More than the Sum of Our BMIs | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary

More than the Sum of Our BMIs | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The BMI is wholly arbitrary, having no scientifically valid relationship with mortality. It's inadequate as a measure of body fat because it cannot account for the composition of a person's body — fat, muscle, organs, water, etc. It's also affected substantially by a person's frame and the relative length of his or her legs and torso. And it does not take into account whether body fat is well-distributed or concentrated around the waist, the latter being more likely to indicate health risks."

"There is scant scientific evidence to support assertions by the federal government and others that being overweight or obese increases one's mortality risks, or that the overweight and moderately obese can improve their health by losing weight. Such claims ignore 40 years of international data suggesting that obesity is not a cause of premature mortality. Many studies have demonstrated that the effects of diet and physical activity are independent of the effects of BMI and other measures of body size or fat."

"Recent empirical analysis of the relationship between BMI and mortality found that death rates were essentially the same given BMIs ranging from 20 to 35. Normal-weight individuals of both genders do not appear to live longer than the mildly obese (those with BMIs of 30 to 35). This suggests that the only scientifically justified obesity interventions pertain to the small fraction of the population with BMIs of more than 40 (3 percent to 4 percent of adults)."

The Making Up of a President - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Daily

The Making Up of a President - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Daily: "We found that the values implicit in presidential ratings are just about the opposite of those of the people, as expressed in their voting. The people vote for the nominees of the party of the sitting president who have avoided war, and whose terms of office were characterized by strong economic growth. The people don't really care much about political or personal scandal. By contrast, the intellectuals love war, don't care about economic growth, and are obsessed with scandal.

Another thing Gary and I found is that ratings of presidents, upon their departure from office, tend to start low and then rise over time. Therefore, the very low rating accorded George W. Bush in the recently released Siena poll can be expected to improve in the coming years."

"And how does the intellectual elite explain the turnaround of the economy under Reagan, that we went from the stagflation of the 1970s and the malaise associated with Carter to 'morning in America'? Well, I'm glad you asked that question.

According to the presidential experts, it was Luck. The intellectual elite rank Ronald Reagan low in economic performance, #21, below Barack Obama. But they rank Reagan #3 in Luck."

Man faces jail for YouTube video of traffic stop | Technically Incorrect - CNET News

Man faces jail for YouTube video of traffic stop | Technically Incorrect - CNET News: "The wiretap argument enjoys an interesting logic: that the audio part of a conversation between a police officer and a suspect is private, and therefore, according to laws in certain states, both parties have to agree to any recording.
However, traffic stops don't really seem all that private. Indeed, they often cause traffic congestion as rubberneckers slow their vehicles to take in the action. So one wonders just how sturdy that argument might appear in any eventual court case.
And then there's the police highly technological penchant for dashboard cams. Don't they make TV shows out of the footage? Is the logic really that the police can film anything, but the public can't?"