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Must See TV: Glenn Beck And The ‘Fatty Fat Fat Pie’

Mediaite - 24 min 22 sec ago

Glenn Beck did not waste a whole lot of time on his show last night rehashing his Eric Massa interview, nevertheless it was fairly clear the “tickle fight” experience had ramped up his, um…Beckness. Instead, last night’s target were, in no particular order: the government land grab in the west of places especially rich in natural resources (when the Russians come down through Alaska after our government has collapsed who will be there to protect it?!); Woody Guthrie’s song ‘This Land Is Your Land‘ (communist indoctrination…also so ridiculous it made me wonder whether Massa had left Beck feeling desperate); President Obama banning fishing (he isn’t, but it gave Beck the opportunity to use an Andy Griffith clip). He was, to put it mildly, on a slightly unhinged tear.

But all this was merely a lead up to last night’s highlight: the “fatty fat fat pie.” The pie in question is the ‘twice-fried cherry pie’ from a Brooklyn restaurant called The Chip Shop (if you ever go there make sure to have the deep fried Mars Bar). The menu states that the pie has been banned by New York State, presumably as part of their saturated fats ban. IT IS A PIE TOO FAR. Especially combined with the rumored (and unlikely) salt ban someone in Albany just proposed, also, Bloomberg’s plan to tax soda. I encourage you to watch the entire clip, it’s one of the better ones in recent memory, and then reflect on the restraint Beck showed during the Massa interview.






Categories: The Media

In Focus: Nation To Be Tested For Scoliosis Friday

The Onion - 30 min 34 sec ago

WASHINGTON, DC--In a mandatory, nationwide health initiative many Americans are dreading, all U.S. citizens will be tested for scoliosis Friday.


Categories: Our Friends

Glenn Beck’s Massa-cre Finishes Second In Ratings

Mediaite - 52 min 30 sec ago

Cable news ratings, March 9, 2010: Check out the highlights, and see the full ratings below:

Bill O’Reilly just edged his colleague Glenn Beck on Tuesday for the top-rated cable news show. Beck had his much-talked about hour-long interview with former Rep. Eric Massa, but the tickle fight conversation was beat by less than 100,000 viewers in the demo and total.

• The top non-FNC show was Countdown on MSNBC in both categories, still hosted by Lawrence O’Donnell. It reached the one million total viewer mark as well.

Check out all the ratings below, and leave your own thoughts in the comments:

TV NEWS RATINGS: 25-54 DEMOGRAPHIC (L +SD) 5 pm Beck

860 Blitzer

116 Matthews

97 Prime

95 6 pm Baier

501 Blitzer

109 Ed Show

135 Prime

83 7 pm Shep

541 Blitzer

139 Matthews

142 Issues

148 8 pm O’Reilly

925 Brown

157 Olbermann

257 Grace

199 9 pm Hannity

733 King

169 Maddow

251 Behar

193 10 pm Greta

477 Cooper

182 Olbermann

248 Grace

156 11 pm O’Reilly

434 Cooper

134 Matthews

132 Showbiz

128 TOTAL DAY 425 114 114 137 PRIME TIME 712 169 252 178 Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data. TV NEWS RATINGS: TOTAL VIEWERS (L +SD) 5 pm Beck

3406 Blitzer

527 Matthews

424 Prime

188 6 pm Baier

2686 Blitzer

504 Ed Show

528 Prime

186 7 pm Shep

2243 Blitzer

502 Matthews

543 Issues

370 8 pm O’Reilly

3499 Brown

527 Olbermann

1004 Grace

698 9 pm Hannity

2901 King

699 Maddow

994 Behar

785 10 pm Greta

2027 Cooper

582 Olbermann

729 Grace

457 11 pm O’Reilly

1405 Cooper

384 Matthews

378 Showbiz

377 TOTAL DAY 1673 451 418 316 PRIME TIME 2809 602 909 638 Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data.


Categories: The Media

Blago: Shower story is the "Rahm I know"

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 4 min ago

Blago on Rahm.

Nagourney expected to leave politics beat

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 4 min ago

Nagourney leaving politics desk.

Never missing an opportunity

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 12 min ago

Laura Rozen writes that, according to the Israeli press, Biden was much tougher on Netanyahu in private:<br /> <br /> People who heard what Biden

Romney romping in Fla., Colo.

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 16 min ago

Romney doing well with conservatives -- better than Palin.

Hating call time

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 17 min ago

My colleagues write:<br /> <br /> At least one part of former Rep. Eric Massa’s hourlong, train-wreck interview with cable-television host G

Assistant Secretary Posner Highlights 2009 Annual Reports on Human Rights

State Department Dipnote - 1 hour 40 min ago

About the Author: Michael H. Posner serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

Today, we release the State Department's 2009 Human Rights Reports. We are excited to have expanded the coverage in the 2009 reports to include:
• New reports on countries' prison conditions;
• Workers' rights;
• Countries' initiatives to expand press freedom and their results;
• Broader coverage of child soldiers;
• Reproductive rights;
• Practices that threaten the health, well-being, or livelihoods of indigenous persons;
• Expanded coverage of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons; and
• A new section on “Other Societal Discrimination” covering persons with HIV/AIDS.

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within the State Department is one of many groups, to include nongovernmental organizations that produce annual country reports on the status of human rights. However, the scope of both countries and issues that the State Department's reports are able to cover is what makes them unique. We report on 194 countries in the world. The reports are comprehensive, they're detailed, and they have the advantage of the United States government, its diplomats, and experts participating.

I encourage you to read the reports and utilize them as a resource as a voice for those whose human rights are often trampled and abused. You will see that 2009 was a year of contrasts. It was a year in which ethnic, racial, and religious tensions led to violent conflicts and serious human rights violations and fueled or exacerbated more than 30 wars or internal armed conflicts. At the same time, it was a year in which the United States and other governments devoted greater attention to finding ways to acknowledge and combat these underlying tensions through showing leadership in advancing respect for universal human rights, promoting tolerance, combating violent extremism, and pursuing peaceful solutions to long-standing conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. These reports are only beneficial and serving those whose stories we share if the reports are read. My request of you is to please read the reports and join us in bringing attention to the status of human rights across the globe.

Categories: Our Government

NY GOPer: Gillibrand's vulnerable on Iraq too

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 41 min ago

David Catalfamo, a New York GOP strategist and Pataki adviser, emails in response to a Gillibrand aide's preemptive shot at Dan Senor's record as Bu

Justice: Holder brief 'inadvertently missed'

Politico Blogs - 1 hour 57 min ago

This won't improve Holder's relations with the Hill any:<br /> <br /> “The brief should have been disclosed as part of the confirmation proc

What Biden told Netanyahu behind closed doors: "This is starting to get dangerous for us"

Politico Blogs - 2 hours 57 sec ago

What Joe Biden told Benjamin Netanyahu in private.

Opinion: I Didn't Spend 6 Weeks In A Medical License Reinstatement Ethics Class To Have You Call Me 'Mister' (by Dr. Trent Berstyn)

The Onion - 2 hours 16 min ago

It's tragic how people treat doctors in this day and age. The lack of respect for the education and training medical professionals go through,...


Categories: Our Friends

[video] Boys Tragic Death Could Have Happened To Any Family With 20-Foot Pet Python

The Onion - 2 hours 16 min ago

Rich and Lisa Shaw say there were no warning signs that their 300-pound Burmese Python would crush and eat their 3 year old son.


Categories: Our Friends

Thursday, What I know. I think.

The Confluence - 2 hours 19 min ago

I’m at a point in my web design project where the days are blurring together.  I’ve been getting up pretty early and working until it’s time to go to my parent’s house to help out for a few hours.  Then, it’s right back home to the computer.  I’ve barely read a thing — not novels (which is extremely weird since two of my favorite authors have released books in the last month) and not much news.

But, I did pick up this little newsletter, Nutrition Action, Health Letter (published by the Center of Science in the Public Interest). Sadly, not much of their content is online (that’s the main reason I haven’t quoted it here before this.) But in their Jan/Feb 2010 issue they have an article discussing The American Heart Association’s recent report on sugar in the American diet that has turned my world upside down. It’s been two weeks since I first read it and it’s so intriguing I find myself picking it up almost everyday to reread bits and pieces.  Because I’ve got to type them (and because re-print permission is restricted) I’m just going to touch on some of the issues discussed:

Sugar Overload, Curbing America’s Sweet Tooth

“The average American swallows 350-475 calories worth of added sugars everyday. (table sugar, honey, agave syrup, and all other sweeteners with calories)”

The article lists & discusses 10 reasons to cut back.  I’ve been mostly thinking about #1 ::

“You can’t afford the empty calories”

The American Heart Association based it’s advice on what scientists call “discretionary calories” — that is how much room you have for empty calories once you’ve eaten all the vegetables, fruit, lean protein, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and other foods you need to stay healthy. (It’s like discretionary income that people can spend on luxuries once they’ve paid all their bills.)

Well, duh. Who among us (at least those of us who have to worry about this stuff) doesn’t know that? And why in the world is it such an earth-shattering idea?

It starts (and ends) with the budget:

A typical woman who should shoot for 1,800 calories a day, for example, would need 1,600 calories from vegetables, fruit, lean protein, low-fat dairy and whole grains to get the nutrients she needs.

That leaves 200 calories to spend (like discretionary income) on whatever she wants. “We said, okay half of that discretionary calorie allowance can come from solid fats and half can come from added sugars,” . . . That’s about 100 calories of each.

A typical man should shoot for 2,200 calories a day. He gets about 150 calories to spend on each.

In a sidebar listing the added sugars for a wide variety of name brand treats, they share the magic numbers:

  • For women (limited to 100 calories of added sugars,) we get 6-1/2 teaspoons of added sugar a day.
  • For men (limited to 150 calories of added sugars,) you get 9-1/2 of added sugars.
  • To convert teaspoons to grams of sugar – multiply by 4
  • To convert teaspoons to calories from sugar — multiply by 16

It’s killing me that I can’t reproduce this list of the sugar in brand name treats.  It’s so clear and simple, I should tear it out of the newsletter (or scan it?) and keep it with me constantly.

  • Yogurt, low-fat vanilla (6 oz) — 3-1/2 teaspoons
  • Nestea Iced Tea Sweetened Lemon — 10 teaspoons
  • Panera Pecan Roll — 12 teaspoons
  • Starbucks Pumpkin scone — 11 teaspoons
I’ve been struggling with my weight and it’s impact on my health for years.  And lately, I’ve been worrying about how long I can manage my diabetes if I can’t keep my weight at a healthy level.

Now, I happen to be REALLY good at losing weight.  I’m sure I’ve lost a couple of hundred pounds over the course of the last 30 years.  But, the flip side of that (the dark side) is that I’ve gained a couple of hundred pounds over those years too.  And all that needless eating, all that extra weight (thankfully, not all at once) has certainly put a strain on my kidneys already.

For the past five years I’ve been really good about not eating between meals & not taking seconds. I haven’t drunk soda pop for over 20 years. I drink 2 liters of water most days. And I walk 3 miles most days. I eat almost all meals at home. And we make those meals from scratch.

But, still I struggle with my weight. Before reading this article, I was very discouraged. My weakness? I get bored counting calories. Or I decide they don’t matter “just today” — while of course they do.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who get’s tired of counting to 1,800. It’s a constant drag. Well this article changes everything and gives us a formula we can easily follow.

We can all count to 6 (or 10)

It’s incredible! Instead of thinking, “I’ve been good all week – I can eat that cookie” – I think, “Is this cookie worth half my sugars for today?” and mostly it’s not. And it’s REALLY helped when I go to the coffee shop with my friend: There is no way in the world I can “afford” to eat a Panera Pecan Roll with 12 teaspoons of sugar!

Of course calories still count — but, this article proves that to control weight we should put our focus on the calories that hurt us the most.  And what a sweet surprise that counting them is so easy.


Filed under: General Tagged: Counting Sugars

Categories: Our Friends

Carson Daly’s Prophetic Profile Of Roger Ross Williams And Music By Prudence

Mediaite - 2 hours 26 min ago

There’s no real debate about the “viral” moment of the 2010 Academy Awards: when producer Elinor Burkett “Kanye’d” director Roger Ross Williams during their acceptance speech after winning best short documentary for their film Music By Prudence. It was an unknown film for nearly everyone watching the Oscar’s that night, except of course for the devoted fans of Last Call with Carson Daly, the late night show that aired a profile on that very film (and its director), just days before they became so widely known.

After a self-described near-death experience that almost saw Last Call with Carson Daly go off the air, the NBC late(est) night show has made some nice waves in its return, perhaps best evidenced by their prescient profile of Roger Ross Williams before he was known as “the guy who got interrupted during his Oscar’s speech.”

But more importantly – lost in all of the hullabaloo surrounding the acceptance speech kerfuffle, is the real story behind all of this: the remarkably moving short film about Prudence Mabhena – the wheelchair-bound singer and songwriter from Zimbabwe – who’s story warms even the most cynical of hearts. Check the profile below.


Categories: The Media

Tumulty: WH regrets holding press back

Politico Blogs - 2 hours 29 min ago

WH press corps now free.

Senate Iran sanctions conferees chosen

Politico Blogs - 2 hours 30 min ago

Iran sanctions conferees...

Conan O’Brien Is Going On Tour (Update)

Mediaite - 2 hours 31 min ago

The rumors were trueConan O’Brien is going on tour, beginning April 12 in Eugene, Oregon.

The news was announced via his Twitter feed this morning, a website has been set up (TeamCoco.com, of course) and more details about what to expect have been revealed.

The web site is referring to the tour as “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On TV Tour” and promises “a night of music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence.”

The tour will stop in 30 cities including Universal City, CA (close to his old studio) on April 24 and Radio City Music Hall June 1 (across the street from his older studio). He’ll also make a stop at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. The tour is sponsored by American Express, and tickets are available at TicketMaster.com.

TheWrap.com’s Josef Adalian has more details:

Jeff Ross, O’Brien’s longtime producer on both “Tonight” and “Late Night,” has been using his music promotion roots to help spearhead the organization of the travelling revue.

He said there was a very good reason for taking The Coco Show on the road.

“If we don’t get Conan in front of an audience soon, there’s gonna be real trouble,” Ross told TVMoJoe.

> Update: The tickets must be selling quickly – Conan just tweeted this: “We are now adding a second show in both NYC & Chicago. For that second show, I’ll be doing all Liza Minnelli songs.”

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Categories: The Media

Fleischer to the rescue

Politico Blogs - 2 hours 31 min ago

In other former Bush spokesman news, Tiger Woods has reportedly hired Ari Fleischer.