A heavy burden
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to ban super-sized sugary sodas has resurrected the age-old debate over the role of the state in protecting the public health. In recent years, this debate has involved bicycle helmets, car seat belts, tobacco, trans fats, saturated fats in meat and dairy products, and sugar (or, more aptly, high-fructose corn syrup). Public subsidies for tobacco, meat, and dairy and corn production added fuel to the debate.
I would argue that society has a right to regulate activities that impose a heavy burden on the public treasury. National medical costs of dealing with our obesity epidemic, associated with consumption of meat, dairy and sugars, are estimated at $190 billion. Eliminating subsidies for these products, as well as judicious taxation to reduce their use and recoup public costs, should be supported by health advocates and fiscal conservatives alike.
Benjamin Franklin claimed that nothing is certain except death and taxes. Ironically, death can be deferred substantially by taxing products that make us sick.
SARA SPECKHARD
Winston-Salem
More greenways
I would like to thank all those who are working to get more greenways in Winston-Salem ("Plan for greenways, bike lanes approved," June 5). Like many others, I am greatly anticipating the Cedar Trail addition. I am so glad that people are working together to get something done that benefits the whole community.
Greenways give people the opportunity to enjoy nature close to home and they also foster a sense of community. With hope, others will examine the benefits of greenways in their neighborhoods.
PATTY WEISZ
Winston-Salem
Go, Will
Oh, how I wish Will Rogers were alive and well today. Just think of the material he would have from all that's going on now in our politics, religion, economics, education and so on. He could submit his comments every day for years! And I'm sure I'd enjoy every one of them.
GEORGE W. "BILL" BURKE JR.
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Should the government retry John Edwards?
The trial of John Edwards was to drag him through the mud, and he got pretty muddy all right. The curtain has dropped, and his days on the public stage are over. We have heard enough of him and need no more. He should stay out of public sight for a while.
BOON T. LEE
No, there should not have been a court case in the first place. It is not a crime to be a low-life scum bag. A big waste of a lot of time and money that could have been spent on much more productive things.
FRANK SCISM
No retrial. But as that million or so dollars was not a campaign donation, and he did not declare the money on his federal or state income-tax filings during the years he received the money, then do take him to court for tax fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, and even consider applying the federal RICO statute to him as it was a series of acts showing a pattern of criminal behavior. A simple charge of false statement might work, too, and that alone carries a 10-year prison sentence and $10,000 fine.
Will the Federal Election Commission take him to court over the $2 million it says he owes it?
RALPH CHAPPELL
I don't know if Edwards actually broke the law in a provable way. I do know he has reached the same level of infamy as Monica Lewinski, that he broke the law in spirit if not in fact, that the person he hurt the most is dead. I hope they pull his license to practice law. Unfortunately, regardless of what the feds do, he will remain a narcissistic, wealthy scoundrel. Well, he at least will be fodder for the comedians for a few more years.
So unless the prosecutors are certain they can get him jail time, why bother? Maybe we can all make believe he never represented this state.
KEN HOGLUND
No, not at all. Apparently there's not enough evidence.
WILLIAM SAMS
I think John Edwards is guilty of some of the charges placed against him. However, the government had little evidence to prove it. It would be a waste of time and money to retry him with such evidence.
DENNIS W. KIRKMAN
LTE #1...Heavy Burden.
ReplyDeleteLike Homosexuality, Gluttony, per se, is not mentioned in the Bible but there are many examples throughout where it is addressed and strictly forbidden. Defined: Gluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste. 60+% of Americans are overweight or obese. For the most part, barring physiological reasons, this is simply a result of taking in more calories than the body needs, whether good calories or empty, classic definition of gluttony. So far I've heard no calls for a Constitutional Amendment against All-You-Can-Eat.
LTE #3...Go Will
ReplyDeleteWill Rogers, Mark Twain, and Groucho Marx would have field days with the present.
Groucho:
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
“Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.”
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.”
“Marriage is a wonderful institution...but who wants to live in an institution?”
Will Rogers:
“Democrats never agree on anything, that's why they're Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they would be Republicans.”
“There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you”
“The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.”
“I have a scheme for stopping war. It's this -- no nation is allowed to enter a war till they have paid for the last one.”
“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”
Mark Twain:
“Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.”
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
“Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself”
“If the man doesn't believe as we do, we say he is a crank, and that settles it. I mean, it does nowadays, because now we can't burn him.”
The War Prayer-Mark Twain:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVYIRbmxHpc
The CBO is predicting the U.S. economy will crash, and it is saying that it's not that long off. What are Obama and the Democrats doing about it? Nothing. In fact, they've fought the Republicans on just about every cost cutting measure. But, they are still fools out there that support Obama as he has almost doubled our national debt.
ReplyDeleteRemember when Obama said he was going to cut it in half during his first term. Then, he goes out and nearly doubles it. How many more false promises are the fools of America going to listen to, and accept?
Obama never said he would cut the debt in half during his first term. You have a memory deficit.
ReplyDelete"Get your facts straight first, then you can distort them as you please." Mark Twain
Delete“You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I bet he was glad to get rid of it” Groucho Marx
“When ignorance gets started it knows no bounds” Will Rogers
“Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish” Mark Twain
DeleteI read the CBO report too.
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43295
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYpObXslm-8
DeleteMy slight mistake-deficit........Bush left $400 billion and it's now around $1.76 trillion.
What part of fool don't you understand?
You also thought 'foolishly' that the Protection of Marriage Act was going to fail, and you also called me the wrong name at the 'foolish' suggestion of LaSombra. So let's not get too high and mighty on the facts, Bobby.
As to anyone forecasting anything for the year 2037, I'll throw my hat in the ring as well.
DeleteThat same year, the St. Louis Browns will win the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Kentucky Derby, becoming the first team to achieve that trifecta.
Buck boy is always having these "slight mistake" problems.
Delete"The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."
Mark twain
It won't be news to anyone, but Buck boy also has a serious fact deficit problem. W. Bush's last budget included a $1.37 trillion deficit, then and now the largest deficit ever.
DeleteThe morons that voted for Obama have even bigger problems, they bought into his lies. What does that say about them?
DeleteSlight mistake? Deficit 1.7 trillion, debt 16 trillion, that's a 14.3 trillion dollar mistake.
DeleteI should have realized...whenever one of his "slight mistakes" are pointed out to him, which is pretty much daily, Buck boy just tries to blame it on someone else or goes on one of his mindless rants.
DeleteSure mark of the sociopath...everything is always somebody else's fault.
At least I don't grab my ankles when I go vote.
DeleteSee what I mean?
DeleteWhat? No time for bigoted statements against Native Americans today?
DeleteThese gay and lesbian bigots sure are a piece of work! Hee....Hee....Robeson County this, and Lumbees are that...
Makes you almost yearn for the old George Wallace days. David Duke days anyway....Hee Hee!
Under the extended baseline scenario, which generally adheres closely to current law, federal debt would gradually decline over the next 25 years—to 53 percent of GDP in 2037—because revenues would reach levels that are high by historical standards, and spending for programs other than the major health care programs and Social Security would reach the lowest level relative to GDP since before World War II.
ReplyDeleteThe budget outlook is much bleaker under the alternative fiscal scenario: Even without accounting for the negative effects that additional federal debt would have on the economy, that debt would reach nearly 200 percent of GDP in 2037 because revenues would remain at levels similar to those experienced historically, while spending would grow because of aging and rising health care costs.
Obama: 'Private Sector is Doing Fine'
DeleteGOP: 'He Must Be On Another Planet'
Hours after President Obama declared the private sector was "doing fine" — which he later backed away from after receiving criticism — one of the nation's major credit rating agencies affirmed it was not.
Delete____________
Hmmmmmm.....I've heard that pot can alter brain cells. Maybe his earlier use is affecting the old boy.
I've read studies too which indicate that pot can alter brain cells. Therefore, you need not worry about smoking pot.
DeleteBob, one wonders what would happen if Buck boy smoked some pot through his bad end.
DeleteI believe in rewarding a child after a good spanking:
ReplyDeleteFeds file complaint against Forsyth County sheriff
http://www.wxii12.com/news/local-news/piedmont/Feds-file-complaint-against-Forsyth-County-sheriff/-/10703612/14742600/-/1377svn/-/index.html
What a surprise! The goof-ball that the people of Forsyth County voted into the office of sheriff is in trouble.
DeleteMany of us raised our hands about the troubled sheriff long ago. Alcohol abuse, poor judgement, and leadership issues have all plagued Schatzman. He needed to be gone years ago.
U.S. debt load falling at fastest pace since 1950s
ReplyDeletefrom Market Watch
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-debt-load-falling-fastest-040045522.html
The Boy Scouts are planning to reconsider letting 'gays' become scout leaders. I hope they do some rigid background checks on those people. Homosexual pedophiles are drawn to those type of organizations.
ReplyDeleteMore slime from beneath the gutter.
Delete“I’m very sorry for what happened. I thought something had to be done on the fiscal cliff before the election,” Clinton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer
ReplyDeleteRead more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77178.html#ixzz1xDHoT6Qv
____________
Even Clinton knows we're on a collision course with financial disaster. What are the Democrats doing about it, nothing. They want to get reelected so they can spend even more tax money that we don't have. What a bunch of morons!
Here's the debt clock.....no sign of it slowing down.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Gay porn star linked to LA murder.
ReplyDeleteA male-to-female transsexual who claims she dated Magnotta said he desired to be “legendary” by any means possible.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06/08/authorities-probe-possible-link-between-canadian-dismemberment-los-angeles/#ixzz1xDbbkNsD
________
There's always something going on in the LGBT world.
Trivia from a trivial "mind".
DeleteAnd as always, total misinformation.
DeleteThere is no link between the Canadian case and the LA case...only fools who cannot read and comprehend would think differently.
Just another "slight mistake".
Detectives in Los Angeles are probing the possibility that the gay porn star suspected of killing and chopping up a Chinese student in Canada could be connected to an unsolved murder in Hollywood Hills earlier this year.
Delete________
Here's the first sentence of the article.
Of course you can that 'Hollywood' is not part of LA, so you would be technically correct by about two miles.
DeleteIt reminds me somewhat of the old 'gay' Cunanan case.
DeleteCunanan was another very smart-idiot.
Delete"At this time we do not believe there is a connection," LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said..
DeleteLos Angeles sources say there is a large body of evidence suggesting Medellin's murder was the result of a love-triangle. There was also a very distinct method of dismembering Medellin's body, sources told ABC News.
The evidence points to a person or persons with no known link to Magnotta, sources said.
Authorities in Los Angeles say they do not believe Magnotta was in L.A. at the time of Medellin's murder.
------------------------
As always, stupid is as stupid does.
Detectives in Los Angeles are probing the possibility that the gay porn star suspected of killing and chopping up a Chinese student in Canada could be connected to an unsolved murder in Hollywood Hills earlier this year.
Delete________
Again, in your eager rush to prove me wrong. You've made a fool out of yourself. Nothing unusual about that though.
Amusing.
DeleteBuck boy, what you just quoted is called a "lead"...it is the first sentence in an article, often misleading by playing up something spectacularly, designed, like a similarly misleading headline, to hook simple minded people like you into buying the paper.
The idea is that once they have you hooked, they will then tell you what is actually going on. Of course, in order for you to find that out, you would have to actually read the article, which, considering your extremely limited reading and comprehension skills, is not going to happen.
In this case, the LAPD already have an idea of who committed the crime and are fully aware that it had nothing to do with the Canadian case, as stated. But you will never know that.
This is why you are almost always so spectacularly wrong about everything, because you are the newsman's dream, a headline/lead sentence sucker.
Good afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: Valid arguments from Ms. Speckhard. Many are grumbling about a "nanny-state", but the costs of our poor choices are coming back to hit everyone who has insurance. Obesity is one of the major drivers of higher health costs, not to mention a main reason I'm looking to places like Ukraine for a wife.
LTE 2: Plus, more greenways will hopefully mean more people exercising and less obesity.
LTE 3: One only needs to look at SNL, the Daily Show and the Colbert Report to get an idea of what fun would be had by past masters such as Rogers and Twain.
Sum it up: I really don't see the point in a retrial. Campaign finance laws are so complex, I find it highly unlikely a jury will be able to understand them sufficiently to apply them correctly to a verdict. From what I gathered, the money appeared to go towards building Mr. Young's dream house, so Mr. Chappell should be looking at Mr. Young for potential fraudulent charges. I thought Mr. Lee had the best response.
"It is no longer acceptable to discriminate against people on the basis of a whole range of characteristics that they happen to be born with, notably their gender, their race and their sexuality."
ReplyDeleteCNN writer in an article on Immigration
__________
Interesting.......then why is okay to do precisely that through 'Affirmative Action'?
You gotta love these liberal media outlets. And they think they're actually fooling people with their propaganda.
If you 'Google' Sara Speckhard, you'll find her name under Linkedin, and it associates her name with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
ReplyDeleteThese liberals are busy little bees spreading their 'foolish' propaganda, I'll give them credit.
If you Google "Bucky boy" you get a company that sells deer semen.
DeleteRight up Bucky boy's alley.
If you go down to the bus station, you'll also see gay bucks banging their brains out in the bathroom stalls. Just in case you're curious.
DeleteSince we don't know anyone besides Buck boy who hangs out in the bus station, we'll just have to take his word for it.
DeleteAl Gore invented the internet. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe it was Vinton Cerf, or so we have been told. But maybe it wasn't him either.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was this guy:
Paul Otlet? Who's he?
Homeland Security Bill 2012: House Passes $46 Billion Measure Containing Anti-Abortion Rider
ReplyDeleteHere's another example of a headline designed for suckers. If you actually read the article, you find that the Rethuglicans in the House have attached yet another nuisance rider to an important spending bill, thus endangering the bill itself.
The rider would prohibit ICE from paying for abortions for its detainees except in case of rape, incest or endangerment of the mother's life.
But an ICE spokesman points out that since its inception in 2003, ICE has never paid for an abortion for any reason and goes on to point out that ICE follows the same rules as the Bureau of Prisons, which already forbid abortions except in the cases noted.
Yet another example of the constant grandstanding by the Tea Party in hopes of attracting the superstition and ignorance vote.
As always, stupid is as stupid does.
AG Eric Holder is going to assign two of his attorneys to investigate alleged recent state secret leaks. Of course, the White House administrative staff members are prime suspects. Why don't we assign Howdy Doody to do the investigation? We'd probably get more reliable results.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule on Obamacare. There's little doubt that the 'Affordable Care Act' is going down in flames. As well it should. Healthcare costs are going through the roof after it passed.
ReplyDeleteNever underestimate the moronic mentality of a group of liberal Democrats to do something utterly destructive and just down right stupid.