write checks to his political campaign for which they would then be reimbursed.

‘Sovereign Citizen’ Wounded In Shoot-Out With Police Officer
A Texas man who considers himself a “true natural living being” and a “sovereign citizen” was shot and wounded by a police officer after a shoot-out last week.

Video reveals hurdles in WI voter ID law
Author’s note: The voter ID law in WI is an issue that applies to everyone in the U.S., because this is an assault on your rights. Laws like this have been passed in a number of states across the nation, including Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, Texas and, most recently, Wisconsin. Not only is it unconstitutional to deprive […]

Growing Support for Rival Plans
House Republicans and Senate Democrats gained substantial support “within party ranks for their separate plans to resolve a looming debt crisis, but the momentum seemed to be pushing both sides further from a compromise,” the New York Times reports.

“It was a day in which Capitol Hill seemed to operate in alternate realities: Republicans in the House sharing near universal belief that the Senate will eventually cave and accept their plan, and Senate Democrats assured that they will have the last word over the weekend and ultimately force the hand of the House.”

The Wall Street Journal notes the House was headed for a cliffhanger vote today on Speaker John Boehner’s revised plan “that could go a long way in determining if the government’s borrowing limit is raised in time to avoid a possible default next week… At least 18 House Republicans have said they would oppose Mr. Boehner’s plan. He can’t lose more than 23 GOP votes if no Democrats support the bill. “

Roll Call: “If Boehner’s bill passes today, Reid will have to decide whether to try to vote it down symbolically or to amend it and send it back to the House for final passage. If Boehner falls short of the 217 votes needed to pass his plan, Senate Democrats will likely start the formal process of moving on their bill and hope it passes their chamber.”

White Families Have 20 Times the Wealth of Black Families: How Racism’s Legacy Created a Crushing Depression In Black America
The economic crisis has hit most families hard–but since many black families had less wealth to start with, its impact on them has been nothing short of disastrous.

15 Years in Prison For Taping the Cops? How Eavesdropping Laws Are Taking Away Our Best Defense Against Police Brutality
More and more people use their smartphones to record police misconduct. But laws against wiretapping are being used to intimidate and stop them.

Is Internet Dating Destroying Love?
Dating websites distort the very core of interpersonal relations and turn love into a consumer product.

10 Things I’d Say to the Anti-Choice Fanatics Trying to End Access to Abortion
Here are ten realities pro-choicers should throw in the face of opponents of choice they have the misfortune to get into arguments with.

Why Governments Are on the Hook to Ensure Clean, Safe Water for Everyone
The right to water and sanitation are living documents waiting to be used for transformational change around the world.

What The UN Vote Means–And Does Not
My friend Alvaro de Soto, the former Special Ambassador of the United Nations’s Secretary-General to the Middle East peace process, is a legend in the UN, from which he is now retired. Peruvian by birth, an aide to Secretary-General Javier…

The High Price of Nukes
As President Obama and Republicans in Congress go down to the wire in negotiations over a package of budget cuts that would clear the way for raising the debt ceiling, we shouldn’t lose sight of one key source of reductions:…

What the Murdoch Bombshells Really Reveal
Breathtaking accounts like this of the Murdoch meltdown by Don Van Natta Jr., Sarah Lyall, and others are precisely what the New York Times is on earth to do. And that the Times is really doing it is doubly gratifying…