By Artur Davis, on Mon Oct 24, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET  Yes, the CLASS program is a narrow feature of Obamacare that most Americans knew nothing about.
But scrapping the program validates some of the central critiques of health care reform – that it is overly complex, is unsustainable financially, and is too experimental and bureaucratic. And none this is hindsight – it is exactly what critics of the law argued would happen if the White House insisted on a systems overhaul of health are rather than a targeted attack on pre-existing illness exclusions and a federally-funded expansion of Medicaid.
 The travails of the CLASS program also illustrate the degree to which congressional Democrats and private sector interests inserted a backlog of frustrated policy goals into the fine print of “Obamacare.” Hill staffers who were distrustful of the efficacy of the private insurance market fixated on CLASS as an eventual wedge into a “public option”, and in private meetings made no bones about their thinking.
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Artur Davis: Is Obamacare Crumbling?
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Oct 19, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET Girls, do yourself a favor and please don’t want to be like Snookie when you grow up. New research from the Girl Scouts Research Institute reveals that 80 percent of girls who watch reality TV shows think the programs are unscripted and true to life. [Time]
Here’s seven ways to beat the afternoon energy slump: [Huffington Post]
A malaria vaccine in progress could save millions of lives. [NY Times]
Is there something scientific about the types of personalities that can handle the presidency? [Psychology Today]
Feeling down? Watch this montage of positive reinforcement clips from “Glee” and you’ll be smiling faster than you san say “Don’t stop believing!” [NY Magazine]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Oct 17, 2011 at 9:37 AM ET Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon. The popular NASCAR driver, who won the Indianapolis 500 for the second time this May, died this weekend in a collision during a fall series race in Las Vegas. [NY Times]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Oct 12, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET Amber Miller was 39 weeks pregnant when she completed the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, giving birth hours later. How’s that for dedication? [Chicago Tribune]
Looks like you can outsmart heart disease. New research reveals that people at higher risk for heart problems show no increased heart risk when they eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables. [Time]
Can you guess what’s in this school lunch… and why these meals need to change? [CNN]
Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing. How will this impact society? [NY Times]
Get the scoop behind the vocal cord injury affecting singer Adele. [Wall Street Journal]
By Greg Harris, on Thu Oct 6, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET  Eating a good steak is almost like a religious experience for me. It’s an occasion … such as a birthday dinner at a throw-back steakhouse whose environment encourages even the most effete of men to talk like Goodfellas.
Cincinnati’s most well known restaurateur, Jeff Ruby, plays up this pageantry at his steakhouses.
The grand opening of one of his restaurants came in the form of an invite tied around the neck of a dead fish, playfully evoking the mafia intimidation tactic of sending would-be victims the message that they would soon be “sleeping with the fishes .”
 Often outside Ruby’s restaurants you’ll see men awkwardly smoking a big cigar, trying to look the part, but perhaps tying a little too hard. (I also enjoy an occasional good cigar, but smoke mine in private.)
My Grand Pa Leon became a well regarded restaurateur in Chicago after years as a kosher butcher. He knew a good cut of meat, and never strayed from quality. His restaurant, Frenkel’s, had the best corned beef and even earned a reference in a David Mamet play. He actually looked the part of a gangster … a cigar aficionado who drove big Buicks and resembled a thicker, stronger version of Robert DeNiro. Yet his ethics and honesty were very much unlike that of a Mafioso. In his early years as a shop owner when the mafia came by for their take, he chased them out with a meat cleaver. Year later, he abruptly left a thriving restaurant and nightclub in downtown Chicago when he learned his partner had mafia ties. (No offense, Mr. Ruby and other would-be goodfellas, but I share my grandfather’s disdain for the mob and wannabe’s that glorify thieves and thugs.)
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Greg Harris: A Herbivorous New Year
By RP Nation, on Mon Oct 3, 2011 at 12:15 PM ET October 2011. This is an important time of year for Jews who may be re-evaluating past behavior and re-committing to living a life of meaning and impact. It is a time for reflection, atonement and resolutions, and I do look forward to observing these seasonal rituals. I am told that Jewish New Year resolutions, however, are really not supposed to concern superficial things, so I’m traveling back in time to my New Year’s resolution from January to discuss my biggest disappointment this year.
My butt shoes and I failed each other.
Like many of my friends who are now in our mid forties, gravity has been a constant companion. Some folks rightly see that as impetus for improved diet and regular exercise. Others, however, yearn for a quick fix. Post holiday binge, I was ready for a concerted shape up effort. Surveying my posse of girlfriends in January to determine if anyone had tried the heavily advertised and promoted “toning” shoes, several expressed vague product awareness, but none had tried them personally. I was urged to become the guinea pig for the rest of the group.
The theory is that “toning” shoes, with unstable soles, work your muscles harder, which firms your legs and rear. So I bought some. I walked the dog in them, wore them to soccer games and baseball games, pulled them out of my office desk at lunchtime to replace my pumps. Despite what I would characterize as fairly dedicated effort over a sustained period of time, I did not notice any difference. (My husband told me that he thought I was making progress, but then again, he has to say that.)
I began to suspect that you probably have to wear the shoes 24 hours a day, including in the shower and in bed, in order to have any significant impact. And so, over time, the butt-firming shoes were abandoned, along with several other idealistic New Year’s resolutions.
The big news this week is that Federal Trade Commission has stepped in. Reebok apparently made unsubstantiated claims that the shoes strengthened and toned the buttocks 28% more than regular walking shoes. Without admitting guilt, the company has agreed to refund up to $25 million to customers. Another “shape up” shoe manufacturer, Skechers, may also be in trouble for making similar bold claims.
Perseverance is an important lesson, and there is no reason to abandon hope. I recently found some brand-name “skin firming” moisturizer at the drug store. It’s clinically proven to reduce the appearance of cellulite for visibly firmer skin. It requires you to regularly massage copious amounts of the product onto what the label characterizes as “problem areas (thighs, hips, buttocks, stomach, upper arms).”
So, while this is no profound resolution, I do think I am starting the season with new resolve and high hopes. I am also a little more slippery. Check back with me in a year.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Oct 3, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET Start your Monday morning with a little inspiration. Photographer Terri Shaver shoots free portraits of women with breast cancer, in an effort to make them feel beautiful again. [CNN]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Sep 28, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET Many of us depend on that daily cup of joe to perk us up in the morning. But scientists are saying coffee now has an additional proven benefit: fighting off depression in women. [Time]
In honor of National Sandwich Week (yes, that’s a thing), Good magazine presents eight of the world’s craziest condiments. [Good]
When it comes to designing the best tissues ahead of flu season, it’s an arms race to the best new product. [NY Times]
Laughter is the best medicine– but only if it’s certain types of humor. [Psychology Today]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Sep 21, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET Why does food look so much tastier when you have an empty stomach? [Time]
New research is helping athletes push it to the limit and beat their own highest racing times. [NY Times]
What makes some people believe they’ve been abducted by aliens? [Psychology Today]
More Americans are taking prescription drugs, meaning that more American children are accidentally overdosing on those medicines. [Wall Street Journal]
The forced weddings and honor killings common in some Middle Eastern countries are reportedly happening in England and the United States as well. [Newsweek]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Sep 19, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET Why do foreign languages sound like they are being spoken a million miles per hour to untrained ears? New research has the answer. [Time]
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The travails of the CLASS program also illustrate the degree to which congressional Democrats and private sector interests inserted a backlog of frustrated policy goals into the fine print of “Obamacare.” Hill staffers who were distrustful of the efficacy of the private insurance market fixated on CLASS as an eventual wedge into a “public option”, and in private meetings made no bones about their thinking. 
