• Chris Christie

    Video: Chris Christie Melts Down Over Pork-Laden Sandy Relief Bill

    [youtube]http://youtu.be/1eyOf8-jDtc[/youtube]

    In the above video, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie goes after Republican House Speaker John Boehner for among other things not taking his phone call.

    While we understand Christie’s frustration and escalation in what is obviously a personal vendetta between the two men, as so often happens, much was left unsaid. For example the fact that the proposed bill was also chock full of pork spending such as:

    • $150 million in funding for fisheries in Alaska,
    • $5.3 billion to the Army corps of engineers,
    • $56.8 million for charting the debris from last year’s Japanese tsunami,
    • $100 million for the federal Head Start day care program,
    • $20 million for a nationwide “water resources priorities study”,
    • $4 million for the … Kennedy Space Center?

    And others. Some more from the Weekly Standard:

    I grow tired of Christie’s histrionics. He obviously lacks discipline and restraint looking at him not getting his own way and his obesity.

    The voters of New Jersey may accept this type of conduct, but I won’t if he chooses to run for the Presidency.

  • Health

    The Obesity Paradox: Weigh More and Live Longer

    Person weighing themselves on scale

    The health blogosphere is awash with the new study that says overweight people may indeed live longer.

    But, wait.

    The counterintuitive findings that people who are overweight live longer, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, couldn’t have been more perfectly timed, coming as it has right when people are resolving to be healthier — which involves, for many, losing weight.

    In many places where this story has been picked up, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time, the implication seems to be that the push to get people down to a “healthy” weight has been overblown.

    But that being overweight is associated with increased lifespan isn’t new. It’s called the “obesity paradox,” and studies documenting it have lead to widespread speculation about the potential “protective benefits” of excess body fat.

    For some health advocates, the implication is downright offensive. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, for example, lost his cool this morning on NPR, declaring, “This study is really a pile of rubbish and no one should waste their time reading it.”

    But the study’s author, Katherine Flegal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mounted a solid defense: “It’s statistically significant.” Those three words carry weight — if an association has been found to be significant, it tells us that if nothing else, we need to acknowledge that the results are in some way legitimate and warrant our attention.

    The findings are without doubt interesting, which on its own makes the study worth reading. The problem is that despite the grandness of the meta-analysis — it takes into account over 3 million people! — it still has an extremely limited scope. It looks at BMI, and only BMI, in relation to death, regardless of cause. It’s impossible to report on its baseline conclusion without taking into account substantial caveats.

    Just remember your weight is only one metric to your overall health.

    It is very important, and do not think you can slack because of this study. But, do keep the context in mind.

  • Patti Page

    Patti Page R.I.P.

    Patti Page

    I remember listening to Patti Page’s music – like forever.

    Patti Page, who made “Tennessee Waltz” the third best-selling recording ever, has died. She was 85.

    Page died on New Year’s Day in Encinitas, Calif., according to her manager.

    She was the top-selling female singer in history with more than 100 million record sales, created a distinctive sound for the music industry in 1947 by overdubbing her own voice when she didn’t have enough money to hire backup singers for the single, “Confess.”

    Her career included 15 gold records and three gold albums of more than 1 million in sales. She had 24 records in the top 10, including four that reached No. 1. She was also the first singer to have television programs on all three major networks, including “The Patti Page Show” on ABC.

    I remember at the Hollywood Bowl many years ago her placing both hands on my round face and singing to me.

    I will never forget.

    Patti will be missed.

  • John Boehner

    Will John Boehner be Ousted as Speaker?

    Boehner and CampSpeaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) (front, in green tie) walks with Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) (R) after a meeting with House Republicans about a “fiscal cliff” deal on Capitol Hill in Washington January 1, 2013

    This is a rumor over at Breitbart this morning after the Senate fiscal cliff compromise legislation was passed last night.

    American Majority Action spokesman Ron Meyer told Breitbart News late Tuesday that enough House Republicans have banded together in an effort to unseat House Speaker John Boehner from his position–they just need a leader to take up the mantle.

    “At least 20 House Republican members have gotten together, discussed this and want to unseat Speaker Boehner–and are willing to do what it takes to do it,” Meyer said. “That’s more than enough to get the job done, but the one problem these guys face is they need a leader to coalesce behind.”

    There will be NO leader and there will be NO ouster.

    No one has the stature to challenge Boehner and all of the House leadership supported the deal, regardless of their votes.

    Just a bunch of HOT AIR, due to the RIGHT’s unhappiness with last night’s vote.

    There will be new battlefronts in the near future (including sequesration and the debt limit), but replacing Boehner will not be one of them.

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: January 2, 2013

    Drudge screencap Obama laughing over fiscal cliff deal

    These are my links for December 29th through January 2nd:

  • Twitter

    Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-01-01