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Report: 237 millionaires in Congress - Erika Lovley - POLITICO.com

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:18:40 -0800

Report: 237 millionaires in Congress

From the page: "Talk about bad timing.

As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.

Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That's 44 percent of the body - compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.

CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million.

All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center's 2008 figures.

"Many Americans probably have a sense that members of Congress aren't hurting, even if their government salary alone is in the six figures, much more than most Americans make," said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. "What we see through these figures is that many of them have riches well beyond that salary, supplemented with securities, stock holdings, property and other investments."

The CRP numbers are somewhat rough estimates - lawmakers are required to report their financial information in broad ranges of figures, so it's impossible to pin down their dollars with precision. The CRP uses the mid-point in the ranges to build its estimates.

Senators' estimated median reportable worth sunk to about $1.79 million from $2.27 million in 2007. The House's median income was significantly lower and also sank, bottoming out at $622,254 from $724,258 in 2007.

But CRP's analysis suggests that some lawmakers did well for themselves between 2007 and 2008, even as many Americans lost jobs and saw their savings and their home values plummet.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gained about $9.2 million. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) gained about $3 million, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) had an estimated $2.6 million gain, and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) gained about $2.8 million.

Some lawmakers have profited from investments in companies that have received federal bailouts; dozens of lawmakers are invested in Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America ..."

Federal politicians are the new game show contestants. Pick and vote and hope your contestant wins an opportunity to earn more than 99% of the American public. Cheer your favorite politician on. Golly, what a thrill.
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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:49:00 -0800

"you look strangely familiar"

Is depression caused by Fun Deficiency Syndrome? | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:45:33 -0800

The Perils of FDS: Fun Deficiency Syndrome

From the page: "While depression has been studied under a microscope, science has barely scratched the surface on fun. The scientific study of fun is considered to be a frivolous exercise, and this assumption would be correct because fun is frivolous. The mistake made by science and academia is in underestimating the value of fun, treating fun as a non-serious diversion instead of a rational goal worthy of scientific examination. This oversight is unfortunate because fun is arguably the greatest thing a human can have. Everyone likes to have fun... no, we love to have fun. When we are having fun we forget ourselves and become one with our actions in a moment of pure playful enjoyment. Having fun goes beyond being happy. Happiness implies a baseline level of contentment and good feelings but it does not include the amusement, exhilaration, laughter and joy associated with fun. If depression is the illness of our age, fun is the cure.

The roots of FDS can be traced through human developmental stages. Most people have plenty of fun as children, but the onset of adolescence and high school creates a perfect storm of jaded anxiety that dampens the levels of fun easily found in childhood. The onset of FDS in adolescence leads teenagers to naturally seek extremes of fun behavior to counteract their social anxiety. These extremes include partying, fighting, competitive sports and mating behaviors where risk is maximized to produce the most fun. Most people do not consider this adolescent fun-seeking activity to be a neurologically-wired behavior to cope with developmental anxiety and depression, but it obviously is. This fun-seeking stage lasts well into early adulthood when chronic FDS becomes more problematic. By middle age, most people are chronically low on fun and this is when depression becomes most acute. If lack of fun is constant and goes untreated it can lead directly to mid-life crisis and, eventually, grumpy-old-fart syndrome.

Man watching scary movieFun can be scientifically reduced to two distinct variables: risk and reward. It is easy to understand why reward is fun, but risk is the key to maximizing the impact of reward to produce fun. The most extreme examples of this dynamic can be found in compulsive behaviors that can become highly addictive, like sex and gambling. Sex and gambling are both fun and risky, and the higher the risk the more satisfying and more fun the reward. Also, consider horror movies or amusement park rides where a constant level of fear and anxiety is sustained throughout the experience until the resolution brings a safe and satisfying reward. Fun is thus the science of using risk to build tension, and then strategically releasing that tension with a pleasurable reward to maximize enjoyment. Fun is therapeutic because it reduces anxiety and produces neurochemicals that combat depression. Fun is one of nature's best and most powerful medicines. If you could put fun in a pill it would almost certainly be illegal . . .

The Perils of CFSS (Compulsive Fun-Seeking Syndrome)

On the flip-side of FDS, we find people who suffer from Compulsive Fun-Seeking syndrome (CFSS). People with CFSS are commonly referred to as adrenaline junkies, thrill seekers, compulsive risk takers and teenagers. While this syndrome is viewed as valuable by the gambling, prostitution, dope, and extreme sports industries, it should be noted that CFSS is a legitimate pathology with a distinct pharmacological profile. CFSS can be artificially simulated by dopamine agonists, including amphetamines, pot, caffeine and alcohol. More oddly, dopamine agonists used to treat Parkinson's Disease or Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), which selectively stimulate motor pathways and selectively avoid the reward pathways, can also cause compulsive behaviors such as gambling or financial risktaking (See Resource) . . ."

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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:30:00 -0800

t r u s t

Workers in bad moods perform better - Telegraph

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:27:35 -0800

Workers in bad moods 'perform better'
Miserable people make better judgements than their cheerful counterparts and may also be better at remembering things, a study indicates.

From the page: "People in a bad mood are more critical, and pay more attention to their surroundings than happier people, who are more likely to believe anything they were told, according to the research.

"Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking paying greater attention to the external world," psychology professor Joseph Forgas, of the University of New South Wales, said.

"Our research suggests that sadness ... promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."

For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.

In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumours. Those in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.

People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.

The study also found that unhappy people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Prof Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style."

"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Prof Forgas wrote."

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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:21:30 -0800

m c c l u r e p a s s

Giving up hope makes you happier - Telegraph

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:16:38 -0800

Giving up hope makes you happier
Researchers have found that giving patients with serious illnesses hope for a cure can actually make them more depressed.

From the page: "Giving up hope can make those living with a serious illness happier, according to psychologists.

Researchers found that patients who continually hoped for a cure for their condition were likely to be more miserable than those who accepted their illness and tried to get on with life.

Peter Ubel, director of the University of Michigan Centre for Behavioural and Decision Sciences in Medicine, spoke about "the dark side of hope".

"Sometimes, if hope makes people put off getting on with their life, it can get in the way of happiness," he explained.

"We think they were happier because they got on with their lives. They realised the cards they were dealt and recognised that they had no choice but to play with those cards."

Mr Ubel, one of the authors of the Happily Hopeless study, looked at a group of adults who had their colons removed.

Of the 71 patients, 41 were told they could have surgery to repair their bowels, while the rest were told that there was nothing more they could do.

Those who had resigned themselves to living with a colostomy bag were happier six months after the news than those with a chance of recovery.

Mr Ubel said: "We're not saying hope is a bad thing.

"What we're pointing out is that there can be a dark side of hope. It can cause people to put their lives on hold.

"Instead of moving on and trying to make the best of circumstances, you can think, 'my circumstances are going to change eventually - no point in dealing with these circumstances'.""

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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:11:56 -0800

s i l v e r s p u r
w a s h i n g t o n

Indoor plants could save your life - Telegraph

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:55:02 -0800

Indoor plants could save your life
Indoor plants do not only look and smell nice, they could save your life, claim scientists.

From the page: "New research shows that ornamental plants can drastically reduce levels of stress and ill health and boost performance levels at work because they soak up harmful indoor air pollution.

Researchers have now identified five "super ornamental plants" which every workplace should have to clean up indoor air.

They include English ivy, waxy leaved plants and ferns.

According to a World Health Organisation report in 2002, harmful indoor pollutants represent a serious health problem that is responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths each year.

Indoor air is up to 12 times more polluted than outdoor air in some areas, with air quality affected by chemicals from paints, varnishes, adhesives, furnishings, clothing, solvents, building materials and even tap water.

These produce so-called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that have been shown to cause illnesses in people who are exposed to the compounds in indoor spaces.

Now horticulture experts in the US have tested a number of ornamental indoor plants for their ability to remove harmful VOCs from indoor air.

Stanley Kays, the lead researcher at University of Georgia, said some indoor plants have the ability to effectively remove harmful VOCs from the air and not only improve physical health, but also someone's wellbeing.

Adding these plants to indoor spaces can reduce stress, increase performance at work and reduce symptoms of ill health.

The research team tested 28 common indoor ornamental plants for their ability to remove five volatile indoor pollutants.

Of the species tested, purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis alternata), English ivy (Hedera helix), waxy leaved plant (Hoya carnosa) and Asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus) were rated best for removing air pollutants.

The purple heart plant (Tradescantia pallida) was rated superior for its ability to remove four of the VOCs.

Prof Kays, writing in the journal HortScience, said: "The volatile compounds tested in this study can adversely affect indoor air quality and have a potential to seriously compromise the health of exposed individuals."

The study concluded that simply introducing common ornamental plants into indoor spaces has the potential to significantly improve the quality of indoor air.

Prof Kays said: "As well as the obvious health benefits, the increased use of indoor plants in both 'green' and traditional buildings could have a tremendous positive impact on the ornamental plant industry by increasing customer demand and sales." "
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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:03 -0800

Moorish Girl Lying on a Couch
Edwin Lord Weeks