These 3 alone,(Mikulski, "Teddy Boy," and Nadler) could go a long way toward reducing the National Debt.
And IF we could apply a "Global Warming Tax" for all the "Hot Air" these 3 have spewed, we could wipe it out, all together!
Posted on 05/19/2005 5:11:34 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
Oops, make that 25,814 -- not 400,000.
In March 2004, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said 400,000 Americans die each year due to obesity-related problems. But wait. Citing flawed data, four months ago the CDC revised the number down to 365,000. But now, another branch of the CDC says the first branch -- the CDC's Division of Adult and Community Health -- got it wrong. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics says, no, the real figure is 111,909. And after you deduct the beneficial effects of being moderately overweight, the figure declines to 25,814!
So is the CDC going to recognize the new number? Of course not. CDC director Julie Gerberding (who co-wrote last year's 400,000-deaths-per-year report) says the organization won't use the new number because of uncertain methodology, and called for more research. Does the CDC intend to scale back its fight against the "epidemic" of obesity, given the much smaller, new number? Gerberding says no, because, "There's absolutely no question that obesity is a major public health concern of this country."
Whatever the correct figure, expect the government's attack on "the obese" to continue. Like cigarette smokers, overeaters now serve as a pinata from which they can extract taxes. It is not just that people think cigarette smokers and overeaters engage in unhealthful behavior. Many consider smokers and overeaters guilty of moral failure. So tax 'em!
The mayor of Detroit, for example, recommends a fast-food tax. "Fat tax" supporters argue that, as with cigarette taxes, higher prices may encourage more healthful behavior.
A recent caller to my radio program, Linda, supports the tax.
Linda: I'm hoping this tax will motivate people, get them to do their own cooking.
Larry: Why?
Linda: There are too many fat people -- they're all going to fast-food places. . . . I'm so glad they're doing this. . . . Because they're fat, fat, fat. They're eating the wrong food. Stay home, do your own good cooking.
Larry: Do you engage in any kind of conduct that other people might condemn, Linda? Do you drink?
Linda: No . . .
Larry: Do you watch TV?
Linda: Yes, and I watch those terrible commercials from fast-food places, and I get angry. They should tax those commercials, too.
Larry: Maybe they ought to tax you for watching so much television. Why don't you get up and exercise more?
Linda: People have no restraint. They need to be restrained.
Larry: You think the job of the legislature is to restrain them by taxing their behavior?
Linda: They're fat. They're unhealthy, they have diabetes, they have high blood pressure, and they're at the fast-food place -- and their children watch them, and then the children go there, too. It's a disgrace! Cook, cook, cook.
Larry: What do you do when they cook junk . . . when they cook fried foods?
Linda: No, no. They have to cook healthy food.
Larry: How are you going to ensure that? This tax makes the price go up, and more people are cooking at home. How do you guarantee they won't cook the same crap they went out to buy before?
Linda: If we have enough talk about healthy food, someday people will realize they have to cook healthy foods.
Larry: Why don't you contribute to a fund for television Public Service Announcements, advising people what they should do? Why are you going to legislators to tax other people's behavior that you don't like? Unbelievable.
Linda: Why are the Oriental people and European people much healthier than the American people? The American people are obese! . . . I'm horrified by how many obese people there are.
Larry: What about Asians who are here? . . . Are they overweight?
Linda: Not as much as American people.
Larry: Well, how do you suppose they manage not to walk into a restaurant and get fat? And whatever they're doing, why can't everybody else do it, too?
Linda: That food is bad. Your mother can tell you that.
Larry: Should we tax people who order fried chicken at restaurants?
Linda: Why, that's bad, too! Yes, yes, all that bad food should be stopped. . . .
Larry: So tax hikes for health are OK.
Linda: Something has to be done. It's a start.
Larry: Why are you concerned about how fat people are?
Linda: People end up in the hospital, and we're paying for their health problems. Not only that, but even to look at them! They're disgusting to look at! Every time I come back from the store or walk around, I come back furious, seeing how fat they are!
Larry: I bet if you see a fat person smoking a cigarette, you're ready to have a heart attack, aren't you?
Linda: No, cigarettes don't bother me. I'm not a smoker, but it doesn't bother me as much as looking at an obese person. I mean, don't they have mirrors? Don't they look in the mirror and go, "Oh my God, I have to do something about this weight"?
Look on the bright side. Linda isn't in Congress . . . yet.
Well, what about smokers? What unkind names do you have for them? It's so easy for people who do not have a problem to run their mouths and call names at people who do. Do you have any habits/behaviors that might cost someone else a dime some day? Do you drink too much? Do you have a dangerous hobby? Of are you so superior that you can safely say you will never be a drain on the system?
Linda is an idiot.
But I hope the fat defenders will turn out to be as kind to smokers.
There are a lot of Linda's on this forum who irrationally attack smokers.
It's always lunchtime when Rubens are being served!
These 3 alone,(Mikulski, "Teddy Boy," and Nadler) could go a long way toward reducing the National Debt.
And IF we could apply a "Global Warming Tax" for all the "Hot Air" these 3 have spewed, we could wipe it out, all together!
1. Linda is an idiot.
2. Taxing fat people will not make less fat people...it will simply take away more of their money. (why do libs always think creating new taxes will solve everything???)
3. Many Americans are too fat - I dont understand how someone can let themselves get obese...but hey, its not my body.
I have the dangerous hobby of still doing Army style PT at the age of 41. I still get up four times a week at 0-dark-thirty for 1-2 hours of cardio. Frankly, some people are fat due to genetics. The vast majority of fat people are fat because they are lazy, worthless freaking slobs. They stuff their Pie-holes with high-fat, zero-nutrion, processed foods while doing next to nothing physically to prolong their life. Also, as it happens, I'm not really all that put-off by it. Since I am a highly motivated individual, I make plenty enough money to pay for my family's healthcare needs. We can sit there and watch milllions of fat fatties live crappy, unhealthy lifestyles, and die 15 years early. Why should we care? They're happy enough with their Ho-Hos and Whoppers. And since I'm being frank about things, I'm going to have to admit that I'm probably not all that worried about the few pennies more I have to pay for healthcare and that I really just don't like looking at 300 lb lard-asses. Guess I'm just a smug, healthy, ***-hole. Deal with it.
It's not that I am "defending fatties", but I am defending my right to purchase and consume the food I choose without having these *do-gooders* insist they know my body better than I do. I happen to be a person whose metabolism does not tolerate carbohydrates well, but I can eat all the protein and fat I want with no problem. A breakfast that consists of nothing but eggs cooked in butter and a pile of sausage will allow me to actually shed pounds, whereas two litle pieces of toasted bread will not.
These people who insist that fried food is so horribly dangerous to my heart simply cannot believe my blood results ... I eat steak, inlcuding the crispy fat, bacon, all the eggs I want, butter, cream, cheese, salad dressing, mayo ... never lo-fat, no lite stuff -- and the last time I had my cholesterol measured, I rang up at the huge number of 40.
I guess you are. I sure hope nobody in your family is a 'fattie'. I bet they think you're just a swell guy.
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