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DEL.ICIO.USFat government, fat people
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s not just government that’s bloated. We are too, according to an organization that tracks obesity state-by-state.
Eventually good fiscal conservatives will get a pork-loving Congress to diet. The first step is exposing earmarks, those pet projects slipped into appropriations bills by individual senators and representatives. One step in that direction would be to give President Bush the line-item veto, or at least the weaker version of it that passed the House, 247-172.
But we may be the bigger problem. America, in one generation, has gone from having a hunger problem to having an obesity problem. Eight of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South. In Mississippi, 29.5 percent of adults are considered overweight, highest in the country.
The question here is what, if anything, government should do about it? Among the recommendations are that government fund more sidewalks, change land-use laws so that people are tempted to walk or ride bicycles to the store or to work, mandate screenings for Medicaid beneficiaries, or put programs in schools to address the problem of overweight children. Employers, according to the organization gathering the data, should offer nutrition counseling and subsidize health club memberships.
It does make sense for government to manage wellness in Medicaid, PeachCare and other taxpayer-subsidized programs. That would include entering into long-term contracts with health maintenance organizations so that they have incentive to help people lose weight, thus reducing the cost to taxpayers of health problems associated with obesity, like diabetes and hypertension. The zoning, sidewalks, school curriculm and food-cop approaches have no appeal to me, nor do mandates on employers. If the private sector determines that its medical costs are reduced by subsidizing fitness center memeberships, it should. But that’s entirely between employers and their employees. We’re fat. What, if anything, should government do?
Comments
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 08:06 AM | Link to this
Good morning all. I understand that groceries are taxed at a lower rate than other goods. If obesity is a legitimate concern for the government, eliminating the tax preference for food would be a good first step. I dislike being in a position of advocating higher taxes, so perhaps we could eliminate taxes on everything other than food.
By Mid-South Philosopher
August 30, 2006 08:07 AM | Link to this
Good morning, Jim,
OK, my friend…in the words of that proverbial lady in the church…”You have done stopped preaching and gone to meddling!”
Having a tendency toward the “gut” myself, I fear that you are “right on target” with this issue. It is depressing! Somebody ought to do something about it! Gee, I feel bad. Think I’ll have a stack of pancakes to feel better!
By candide
August 30, 2006 08:08 AM | Link to this
Send fat people to concentration camps for extended stays.
By Mid-South Philosopher
August 30, 2006 08:11 AM | Link to this
Now, that I have the foolishness out of the way, I will say something a little more meaningful, I hope.
How would it be if private health insurance companies gave rate breaks to customers who “improve” their physical and health standing. For example, if an obese person loses a significant amount of weight or reduces blood pressure, etc…things that a medical doctor could verify for the insurance bureaucrats?
By @@
August 30, 2006 08:22 AM | Link to this
Mr. Wooten: Mid-South Philosopher beat me to the punch. Ditto on the financial incentives from health providers, and it should be provided to the children within the family’s policy as well.
Also, there is a link between an individual’s psychological well being and weight gain. Filling an emotional void will make you “fluffy”.
Incorporate some positives into the news media. Those who want to find it will be thinner than the naysayers.
Thin optimist signing off.
By Scooter
August 30, 2006 08:27 AM | Link to this
What should the government do about obesity, let’s try nothing. Responsibility is power and the government should have less, not more. How can you mention fat government and then ask how we can get government more involved in our lives? I understand some will say obesity cost the government more through medicare, peachcare, etc…
I like Southern Philosopher’s proposal of PRIVATE companies encouraging weight lose through weight reductions = rate reductions.
Aren’t we supposed to think that obesity is a glandular disorder and not the fault of the fat a**?
By Pete
August 30, 2006 08:30 AM | Link to this
Can we line item veto my wife’s extra 100 lbs? The devil wears Prada. My wife wears Darth Vader.
By Hadden Knough
August 30, 2006 08:31 AM | Link to this
What we need is a good old fashion depression. And I don’t mean the kind that needs medicating. I mean a rip roaring, down and dirty, economy busting, job killing, people starving, federal budget slicing, capital D-pression so that folks for the next 75 years will appreciate what little they had and won’t go wasting, or splurging, or gobbling up more than they need for fear of another depression coming. Yep, a depression and a massive government effort that really won’t accomplish anything, and probably make things worse, but will make us all feel better ourselves. Depression and more government involvement in our private lives. Yep, that’s the answer.
By Pete
August 30, 2006 08:34 AM | Link to this
They did these experiments where obese rats lost weight when they did two things: changed their diet, and showed them photos of Carney Wilson’s thighs.
By Jim Wooten
August 30, 2006 08:40 AM | Link to this
Morning jbmlaw, Philosopher, @@ and all. This may be a fun day. Good humor and good suggestions, too. For all of us past 40, when I first noticed how easy it is to put on the pounds and how difficult it is to take them off, this is indeed a delicate — close to “meddling” — subject.
By Captain Freedom
August 30, 2006 08:43 AM | Link to this
Coincidentally, Mrs. Freedom asked this morning, just before Pedro the plumber was due to arrive for his weekly inspection visit: “Does this dress make my bottom look fat?”
The Captain, knowing not to insult her clothes, replied, “No honey, your a* makes you look fat.”
Now, the Captain is at the corner Starbucks posting this, having been asked to leave for 90 minutes while Pedro conducts his plumbing inspection.
But this topic strikes a nerve, as the Captain has not seen any part of his body below the beltline for many years now. But he objects to the idea of snoopy government scolds inhibiting his right to another muffin here at the Woodstock Starbucks, as it is my God-given right to enjoy the fruits of the earth in whatever quantity I can afford to pay for. This applies to food, gasoline, and the so-called carbon footprint of my gated-community home. The do-gooders wish to restrict my freedoms to consume. This is not what Jesus would want for me.
By Bluer
August 30, 2006 08:58 AM | Link to this
Excuse me, but I thought the government was in the sensitivity business. So what is all this talk about mandating more sidewalks and employer programs to reduce obesity? Shouldn’t they instead be mandating scooters for all the fat people so they can clog the few remaining open aisles at grocery stores? Shouldn’t the employer programs be aimed at the non-fat employees? You know, so we can learn about how we need to practice diversity in the workplace by hiring more fat people and not telling any more fat jokes. I don’t understand this country anymore.
By Pete
August 30, 2006 09:04 AM | Link to this
My wife, to her credit, has lost weight. She still has to buy all her clothes at the sporting goods chain shops (Galyans, Dick’s) , but she lost two dress sizes from “tent” to “loose-fitting tarp”.
By Jim Wooten
August 30, 2006 09:05 AM | Link to this
Captain Freedom and others: Keep this up and Thinking Right will impose an entertainment admissions fee on all non-contributors who browse these postings.
By Redneck Convert
August 30, 2006 09:05 AM | Link to this
Well, the Mexicans are still taking my jobs. Last night, I met up with Billy Ray, a county deputy sheriff, and asked him why the laws wasn’t being applied to illegal labor. Billy Ray told me it wasn’t a state or local job, it was a federal job. And he told me I was crazy if I thought the president was going to crack down on illegals, cause the people that hire them are the biggest givers to Republican campaigns. Anyway, I wrote Billy Ray off right quick as one of those Bush-hating libruls. He done turned on us, and he ain’t a friend of mine no more.
The missus done got her weight down to 325. She still needs a cane to walk, but she’s skinnier than she used to be. Anyway, her cripple tag lets me park close to all the stores. And if you want to tell her to lose more weight, you go ahead and do it. Last time I said something about it I got a cast-iron frying pan across the skull.
It’s not anybody’s job to tell people to stop being fat. It’s a free country, and if people want to clean out the buffet at Ryan’s or Golden Corral, let ‘em. I’ve put new 2 x 10s under the floor at the trailer, and if the missus wants to get back up to her normal weight, I’m ready for it. Anyway, it cost the same to doctor a fat person as a skinny one.
By James
August 30, 2006 09:09 AM | Link to this
Redneck Convert and Capt’n Freedom,
I am rolling! That was just what I needed to get this day started. Thanks fellas.
By Fall Line
August 30, 2006 09:10 AM | Link to this
Fat people are fat for a reason. They overeat. You can’t blame McDonalds or Wendys or even the Varsity. It’s a matter of personal choice. I will grant that some people are overwieght simply because they have no clue. In another AJC blog one blogger opined that fat free foods regardless of calories would not make you fat. That kind og ignorance is rampant.
I would and do support government programs that are designed to reduce obesity through education, but I opose any government restrictions on what we choose to eat.
All food (even those delicious Blizzards for which my wife and I have such fondness) has value. everything in moderation.
Keep the government out of our bedrooms and our kitchens!
By Pete
August 30, 2006 09:18 AM | Link to this
My wife has to watch what she eats. Did you know that one bag of oreos can undo six years of yoga classes? (true)
By getalife
August 30, 2006 09:21 AM | Link to this
“Eventually good fiscal conservatives will get a pork-loving Congress to diet.”
Its the GOP stupid.
It is hard to blame someone else for this one but Jim would try if he could.
We the people, can fix the problems in November.
By Monarch Hames
August 30, 2006 09:29 AM | Link to this
Where is Vernon Jones with this? Where is bosses boy to tell us how to eat in DeKalb County? Where is he to tell us we can’t eat in cars? Where is he to tell that we can’t talk at the drive thruogh. Where is he to tell us where to eat around back. Korean food stores sue Andy. Discrimination abounds and people make jokes.
By Pete
August 30, 2006 09:31 AM | Link to this
The Government SHOULD get involved. I propose new legislation for Ladies: New Law: If you are no longer in the coveted 18-49 year old age demographic, then stop wearing spandex.
New Government anti substance-abuse television ad: Show a baby boomer warning kids by pointing at himself and saying, “This is your face, hair, and body after 30 years of the munchies. Any questions?”
By Pete
August 30, 2006 09:33 AM | Link to this
My wife tries so hard to lose weight. She even went to WeightWatchers….but nobody would look at her.
By sct
August 30, 2006 09:44 AM | Link to this
It sure was great seeing the manager and coach of the Columbus Little League team representing Georgia, big time.
By Pete
August 30, 2006 09:45 AM | Link to this
Obese America: CLinton’s fault. Remember he would jog to McDonalds? Bad role model for a nation of freedom fry lovers. If Clinton had been paying more attention to OBL instead of BLTs, then maybe 911 wouldn’t have happened, you know?
Bush eats low fat pretzels and he’s tough on OBL.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 09:45 AM | Link to this
Is this really where yall want to be when Jesus comes back? Making fun of fat women?
On a serious note, government has no role in this matter. Its simply another side effect of an immoral self serving attitude among citizens that grew exponentially during the Clinton administration. The image of his fat a* trying to jog still makes me laugh, not to mention watching him scarf down those McDonalds cheeseburgers. What a fat slob immoral POS.
Weight and personal hygiene are personal responsibilities and we must teach those traits to our children. It starts at home. If the adults in the home are fat ignorant Clinton supporting POS’s, then time (and heart attacks) will have to thin that herd I suppose.
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 09:55 AM | Link to this
The svelte Realist joins us this morning - and it got me to thinking - gays are pretty skinny - Realist - is there something in the gay diet that keeps you so skinny?
Oh.
Yuck.
By Pete
August 30, 2006 09:57 AM | Link to this
I think our exact same topic posts reveal the difference between liberals and conservatives. My liberal post was clean. Realist’s post was hateful and dripped the bile of an emotionally unstable sociopath.
Go ahead, and reread the two identical topic posts.
See why we are in this mess. Who would you rather have in the majority? Hateful research projects, or justice-loving fair-minded men and women, fat or not?
By Realist
August 30, 2006 10:00 AM | Link to this
Yeah, running down the “gays”, tying them up and throwin em in the back of my truck, then those long walks into the woods to the stake in the fireant hill, then all that tying of rope, thats one hell of a workout rednecks.
By Pete
August 30, 2006 10:00 AM | Link to this
Thank you, Realist, for a real world, real time proof of why you are obsolete, your party is obsolete, and in November, you will get swept away forever and a new world free of fascists will emerge in a bright new sunshine. Sunshine, on my shoulders, makes me happy.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 10:02 AM | Link to this
Never gonna happen Macaca. We are hear to stay. Watch what happens.
By Fundies R Fat
August 30, 2006 10:05 AM | Link to this
American right-wing fundies focus on some sins, while omitting others. How conveeeeeeeenient! Nice job, tubbos!
By Realist
August 30, 2006 10:05 AM | Link to this
No, becuase you see PETER, Im a fringer, an extremist if you will. Me and those like me are NOT indicitive of the republican party and where they are going. Now the dems on the other hand, ARE taking the leftist fringe extremist mentality as thier party direction, and this sir, is why they will continue to fail, as they have since Clintoon took them to thier lowest point in history.
By Big Heart in a Little Body
August 30, 2006 10:07 AM | Link to this
Maybe we should be a bit more sensitive towards fat people. They could holler discrimination and divide themselves into smaller versions of themselves.
In their mind anyway. It’s all in the mind.
We’ll be looking on the backside of the issue and saying “Nope” they’re still fat just like most of America.
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 10:08 AM | Link to this
Its only right and proper to pay tribute to my fave obese liberals on this weighty topic.
I have often thought about going on the Jerrald Nadler diet which is a see-food diet - he sees food and he eats it!!
I understand that HiTllary is now ready for a self effacing campaign this autumn with her theme song being Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen.
Perhaps we should insist the fed govt actually stamps out liberal obesity and enforces stomach stapling for O’Donnell, Moore, Star Jones - ooops too late, the Al Bore, Roseanne, the odious Stuart Smalley, et al,
Even better would be a mouth stapling for Pelosi, all the Kennedy’s, Daschle - who he? - smirk -, Kerry, Feingold, Sick Willie Klinton, Carter, Feminazi Sheehan, Boxer and the rest of the liberal senate.
By Van
August 30, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this
Okay, lets see where we are.
We live in air conditioned homes, drive air conditioned cars to temperature controls work spaces. Hmmm
We have become so use to having it easy or done for us - Hey honey get me another cup of coffe - we have grown fat on our success.
Since we are use to having things done for us, we expect the government to do things for us also. We are not responsible for not being able to see our toes without a mirror, it is the governments fault and they should do something about it - right now.
We have grown lazy with our advancements and would rather watch the NFL weekend shows and have Pedro do the yard than do it ourselves. Yes, Pedro does get around.
In the olden days, we would chop wood for the fire place in the winter, then with new products we used the chain saw to cut the wood, now we turn on the gas jets and light it up.
We have given up on doing anything but sit at Starbucks and grip about the government intrusions into our lives.
“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.”
Charles de Gual
The government is here to help you - right!
By Gerald
August 30, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this
Just two days ago, Mr. Wooten in his column about rebuilding New Orleans proposed holding parents accountable for the conduct of their children, not allowing homes to be built below Katrina flood levels (presumably through government insurance regulation), and inviting faith based groups to "prepare" New Orleanians for their new businesses and homeownership that will be assisted through easy loans. Today, Mr. Wooten proclaims that the government shackles should be tossed off for our freedom to remain fat. Of all the liberties worth fighting for, I wouldn't rank the freedom to remain fat very high. If Mr. Wooten feels that parents should be held responsible for the conduct of their children, why not be held responsible for the girth of our midsection? If Katrina water marks can be used as litmus tests for home insurance, couldn't belt marks be used as tests for health insurance? If faith based groups can be "invited" (whatever that means) to prepare folks for homeownership and business operation, can't they too be trusted to help me prepare for the new skinny me? I am sure that James Dobson or Pat Robertson has some sort of prayer to help me lose weight. Mr. Wooten shuns zoning laws and other government intervention to stop the health pandemic that is confronting our nation. The type of zoning that has encouraged the rampant sprawl of the past forty years, needs to be revised to promote walkable developments that encourage a healthy lifestyle. The government needs to reevaluate the types of subsidies that it provides to farmers, most of which go to crops used to make high in sugar foods. But no intervention doesn't sound like much of a solution to me. Mr. Wooten, I am still confounded as to exactly where you stand. Your position on government intervention seems to change to suit your wants, much like the conservatives in Congress whose opinions about fat changes according to whose fat is being trimmed.By UGA Dad
August 30, 2006 10:18 AM | Link to this
Hi folks - haven’t been on for a while.
I don’t have a problem with my weight - I smoke 3 packs of Luckies a day and it seems to help me keep the weight off.
My daughter though, came home for the summer - I worked her out of our home in Alpharetta, and she started putting on weight, running back and forth to McDonalds and Taco Belll in between tricks. A couple of her regulars complained, so I beat the crap out of her one day (hey cons, she’s my daughter, honor thy father, remember?) and took her down to Metropolitan Avenue and told her she could only eat at work.
In just a couple of weeks she was back down to her regular weight.
By Monarch Hames
August 30, 2006 10:23 AM | Link to this
He says that most of the obesity is in the south. Where are most of the minority people? Where are most of the over obese minority people then? Where is most of the descrimination? Where will the new laws hit the most? Who owns the stores where minority people go? What foods are there? Who sues Andy when they are the ones selling foods that make minority people fat?
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 10:25 AM | Link to this
Dear Pete @ 9:57, the breadth of your conclusion is that my 8:06 post “was hateful and dripped the bile of an emotionally unstable sociopath.” Be fair! I am as conservative as any on this blog. Your 9:45 reflected much harsher humor than mine. Your 10:00 post was not “bile-free.” Let’s just have fun, forget the recriminations.
By fat wingnut
August 30, 2006 10:27 AM | Link to this
Fat wingnut
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 10:30 AM | Link to this
Dear Gerald @ 10:17, I think you misread Mr. Wooten. He favors a government role for national defense, and opposes it for almost everything else (not quite as libertarian as jbmlaw, but close.) I cannot determine from the text of your post whether or not you believe government has a role in obesity. Please enlighten.
By Fundies R Fat
August 30, 2006 10:32 AM | Link to this
Overgrazing the Flock
“Baptists may find food one of the few available sources of earthly pleasures,” Ferraro says. Exhibit A: The Rev. Jerry Falwell, Baptist king of the Christian right. Falwell has been accused (rightly) of being many things. Chubby, for instance. He may not drink or smoke, or think lusty liberal thoughts, but it looks like the good reverend has never met a plate of cheese grits he didn’t love. And it may have cost him. Falwell, 73, was hospitalized last year for acute congestive heart failure. His hefty weight, doctors said at the time, wasn’t helping matters. “Baptist and fundamentalist Protestant leaders may want to consider interventions for the ‘overgrazing of the flock,’” Ferraro says.
By Watta Load
August 30, 2006 10:32 AM | Link to this
Is it any coincidence that the fattest states…i.e., the south…are all red states? You neo-cons may hate Californians but they ain’t fat out there..
I transferred to CA in the 80s and when I finally moved back to the south, the first thing you notice is how fat everyone is. (I was born in Charleston, SC so don’t call me a yankee)
But the government shouldn’t waste tax dollars on weight control programs…people are fat because they don’t care enough not to be…
I’m not one of those fortunately..at 46 I have 6% bodyfat.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 10:47 AM | Link to this
The simple solution is for our society to apply thier fiscal tendencies to thier caloric tendencies, that is to say, burn through more than you take in. We dont seem to have an issue with that behavior when it comes to finances.
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 10:48 AM | Link to this
Our Republican counterparts here are throwing zingers at Michael Moore and Bill Clinton in the early years of his presidency. Yes, examples of obesity indeed.
HOWEVER, the GOP is the party of Sensenbrenner and Hastert. Both look like Humpty Dumpty. It would be funny to see those two indulge in a sumo match. Any takers???
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 10:50 AM | Link to this
…and let’s not leave out the local boys Gingrich and Perdue.
By JK
August 30, 2006 10:52 AM | Link to this
Why IS the government so fat anyway? Is it supposed to be this big? Who’s in charge? We need to write letters.
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 11:02 AM | Link to this
Sensenbrenner and Hastert.
These chaps are very unhappy with the lily livered, pandering Bush/senate policy on immigration, the democrats’ frequent treasonous undermining of our mission and the troops in Iraq etc. So rather than being shrill hectoring critics as in your liberal party of hate they seek comfort in food. A passive resistance admittedly, but one that quietly earns the nation’s respect.
Obese liberal tubs of increasingly appeasing lard are equally unhappy for different, happily GOOD reasons, all stemming from the happy fact that they have been deservedly sidelined since 2000, and compounded by the other equally glorious fact that the perjuring sexual predator sick Willie lost them the senate and house long before that. So liberal obesity is essentially a self inflicted low self esteem thing.
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 11:05 AM | Link to this
now now liberal
that slimy fat barsteward Taylor is more obses than Perdue and Newt combined!!
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 11:05 AM | Link to this
now now liberal
that slimy fat barsteward Taylor is more obese than Perdue and Newt combined!!
By Missy Rottweiler
August 30, 2006 11:19 AM | Link to this
As with the tobacco industry, it will up to the government to put an end to the glut of unhealthy fare that the food industry forces on the people of this country. Some school districts are already kicking the soft drink makers and their liquid sugar toxins out of the lunch rooms ( a village can do make changes). Forceful legislation that puts limits on fat and calorie content as well as serving sizes are needed. Restaurant portions are also out control. When the money making food industry dangles the goodies in front of us without fear of reprisal it is no wonder that many take the bait and become victims of commercialized obesity. Stop the CHENEY/bush wars on innocents in their own lands and instead put the money into making Americans safe from those who put monetary gain before the health of our citizens at home.
By Van
August 30, 2006 11:30 AM | Link to this
Missy Rottweile,
Yes, Missy, let have the corrupt, lazy US government, that can’t balance a budget, can’t defend its own borders, allows a Kennedy to be elected, can’t find one man in Pakistan, can’t manage medicare and medicaid without getting fleeced, can’t get a simple prescription drug plan to the seniors - handle this issue also - Marx was right - right?
By JK
August 30, 2006 11:37 AM | Link to this
I have to disagree with Missy on the degree of government regulation she advocates, although I DO think keeping garbage foods out of the schools is a good idea. IMO, EDUCATION is the key. People seem to understand “it’s bad for me” but don’t have a grasp of how bad and why.
Morgan Spurlock’s “Supersize Me” is available at your local video rental place. It’s not only eye-opening and crammed full of more facts than a Big Mac has fat grams, but its entertainment value beats what you’re getting on “reality TV” any day. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll find it SOOOO much easier to Just Say No to that garbage you’re about to ingest for lunch!
By Van
August 30, 2006 11:37 AM | Link to this
Missy Rottweiler,
Where in the hollowed Constitution is the authority for the government to be involved in our health care in the first place? Where do they derive the power to force us to make healthy choices in what we eat?
By Missy Rottweiler
August 30, 2006 11:38 AM | Link to this
Van - You want the government to manage a prescription drug plan for seniors? Are you also for national healthcare?
By Dana
August 30, 2006 11:40 AM | Link to this
I knew I would get sucked in if I looked in to this blog today…
I don’t think the government is responsible for chunky Americans, I like the idea of insurance companies offering incentives - and many of them do. It would be great if LOCAL governments chose to fund more pedestrian friendly areas, and if, in general, AMERICA chose to be more health conscious. Perhaps the government could assist, by becoming more health concious themselves, and by promoting it among those employed in federal positions.
On a comedic point - what is it with men who insist they still wear a 34 waist pants, but every year the waist line gets lower, and their shirts get HUGE? Dude - suck in your belly and put your belt back where it belongs!!!!
By Missy Rottweiler
August 30, 2006 11:42 AM | Link to this
Van - First you criticize the government for not getting a drug plan to seniors. Now you say you are opposed to governmetn intervention in our health. Which way do you want it?
By JK
August 30, 2006 11:43 AM | Link to this
Van, the people of Massachusetts decide who will represent them in the Senate, not you. Do you have a problem with the citizens of a state being able to elect their own representatives? Do you advocate a government that denies them that right? Why do you hate America?
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 11:45 AM | Link to this
TFTT,
Taylor is obese because he has to drown his sorrows over the sorry state of the GA Legislature with numerous beers at Manny’s everyday.
I don’t know if Hastert’s obesity is a favor to the nation. His heavy breathing is sure to drown out Bush’s State of the Union addresses.
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 11:46 AM | Link to this
…but then again, Bush’s speeches are a lot of hot air like Hastert’s breathing.
By JohnF
August 30, 2006 11:51 AM | Link to this
I mostly agree with Jim Wooten’s position on the government’s role in the obesity epidemic, but sidewalks and bikepaths are a good use of government funds.
Atlanta has some bikepaths but the problem is they don’t really go anywhere…and the city doesn’t maintain them so they eventually are filled with dirt and glass and such. And if sidewalks exist at all, they are usually cracked and dangerous to walk on.
I know lots of people that are afraid to walk, or jog…much less bike in and around the Atlanta area and I’m sure it’s the same way in more rural areas.
I believe more people would get out and walk…especially in some of the outlying subdivisions…if they felt protected from several tons of metal. I think in this instance, the benefits outweigh the cost of government intervention.
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 11:52 AM | Link to this
most people stick - by and large - with the eating habits and foods that they learned and that became ingrained as kids. watch what “comfort foods” folks you know ‘revert’ to in times of stress or TV watching etc. Obviously a much larger income in adulthood can somewhat impact/change this. And I’m not making a sweeping generalisation. Most of us have foods/beverages we hated as kids that are still hated as we become adults.
Its often such an unconscious thing that unless a real effort is made to disrupt the patterns then many folks stick to a broadly similar diet. Using the same cluster of eating places most days or the same cluster of meals/variations.
Some of the really obese types - other than the ones with clear physiological reasons for huge obesity - get very large because they’ve been victims of some kind of abuse -mostly as kids, but not always. Breaking negative eating patterns can be as hard as giving up cigarettes or alcohol or drugs.
Obviously those who are not 60/80/100lbs or more overweight have an easier task to shift it - but like with addicts you have to really want to. Sudden debilitating health problems can be a huge motivating factor to make changes. I know a vietnamese chap who seriously blimped up - got diabetes - made the requisite changes and got rid of the weight and diabetes well within two years.
expecting the govt to change any of this, even with nutritional “education” for you is as dumb as expecting the govt to magically stop you becoming a drug/alcohol user!!
By Catch that Greased Pig
August 30, 2006 11:53 AM | Link to this
It would be great if everyone knocked the dust off of that “present in everyone’s home” exercise equipment and use it. It wouldn’t cost me anything. I wouldn’t be funding a failed attempt of government to alter human behavior.
Work more, sit less. Your own yard is a great place to burn off calories, provided it’s not sitting in the middle of I-75 or some suicidal maniac driving a lethal weapon decides he doesn’t like the way “Contrary Mary’s garden grows.”
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 11:57 AM | Link to this
but Liberal
Taylor actually became a slimy obese barsteward UNDER demoncrat rule … so you’re saying that he was SENSIBLY very unhappy with demoncrats. he was still obese after Perdue’s first year … and he still is hugely obese.
this time I have to agree with you.
By Kill Rednecks
August 30, 2006 11:58 AM | Link to this
Simple use of our government…round up all the rednecks in cobb county, put ‘em in a big stadium and let ‘em all kill each other…then people could use the Silver Comet Trail without being raped and murdered.
And forget about the Civil War monuments…letting people run at Kennesaw Mountain is more important than honoring that failed war from a couple of centuries ago.
By Van
August 30, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this
JK,
With Teddy’s drinking and driving record, he could not get a job at McDonalds, but the people of THAT state keep electing him. Go figure.
I am not opposed to anything that benefits the US. People do have the right to elect whatever species they want to represent them, I just question their thinking.
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this
TFTT,
Touche, but the GA Legislature was ran largely by DINOs—i.e. Perdue, who switched parties and became fatter.
By JK
August 30, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this
TTFT said, “Breaking negative eating patterns can be as hard as giving up cigarettes or alcohol or drugs.”
So true! But don’t be so quick to bash education, Troof. Sugar and fat can be every bit as addictive as alcohol or nicotine. By insisting that it’s merely a “character issue” or a matter of willpower, we (as a society) ignore the biological issues. Mr. Spurlock addressses these in his movie. It IS a matter of willpower (lost a bunch, feel great now!), that’s true, but understanding the physiological reactions my body was having to the bad food, and reasons for the painful withdrawal, made it easier to persist, take responsibility for my own health, and WIN the battle of the bulge. Knowledge is power. Truly!
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 12:03 PM | Link to this
“The government regulating dieting” sounds way too ominous and overboard. But ways in which the public sector could help is by school districts providing healthier food in cafeterias, city governments implementing better urban plainning for development that is pedestrian-friendly, and installing infrastructure that allows for walking and biking.
By JK
August 30, 2006 12:05 PM | Link to this
Van, have you ever voted for anyone with a DUI in his past? It’s none of my business, really; just curious.
By Van
August 30, 2006 12:05 PM | Link to this
Missy Rottweiler,
Obviously you are not acquanted with Medicare Part D. Bush, again trying to work with both sides of the aisle, had congress work on a prescription drug plan, look at what happened - a total cluster farkel.
If this is the example of our benevolent government trying to help, I say, let me handle my own, I don’t need or want their help.
By Markus
August 30, 2006 12:08 PM | Link to this
We’ve had enough government intrusion on food already. If people can’t read the back of a package while stuffing their fat faces, that’s their problem. Not to beat a dead horse here, but I noticed a LOT of fatso victims of Katrina from New Orleans to Mississippi. Some people in New Orleans were so fat they COULDN’T evecuate themselves. But of course, that’s Bush’s fault too.
Well, we can all take the SeeB.S. route like they did on cute little perky liberal Katie Couric and photoshop ourselves thinner.
Just say no to national/socialized healthcare. If the VA can’t do a decent job, one can only imagine how it will be on a much larger scale. All for helping the minority of those 18% that don’t choose to purchase their own healthcare? I don’t think so. Punishing the majority for the benefit of the minority… liberalism at it’s finest.
By time for the truth
August 30, 2006 12:10 PM | Link to this
JK
You can lead a liberal to water but cant make them drink or think
you can lead a man to slaughter but you cant make him think
(slight apologies to Roy Harper)
it isn’t just about education - christ knows every local network TV station newscast in America devotes countless hours to non news drivel, some of which is on health and whats good/bad for you to eat/drink. most folks know that fat and sugar and alcohol and illegal drugs are not good for you and will make them blimp up and fur up arteries etc or that heroin and meth will slowly kill them.
who the hell is Spurlock? Does he play for the Cardinals or Marlins ?
By Markus
August 30, 2006 12:13 PM | Link to this
@JK:
“Van, have you ever voted for anyone with a DUI in his past? It’s none of my business, really; just curious.”
I personally haven’t, but those idiots in Assachussetts have, twice. One caused the life of an intern and ran away from his responsibilities. The other could have and at first denied he was even drinking before later doing a quick-180. The apple truly doesn’t fall far…
By Markus
August 30, 2006 12:18 PM | Link to this
Somehow, someway, the loon enviroweenie left is going to blame America getting fatter on global warming. They’ll have to; this year’s Al Gore Convenient Lies Hurricane Season is flaming out faster than Airhead America.
By getalife
August 30, 2006 12:19 PM | Link to this
Speaking of fat
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 12:24 PM | Link to this
Note to my conservative friends, we have been had. Missy Rottweiler is one of us, parodying the excesses of the moonbats. All of us responding to her - including me - have been fooled. Re-read her posts, you’ll see what I mean.
By getalife
August 30, 2006 12:25 PM | Link to this
We will stay to protect the oil from Iran stupid
By JK
August 30, 2006 12:33 PM | Link to this
Markus, thanks for the clarification. I had you pegged for a Bush/Cheney supporter. I apologize for misjudging you.
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 12:38 PM | Link to this
Fact: Dixie voted for Dumbya twice.
Fact: Eight of the ten fattest states are in Dixie (and Indiana is mostly southron white trash, West Virginia is hillbilly trash).
Fact: SAT scores are lowest in the south.
Facts don’t lie - stupid southern trash slobs vote Bush.
Watch the whining from tftt- the flatulent tranny terdburglar - and her girl Markanus.
Huge smirk
By Van
August 30, 2006 12:41 PM | Link to this
JK,
If it has come up in the election smearing, I probabiliy wouldn’t. Same goes for babe’s in the back seat while driving drunk.
It also appears to be a character flaw in all the Kennedy’s, I have little or not respect for they way that family has turned out. It appears that nothing can touch any Kennedy or close relation. Compared to them Newt is an alter boy.
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 12:42 PM | Link to this
Kill rednecks, I think your solution merits serious consideration, but watch the PC crowd here either ignore you or throw a hissy fit.
By Liberal
August 30, 2006 12:44 PM | Link to this
Markus,
W had a DUI.
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 12:45 PM | Link to this
Van, I think the phrase you are looking for in your description of Newt is “altered boy”. “Neutered boy” works too.
By JK
August 30, 2006 12:51 PM | Link to this
Van, thanks for your response. Just so we’re all clear on your position: You hate Kennedy, you despise Kennedy, and you loathe the entire Kennedy family. Is that correct? Thanks.
BTW, in November 2000, (right before the election) Bush admitted to pleading guilty to DUI in Maine in 1976. (Cheney also has two on record. Neither did jail time.) I guess the Kennedys aren’t the only ones for whom money and family ties equal teflon immunities.
By Van
August 30, 2006 12:53 PM | Link to this
Missy,
Say it ain’t so - its been so much fun and you made it so easy.
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 12:55 PM | Link to this
Van, despite their millions the Kennedys were raised in a redneck lifestyle.
Joe Sr. made his money running illegal stills and smuggling liquor - very redneck.
Joe Sr. used to bring his girlfriends (Gloria Swanson was one) home to dinner, get drunk and take them upstairs for sex while his wife and kids were still eating - very redneck.
Joe Sr. used to slap Rose around in front of the kids - very redneck.
Rose was a religous fanatic that shut her eyes to the reality around her and let her husband use her like a doormat - very redneck.
Joe Sr. cozied up to fascists - very Bushlike, very redneck.
That’s just one generation…
But let’s face it - the Kennedys are rednecks.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 01:25 PM | Link to this
JK, I have buddies and old college pals who have three and four DUI’s and have never served a day of jail time. And they did it paying yellow page lawyers $1000 bucks, far from the back room rich boy club you are trying to portray. Youre argument is based obviously on a poor understanding of how that system truly works.
Regarding Bush and Cheneys DUI’s, its ok. They pardoned themselves. :)
By Dusty
August 30, 2006 01:36 PM | Link to this
Why bother with rednecks-aaq?
He is simply another despicable bigot. A dime a dozen and not even cute.
He’s coughed up all the outdated southern ridicule in the propaganda book.
Too bad he grew up on an ugly street corner.
Please use the dumpster at your place, redneck, instead of dumping on us.
By JK
August 30, 2006 01:43 PM | Link to this
Realist, thanks. I didn’t have an argument; rather, I was only responding to Van’s comments about nothing ever “touching” the Kennedys. I’ve never been arrested for driving drunk, so you’re right about my limited understanding.
None of this is pertinent to Mr. Wooten’s topic. Van needs to express his Kennedy hatred daily, regardless of topic, and I just wanted to reassure him that we “get it.”
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 01:46 PM | Link to this
People like Dusty want to run everyone else’s lives but the evidence is overwhelming they can’t run their own.
Simply put, you can’t handle the truth about the degenerate redneck lifestyle.
By the way, the Kennedys are from Massachusetts. I know you learnt geawgrafy in Georgia schools, but Massachusetts is in the north.
By here's the answer
August 30, 2006 01:46 PM | Link to this
Obesity is a side effect of an affluent and sedentary lifestyle. In earlier times people earned a living working physically hard all day, farming or in factories or trades; now many of us sit at a desk all day and go everywhere in cars, and at home in the evening many of us sit in front of the TV or computer and snack. Our capitalist way of life is based on free enterprise where we think up ways to make a living selling stuff to other people, we’re surrounded by way too much of everything including food, and most people will eat whatever’s available and not think about it too much. Everytime you pump gas you go into a convenience store selling every kind of irresistible snack in pretty wrappers, and food in the U.S. is relatively inexpensive. Anything government mandated is not going to have an impact on individuals because the people who most need it will be blissfully unaware, just like those who continue to smoke, do not buckle up, and gorge themselves to obesity without even thinking. Perhaps workplace incentives? Role models in the form of local and national leadership? Free individual nutrition counseling in the community? It must start on the most personal level - the family, which is where most lifestyle habits are learned.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 01:53 PM | Link to this
BTW, in November 2000, (right before the election) Bush admitted to pleading guilty to DUI in Maine in 1976. (Cheney also has two on record. Neither did jail time.) I guess the Kennedys aren’t the only ones for whom money and family ties equal teflon immunities.
Oh ok JK. And Im only responding to your comment about Cheney and Bush having teflon immunities, which has nothing to do with your response to Van and the Kennedys. I was simply calling you out on your anti-Bush rhetoric that you thought you could just sneak in there.
And Im also echoing Vans hatred and disdain for the Kennedys. Not because they are rich or have immunity from legal prosecution, but because they are spineless socialist liberal trash who’s beliefs and morals are the core of what is wrong with the direction of this country.
By Monarch Hames
August 30, 2006 01:59 PM | Link to this
The Kennedys gave three bravesons in the service of “America”. They gave freedom and equality too. No person can criticize their deeds. No person can criticize their morals.
By JK
August 30, 2006 02:04 PM | Link to this
Mr. Realist, thank you again for your opinion, Sir. As always, I support your right to it, and assert that it is indeed worth at least as much as I paid for it.
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 02:06 PM | Link to this
Monarch @ 1:59 raises an interesting, although invalid point, totally unrelated to topic. One Kennedy son died at the hands of the Nazis. One Kennedy son died at the hand of a communist. One Kennedy son died at the hand of an Islamo-fascist.
As for his observation that, “no person can criticize their morals,” that is almost 180 degrees off. Practically ANY person has standing to criticize their morals. - just not their patriotism.
By Redneck Convert
August 30, 2006 02:08 PM | Link to this
I can’t figure out why anyone would hate us rednecks enough to want us to kill each other in a stadium. Don’t we elect your leaders? Don’t we decide what’s moral for you? Don’t we decide what you can and can’t do? I say if you stay away from the sex and drugs and flag-burnin’ and sin, you can get along just fine with us.
The only killing I know of involving a meeting of rednecks was at the bowling alley last year when Bubba Yarbrough mowed down this pencil-neck geek for throwin’ the ball at the same time Bubba did. Course, Bubba was banned from the place for a while, and the police and a judge did have a few issues with Bubba.
Anyway, can’t we all just get along?
By MRC
August 30, 2006 02:09 PM | Link to this
It’s not the governments job to make sure we are skinny, fat, obese. How come grown adults cannot be responsible for their actions??? Stop being lazy and get up and walk around. We, not me, are always asking the government to step in and take control of our lives when we should be doing that ourselves. Then when the government takes too much control, we(not me) want to complain about too much intervention.
I for one do not want my hard-earned tax dollars going to some incentive program to get fat/lazy people to work out. That’s my money and I work hard for it. Don’t give it to someone who doesn’t care about their health. No employer should be mandated to give fat employees incentives to PT. That’s ridiculouos. If they want to have health problems, then that’s their problem. It should be their wrath, not societys. Wake up and stop acting like little babies.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 02:10 PM | Link to this
The Kennedys gave three bravesons huh? Well we wanna give em back. The roads and SKIES will be safer.
By Dusty
August 30, 2006 02:14 PM | Link to this
Rednecks,
I should learn the truth from YOU? Learn the truth from a degenerate compulsive liar? Now that is a good one.
I know the location of Massachusetts. I have no interest in living there when I am already in the greatest part of our country, the south.
I also know about the Kennedys and they are definitely from Massachusetts, not the south. Your comparisons are null and void, just like your other comments.
I know your sociopathic instincts lead you on, but take up tennis or something. Your pathetic personality is showing and …well…it gets tiresome, not to mention boring.
By @@
August 30, 2006 02:14 PM | Link to this
Ah phooey!
I came back to enjoy the anticipated humor that was showing in the early morning posts.
Jim: Could you please calibrate the the bathroom scales.
J/K, I’m happy somewhere around 118 to 128. I just hope the “unsatisfied fat egos” don’t get over 180. Eat light folks.
By Monarch Hames
August 30, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this
Who is so good they stand high enough to criticize the morals of others? No one on this earth. John, Bobby, Cynthia, Bill, Andy. Their deeds speak. All brought down by others who were fearful- Vernons, Condolezas, and their bosses.
By five o'clock somewhere
August 30, 2006 02:28 PM | Link to this
Listening to all this hate talk about rednecks and voters and states has me thinking about something. Of the last three US presidents who were democrats, why were all three from Redneck states? What happened? Why couldn’t a northeastern libbie back in those days like Dukakis get elected?
‘My state was a slave state’ - Joe Biden (D) on his state of Delaware
By I hope your kidding!!!
August 30, 2006 02:33 PM | Link to this
Speaking of fat, can we talk about McKinney’s mouth and lightweight deeds or would that be politically incorrect?
By Bluer
August 30, 2006 02:46 PM | Link to this
Hey, jmblaw, don’t forget the fourth Kennedy son who will probably be lost at the hands of big liquor.
And by the way you most certainly can criticize the patriotism of the Kennedys. Joe Sr. tried his best to steer us away from WWII while serving as FDR’s ambassador to Great Britain. And little Teddy hasn’t shown much of an inclination to fight either, unless it is to ward off an indictment for involuntary manslaughter.
But we digress.
So how fat is Teddy Kennedy anyway?
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 02:46 PM | Link to this
I’m beginning to suspect Monarch @ 2:20 is playing with us, like Missy. One doesn’t have to be “good” to criticize the morals of the Kennedys or Bill, you only have to be “better” - a pretty large universe.
By Realist
August 30, 2006 02:56 PM | Link to this
But jbmlaw, in the socialist liberal mind, nobody is better than anyone else. We are all equal. The filthy stinking homeless person laying in his own urine on the street deserves his opinion to be heard and considered and respected just as much as the doctor or attorney or CEO. Nevermind the fact that the homeless man is speaking jibberish and is out of his mind due to alcohol and drug induced psychosis. He is human and worthy of equal respect. The idea that anyone is better or smarter than anyone else is pure racism, discrimination and hatred.
By Not Swallowing The Hate
August 30, 2006 03:09 PM | Link to this
Nevermind the fact that the homeless man is speaking jibberish and is out of his mind due to alcohol and drug induced psychosis. He is human and worthy of equal respect.
Yes. Especially if he is a veteran.
“The evidence is clear, especially for those who served in Vietnam, that the scars of conflict are not fully healed,” said Rev. Stephen E. Burger, executive director of IUGM, an association of nearly 250 faith-based Rescue missions throughout the U.S. “Unfortunately, many veterans continue to have difficulty making the transition to a normal life and often end up living at our Rescue missions.”
“Even with all that has been done to help homeless vets in recent years,” said Burger, “The numbers have not declined. It means that certain veterans are more prone to some of the primary issues involved in homelessness - things like addictions, mental illness, rejection, family break-up and poor money management.”
By Pete
August 30, 2006 03:12 PM | Link to this
The last time the government interfered with people’s diets it was called Soylent Green. “It’s made from People”. (worst movie in history)
Pass the Shia. Pass the Kurds.
By jbmlaw
August 30, 2006 03:16 PM | Link to this
I’m glad Pete’s back. Pete, you’ve had most of the best lines today; we’re glad you’re here, even if you don’t like us. Consider this your missionary effort.
By rednecks - Amerikkka's Al Qaeda
August 30, 2006 03:17 PM | Link to this
Clueless everywhere, a.k.a. five o’clock somewhere:
This is a nation of rednecks. Rednecks elect other rednecks.
Who did you vote for?
I rest my case…
By Realist
August 30, 2006 03:20 PM | Link to this
The IUGM surveyed more than 20,000 men and women in late October at 146 Rescue Missions around the nation. Of the men, 32 percent identified themselves as veterans
The other 68 percent identified themselves as robots, shepherds, CIA operatives, and messiahs.
By Missy Rottweiler
August 30, 2006 03:20 PM | Link to this
jmblaw
Catching up here. That’s right, I have nothing better to do than pose as a liberal to try and make my “fellow” conservatives look foolish. Not only does that make no sense, but my so called “fell