Freedom of speech reexamined....

After a teenager falsely yelled “bingo” in a Kentucky bingo hall, he was charged with disorderly conduct.  Likening the prank to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, the judge ordered the teen not to say the word “bingo” for six months.

Scratch and lose....

A survey of 2000 high school students revealed those who had received instant scratch lottery tickets as children and adolescents have more permissive attitudes about gambling than those who had not received such gifts. Kids who get such gifts gamble earlier in life and may be more prone to develop severe gambling disorders later on. The findings support other research showing that early gambling experience is associated with future problems in stopping despite experiencing major difficulties related to it.

Bah, humbug!

Charities try to encourage donations by offering thank-you gifts in return, but this may be backfiring. Recent experiments involving more than 1,300 adults showed that if a gift was attached as a premium for their donation, they actually gave less.  It also didn’t matter whether the gift was perceived as valuable or desirable. The researchers suggest that gifts may lessen the “altruistic satisfaction” donors get from giving.

I usually decline such gifts, thinking that means more money for the charity. What about you?

Goodbye, Babar....

The Nairobi Star reports that 2000 elephants are killed for their tusks every year in Kenya alone. The Chinese desire for “ivory status symbols” stimulates the poaching that threatens to wipe out Africa’s elephants “in the next two decades.”

Soon after the blizzard....

U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000

Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000

New debt: $1,650,000,000,000

National debt: $16,271,000,000,000

Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000



Remove 8 zeros and pretend it's your household budget: 


Annual family income: $21,700

Money the family spent: $38,200

New debt on the credit card this year: $16,500

Outstanding balance on the credit card: $162,710

Total budget cuts so far: $385

I don’t know whom to credit for this, but it sure brings things into perspective…

Diet and Healthy Aging

A NEJM article points out that calorie restriction promotes longevity in many creatures, including dogs, monkeys, fish, mice, spiders, beetles, nematode worms, fruit flies, and yeast. Understanding the common mechanisms that seem to exist might lead to improved healthy aging for humans, and the evidence so far suggests that reduced caloric indicate is the key. For example, a 20-year study in monkeys showed that experimental animals receiving 30% less of the unrestricted diet of the controls were healthier as they aged (less diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain atrophy) and had fewer age-related deaths. This sounds good, but the probability that we would not be able to stick to such a restricted diet means we’re never likely to know if dietary restriction can extend healthy human life.