An anonymous relative with more conservative viewpoints than myself sent this to me today. The items in itals are what he sent me. The items in bold are my responses.
1.
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn`t buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative sees people getting killed by guns, he doesn't care and hopes his stocks in GunsRUs improves.
If a liberal sees people getting killed by guns, he wants to develop policy to protect the innocent.
2.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for
everyone.
So stupid not worth a response.
3.
If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat
his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.
If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to make up evidence to make the threat seem more iminent and dangerous than it is.
If a liberal sees a foreign threat, he seeks out truth and acts based on fact, not fiction or God's word.
4.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.
If a conservative is homosexual, he gets married to a woman only to embarass her and his kids by having affairs with men.
If a liberal is a homosexual, he wishes his sexuality wasn't politicized and that he could have equal rights protected under the law.
5.
If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as
independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government
protection.
I don't think all successful black and Hispanic men are conservatives. But maybe I voted for the wrong president.
6.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
So the unemployed conservatives aren't cashing their unemployment checks? Really? Somehow I doubt it.
7.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative talk show host lies and has no substance to his arguments he is considered heroic.
If a liberal talk show host lies and has no substance to his arguments, he doesn't have a talk show.
8.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
(Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)
If a conservative is a non-believer, he better not run for political office, because he will be shunned for having common sense.
If a liberal non-believer runs for office, he will be respected for his point of view towards religion.
9.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for
it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes shopping for it, can't find it because he's been denied due to preexisting medical conditions, looks for a job that provides it, isn't hired, and suddenly becomes an advocate of health care reform.
A liberal wants to help even this hypocrite because health care is a basic human right.
10.
If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is
embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor
and then sues.
If a conservative sees someone slip and falls, and it is someone of a different color, he'll hesistate to help him up.
If a liberal slips and falls, he'll get up and clean the spill that caused him to become hurt in the first place.
11.
If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a
good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".
NOT THIS LIBERAL.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Who to blame for Gaza crisis
I am sitting in an office in Jerusalem as I write this piece about Israel’s attack on Gaza.
But I want to be clear that I have no more insight into the crisis than if I were sitting in my condo in Chicago looking at the snow. The only difference is I spend my day with Israelis, but life here, in Jerusalem, is normal and seemingly safe.
A coworker and I joked yesterday that if he gets called up to the reserves, he will be getting shot at as I phone him for directions to get from one place to another. (This is my first time driving in Israel.)
“Sharna, this is kind of bad time,” he joked holding his phone to his ear.
“But I can’t figure out how to get to this hotel in Talpiyot; it will only take a minute.”
.
Today’s news is focusing on the rising death toll in Gaza and the outrage of the Arab population against the Arab League that has not met about the attacks. Also in the Jordanian parliament a member lit an Israeli flag on fire and then stepped on it to put out the fire. (smart guy! He could have burned down the fake parliament. If a fake parliament burns, does anyone smell it?)
Perhaps I am being too glib in the wake of this humanitarian catastrophe. But how can I be anything else when this situation was predictable six months ago when the Egyptians negotiated the so called cease fire otherwise known as time to amass weapons for Hamas and time for Israel to spy from the air where Hamas is amassing the weapons? Or the cease fire where Hamas was firing rockets into towns in southern Israel as the Israelis in Southern Israel are terrified and furious with its government for not caring about them or as the song here says, “coffee at home in Tel Aviv, rockets at home in the South.”
This situation is a failure of the international community and of the Arab League, not to mention the power vacuum in Washington. Indeed, the populace of Arab states should be angry about the situation in Gaza. However, their viciousness is misguided as it is fueled by hatred of Israel, Anti Semitism and Anti Americanism. Their message gets lost in their burning effigies.
What they should be angry about is that during this cease fire the nations of the Arab League and the International Community should have been bettering the lives of the Gazans through building of schools, hospitals, industry, etc. instead of twiddling their thumbs awaiting the cease fire to break and all hell to break loose. Instead the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is some strange pawn in an International game where Israelis and many, many Palestinians end up being the big losers.
Remember, Egypt has a border with Gaza. It’s not Israel’s (sole) responsibility to help Gaza (who elected a government – Hamas - that doesn’t recognize Israel’s existence and tosses rockets into its southern cities to rebuild its infrastructure. Arab governments could have been smuggling in supplies and blockaded the Iranian weaponry.
This conflict serves Arab governments in many ways: it raises the cost of oil, it provides a bargaining chip for Arab governments in terms of its relationships with the Security Council, and perhaps mostly importantly, when Israel attacks Gaza it serves as a distraction from their own countries’ failings and demonizes the Jewish state in the eyes of the media and the international community.
But I want to be clear that I have no more insight into the crisis than if I were sitting in my condo in Chicago looking at the snow. The only difference is I spend my day with Israelis, but life here, in Jerusalem, is normal and seemingly safe.
A coworker and I joked yesterday that if he gets called up to the reserves, he will be getting shot at as I phone him for directions to get from one place to another. (This is my first time driving in Israel.)
“Sharna, this is kind of bad time,” he joked holding his phone to his ear.
“But I can’t figure out how to get to this hotel in Talpiyot; it will only take a minute.”
.
Today’s news is focusing on the rising death toll in Gaza and the outrage of the Arab population against the Arab League that has not met about the attacks. Also in the Jordanian parliament a member lit an Israeli flag on fire and then stepped on it to put out the fire. (smart guy! He could have burned down the fake parliament. If a fake parliament burns, does anyone smell it?)
Perhaps I am being too glib in the wake of this humanitarian catastrophe. But how can I be anything else when this situation was predictable six months ago when the Egyptians negotiated the so called cease fire otherwise known as time to amass weapons for Hamas and time for Israel to spy from the air where Hamas is amassing the weapons? Or the cease fire where Hamas was firing rockets into towns in southern Israel as the Israelis in Southern Israel are terrified and furious with its government for not caring about them or as the song here says, “coffee at home in Tel Aviv, rockets at home in the South.”
This situation is a failure of the international community and of the Arab League, not to mention the power vacuum in Washington. Indeed, the populace of Arab states should be angry about the situation in Gaza. However, their viciousness is misguided as it is fueled by hatred of Israel, Anti Semitism and Anti Americanism. Their message gets lost in their burning effigies.
What they should be angry about is that during this cease fire the nations of the Arab League and the International Community should have been bettering the lives of the Gazans through building of schools, hospitals, industry, etc. instead of twiddling their thumbs awaiting the cease fire to break and all hell to break loose. Instead the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is some strange pawn in an International game where Israelis and many, many Palestinians end up being the big losers.
Remember, Egypt has a border with Gaza. It’s not Israel’s (sole) responsibility to help Gaza (who elected a government – Hamas - that doesn’t recognize Israel’s existence and tosses rockets into its southern cities to rebuild its infrastructure. Arab governments could have been smuggling in supplies and blockaded the Iranian weaponry.
This conflict serves Arab governments in many ways: it raises the cost of oil, it provides a bargaining chip for Arab governments in terms of its relationships with the Security Council, and perhaps mostly importantly, when Israel attacks Gaza it serves as a distraction from their own countries’ failings and demonizes the Jewish state in the eyes of the media and the international community.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Illinois passes emergency law forcing next governor to star in reality t.v. show
In a special session concluded at midnight on Wednesday morning, the Illinois house and senate unanimously passed a bill forcing the next governor of Illinois to star in his/her own 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year reality show.
The reality show will play on WGN, to the glee of the Tribune Company, which declared bankruptcy the day before Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI on corruption charges.
“That *&%$ governor really saved our asses,” said Tribune owner Sam Zell.
The State and Zell have hired Mark Burnett to be creator and producer of the channel’s programming.
“The hope is that if the Governor of Illinois is on television all of the time, he/she will be less likely to accept bribes and engage in corruption,” said Sara Feigenholtz, 12th District State Representative.
The bill was endorsed by the FBI.
“We can’t afford to investigate and prosecute another Illinois governor,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. “Chicago has gang problems, we still haven’t found Bin Laden, it would simply be less expensive to produce a reality show where the public could watch the governor’s every move.”
Burnett is hoping that the next person elected will be single, attractive and fit so that they can film a “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” series while the governor is in office.
“Husband and wife stuff is boring,” Burnett said. “How amazing would it be to see the governor making out while on a boat on Lake Michigan and then making out with someone else the next day at the Lincoln Memorial Museum in Springfield?”
In the reality television tradition, Burnett said, the next governor will face a myriad of challenges besides balancing the budget, getting funding for public transit, and improving performance in Illinois public schools.
Proposed episodes include having the governor spend time in jail with other convicted Illinois politicians for an “It Could Happen To Me” series. The governor would play a game show to pick, “Who was wrongly put on Death Row?” Also in the works is the governor attending a semester at the University of Illinois and rushing a sorority or house entitled: "I'm cool enough to be Governor but am I cool enough to go Greek?" During the sweeps periods look for, “Torture or Talking?” and “Bribe or Banter?”
There is even hope of training the governor in curling to represent the U.S.A in the 2016 Olympics being vied for by Chicago. Others are hoping the next governor will train for double dutch jump rope, which Chicagoans are trying to make a sport in the 2016 Olympics.
The bill initially faced some opposition when one representative asked, “What about when the governor poops or is naked and stuff?”
However, once an amendment was added that all unfamily friendly material would be aired only on premium channels (with subscription proceeds going to the Chicago Transit Authority), the bill was passed.
When asked if he thought anyone would run for governor under these conditions, President Elect Barack Obama said that he he thought they would. “If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.”
And that price will be aired on Channel 9 beginning in 2010 or sooner if Blagojevich resigns or is jailed first. Blagojevich is in talks for a reality show of his own called: “Blagojevich Behind Bars.”
The reality show will play on WGN, to the glee of the Tribune Company, which declared bankruptcy the day before Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI on corruption charges.
“That *&%$ governor really saved our asses,” said Tribune owner Sam Zell.
The State and Zell have hired Mark Burnett to be creator and producer of the channel’s programming.
“The hope is that if the Governor of Illinois is on television all of the time, he/she will be less likely to accept bribes and engage in corruption,” said Sara Feigenholtz, 12th District State Representative.
The bill was endorsed by the FBI.
“We can’t afford to investigate and prosecute another Illinois governor,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. “Chicago has gang problems, we still haven’t found Bin Laden, it would simply be less expensive to produce a reality show where the public could watch the governor’s every move.”
Burnett is hoping that the next person elected will be single, attractive and fit so that they can film a “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” series while the governor is in office.
“Husband and wife stuff is boring,” Burnett said. “How amazing would it be to see the governor making out while on a boat on Lake Michigan and then making out with someone else the next day at the Lincoln Memorial Museum in Springfield?”
In the reality television tradition, Burnett said, the next governor will face a myriad of challenges besides balancing the budget, getting funding for public transit, and improving performance in Illinois public schools.
Proposed episodes include having the governor spend time in jail with other convicted Illinois politicians for an “It Could Happen To Me” series. The governor would play a game show to pick, “Who was wrongly put on Death Row?” Also in the works is the governor attending a semester at the University of Illinois and rushing a sorority or house entitled: "I'm cool enough to be Governor but am I cool enough to go Greek?" During the sweeps periods look for, “Torture or Talking?” and “Bribe or Banter?”
There is even hope of training the governor in curling to represent the U.S.A in the 2016 Olympics being vied for by Chicago. Others are hoping the next governor will train for double dutch jump rope, which Chicagoans are trying to make a sport in the 2016 Olympics.
The bill initially faced some opposition when one representative asked, “What about when the governor poops or is naked and stuff?”
However, once an amendment was added that all unfamily friendly material would be aired only on premium channels (with subscription proceeds going to the Chicago Transit Authority), the bill was passed.
When asked if he thought anyone would run for governor under these conditions, President Elect Barack Obama said that he he thought they would. “If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.”
And that price will be aired on Channel 9 beginning in 2010 or sooner if Blagojevich resigns or is jailed first. Blagojevich is in talks for a reality show of his own called: “Blagojevich Behind Bars.”
Sunday, October 19, 2008
2 best items of the weekend
1. General Powell's endorsement of Senator Obama. See video. Love the point about Muslims.
2. The hyped Sarah Palin and Tina Fey meeting I found a little dull. However, this gem from weekend update was incredibly funny.
2. The hyped Sarah Palin and Tina Fey meeting I found a little dull. However, this gem from weekend update was incredibly funny.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Palin Pregnancy a Problem
I am concerned about Levi Johnston and his pregnant girlfriend, Bristol.
And although Senator Obama has not attacked Governor Palin on this issue, because as he said the issue is personal and his own mother was 18 when she had him; I think she should be criticized.
And not with the hateful rhetoric that emerges from a google search Levi Johnson or Bristol Palin: red neck, knocked up. This is criticism based on the reality of their situation.
I don’t blame them (entirely) for the unwed pregnancy. On the other hand at most Governor Palin is to blame for her daughter’s situation and at the least she is a willing bystander to this disaster. How can we expect her to lead the country (as she is heartbeats away from the presidency) when the future of her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend is smashing into a melting polar iceberg?
You don’t have to be a governor of a huge state to understand statistics. And if Governor Palin doesn’t hold weight in her own family, how can she possibly influence world leaders or even the U.S. Senate?
What prompted this post was in a recent interview with the Associated Press, Levi Johnston said that will no be returning to high school to complete his degree: “Johnston has dropped out of high school to take a job on the North Slope oil fields as an apprentice electrician.”
According to U.S. census data from the last decade, a high school drop out can expect to make about $23,000 a year; a high school graduate: $30,000; a college graduate: about $52,000. The numbers are slightly dated, but the ratios have likely not changed. If anything, with the most recent economic crisis, worse times could be coming. Why would Governor Palin not insist that her daughter’s boyfriend finish high school? It’s almost laughable to hear her talk about school reform when underachievement is a marker of her own family.
Another decision, also misguided according to statistics, is their decision to get married. The AP reported: “While Johnston provided few details about next summer's wedding, the planning has started.”
I wonder if Governor Palin told her daughter and son-in-law-to-be that 70 percent of teen mothers are no longer in their first marriages by the age of 40, according to the National Campaign, an organization that discourages teen pregnancy.
Even if they defy the odds and stay married, according to The National Campaign, the Levy child is likely to suffer. The study shows that children of teenagers have lower cognitive abilities, lower academic achievement, are more likely to have behavior problems and be jailed.
And what if Bristol Palin (and Ms. Spears) serves as a role model to young girls who do not come from affluence? What if this abstinence only evolving to pregnant teens becomes the norm? It’s a possibility given there was a 3 percent increase in teen pregnancy in 2006.
According to the National Campaign the cost to the mother and to society is great. Teenager mothers cost U.S. taxpayers 9 billion dollars when you figure in welfare for child and mother, lost taxable income, and other elements.
I thought Republicans wanted smaller government and to discourage a welfare state?
Look, I hope Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston stay married for 75 years. I hope that their child grows up to be healthy and happy. However, the statistics don't lie. They are a symbol of the problem with Governor Palin and the Christian Conservatives that Senator McCain hoped she would bring to the table to unify the Republican Party. Teaching your children, teaching our children, abstinence only education leads to sociological and economic disaster for both the teenagers having children and their babies. If your religious or moral beliefs teach that sex before marriage is wrong, that’s fine, teach that it is wrong, but as my mother, who married at age 20 said to me (totally unnecessarily by the way) before I went to camp when I was 16, “I don’t want you to have sex. I think sex before marriage is wrong. But if you are going to have sex, use a condom.”
How can you argue with the legitimacy of that advice? And if you do, how can we trust you to be Vice President?
Sources:
The report from the National Campaign
Rise in teen pregnancy rates
Education and salary data
Interview with Levi Johnston
And although Senator Obama has not attacked Governor Palin on this issue, because as he said the issue is personal and his own mother was 18 when she had him; I think she should be criticized.
And not with the hateful rhetoric that emerges from a google search Levi Johnson or Bristol Palin: red neck, knocked up. This is criticism based on the reality of their situation.
I don’t blame them (entirely) for the unwed pregnancy. On the other hand at most Governor Palin is to blame for her daughter’s situation and at the least she is a willing bystander to this disaster. How can we expect her to lead the country (as she is heartbeats away from the presidency) when the future of her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend is smashing into a melting polar iceberg?
You don’t have to be a governor of a huge state to understand statistics. And if Governor Palin doesn’t hold weight in her own family, how can she possibly influence world leaders or even the U.S. Senate?
What prompted this post was in a recent interview with the Associated Press, Levi Johnston said that will no be returning to high school to complete his degree: “Johnston has dropped out of high school to take a job on the North Slope oil fields as an apprentice electrician.”
According to U.S. census data from the last decade, a high school drop out can expect to make about $23,000 a year; a high school graduate: $30,000; a college graduate: about $52,000. The numbers are slightly dated, but the ratios have likely not changed. If anything, with the most recent economic crisis, worse times could be coming. Why would Governor Palin not insist that her daughter’s boyfriend finish high school? It’s almost laughable to hear her talk about school reform when underachievement is a marker of her own family.
Another decision, also misguided according to statistics, is their decision to get married. The AP reported: “While Johnston provided few details about next summer's wedding, the planning has started.”
I wonder if Governor Palin told her daughter and son-in-law-to-be that 70 percent of teen mothers are no longer in their first marriages by the age of 40, according to the National Campaign, an organization that discourages teen pregnancy.
Even if they defy the odds and stay married, according to The National Campaign, the Levy child is likely to suffer. The study shows that children of teenagers have lower cognitive abilities, lower academic achievement, are more likely to have behavior problems and be jailed.
And what if Bristol Palin (and Ms. Spears) serves as a role model to young girls who do not come from affluence? What if this abstinence only evolving to pregnant teens becomes the norm? It’s a possibility given there was a 3 percent increase in teen pregnancy in 2006.
According to the National Campaign the cost to the mother and to society is great. Teenager mothers cost U.S. taxpayers 9 billion dollars when you figure in welfare for child and mother, lost taxable income, and other elements.
I thought Republicans wanted smaller government and to discourage a welfare state?
Look, I hope Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston stay married for 75 years. I hope that their child grows up to be healthy and happy. However, the statistics don't lie. They are a symbol of the problem with Governor Palin and the Christian Conservatives that Senator McCain hoped she would bring to the table to unify the Republican Party. Teaching your children, teaching our children, abstinence only education leads to sociological and economic disaster for both the teenagers having children and their babies. If your religious or moral beliefs teach that sex before marriage is wrong, that’s fine, teach that it is wrong, but as my mother, who married at age 20 said to me (totally unnecessarily by the way) before I went to camp when I was 16, “I don’t want you to have sex. I think sex before marriage is wrong. But if you are going to have sex, use a condom.”
How can you argue with the legitimacy of that advice? And if you do, how can we trust you to be Vice President?
Sources:
The report from the National Campaign
Rise in teen pregnancy rates
Education and salary data
Interview with Levi Johnston
Friday, October 10, 2008
Obesity as the American Dream
A health topic that is featured in the news at least weekly, and this week more frequently, is the obesity epidemic. However, unlike the flu pandemic which was caused by germs, what causes obesity is simply American values and American culture.
Whenever an epidemic emerges, or any problem in our society, people want someone to blame (read: sue). The initial target was McDonald’s. I don’t blame McDonald’s for the obesity epidemic. To eat or not to eat McDonald’s is a choice. As Americans we have the freedom to choose what we want to eat, just as we have the choice to choose who our elected officials are. If I were to sue someone for gross negligence in terms of causing the obesity epidemic it would be our politicians. They are to blame for the rising cost of health care due to complications from obesity leading to the decreasing age expectancy rates.
If I were to put politicians on trial, with the charge of making Americans fat, the witnesses for the prosecution would include educators, fruit growers, doctors, and environmentalists.
As funding for education declines from the Federal and State levels, programs are cut. Although most schools do have some sort of physical education program, much of it is underfunded and undersupported. Many schools do not have after school programs beyond basic varsity sport that would encourage active behavior. Instead at 3 p.m. (or earlier) students are let loose and typically go home, eat, and play video games or do homework which are sedentary activities. Increased funding for after school programs would allow intramural sports or other non-television related programming that would get students moving and help them value an active lifestyle. The well funded suburban schools have hiking, biking and running clubs. We need these clubs for all students, not just the rich ones.
The United States grossly under subsidizes fruit growers. The subsidies are appropriated to the makers of corn and soybeans. Typically this food is not used in grocery stores - we’re not talking corn on the cob or tofu - it is used as feed for animals. The very fatty animals that when eaten lead to obesity (although admittedly the cows need the food for milk, which allows the production of the healthy, but cholesterol filled dairy). It’s amazing that while the food pyramid is filled with fruit, growers can’t afford to provide it. Produce is a huge expense at the grocery store and why buy apples when Stuffed Pockets are cheaper.
When I would call a physician to the stand I would ask her about U.S. support of preventative medicine. While the FDA is busy putting on drugs that cause heart attacks and then taking them off the market, there is no funding or agency for increasing measures that would help people prevent obesity. For example, allowing gym memberships and yoga classes to be tax free would be a first step. Or even to allow the cost of the membership to be covered by flex plans would be a great benefit to workers who spend their days sedentary at the office. In addition, for the first time in human history the fattest people are the nation’s poorest, the ones without health insurance. If children do not receive regular health care, then how are parents supposed to be aware if their child is receiving good nutrition or is on track in terms of weight and height.
And lastly the environmentalists. The Associated Press printed last year that "The Bush administration, in one of its biggest decisions on environmental issues, moved Thursday to open up nearly a third of all remote national forest lands to road building, logging and other commercial ventures." What does this say about our nation’s values if we are planning to cut away at places where people hike and camp? It says we are not serious about promoting an active culture. The forests help maintain the air quality. I can’t tell you the number of times I became sick after exercising outside on an Ozone Action Day. But why shouldn’t I be able to utilize the beautiful Chicago lake path? Pollution as an answer is unacceptable.
It is up to us to elect politicians who will not be beholden to the agricultural and loggers lobby. We need to change our focus from Bextra to exercise. We need to stop complaining and start advocating for our children before insulin shots are sold in coffee shops and oxygen bars are not novelties but necessities.
Whenever an epidemic emerges, or any problem in our society, people want someone to blame (read: sue). The initial target was McDonald’s. I don’t blame McDonald’s for the obesity epidemic. To eat or not to eat McDonald’s is a choice. As Americans we have the freedom to choose what we want to eat, just as we have the choice to choose who our elected officials are. If I were to sue someone for gross negligence in terms of causing the obesity epidemic it would be our politicians. They are to blame for the rising cost of health care due to complications from obesity leading to the decreasing age expectancy rates.
If I were to put politicians on trial, with the charge of making Americans fat, the witnesses for the prosecution would include educators, fruit growers, doctors, and environmentalists.
As funding for education declines from the Federal and State levels, programs are cut. Although most schools do have some sort of physical education program, much of it is underfunded and undersupported. Many schools do not have after school programs beyond basic varsity sport that would encourage active behavior. Instead at 3 p.m. (or earlier) students are let loose and typically go home, eat, and play video games or do homework which are sedentary activities. Increased funding for after school programs would allow intramural sports or other non-television related programming that would get students moving and help them value an active lifestyle. The well funded suburban schools have hiking, biking and running clubs. We need these clubs for all students, not just the rich ones.
The United States grossly under subsidizes fruit growers. The subsidies are appropriated to the makers of corn and soybeans. Typically this food is not used in grocery stores - we’re not talking corn on the cob or tofu - it is used as feed for animals. The very fatty animals that when eaten lead to obesity (although admittedly the cows need the food for milk, which allows the production of the healthy, but cholesterol filled dairy). It’s amazing that while the food pyramid is filled with fruit, growers can’t afford to provide it. Produce is a huge expense at the grocery store and why buy apples when Stuffed Pockets are cheaper.
When I would call a physician to the stand I would ask her about U.S. support of preventative medicine. While the FDA is busy putting on drugs that cause heart attacks and then taking them off the market, there is no funding or agency for increasing measures that would help people prevent obesity. For example, allowing gym memberships and yoga classes to be tax free would be a first step. Or even to allow the cost of the membership to be covered by flex plans would be a great benefit to workers who spend their days sedentary at the office. In addition, for the first time in human history the fattest people are the nation’s poorest, the ones without health insurance. If children do not receive regular health care, then how are parents supposed to be aware if their child is receiving good nutrition or is on track in terms of weight and height.
And lastly the environmentalists. The Associated Press printed last year that "The Bush administration, in one of its biggest decisions on environmental issues, moved Thursday to open up nearly a third of all remote national forest lands to road building, logging and other commercial ventures." What does this say about our nation’s values if we are planning to cut away at places where people hike and camp? It says we are not serious about promoting an active culture. The forests help maintain the air quality. I can’t tell you the number of times I became sick after exercising outside on an Ozone Action Day. But why shouldn’t I be able to utilize the beautiful Chicago lake path? Pollution as an answer is unacceptable.
It is up to us to elect politicians who will not be beholden to the agricultural and loggers lobby. We need to change our focus from Bextra to exercise. We need to stop complaining and start advocating for our children before insulin shots are sold in coffee shops and oxygen bars are not novelties but necessities.
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