EconStories.tv knocks one out of the park with the sequel to it’s Keynes vs. Hayek rap battle. This video is a well crafted argument, and ultimately a solid depiction of American economic policy. 2011 is not even half way through, but I am doubting anyone exceeds the cleverness and production quality of this intelligent satire.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The Time is Ripe for Reform

Ever since my first persuasive writing class in college, back in 2002, I have been an outspoken marijuana reform activist. It only took the United States 10 years to recognize that Prohibition doesn’t work (as it only creates untaxed crime), yet Prohibition 2.0 has been running for 40+ years despite being clunkier, less effective, and at times undermining the advancement of our society. China recently released a counter report on human rights against the United States, and the saddest part is that this piece of propaganda made a valid point. Why does the “land of the free” have 5% of the world population yet 25% of the world’s prisoners? Why are so many minorities locked up, that the ratios cannot be rationally justified? These were all issues I wrote about last year on the subject of marijuana reform.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

We all know the two party system is failing our country. It’s easily purchased by conflicting private interests, and each side spends 80% of it’s rhetoric pointing out the corruption and flaws of the other. One of the key motivators I hear for people’s voting choices is their terror of the other guys. Furthermore, as I pointed out with religion, one size does not fit all with questions of philosophy and morality. Since it’s widely agreed upon that the current system is broken, perhaps it’s time we looked at new systems. I am a devout constitutionalist, but I feel this is a more elegant system which may have been overlooked (factions of political parties had not been in the design of the checks and balances) or out of the reach of a non-digital civilization.

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Popularity: 11% [?]

I recently watched a documentary that got me thinking, and I felt inspired to write about it. I had already used a couple of the arguments made in this film. Anyone who knows me, knows that I put evolutionary factors on a pedestal. What better evidence do you need than millions of years of data? As I have often pointed out to vegetarians, humans evolved as an omnivorous predator. We would never have evolved intelligent brains capable of agriculture, enabling the all vegetarian diet, had we not been primarily meat eaters before hand. The next two smartest creatures in the world, Chimps & Dolphins, are also hunters. Hunting is simply a more efficient way of gathering calories, and big brains require big amounts of calories. It’s evolutionary economics.

Fat Head won me over quickly for pointing out a simple fact. In evolutionary terms, about 90% of the foods we now eat daily just simply didn’t exist. This is the same argument made by Michael Pollan, in his book Omnivore’s Dilemma, when he points out that (thanks to agricultural subsidies by our Government) corn makes up a terrifying amount of just about everything we eat (although he takes a smaller scale look, arguing that no foods that didn’t exist 100 years ago are not intended for us). Tom Naughton looks instead at what we have been told to accept as nutritional fact, despite there never having been any science to prove these claims. As a lover of science, I had known that the government and junk science are like “peas and carrots,” but I was taken off guard by the solid arguments made in this film.

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The Documentary begins as a sarcastic rebuttal to Supersize Me, but slowly shifts towards a (very libertarian) analysis on how we got to the current state of nutritional “fact.” Here are the key facts from the film off his website (I included supporting reference material, feel free to disprove or debate):

There’s never been a single study that proves saturated fat causes heart disease.

Study fails to link saturated fat, heart disease
What If bad fat is good for you?

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As heart-disease rates were skyrocketing in the mid-1900s, consumption of animal fat was going down, not up. Consumption of vegetable oils, however, was going up dramatically.

Vegetable Oil History In North America

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Half of all heart-attack victims have normal or low cholesterol. Autopsies performed on heart-attack victims routinely reveal plaque-filled arteries in people whose cholesterol was low (as low as 115 in one case).

72% according this study
“Researchers analyzed data from 136,905 patients hospitalized for a heart attack nationwide between 2000 and 2006 whose lipid levels upon hospital admission were documented. This accounted for 59 percent of total hospital admissions for heart attack at participating hospitals during the study period. Among individuals without any prior cardiovascular disease or diabetes, 72.1 percent had admission LDL levels less than 130 mg/dL, which is the current LDL cholesterol target for this population. Thus, the vast majority of individuals having their first heart attack would not have been targeted for effective preventative treatments based on the criteria used in the current guidelines.”

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Asian Indians – half of whom are vegetarians – have one of the highest rates of heart disease in the entire world.

South Asians Suffer High Rate of Heart Disease
Heart risk for vegetarians

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Kids who were diagnosed as suffering from ADD have been successfully treated by re-introducing natural saturated fats into their diets. Your brain is made largely of fat.

Can Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Result from Nutritional Deficiency?

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Many epileptics have reduced or eliminated seizures by adopting a diet low in sugar and starch and high in saturated animal fats.

Ketogenic Diet

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Despite everything you’ve heard about saturated fat being linked to cancer, that link is statistically weak. However, there is a strong link between sugar and cancer. In Europe, doctors tell patients, “Sugar feeds cancer.”

Does saturated fat cause breast, colon and other cancers?

Cancer Loves Sugar?

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Being fat is not, in and of itself, bad for your health. The behaviors that can make you fat – eating excess sugar and starch, not getting any exercise – can also ruin your health, and that’s why being fat is associated with bad health. But it’s entirely possible to be fat and healthy. It’s also possible to be thin while developing Type II diabetes and heart disease.

Is overweight okay?

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Saturated fat and cholesterol help produce testosterone. When men limit their saturated fat, their testosterone level drops. So, regardless of what a famous vegan chef believes, saturated fat does not impair sexual performance.

Dietary and hormonal interrelationships among vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists and nonvegetarian men

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Conclusion:

Eat naturally and in moderation with a healthy regimen exercise. Avoid processed foods, vegetable oils being no exception. From what I can tell, the USDA recommendations began as a way to push agricultural commodities (remember Margarine > Butter?). Watch the documentary, and feel free to debate it’s points.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Steal my sources

Popularity: 7% [?]

An excellent video, and well crafted argument, from Freedomain Radio. Artfully manages to build his metaphor over the past 2000 years of civilization and pattern the behavior of ruling power.

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How Koch Industries Makes Billions Corrupting Government
Analysis: Koch brothers a force in anti-union effort
Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute

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Popularity: 11% [?]

Cannabis May Influence Onset of Psychosis
Pot Use May Mellow Out Men’s Sexual Function
Smoking Pot May Hasten Onset of Mental Illness
Marijuana use may speed psychosis
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Popularity: 11% [?]

Malcolm X
giving a speech is after his Pilgramage to Mecca (and falling out with the Nation of Islam). With his intellect and skill with rhetoric, I would have loved to hear his insights on modern cultural issues.

Popularity: 4% [?]