Author: Personal Liberty News Desk

Testifying before Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on April 14 that he is cautiously optimistic that the moderate economic recovery will continue, although the job market may sputter in the coming months.

Bernanke also urged lawmakers to recommend further budget cuts to help minimize the record federal deficit and help improve the nation’s long-term economic health, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

"Addressing the country’s fiscal problems will require difficult choices, but postponing them will only make them more difficult," he warned the committee.

The Fed chairman pointed to several signs of economic improvement, including the 1.6 percent increase in retail sales in March and the minimal inflation boost during that time. Bernanke also reiterated his pledge to keep interest rates low for an "extended period" to support the recovery.

During the meeting, Bernanke admitted to some mistakes regarding the Fed’s unclear role concerning consumer protection, The Economic Times reports.

"I can understand why some advocates would want to have a purely independent agency," he said. "While we have acknowledged being late on these issues, I do believe we should receive some credit forr a much better performance in recent years."

On April 13, a forum was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., which discussed the influence of corporate special interests and big money on public policy and United States democracy.

The event—in honor of Thomas Jefferson’s 267th birthday—was sponsored by the People’s Lobby Coalition for Public Funding Only of All Elections and the Green Party of Florida. Some of the topics discussed by the attendees included the effect of corporate money on healthcare, energy and the economy. They also analyzed the issue of military expenditures in light of campaign contributions from defense contractors.

"[We talked] about the correlation between the influence of the 13,000 plus special interest lobbyists and our elected officials’ voting trends in relation to these issues," said Jennifer Sullivan, organizer of the event.

She added that the outcome of the event will lead the group to propose "necessary changes to our election system to restore democracy."

Speakers at the event included Dr. Margaret Flowers, congressional Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program, filmmaker Jesse Johnson, chair of the West Virginia Mountain Party, and Pat LaMarche, weekly columnist for the Bangor Daily News and the 2004 vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States.

Last week, a United States court of appeals issued a ruling blocking the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) attempts to prevent internet service providers from restricting access to content, applications and services offered by competitors. Now, a group of journalist is pushing back, urging the FCC to reclaim its right to regulate broadband networks.

UNITY: Journalists of Color—an organization representing more than 8,000 professionals in that field—has called on the commission to reclassify broadband as a "telecommunications service," which would make it a basic utility subject to regulation, and reverse actions taken by previous commissions that favored a deregulatory approach.

"Without the authority to set net neutrality rules, the FCC cannot promote a level playing field," said UNITY president Barbara Ciara.

"[We] oppose any technological, legislative or content strategies to block innovation and free speech on the internet," she added.

The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC had overstepped its jurisdiction when it attempted to impose net neutrality rules on Comcast, which had blocked its subscribers from using the file-sharing website BitTorrent.

Analysts say companies such as AT&T and Verizon would also be hit by "net neutrality," but it would benefit applications providers such as Google, Skype and Facebook.

According to a recent Columbia University Medical Center study, consuming a healthy diet may help lower a person’s risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

In the study, lead author Yian Gu and his colleagues monitored the dietary habits of more than 2,000 adults over the age of 65 who were free of symptoms related to cognitive decline. After an average of four years of follow-up, the research team found that 253 individuals had developed Alzheimer’s disease.

Gu found that high intakes of nuts, fish, tomatoes, fruits, poultry as well as cruciferous and green leafy vegetables were associated with a significantly decreased risk of being diagnosed with the brain disorder. In contrast, consumption of high-fat dairy, red meat, organ meat and butter was linked to a considerably increased risk.

"Epidemiological evidence linking diet—one of the most important modifiable environmental factors—and risk of Alzheimer’s disease is rapidly increasing," said the authors.

"Our findings provide support for further exploration of food combination-based dietary behavior for the prevention of this important public health problem," they added.

In an effort to dismantle the conservative political group known as the Tea Party, officials with a national liberal organization said they are planning on infiltrating and crashing Tea Party demonstrations today.

Jason Levin, founder of the CrashTheTeaParty.org, said on Monday that he has recruited liberal allies across the country who will help make the fiscally conservative organization’s members look racist, ignorant and homophobic during their tax day protests, according to the Associated Press (AP).

"Every time we have someone on camera saying that Barack Obama isn’t an American citizen, we want someone sitting next to him saying, ‘That’s right, he’s an alien from outer space!’" Levin said.

He added that organizers will attempt to dismantle the Tea Party by accentuating the least attractive qualities of some of its members.

"Do I think every member of the tea party is a homophobe, racist or a moron? No, absolutely not," Levin said. "Do I think most of them are? Absolutely."

While rallying against high taxes today—tax day—the Tea Party is also planning a possible fight over President Obama’s next Supreme Court nominee who will replace Justice John Paul Stevens after he retires later this year, CBN.com reports.

After several weeks’ analysis, the National Inflation Association (NIA) has concluded that the precious metals markets are currently being artificially suppressed by paper gold and silver that doesn’t physically exist, risking a major crunch when investors want to convert their paper into gold or silver.

The organization points out that at last week’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) hearings, Jeffrey Christian of the consultancy CPM Group admitted that banks have leveraged their physical bullion by 100 to 1, meaning that for every 100 ounces of paper gold or silver that trade, there could be as little as 1 ounce of physical metals in the vaults backing it.

However, because Christian appeared to brush off any concerns about this situation, saying that "it has been persistently that way for decades," NIA representatives spoke out suggesting that most investors around the world holding paper gold or silver believe they own physical commodities. That is why the organization fears that when these investors decide they want the physical precious metals, it will result in the biggest short squeeze in the history of commodities trading.

Pointing out that the physical silver market is more tight than ever before —in the first quarter of 2010, the U.S. mint sold 9,023,500 American Silver Eagles—up from 8,299,000 sold in the fourth quarter of 2009—NIA has called on its members to spread the word and help expose what could be "the largest fraud in the history of the world."

Despite complaints that those who legally use marijuana for medical purposes may risk losing their jobs, and despite evidence of broad public support for medicinal use of the drug, some activists have called the proposal "a silent killer" and suggested it should be defeated.

In recent months, the case of Joseph Casias, a 29-year-old cancer sufferer from Michigan, sparked controversy after he was fired from his job at Wal-Mart for failing a drug test due to his use of doctor-prescribed marijuana in a state where it is legal, according to CNN.

However, while supporters of legalization worry that individuals who use cannabis for pain relief in the 14 states where it is legal may risk their employment, opponents argue that because drug addiction is an epidemic and marijuana is "a silent killer," its use should be penalized.

In particular, The Opposition to the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative has vowed to work to defeat the ballot measure for The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 that has been certified by the State of California to qualify for the November ballot.

"Marijuana legalization infringes on our right to a healthy society and exposes communities to addiction, crime, biohazards, drug dealing and it must be defeated," said the organization’s representative Alexandra Datig.

Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center found that nearly three-quarters of Americans (73 percent) say they favor their state allowing the sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes if it is prescribed by a doctor, while only 23 percent are opposed.

A new Boston University study has found that women living in the Northeast are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) due to a lack of exposure to sunlight, suggesting a possible link between the condition and vitamin D deficiency.

For the study, Veronica Vieira, associate professor of environmental health, and her colleagues compared the medical data of 461 women suffering from RA to a control group of 9,220 healthy participants.

They were surprised to discover that women residing in states like Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont were at a significantly increased risk of developing the autoimmune disease than were those from sunnier climates who could absorb vitamin D naturally.

"The results were unexpected," Vieira said. "Prior to the analysis, we were more interested in the relationship with air pollution. I hadn’t given latitudes much thought."

She added that decreased solar exposure and vitamin D deficiencies have also been linked to several other autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.

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

On the heels of the passage of his landmark healthcare reform bill, several newly released polls have found that President Obama’s approval ratings have fallen to new lows.

While 45 percent of Americans still approve of how Obama is running the country, more than 48 percent disapprove, marking the first time in the president’s term that the majority of those polled have objected to the manner in which he governs, according to the Gallup daily tracking poll.

Meanwhile, a poll conducted late last week by Rasmussen Reports revealed an even gloomier picture for Obama. The new survey indicated that only 29 percent of Americans strongly approve of the president’s job performance, compared to 43 percent who strongly disapprove of his actions, Press TV reports.

Although his numbers have only fallen a few points since the last poll, many political commentators believe the numbers to be statistically significant, as they have not increased following the passage of healthcare overhaul legislation.

However, some pundits judge that the stagnant economy is the reason behind the Obama’s poor approval ratings.

"Because we tend to tie a lot of our vote decisions to how the economy is doing, the unemployment rate is what people are going to be looking at," St. Norbert political science professor Wendy Scattergood told WBay.com.

In the days since Justice John Paul Stevens announced he will be retiring from the Supreme Court this year, the growing number of people who have expressed their views on his replacement suggest President Obama will be under tremendous pressure in deciding on the next nomination.

Following Stevens’ announcement on April 9, President Obama praised the justice for his years of service on the country’s highest court. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund also lauded Stevens, and its representatives said that "[he] is known as a stalwart in his protection of civil rights and civil liberties."

Meanwhile, President Obama confirmed that he will move to fill the vacancy before the court reconvenes in October, and immediately came under pressure from conservatives who warned him against appointing another liberal justice.

In particular, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said Obama should avoid appointing a "hard-left jurist."

"Since taking office President Obama has established a horrendous track record by nominating judges who have had little regard for the United States Constitution," Perkins said.

He added that "if [Obama] selects someone with a radical judicial philosophy, the fabric of our already divided country will be torn even more."

In addition, Phyllis Schlafly, president and founder of the conservative grassroots public policy organization Eagle Forum, called for Obama to appoint another military veteran.

"In the midst of two wars, we must protect our military from radical, anti-military judicial nominees," she stressed.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was in New Orleans on April 9, where she delivered a fiery speech to the delegates gathered for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC). However, she came short as a potential 2012 presidential nominee in a straw poll held in conjunction with the event.

During the conference, Palin first sought to defend the GOP from the allegations that it has evolved into the "party of no," saying that "there is no shame in being the ‘party of no’ if the other side is proposing an idea that violates our values, violates our conscience, violates the Constitution," quoted by CNN.

She also blasted the administration for its handling of national security—especially the recently signed nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia—as well as government spending and energy policy. With respect to the latter, she said Obama’s plan for additional offshore oil and gas drilling is insufficient to address America’s energy needs.

However, in a straw poll taken at the end of the conference, it was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who won with 24 percent of the vote to Palin’s 18 percent, despite not having attended the SRLC.

An increasing number of American couples are utilizing alternative therapy options in an effort to improve their chances of conceiving a child, a new study has found.

A research team from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), discovered that nearly one-third of California women who had difficulty getting pregnant tried acupuncture, herbal remedies or massage to complement more traditional conception strategies.

In the study, lead author James Smith and his colleagues recruited 428 couples from eight northern California reproductive clinics and followed them over a period of 18 months, according to Reuters.

At the point of follow-up, the investigators found that 29 percent of couples reported utilizing a form of complementary and alternative medicine. A total of 22 percent underwent acupuncture treatment, nearly 18 percent used herbal therapies and 5 percent employed chiropractic massage.

"We suggest that couples struggling to achieve pregnancy are more likely to seek out any treatment that offers hope," Smith told the news source. He added that in vitro fertilization therapy costs, on average, $16,550, while acupuncture treatment only costs approximately $100 per session.

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

On the eve of the Tea Party’s political rally in Michigan aimed at unseating Bart Stupak, the Democratic Representative announced April 9 that he will retire from the House in November, ending his 18 year run in Congress.

The socially conservative Democrat came under fire from Tea Party members last month after cutting an 11th hour deal with the White House, virtually assuring passage of President Obama’s landmark healthcare reform bill.

In return for his vote and the votes of some of his colleagues, Stupak convinced Obama to agree to sign an executive order guaranteeing that no federal money will be used to fund abortion services. Following the signing of the legislation in late February, the nine-term congressman has been heavily criticized by liberals and conservatives alike.

Meanwhile, Stupak is claiming that his decision to retire has nothing to do with political pressure, but is rather a result of him feeling confident about his legacy.

"The Tea Party did not run me out," he told ABC News. "If you know me and my personality, I would welcome the challenge."

"I’ve fought my whole career for healthcare and thanks to Barack Obama and my colleagues, we’ve gotten it done," he added.

Even though the Republican Party raised more money than the Democrats in February, the pattern seemed to reverse in March, leading some to wonder if this situation had anything to do with the recent scandals that rocked the GOP.

As the primary election season gets under way, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) raised at least $13 million last month, while the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) total was $11.4 million, according to media reports.

The figures were revealed at a time the Republican leadership was trying to recover from allegations that RNC Chairman Michael Steele spent thousands of dollars on private jets and that a mid-level RNC official charged nearly $2,000 at a lesbian strip club in California.

Still, the chairman chose to look on the bright side, noting the March haul was among the best on record for the GOP, and was "a testament of America’s opposition to the Democrats’ government-run healthcare legislation."

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders have used the March numbers to argue that supporters of the reform were more generous than its opponents, according to Market Watch.

Lawmakers in the Arizona House of Representatives have adopted a bill that, if signed by the state’s governor, will allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit, making the currently required background checks and classes unnecessary.

The bill was passed in a 36-19 vote, and if Governor Jan Brewer signs it, as some commentators expect she will, Arizona will join Alaska and Vermont as the only three states that do not require permits to carry concealed weapons. Two states ban them altogether, and the remaining 45 require such permits.

In response to critics who say this may increase access to guns for law-breakers, Republican Representative David Gowan, one of the sponsors of the bill, said that "what’s dangerous is when they’re [only] in criminals’ hands, not citizens’ hands."

The vote comes as Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), a support organization, is winding down its week-long protest against laws and policies banning licensed concealed guns on school premises.

According to SCCC, during the five-day event college students across America strapped on empty holsters in an act of silent protest.

While admitting that he did make some mistakes during his tenure, Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan defended his record last week, arguing that his policy of keeping interest rates low did not contribute to the financial collapse.

Testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Greenspan, who was chairman of the Fed from 1987 to 2006, was bombarded with questions from panel members who were highly critical of his lack of response concerning irresponsible mortgage lending.

"Very simply, Mr. Chairman, why…did you not act to contain abusive, deceptive subprime lending?" asked panel chairman Phil Angelides. "Why did you allow it to become such an infection in the marketplace?"

In response, Greenspan noted several steps that the Fed took under his leadership to prevent irresponsible lending, and claimed that he made the correct decisions 70 percent of the time, according to Fox News. He refused to mention the specific failures that he felt he was responsible for.

Greenspan also indicated that the Federal Reserve helped to temper the economic recession through the decision he made in the early 2000s, CNN.com reports.

"We did do almost all of the things that you are raising," Greenspan told the panel. "And the consequence of that, I think, is that things were better than they could have been."

New research suggests that pouring pure maple syrup on your next order of pancakes will do much more than just give you a sugar high.

University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram, who specializes in medicinal plant research, has found more than 20 compounds in maple syrup from Canada that have been linked to human health, 13 of which are newly discovered in maple syrup.

During his maple syrup research, Seeram and his research team found phenolics, the beneficial class of antioxidant compounds also found in berries. These antioxidants are known to have anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties.

“We know that plants must have strong antioxidant mechanisms because they are in the sun throughout their lives,” Seeram said. “We already know that berries, because of their bright colors, are high in anti-oxidants. Now we are looking at maple syrup, which comes from the sap located just inside the bark, which is constantly exposed to the sun.”

Previous research has found that maple syrup is full of naturally occurring minerals such as zinc, thiamine and calcium.

“Maple syrup is unique in that it is the only commercial product in our diet that comes from a plant’s sap. Canada is the biggest producer of maple syrup and the U.S. is the biggest consumer,” Seeram said.

A coalition of national and regional Tea Party groups has announced the formation of the National Tea Party Federation (NTPF). Its proclaimed goal is to send a unified message and media response on behalf of key leaders and its affiliates.

The NTPF will also act to promote the Tea Party movement’s objectives of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets, its founders have stated.

"The combination of the Tea Party leadership and a strong network of alliances brings together activists with the resources to get our message out while coordinating across many groups," said Mark A. Skoda of the Memphis Tea Party.

His counterpart from Richmond, Jamie Radtke, added that the new federation understands "the importance of standing together while enhancing the ability to frame the discussion and realize gains amongst this approach to collaboration."

Among the founding members of the National Tea Party Federation are the American Grassroots Coalition, the Tea Party Express and the organization called DC Works for US. Meanwhile, its broader alliance includes Americans for Tax Reform, FreedomWorks and the Institute of Liberty.

Individuals who develop an infection but would prefer to use a natural medication instead of a pharmaceutical drug may be interested to learn that essential oils have been shown to have anitbacterial properties.

Greek scientists have studied these natural ingredients and found that the essential oils obtained from thyme were the most effective in almost completely killing bacteria such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is responsible for extremely difficult to treat hospital infections.

Lead researcher professor Yiannis Samaras from the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands, said that these results are important not only because essential oils are cheaper than standard drugs, but also because "decreased use of antibiotics will help minimize the risk of new strains of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms emerging."

Essential oils have been recognized for hundreds of years for their therapeutic properties. For example, Australian aborigines used tea tree oil to treat colds, sore throats, skin infections and insect bites.

Today, these products can be obtained with other natural and dietary supplements in health stores across the country.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has backed the cable company Comcast in its dispute with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which accused the company of slowing some Internet traffic on its network. The ruling is seen as a blow to the government’s efforts to push through "net neutrality" regulations.

The proposed regulations would prevent companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from restricting access to Internet content, applications and services offered by competitors. Analysts say applications such as Google, Skype and Facebook would be among the biggest beneficiaries of such regulations.

In the court’s opinion, the FCC exceeded its authority when it sanctioned Comcast in 2008 for preventing some subscribers from using peer-to-peer file-sharing services to download large files, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The ruling was welcomed by the American Legislative Exchange Council, whose public sector co-chair Representative Bill Hamzy (R-Conn.), said that "the FCC’s order was an unprecedented attempt by government to patrol private broadband networks."

However, the FCC has vowed to continue to push for net neutrality, with its spokeswoman Jen Howard saying that the court did not "[disagree] with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet, nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end," quoted by the Journal.