Mrs. Palin, Obesity is no laughing matter!

Sarah Palin is taking a lot of heat as a result of the Arizona shooting. This blog post, however, is not about that. If you wish to know my views on that matter, another writer has stated them quite well, and I refer you to that link here. This post is about Sarah Palin's curt dismissal of Michelle Obama's efforts to fight childhood obesity. In this matter too, I find that another person has stated my own opinion better than I could.

With her permission, I reproduce here an open-letter to Sarah Palin from my friend Eve Parker

Dear Mrs. Palin,

I recently read about your objection to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative and the Child Nutrition Act . I am sure this is not the only letter you have received on this matter, but I am deeply concerned with your lack of interest in this issue. As an obese child to a family who were not the most educated or able to provide healthy meals, I relied heavily on my school district to provide me with the nutrients my developing body needed for breakfast and lunch, the two most important meals of the day. I received breakfast pizzas, buttered waffles, chicken fried steak, and corn dogs. Is this the adequate food choices you have been talking about?

CDC.gov highlights the obesity rate amongst children which has tripled in the last 30 years. They are expecting to watch this figure grow if no affirmative action is taken. Does this show how well our country is doing by leaving all meal planning in the hands of our parents when clearly children eat at school? According to “Fighting Obesity in the Public Schools,” children ages 6-15 consume one-third to one-half of their daily calories there. If parents are left completely responsible for their children’s food choices, does that honestly allow schools to turn a blind eye and serve children what is proven to clog arteries, increase risk of high blood pressure, and effect cognitive functions?

Wiping your hands clean of this issue since you feel we have bigger issues and assuming all American families are willing and able to provide their children with a well balanced meal is foolish. “Support parental choice for what is best for their children,” sounds like you are playing it safe. Why not intervene and join forces with Michelle Obama when in 2007 researchers from Harvard Medicine School’s showed nearly 1 out of every 5 children are considered either overweight or on their way to becoming obese? Do not assume everyone understands what a serving size is or what an adequate amount of protein is, let alone how much Vitamin A a child needs. I believe too many parents are more concerned with convenience when planning meals rather than the nutrients their children are getting from their diet. I also think it is reasonable to consider child obesity as a form of child abuse, seeing as how disregarding the health and future of your child is neglect. Just because your children didn’t suffer from it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening Mrs.Palin.

If your focus is on the future and making our country optimal and efficient, why do you not care about the future generation and their well being? I can hear your contagious laugh as you read this, but truly that is what you are doing when you scoff at the First Lady’s efforts. Obesity is amongst the top preventable disease affecting our country today. If we do not have healthy children it decreased their chances of being healthy adults, and without healthy adults we do not have a fully functioning society.


I find it sad that a 24 year old Nutrition major has to even write such logic to a well-educated politician. I employ you to reconsider your narrow-minded attitude toward this country’s children. A quote by an unknown author exemplifies the problem with nutritional education “An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life.”


Sincerely,

Eve Parker

Well said Eve! And thank you for your permission to post this.

Health Care Reform Will Help Everybody

The following post is contributed by Barbara O'Brien, who blogs regularly at Mahablog

Many Americans assume the new health care reform act will benefit mostly the poor and uninsured and hurt everyone else, according to polls. As Matt Yglesias wrote, “Basically, people see this as a bill that will take resources from people who have health insurance and give it to people who don’t have health insurance.” Those who still oppose the reform say that people ought to pay for their own health care.

We all believe in the virtues of hard work and self-reliance, but these days it’s a fantasy to think that anyone but the mega-wealthy will not, sooner or later, depend on help from others to pay medical bills. And that’s true no matter how hard you work, how much you love America, or how diligently you take care of yourself. The cost of medical care has so skyrocketed that breaking an arm or leg could cost as much as a new car. And if you get cancer or heart disease — which can happen even to people who live healthy lifestyles — forget about it. The disease will not only clean you out; it will leave a whopping debt for your survivors to pay.

And the truth is, we all pay for other peoples’ health care whether we know it or not. When people can’t pay their medical bills, the cost of their health care gets added to everyone else’s bills and insurance premiums. When poor people use emergency rooms as a doctor of last resort, their care is not “free.” You pay for it.

Another common fantasy about medical care is that the “free market” provides incentives for medical companies to develop innovative new drugs and treatments for disease without government subsidy. It’s true that private enterprise is very good at developing profitable health care products. But not all medical care can be made profitable.

For years, the U.S. government has been funding medical research that the big private companies don’t want to do because there is too much cost for the potential profit. This is especially true for diseases that are rare and expensive to treat. An example of a recent advance made possible by government grants include new guidelines for malignant pleural mesothelioma treatment developed by MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers. Another is a blood screening test developed by mesothelioma doctors like thoracic surgeon Dr. David Sugarbaker. The health reform act provides for more dollars for such research, from which even many of the tea party protesters will benefit.

The biggest fantasy of all was that people who had insurance didn’t have to worry about health care costs. But the fact is that in recent years millions of Americans have been bankrupted by medical costs, and three-quarters of the medically bankrupt had health insurance. And yes, insurance companies even dumped hard-working, law-abiding patriots. But the health care reform act will put an end to that, and now America’s hard-working, law-abiding patriots are more financially secure, whether they like it or not.

Happy Birthday Mr. Padre

Anthony Keith Gwynn

May 9th, 1960

Tony Gwynn, The Hall of Famer, with 3,141 hits, .338 lifetime batting average, 8 Batting Titles, 5 Gold Gloves, 15 time All-Star and 20 seasons with one team! All amazing accomplishments and now he is turning the big 5-0! Mr. Padre, Tony Gwynn, means a lot to the city of San Diego and a lot to Padres fans. He is certainly the best hitter of his time, and one of the best of all time. (In my opinion second only to Ted Williams). Having grown up a San Diego Padres fan, I wanted nothing more than to meet Tony Gwynn since I was 2 years old. I waited 20 years to meet the man. No matter what, I always seemed to miss him. Then finally, in 2008 I met him. I tell you it was worth the wait. Tony Gwynn is the epitome of class and kindness. We were lucky to have such an amazing player, an amazing person as a part of the Padres, and a part of our lives.

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY MR. PADRE!!!

Post Contributed by my sister: Caitlin Wion

Guest Post: The World Economy goes from bad to worse

The Following is a guest post from my friend and colleague, Rosa vargas:

I came across this little piece of news this morning:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_bi_ge/us_world_economy

It covers this past weekend meeting of the World Bank and the IMF to discuss what further actions are needed to face the global crisis. This caught my attention: Bank President Robert Zoellick expressing the bank's concern that the economic crisis will become a calamity for poor countries. "There is a widespread recognition that the world faces an unprecedented economic crisis, poor people could suffer the most and that we must continue to act in real time to prevent a human catastrophe."

What is it that they plan to do? "The bank will respond by tapping its healthy balance sheet to increase lending." Brilliant! Because your lending has helped so much in the past, right? Because between the two of you, you have managed to help strengthen the economy of so many previously "poor countries," rather than sending them further down and keeping them there? Of course the idea of condoning the existing debt of these countries never crossed their minds. Protesters in Washington have an even better idea: "IMF, tear it down. World Bank, tear it down."

Anyway, no surprises here but I thought to share.

Rosa

Guest Post: Obama Sets Iraqi Troops Withdrawal Timeline

The Following is a guest post:

President Obama recently announced his proposed withdrawal date from Iraq of August 31, 2010. All but about 35,000 to 50,000 troops would be set home to the US, while the others remain for counter-terrorism and other security purposes until 2011.

Critics object that the number of Iraqi troops set to return home is not high enough. But I think they fail to appreciate that the US needs a military, ground presence to prevent a coup d’état. After all, we created this chaos in Iraq, and now we must do our best to tidy up. And that may mean leaving some troops in Iraq, which is still a drastic improvement over the current situation.

Not everyone disagrees with Obama's Iraqi withdrawal plan. An unlikely supporter seems to believe that Obama is acting appropriately. According to the AP, "Arizona Sen. John McCain, who sparred with Obama on the merits of a timetable for the war in a bid for the presidency: said Obama's plan 'is one that can keep us on the right path in Iraq.'" This is surprising because McCain practically implied that Obama was an unfit leader. Nevertheless, I couldn't agree more with McCain on this issue.

Over 4,000 men and women have died in Iraq. War is a terrible proposition that does not usually end on a happy note. But at least this war is winding down after almost six years in Iraq. Now it is time to follow President Obama's plan and send our troops home for good.

Bryan Wisotsky, Storybook Vacations