Author: Personal Liberty News Desk

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said his administration will simplify the process whereby New Yorkers can obtain gun permits, reversing what gun rights advocates have long criticized as arcane and restrictive rules. However, his move appears to have failed to satisfy gun proponents.

The decision—which the administration explains is meant to increase efficiency by allowing for better investigation of applicants who might not qualify for a gun, while processing those fit to have them more swiftly—has been described as a reversal for Bloomberg who has been known for his anti-gun policies, according to The New York Times.

However, representatives of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) have said that on reviewing the new regulations they see the announcement as "a lot of flash and very little substance."

The program, which Bloomberg said will streamline licensing requirements, reduce renewal fees and speed up the application process, "sounds good on the surface," said SAF executive vice president Alan Gottlieb.

He noted, however, that there is only one handgun licensing office in Manhattan and only one office for registering and licensing rifles and shotguns in Queens.

"The handgun application fee is $340, and there is a $94.25 fingerprinting fee on top of that. This fee structure screams ‘for elites only’ because those fees are outrageously expensive for average citizens," Gottlieb concluded.

An Arizona utility commissioner said on Wednesday that he is willing to cut off Los Angeles’ power if the city moves forward with its economic boycott of the Grand Canyon State.

Last week, the L.A. City Council overwhelmingly approved a measure to suspend a variety of business contracts with Arizona due to the state’s controversial new immigration laws.

Gary Pierce, a commissioner on the five-member Arizona Corporation Commission, wrote a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa this week stating that he was "dismayed" with the council’s decision, and would entertain the idea of fighting a boycott with a boycott unless it reconsidered the measure, according to CBS News.

"If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation," he wrote.

"However, if you find that the city council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy," Pierce added.

Currently, more than one-quarter of Los Angeles’ electricity comes from Arizona-based power plants, Fox News reports.

While the importance of taking nutrient supplements is well-known for the elderly, very few studies have investigated the link between vitamin intake and cognitive function among healthy adults under the age of 55.

To explore the relationship a research team from Northumbria University recruited 215 healthy men between the ages of 30 and 55 who were all employed full-time and had them blindly receive either a proprietary multi-vitamin or a placebo for a period of one month.

The investigators tested each participant both before and after the study with a variety of mood, stress and health questionnaires. They also analyzed their mental capabilities by having them undergo simple arithmetic examinations.

At the point of follow-up, the participants who took daily multi-vitamins reported considerable improvements in mood, stress levels and cognitive function. The control group participants experienced no significant benefit.

"The assumption was made here that the men tested enjoyed typical nutritional status," said lead author David Kennedy.

"However, the very fact of being able to improve mood, ratings of mental health and vigour and aspects of task performance by simple supplementation with B vitamins, vitamin C and minerals indicates that the cohort must have been suffering from less than optimal micronutrient status at the outset."

As the firestorm of criticism continues to surround the recently passed Arizona immigration law—which allows police officers to demand documents from individuals who they suspect may be in the United States illegally—major civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging the legislation.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a coalition of civil rights groups filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, charging that the law is "extreme," opens doors to racial profiling of minorities, violates the First Amendment and interferes with Federal law.

"Arizona’s law is quintessentially un-American: we are not a ’show me your papers’ country, nor one that believes in subjecting people to harassment, investigation and arrest simply because others may perceive them as foreign," said Omar Jadwat, a staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project.

Jadwat expressed his confidence that the lawsuit will prevent the law from ever being implemented.

He was seconded in his opinion by Victor Viramontes, senior national counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), who stated that the law is "discriminatory" and "pushes Arizona into a spiral of fear, increased crime and costly litigation."

In addition to MALDEF, the ACLU was joined by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, ACLU of Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.

Representative Mark Souder (R-Ind.) announced his resignation on Tuesday after admitting having an extramarital affair with a part-time female staffer.

The eight-term congressman—a conservative Christian who often preached family values—recently survived a contentious primary election where he garnered less than 50 percent of the vote.

Souder was mysteriously absent from Washington for the last two weeks while rumors of his alleged affair began to surface. The congressman had claimed to be home attending to his ill wife while missing several key votes in House, Fox News reports.

"I wish I could have been a better example," said Souder. "In this poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain. I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process."

With Souder’s resignation, the GOP may be at a greater risk of losing the seat to a Democratic challenger. A spokeswoman for Indiana Republican Governor Mitch Daniels said that a special election will be held in the next 30 days to select a Republican candidate, according to The Associated Press (AP).

The winner of the election will move on to face Fort Wayne, Ind., city council member Tom Hayhurst, who nearly beat out Souder in the 2006.

Expectant women who take vitamin A supplements before and during pregnancy have a greater chance of giving birth to a child with superior lung function, according to a new Johns Hopkins study.

For the research, a team of investigators analyzed the lung function of a group of children whose mothers had been assigned to receive vitamin A supplements, beta-carotene tablets or a placebo both before and during their pregnancy.

They discovered that women who took vitamin A supplements gave birth to children who had greater forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1) and a greater forced vital capacity (FVC), two important measures of lung function. On average, the offspring of participants in the vitamin A group improved their lung function by 3 percent compared to the other respondents’ children.

"This benefit was limited to children whose mothers received vitamin A and not to those whose mothers received beta-carotene," said the authors of the study. "Early interventions with vitamin A in communities where undernutrition is highly prevalent may have long-lasting consequences in lung health."

As the Obama administration tries to stave off criticism over its dismissal of the investigation into the alleged New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case last year, a top Justice Department official testified on May 14 in front of the United States Civil Rights Commission.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez spent 90 minutes defending the department’s actions, saying there were no alternative motivations behind the decision to drop the case by then-Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Loretta King, according to Main Justice.

"This is a case about career people disagreeing with career people," he was quoted as saying by the news provider, seemingly implying that the dispute was primarily between lawyers.

However, Perez entered into a heated exchange with Commissioner Gail Heriot who pressed him to answer why a more expansive injunction was not sought against a member of the Black Panther party who had carried a nightstick, the news source further reported.

The ongoing inquiry stems from an incident on Election Day 2008 at a Philadelphia polling station where members of the New Black Panther Party allegedly tried to intimidate voters by standing in military-style garb outside.

Late last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed most of the case, causing anger among many conservatives.

Main Justice reports that the commission’s report is scheduled to be released before the mid-term elections.

In an effort to connect with conservative activists and help curb Federal spending, House Republicans announced last week the creation of a new project designed to allow citizens to vote on what they think should be cut from the Federal budget.

The new initiative, called YouCut, will enable voters to choose from one of five possible cuts each week. The winning suggestion will be brought to the floor the following week and will be voted on by members of the House.

"What we’re saying here is we’re going to listen," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told Fox News. "Vote on your priority, and we’ll take it to an up-or-down vote on the floor."

Meanwhile, Democrats are calling the program a simple public relations gimmick that has no realistic chance of trimming the Federal budget.

"It’s not surprising that they are resorting to another gimmick for a round of press rather than a substantive idea for lasting solutions," said Hari Sevugan, the Democratic National Committee’s press secretary. "But if they actually listened to the American people, Republicans would know that knee-jerk opposition, obstruction, delay and gimmicks are not a substitute for leadership."

In response to the program, the Democrats created their own project called GOPSpent, where Americans can vote on the most irresponsible Republican initiatives that favor special interest groups.

In the days since Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) introduced their energy and climate bill proposal, unions, industry groups and other stakeholders have continued to express their views that span an entire spectrum of opinions.

Among powerful unions, the United Steelworkers has praised the bill for its provisions to limit carbon "leakage," i.e. reduce incentives for production of goods to move to countries that fail to address global climate change.

Public Service Enterprise Group, a publicly traded energy company, has expressed a similar opinion, with its representatives stating that the proposal has the potential to protect consumers and provide the regulatory and legislative certainty needed "to unleash investment and create jobs."

They added that the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the importance of a comprehensive energy policy that achieves fuel diversity and "puts a price on carbon."

However, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association appeared to be alarmed by the proposed carbon mandates. Its Executive Vice President and general counsel Gregory M. Scott stressed that carbon reduction mandates won’t have any impact on climate change because they apply only to vehicles, power plants, refineries and manufacturing facilities in the United States and ignore the soaring carbon dioxide emissions from rapidly industrializing countries.

"The draconian carbon reduction targets and timetables in this bill would trigger destructive change in America’s economic climate," Scott said, adding that "this would add billions of dollars in energy costs for American families and businesses, destroy the jobs of millions of American workers and make our nation more dependent on foreign energy sources."

After criticizing Arizona’s new immigration law over its alleged proclivity to promote racial profiling, Attorney General Eric Holder admitted last week that he has not read the statute.

While fielding questions at the House Judiciary Committee’s latest hearing, Representative Ted Poe (R-Texas) asked Holder directly if he had read the law that he openly criticized.

"I have not had a chance to," the attorney general responded. "I’ve glanced at it. I have not read it."

Meanwhile, Holder said on NBC’s Meet The Press last weekend that the law could lead to racial profiling and may put a "wedge" between law enforcement personnel and the Latino community.

"People in that community are less likely then to cooperate with people in law enforcement, less likely to share information, less likely to be witnesses in a case that law enforcement is trying to solve," he said.

Holder also indicated last month that the Federal government may challenge the law in court based on its constitutionality, Fox News reports.

In response to the attorney general’s confession, Poe responded, "its 10 pages—it’s a lot shorter than the healthcare bill. I will give you a copy of it if you would like."

The idea of expanding the sales tax to services has been floated as one way to help lower Michigan’s budget deficit, but a new survey shows that most residents overwhelmingly oppose this measure.

The poll, released by the the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Association of Realtors, found that 75 percent of likely voters oppose the proposal put forward by Governor Jennifer Granholm and House Speaker Andy Dillon to lower the sales tax rate from 6 percent to 5.5 percent and expand the tax to most consumer services.

Only 21 percent support this measure, according to the survey.

"The more the people of Michigan learn about a service tax, the more they see it as an effort to nickel-and-dime those who can least afford it," said Michigan Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Rich Studley.

"Businesses and working families are struggling and can’t afford to bear any more burdens," he added.

The survey moreover found that the opposition was consistent across the political spectrum. In fact, 77 percent percent of Republican voters and 74 percent of independents were joined by 60 percent of Democrats in expressing a negative view of the governor’s plan.

According to recent estimates, Michigan faces between $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Despite Representative Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) intensive questioning at a Congressional hearing last week, Attorney General Eric Holder refused to comment on the status of a possible Justice Department investigation.

In February, Representative Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) told a Philadelphia news station that he was informed by the White House that he would be offered a Federal position with the Department of Defense if he dropped out of the upcoming Pennsylvania Democratic primary election, where he will be competing against Senator Arlen Specter (D-Penn.).

Issa, the ranking Republican member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to the case in March, and said he had yet to receive a response from the attorney general’s office.

Meanwhile, Holder continued to evade Issa’s questions regarding whether or not an investigation into the accusations had been launched.

"I can say that with regard to the appointment of a special prosecutor, that it is done on a case-by-case basis," Holder said. "It is the department’s policy not to comment on pending matters, to say there is an investigation, to say there is not an investigation."

As to the lack of response to the Representative’s letter, Holder said he assumed his office had taken action and apologized.

"It could be in the mail," Issa said sarcastically. "It’s very slow sometimes."

Several NASA-sponsored studies published in the May issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research indicate that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil capsules can help prevent bone loss commonly associated with osteoporosis.

The organization undertook the research because bone density loss is one of the most harmful long-term effects that the weightlessness of space has on astronauts.

For the study, a research team recruited 16 subjects to take part in a 60-day bed rest trial, where the effects of weightlessness were simulated. At the point of follow-up, participants who received high levels of omega-3 fatty acids experienced less bone loss than respondents who were given a placebo.

In light of the findings, the investigators analyzed the diet and incidence of bone loss of a group of astronauts who took part in four-to-six month spaceflights. They concluded that those who consumed more fish lost less bone mineral during their time in space than those who consumed a diet high in other forms of protein.

"These results are very exciting, and provide initial evidence that nutrition may be a key factor in mitigating bone loss in astronauts," said lead author Scott Smith, a nutritionist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The newly unveiled Kerry-Lieberman energy and climate bill has evoked strong emotions, with both supporters and opponents racing to issue statements explaining their positions.

The bill has the backing of the White House and of nuclear and alternative energy groups. For example, the Nuclear Energy Institute commended the proposed legislation for what it says are the provisions designed to strengthen the role that nuclear energy has in expanding domestic energy sources, reducing the emission of air pollutants and creating jobs.

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) expressed a similar sentiment, but its representatives stated that they were still concerned about the bill’s ideas for oil savings.

"How effective is this or any bill in stemming our nation’s dangerous dependence on oil?" asked SAFE President and CEO Robbie Diamond, adding that the only way to end America’s dependence on oil is to sever the relationship between oil and transportation.

"The best way to do so is by utilizing electricity, which represents a stable, domestic, clean source of power that is generated from a diverse portfolio of fuels," he stated.

In a sign of how difficult this may be politically, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said it cannot support the American Power Act because they believe it will raise the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel without significantly reducing the output of carbon dioxide. As such, it will act as a "hidden tax" on transportation, ATA said.

The Obama administration’s newly passed healthcare reform bill could potentially cost $115 billion more than originally anticipated in its first 10 years of implementation, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said last week.

Officials with the organization indicated that the modifications to the bill’s price tag are due to previously uncounted discretionary spending, including $34 billion for community health centers and $39 billion for Indian healthcare, The Associated Press (AP) reports. The revised figure also takes into account $10 billion to $20 billion in administrative costs for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Health and Human Services.

If Congress approves the discretionary spending in the bill, nearly all of the cost savings touted by the CBO in March would be eliminated.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the new analysis of the bill "provides ample cause for alarm."

"The American people wanted one thing above all from health care reform: lower costs, which Washington Democrats promised, but they did not deliver," he added. "These revelations widen the serious credibility gap President Obama is facing."

Meanwhile, Kenneth Baer, spokesman for the White House budget agency, said that the president would make sure to offset any additional discretionary spending with cuts to other domestic programs to keep costs stable.

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) said last week that he is disappointed with the "false" information that President Obama is spreading about Arizona’s new immigration law.

While being interviewed by Fox News, McCain criticized a statement recently made by the president, and indicated that Obama is partially responsible for creating the cloud of negativity that is surrounding the state of Arizona, Politico.com reports.

"We all know what happens in Arizona when you don’t have ID," the president said earlier in the week. "Adios, amigos!"

McCain, who strongly supports the new law that grants authorities the right to question anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant, told the news source that Obama’s comments were "outrageous."

"That is totally falsifying the law passed in Arizona, which calls for reasonable suspicion… as to whether [someone is] in the country illegally, and it specifically outlaws racial profiling," McCain said.

"I know it’s outrageous for the President of the United States to portray a law passed in a state and falsifying exactly what that law says, especially when it has to do with a racial issue which obviously ignites things," he added.

The senator also said that the Los Angeles City Council, which recently passed sanctions to bar the city from conducting business with Arizona, should redirect their frustration toward the Federal government, which has yet to effectively secure California’s borders.

After months of preparations, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) held a press conference in Washington, D.C., last week to unveil their new energy and climate bill, known as the American Power Act.

The proposal would establish a cap on carbon emissions from utilities, introduce a fee on transportation fuels, and offer incentives for the expansion of nuclear power and offshore oil drilling. The future of that last provision, however, is currently unknown due to the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last month.

In fact, in order to appeal to potential critics the bill includes a caveat that would allow states to veto offshore drilling within 75 miles of their coast, according to media reports.

President Obama has welcomed the legislative proposal, saying "Americans know what’s at stake by continuing our dependence on fossil fuels."

He added that "the challenges we face are reason to redouble our efforts to reform our nation’s energy policies."

However, the bill’s political prospects have already been marred by the defection of one of its former sponsors. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), said last week that the attempts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform this year are likely to prevent an energy and climate bill from passing by the end of 2010.

In the wake of the attempted bombing in New York City’s Times Square earlier this month there have been signals from the Obama administration that it would seek a new law to loosen the requirement that terrorism suspects be informed of their constitutional rights during interrogation.

Attorney General Eric Holder alluded to this during a string of appearances on network news shows on Sunday morning, and it has civil and human rights defenders up in arms.

For example, the nation’s top civil rights organization, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the proposal, if it became legislation, would undermine the Miranda requirement that was ruled to be a constitutional right by the United States Supreme Court.

Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office Laura W. Murphy expressed her disappointment at what she saw was Holder’s suggestion that Americans should choose between their freedoms and security.

Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the ACLU, added that "legislation that significantly undermined Miranda would be unconstitutional, as Mr. Holder should know as well as anyone. The Miranda requirement is rooted in the Fifth Amendment."

On May 1, Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, allegedly tried to blow up a car packed with explosives in the middle of Times Square in New York City. The attempt was unsuccessful and Shahzad was apprehended two days later as he was trying to leave the country on a a flight from JFK airport to Dubai.

The price of gold continues to hover at record levels after reaching an all-time high of $1,245.40 an ounce on May 11.

Commentators believe that the recent volatility of the stock market is prompting investors to flee to the safety of precious metals, driving their prices up.

In addition, Europe’s ongoing debt crisis—and the nearly $1 trillion rescue package—have been stoking inflation fears and doubts about the pace of global economic recovery.

While high gold prices may appear to make it less attractive for new investors to convert their currency into precious metals, some analysts—such as Jeffrey Nichols, managing director of American Precious Metals Advisors and senior economic adviser to Rosland Capital—are predicting the prices will continue their upward trend, hitting $1,500 an ounce by the end of 2010, quoted by CNN.

For those who would like to make the investment, TheStreet.com, an investors’ website, says physical gold can be bought at various prices and in various forms, including coins, bars and jewelry. It says American Buffalo, American Eagle and St. Gaudens are among the most popular gold coins.

Moreover, gold can be stored in bank safety deposit boxes or at home. Some companies allow investors to store gold with them as well as trade the metal on the market.

Women with type-2 diabetes may be able to improve their heart health by consuming a diet rich in bran, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health study.

For the research, lead author Lu Qi and his colleagues analyzed the medical data and food frequency questionnaires of 7,822 diabetic women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study, which began in 1976. During the 26 years of the study, a total of 852 deaths had occurred, including 295 cardiovascular-related fatalities.

After adjusting for risk factors, the investigators found that women who consumed the highest levels of bran had a 55 percent lower risk of death from all causes and a 64 percent reduced risk of a heart-related mortality than those who consumed the smallest amounts of the whole grain component.

Although the survey only included women, Qi noted that he believes diabetic men will receive the same benefit from adding more bran into the diet.

"We do recommend that, when people with diabetes choose a grain product, they should choose a whole-grain product," Stephanie Dunbar, director of clinical affairs at the American Diabetes Association, told Health Day News. "It should be brown rice instead of white rice, whole-wheat bread rather than white bread."