An art group is protesting outside the Smithsonian Institution over the removal of a gay artist's video that depicted ants crawling on a crucifix.
The scene in the video drew complaints from the Catholic League as well as incoming Republican leaders in Congress who said the Smithsonian was misusing its public funding, though its exhibits are privately funded.
Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough said he decided to remove the video to head off controversy. Clough has said the exhibit is the first to explore gay themes in art history.
About 30 people, many from the New York-based group Art Positive, picketed Monday and called for Clough to step down.
The video, "A Fire in My Belly," explored the subject of AIDS.
WOWWWWWWWW!!!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Monday, January 31, 2011
Fla. judge strikes down Obama health care overhaul!
A federal judge declared the Obama administration's health care overhaul unconstitutional Monday, siding with 26 states that sued to block it, saying that people can't be required to buy health insurance.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson agreed with the states that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties. He went a step further than a previous ruling against the law, declaring the entire thing unconstitutional if the insurance requirement does not hold up.
Attorneys for the administration had argued that the states did not have standing to challenge the law and that the case should be dismissed.
The final step will almost certainly be the U.S. Supreme Court. Two other federal judges have already upheld the law and a federal judge in Virginia ruled the insurance mandate unconstitutional but stopped short of voiding the entire thing.
At issue was whether the government is reaching beyond its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce by requiring citizens to purchase health insurance or face tax penalties.
Vinson said it is, writing in his 78-page ruling that if the government can require people to buy health insurance, it could also regulate food the same way.
"Or, as discussed during oral argument, Congress could require that people buy and consume broccoli at regular intervals," he wrote, "Not only because the required purchases will positively impact interstate commerce, but also because people who eat healthier tend to be healthier, and are thus more productive and put less of a strain on the health care system."
Obama administration attorneys had argued that the health care system was part of the interstate commerce system. They said the government can levy a tax penalty on Americans who decide not to purchase health insurance because all Americans are consumers of medical care.
But attorneys for the states said the administration was essentially coercing the states into participating in the overhaul by holding billions of Medicaid dollars hostage. The states also said the federal government is violating the Constitution by forcing a mandate on the states without providing money to pay for it.
Florida's former Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum filed the lawsuit just minutes after President Barack Obama signed the 10-year, $938 billion health care bill into law in March. He chose a court in Pensacola, one of Florida's most conservative cities. The nation's most influential small business lobby, the National Federation of Independent Business, also joined.
Officials in the states that sued lauded Vinson's decision. Almost all of them have Republican governors, attorneys general or both.
"In making his ruling, the judge has confirmed what many of us knew from the start; ObamaCare is an unprecedented and unconstitutional infringement on the liberty of the American people," Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement.
Other states that joined the suit are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
*Don't these states have better things to do than to fight a mandated healthcare law? You would think they would be on the grind creating jobs for the people who reside those states. That isn't the case. It's all about fighting President Obama and his healthcare law. WHAT A POLITICAL HOT MESS!*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson agreed with the states that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties. He went a step further than a previous ruling against the law, declaring the entire thing unconstitutional if the insurance requirement does not hold up.
Attorneys for the administration had argued that the states did not have standing to challenge the law and that the case should be dismissed.
The final step will almost certainly be the U.S. Supreme Court. Two other federal judges have already upheld the law and a federal judge in Virginia ruled the insurance mandate unconstitutional but stopped short of voiding the entire thing.
At issue was whether the government is reaching beyond its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce by requiring citizens to purchase health insurance or face tax penalties.
Vinson said it is, writing in his 78-page ruling that if the government can require people to buy health insurance, it could also regulate food the same way.
"Or, as discussed during oral argument, Congress could require that people buy and consume broccoli at regular intervals," he wrote, "Not only because the required purchases will positively impact interstate commerce, but also because people who eat healthier tend to be healthier, and are thus more productive and put less of a strain on the health care system."
Obama administration attorneys had argued that the health care system was part of the interstate commerce system. They said the government can levy a tax penalty on Americans who decide not to purchase health insurance because all Americans are consumers of medical care.
But attorneys for the states said the administration was essentially coercing the states into participating in the overhaul by holding billions of Medicaid dollars hostage. The states also said the federal government is violating the Constitution by forcing a mandate on the states without providing money to pay for it.
Florida's former Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum filed the lawsuit just minutes after President Barack Obama signed the 10-year, $938 billion health care bill into law in March. He chose a court in Pensacola, one of Florida's most conservative cities. The nation's most influential small business lobby, the National Federation of Independent Business, also joined.
Officials in the states that sued lauded Vinson's decision. Almost all of them have Republican governors, attorneys general or both.
"In making his ruling, the judge has confirmed what many of us knew from the start; ObamaCare is an unprecedented and unconstitutional infringement on the liberty of the American people," Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement.
Other states that joined the suit are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
*Don't these states have better things to do than to fight a mandated healthcare law? You would think they would be on the grind creating jobs for the people who reside those states. That isn't the case. It's all about fighting President Obama and his healthcare law. WHAT A POLITICAL HOT MESS!*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Gov't advising Americans to cut down on salt!
The government is telling half of the U.S. population to drastically cut their daily salt intake.
That's the advice to consumers — and the food industry — as the government issues new dietary guidelines, which are the recommendations behind the popular food pyramid.
For the first time, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments, which issue the guidelines every five years, are telling people who are 51 and older, all African-Americans and anyone suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease to cut the amount of sodium they eat daily to little more than half a teaspoon.
That group includes about half of the population and those who are most at risk of having higher blood pressure due to the amount of salt they eat. For everyone else, the government continues to recommend about a teaspoon a day — 2,300 milligrams, or about one-third less than the average person usually consumes.
The assault on salt is aimed strongly at the food industry, which is responsible for the majority of sodium most people consume. Most salt consumption doesn't come from the shaker on the table; it's hidden in foods such as breads, chicken and pasta.
It has long been known that too much sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and other problems. But cutting the salt won't be easy.
The prestigious Institute of Medicine has said it could take years for consumers to get used to the taste of a lower-salt diet. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government is trying to be realistic while targeting the highest-risk groups.
"I think it's important for us to do this in a way that doesn't create an immediate backlash," he said. "If we fail to get our arms around the obesity epidemic, especially in our children, we're going to see a significant increase in health care costs over time."
A number of major food makers have announced plans during the past few years to cut sodium in their products as pressure from health advocates, consumers and regulators has built.
Kraft Foods Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Heinz Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Bumble Bee Foods Inc. are just some of the companies that have committed to lowering sodium levels. But it's often a multiyear process to dial down the sodium, largely so consumers do not detect the changes in taste.
Campbell's said Monday that it now sells over 200 lower sodium products, which they say is eight times the number of reduced sodium foods they offered five years ago.
But it's unclear if the industry will be able to cut enough to satisfy the new guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration has said it will pressure companies to take voluntary action before it moves to regulate salt intake.
Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary at the Health and Human Services Department, said food companies will have to make cuts for the reductions to work.
"Even the most motivated consumer can make only a certain amount of progress before it's clear that we need extra support from the food industry," Koh said.
Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the heightened interest in the dangers of too much sodium could help somewhat. But she believes the FDA will have to take action for the companies to reduce enough salt to matter.
"The companies are only going to do it if there's a really strong push," she said.
New York City has already pushed a little, launching a campaign with the goal of cutting salt consumption by at least 20 percent in five years. That's modeled on a plan carried out in Britain which set voluntary salt reduction targets for 85 categories of processed foods.
Consumers still have some control. To reduce the risk of disease from high sodium intake, the guidelines say people should:
_Read nutrition labels closely and buy items labeled low in sodium.
_Use little or no salt when cooking or eating.
_Consume more fresh or home-prepared foods and fewer processed foods, so they know exactly what they are eating.
_Ask that salt not be added to foods at restaurants.
_Gradually reduce sodium intake over time to get used to the taste.
Other recommendations in the guidelines are similar to previous years — limit trans fats, reduce calorie intake from solid fats and added sugars, eat fewer refined grains and more whole grains, consume less than 300 mg per day of cholesterol. The guidelines also recommend eating less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fats — full-fat cheese and fatty meats, for example.
The government promotes these guidelines to consumers by using a symbolic pyramid. Introduced more than five years ago, it doesn't specify recommended amounts of foods but directs people to a USDA website that details the guidelines. That replaced an old pyramid that specified what to eat after surveys showed that few people followed it.
USDA food pyramid: www.mypyramid.gov
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion: www.cnpp.usda.gov
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
That's the advice to consumers — and the food industry — as the government issues new dietary guidelines, which are the recommendations behind the popular food pyramid.
For the first time, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments, which issue the guidelines every five years, are telling people who are 51 and older, all African-Americans and anyone suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease to cut the amount of sodium they eat daily to little more than half a teaspoon.
That group includes about half of the population and those who are most at risk of having higher blood pressure due to the amount of salt they eat. For everyone else, the government continues to recommend about a teaspoon a day — 2,300 milligrams, or about one-third less than the average person usually consumes.
The assault on salt is aimed strongly at the food industry, which is responsible for the majority of sodium most people consume. Most salt consumption doesn't come from the shaker on the table; it's hidden in foods such as breads, chicken and pasta.
It has long been known that too much sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and other problems. But cutting the salt won't be easy.
The prestigious Institute of Medicine has said it could take years for consumers to get used to the taste of a lower-salt diet. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government is trying to be realistic while targeting the highest-risk groups.
"I think it's important for us to do this in a way that doesn't create an immediate backlash," he said. "If we fail to get our arms around the obesity epidemic, especially in our children, we're going to see a significant increase in health care costs over time."
A number of major food makers have announced plans during the past few years to cut sodium in their products as pressure from health advocates, consumers and regulators has built.
Kraft Foods Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Heinz Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Bumble Bee Foods Inc. are just some of the companies that have committed to lowering sodium levels. But it's often a multiyear process to dial down the sodium, largely so consumers do not detect the changes in taste.
Campbell's said Monday that it now sells over 200 lower sodium products, which they say is eight times the number of reduced sodium foods they offered five years ago.
But it's unclear if the industry will be able to cut enough to satisfy the new guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration has said it will pressure companies to take voluntary action before it moves to regulate salt intake.
Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary at the Health and Human Services Department, said food companies will have to make cuts for the reductions to work.
"Even the most motivated consumer can make only a certain amount of progress before it's clear that we need extra support from the food industry," Koh said.
Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the heightened interest in the dangers of too much sodium could help somewhat. But she believes the FDA will have to take action for the companies to reduce enough salt to matter.
"The companies are only going to do it if there's a really strong push," she said.
New York City has already pushed a little, launching a campaign with the goal of cutting salt consumption by at least 20 percent in five years. That's modeled on a plan carried out in Britain which set voluntary salt reduction targets for 85 categories of processed foods.
Consumers still have some control. To reduce the risk of disease from high sodium intake, the guidelines say people should:
_Read nutrition labels closely and buy items labeled low in sodium.
_Use little or no salt when cooking or eating.
_Consume more fresh or home-prepared foods and fewer processed foods, so they know exactly what they are eating.
_Ask that salt not be added to foods at restaurants.
_Gradually reduce sodium intake over time to get used to the taste.
Other recommendations in the guidelines are similar to previous years — limit trans fats, reduce calorie intake from solid fats and added sugars, eat fewer refined grains and more whole grains, consume less than 300 mg per day of cholesterol. The guidelines also recommend eating less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fats — full-fat cheese and fatty meats, for example.
The government promotes these guidelines to consumers by using a symbolic pyramid. Introduced more than five years ago, it doesn't specify recommended amounts of foods but directs people to a USDA website that details the guidelines. That replaced an old pyramid that specified what to eat after surveys showed that few people followed it.
USDA food pyramid: www.mypyramid.gov
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion: www.cnpp.usda.gov
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)