Ya'll Done Lost ya'll Minds

First Mississippi wanted to pass a law banning fat people from restaurants. Now Alabama is going to charge state workers 25-dollars per month for being obese.

The money is a charge for health insurance, which is free if you’re skinny. Workers have been told they have a year to shape up or they will have to shell out the cash for the insurance.

Smokers are already paying because they smoke. The ones who are also overweight will have to ante up an additional 25-dollars per month.

Smacks of too much control by corporations over workers, in my book. The smoking argument has already seen some corporations demanding smokers quit all together...not even smoking at home. Two women were fired from their jobs for refusing to adhere to the policy.

And what about the big boned people? People overweight because of the meds they take? It's not always about eating...is it?


I believe we should be healthy, but I think it is also our right not to be, if we don’t want to or can't. Isn’t that what America is all about?

Put Down that Burger & Fries! Here Comes the Fat Patrol!

Welcome to the twilight zone. Seems the Japanese have passed a law mandating what they call “special checkups” for citizen 40 years old and up. These special checkups are done by doctors who measure the size of the patient’s waist. If a man is bigger than 33.5 inches or a woman bigger than 34.5 inches, then they are told to lose weight.

I kid you not, according to the story in the NY Times, the national law went into effect two months ago and requires corporations and city municipalities to measure the waistlines of it’s citizens. The governmental goal is to shrink the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years, and by 25 percent over the next seven years.

According to the report, the government will impose financial and other penalties if the goals are not met.

Japan’s Minister of Health argues the new rules will cut back on cases of diabetes and stroke, as well as lower health care costs for it’s aging population.

Critics are arguing that the Japanese people are already some of the thinnest in the world and don't even come close to the problems in America. The only heavy Japanese that anyone sees are sumo wrestlers and I would be willing to bet they are exempt as long as they are working in the sport.

The story goes on to say that the Japanese people are literally breaking their necks to comply with the new laws. In fact, the mayor of one town and six of his buddies reportedly dubbed themselves the seven anti metabo samurai and started working out rigorously until one of them dropped dead from a heart attack. The seven metabo, er samurai promptly disbanded.

Metabo is the prefered Japanese word for obese...so if you’re anti metabo, it means you’re anti fat.

Could you see our government trying something like that here? American corporations are already trying to back door employees with rules on health, like the recent attempts to control smoking behavior on the job and at home. So far, the courts have ruled that companies here, can fire you for smoking at home.

You can also be fired for anything that violates your company’s morals behavior clauses....conduct unbecoming...you know the drill...If I were you, I would find that clause and read it because I guarantee you it contains more than prohibitions about porn and misuse of email.

And with all of the Japanese companies setting up shop in America, can the fat patrol be far off, here on American shores?

Don’t laugh. They may be knocking on your door next.

Signs of the Apocalypse

Well, I guess I won’t be traveling to Mississippi anytime soon. Seems some well intentioned politician has authored a bill making it illegal to serve fat people in restaurants. And since my once well-toned runner’s butt long ago slid toward middle aged couch potato spread, I would assume that I have just lost my right to be served in Mississippi eating establishments.

I can't remember the last time I saw an ad that said "travel Mississippi." Does this fool think that laws like this will increase tourism?

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Another political genius...this one in West Virginia wants to teach guns and how to shoot guns, in public schools. Apparently the demand for hunting licenses is down, and the nut job behind this proposed law figures that the way to increase demand is to teach ten year olds how to handle weapons during gym class.

The pol does have safety in mind. The kids would only handle guns that were disabled. Isn't this the same state that wants concealed carry for college students?

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Hillary said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of those who refuse to buy health care coverage. Speaking to ABC news, Clinton said that garnishment was just one of several methods that she would possibly use to reach universal health care for America. She said garnishment would be applied only to workers who could afford health care but refused to buy it.

That should go over like a lead balloon...Can you say President Obama..

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Maria Shriver endorsed Obama on Sunday..On Friday, her husband, the governor of California, endorsed McCain. Wouldn’t you just love to be a fly on the wall when these two talk politics?

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Fears of recession have driven oil prices down to below 90-dollars a barrel...so why is gasoline still upwards of three dollars a gallon in my state?

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Dubya has proposed a 3-trillion dollar budget to fund the status quo...gee, I didn’t know he could count that high...