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LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) 

 A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra—but don’t necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long.
Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body’s blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation’s top producers of the seedless variety. Found in the flesh and rind of watermelons, citrulline reacts with the body’s enzymes when consumed in large quantities and is changed into arginine, an amino acid that benefits the heart and the circulatory and immune systems.

“Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it,” said Bhimu Patil, a researcher and director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center. “Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, but it’s a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects.”

Todd Wehner, who studies watermelon breeding at North Carolina State University, said anyone taking Viagra shouldn’t expect the same result from watermelon.

“It sounds like it would be an effect that would be interesting but not a substitute for any medical treatment,” Wehner said.

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In case you did not know…

There is no menthol in tobacco plants.
Menthol is added to cigarettes to make the smoke feel less harsh. But the smoke is still dangerous.

Smokers of menthol cigarettes tend to hold the smoke in their lungs longer.

Holding the smoke longer allows more poisons to be absorbed.

The cooler feel of menthol masks the cheaper tobaccos that cigarette manufacturers often use in menthol brands. There is nothing refreshing or natural about menthol. Menthol is an additive put in cigarettes to make smokers believe that the cigarette is less dangerous. This is a lie.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could “pose a dangerous public health risk.”

As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 questions submitted to him by The Associated Press. Besides a quarantine, Huckabee suggested that Hollywood celebrities fund AIDS research from their own pockets, rather than federal health agencies.

“If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague,” Huckabee wrote.

“It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents.”

The AP submitted the questionnaire to both candidates; only Huckabee responded. Incumbent Sen. Dale Bumpers won his four term; Huckabee was elected lieutenant governor the next year and became governor in 1996.

When asked about AIDS research in 1992, Huckabee complained that AIDS research received an unfair share of federal dollars when compared to cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

“In light of the extraordinary funds already being given for AIDS research, it does not seem that additional federal spending can be justified,” Huckabee wrote. “An alternative would be to request that multimillionaire celebrities, such as Elizabeth Taylor (,) Madonna and others who are pushing for more AIDS funding be encouraged to give out of their own personal treasuries increased amounts for AIDS research.”

Huckabee did not return messages left with his campaign.

There is more here

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Huckabee called homosexuality ’sinful’

From Captains Quarters

The New York Times takes a look into the storm of controversy over the Frost family in the S-CHIP debate. David Herszenhorn gives a fairly balanced view of the nine-day wonder that the Frosts became, and settles some of the factual disputes that has plagued the sideshow:

There have been moments when the fight between Congressional Democrats and President Bush over the State Children’s Health Insurance Program seemed to devolve into a shouting match about who loves children more.So when Democrats enlisted 12-year-old Graeme Frost, who along with a younger sister relied on the program for treatment of severe brain injuries suffered in a car crash, to give the response to Mr. Bush’s weekly radio address on Sept. 29, Republican opponents quickly accused them of exploiting the boy to score political points.Then, they wasted little time in going after him to score their own.

In recent days, Graeme and his family have been attacked by conservative bloggers and other critics of the Democrats’ plan to expand the insurance program, known as S-chip. They scrutinized the family’s income and assets — even alleged the counters in their kitchen to be granite — and declared that the Frosts did not seem needy enough for government benefits.

But what on the surface appears to be yet another partisan feud, all the nastier because a child is at the center of it, actually cuts to the most substantive debate around S-chip. Democrats say it is crucially needed to help the working poor — Medicaid already helps the impoverished — but many Republicans say it now helps too many people with the means to help themselves.

That last assertion is false. Most Republicans supported the modest expansion of S-CHIP that the White House originally proposed. No Republican officeholders have, to my knowledge, proposed eliminating S-CHIP or scaling it back in any way. The GOP has argued that the expansion of the program to 400% of the poverty line would damage private health coverage and create a subsidy for families that can afford to make the choice for health coverage already.

Read the rest here

Also check out from Michelle Malkin: Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots’ pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right

From the website The Hillary Project

Hillary Clinton claims her universal healthcare program will not cover illegal aliens, but the positions of her lead advisor on immigration and recent statements she has made to Spanish-language media outlets indicate otherwise.The top campaign expert on Hispanic issues for the New York senator running for President has a long history of orchestrating lobbying efforts for taxpayer-funded healthcare, drivers’ licenses and free in-state tuition for illegal aliens, as well as bilingual requirements for state agencies.

Raul Yzaguirre, who was president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza from 1974-2004, is now the co-chair of Clinton’s presidential campaign and chair of her Hispanic outreach team.

Notably, in his long career for the open borders advocacy group, Yzaguirre was called to testify before Mrs. Clinton’s tight-knit 12-member health care task force team in March 1993.

There, Yzaguirre said that universal healthcare “ought to cover the undocumented citizens.”

“We need to understand that health is a public health issue and that disease doesn’t respect nationalities,” he pleaded.

Under the radar of the mainstream U.S. media, the Spanish news agency EFE reported on September 20 that Clinton “alluded to the necessity” of providing emergency treatment to illegal aliens and she supports laws that required medical providers to do so.

The article was titled “Plan médico de Hillary Clinton incluiría a indocumentados” or, in English, “Medical plan of Hillary Clinton would include undocumented people.”

According to the article, Clinton told a reporter “plan de salud no incluye a inmigrantes indocumentados en este momento” in a phone interview. In English that quote literally means: “plan of health does not include undocumented immigrants at the moment.”

At the first-ever presidential Spanish-language debate on September 10, Clinton promised her audience her healthcare plan “will cover everyone.”

“We will make it clear as a rich nation with the values that should be the best in the world and for all make it absolutely positive that everyone will have healthcare,” Clinton said. “We’re going to make it clear that there will be no parent who ever is told no when it comes to getting healthcare for their children.”

The event was hosted by Univision, the largest Spanish language network inside the United States. Candidates were asked questions in Spanish and an English translation was provided through discreet earpieces to the candidates. When the candidates responded, their assigned translators delivered answers in Spanish.

English translations were provided in subtitles and in the subsequent transcripts of the event.

At the debate, held at the University of Miami, Clinton also chastised failed legislative efforts that she said would “criminalize anyone who helped an illegal immigrant, anyone who gave them medial care.”

Last Sunday, Clinton blitzed the Sunday morning talk show circuit to promote the universal healthcare plan she unveiled earlier in the week. When she appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked, “Would illegal immigrants be covered under your plan?”

Clinton told him they “would not be covered, no” but then said she would provide a “safety net” for illegal aliens “for public health reasons.”

“But, we did not cover them in ‘93/’94 and my plan does not cover them now,” she added.

Careful watchers of Clinton’s previous healthcare efforts point out that Clinton also denied her first universal healthcare plan would directly provide care to illegal aliens.

Indirectly, however, her 1993 program would have required employers to pay 80 percent of insurance coverage costs for all employees–illegal and legal workers alike. It also would have dispersed up to $1 billion in federal money to reimburse state governments for funds spent on emergency care for illegal aliens and public health projects.

By: Amanda Carpenter

Deception is perfectly ok if it helps the children.
From Michelle Malkin

The most buzzworthy story on the right side of the blogosphere this weekend concerned young Graeme Frost, the 12-year-old child severely injured in a terrible car accident that also left his sister with permanent disabilities.

Graeme Frost was propped up by Democrats desperate to avert the president’s veto of S-CHIP legislation, which would have massively expanded the government health care entitlement. The Dems are trying to muster up enough votes to override President Bush’s veto. They’ve scheduled a vote for Oct. 18.

The boy gave the Democratic radio address last week, written for him by Senate Democrat staffers, and made several Beltway lobbying appearances with top Dem leaders. (Listen to Graeme’s address here.) The accident was horrible. The children deserve much sympathy and compassion. But legislation-by-anecdote is a tricky thing, and should only be done when the anecdotes actually hold some water.It turns out–as it does with so many health care stories pimped by the Democrats and the MSM–that there is much more to the Frosts’ story than meets the eye.

The family is not as destitute as the MSM has made them out to be. FreeRepublic member icwhatudo asks the tough questions the mainstream media won’t ask. Like why a “working family” in need of government-subsidized health care can afford to send two children to a $20,000-a-year-private school. And more (go to the post for more embedded links)

Read the rest here

More at Wizbang; The Not So Poor Voice of SCHIP

And at Flopping Aces: The “Poor” SCHIP Kid

This story really pissed me off mostly because these people did everything right and STILL this company screwed them.

Assurant Health site

Huckabee: Filmmaker Moore an example of health care problems

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The producer of documentary on the nation’s health-care system, “Sicko,” suggests that Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s criticism of the filmmaker may be motivated more by his need for campaign funds than his concerns for Americans’ health.The former Arkansas governor told reporters in a conference call Wednesday that he hasn’t seen and probably won’t see Moore’s documentary “Sicko,” which calls for an overhaul of America’s health care system.

“Frankly, Michael Moore is an example of why the health care system costs so much in this country. He clearly is one of the reasons that we have a very expensive system. I know that from my own personal experience,” said Huckabee, who lost more than 110 pounds and became an avid runner after he was diagnosed with diabetes.

“I know how much more my health care cost when I didn’t take care of myself than when I do take care of myself, not only in terms of doctor visits but regular diseases, illnesses, chronic things that come up, monthly prescription bills,” Huckabee said. “All of those things have gone dramatically down since I’ve taken care of myself and worked to live a healthier lifestyle.”

Read the rest, but you get the point

Is all that ails the U.S. health-care system that it’s not run by a Communist dictatorship? That has long been a premise of apologists for Fidel Castro who extol the virtues of medical care on his totalitarian island nation.Left-wing documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is reviving this Cold War relic of an argument in his new movie on health care, Sicko, which premieres in a few weeks and favorably compares the Cuban health-care system to ours. Moore ostentatiously took a few sick 9/11 workers to Cuba for care. “If they can do this,” Moore told Time, referring to the Cubans, “we can do it.”

All that the Cuban government has done, however, is run a decades-long propaganda campaign to convince credulous or dishonest people that its health-care system is worth emulating. These people believe — or pretend to believe for ideological reasons — that a dictatorship can crush a country’s economy and spirit, yet still deliver exemplary medical care.

Cuban health care works only for the select few: if you are a high-ranking member of the party or the military and have access to top-notch clinics; or a health-care tourist who can pay in foreign currency at a special facility catering to foreigners; or a documentarian who can be relied upon to produce a lickspittle film whitewashing the system.

Read the rest by Rich Lowry at Real Clear Politics

Filmmaker Michael Moore’s production company took ailing Ground Zero responders to Cuba in a stunt aimed at showing that the U.S. health-care system is inferior to Fidel Castro’s socialized medicine, according to several sources with knowledge of the trip.The trip was to be filmed as part of the controversial director’s latest documentary, “Sicko,” an attack on American drug companies and HMOs that Moore hopes to debut at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

Two years in the making, the flick also takes aim at the medical care being provided to people who worked on the toxic World Trade Center debris pile, according to several 9/11 workers approached by Moore’s producers.

But the sick sojourn, which some say uses ill 9/11 workers as pawns, has angered many in the responder community.

“He’s using people that are in a bad situation and that’s wrong, that’s morally wrong,” railed Jeff Endean, a former SWAT commander from Morris County, N.J., who spent a month at Ground Zero and suffers from respiratory problems.

A spokeswoman for the Weinstein Co., the film’s distributor, would not say when the director’s latest expose would hit cinemas or provide details about the film or the trip.

Responders were told Cuban doctors had developed new techniques for treating lung cancer and other respiratory illness, and that health care in the communist country was free, according to those offered the two-week February trip.

Cuba has made recent advancements in biotechnology and exports its cancer treatments to 40 countries around the world, raking in an estimated $100 million a year, according to The Associated Press.

In 2004 the U.S. government granted an exception to its economic embargo against Cuba and allowed a California drug company to test three cancer vaccines developed in Havana, according to the AP.

Regardless, some ill 9/11 workers balked at Moore’s idea.

“I would rather die in America than go to Cuba,” said Joe Picurro, a Toms River, N.J., ironworker approached by the filmmaker via an e-mail that read, “Joe and Mike in Cuba.”

After helping remove debris from Ground Zero, Picurro has a laundry list of respiratory and other ailments so bad that he relies on fund-raisers to help pay his expenses.

He said, “I just laughed. I couldn’t do it.”

Another ill worker who said he was willing to take the trip ended up being stiffed by Moore.

Dems Renominate Patrick Kennedy from Rehab

Less than a week after he crashed his car into a Capitol Hill police barrier, rehabbing Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy received a rousing endorsement from the state Democratic Party, who touted him as a competent, if flawed, public servant at their convention Monday night.
In a speech described by the Associated Press as “moving,” state Representative Paul Crowley said Kennedy’s ability to do his job should not be questioned - downplaying the fact that the he’s had two car crashes in the last month, hit himself in the face with a hammer two weeks ago and admitted over the weekend that he was addicted to booze and pain pills.
“We do not walk away from our friends,” declared Bill Lynch, chairman of the state Democratic Party.
On Saturday Mr. Kennedy checked himself into the Mayo Clinic after acknowledging that he had misjudged the extent of his problems, which he described as ranging from binge drinking to misuse of prescription drugs.