NYC - Up next: A ban on burgers more than four ounces.

[Anti Federalist]

Rarely does a "true believer" really say what they think.

But here's one, in all his glory.

Komrade, tens of thousands of people die every year due to slips trips and falls in the home. I think I'm going to pass a law requiring house helmets be worn 24/7 with video and infrared surveillance in every room to monitor for compliance.

Trouble is, douchehats like this would welcome it, embrace it and love it.

You people are all sick, ill, mentally and physically, and I believe Komrade Tomasky would be more than willing to lock you away in a state mental prison to cure you of your sickness.



Michael Tomasky: Mayor Bloomberg Is Right to Declare a War on Sugar

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/02/michael-tomasky-mayor-bloomberg-is-right-to-declare-a-war-on-sugar.html

There’s only one way to say something like this, and it’s loud and proud and without apology: I wholeheartedly support Mike Bloomberg’s war on sugar. It’s unassailable as policy. Refined sugar is without question the worst foodstuff in the world for human health, and high-fructose corn syrup is little better. We are a fat country getting fatter and fatter, and these mountains of refined sugar that people ingest are a big part of the reason. The costs to the health-care system are enormous, so the public interest here is ridiculously obvious. Obesity is a killer. Are we to do nothing, in the name of the “liberty” that entitles millions of people to kill themselves however they please, whatever their diabetes treatments costs their insurers? We have this “liberty” business completely backward in this country, and if Bloomberg can start rebalancing individual freedom and the public good, God bless him, I say.

The surge in obesity is, of course, well-known and quite real. Before about 1980, 15 percent of American adults were obese. Now it’s close to 40 percent. Explanation? Handily enough, Lane Kenworthy of the University of Arizona blogged about this just yesterday. The standard explanation, he writes, is a combination of too much eating and too little physical activity. But Kenworthy shows that declining activity, while real to some extent, does not track with the sudden explosion in porcinity starting in 1980. Something else does, however—total calories in the food supply.

Click on the link above and look at the second chart and you will see that calories in the food supply tracks nearly perfectly with the rise in obesity levels beginning in the 1980s. And memory and common sense tell us that this is when it all started happening. Super-sized fries, Hungry Man Swanson dinners, Big Gulps, all started being laid before us around this time, as well as the explosion across the landscape of the family-casual restaurants that started serving grandmothers portions fit for Lyle Alzado.

There’s only one way to say something like this, and it’s loud and proud and without apology: I wholeheartedly support Mike Bloomberg’s war on sugar. It’s unassailable as policy. Refined sugar is without question the worst foodstuff in the world for human health, and high-fructose corn syrup is little better.

We are a fat country getting fatter and fatter, and these mountains of refined sugar that people ingest are a big part of the reason. The costs to the health-care system are enormous, so the public interest here is ridiculously obvious. Obesity is a killer. Are we to do nothing, in the name of the “liberty” that entitles millions of people to kill themselves however they please, whatever their diabetes treatments costs their insurers? We have this “liberty” business completely backward in this country, and if Bloomberg can start rebalancing individual freedom and the public good, God bless him, I say.

The surge in obesity is, of course, well-known and quite real. Before about 1980, 15 percent of American adults were obese. Now it’s close to 40 percent. Explanation? Handily enough, Lane Kenworthy of the University of Arizona blogged about this just yesterday. The standard explanation, he writes, is a combination of too much eating and too little physical activity. But Kenworthy shows that declining activity, while real to some extent, does not track with the sudden explosion in porcinity starting in 1980. Something else does, however—total calories in the food supply.

Click on the link above and look at the second chart and you will see that calories in the food supply tracks nearly perfectly with the rise in obesity levels beginning in the 1980s. And memory and common sense tell us that this is when it all started happening. Super-sized fries, Hungry Man Swanson dinners, Big Gulps, all started being laid before us around this time, as well as the explosion across the landscape of the family-casual restaurants that started serving grandmothers portions fit for Lyle Alzado.

Of course, change occurred nowhere else as it did at the movies. I recall the looks I used to get from those confused youngsters behind the counter when they asked me, roughly, “Wouldn’t you like to get a tub of popcorn three times larger for an extra 25 cents?” and I barked, “No, definitely not! And don’t even ask about the soda.” They were a symbol of that age of grotesquerie and excess, those 40-ounce sodas, every bit as much as gas-guzzling SUVs. And they’re indefensible. Completely empty calories. At least potato chips have potatoes. Snickers has nuts. But soda pop has refined sugar. Or corn syrup. There is nothing useful about them. And they have helped to create a crisis.

In New York City, Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs told me Friday that smoking still kills more people, but that line on the graph is heading down fast, while the obesity line is quickly trending up. Bloomberg had a public-policy problem on his hands, so he requested a task force to make recommendations to him concerning obesity, and this—banning most sugary drinks in sizes larger than 16 ounces—was a key recommendation. “We’re trying to reset the norm here and get away from the super-sized norm,” she says. “People will pretty much limit their consumption to what is in front of them. If 16 ounces is what’s in front of them, they’ll typically be satisfied with that.”

It’s a policy designed to guide people toward a certain kind of behavior. This talk of “freedom” is absurd. No one’s freedom is being taken away. When the rule goes into effect, probably by September, assuming the city’s board of health votes it through (it's appointed by the mayor), New Yorkers will still be able to buy these beverages. And those who really feel that they will perish unless they have 32 ounces of Mountain Dew Code Red can simply buy two. Nothing is being banned, and no one’s being arrested.

Are bacon-cheeseburgers next? As a practical matter, no. Sodas are an easy target because there is nothing, nothing, nutritionally redeeming about them.

But might there come a day when the New York City Department of Health mandates that burgers be limited to, say, four ounces?

Indeed there might. And why not? Eight- and ten-ounce burgers are sick things.

We have a health crisis in this country. A country with half of its adults living in a condition of obesity is a sick country, quite literally, spending probably not billions but trillions on the associated illnesses and maladies. Under such conditions, the state has every right to take action on behalf of the common good. We once had an epidemic of traffic deaths. We didn’t ban driving. But we came up with a device that is a minor inconvenience at most. And so seatbelts became mandatory, and now the epidemic has receded. A few people still foolishly oppose seatbelts. But most of us accept them and understand that whatever little dollop of our freedom is taken away as we latch up is more than countervailed by the practical upside.

One day, if the country comes to its senses, we’ll reverse the obesity trend and, just as we now chuckle at the prevalence of smoking on Mad Men, we’ll say, “Can you believe people used to peddle this treacle in 64-ounce doses?” We will not only have done something about obesity.

We’ll have won an important victory over Libertarianism Gone Wild, a far bigger threat to society than even Sunkist Orange.

[Kluge]

Dear lord.

"Men, we'll say, 'Can you believe people used to ban certain quantities of soda, thinking it would do a damned thing about obesity?'"

Blaming obesity on libertarianism, there's a new one.

[aGameOfThrones]

It’s a policy designed to guide people toward a certain kind of behavior.

So, you're making me ask for 2 16oz instead of one? :D


This talk of “freedom” is absurd. No one’s freedom is being taken away. When the rule goes into effect, probably by September, assuming the city’s board of health votes it through (it's appointed by the mayor), New Yorkers will still be able to buy these beverages.

So, pointless rule?


And those who really feel that they will perish unless they have 32 ounces of Mountain Dew Code Red can simply buy two. Nothing is being banned, and no one’s being arrested.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/05/tumblr_m4egjskuj81r5zq6ao1_r2_500.gif

[oyarde]

Rarely does a "true believer" really say what they think.

But here's one, in all his glory.

Komrade, tens of thousands of people die every year due to slips trips and falls in the home. I think I'm going to pass a law requiring house helmets be worn 24/7 with video and infrared surveillance in every room to monitor for compliance.

Trouble is, douchehats like this would welcome it, embrace it and love it.

You people are all sick, ill, mentally and physically, and I believe Komrade Tomasky would be more than willing to lock you away in a state mental prison to cure you of your sickness.



Michael Tomasky: Mayor Bloomberg Is Right to Declare a War on Sugar

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/02/michael-tomasky-mayor-bloomberg-is-right-to-declare-a-war-on-sugar.html

There’s only one way to say something like this, and it’s loud and proud and without apology: I wholeheartedly support Mike Bloomberg’s war on sugar. It’s unassailable as policy. Refined sugar is without question the worst foodstuff in the world for human health, and high-fructose corn syrup is little better. We are a fat country getting fatter and fatter, and these mountains of refined sugar that people ingest are a big part of the reason. The costs to the health-care system are enormous, so the public interest here is ridiculously obvious. Obesity is a killer. Are we to do nothing, in the name of the “liberty” that entitles millions of people to kill themselves however they please, whatever their diabetes treatments costs their insurers? We have this “liberty” business completely backward in this country, and if Bloomberg can start rebalancing individual freedom and the public good, God bless him, I say.

The surge in obesity is, of course, well-known and quite real. Before about 1980, 15 percent of American adults were obese. Now it’s close to 40 percent. Explanation? Handily enough, Lane Kenworthy of the University of Arizona blogged about this just yesterday. The standard explanation, he writes, is a combination of too much eating and too little physical activity. But Kenworthy shows that declining activity, while real to some extent, does not track with the sudden explosion in porcinity starting in 1980. Something else does, however—total calories in the food supply.

Click on the link above and look at the second chart and you will see that calories in the food supply tracks nearly perfectly with the rise in obesity levels beginning in the 1980s. And memory and common sense tell us that this is when it all started happening. Super-sized fries, Hungry Man Swanson dinners, Big Gulps, all started being laid before us around this time, as well as the explosion across the landscape of the family-casual restaurants that started serving grandmothers portions fit for Lyle Alzado.

There’s only one way to say something like this, and it’s loud and proud and without apology: I wholeheartedly support Mike Bloomberg’s war on sugar. It’s unassailable as policy. Refined sugar is without question the worst foodstuff in the world for human health, and high-fructose corn syrup is little better.

We are a fat country getting fatter and fatter, and these mountains of refined sugar that people ingest are a big part of the reason. The costs to the health-care system are enormous, so the public interest here is ridiculously obvious. Obesity is a killer. Are we to do nothing, in the name of the “liberty” that entitles millions of people to kill themselves however they please, whatever their diabetes treatments costs their insurers? We have this “liberty” business completely backward in this country, and if Bloomberg can start rebalancing individual freedom and the public good, God bless him, I say.

The surge in obesity is, of course, well-known and quite real. Before about 1980, 15 percent of American adults were obese. Now it’s close to 40 percent. Explanation? Handily enough, Lane Kenworthy of the University of Arizona blogged about this just yesterday. The standard explanation, he writes, is a combination of too much eating and too little physical activity. But Kenworthy shows that declining activity, while real to some extent, does not track with the sudden explosion in porcinity starting in 1980. Something else does, however—total calories in the food supply.

Click on the link above and look at the second chart and you will see that calories in the food supply tracks nearly perfectly with the rise in obesity levels beginning in the 1980s. And memory and common sense tell us that this is when it all started happening. Super-sized fries, Hungry Man Swanson dinners, Big Gulps, all started being laid before us around this time, as well as the explosion across the landscape of the family-casual restaurants that started serving grandmothers portions fit for Lyle Alzado.

Of course, change occurred nowhere else as it did at the movies. I recall the looks I used to get from those confused youngsters behind the counter when they asked me, roughly, “Wouldn’t you like to get a tub of popcorn three times larger for an extra 25 cents?” and I barked, “No, definitely not! And don’t even ask about the soda.” They were a symbol of that age of grotesquerie and excess, those 40-ounce sodas, every bit as much as gas-guzzling SUVs. And they’re indefensible. Completely empty calories. At least potato chips have potatoes. Snickers has nuts. But soda pop has refined sugar. Or corn syrup. There is nothing useful about them. And they have helped to create a crisis.

In New York City, Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs told me Friday that smoking still kills more people, but that line on the graph is heading down fast, while the obesity line is quickly trending up. Bloomberg had a public-policy problem on his hands, so he requested a task force to make recommendations to him concerning obesity, and this—banning most sugary drinks in sizes larger than 16 ounces—was a key recommendation. “We’re trying to reset the norm here and get away from the super-sized norm,” she says. “People will pretty much limit their consumption to what is in front of them. If 16 ounces is what’s in front of them, they’ll typically be satisfied with that.”

It’s a policy designed to guide people toward a certain kind of behavior. This talk of “freedom” is absurd. No one’s freedom is being taken away. When the rule goes into effect, probably by September, assuming the city’s board of health votes it through (it's appointed by the mayor), New Yorkers will still be able to buy these beverages. And those who really feel that they will perish unless they have 32 ounces of Mountain Dew Code Red can simply buy two. Nothing is being banned, and no one’s being arrested.

Are bacon-cheeseburgers next? As a practical matter, no. Sodas are an easy target because there is nothing, nothing, nutritionally redeeming about them.

But might there come a day when the New York City Department of Health mandates that burgers be limited to, say, four ounces?

Indeed there might. And why not? Eight- and ten-ounce burgers are sick things.

We have a health crisis in this country. A country with half of its adults living in a condition of obesity is a sick country, quite literally, spending probably not billions but trillions on the associated illnesses and maladies. Under such conditions, the state has every right to take action on behalf of the common good. We once had an epidemic of traffic deaths. We didn’t ban driving. But we came up with a device that is a minor inconvenience at most. And so seatbelts became mandatory, and now the epidemic has receded. A few people still foolishly oppose seatbelts. But most of us accept them and understand that whatever little dollop of our freedom is taken away as we latch up is more than countervailed by the practical upside.

One day, if the country comes to its senses, we’ll reverse the obesity trend and, just as we now chuckle at the prevalence of smoking on Mad Men, we’ll say, “Can you believe people used to peddle this treacle in 64-ounce doses?” We will not only have done something about obesity.

We’ll have won an important victory over Libertarianism Gone Wild, a far bigger threat to society than even Sunkist Orange.

AF , is it possible this is satire ? , sounds too retarded to be real .... This looks like some kind of memo I would type up and staple to my Leadman's check to mess with him

[Danke]

I'd like to see more bans, as it seems to be in vogue around here.

[Kluge]

Since Sailingaway has to waste so much of his time editing your posts, I think it'd be most efficient to ban you, Danke.

[angelatc]

And those who really feel that they will perish unless they have 32 ounces of Mountain Dew Code Red can simply buy two. Nothing is being banned, and no one’s being arrested.

Right. And seatbelt laws will never be expanded to allow officers to pull you over for not wearing one. SCHIP is all we need - no reason to think a national health care plan is on the horizon.

[oyarde]

I have a porterhouse in the kitchen my honey left for me before she went to bed ( it is my Birthday ) that probably goes a good bit more than an 8 oz burger , tell these food police terrorist jagoffs , I am going to eat it all , and have onions , mushrooms and tall boy beers with it too !

[angelatc]

Since Sailingaway has to waste so much of his time editing your posts, I think it'd be most efficient to ban you, Danke.

I might be wrong, but I thought Sailingaway was a female.

[angelatc]

I have a porterhouse in the kitchen my honey left for me before she went to bed ( it is my Birthday ) that probably goes a good bit more than an 8 oz burger , tell these food police terrorist jagoffs , I am going to eat it all , and have onions , mushrooms and tall boy beers with it too !

Birthday rep!!!!!!

Meanwhile, White Castle prepares to move into Manhattan with a vengeance...

[Anti Federalist]

AF , is it possible this is satire ? , sounds too retarded to be real .... This looks like some kind of memo I would type up and staple to my Leadman's check to mess with him

No, it's legit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Tomasky

[Origanalist]

FOUR OUNCE BURGER? FOUR OUNCE BURGER? I could eat a bigger burger than that before I got off momma's teat.

[Kluge]

I have a porterhouse in the kitchen my honey left for me before she went to bed ( it is my Birthday ) that probably goes a good bit more than an 8 oz burger , tell these food police terrorist jagoffs , I am going to eat it all , and have onions , mushrooms and tall boy beers with it too !

Happy Birthday...sounds delicious--don't forget the cheese!

[Kluge]

I might be wrong, but I thought Sailingaway was a female.

I honestly don't know.

[Origanalist]

I have a porterhouse in the kitchen my honey left for me before she went to bed ( it is my Birthday ) that probably goes a good bit more than an 8 oz burger , tell these food police terrorist jagoffs , I am going to eat it all , and have onions , mushrooms and tall boy beers with it too !

Happy b-day. Enjoy that meal, I sure as hell would.

[Ronulus]

They need to hurry up and ban automobiles, you now how many people die each year from them? And then the smog they put in the city, *tsk* *tsk*.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

So does this mean supermarkets in NYC are now banned from selling bottles of soda above 16 oz?

[oyarde]

So does this mean supermarkets in NYC are now banned from selling bottles of soda above 16 oz? Already do in a bar , states need the licensing fees ...

[angelatc]

So does this mean supermarkets in NYC are now banned from selling bottles of soda above 16 oz?

No supermarkets are exempt, as are convenience stores. Gas stations and restaurants are not. The Mom & Pop corner shops....maybe. Depends on how much of their sales come from food.

My husband grew up in Long Island, and the part that sucks the most for him is the way the New Yorkers bend over. He says he can just imagine his Dad's friends, sitting around mocking the new law, and watching the whole city ignore it.

[Kluge]

No supermarkets are exempt, as are convenience stores. Gas stations and restaurants are not. The Mom & Pop corner shops....maybe. Depends on how much of their sales come from food.

My husband grew up in Long Island, and the part that sucks the most for him is the way the New Yorkers bend over. He says he can just imagine his Dad's friends, sitting around mocking the new law, and watching the whole city ignore it.

What's the difference between a gas station with a little shop and a convenience store? I always considered them the same thing.

[RickyJ]

I predict the next ban approved by New Yorkers will be a ban on mayors with the last name of "Bloomeberg."

[TheNewYorker]

Sugar is a terrible thing in the quantities Americans consume it in. We consume 10x as much sugar daily than we did 100 years ago and 500x the sugar daily that humans were intended to. Obesity rates are so high because they put sugar in everything now. Go to the store and look for products that you wouldn't think would have sugar, like ketchup or pizza, even frozen burgers. Sugar? YEP! Impossible to avoid it. All this added sugar we are consuming daily, ON TOP of an item that is actually supposed to be sugary like your nightly bowl of ice cream - no wonder why obesity rates and diabetes are so high! Ugh, diabetes. It's pretty scary but scientests are saying that the current generation age 1-15 yrs old have a 75% chance of becoming diabetic by the time they are middle aged. Within 30 years scientists are predicting 80% of the US population will be diabetic. That's scary! No one cares though. Keep watching American idol. My step son's girlfriend is 16 years old, thin as a toothpick and has diabetes. What's wrong with that picture? Hits close to home.

Nature intended sugar to be hard to get. Honey has bees protecting it that will sting you if you tried to get at it. Sugar cane, hard as bamboo, hard for early humans to get to it before modern tools were invented. NATURE KNEW that sugar should only have been consumed in small quantities.

Why do they put sugar in everything? Two reasons, it makes the food taste better (meaning you will buy it again) and it is also addicting! It's all about the $$$ for the food companies. High fructose corn syrup! Scary words. That stuff is bad for you! Guess what - no, it's not any worse than regular sugar. Molecularly, it's the same as natural cane sugar. No difference at all. The reason high fructose corn syrup is bad is because it's so cheap, which is why they put it in everything! Before it's invention, raw sugar was too expensive for them to add it to all food without signficantly raising costs. Now they can add it to their hearts contents for less than pennies on the dollar. Go to your local grocery store and see. I can buy a 16oz bottle of high fructose corn syrup for $3.00 or pay $12.00 for a 16oz bag of natural cane sugar. The food companies get it even cheaper since they produce it. It's in all American food because we are the corn capital of the world. Look at other countries that don't have corn, they are never obese.

Uhh, how did I get on this rant? Sorry. Back to soda. I don't support a ban on anything. But I think they should use their money to instead support a campaign telling you the evils of soda and sugar. Soda is the worst. Drink more than a glass a week of it some day I bet you WILL have diabetes. It's LOADED with sugar (http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm). It's pretty much liquid sugar. Why? Because soda is so bitter if they didn't load it with 40+ grams of sugar per serving (more sugar than 5 glazed donuts) no one would drink it.

Seriously, if you have obesity problems just cut sugar from your diet I guarantee you will lose 10lbs of pure fat a month easy with no exercise. Too bad no one is aware of this one easy tip when it comes to weight loss. It's hard to cut sugar from your diet since they put it in everything now. Stick to fresh vegetables and family-farm raised fresh meat. The vegetarian's have it some what right, but not because of the reason they think. The reason vegetarian diets work is because of the reduced amount of sugar in veggies, not because they are veggies. You can eat meat too as long as it's fresh and has no sugar in it and still lose the same amount of weight. Heck, when i was on my no-sugar weight loss campaign I made it a goal to eat at least 3 steaks a week high in fat. :) Weightloss went even faster because fatty products keep you fuller longer.

[RickyJ]

Workers in the sugar cane fields eat a lot of sugar cane everyday and are not fat and don't have diabetes. The difference is it isn't refined sugar, like the sugar most Americans are consuming. No matter what you eat, if you eat too much and do not exercise, you will get fat.

[donnay]

I say they ban Bloomberg!

He is bad for my health--he makes my blood pressure go up every time I listen to him talk.

[DerailingDaTrain]

What's the difference between a gas station with a little shop and a convenience store? I always considered them the same thing.

Some gas stations are convenience stores (Kangaroo, BP, etc. ) but not all convenience stores are gas stations.

[Vessol]

There seems to be a concentrated attack on libertarians recently in the media..

[TheNewYorker]

Workers in the sugar cane fields eat a lot of sugar cane everyday and are not fat and don't have diabetes. The difference is it isn't refined sugar, like the sugar most Americans are consuming. No matter what you eat, if you eat too much and do not exercise, you will get fat.

Yeah but who wants to bet they aren't eating processed food every day with sugar in it like we are! ON TOP of the sugar cane they are consuming occasionally.

[donnay]

There seems to be a concentrated attack on libertarians recently in the media..

Or anyone who wants liberty!

[QuickZ06]

There seems to be a concentrated attack on libertarians recently in the media..

I have noticed that as well.

[oyarde]

No, it's legit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Tomasky I was afraid of that , if my Leadman sees this he will be pissed , he will think I wrote that dumbshit and submitted it under that guys name .....

[oyarde]

What's the difference between a gas station with a little shop and a convenience store? I always considered them the same thing. It is wierd , I know , but in my town there is one place that used to be a 24 hr mart , gas station , place is still there selling the same crap , but have not had gas pumps in years , I bet three bucks ,biggest seller in the place is , big, drinks. ... Who gives a crap ? in an environment governed correctly , I would not be taxed for anyones health care and would do my best to take careof my family , friends , co workers etc and have a helluva alot more money to do it with if the govt was not stealing all from me ...

[dillo]

thats why they invented double cheeseburgers

[The Bavarian]

I'm glad they are banning everything that might be bad for my health, lord only knows I don't know how to decide for myself.

Thank you government for thinking for me. After all, I might hurt myself if I do.

[paulbot24]

Happy b-day. Enjoy that meal, I sure as hell would.

Hurry....your meal will be banned in 5..4..3..2..1..

[luctor-et-emergo]

4 ounces ?!

So now you'd have to eat two 4 ounce burgers instead of one six ounce burger.
Don't worry, 'We're not banning hamburgers, we're simply educating people on the choices they "have" to make'.

Now, most burgers I make are around 4 ounces I guess, but sometimes you just want a little more. It's a good thing nobody can stop me from making my own burgers, oh wait, not yet.

Burgers tonight!

[MikeStanart]

4 ounces ?!

So now you'd have to eat two 4 ounce burgers instead of one six ounce burger.
Don't worry, 'We're not banning hamburgers, we're simply educating people on the choices they "have" to make'.

Now, most burgers I make are around 4 ounces I guess, but sometimes you just want a little more. It's a good thing nobody can stop me from making my own burgers, oh wait, not yet.

Burgers tonight!

PUT DOWN THE BURGER, MUNDANE

http://www.swatteamrequirements.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/swat-team-requirements.jpg

[enoch150]

We once had an epidemic of traffic deaths. We didn’t ban driving. But we came up with a device that is a minor inconvenience at most. And so seatbelts became mandatory, and now the epidemic has receded. A few people still foolishly oppose seatbelts. But most of us accept them and understand that whatever little dollop of our freedom is taken away as we latch up is more than countervailed by the practical upside.


Seat belt laws were a blip. Reduced traffic deaths have almost everything to do with vehicle safety improvements.

http://i49.tinypic.com/m7x4ib.png

[Kluge]

So you'll have to get two burgers and two soft drinks, which means:

1. More packaging.
2. More buns/condiments/calories.
3. Higher costs.
4. Zero problems solved.

Sounds like government.

[presence]

Meanwhile, White Castle prepares to move into Manhattan with a vengeance...

That made my morning.

[moostraks]

So you'll have to get two burgers and two soft drinks, which means:

1. More packaging.
2. More buns/condiments/calories.
3. Higher costs.
4. Zero problems solved.

Sounds like government.

Costs passed on to the consumer while they institute a fee for the damage to the environment caused by the extra packaging....Then McDonalds et al will call for a bailout as sales go down threatening the loss of the last american jobs left...

[DamianTV]

... and high-fructose corn syrup is little better. ...

That comment right there shows the true ignorance of the person that made that statement. It isnt about getting rid of sugar, the whole thing is a prop up for the high fructose corn syrup industry. Ten bucks says Bloomberg owns stock in HFCS. Anyone care to double check that?

[Schifference]

Most people put ice in their soft drinks. Impossible to put 16 ounces of soda into a 16 ounce glass half filled with ice.

[ShaneEnochs]

Shameless plug >.>

http://whisperingthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/06/war-on-sugar.html

[Anti Federalist]

That, and major breakthroughs in the treatment of trauma and secondary infection.

If you get in a wreck, you're more likely to survive.

Keep in mind, the chart you posted showed figures before the introduction of penicillin.


Seat belt laws were a blip. Reduced traffic deaths have almost everything to do with vehicle safety improvements.

http://i49.tinypic.com/m7x4ib.png

[DamianTV]

Most people put ice in their soft drinks. Impossible to put 16 ounces of soda into a 16 ounce glass half filled with ice.

I like to say it is Half Empty!

[Revolution9]

Grains are the obesity issue. Not sugar. Now they will sell more grain to go with less fat and protein. I have a hard enough time sustaining weight and eat no grains. When I worked my ass off in the sun I would go through two large iced sugared drinks in a shift. Didn't do anything to me and water would have drained me of minerals. Trust me. I burned every last sugar calories I consumed. Bunch of bureaucrat desk jockeys. Don't even know why they are fat. They can cut it all but until they stop the grains they will bloat.

[DamianTV]

Grains are the obesity issue. Not sugar. Now they will sell more grain to go with less fat and protein. I have a hard enough time sustaining weight and eat no grains. When I worked my ass off in the sun I would go through two large iced sugared drinks in a shift. Didn't do anything to me and water would have drained me of minerals. Trust me. I burned every last sugar calories I consumed. Bunch of bureaucrat desk jockeys. Don't even know why they are fat. They can cut it all but until they stop the grains they will bloat.

@Rev9, Celiac Disease or Celiac Diet?

Where do you carry your weight? (Not you specifically Rev9) Your stomach or your hips, legs, and thighs?

Where a person carries their weight makes a difference on what type of weight loss diet a person needs to be on. The weight around the midsection, the belly fat, that is usually caused by grains and too much processed bread products. "Ass Fat" I honestly dont remember but I think something else needs to be included in the diet that isnt there. I believe protien, but vaguely remember the article. What I do remember is that the Gut Fat is way more dangerous to a persons health because that is the fat that puts excessive pressure on the organs and causes things like heart attacks and strokes. Ass Fat is actually way healthier just because of its location on the body not causing the same internal damage to organs and the cardiovascular system as Gut Fat does.

Now why are KIDS fat? Lets do some basic math. #1 Ritalin + #2 No more gym class + #3 Dont go outside and play #4 Unhealthy Diet = Obese Children. Yeah, those arent the only contributing factors, but they all do play a role to a certain extent. Balanced Diet and Lifestyle is usually the key to getting skinny and staying skinny.

Now along with my idea that the soda thing was intended to prop up the HFCS industry, could this actually be something designed by the Fast Food Industry to cause people to BUY more? A person wants a 32 oz Drink, but the Law allows for only 16, at least HALF of which is ice, which makes it 8oz, so the person has to BUY TWICE as much to get the originally intended quantity. A lot of marketing has to do with selling shit that people dont need to people that dont want the shit to begin with by creating an incentive for that product. For example, movie theaters (at least used to) prohibit outside food and drinks in order to promote their own sales of (unhealthy) but overpriced products, which resulted in people getting thirsty or hungry while watching a movie and increased their revenue.

The laws like this do nothing more than incentivize for people to buy twice as much product to acquire the same quantity as was originally desired.

Now lets look at HFCS and Prohibition. Here is a little known little discussed fact. Fructose is a Complex Sugar that has to be broken down by the Liver into Glucose and Sucrose before it can be used by the rest of the cells in the Human Body. Thus, it does the same damage to the Liver as Alcohol. Hmm, alcohol. Didnt we ban that during Prohibition? Well, except for medical uses, if you had a "License" from your Pastor, cleaning, fuel, disinfecting, cooking, home distillation, wine, blah blah blah etc etc etc. The list of "exclusions" was so extensive that although Alcohol was completely prohibited, everyone had a valid legal use for alcohol. The thing was that during Prohibition, when the Govt went after people for illegal alcohol, they went after the Distributors and Manufacturers, not the people themselves. The sugar and meat nanny state laws make the consumer the victim and relieves (hell, rewards) the distributors and manufacturers.

In conclusion, this ban on burgers is actually quietly supported by the Fast Food Industry that forces (punishes) consumers to purchase more in order to bolster the Fast Food Industry's profit margins. And if you have a 401k or stock in some fast food joint, who wouldnt want to see their 401k or stocks do better? Which ties back into lobbying, buying politicians, and incentivizes more restrictive laws against the people least able to afford it for the sake of a few who want nothing more than to lose as little money as possible during an economic depression.

[heavenlyboy34]

I'd like to see more bans, as it seems to be in vogue around here.
Ban.

[heavenlyboy34]

Grains are the obesity issue. Not sugar. Now they will sell more grain to go with less fat and protein. I have a hard enough time sustaining weight and eat no grains. When I worked my ass off in the sun I would go through two large iced sugared drinks in a shift. Didn't do anything to me and water would have drained me of minerals. Trust me. I burned every last sugar calories I consumed. Bunch of bureaucrat desk jockeys. Don't even know why they are fat. They can cut it all but until they stop the grains they will bloat.
Who told you water will drain you of minerals? Sounds like a false fact made up by the Gatorade marketing office. When I work out I stick with water. Works best.

[farreri]

If they are going to ban to try to improve health, ban the bun, not the burger. Just sayin'...

[Danke]

Ban.

I'm closing this thread.

[heavenlyboy34]

I'm closing this thread.
Ban.

[No Free Beer]

although i do agree that the this is absolutely ridiculous, i think he does bring up a good point about insurance and the rise in prices due to these fatty mcfats. this does not mean im in favor of this bullshit law or any like it, but im just being honest to the point where it leads me to ask myself, "what do we do about insurance?"

i want answers, so i can be smart....and stuff.

oh, ill have fries with that too...

[Vessol]

I don't think anyone is arguing that soda isn't bad for you. Hell, I don't even drink that nasty shit myself(unless it's a bit of bourbon and coke, yum). But, hey, I'm one of those wacky libertarians who think that it's immoral to force someone to make health decisions at the point of a gun.

[Anti Federalist]

although i do agree that the this is absolutely ridiculous, i think he does bring up a good point about insurance and the rise in prices due to these fatty mcfats. this does not mean im in favor of this bullshit law or any like it, but im just being honest to the point where it leads me to ask myself, "what do we do about insurance?"

i want answers, so i can be smart....and stuff.

oh, ill have fries with that too...

Introduce some free markets forces into health care.

It's impossible to figure any sort of cost benefit analysis into any of this.

Try and "buy" medical services.

[cajuncocoa]

We need to stop allowing jackasses like the one who wrote the article in the OP from pubishing crap like this....it's seriously going to cause me to have a stroke or a heart attack, and I would really HATE to add a burden on the precious health care SYSTEM!!!

/sarcasm....as a libertarian, of course I would never stifle someone's freedom of expression.

[John F Kennedy III]

AF , is it possible this is satire ? , sounds too retarded to be real .... This looks like some kind of memo I would type up and staple to my Leadman's check to mess with him

I'm hoping it's satire. Smells like The Onion to me.

[Anti Federalist]

I'm hoping it's satire. Smells like The Onion to me.

Oh no, Komrade Tomasky is in earnest, it is quite real.

Go read some of his other works.

[Mini-Me]

although i do agree that the this is absolutely ridiculous, i think he does bring up a good point about insurance and the rise in prices due to these fatty mcfats. this does not mean im in favor of this bullshit law or any like it, but im just being honest to the point where it leads me to ask myself, "what do we do about insurance?"

i want answers, so i can be smart....and stuff.

oh, ill have fries with that too...

Easy: Tie insurance rates to lifestyle risk factors, including weight/BMI/whatever at the start of an insurance contract.

[malkusm]

Sugar is a terrible thing in the quantities Americans consume it in. We consume 10x as much sugar daily than we did 100 years ago and 500x the sugar daily that humans were intended to. Obesity rates are so high because they put sugar in everything now. Go to the store and look for products that you wouldn't think would have sugar, like ketchup or pizza, even frozen burgers. Sugar? YEP! Impossible to avoid it. All this added sugar we are consuming daily, ON TOP of an item that is actually supposed to be sugary like your nightly bowl of ice cream - no wonder why obesity rates and diabetes are so high! Ugh, diabetes. It's pretty scary but scientests are saying that the current generation age 1-15 yrs old have a 75% chance of becoming diabetic by the time they are middle aged. Within 30 years scientists are predicting 80% of the US population will be diabetic. That's scary! No one cares though. Keep watching American idol. My step son's girlfriend is 16 years old, thin as a toothpick and has diabetes. What's wrong with that picture? Hits close to home.

Nature intended sugar to be hard to get. Honey has bees protecting it that will sting you if you tried to get at it. Sugar cane, hard as bamboo, hard for early humans to get to it before modern tools were invented. NATURE KNEW that sugar should only have been consumed in small quantities.

Why do they put sugar in everything? Two reasons, it makes the food taste better (meaning you will buy it again) and it is also addicting! It's all about the $$$ for the food companies. High fructose corn syrup! Scary words. That stuff is bad for you! Guess what - no, it's not any worse than regular sugar. Molecularly, it's the same as natural cane sugar. No difference at all. The reason high fructose corn syrup is bad is because it's so cheap, which is why they put it in everything! Before it's invention, raw sugar was too expensive for them to add it to all food without signficantly raising costs. Now they can add it to their hearts contents for less than pennies on the dollar. Go to your local grocery store and see. I can buy a 16oz bottle of high fructose corn syrup for $3.00 or pay $12.00 for a 16oz bag of natural cane sugar. The food companies get it even cheaper since they produce it. It's in all American food because we are the corn capital of the world. Look at other countries that don't have corn, they are never obese.

Uhh, how did I get on this rant? Sorry. Back to soda. I don't support a ban on anything. But I think they should use their money to instead support a campaign telling you the evils of soda and sugar. Soda is the worst. Drink more than a glass a week of it some day I bet you WILL have diabetes. It's LOADED with sugar (http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm). It's pretty much liquid sugar. Why? Because soda is so bitter if they didn't load it with 40+ grams of sugar per serving (more sugar than 5 glazed donuts) no one would drink it.

Seriously, if you have obesity problems just cut sugar from your diet I guarantee you will lose 10lbs of pure fat a month easy with no exercise. Too bad no one is aware of this one easy tip when it comes to weight loss. It's hard to cut sugar from your diet since they put it in everything now. Stick to fresh vegetables and family-farm raised fresh meat. The vegetarian's have it some what right, but not because of the reason they think. The reason vegetarian diets work is because of the reduced amount of sugar in veggies, not because they are veggies. You can eat meat too as long as it's fresh and has no sugar in it and still lose the same amount of weight. Heck, when i was on my no-sugar weight loss campaign I made it a goal to eat at least 3 steaks a week high in fat. :) Weightloss went even faster because fatty products keep you fuller longer.

But, this isn't a debate over whether the food is healthy for you. And honestly, if people were eating tubs of lard every day, I wouldn't care.

If you believe in personal responsibility, then there's no question that the government has no right to ban unhealthy foods - you are responsible for your body, and what you put in it is your decision. And if the government can ban unhealthy foods, they can also ban healthy foods (raw milk?) and just about anything else, based on the legal precedent.

[No Free Beer]

Easy: Tie insurance rates to lifestyle risk factors, including weight/BMI/whatever at the start of an insurance contract.

I completely agree.

What will happen is that insurance companies will accept people based on weight and health. The politicians will claim "discrimination"

[oyarde]

Well , screw that guy I am eating meat & potaoes right NOW , when done , I am goingout back to piss & tell my dog , he never has to go to New Jersey , wear a seatbelt or go to prison for texting . FTW !

[DamianTV]

I completely agree.

What will happen is that insurance companies will accept people based on weight and health. The politicians will claim "discrimination"

But then the bought and paid for politicians will make it illegal for you to be overweight or unhealthy because the people that bought and paid for said politician were in fact the insurance companies themselves. This is the very definition of Facism. It is nothing more than Socialism controlled by Corporatism. The merger of the Corporate and the State, where the Corporations decree what the Law is.

And make no mistake, laws like these are Facist Law.

[moostraks]

But then the bought and paid for politicians will make it illegal for you to be overweight or unhealthy because the people that bought and paid for said politician were in fact the insurance companies themselves. This is the very definition of Facism. It is nothing more than Socialism controlled by Corporatism. The merger of the Corporate and the State, where the Corporations decree what the Law is.

And make no mistake, laws like these are Facist Law.

I was thinking this morning we should turn the narrative on this issue and start asking if the government should start mandating people exercise. They must have gym memberships (I mean if we can force the purchase of health insurance then we should be allowed to follow through with demanding they keep as physically fit as possible!) The membership will be tied to their social security card and failure to comply will be handled just like health insurance through the income tax fines. Go ahead and take this baby to the next level for them. (Then we can hand out hard copies of 1984 to these folks because we know what happens to the digital copies...)

[donnay]

But then the bought and paid for politicians will make it illegal for you to be overweight or unhealthy because the people that bought and paid for said politician were in fact the insurance companies themselves. This is the very definition of Facism. It is nothing more than Socialism controlled by Corporatism. The merger of the Corporate and the State, where the Corporations decree what the Law is.

And make no mistake, laws like these are Facist Law.

We have a winner!! ^^^^


The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions.

[oyarde]

I was thinking this morning we should turn the narrative on this issue and start asking if the government should start mandating people exercise. They must have gym memberships (I mean if we can force the purchase of health insurance then we should be allowed to follow through with demanding they keep as physically fit as possible!) The membership will be tied to their social security card and failure to comply will be handled just like health insurance through the income tax fines. Go ahead and take this baby to the next level for them. (Then we can hand out hard copies of 1984 to these folks because we know what happens to the digital copies...)

I figured if the got the health care mandate to stick , the next move would be to require anyone reporting 35k year or more to buy a crappy 40k electric car...

[anaconda]

I have a porterhouse in the kitchen my honey left for me before she went to bed ( it is my Birthday ) that probably goes a good bit more than an 8 oz burger , tell these food police terrorist jagoffs , I am going to eat it all , and have onions , mushrooms and tall boy beers with it too !

Happy Birthday.

[Brian4Liberty]

Seat belt laws were a blip. Reduced traffic deaths have almost everything to do with vehicle safety improvements.


IIRC, they also changed how they counted traffic deaths at the same time that they reduced the speed to 55. If you were not declared dead at the scene, you didn't "die in the accident".

[DamianTV]

Funny, but Shark Attacks are handled similarly. If a person is killed by a shark, and their body is unable to be found, it is NOT ruled as a shark attack. Statistical Smoke and Mirrors. Same shit as voting. Exclude as many votes as possible from being eligible as valid votes for your opponent, but allow ALL votes for your candidate to be considered. He who votes has no power, only he who Counts the votes has any real power. Same shit as pretty much every statistic out there.

50% of Statistics are 80% bullshit.

Now, with that said, and considering they are trying to measure out 4 ounces of meat in a patty, is what the meat is made out of really 100% beef? IDK, lets ask Taco Bell about their "Taco Filler" that is 70% Not Meat!

Loophole!

[Anti Federalist]

Bump for timeliness

[cajuncocoa]

Yep, this is our future.

[Anti Federalist]

Yep, this is our future.

Yup.

With today's SCROTUS ruling, nothing, and I mean nothing, can be considered "private" behavior any more.

The legal precedent has now been set, anything you do, anywhere, at any time, is subject to government scrutiny and regulation, with total surveillance required to monitor for compliance.

[Xhin]

Ban on smoking? Well, it's unfair for taxpayers to fund such an irresponsible lifestyle choice.

Discouragement of obesity via intrusion into the private lives of citizens? Same as above.

[Anti Federalist]

Ban on smoking? Well, it's unfair for taxpayers to fund such an irresponsible lifestyle choice.

Discouragement of obesity via intrusion into the private lives of citizens? Same as above.

Yes, citizen, you understand.

Now, you have no objection to being monitored for compliance, correct?

Too bad if you do.

[luctor-et-emergo]

If I may, I can interject some socialist realities I have to live with on a day to day basis.
We have a healthcare mandate here. You simply have to buy insurance or you will get fined (don't know how much, but you lose anyways), in addition to that, there are subsidies for people with a lower income (which is a majority) of up to about 50-60% of the cost of a basic insurance plan (this already covers preventative things and a whole boatload of other things you probably had never heard of.). So people with a lower income get to pay about half for their insurance. People with an income above a certain threshold have to pay extra, up to multiple times the cost of basic insurance. In effect, the cost of healthcare is progressive here.

Since a couple of years there is a new system, which is mandated by the government; electronic medical records. They have established a database of some sort with all the medical records of people, so pharmacists, doctors or first aid workers have instant access... The government assures us this system will not be abused. Luckily I found there was a clause to opt-out, so I did. Even though, I have no clue if they are still keeping records but not distributing them freely.

Every now and then there's some politician that wants to mold peoples behavior. Several years ago, I might not have noticed how socialist these politicians are. But to not bore you with the politics of a tiny country that's way too wet and cold anyways, I'll stay on topic a little. In recent years there have been a number of bills introduced (but luckily did not pass) that mold behavior. For instance there have been politicians that wanted to raise taxes on; 'Sugar', 'Soft drinks', 'Fat content', 'Meat'. They have no problem raising taxes on cigarettes and alcohol every single time... And they always claim it's for the general welfare.

It's not necessarily the burgers. They are dear to me. But the fact that most people do not question it when their freedoms are taken away from them is what hurts me most to be honest. Sometimes it's like people don't even want to be free.

[Anti Federalist]

Sometimes it's like people don't even want to be free.

They do not and never have.

Pharaohs, potentates and pooh bahs of all stripes have been manipulating that basic human weakness, that Thomas Jefferson addressed in the Declaration of Independence, for centuries.

People, by and large, do not want freedom and never have.

They want to be fed, entertained and exercise petty power over their fellow man.

The sooner those of us in the very small minority that do want freedom, recognize this, the better off all of us will be.

[cajuncocoa]

But the fact that most people do not question it when their freedoms are taken away from them is what hurts me most to be honest. Sometimes it's like people don't even want to be free.

If I had a dime for every time I had this same thought.....

[Travlyr]

Going to get a double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and cola while I still can.

BRB.

[LibForestPaul]

We’ll have won an important victory over Libertarianism Gone Wild, a far bigger threat to society than even Sunkist Orange.

Srs...this was uttered ?

[Travlyr]

I'm back after getting a double mcdoggels "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions - all on a sesame seed bun" ... a BIG MAC.

I threw away the top of one bun and the bottom of the other bun and put them together because I've read where wheat is bad for people. The burger was alright. It looked kind of strange, however. Nonetheless, I figure it'll digest eventually. I'm sure it was 100% beef, but I'm not sure that they know what beef is.

[Travlyr]

BTW... I haven't had a Big Mac in years upon years. I hope I don't regret it later.

[Anti Federalist]

BTW... I haven't had a Big Mac in years upon years. I hope I don't regret it later.

Oh, Lord, have mercy.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTC7dFSIbhRgGRo-0dQ7fmnvMPSGa1-qarzJZagKZp4pSsO5J1_gMQhM5oR