Not in the U.K. this time-and , no, this is , sadly-NOT a joke. THREE politicians came up with this sweetheart, not just one lone nut. And-Someone I know in Miss called the one assclown and spoke to him personally, figuring it was a spoof or tongue in cheek. He assured him they were dead serious.
Mississippi HOUSE BILL NO. 282
An act to prohibit certain food establishments from serving food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the state department of health; to direct the department to prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese and to provide those materials to the food establishments; to direct the department to monitor the food establishments for compliance with the provisions of this act; and for related purposes. Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Mississippi:
SECTION 1.
(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to any food establishment that is required to obtain a permit from the State Department of Health under Section 41-3-15(4)(f), that operates primarily in an enclosed facility and that has five (5) or more seats for customers.
(2) Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.
(3) The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.
This is a joke, right?
Seems serious to me. Government loves control, and this is just another example of the way the US government treats its citizens.
Obviously, I thought it was a joke myself, but if it is, the proponents are dragging it out. The guy in Miss. that talked to the one rep (the Democrat-It's a bipartisan deal cooked up by two republicans and the dem) swore to me he was either dead serious or a great actor. He (the rep) claimed "we have to do something about the obesity epidemic in this country breaking our medicare/medicaid system." Either way,fortunately, it doesn't stand much of a chance in passing.....now.
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"Oh, Bother!" Said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.
So what made the Rep. think that obesity would cause medicare/medicaid system to go broke?
..then the legislature needs to eliminate Medicaid/Medicare, and let private insurance (or no insurance) take care of it. After all, do children and middle-aged people get such aid? If people can't do what they are supposed to do to maintain their health then let them suffer the consequences.
This is just another form of legal discrimination.
People don't have the right to be fat? People don't have the right to make decisions affecting their own health?
MikeyA
Logic 101: This is just another form of fallacious reasoning. These legislators commit the causal fallacy.
Eating at restaraunts does not cause obesity. Over eating at restaraunts is just one of many types of causes for obesity.
If other causes for obesity existt and they do, and if the gov't cares so much about curing or preventing obesity, which they don't, then why just pick on the restaraunts? Why not regulate the grocery stores and the manufacturers of foods that cause obesity? Why not require medical procedures and make it illegal for failure to exercise?
What ever happened to his 'Get Fit Toledo' program with BigBoy Tom Amstutz ?
Or is that program, with it's attendant press conferences and camera clicking reserved for election years only.
Pretty good post, Jayott.
To which I will add: Why not subsidize health spas and gyms?
Pretty good post, Jayott.
To which I will add: Why not subsidize health spas and gyms?
Pretty good post, Jayott.
To which I will add: Why not subsidize health spas and gyms?
Sorry for my recent post - dark beat me to it (I was in a hurry & didn't notice). From what I can tell in the post I inserted above, this does go into effect as of July 1, 2008 - not a joke, I don't think. It appears to be a 'done deal' - not quite sure. How would the fast food employee know if that Whopper was for the fat person ordering it or for their co-worker in take out? I can see it now - overweight people bribing the skinnies in the parking lot to order food for them - just like teens to in liquour store parking lots to get booze bought.
So it can't be going into effect
obese bill has a fat chance
Restaurateurs and an advocacy group say the legislation is a waste of time, and even one of the lawmakers pushing it doesn't expect it to travel very far.
State Rep. Ted Mayhall, R-Southaven, said he's simply hoping to "call attention to the problem."
"No one's doing anything about it," Mayhall said, referring to obesity. "They just keep on going to the buffets and eating."
Yes the July first thing was written into the language of the bill but its got to be passed first and that's pretty much not going to happen.
Does the kid working the take-out window at Burger-King have to make snap decisions about whether the driver of the car is too fat to serve? What about other's in the car? If it's winter & people are wearing coats in their cars. how does the kid at the window even know how overweight the customer is? How does a waitress handle this when she gets a 6 top - people of various sizes & ages? I can't see how this could possibly be enforced. But I saw it coming when the smoking ban passed. As soon as you allow govt to strip the freedoms of private individuals & businesses 'for the good of others or themselves' - it opens a Pandora's Box of horrors.
And also now that the people have been brainwashed to feel there is no difference between public property (that which is paid for and maintained by tax dollars) and private property (that which is privately owned by an individual or group of individuals, and taxes are paid upon it, but OPEN to the public-only the property/business owner used to be able to set the rules), it's really all over. When the laws create criminals and meanings become meaningless, it's over as a country.
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"Oh, Bother!" Said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.
First the beer companies were sued, and people said YES! They deserve it!' and stood by while other peoples' rights were taken away.
Then the cigarette companies were sued, and people said YES! They deserve it!' and stood by while other peoples' rights were taken away.
Then it was illegal to smoke in planes, and people said YES! They deserve it!' and stood by while other peoples' rights were taken away.
Then it was illegal to smoke indoors, and people said YES! They deserve it!' and stood by while other peoples' rights were taken away.
Well chumps, in the name of "your health" since you are too dumb to think for yourselves, mommy government is taking away "bad" food.
And still people say YES! They deserve it!' and stand by while your rights are being taken away.
DEAL WITH IT. After all, to keep the government run healthcare charges in check, YOU will loose your rights.
Well said, libs.
It's someone elses' turn in the barrel tonight. ;^D
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"Oh, Bother!" Said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.
It mentioned an "effective date - July 1, 2008 . That sounds like it's happening, but maybe I'm wrong.
Here is the link that for some reason didn't actually link in my other post
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/NEWS/80...
It does day July 1st but it also says that it hasn't actually been voted on yet, so until its voted into law its not actually going to happen
But I thought it would be a parental control issue over obese kids - not an overall assault on fat.
It was inevitable once the controlling know it alls pushed everybody off that slippery slope. Hope none of them are large.
nobody who had that great argument for the smoking ban wants to pipe up now?
Y'all on the stair master or what?
I actually quit smoking :-)
How about you? Hmmm?????
Will be interesting to see how the restaurants do if this passes (and it will, at some point - in some form). Between banning smokers & refusing service to overweight people (and WHO decides who is overweight & by how much? Will there be weigh ins before seating, or just an appointed "appraiser"?), this could kill restaurants & fast food places. And I bet the nannies will go after booze with the same fury - so there go the bars (already they want them to shut down at midnight unless they buy a "special' license to stay open later). I would imagine a lot of people will have second thoughts about even thinking of eating out at a restaurant - the concern of public humiliation, embarrassment, denial of service or particular menu choises. I know I"d have serious worries about that. But katie is absolutely right on this one - the silence is deadening. We said before that if people voted a smoking ban in, it'd open the floodgates for more govt. control & loss of personal freedoms - and the smoking ban lovers scoffed at us.
From the article...
Mayhall (the author) acknowledges the bill is "bad legislation" and that it "won't go anywhere."
But he said, "The intent was to get it in committee and call attention to the problem."
The author of the legislation is introducing a ridiculous bill that has no chance of succeeding not to advocate this position, but to spur on dialogue about an issue that he feels is important to the state, that is all. Not an unheard-of practice, unfortunately. Ridiculous waste of taxpayer money, and silly theatric way to initiate conversation, but hardly the foretold slippery slope that some have been predicting.