Free Republic

You might think that customers buying their lunch at McDonald’s would order meals with fewer calories if someone handed them a slip of paper reminding them that women should eat no more than 650 calories at lunchtime and men should not exceed 800 calories. But you would be wrong. Instead, researchers found that diners who received these supposedly helpful reminders actually purchased more calories than those who didn’t, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health. The study authors — from the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Cornell...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: By the way, did you hear what Michelle did? Gabby Douglas was on the Leno show, The Tonight Show. You gotta hear this. Gold medal gymnast, Gabby Douglas. She's on The Tonight Show with Michelle (My Belle) Obama. Leno says, "Gabby after you won your gold medal, how did you celebrate? What did you do?" DOUGLAS: After the competition, I splurged on a Egg McMuffin... LENO: Egg McMuffin! DOUGLAS: ...at McDonald's. (laughter) Michelle Obama Scolds Olympics Hero Gabby Douglas for Eating an Egg McMuffinOBAMA: Gabby, we don't... LENO: Egg McMuffin! OBAMA: ... don’t encourage him! I'm sure...

Democrats in the state Legislature finally agreed last week on a government health care plan. If that doesn't scare you, the details should. Senate and Assembly Democrats combined their separate proposals to: •Impose a 7.5 percent payroll "fee" on employers who don't already spend at least that much on employee health insurance, with the ability for bureaucrats to raise the fee later without legislative approval. •Provide no exceptions for even the smallest business. •Require insurance companies to sell coverage to anyone except those people the government determines have "serious" medical conditions. •Establish a tax-subsidized fund to insure people with serious...