The Political Page, t+24, 2018 -- No Wall, No Daca

Brazen: Senator Schumer has made it clear that he is in favor of a longer, nastier government shutdown, favoring illegal "residents" over active military. Less than 24 hours after an agreement with Mitch McConnell for a fair debate on "dreamers," Senator Schumer takes his offer off the table. Brazen.

Trump, MAGA: making America great again.

Schumer, SADA: shutting America down again.

Schumer will shut the government down eight days after the president announces a $1 trillion infrastructure program.

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#MeTooScrewedUp

Minnesota Public Radio provides 2,000-word explanation why Garrison Keillor was fired. Over at The Wall Street Journal: Minnesota Public Radio defends firing of host Garrison Keillor. President Jon McTaggart offers explanation that contradicts host’s own account of dismissal.

Two months after cutting ties with Garrison Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio offered a lengthy explanation that appeared to contradict the prominent radio host’s own account of his ouster over allegations of inappropriate behavior.
In a 2,000-word letter to members and listeners, MPR President Jon McTaggart said the former host of “A Prairie Home Companion” had been accused by a former female colleague of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents over a period of years. The firing, he said, “was “a painful decision, one that we did not make lightly.”
Until Tuesday, most public discussion of the incident in question was offered by Mr. Keillor himself, who in a statement on his website alleged he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.”

But this is the bad news for MPR: Garrison Keillor owns the legal rights and trademarks to “A Prairie Home Companion” and the show’s artistic content, not MPR. Whatever.

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Slow On The Button

Tech savvy: Are you kidding me? From CBS -- Hawaii governor was slow to correct missile blunder because he forgot his twitter password.

I sure hope this governor never has control over the "nuclear button."

But that is pretty funny. Folks question Trump's cognitive abilities. And here we have a(n) Hawaii governor who can't remember his twitter password. But it's worse: couldn't he have called a friend to get the word out? Or asked his aid where he kept his passwords?

But again, folks question Trump's cognitive abilities but will give the Hawaiian governor a pass.

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The McDonald's Page

Disclaimer: in a long note like this, there will be factual and typographical errors. I am posting this mostly for my own benefit. Our older granddaughter is taking chemistry, to include elements of organic chemistry, and it's only a matter of time before we get to this topic. If this information is important to you, go to "better" or other sources. 

It appears last month was a big month for reporters to examine President Trump's love for McDonald's products (which by the way, I also love, as does Warren Buffett).

So, great opportunity to review fatty acids (which will provide no insight to the google search results above -- sorry.

From Absolutely Small: How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World, Michael D. Fayer, Ph. D., c. 2010.

Some data points:

• fatty acids:
• myristic acid, a 14-carbon saturated fat is believed to increase cholesterol significantly in a deleterious manner
• palmitic acid, a 16-carbon saturated fat, is thought to increase cholesterol to some extent
• stearic acid, an 18-carbon saturated fat, with little effect on cholesterol levels
• linolenic acid, an 18-carbon polyunsaturated fat, and other polyunsaturated fats decrease cholesterol
• oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, and like many monounsaturated fats, with little effect on cholesterol
• among common oils, going from "bad" to "better" to 'best" (in this context)
• butter fat and coconut oil: large amounts of myristic acid and palmitic acid; very little linolenic acid
• olive oil: no myristic acid, significant amount of palmitic acid and some linolenic acid
• canola oil; no myristic acid and almost no palmitic acid; a substantial amount of linolenic acid; ND #1;
  
• grape seed oil: no myristic acid; small amounts of palmitic acid, bur very large amounts of linolenic acid
• safflower oil: same as grape seed oil -- when not processed for high-temperature cooking
• sunflower oil: same as grape seed oil -- when not processed for high-temperature cooking; ND #1;
  
• chemically-modified fats: for various reasons, many polyunsaturated fats (good) are chemically processed to saturated fats (bad)
• hydrogenation: chemically converting polyunsaturated fats (good) to saturated fats (bad)
• because polyunsaturated fats can be beneficial, sunflower oil and safflower oil are seen as advantageous
• however, sunflower oil and safflower oil are often hydrogenated (bad)
• how can you tell if the sunflower oil product or the safflower oil product has been hydrogenated? Read the label and look at the ratio of saturated / polyunsaturated
• sunflower oil / safflower oil: high ratio of saturated / polyunsaturated, then the oil has been hydrogenated (bad)
• if not hydrogenated (good), sunflower oil / safflower oil will have far greater amounts of polyunsaturated than saturated fats

Having said all that, I practically grew up on slightly salted  / salted sunflower seeds while growing up in North Dakota. 

Back to safflower and sunflower oils: many brands have been partially hydrogenated so they are more usable for high-temperature cooking.

Polyunsaturated (but not saturated) oils more prone to reacting with oxygen and becoming rancid. To extend shelf life, they should be refrigerated.

If polyunsaturated fats are not refrigerated, they should be kept in a cool, dark place; some such oils come in dark bottles to improve shelf life in grocery stores.

Saturated fatty oils will keep for a long time without refrigeration.

Saturated fatty oils are also better for high-temperature cooking, and thus the reason for (partially) hydrogenating safflower and sunflower oil (bad).

We will get to trans-oils (bad) later. If I remember. It is my understanding that McDonald's does not use trans-oils. Canola oil is the first oil -- among the seven fatty acids in the frying oil -- usually mentioned when asked what oil McDonald's uses for frying French fries