Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I just don't understand the right wing in this country. As part of the ongoing mocking of Michele Obama's efforts to promote healthier child nutrition and lower the nation's alarming obesity rate, the not lithe Limbaugh burped up that Michele Obama is no Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. As a person who has spent most of his adult years being quite obese, it is odd that Limbaugh would decide to comment on the physique of others (not that dittoheads think things through that far) when he, himself, has battled weight with varying degrees of success. Wanting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables is nothing new -- and had never really been a source of controversy up until now. I'd say that moms of every political stripe on the spectrum have tried at one time or another to get little Billy and Susie to eat their veggies. Like most initiatives taken on by First Ladies, such as nutrition, literacy, health matters, Let's Move is pretty bi-partisan in its goal -- to raise healthier American children -- or at least ought to be. It's pretty basic, good advice: eat more whole foods, exercise more, cut down on the chicken nuggets and sodas. But for the right, anything the Obamas do is worthy of condemnation and ridicule. It's just an extra helping of irony that the fluffy Limbaugh would decide to weigh in (sorry) about Mrs. Obama's physique.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<As a person who has spent most of his adult years being quite obese, it is odd that Limbaugh would decide to comment on the physique of others (not that dittoheads think things through that far) when he, himself, has battled weight with varying degrees of success.>> Did you ever hear him go after drug addicts, before his housekeeper was caught buying oxycontin for drug habit? Rush has always been a hypocrite. He will never shy away from trashing someone for the very same crap that he engages in himself. One of a myriad of reasons why the guy is an evil and immoral bully.
Originally Posted By ecdc I used to joke that the Obama's could cure cancer and the right wing would take them to task for it. I no longer believe that's a joke. I quite literally believe that if Barack Obama cured cancer tomorrow, the right-wing would find something - some heretofore unseen argument, to attack him with.
Originally Posted By Oldschool Disney Mrs. Obama seems to be an average weight for her height. What would help getting kids and adults for that matter too, is to make the healthier offering just a tad more affordable it's not cheap to eat healthy.
Originally Posted By ecdc BTW, Bill Maher did a new rule bit on this very issue. I've cleaned it up just a bit, but it's well worth reading. >>If you think Michelle Obama is after your freedom because she merely suggests that our kids should exercise more and eat a little broccoli along with their lard, you don't deserve a place in the free market of ideas; you belong at the Cheesecake Factory. She's not Stalin because she notices your kids sweat Mountain Dew. Now, this is bigger than America's [butt]. I know that's hard to believe, but indulge me. This is about the teabaggers fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between freedom and the freedom to never be told anything. Like "avoid food served in a bucket." It's just a tradition that First Ladies get to pick some mundane, up-until-now, non-controversial cause to promote. Ladybird Johnson: beautifying America. Barbara Bush had literacy. Betty Ford's was "no hard liquor before 10 AM." Our last First Lady, Laura Bush, worked tirelessly against illiteracy. So between her efforts and her husband's, it was a tie. Hillary Clinton did pioneering work in "looking the other way." I'm just saying, if your husband can convince you that the bra in the bed probably fell in at the mattress factory, you can overlook Hosni Mubarak. Now, when I look at a Moon Pie, I just see sugar and trans fat, not my Constitutional freedoms. But Sarah Palin recently brought sugar cookies to a school as a protest against the government telling the school what to eat. Which of course, it wasn't doing. Sean Hannity warned that we'd soon be paying fines for eating salt. Which isn't a problem for Hannity, who mostly eats boogers. When did the right wing become Joe Pesci over every little thing? "You saying I use too much salt? What am I, salty to you? Screw you, I use too much salt! Here, take some salt RIGHT DOWN YOUR THROAT!" I mean, 40 years ago, when Ladybird Johnson suggested we plant wildflowers to beautify the highways, the reaction was, "Sounds like a neat idea," not "Don't tell me what I can plant!" Matt Drudge promoted a story saying pedestrian deaths were way up because the "evil one" - Michelle Obama - had encouraged people to walk more. Directly into traffic. Those were her exact words: "Walk into traffic." Now, I'm not saying the right objects to Mrs. Obama's efforts because the teabaggers are stupid or because they're hysterical or because they hate black people…though all of that is true. But, what does it say about America that even a First Lady's suggestion has to be controversial. Especially when she purposely picks something no one could disagree with! "Maybe we should send our kids outside to play." Well, you know who else liked to send people places? Hitler. I mean, Rush Limbaugh makes a crack about this every week. Because, who better to get your health advice from than a drug-addicted fat man? Rush, I have proof that no one in the government is forcing you to eat right and exercise…YOU!<<
Originally Posted By skinnerbox Probably for the huge profit meltdown in the oncology industry, which would be forced to fire thousands of cancer researchers and hundreds of thousands of health care workers, support employees, etc. "Obama just destroyed the biotech industry! What about the jobs, Mr. President?"
Originally Posted By Oldschool Disney Considering the amount of hot air he expells I'm surprised Limbaugh doesn't weigh 80lbs at the end of the day.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Did Sarah Palin really take sugar cookies to a school to protest what Michelle Obama is trying to do? Please say that was just a joke.
Originally Posted By Oldschool Disney With this being said, the First Lady can only lay down the foundation. The schools, mom and dad, gamma and bumpa, resturaunts have to take the initative to make sure kids are leading to a healthy lifestyle. Personally I would start by taking away the X-Boxes and Internet or limiting it to once a week.
Originally Posted By Oldschool Disney Here's another thing I don't get about this. There's not going to be anyone monitoring families making sure they're eating right and getting enough exercise so if you want your kid to be obese hey that's your perogative.
Originally Posted By gadzuux The right wing hates Obama. If Michelle gets caught in the crossfire, that's fine with them too. The GOP agenda isn't hard to suss out - all that's necessary is to ignore anything they "say" and instead watch what they "do". We see them flagrantly attempting to union-bust in Wisconsin - not the unions that supported Walker's candidacy, just the ones that didn't. This weekend, the HOR voted (in the wee small hours of saturday) to defund wall street regulations put into place to protect the public from precisely the kind of criminal behavior that has brought our economy to it's knees. Who exactly is in favor of that? They also seek to defund 'planned parenthood', prevent women from obtaining abortion procedures, and redefine rape into something kinder and gentler. Notice that there's nothing here about creating jobs. Even their rhetoric drips with contempt. From an editorial I read today ... >> In one of the most bizarre political gambits in our history, President Obama and his dwindling band of cheerleaders--nervously eyeing the big game in 2012--have been trying to cast an over-inflated community organizer as the reincarnation of the Gipper. It ain't working. No matter how often Obama drops President Reagan's name or how shamelessly his flaks attempt to link this shrinking, spineless president to the bold, visionary giant who turned a broken nation around, nobody's buying this preposterous propaganda. Comparing Barack Obama to Ronald Reagan is like comparing Bernie Madoff to Warren Buffett: Hustling your clients isn't heroism, and fraud's not a formula for enduring success. << The only people left calling themselves republican are either shameless or ignorant. Or both. There's just no other explanation.
Originally Posted By Longhorn12 >I quite literally believe that if Barack Obama cured cancer tomorrow, the right-wing would find something - some heretofore unseen argument, to attack him with< They would object to it because then big medicinal companies would no longer be able to peddle the laundry list of drugs people take to fight it. Along with TAKING AWAY AMERICAN JOBS! Although they might enjoy it because then Tobacco would be cool to be lobbied by again.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>The only people left calling themselves republican are either shameless or ignorant. Or both. There's just no other explanation.<< It's why I threw in the towel and quit the GOP. I increasingly couldn't fathom the nonsense they were spewing.
