Richardson: Obese Americans Need Federal Protection

blogs.abcnews.com ^ | 09/19/07 | Teddy Davis and Nancy Flores

[TornadoAlley3]

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson called Wednesday for obese Americans to be brought under the protection of the Americans for Disabilities Act.

"This is an issue of basic civil rights," said Richardson. "There are no federal laws that protect obese Americans from discrimination in the workplace, school, or anywhere else. This must change."

[GeronL]

Its a bad Simpsons episode

[Kimmers]

Maybe obesity is the new anorexia....

[Skenderbej]

Hot diggity dog! I’n gonna gain 100lbs so I can git me one uh dem wheelchair license plates and park in the closest spot at Wal-Mart! Have you seen the size of them parkin’ lots lately?

[magellan]

"Richardson is not a newcomer to the obesity issue."

[the_devils_advocate_666]

[GeronL]

... or a good South Park episode

[GeronL]

lol

[dfwgator]

When I was a kid everyone was concerned about anorexia.

[I still care]

Many of the really obese people I know do have some contributing medical condition. The ones who just overeat are usually obese by medical standards, but are not the ones you look at and think enormous.

By insurance company standards, if you are not a rail you are obese. My family is extremely large boned (all that German-Scot blood), and my son has to pay a 25% surcharge although I don’t consider him fat.

There might be a bright side to this. Being we’re all obese, that brings us all under the victim umbrella!

[Hoffer Rand]

His campaign slogan...

Obesity: it's a HUGE issue.

[expatguy]

Okay... so how much weight am I going to have to gain now in order to secure government aid?

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

[VirginiaConstitutionalist]

Since when is putting the entire bag of Doritos down your throat a disability?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Three hundred pounds is generally where humans leave off and livestock begins. MOO

[dashing doofus]

There are no federal laws that protect obese Americans from discrimination in the workplace, school, or anywhere else

Patently untrue.

[IrishMike]

Obese Americans may also need forklifts.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/19/big.guy.ap/index.html

Firefighters cut a hole in the side of a house and used a forklift to extricate a 900-pound man from his second-floor bedroom after a visiting nurse became worried about his health.
Rescue workers brought in a forklift, high enough to raise a platform to a hole cut into the wall of the house.

[expatguy]

"What sport would there be in that?"

That really depends on what weapon you are using.

Of course a bow and arrow would be more sporting than an assault rifle.

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

[Lurking in Kansas]

Big talk, fat boy.

[Red in Blue PA]

Re: “This is an issue of basic civil rights,” said Richardson.

Just wow!

I am stunned at the crop of potential idiots for President and their ideas.

May God help us all.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

[CGTRWK]

So the morbidly obese who can barely, huffingly, wheezingly, ooze up a flight of stairs should be hired at federal gunpoint for jobs for which they’re totally unsuited.

I can’t wait to see 450 pound cops trying to chase down criminals, 450 pound firefighters trying to climb ladders to a burning building, and 450 pound she-whales bringing me my wings and beer at Hooters.