Thank the calendars it’s Friday! Many of you have already left your jobs and are on the way to a pub to meet some friends for a few drinks, to have fun, and to relax. Well, imagine if your frosty mug of beer did more than plumping your ego and soothing your nerves…what if your brew of choice could extend and improve the quality of your life?
Imagine no more. In November 2008, scientists working at Rice University managed to create a yeast that can be used in the brewing process to create a beer with potentially age-fighting ability.
BioBeer, as it’s called, has three genes spliced into special brewer’s yeast that produce resveratrol, the chemical in red wine that is thought to protect against diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other age-related conditions.
Okay, it doesn’t quite meet the invented-in-2009 criteria, but it is just on the cusp…and so cool I had to bend the rules a little. Resveratrol is not only thought to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease, but it is also believed that it aids in weight loss.
Combine these developments with the recent news that the hops in beer is now thought to fight cancer and you have one powerful potion that could someday make the “beer versus wine” argument (at least in terms of which one is better for your health) obsolete.
Researchers at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg have discovered that beer contains a powerful molecule that helps protect against breast and prostate cancers.
Found in hops, the substance called xanthohumol blocks the excessive action of testosterone and oestrogen. It also helps to prevent the release of a protein called PSA which encourages the spread of prostate cancer.
So tonight, when you raise a glass, raise it for the scientists working hard to identify the factors underlying disease and age-issues and come up with nifty and tasty ways to solve these problems. Cheers and remember to enjoy this particular human achievement in moderation.
Sin taxes are often justified by claiming that the item/behavior taxes costs the taxpayer money. By applying a tax, the government claims it can pay for the public services that the behavior produces a need for as well as increasing the cost of the behavior thereby discouraging continuation. The most obvious example is the cigarette tax. Increased prices supposedly incentivize smokers to quit or at least temper their addiction, while revenues from the tax can pay for health services.
But what is more harmful and costs more taxpayer dollars than cigarettes, beer, and gambling combined? Out of control government spending! Sure, people without insurance
How many billions in bailout money have we spent in the last few months to bail out the blessed and chosen industries–$500 billion? More? Only to have those companies fail anyway? Now senate is talking about increasing the federal excise tax on beverages (covering beer, wine, and soft drinks) in order to pay for the proposed $1.5 trillion increase in health care costs for those without insurance.
While there are certainly better ways to get the uninsured insured than simply having the government dole out money, if that’s the way they want to play it, there’s a more morally acceptable way to get the cash in my mind—cut entire government programs. Hell, they could pay for the entire increase in health care costs (and then some) by simply doing away with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s $3 trillion budget. 
But no, the logic (using the term loosely) our legislators seem to be basing their decisions on is that people are more accepting of tax increases than of cutting programs. The real “sinners” aren’t brewers, drinkers, or pub owners so why should they be punished? The real sinners are legislators that haven’t courage enough to stop promising services, stop spending, and stop increasing their already corpulent budgets. You can send this generic protest letter to your Senator.
Maybe if we started taxing senators every time they suggested a new social program or tax increase we’d able to pay for everyones’ medical care three times over.
Hosts Richard Morrison and Cord Blomquist join Michelle Minton in welcoming you to LibertyWeek 36: The Green Episode. We begin our environmental adventure with an update on the high cost of renewable energy and the good news from the coal laboratory. We then pass on advice for drinking green in Beer News and celebrate the recent observance of Human Achievement Hour. This brings us to the featured interview with our distinguished colleague and author Steve Milloy – where we explore his new book Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Ruin Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them and its targets, from the Audubon Society to Zero Population Growth. Finally we round out the program with a little Olympic News.
Your regular hosts Richard Morrison and Cord Blomquist are joined by special guest co-host Michelle Minton for Episode 34 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We begin by finding that Twitter has conquered every aspect of society, the White House is waging war on the economy and New Yorkers are defending themselves against beer taxes. We next investigate the questionable management of the AIG bailout in Scandal Watch and handicap Chicago’s chances for snagging the 2016 summer games in Olympic News.
Congratulations to FreeStateNH (The Free State Project) for winning the honor of Tweet of the Week™!
Your hosts Richard Morrison and Cord Blomquist bring you Episode 32 of the LibertyWeek podcast with special guest Sam Kazman and surprise guest co-host Jeremy Lott. We start by looking into the possible future of the Federal Communications Commission with nominee Julius Genachowski about to ascend to the chairmanship, and then take another stroll through the New Great Depression with high-level financial talks between unpopular British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and über-popular President Barack Obama. Oregonian brewers fight a proposed fifteen cents a pint tax in Beer News, and the Lady Madoff tries to stash away tens of millions from the feds in this edition of Scandal Watch. We hit our stride with an interview with CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman and his tales of the icy global warming rally staged earlier this week here in Washington, D.C. Finally, a little belt-tightening Olympic News from the USOC.
Listen here!
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