Today's Quote

Eat Your Way Healthy

Can a change in diet and nutrition cure your chronic illness?

Improbable Collapse

Scientific look at how the official story of 9/11 cannot be true.

Universal Studio Free Photo Booth

Today's Blissful Place

15 Signs American Society Is Coming Apart at the Seams

The economic elite have launched an attack on the U.S. public and society is unraveling at an increased rate. You may have missed it in the mainstream news media, but statistical societal indicators are reading red across the board. Let’s look at the top 15 statistics that prove we are under attack.

Rocky and Bullwinkle celebrate 50

I LOVE 'moose and squirrel"! One of my favorite cartoons and I own many of the episodes on DVD.
By Andy Edelstein
McClatchy/Tribune News

Hokey smoke! "Rocky and His Friends" (later renamed "The Bullwinkle Show") debuted 50 years ago last week. This wacky Jay Ward creation -- featuring the misadventures of a flying squirrel and a dimwitted moose (as well as cartoons like "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Peabody's Improbable History" aka "Sherman and Peabody") -- remains one of the most beloved of cartoons, even if it's not being broadcast on TV today (a crime in and of itself).

Here are five things you may not have known about the moose, squirrel and their pals.

--During the early stages of preproduction, the show was going to be called "Frostbite Falls Follies," to reflect Bullwinkle's hometown of Frostbite Falls, Minn.

--The show's narrator was William Conrad, best known as the rotund TV detective "Cannon."

--Peter Noone, the lead singer of the British Invasion band Herman's Hermits, got his name because bandmates thought he looked like Sherman of "Mr. Peabody" fame.

--Bad guy Boris Badenov's name was a pun from Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov."

--June Foray, who voiced Rocky, also provided the voice for Boris' nefarious better half, Natasha Fatale.

Save $ and water around the house

With water bills rising and many water tables going down, it makes eco-sense and dollar cents to conserve. Here are five painless ways to get started.

Was the suspected Fort Hood shooter an "advisor to Obama’s homeland security team" or a member of his "transition team"?

This is another false e-rumor. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was merely an audience member at some public events of a university-sponsored group that offered unsolicited advice to the new administration.

Army Sends Mom to Afghanistan, Infant to Protective Services

U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, was threatened with a military court-martial if she did not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas.

Hutchinson, of Oakland, California, is currently being confined at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, after being arrested. Her son was placed into a county foster care system.

Hutchinson was threatened with a court martial if she did not agree to deploy to Afghanistan on Sunday, Nov. 15. She has been attempting to find someone to take care of her child, Kamani, while she is deployed overseas, but to no avail.

The military backed off from deploying her on Nov. 15, after enough media attention came to Hutchinson's case. She is still to be deployed, likely immediately after she is able to find someone to care for her infant while she is in Afghanistan.

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Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread

Makes 18 cookies
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 1hr 00m

Ingredients

* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* grated zest from 1 lemon
* 1 teaspoon loose chamomile tea
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325° F. Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, loose tea, and flour until smooth. Press into an 8-inch square cake pan.

2. Bake 30 minutes or just until the shortbread begins to turn golden. Cut into 9 squares, then cut each square into 2 triangles.

3. Cool completely on a wire rack. Remove the shortbread cookies from the pan.

Here's The Joke

At the urging of his doctor, John moved to Arizona.

After settling in, he met a neighbor who was also an older
man.

"Say, my doctor recommended I move here for my health. Is
this really a good place to live?"

"It sure is," the man replied. "When I first arrived here
I couldn't say one word. I had hardly any hair on my head.
I didn't have the strength to walk across a room and I had
to be lifted out of bed."

"That's wonderful!" said John. "How long have you been here?"

"I was born here."

Another Blonde Joke

A police officer stops a blonde for speeding and asks her very nicely if he could see her license.

She replied in a huff, 'I wish you guys would get your act together. Just yesterday you take away my license and then today you expect me to show it to you!'

Thyme for a Cough

If the worrying news about over-the-counter cough syrup has you down, try this natural alternative:

Add three tablespoons of dried thyme to one pint of boiling water. Let cool, then add one cup of honey. Take one teaspoon every hour as needed. You can store the mix in the fridge for up to three months.


Natural remedies for 12 winter aches and ills

Life Changes

Your life comes together with age. The experiences in your life are important and work together to create something bigger and better, like layers in a tray of lasagna. It's time to focus on the next wonderful layer of your life. Hear the podcast.

In Memoriam

San Francisco's People.

San Francisco's People. Canon 5DmkII 24p from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

7 Diseases That Big, Juicy Steaks Could Give You

We know meat isn't necessarily the most healthy dietary choice; it could also be a fatal one.

Website of the Day

HelpOthers.org -- kindness is contagious. Welcome to a portal dedicated to small acts of kindness.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

* 1 1/4 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1/2 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Adjust rack to center of oven and heat to 350° F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the egg and combine, then add the peanut butter. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture, and beat until incorporated. Stir in the peanuts.

3. Form the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll in the remaining sugar and place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Using the back of a fork, gently press the cookies to form a crisscross pattern.

4. Bake 12 to 16 minutes or until just golden. Cool on racks.

"I Love You Mister Star Wars" and other famous movie quotes

3 Silly Religious Beliefs Held By Nonsilly People

Many of the beliefs held by religious moderates -- smart people who respect science and the separation of church and state -- are as untenable as the dogma of fundamentalists.

Black Teacher May Get 15 Years in Prison for Cutting in Line at Wal-Mart

Three years ago, Heather Ellis, a college student at the time, was waiting on line at Wal-Mart. She decided to get into another line, then got into a verbal altercation with customers. The cops were called. And she is facing a possible 15-year sentence in prison.

Black folks keep focusing on Ellis' background — she's a young school teacher with no record. Seemingly a good person, right? While that is true, my point is that should be irrelevant. Even if Ellis were a convicted felon, even if she had been stuffing DVDs down her pants, she should still not be facing 15 years in prison. Our criminal justice system is supposed to work for all of us, not just the good Blacks, not just those of us with character above reproach.

If you believe Ellis' side of the story, she got out of her original line at Wal-Mart to join her cousin in a line that was moving more quickly. When she did, Ellis was pushed by a white customer, hassled by store employees, called racial slurs and physically mistreated by white police officers.

If you believe law enforcement's side of the story, Ellis shoved merchandise off the conveyor belt, became belligerent when she was confronted, told the police she would beat them if they touched her, refused to leave the store and resisted arrest.

Read more

Don't Delay—Winterize Your Home

Let the Government Pay to Winterize Your Home

These 19 tips, from easiest (and cheapest) to hardest, will help you save money by going green, this year and for years to come. Don't delay: Winter's coming, and lucrative federal tax incentives won't last forever.

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Homelessness

Losing a house is not the same as losing a home. The inner home is a place we can always visit. Hear the podcast.

How to Want Very Little

There are two challenges that people face when choosing to live a more simpler life: owning little and wanting little. Yet people fuse these challenges together into a larger “live simply” goal. Unfortunately, they’re two different beasts that need to be tamed in their own ways.

Owning little requires a practical approach – systematically decluttering your life and eliminating the unnecessary. Wanting little on the other hand is focused on the way in which we think, a far more blurred aspect of simplicity.

Sincerely wanting little is difficult. It goes against our firmly rooted desire for certainty, for ownership. To cut through this psychological attachment requires more than step-by-step processes or following a list of tactics, it requires a shift in your thinking, a shift in the way you approach your day to day life and how you make decisions.

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Today's Quote

Kristin Andreassen - Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes

The top 50 movie one liners…

* 50. APOLLO 13
“Houston, we have a problem.”
* 49. WALL STREET
“Greed, for want of another word, is good.”
* 48. COOL HAND LUKE
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”
* 47. AUSTIN POWERS
“Yeah baby!”
* 46. SCARFACE
“Say hello to my little friend.”
* 45. BLUES BROTHERS
“We’re on a mission from God.”
* 44. JAWS
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
* 43. GHOSTBUSTERS
“Who you gonna call?”
* 42. TRUMAN SHOW
“Good morning, and in case I dont see ya, Good afternoon, good evening and good night.”
* 41. DIRTY DANCING
“Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
* 40. BATMAN
“Have you ever danced with devil in the pale moonlight?”
* 39. GLADIATOR
“At my signal, unleash hell.”
* 38. ON THE WATERFRONT
“You don’t understand, I could’ve been somebody, I could have been a contender.”
* 37. TITANIC
“I’m the king of the world.”
* 36. DEAD POETS SOCIETY
“Carpe Diem, seize the day, boys.”
* 35. THE MASK
“Smokin’!”
* 34. PULP FICTION
“Bring out the gimp.”
* 33. OLIVER
“Please sir, I want some more…”
* 32. ROCKY
“Yo Adrian.”
* 31. PSYCHO
Stabbing scene
* 30. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
* 29. GOOD MORNING VIETNAM
“Good morning Vietnam!”
* 28. MAE WEST
“Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?”
* 27. POLTERGIEST
“They’re here.”
* 26. TOP GUN
“I feel the need… the need for speed.”
* 25. MURIELS WEDDING
“You’re terrible Muriel.”
* 24. THE ELEPHANT MAN
“I am not an animal. I am a human being.”
* 23. FIGHT CLUB
“First rule of fight club is – never talk about fight club.”
* 22. TERMINATOR
“I’ll be back.”
* 21. KARATE KID
“Wax on, Wax off.”
* 20. THE CASTLE
“Tell him he’s dreaming.”
* 19. ET
“ET phone home.”
* 18. CROCODILE DUNDEE
“That’s not a knife, that’s a knife.”
* 17. WIZARD OF OZ
“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
* 16. SIXTH SENSE
“I see dead people.”
* 15. FORREST GUMP
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never what you’re gonna get.”
* 14. TAXI DRIVER
“You talkin to me?”
* 13. STAR WARS
“May the force be with you.”
* 12. BRAVEHEART
“They can take our lives, but they can never take our freedom.”
* 11. THE SHINING
“Here’s Johnny.”
* 10. DR NO
“Bond. James Bond.”
* 9. DIRTY HARRY
“Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do you?”
* 8. SUDDEN IMPACT
“Go ahead, make my day.”
* 7. JERRY MAGUIRE
“Show me the money!”
* 6. CASABLANCA
“Play it again Sam.”
* 5. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
“I’ll have what she’s having.”
* 4. A FEW GOOD MEN
“You can’t handle the truth.”
* 3. THE GODFATHER
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
* 2. LT.APOCALYPSE NOW
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
* 1. GONE WITH THE WIND
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

Signs

"You're too good for him."
-Sign over mirror in Women's restroom, Ed Debevic's, Beverly Hills, CA.

"No wonder you always go home alone."
-Sign over mirror in Men's restroom, Ed Debevic's, Beverly Hills, CA.

I Wanna Be Your Dog

I Wanna Be Your Dog from LEGS on Vimeo.

What I Bought at the After Thanksgiving Day Sales

There Is a Way to Help Avoid Heart Disease and Diabetes: You Are What You Eat!

A plant-based diet is both preventative and healing, whereas a diet high in animal protein is destructive to our health.

10 Clever Uses for Leftover Turkey

These simple recipes are also great year-round―just sub rotisserie chicken for turkey.

Why I'm leaving the Democrats

Donna Tara Lee

I WOULD like to say that I have been a lifelong Democrat since I was first eligible to vote in 1969.

Before that, I leafleted cars for RFK in 1964 in his Senate race in New York. My family revered Franklin Roosevelt for getting us through the Great Depression and Second World War, and thought Harry Truman was a great successor to FDR for expanding the New Deal and fighting communism. These were the politics I was brought up with and learned at the dinner table.

Since that time, as I got older, I have been an unabashed liberal. I have been active in all the following causes dating back to the 1960's: civil rights, antiwar, feminism, pro-choice, the farmworkers movement ( I boycotted grapes for years), no nukes, free speech, justice for the Palestinians, anti-imperialist, anti-apartheid, and, lastly, the LGBTQ movement.

I was always sympathetic, but never took action on LGBTQ issues, except to vote against any anti-gay politicians and for any LGBTQ rights initiatives that I could. And yes, I spoke up for equality for LGBTQ persons.

And I have been a loyal Democrat all these years. So why am I now thinking of leaving the party after our biggest electoral success since 1964?

I have become so disenchanted that the changes we were promised instead seem to be more of the same old politics as usual. The lobbyists are still in control.

Let's take a look at the health care non-reform bill--as it should really be called. The insurance companies have spent an enormous amount in a misleading advertising campaign to defeat health care. Right-wing thugs took over town hall meetings during the August recess, not allowing a rational health care debate. "Blue dog" Democrats joined the Republicans in lying and slandering health care legislation, and those who support it.

Read more

Who Says Cats Can't Swim?

Rules of Rural Pennsylvania

THE RULES OF RURAL PENNSYLVANIA ARE AS FOLLOWS: LISTEN UP CITY SLICKERS!!!!

1. PULL YOUR DROOPY PANTS UP. YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT.

2. TURN YOUR CAP RIGHT, YOUR HEAD ISN'T CROOKED.

3. LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT; IT'S CALLED A 'DIRT ROAD.' NO MATTER HOW SLOW YOU DRIVE, YOU'RE GOING TO GET DUST ON YOUR LEXUS. DRIVE IT OR GET OUT OF THE WAY.

4. THEY ARE CATTLE. THEY'RE LIVE STEAKS. THAT'S WHY THEY SMELL FUNNY TO YOU, GET OVER IT. DON'T LIKE IT? I-80 GOES EAST AND WEST, I-79 GOES NORTH AND SOUTH. PICK ONE.

5. SO YOU HAVE A $60,000 CAR. WE'RE IMPRESSED. WE HAVE $150,000 CORN PICKERS AND HAY BALERS THAT ARE DRIVEN ONLY 3 WEEKS A YEAR.

6. SO EVERY PERSON IN RURAL PENNSYLVANIA WAVES. WE THINK OF IT AS BEING FRIENDLY. TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT.

7. IF THAT CELL PHONE RINGS WHILE AN 8-POINT BUCK AND 3 DOES ARE COMING IN, WE WILL SHOOT IT OUT OF YOUR HAND. YOU BETTER HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE IT UP TO YOUR EAR AT THE TIME.

8. YEAH, WE EAT TATERS & GRAVY, BEANS & CORNBREAD. WE FRY OUR FISH AFTER 'CATCH IN' 'EM'. YOU REALLY WANT SUSHI & CAVIAR? IT'S AVAILABLE AT THE CORNER BAIT SHOP.

9. THE 'OPENER' REFERS TO THE FIRST DAY OF DEER SEASON. IT'S A RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY HELD ON THE MONDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING.

10. WE OPEN DOORS FOR WOMEN. THAT IS APPLIED TO ALL WOMEN, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

11. NO, THERE'S NO 'VEGETARIAN SPECIAL' ON THE MENU. ORDER STEAK. OR YOU CAN ORDER THE CHEF'S SALAD AND PICK OFF THE 2 POUNDS OF HAM & TURKEY.

12. WHEN WE FILL OUT A TABLE, THERE ARE THREE MAIN DISHES: MEATS (INCLUDES FISH), VEGETABLES, AND BREADS. WE USE FOUR SPICES: SALT, PEPPER, HOT SAUCE AND KETCHUP. OH, YEAH...WE DON'T CARE WHAT YOU FOLKS IN JERSEY CALL THAT STUFF YOU EAT...IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!!!

13. YOU BRING 'COKE' INTO MY HOUSE, IT BETTER BE BROWN, WET AND SERVED OVER ICE.

14. YOU BRING 'MARY JANE' INTO MY HOUSE, SHE BETTER BE CUTE, KNOW HOW TO SHOOT, AND HAVE LONG HAIR.

15. COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS AS IMPORTANT HERE AS THE EAGLES AND THE STEELERS, AND A DANG SITE MORE FUN TO WATCH.

16. YEAH, WE HAVE GOLF COURSES. BUT DON'T HIT THE WATER HAZARDS---IT SPOOKS THE FISH.

17. COLLEGES? WE HAVE THEM ALL OVER. WE HAVE STATE UNIVERSITIES, COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND VO-TECHS. THEY COME OUTTA THERE WITH AN EDUCATION PLUS A LOVE FOR GOD AND COUNTRY, AND THEY STILL WAVE AT EVERYBODY WHEN THEY COME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

18. WE HAVE A WHOLE TON OF FOLKS IN THE ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, AND MARINES. SO DON'T MESS WITH US. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL GET WHIPPED BY THE BEST.

19. TURN DOWN THAT BLASTED CAR STEREO! THAT THUMPITY-THUMP CRAP AIN'T MUSIC, ANYWAY. WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT ANYMORE THAN WE WANT TO SEE YOUR BOXERS. REFER BACK TO #1.

20. 4 INCHES ISN'T A BLIZZARD-IT'S A FLURRY. DRIVE LIKE YOU GOT SOME SENSE IN IT, AND DON'T TAKE ALL OUR BREAD, MILK, AND TOILET PAPER FROM THE GROCERY STORES. THIS AIN'T ALASKA , WORST CASE YOU MAY HAVE TO LIVE A WHOLE DAY WITHOUT CROISSANTS. THE PICKUPS WITH SNOW BLADES WILL HAVE YOU OUT THE NEXT DAY.

Did CNN's Lou Dobbs denounce an immigration bill "going through Congress right now"?

The three-and-a-half-minute video being circulated in chain e-mails is from 2007. Dobbs was criticizing a bipartisan Senate bill, which was supported by Bush and McCain, and which died soon after.

Spanx for dudes? T-shirt promises instant six-pack

What it is: RipTFusion, $58.00

What it claims to do: A T-shirt on steroids, RipTFusion claims to be a “body-sculpting undershirt designed to support your core, shave inches off your belly and enhance your posture.”


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Music Improves Brain Function

For most people music is an enjoyable, although momentary, form of entertainment. But for those who seriously practiced a musical instrument when they were young, perhaps when they played in a school orchestra or even a rock band, the musical experience can be something more. Recent research shows that a strong correlation exists between musical training for children and certain other mental abilities.

The research was discussed at a session at a recent gathering of acoustics experts in Austin, Texas.

Read more

If You Change One Thing, You Change Everything

Looking back on your life, what would you change if you could?

In the classic 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life, the main character, a small-town bank officer played by Jimmy Stewart, is about to commit suicide when an angel shows him how different the lives of people in Bedford Falls would be if he hadn't been born. The movie is a favorite because it affirms how each of us touches the lives and shapes the future in unexpected and often marvelous ways.

More modern films like Back to the Future, Sliding Door, and Frequency are built on a similar premise: If you change the past, you change the future - often in dramatic and unpredictable ways. If you change one thing, you change everything.

Given the potential impact of every decision you make, it's wise to think ahead. Although few things turn out exactly as we plan, the better we understand how our choices start a chain reaction of events, the more likely we are to get what we want.

The enormous complexity of cause and effect leads to another conclusion: It's futile to look back at our lives with "what if" scenarios. What's done is done. Although changing our past would change our present, it would do so in ways that are so unpredictable that we could never know whether it would be for better or worse.

Accept and celebrate the fact that what you are today is a direct result of everything that's happened to you. It's pointless to wish things were different. Remember, if you change one thing, you change everything.

Michael Josephson

Love Is Real

Open the door of forgiveness and see the innocence of those who hurt you. How to test God and find out love is real! Hear the podcast.

Today's Blissful Place

Making a Wedding Bearable

Little Johnny was in a relative’s wedding. As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and then turn to the crowd, put his hands up like claws and roar.

That’s the way it went all down the aisle: step, step, ROAR…step, step, ROAR…step, step, ROAR.

As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing by the time he reached the pulpit. When the priest who was celebrating the wedding asked what he was doing, Little Johnny sniffed and said, “I was being the Ring Bear.”

Blue Cross in hot water over North Carolina letter campaign

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is under investigation for possible violations of the law in a letter and robo-call campaign it launched to oppose health care reform.

As Raw Story reported last month, the insurer -- the largest in the North Carolina market -- sent out letters to its customers informing them of an average 11 percent increase in their premiums.

Shortly after, those customers received a mailer from BCBS urging them to write to Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) and ask her to oppose health care reform.

Read more

1 in 4 Borrowers Under Water

Home sales may have risen in October, but this ought to damp any celebration: The proportion of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth rose to 23 percent. With nearly 10.7 million households having negative equity in their homes in the third quarter, a sustained housing recovery is unlikely. Economists from J.P. Morgan Chase said on Monday that they don’t expect the housing market to bottom out until 2011.

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Today's Quote

Glenn Beck: ‘Yapping’ Palin belongs in the kitchen

While joking around on his radio show Wednesday, Fox News personality Glenn Beck addressed the idea that he and Sarah Palin should run for president together in 2012.

Beck apparently likes the idea of a Beck-Palin ticket, but a Palin-Beck ticket? Not so much.

"I was just thinking, what, I'm going to take a back seat to a chick?" Beck quipped, to laughter from the studio. "Go shoot a bear, make some stew, I'm hungry in here."

Read more

Rescued Dogs Airlifted to NY

About 60 dogs rescued from puppy mills in Missouri and brought from an animal sanctuary in Utah were flown to New York City today in hopes of finding new homes.

The dogs, most of which are small breeds like pugs and terriers, are headed to Long Island in the hope of finding loving homes.

They arrived in Chicago by bus Thanksgiving Day and were given a rest break and special holiday meals.

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McAfee, Inc. Warns Consumers about "The Twelve Scams of Christmas," or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season

As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE - News) today revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey, cybercriminals have bilked $8 billion from consumers in the past two years, and McAfee warns consumers not to fall victim to the top scams this year.

“Cybercriminals’ use their best schemes during the holidays to steal people’s money, credit card information, social security number and identity,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Labs. “These thieves follow seasonal trends and create holiday-related Web sites, scams and other convincing e-mails that can trick even the most cautious users.”

McAfee’s Twelve Scams of Christmas

Cat Adopts Baby Squirrels

5 Bad Things That Immediately Happen to Your Body When You Eat Sugary Junk

At this point, most people understand the basic effects of subsisting on junk food. We’d be hard pressed to find someone who thinks eating a bowl of broccoli is the same as eating a bowl of candy (though doing either will undoubtedly wreak havoc on the human digestive system). But simply knowing that junk food is bad -- or even knowing how it’s bad -- doesn’t make it any less tempting. Humans have a natural predilection for high-fat, high-sugar foods, and if those ingredients are combined into one magical dish, resistance is practically futile.

Even the healthiest among us have to give in to a cake craving every now and then; it’s normal and won’t do much damage in moderation. The only problem is when we take the craving too far (i.e., eat too much) and end up feeling less than optimal. What happens within our bodies when we eat an excess of sugar that causes such extreme reactions?

This Is Your Body on Cake

When it comes to celebrating, nothing completes the occasion like a rich, perfectly sweet slice of cake. Each bite tastes great going down, but the effects it has on our insides are far less appetizing.

1. Energy Spike and Crash
We digest cake almost immediately because it’s composed primarily of simple sugars that require little breakdown. Consuming a bunch of them causes a huge rush of glucose (what sugar is broken down to) into the blood, and the pancreas releases extra insulin to turn the glucose into glycogen, which the liver and muscles use up.

After the sugar rush, blood sugar levels drop dramatically, triggering the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to activate stored sugar supplies. Stress hormones raise our heart rate, make our stomachs clench in anticipation of an attack, and leave us shaky and nauseated once our bodies realize there’s no danger to respond to.

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Dirty Little Secrets of Black Friday Sales

Here are a few things bargain-hungry consumers need to know before they hit stores before dawn the day after Thanksgiving.

The Dirty Little Secret of Front Loading Washers

If you are about to run out and buy a front loading washer on Black Friday (at the lowest prices of year for major appliances at Sears and other sellers), beware of this dirty little secret. The rubber gasket around the door tends to get moldy and smelly, and even the recommended cures don't always work. Read the story, and watch the video.

Unsafest Toys of 2009

Every year, a Boston lawyer unveils his list of the worst toys of the year from a safety standpoint. Remember also that age recommendations on toy boxes, particularly those that say age three and up, have more to do with the presence of small parts that could be a choking hazard for younger children, rather than a statement of ability level necessary for the toy.

Buy Nothing Day

There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less. That’s the message that the organizers of Buy Nothing Day are trying to send today even as millions of Americans partake in the crazed consumerist ritual known as Black Friday.

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Eminem's 'Relapse 2' album, originally scheduled for 2009, is getting pushed back to next year

Eminem's comeback year of 2009 was expected to include the release of two new albums.

That turned out to be only partially true.

"Relapse," the Detroit rapper's first original studio album in more than four years, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in May and eventually went platinum.

The plan then was to release a follow-up disc, entitled "Relapse 2," in the second half of the year.

Instead, Eminem and Interscope Records announced Thursday that "Relapse 2" will drop in 2010, and a CD called "Relapse: Refill" will come out on Dec. 21.

The "Refill" album is a rerelease of "Relapse" and includes seven bonus tracks.

Human Suffering

The possibility of living in a better world starts with your efforts. Contribute what you can to end human suffering and find the best in yourself. Hear the podcast.

Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages

Texans: Are you really married?

Maybe not.

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.

The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:

"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

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New Right-Wing Craze: Using Bible Quote to Pray That Obama’s 'Days Be Few'

A new slogan is making its way onto t-shirts and even teddy bears: 'Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8,' which reads, 'Let his days be few; and let another take his office.”

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Was the suspected Fort Hood shooter an "advisor to Obama’s homeland security team" or a member of his "transition team"?

This is another false e-rumor. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was merely an audience member at some public events of a university-sponsored group that offered unsolicited advice to the new administration.

Unhappy Thanksgiving

By William Rivers Pitt

The calendar has come around again to Thanksgiving, and families all over the country will be gathering around dinner tables to celebrate. Or try to, anyway. With unemployment above ten percent, and with actual unemployment closer to twenty percent, with foreclosures all over the place, with wages dropping and food prices rising, with the economy improving only for those who have lots of money, there will be millions of people without a whole hell of a lot to feel thankful for.

Ten months after the inauguration of Barack Obama, those "Yes We Can" and "Hope" slogans have begun to ring more than a little hollow. Of course, the man inherited a vast array of ongoing catastrophes from his predecessor, and it is a dead-bang certainty that ten months under a McCain administration would have left us in far worse shape than we find ourselves in today, but the realization that matters are only slightly better than they would have been under the worst-case scenario doesn't go very far anymore. Some things are better, but the fact of the matter is that some things are worse, and most things are exactly the same.

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Thanksgiving Safety Tips

Things We're Thankful For

From George W. Bush’s golden silence to Jon & Kate Plus No Air Date, view this gallery from The Daily Beast of 15 political and cultural figures we couldn’t live without this year.

Gratitude, Abundance, and Thanksgiving

Ten Tips for Staying Healthy and H1N1-Free This Holiday Season

The holidays are here and with them family, friends, parties and germs. This year, in light of the H1N1 outbreak, many fear that the most wonderful time of the year will end up being the unhealthiest, too.

"While crowded shopping malls and holiday parties certainly increase our risk of getting sick this time of year, there are many precautions you can take to stay healthy," said Gillian Stephens, M.D., assistant professor of family and community medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Here are Dr. Stephen’s top 10 strategies for protecting yourself and your family during the holidays:

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

Serves 8
Hands-On Time: 10m
Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

* 4 pounds red potatoes (about 8), halved
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 2 cups sour cream
* 1/2 cup milk
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 scallions, chopped

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot. Add cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.

2. Add the sour cream, milk, butter, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and mash. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover, and set over a pot of simmering water to keep warm, up to 1 hour.

Turtle Bars

Makes 32 bars
Hands-On Time: 20m
Total Time: 3hr 00m

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup unsalted butter
* 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 large egg, beaten
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
* 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup toffee-and-chocolate baking pieces (such as Heath or Skor)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a crumbly dough is formed. Press the dough firmly into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake until just golden, about 13 minutes.

2. Whisk together the condensed milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour the filling over the baked crust. Sprinkle the pecans, chocolate chips, and toffee pieces evenly over the filling. Bake until the filling is set, the edges are golden brown, and the toffee is melted, about 25 minutes.

3. Cool completely in the refrigerator, about 2 hours. Cut into 32 bars.

Green Bean Casserole

2 can (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 cups cooked cut green beans

2 2/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

* Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in a 3-quart casserole.
* Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.
* Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.
* To add crunch, add 1/2 cup sliced almonds to the onion topping.
* For bacon lovers, add 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, to the bean mixture.
* To add a festive touch, add 1/2 cup chopped red pepper with the soup.
* For cheese lovers, stir in 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese with the soup. Omit the soy sauce. Sprinkle with an additional 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese when adding the remaining onions.
* For Golden Green Bean Casserole, substitute Campbell's® Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup for the Cream of Mushroom Soup. Omit the soy sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped red pepper with the green beans.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Golden Raisins

Serves 8
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 45m

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup golden raisins
* 6 slices bacon
* 2 pounds small Brussels sprouts, trimmed
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 small red onion, cut into thin half-moons

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425° F.

2. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, warm the vinegar. Add the raisins. Turn off heat; let plump. In a large skillet, fry the bacon until crisp, about 7 minutes. Reserve the drippings.

3. Cut any large sprouts in half. Place the sprouts on a baking sheet or in an ovenproof pan. Toss with the oil, 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings, the salt, and pepper. Roast, stirring once, for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the onion in the remaining drippings over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the sprouts with the onions and crumbled bacon.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Serves 8
Hands-On Time: 25m
Total Time: 2hr 25m

Ingredients

* CRUST:
* 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 14 graham crackers)
* 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

* FILLING:
* 1 .25-ounce envelope unflavored gelatin
* 1 8-ounce bar cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
* 1 cup sour cream
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 400° F. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan. Using a straight-sided dry measuring cup, press the mixture into the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

2. Make the filling: sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup boiling water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until dissolved, about 5 minutes.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin, sour cream, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Mix in the gelatin mixture until incorporated.

4. Chill: Pour the mixture into the crust and refrigerate, covered, until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

No Recession

In God there is no recession. This is not the time to buy into the world as it is being shown to you. Learning how to transcend the world. Hear the podcast.

Today's Quote

"Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you."

— Richard Bach: An American Writer

Republicans Think Obama Stole Election

Public Policy Polling brings us the latest installment in pollsters' ongoing series: "Which crazy conspiracy theory do a majority of Republicans believe now?" The latest example is a question on whether President Obama's 2008 election victory, in which he defeated his Republican rival by well over 8 million votes, was legitimate or whether the entire operation was somehow rigged by ACORN. Astoundingly, a whopping 52 percent of Republicans polled said they believed ACORN "stole it" for Obama, versus 18 percent among independents who reported the same belief, and 26 percent of the overall population. The numbers come despite the fact that Obama's margin of victory closely tracked independent polling and despite a lack of evidence of any widespread voter fraud. According to PPP, the number of ACORN conspiracy theorists in the GOP is even higher than the number of "birthers," which they pegged at 42 percent of the party faithful in September.

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The Right Perspective

Are you being bombarded with fear by the media? The importance of seeking calm and getting in tune with God to get the correct perspective. Hear the podcast.

Broken Embraces Official HD Trailer

Thanksgiving

Friend --

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.

American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.

Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.

So tomorrow, I'll be giving thanks for my family -- for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.

But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.

The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.

We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.

So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.

It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.

In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.

You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished -- and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.

So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.

With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,

Gonzales evades criminal prosecution for misleading Congress on NSA spying

The Justice Department has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for allegedly misleading Congress about the Bush administration’s warrantless eavesdropping program.

The decision was first disclosed yesterday by Murray Waas in a little-noticed posting on the blog of New York Magazine. The magazine cited public court records and federal law enforcement officials as its sources.

Although Gonzales remains under investigation by the Justice Department for two other matters, it had been allegations that he gave false or purposely misleading testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the warrantless eavesdropping program that placed him by far in the greatest legal jeopardy.

In not bringing criminal charges, however, investigators for the Department’s Inspector General, which conducted the investigation, hardly let Gonzales off the hook completely. They concluded that Gonzales testimony before Congress about the eavesdropping program was “confusing,” “incomplete’ and had the “effect of misleading” both Congress and the public.

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Today's Quote

Leo, one of the Michael Vick dogs, now therapy dog!

Meet Leo, one of the former Vick dogs, who has started his new life with Marthina McClay and Our Pack, Inc. a Pit Bull rescue in San Jose, Ca. Leo is the first and (to date) only certified therapy dog of the 50 confiscated Pit Bulls. He loves bringing smiles to others! Visit www.ourpack.org to read Leo's story and learn about Pit Bulls.

Economic Crisis Is Getting Bloody -- Violent Deaths Are Now Following Evictions, Foreclosures and Job Losses

Despite ever rosier economic predictions and a surging stock market, the body count from the economic crisis is destined only to grow in the weeks and months ahead.

Our long national nightmare is over

'Jon & Kate Plus 8' to end a stormy run with Monday's series finale

For anyone struggling to find one thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving - here's something!

Stop Being Upse

All negativity is derived from fear. What you are afraid of is that a situation will not be solved in a way that serves you. God is bigger than the problem and can heal all. How to surrender and have faith. Hear the podcast.

Your Republican Party

Not only do these people lack brains but have no sense of decency.

Chicago Tea Party members mock grieving family at town hall

Now this is low, even for bare-knuckle politics.

That's how Chicago reporter Kristen McQueary described the ugly scene which emerged during a Nov. 14 town hall with Rep. Dan Lipinski.

Facing an audience stacked with Tea Party members, Lipinski introduced a family who believe they lost a daughter and unborn grandchild because the girl did not have health insurance. Dan and Midge Hough, of Chicago, said their daughter-in-law Jenny, 24, was not receiving basic prenatal care and fell ill with double pneumonia. She eventually developed septic shock and went into respiratory failure.

"Her baby died in the womb, and Jenny died a few weeks later, leaving behind a husband and a 2-year-old daughter," noted McQueary, writing for The South Town Star.

When Midge Hough took the stage to tell Jenny's tale, the Tea Party crowd began to jeer, mocking her story and accusing her of inventing the sad affair.

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Today's Blissful Place

Website of the Day - OWN

If like me, you found yourself depressed about The Oprah announcing she was giving up her daytime show....check out the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) site and get excited.

Today's Quote

"You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event - it is a habit."

Aristotle
384-322 BC, Greek Philosopher and Scientist

Mariza, the Stubborn Donkey

In this great animated short, a fisherman tries to get his donkey to walk up a hill - but when he finally does, things don't quite go as planned.

Mariza from Constantine Krystallis on Vimeo.

How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People

5 Effective Tips

The Ultimate Holiday Health Superfood

What can be dished up tart or sweet and melds with turkey and trail mix as easily as bread and sauces? Cranberries. And they're so good for you, why limit them to holiday fare? Here are five reasons to eat them year-round:

Your Thanksgiving Dinner Questions Answered

This is a GREAT resource for EVERYTHING Thanksiving.

Website of the Day

Heart Attack Grill

Today's Blissful Place