Gene Frenkle

That sounds too easy. Let's let the free market decide instead... Why do private health insurance companies reimburse gym memberships?

Forgive me for considering statistics while making my argument.

Fat = healthy? Now THAT is a slippery slope!

I see what you're doing. I think I've stated my opinion pretty clearly. Life is not as simple as you're trying to make it out to be.

Wrong. I don't want the government to tell YOU what to eat. I'm saying that if you let your kids become fat little fatties, you're a abusive/neglectful parent. Incidentally, how much of our healthcare resources are "eaten" up by diseased adult fatties in the years before they die? Culling the human population is not an acceptable answer IMO. Again, I'm talking about dependents who cannot be expected to make good life choices for themselves. I don't think I have to be Ron Paul to sell the concept that people should be required to take care of their children or face consequences.

Right, it was ALL about R&D $$$, because everything is just that simple. Damned Auto Unions!

No, because we were making really really ****ty cars.

Not becoming - it IS a big problem (pun intended). If you want to teach your children portion control to keep them from turning into little fatties, that's great. If you don't, you're setting them up for a life-long struggle with weight management issues and health problems. Granted, it's much more passive and less obviously abusive/neglectful than beating the crap out of them on a regular basis, but I'd argue that the long-term effects are just as serious. We've become a nation of fat-ass, sedentary lazy underachievers. Drastic steps need to be taken.

Weird, I though a big part of Detroit's atrophy was related to America's inability to make better cars than the Japanese.

Wow, that's a bit harsh. "Basic human right" is a bit of a stretch, but he makes some good points in the article. I don't think he said anything that warrants the POS label.

Or even global warming denial!

Separated at birth from OCinBuffalo?

Good for you, way to be. I mean that. If more Americans were like you we'd be a lot better off as a whole. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

I wasn't really trying to make a point. This thread was relatively light-hearted until you had to go bringing the evil Muslims into it. That made me think about how very similar and full of crap all of these belief systems are. Some result in violent action and some simply result in gullible fools loosing their money, but they're really all the same at the root - ridiculous beliefs based on untestable claims. Well, actually the apocalypse thing is at least testable. Until it doesn't come true and they move the date again.

Even if you're paying for your own healthcare, a fat-ass diseased Rob's House is much more of a burden on an already overtaxed system than is a fit Rob's House. Socialist concept, I know, but isn't it easier to just take care of yourself? My two year old doesn't like to eat his vegetables, but as an adult I know better and so should you. There's little doubt that all hell would break loose if somebody tried to tell all of our most "personally responsible" citizens that... The idea of having responsibility for your kids is obvious unless you want to go all small-government-on-principle about it.

I was attempting to show that the original idea that this thread was based upon is maybe not as crazy and intrusive as it sounds, given the alternatives. Again, you can do what you want with yourself. Have some more trans fats. Smoke another cigarette. Watch some more TV. Skip the gym. Become sedentary. Have a heart attack. We'll all end up paying for your bad choices in the end, but go ahead and let yourself go! The soccer moms point is well-taken because they're as full of **** as anyone. If you're going to restrict anything, make sure it's based on real evidence. Trans fats are really bad for you, BTW. There needs to be some level of accountability for your kids if you're a parent, however, IMO.

So you're justifying the belief in one crazy idea via the chaos resulting from the belief in another crazy idea.

This isn't the first time you've challenged my understanding of vaccination. I'm well aware of the concept and value of herd immunity. You're saying that my MMR shot gives me no added resistance to measles in the absence of a certain level of vaccination within the rest of the population? As a side note, I'm sure you're aware that you're only strengthening the argument for mandated vaccination.

As a parent, YOU are deciding what is available for them to eat. Smack the ho-hos out of their mouth, take the video games and TV away and make them go play outside. Have some RESPONSIBILITY for your children. You're parroting the typical "victim" mentality that you all like to claim the left is constantly guilty of. "It's not my fault my kid is fat and lazy!" Yes, it is. The growth hormones argument you're trying to make is not valid/based in reality. It's a bunch of hippy nonsense. I'm not creating anything - child services already exists. The fact that a problem is hard does not mean that nothing should be done about it. Again it's not your fault you and your kids are fat! You're all victims! Oh, dear!

I'm not trying to say it's an easy problem or that there is a clear-cut way to deal with it. That said, I would not have a problem with fines + monthly weigh-ins. You solution is to do nothing because if you want to have fat kids, well this is America dammit. Maybe a good compromise (as a start) would be to mandate nutritious, sensible school lunches and not allow brown-bags full of the crap that their parents normally fatten them up with.

Fines to help subsidize the increased burden on the healthcare system? I'd be in favor of using "what to do if the parents are under-nourishing their child" as a guideline. You don't own your child. You have a responsibility to make good decisions as a parent.

Vaccinations have to do with both.

We're talking about minors here, those who cannot choose for themselves. There's a big difference.

What's so "Pandora's Box" about expanding the definition of child abuse/neglect?

If you don't, you'll never hear the end of it.