A new report on the health effects of moderate drinking paints a mixed picture, with both positive and negative health effects — plus plenty of unknowns.

The studies included in the report, which will help shape the 2025 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, defined moderate alcohol consumption as no more than one drink per day for women and two per day for men. (A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer containing 5% alcohol, 5 ounces of wine, or 1½ ounces of hard liquor.)

All the studies in the report come with some uncertainty: Scientists can’t randomize one group to drink alcohol and another to abstain for years or decades, and people don’t always keep track of how much they drink, said Dr. Ned Calonge, chair of the committee that compiled it and the associate dean for public health practice at the Colorado School of Public Health.

While the research did show lower death rates among moderate drinkers, the committee couldn’t rule out that they were healthier for some other reason, Calonge said.

“I do think that it would be wrong to recommend that someone start drinking for health reasons,” he said. “If a person chooses to drink, they should drink moderately.”

Here are five takeaways from the report:

Heavy drinking is unhealthy

Men who have more than two drinks per day and women who have more than one have a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and “all-cause mortality” — essentially, all causes lumped together and adjusted for age. (While everyone will die of something, excessive drinking increases the odds it will happen prematurely.)

“Any potential decreased health risks (from moderate drinking) are wiped out if a person drinks heavily,” Calonge said.

Moderate drinking might have some benefits…

Both men and women who drank moderately had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never drank. They also had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Moderate drinking raises “good” cholesterol, which could explain why people who have one or two drinks a day might be less likely to develop heart disease, Calonge said.

…but not when it comes to cancer

Women who drank moderately had a higher risk of breast cancer than those who didn’t drink at all, and the risk was higher for those who averaged one drink a day than those who drank less frequently.

Alcohol breaks down into substances that can damage DNA when the body metabolizes it, which could explain an increased risk of cancer, Calonge said. The committee couldn’t determine if moderate drinking changes the odds of developing other cancers, he said.

Evidence is still lacking in some areas

One of the committee’s assignments was to determine whether someone’s decision to drink had any effect on their weight and body composition. It couldn’t reach any conclusions, because the underlying studies didn’t account for other differences between people who drink and those who don’t. (For example, maybe the drinkers were more likely to smoke, or a significant number of nondrinkers had a soda habit.)

Controversy isn’t over

A different report, compiled in 2020, came to the opposite conclusion on cardiovascular disease, finding no advantage to moderate drinking. It suggested that men also limit themselves to one drink per day, to minimize their risk of cancer.

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Critics of the current report told The New York Times they believed the committee cherry-picked studies that would support benefits from moderate drinking.

The number of studies was small because the committee’s task was to look at evidence since 2010 that compared moderate drinkers to lifelong abstainers, Calonge said. (Comparing current drinkers to people who gave it up for health reasons can make the drinking group look better.)

They used those criteria to exclude studies without knowing which way their results would point, he said.

Ultimately, the field needs more and higher-quality research on moderate drinking, Calonge said.

“I totally reject that (cherry-picking) criticism,” he said. “What I can say is it’s a small snapshot.”

Social Security in the crosshairs: We won’t take this lying down

For years we seniors have coasted along, feeling secure that no one would dare mess with our Social Security and Medicare.  Those programs were dubbed the “third rail” (anyone who touched them would be dead in the political water).  Well, folks, we are no longer secure.

House Republicans recently passed a “budget blueprint” that plans to cut hundreds of billions from the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid. But Social Security is also in the crosshairs. Elon Musk has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme.

The government is shutting down 47 branch Social Security offices and six regional offices — while at the same time people will no longer be able to verify their identity over the phone, and so many more will need to visit an office in person. The Social Security Administration has been ordered to fire 7,000 of its staff, even though they were already short-staffed and dealing with huge backlogs.

Social Security has never missed a payment in nearly 90 years. But incredibly, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Lutnick (net worth of $2+ billion) stated that if S.S. recipients didn’t get their checks one month, to most people it would be no big deal and they wouldn’t complain (as they “trust government”).  Lutnick said that Musk knows the “easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen …  Whoever screams is the one stealing.”

Forty percent of seniors living alone depend entirely on Social Security for their livelihood. This is how alarmingly out of touch this administration is.

When Musk and his muskrats (DOGE) demanded unfettered access to our personal Social Security information (which includes S.S. numbers, medical records, bank accounts, tax information, earnings history, birth/marriage records, employment information and more), a judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order.  In retaliation, the Trump-appointed SSA acting director threatened to shut down the entire system.

For decades the agency has been begging Congress for funds to update their IT system. Now staff cuts have already led to outages. Former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley recently stated, “Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits. I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days.”

There are over 73 million of us. We will not take this lying down. Demand of your elected officials that our earned benefits be protected. Oh, and about that third rail? They can ride Musk out of town on it.

Carol Turnbull, Woodbury

 

Digging

Tim Walz doesn’t get it.  He continues digging himself a hole every time he speaks or goes on a podcast, even though I personally enjoy it.

Bobby Reardon, Pelican Lake Township

 

What we get from politicians who are for sale

Almost daily a Republican will brand Democrats as far-left Marxists or radical liberals responsible for all of society’s ills, tand here’s little response from a Democratic Party once proud of liberalism. Regardless of which party has been in charge, conservatism rules without accountability — over 40 years of policies that make sure the rich get richer. For 40 years we’ve heard how tax cuts for the 1 percent will create great jobs, the rest of us get the bill but not so great jobs. Ever hear Donald Trump boast about the wonderful jobs he’s created?

What’s worse, this Republican Party’s brand of conservatism brought us to an America that’s lost its soul, lost its ideals and credibility on the world stage. It’s brought us to Trump, again. They knew he couldn’t be bothered with honesty, ethics and morals or laws and the Constitution. He said he’d only be a dictator for one day but he loves it, said he didn’t know anything about Project 2025, now it’s his bible. For over 40 years conservatives have blasted government as an enemy. Trump accuses programs he doesn’t like of fraud and corruption, he would know both up close and personal. If there is fraud, who is being prosecuted? No program especially those that serve the common good is safe from being gutted, that includes Social Security and Medicare. Day by day it becomes clearer that Trump and his band of billionaires cannot be trusted.

Debate over size and function of government is legitimate but for every problem in government, there’s more, a lot more, that government does that’s good. Government isn’t the evil but the political system surely is. Fraud and corruption do exist but they’re found in the White House and halls of Congress. Politicians for sale gave us an economy for the few instead of the many. A political system controlled by big money is clearly in need of reform. It’s a system that does not represent us all.

Thomas L. Lenczowski, Mendota Heights

 

Bolshevik brainwashing

Several writers recently treated TDS (“Trump Derangement Syndrome“) lightly. It, however, appears to be quite widespread. I work with several area groups. Some days after the November 2024 selection, a member of one of those groups quietly entered and sat down at a place at a table. After a few moments they looked across the table and, in somewhat hushed tones stated, “We will be OK, won’t we?”

Some months later another person was sitting at their table, visibly agitated, and then stated that they had been calling their bank every day to assure that their money was still in there — that Musk was going to take it.

A statistician would say that two people is not evidence of an epidemic. But this is out of a group (sample size) of 8 or 10.  Maybe we should call it what it is –1917 Bolshevik Brainwashing by their party and their media.  And yes, it works. And apparently it traumatizes people.  I really felt sad that they had experienced such public mental abuse.

Art Thell, West St. Paul

 

Frustrated by process to select a new DFL chair

Ken Martin was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee on February 1. Less than an hour later, Tim Walz endorsed his deputy chief of staff, Richard Carlbom, to become DFL chair.

It’s no secret Tim Walz has an interest in running for president; he’s said so himself. The issue is that his deputy chief of staff would have wide control over DFL party resources as chair. Resources that could easily be given to Tim Walz when they would normally be given to our local candidates.

Many people have expressed their frustration with the process to replace Ken Martin. I would know, I’m running for DFL chair myself. A lot of people I’ve spoken with have privately said they worry Richard Carlbom cares more about Tim Walz’s political future than the futures of local candidates. We need a chair committed to all of Minnesota, not just one man.

Jack Lindsay, Eden Prairie

 

‘Domestic terrorism’

Since when is storming and vandalizing the United States Capitol building not considered domestic terrorism while spray painting a Tesla is?

John Wood, St. Paul

 

Remember the Cold War saying

It is good talks are happening about a cease fire. But in dealing with Putin, it reminds me of the old Cold War saying about the Russians, they would say, “what is mine is mine and what is yours we will negotiate.”

In the end, it very hard to take President Trump seriously when he said Ukraine invaded Russia. Trump’s supporters will say, “oh he is just being Trump” or “he is sly like a fox”, only history will tell for sure. This is a serious business. People are suffering and dying in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, and this increased because of by the temporary cut off of intelligence and aid, the canceling of USAID programs and the reduction of support by this president. This should be black and white to everyone, not just those of us who have relatives in Ukraine.

Paul Malamen, Eagan

 

It’s not a crisis

I strongly object to the St. Paul mayor’s take on the City Council supporting the Fort Road Federation/District 9 Community Council’s appeal that took issue with city zoning administrator and planning commission findings. With the city’s legal team at her side, Councilwoman Noecker’s carefully reasoned and elegant rationale, that the council unanimously approved, was based upon a number of factors, not just the interpretation of a public works yard.

The mayor has ignored decades of (local) community input on the care for our environment and possibilities for both commercial and transit viability, specifically for our beautiful river corridor. He also ignored the testimony of his constituents that objected not only to what would have been its impending destruction, but also the potential loss of residential property tax income. A number of alternative sites could have been considered, and what is worse our community was given a fait accompli, specifically excluded from decision-making on locating this garbage-truck dispatch center. The mayor has fabricated a “crisis” where none exists: an alternative dispatch center already is in operation and will be for expanded service. I would like to encourage the mayor and his staff to read his citizens’ testimonies, even join us in a conversation on the issues we presented.

Jos F Landsberger, St. Paul

 

Checks

Where are the checks and balances so President Trump doesn’t become King Donald?

Thomas Good, Woodbury

 

What leaders who respect democracy do

Leaders who respect democracy follow laws. For the sake of a functioning nation, they respect established due process. If an agency or office was established by the legislature, they recognize its currency and work through the legislature to change or dismantle it.

Leaders who respect democracy respect the courts. The leaders certainly can raise legal challenges, but they abide by court decisions and neither flout rulings nor attack judges who rule against them. The statement by Chief Justice Roberts means that leaders who respect democracy appeal rulings they find disagreeable to higher courts.

Leaders who respect democracy do not fire, incarcerate or deport (“disappear”) individuals without due process. Innocent until proven guilty  is a cornerstone of democracy.

Leaders who respect democracy do not attack with vitriol and seek to suppress critics of their policies, whether individuals, private companies, news agencies, government offices (such as of Inspectors General), other government branches, or countries.

Leaders who do not respect democracy are fascists, authoritarians, dictators, virtual mega crime bosses — choose your term. If such labels don’t move you, these leaders are cruel.

My question is, do we as a people want to kowtow to cruelty?

Dan Gartrell, St Paul

 

Replace the word ‘deporting’

Let’s be absolutely 100% clear here: President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem aren’t simply deporting the “bad hombres” who entered the United States without authorization as they would like us to believe. They are actually creating a class of undocumented immigrants by removing the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people who were lawfully admitted into the United States and then calling for their removal.

Think about the difference here, folks, because it truly matters.

Those who entered the United States lawfully under parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans did so with U.S. sponsors, proper vetting and prior permission from the U.S. government to fly to and be lawfully admitted into the United States. In other words, they followed all proper channels and procedures, violated no laws to get here and committed no crimes since their arrival.

Nevertheless, the administration ruthlessly and at the end of the day on Friday — a cowardly tactic many of us immigration lawyers got used to during Trump’s first administration — announced it will revoke that legal status and commence removal proceedings against those who do not “self deport.”

Make no mistake. When you hear that “Trump is deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens,” replace the word “deporting” with the word “creating.” That more accurately describes the situation.

John Medeiros, Richfield. The writer is an immigration lawyer.

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Do your jobs, city councilors

Can we find serious adults to represent St. Paulites and conduct city business on the St. Paul City Council?  At first, the 2024 slate of City Council members offered much promise. Unfortunately, that promise of good governance was replaced with stunts, drama, and lawsuits.

Let’s hope that for the next City Council election, we can find public servants who will faithfully fulfill their responsibilities.  But for now, I ask that the current City Council members get back to work and do their jobs without distractions.

Kate Hunt, St. Paul

 

In this fiscal mess together

Reading Thursday’s Pioneer Press was a painful reality check.

The page one headline article stated President Trump’s tariff taxes are expected to be more than $1 trillion annually and will “shatter the global trading system” and likely “ripple through the global economy”.

But wait, here buried on Page 6 is an article on the budget negotiations in Washington where the Treasury needs Congress to raise our debt ceiling by $4-$5 trillion, adding to the current $36 trillion (>$100,000 per person) debt load.

So the headline-grabbing, globally upsetting tariffs will only offset 20%-25% of the relatively under-the-radar anticipated increase in our nation’s debt.being discussed in Washington, and in fact if we could somehow balance our budgets going forward and apply all of the new tariff taxes to our debt it would take over 30 years to pay off.

Wake up, everyone. We are all in this fiscal mess together and will only get out of it if we work together and stop the finger pointing. It will not be easy or painless. Tariffs may or may not be part of the answer but it seems clear there needs to be some combination of tax increases and budget cuts moving forward.

Tyler Beck, Vadnais Heights

 

The people pay

To piggyback on Don Jacobson’s letter to the editor in Thursday’s paper (“The old argument for higher taxes”), I would remind people what Paul Harvey used to say; “Corporations don’t pay taxes, people pay taxes,” as corporations just pass any tax that they have to pay on to the products they make or services they provide.

Dave Schultz, Stillwater

 

Snake oil

Scientific medical research and health management in the second Trump term has been replaced by snake oil and witchcraft.

Joe Danko, North St. Paul

 

Discriminating against some taxpayers

The current budget proposed by Gov. Walz discriminates against non-public education. He wants to cut the $109 million ($54.5 million annually) from the state budget. This money is used for transportation, textbooks, curriculum, nurses and counselors. Walz’ proposal does not make fiscal sense.

According to 2022-23 figures, the cost of K-12 education per public school student is approximately $18,000. Of this, state taxes paid $7,700, local taxes paid $7,500, and the federal taxes paid the remainder.

The total of non-public school students during that same period was about 72,000, about 29,000 were home schooled, leaving a total of 43,000 who attended a traditional non-public/religious school. Considering the number of non-public students and the annual amount of $54.5 million, state taxes paid approximately $1,275 per year/per student to these non-public schools. If, on the other hand, the parent decides to have their child attend public school … that $18,000 figure comes into play.

The students of these non-public institutions are receiving an excellent education. Their parents contribute to the tax base of state, local and federal government. It then becomes an issue of fairness. Are you discriminating against this group because many are religious schools, or not a part of the teachers union?

Imagine what it would cost the taxpayers if every one of these students attended public/government schools. Take the blinders off Gov. Walz … you are getting a good deal.

Jerry Wynn, St. Paul

 

Get into the weeds on data centers

Minnesota, we must get in the weeds with proposed data centers in our communities.

Open the door slowly, oh so slowly.

I’m staggered to find myself looking at a single landscape that has emerged to threaten everything that I care about in one fell swoop: smart energy use, conservation of water, recycling metal resources and protecting farm land.

Just what are data centers about? Essentially they are large warehouses filled with computers that handle AI and our digital needs. A quick glimpse: 10 new data centers are being proposed in Minnesota. The largest is the size of 25 Target stores. Energy use of 10 data centers = energy use of ALL Minnesota homes. The proposed Farmington operation would use twice as much water as the whole city itself. Whoa … what?

Granted, there are promises to use sustainable energy to meet the huge increased need for electricity production but only good intentions there, no guarantees, no teeth so far. And the delivery, the grid, the extra lines? Who pays for these? And using less water is a goal, but again so far we have no identifiable requirements. Aside from construction jobs, data centers only add 20-50 long term jobs. Greenlighting these facilities is more like approving a bridge or a highway than any business. This is a complex and significant new issue.

As Minnesota citizens, it’s our job to insist that there be the best possible guidelines for this coming chapter.  Within the next five years we must bring our best minds to the job of striking the right balance between critical digital infrastructure and responsible use of public funds, precious resources and open land. We will need serious conversation and collaboration between many sectors.

Slow down, be smart, make educated choices Minnesotans.

Karen Hannah, Stillwater

 

Get back to the office

Governor Tim Walz has instructed most state employees to return to the office on a hybrid schedule. The employees and their union are against it and in fact they protested outside the governor’s mansion. Some gathered in front of the Capitol a week ago.

Funny how they don’t want to return to the office, but make an effort to hold a news conference and stage a protest. For those at the Capitol that day, did they use time off?

Their parents/grandparents never had an option to work at home, so get back to the office.

Jacqueline Heintz, Maplewood

 

Phones: off limits during the school day

January 6 was a peaceful protest. It was about manifest destiny, not genocide. Confederate heroes fought for states’ rights.

Please do not allow our children to access social media platforms that amplify these falsehoods during the school day. I believe it is essential for at least one generation to understand history before the ongoing revisionist efforts take effect. Allowing cell phones during class breaks only ensures that our children will be distracted during class, constantly seeking the next dopamine hit that these platforms provide in the pursuit of profit.

Colin Cook, Shoreview

 

Economics is destiny

The Pioneer Press published an excellent column titled “Economics is destiny” in a recent edition. Economics is not a deeply studied field of knowledge in the general population. Nevertheless, a properly functioning economy depends upon informed and well-behaved governance interacting with the business industry on behalf of the general well-being of the nation.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing a veritable train wreck in governance and economic planning at the hands of our U.S. president, whose erratic policies are undermining our national and international image, stability and well-being. This recklessness has been exploited by Elon Musk, a non-elected subordinate to the president who is running amok with attacks on vital agencies and public service within the U.S. government.

A subservient U.S. Congress has further compounded this dilemma via recent legislation that reduces income taxes for the upper income strata of our population. This entire prevailing scenario has evolved into a modern-day reenactment of the “Let them eat cake” quotation attributed to Marie Antoinette in response to the plight of starving peasants during the French Revolution.

Millions of working-class citizens, many of whom voted for the purveyors of this dysfunctional governance, are facing disablement of vital U.S. government services, persistent inflation, deteriorating job opportunities and a likelihood that an economic recession will be forthcoming. Our destiny is in peril.

Gerry Del Fiacco, Eagan

 

‘I know nothing’

One of the regular and ongoing bits within the 1960s television series “Hogan’s Heroes’” ,a story about US airmen in a German POW camp, was the lovable and buffoonish Sgt. Schultz.” He would react any time a risky question came up with a hands-in-the-air-baffled-look-on-his-face, “I know nothing.”

I was reminded of this when I watched our commander in chief answer questions regarding the bombing attacks on Houti targets with virtually the identical reaction. In that same instance it also occurred to me that. shouldn’t our POTUS be aware that the US was undertaking a major air attack that was putting our military personnel in “harm’s way”?

With all the spinning and coverup surrounding this incident I guess an honest answer from our fearless leaders would be a miracle.

Jack Palmer, Lilydale

 

A bright moment

At a time when empathy and civility seem to be in short supply, Timberwolves’ coach Chris Finch, his fellow coaches, and Wolves players recently provided us with a reminder of the goodness of people. Finch’s decision to start Joe Ingles so his son (who has autism) might see his dad play his first game was a kind and thoughtful gesture.

Thank you to Finch and reporter Jace Frederick for providing a bright moment for many of us.

Go Wolves!

Liz Erickson, Eagan

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By ALAN SUDERMAN, AP Business Writer

After holding relatively stable during last week’s global market turmoil, cryptocurrencies have joined the sell-off.

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Stocks sink after Trump threatens to escalate trade war despite seeing how much Wall Street hates it

Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency dipped below $75,000 Monday morning before seeing a slight rebound.

Bitcoin’s prices haven’t been this low since just after President Donald Trump’s Election Day victory last year launched a bull run in crypto prices. Trump, whose tariff announcements led to massive stock sell offs, has been a major promoter of the crypto industry and previously took credit when bitcoin’s price broke $100,000 in December. Bitcoin has been on a relatively steady slide in price since Trump took office earlier this year.

Bitcoin’s backers say it is a type of digital gold that can act as a hedge against volatility. But Garrick Hileman, an independent cryptocurrency analyst, said bitcoin’s price slide shows that thesis still hasn’t proven to be true.

“It’s just not there today,” he said. “(Bitcoin) trades like a risky tech stock.”

Other major digital assets saw even bigger one-day percentage drops on Monday morning.

Ether, the second most popular crypto token, was trading at about $1,500 on Monday morning. It’s lost about half of its value since Trump’s son, Eric Trump, encouraged his followers on social media to buy ether in early February.

President Trump’s own meme coin, which he launched just before taking office and once hit a high of more than $70, dipped below $8 Monday morning.

Stock prices of crypto-focused companies also saw declines in early trading Monday.