Author: Personal Liberty News Desk

Although commentators believe Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) should be able to defend his seat in this year’s midterm elections, some of his GOP challengers appear to be attracting growing public and media attention.

In particular, the recent announcement by former congressman J.D. Hayworth that he would challenge the incumbent for the party nomination has drawn attention on account of the jabs exchanged by the two rivals.

At a news conference in Phoenix, Hayworth, who is also a former conservative talk show host, said that there are "two John McCains—the one who campaigns like a conservative and the one who legislates like a liberal."

In response, the 2008 GOP presidential candidate accused Hayworth of "blatant lies and fabrications," and McCain’s team confirmed that they are prepared to call him out on his congressional record when he allegedly voted for bills that contained earmarks and broke a term-limits pledge, according to NationalJournal.com.

At 73, McCain is running for his fifth term in the Senate and to date has garnered endorsements from former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, as well as Sarah Palin, his former vice presidential running mate.

The GOP primary is scheduled for Aug. 24.

Caterpillar, ConocoPhillips and BP America announced last week that they are leaving the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of more than two dozen environmental groups and businesses lobbying for climate change legislation.

Officials from BP America and ConocoPhillips said that they are pulling out of the alliance because the bills circulating in Congress are unfair to American industry and will deter growth in the transportation sector.

"House climate legislation and Senate proposals to date have disadvantaged the transportation sector and its consumers, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized versus international competition and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play in reducing GHG emissions," said ConocoPhillips chief executive Jim Mulva.

He added that his company will focus on developing a lower-emission fuel as well as natural gas to help reduce emissions and create jobs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

BP America spokesman Ronnie Chappell noted that the bills’ allowance structure for coal-burning electric utilities would soften the demand for natural gas and would make the carbon market much more volatile.

The push for climate change reform has slowed over the past few months due to bipartisan skepticism regarding cap-and-trade legislation and controversy concerning the science behind global warming.

Seniors with high levels of vitamin D have a significantly reduced risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, according to a comprehensive review of past studies.

Researchers from Warwick Medical School looked at 28 distinct studies involving nearly 100,000 participants of varying ethnic backgrounds. They found that high levels of vitamin D were associated with a 33 percent decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to those with low blood levels of the nutrient.

Moreover, the review revealed that increased vitamin D levels were linked to a 55 percent reduction in diabetes risk and a 51 percent decrease in the chances of developing metabolic syndrome.

"We found that high levels of vitamin D among middle age and elderly populations are associated with a substantial decrease in cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome," said Oscar Franco, assistant professor in public health at Warwick Medical School.

"Targeting vitamin D deficiency in adult populations could potentially slow the current epidemics of cardiometabolic disorders," he added.

Good sources of vitamin D include fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel. The nutrient is also available as a dietary supplement.

A new research poll indicates that a majority of Americans believe that President Obama is undeserving of a second term in office.

The CNN/Research Opinion poll found that 52 percent of Americans feel that Obama should be a one-term president. Nearly 44 percent of respondents said that Obama deserves to be reelected, while 4 percent answered that they have no opinion. Registered voters and non-registered citizens responded in an identical fashion.

The poll also revealed a possible disconnect between the president and middle-class voters.

"One problem Obama faces may be the perception that Obama is not a middle-class kind of guy," said polling director Keating Holland, quoted by the New York Daily News.

"Only 4 percent of Americans describe themselves as upper class. But a 45 percent plurality say that Obama belongs to the upper class, with 42 percent saying he is from the middle class and 12 percent describing him as working class," he added.

Meanwhile, the survey found that only a third of voters believe that most members of Congress deserve to be reelected, an all-time low for the poll.

During the recent convention of the Tea Party nation, former Republican Congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo delivered a speech in which he blasted "illiterate" immigrants for having elected President Obama. His statement is now attracting growing criticism from ethnic organizations.

At the convention, Tancredo said that those who cannot spell or say the word "vote" in English elected Obama, whom he defined as "a committed socialist ideologue." He added that this happened because "we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote."

In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent civil rights and advocacy group, said the speaker’s apparent call for literacy tests that would enable individuals to obtain voting rights would "turn back the clock on the civil rights movement."

"Mr. Tancredo’s offensive remarks are an insult to all those who fought, and sometimes died, to ensure that Americans of all races could exercise their right to vote," said CAIR national board chairman and North Carolina State Senator Larry Shaw.

Shaw also called on elected officials in both parties as well as National Tea Party Convention organizers to repudiate Tancredo’s remarks.

On Monday, Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh announced that he will not seek reelection in November, a move that may give Republicans yet another opportunity to level the playing field in Congress.

Bayh’s decision blindsided many Democrats, including those in his own state who had already begun working on his campaign, according to The New York Times. The Indiana senator made the announcement in spite of pleas by President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who both urged Bayh to run for reelection.

At his press conference, Bayh expressed his frustration with partisan politics while stating that the institution of Congress is "in need of serious reform."

"For some time, I have had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should," he said. "There is much too much partisanship and not enough progress. Too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem solving."

Specifically, Bayh cited his concern with the Senate voting down a bipartisan commission to deal with the federal deficit and his frustration with the recent failed attempts to create a jobs bill.

In November, Democrats will try to defend five seats left vacant by retiring Senators.

For those interested in eating rhubarb for its comprehensive health benefits, cooking the vegetable in the oven may be the ideal way to prepare it. Researchers from Sheffield Hallam University and the Scottish Crop Research Institute have found that baking garden rhubarb for 20 minutes can dramatically increase its levels of anti-cancer chemicals.

Using liquid chromatography analysis, the researchers identified 40 polyphenols in raw rhubarb. These chemicals, which include anthraquinone, stilbene and flavonol derivatives, have been shown to selectively kill or prevent the growth of some cancer cells.

Compared to eating the raw vegetable, baking significantly increased total rhubarb polyphenol content, bringing out the highest antioxidant capacity. However, there was a dramatic decrease in the beneficial chemicals with extended cooking time.

"Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs," concluded Nikki Jordan-Mahy from Sheffield Hallam University’s Biomedical Research Center.

Scientists are now looking to use the findings to study the effect of rhubarb’s polyphenols on leukemia, including those strains that have been proven to be resistant to treatment.

The most popular complementary and alternative (CAM) medicines for women suffering from breast cancer are biologically based therapies, such as vitamins or dietary supplements, a Michigan State University (MSU) researcher has found.

Gwen Wyatt of MSU’s College of Nursing, who is working to create a support intervention program for women recovering from breast cancer, looked at the five major categories of alternative therapies, including biological, mind-body, manipulative and body, energy and alternative medical systems.

After biologically based therapies, the second most popular CAM treatment option were mind-body therapies, which involve the use of audio tapes, video and music therapy.

Wyatt also discovered that the majority of women recovering from breast cancer surgery are using CAM methods without the full knowledge of their benefits.

"Women are using these therapies, but they have little education about safety and efficacy," said Wyatt. "They could really benefit from information on how to make a wise decision and choose the best therapies."

Women recovering from breast cancer who are interested in alternative therapies should consult their physician.

A coalition of gun violence prevention groups in Virginia has criticized the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee of the Virginia General Assembly for holding a surprise subcommittee meeting to pass HB 49, a bill that would repeal Virginia’s one-handgun-per-month law.

The bill was pre-filed in early January by Republican State Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, who is a retired U.S. Army colonel and sits on the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee. HB 49 would repeal the state’s law that limits Virginia residents to one handgun purchase every 30 days.

According to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, the subcommittee had originally announced that it would conduct no further meetings, leaving HB 49 unreported. However, on Feb. 10, it reconvened late in the day giving only a few hours’ notice to the public to approve the piece of legislation.

"This is back-room politics at its very worst," said Andy Goddard, president of the Richmond Chapter of the Million Mom March, adding that the current law was designed to curb illegal gun trafficking in the Commonwealth.

"Attempting to repeal this law under the cover of a blizzard, in a surprise meeting, is reprehensible," he added.

Vagunforum.net says that only three other states ration handgun purchases—California, Maryland and New Jersey.

On Feb. 22, an amendment to the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009, authored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), which permits national park visitors to possess firearms consistent with the laws of the state in which the park is located, is set to go into effect. However, not everyone is happy.

The law was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA), but has come under criticism from other groups, including Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR).

The organization has said it is a significant departure from long-established gun regulations that allowed visitors to possess guns in parks only if they were stowed away and unloaded.

According to the group, numerous parks will be affected, but it highlighted 11 major ones of particular concern, including the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, a state that has permissive gun laws.

"While standing on Mather Point, enjoying the breathtaking view of the canyon, you could see another visitor with an assault rifle slung on his shoulder," CNPSR warned.

"[It] will have a chilling effect [as] a feeling of safety and security will be replaced by wariness and suspicion," said Bill Wade, chair of CNPSR’s executive council, adding that "This diminishes some of the ’specialness and reverence’ our citizens have long accorded to national parks."

CNPSR also expressed concern about a higher likelihood of shooting at wildlife and valuable resources, such as prehistoric petroglyphs.

Meanwhile, Coburn appeared unfazed by the criticism, saying that "if you give up on the 2nd Amendment, you give up on them all," and adding that it represents the "checks and balances" of the government and is the most important guarantee citizens have, quoted by Tulsa Beacon.

The White House has announced that President Obama is meeting with Tibet’s exiled leader the Dalai Lama today, despite demands by China to cancel the talks.

China has warned the meeting will damage Beijing’s relationship with Washington as the communist nation accuses the Dalai Lama of pushing to free Tibet from Chinese rule, a claim he denies.

Obama’s decision not to meet with the disputed region’s spiritual leader last year created a setback for the Tibetan cause and was interpreted by some as a sign of American weakness as well as an opportunity for China to enhance pressure on other countries to cut their ties to the exiled government, said the Dalai Lama’s special envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, quoted by The New York Times.

"Unfortunately it had definitely created setbacks for us on that score," he told the news provider, but added that "it is my hope that this meeting will help overcome these concerns."

Meanwhile, deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters that the U.S. considers Tibet part of China, but urged the Chinese to respect Tibet’s cultural and religious traditions.

Commentators suggest Obama is walking a fine line between his desire to promote the rights of Tibetans while cultivating good relations with China, whose support he needs to counter nuclear proliferation by North Korea and Iran, secure an agreement on climate change and deal with the global financial crisis.

Former vice president Dick Cheney has been a vocal political commentator in recent months, focusing mainly on criticizing the Obama administrations’ foreign and security policy. However, when asked what he thought about Sarah Palin’s suitability to run for president in 2012, Cheney sought to dodge the question.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week last Sunday, Cheney was asked if the former vice presidential candidate was qualified for the job. He responded by saying that he had not yet made a decision as to who he would support in two years.

"Whoever it is [he or she is] going to have to prove themselves capable of being president of the U.S. And those tests will come during the course of campaigns, obviously," he said, quoted by CNN.

Cheney added that all of the prospective candidates today still have work to do to persuade Americans that they are up to carrying out "the world’s toughest job."

Earlier this month the former governor of Alaska delivered the keynote speech at the first-ever Tea Party national convention in Nashville, Tenn. A day after the speech, Palin, who is a new Fox News commentator, revealed that she was receiving daily policy briefings from advisers, and hinted she might run for president in 2012.

Last Friday, a professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville shot and killed three colleagues, and wounded three others, in a rampage that has reignited the debate about the merit of the laws passed in several states, and pending in many more, that allow guns on America’s campuses.

Amy Bishop, whose history includes a 1986 shooting death of her brother, allegedly opened fire at a department faculty meeting. According to media reports, the Harvard-educated professor had previously expressed resentment over being denied tenure, although nothing suggested she was violent.

Bishop’s history has caused anger among relatives of the shooting victims who have been quoted by the media as asking why the university hired someone with her background.

The accident has also spurred Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus to issue a statement in which it says that "[it] shows once again that an angry individual with access to a deadly handgun can commit mass murder wherever people gather, in workplaces, shopping malls, churches, schools and universities."

The organization’s director Andy Pelosi said that the gun lobby’s push to allow students and faculty to carry weapons on campus in order to fend off similar attacks is a "mistaken wild west fantasy."

"Why does anyone think that untrained students or professors would be better able to stop a rampage shooting than trained security officers?" he asked.

Pelosi called on lawmakers in states with pending ‘guns on campus’ bills to withdraw such legislation.

The Oregon House of Representatives has voted to remove an 87-year ban on teachers wearing religious attire such as an Islamic headscarf, or hijab. While Islamic organizations applauded the move, others have criticized it for its potential implications.

House Bill 3686 passed by 51-8, taking the state a step closer to removing the ban, subject to a vote by the senate. If both houses approve the legislation, religious clothing will be prohibited only in Nebraska and Pennsylvania.

Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the vote was a "victory for religious freedom in the workplace."

"When this legislation takes effect, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh teachers will no longer be forced to choose between their faith and their chosen profession," said Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of CAIR’s Washington state chapter.

However, opponents of the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, have expressed concerns about the rights of students, especially elementary school pupils, to be free from "religious indoctrination," according to The Oregonian.

Similar debates continue throughout the Western world. For example, France banned students from wearing headscarves on university campuses, and there are plans to outlaw the full Islamic veil, or burqa, on the grounds that it infringes on women’s freedom and dignity.

Vice President Joe Biden struck back at Dick Cheney this week, stating that the former vice president is "factually and substantively wrong" regarding his criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of the war against al-Qaida.

Earlier, in an interview with ABC’s This Week, Cheney blasted the president’s approach to national security, including his decision to try 9/11 suspects in civilian rather than military courts.

In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Biden said that the former vice president is ignoring the facts and is either "misinformed or misinforming."

"I don’t know where Dick Cheney has been," said Biden. "Look, it’s one thing again to criticize. It’s another thing to sort of rewrite history."

Cheney also lashed out at Biden personally, criticizing the former Delaware senator for publicly stating that the U.S. is unlikely to face another attack similar to 9/11 due to the current administration’s approach to terrorism.

"You don’t want the vice president of the U.S. running around saying, ‘Oh, it’s not likely to happen,’" said Cheney.

The former vice president also strongly defended waterboarding, the controversial interrogation technique used against terrorist suspects during the Bush administration, but officially banned by President Obama.

A new study has suggested that consuming a Mediterranean diet may help lower the risk of developing small areas of brain damage that can lead to thinking and memory problems.

Researchers found that people who strictly followed a Mediterranean diet, which includes a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fish and monounsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil, as well as a low intake of dairy products, meat and poultry, were less likely to have brain infarcts, which are small areas of dead tissue linked to impaired cognitive function.

In the study, more than 700 participants were separated into three groups based on how closely they were following the Mediterranean diet. After six years, MRI brain scans were conducted, finding that 238 subjects had at least one area of brain damage.

The researchers discovered that respondents who most closely followed the diet were 36 percent less likely to have brain infarcts than were those who rarely followed the diet.

"In this study, not eating a Mediterranean-like diet had about the same effect on the brain as having high blood pressure," concluded study author Nikolaos Scarmeas of the Columbia University Medical Center.

A large European study has found that low levels of circulating vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer.

From 1992 to 1998, more than 520,000 participants from 10 western European countries completed detailed dietary questionnaires and gave blood samples. After tracking the subjects for several years, researchers identified 1,248 cases of colorectal cancer.

After matching those cases with the same number of healthy controls, the study’s authors found that participants with high levels of vitamin D experienced a 40 percent decrease in colorectal cancer risk when compared to subjects with the lowest levels.

However, while below average vitamin D levels were associated with an increased risk of developing the disease, extremely high levels of the nutrient were not related to any additional reduction in colon cancer risk.

Separate studies have also linked vitamin D to the regulation of glucose control, blood pressure and inflammation, three important risk factors associated with heart disease.

The best known sources for the nutrient are the flesh of salmon, tuna and mackerel as well as milk. The vitamin can also be taken in the form of nutritional supplements.

As Democrats ponder the uncertain future of their healthcare overhaul plan, a new poll has found that public support for the current reform proposal may be eroding.

The Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll, conducted Feb. 3-5, suggests that although half of all Americans want some form of healthcare reform in the next two years, almost 40 percent do not want the legislation sponsored by the Democrats and the White House to form the basis for that reform, according to HealthDay.

John C. Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas said the results point to the American people’s loss of confidence in Congress and the White House.

"They’ve been soured on this," he said, quoted by the news source, adding that there was too much focus on the painful aspects of the reform—such as how to pay for it, whose taxes to raise and what benefits to cut—than on what people would gain from it.

Following last month’s surprise win of Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in a special Senate election, which led to the Democrat’s loss of a filibuster-proof majority, the party’s leadership decided not to proceed with the current healthcare bill but to reopen negotiations with the GOP.

However, the two sides have not yet come to an agreement on whether to begin from scratch or try to rework the bill that was passed by the House of Representatives last December.

President Obama lashed out at Senate Republicans last week, blaming them for holding up a number of his nominees for key federal positions. Obama warned the GOP that if they do not act on these "non-controversial" nominees that have "overwhelming support," then he would consider making several recess appointments when the Senate is not in session.

Since taking office the administration has announced nominees for 569 posts, but so far only 353 have been confirmed, Fox News reports. Obama faults the GOP’s "obstinacy," which he believes is "rooted not in substantive disagreements but in political expedience."

"I respect the Senate’s role to advise and consent, but for months, qualified nominees for critical positions in government—often positions related to our national security—have been held up despite having overwhelming support," Obama said.

The president’s appointment power would allow him to install his nominees while the Senate is in recess. To be confirmed, however, those appointments would need to be approved by the end of the next session of Congress.

Meanwhile, Republican leaders in the Senate have shot back at Democrats, stating that they had a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority until just a few weeks ago and should have acted quicker on their own nominations, according to The Hill.

According to a new study, acupuncture may be an effective way to treat depression in pregnant women.

Currently, nearly 20 percent of women report symptoms of despair during pregnancy, while approximately 10 percent meet the criteria for major depression. Coping with the disorder can be extremely difficult for many women who do not want to take anti-depressants during pregnancy out of concern for the developing fetus.

"Depression during pregnancy is an issue of concern because it has negative effects on both the mother and the baby as well as the rest of the family," said study author Rosa Schnyer.

In the study, a total of 150 pregnant women meeting the standards for major depressive disorder were separated into three groups. One-third of the respondents were given acupuncture specific for depression, another one-third was given control or "sham" acupuncture and the others were treated only with massage.

The researchers found that the women who received depression-specific acupuncture experienced a significantly greater decrease in symptoms related to the disorder.

Acupuncture may also be used to help alleviate symptoms associated with headaches, lower back pain and menstrual cramps.