New Rule: You can’t complain about health care reform if you’re not willing to reform your own health. Unlike most liberals, I’m glad all those teabaggers 
marched on Washington last week. Because judging from the photos, it’s the first exercise they’ve gotten in years. Not counting, of course, all the Rascal scooters there, most of which aren’t even for the disabled. They’re just Americans who turned 60 and said, “Screw it, I’m done walking.” These people are furious at the high cost of health care, so they blame illegals, who don’t even get health care. News flash, Glenn Beck fans: the reason health care is so expensive is because you’re all so unhealthy.
Yes, it was fun this week to watch the teabaggers complain how the media underestimated the size of their march, “How can you say there were only 60,000 of us? We filled the entire mall!” Yes, because you’re fat. One whale fills the tank at Sea World, that doesn’t make it a crowd.
President Obama has identified all the problems with the health care system, but there’s one tiny issue he refuses to tackle, and that’s our actual health.
And since Americans can only be prodded into doing something with money, we need to tax crappy foods that make us sick like we do with cigarettes, and alcohol — and alcohol actually serves a useful function in society in that it enables unattractive people to get laid, which is more than you can say for Skittles.
I’m not saying tax all soda, but certainly any single serving of soda larger than a baby is not unreasonable. If you don’t know whether you burp it or it burps you, that’s too big. We need to make taking care of ourselves an issue of patriotism. If you were someone who condemned Bush for not asking Americans to sacrifice for the war on terror, the same must be said for Obama and health care.
President Arugula is not gonna tell Americans they’re fat and lazy. No sin tax on food on Obama’s watch. And at a time when it’s important to set new standards for personal responsibility, he appointed a surgeon general, who is, I’m sorry, kind of fat. Certainly too heavy to be a surgeon general, it’s a role model thing. It would be like appointing a Secretary of the Treasury who didn’t pay his taxes. He did?
And get this: Surgeon General Benjamin had previously been a nutritional adviser to Burger King. The only advice a “health expert” should give Burger King is to stop selling food. The “nutritional adviser” job was described as, “promoting balanced diets and active lifestyle choices” — and who better to do that than the folks who hand you meat and corn syrup through a car window? When you have a surgeon general who comes from Burger King, it’s a message to lobbyists, and that message is, “Have it your way.”
Bill Maher
Pingback: Posts about Barack Obama as of September 19, 2009 » The Daily Parr
Thanks for the post.All I can say there is “Have it your way.” These people are furious at the high cost of health care, so they blame illegals, who don’t even get health care. Its their decision…. They dont understand anything…
Maria – those who do not want health care reform blame whatever is convenient or fits their argument at the time.
My thinking is that the USA should take care of their citizens and provide Universal health care to all American, like we do in our country Canada, in Canada everyone that is a Canadian citizen is covered for most health care, excluding of course face lifts and such, I was shocked when I seen a woman on CNN saying that she went to her doctor when she was 3 months pregnant and that her health care did not cover it because it was a pre existing medical problem……Give me a break. Also in Canada all junk food is taxed not just soda which all goes into paying for the health care. It sounds to me that Americans need to learn to cook more often than going to Mac Donalds for meals and that way they do not have to pay tax on their food……..BTW home cooked meals are more healthy and cheaper in the long run. I sure hope Obama wins this one. and lets the doctors decided what a person needs and not what someone sitting behind a desk in a health insurance co. says they can have. Remember the older one gets along comes the medical problems. ( The Golden Years in the states mean all your Gold that you have worked and saved for your whole working life so that you can retire in comfort will end up going to the Hospitals and Doctors ) let Obama have his health care plan…I do believe that it is the health care insurance companies that are supplying all the money to fight his plan.
Mary Anne- thanks again for explaining to Americans what health care is like in your country. I have NO problem with taxing all junk food but oh my would that piss off a lot of Americans! Too many people want it both ways…reform as long as I don’t have to change to make it happen!
I love it! How about those fat folks on the scooters in the stores? I hate to think I might die, not due to being run over by a car. But by a damned scooter with a fat person on it! I agree, tax it all. Those people at those rallies sure do know how to look ignorant, don’t they? Then they open their mouths and sound ignorant too.
Brenda
.-= Brenda Kula´s last blog ..Rearranging Corners =-.
Brenda – how refreshing, love your comment kind of sounds like something Margaret and Helen would say. I certainly have noticed the increase in motor scooters at grocery stores, how can you not? And it must be everywhere too, my 83 yr old Father in Ohio has talked to me about it at his grocery store. RE: the rallies, there was one in my little town a couple of weeks ago and Joe the Plumber was bussed in and one of the speakers, that’s the best they can come up with?
This is an excellent post, and I wholeheartedly agree. And you certainly made a good point about the Surgeon General and the poor example he sets. But then again, isn’t our President still a chain smoker? I’m all for health care for any in need, good role models and a tax on junk food.
.-= Keli´s last blog ..Stupidity and the Police =-.
Keli – Bill Maher made the example about the Surgeon General, I’m just sharing his New Rule which he does most Friday nights. About President Obama being a chain smoker where in the world did you hear that? He admits to being a former smoker but chain smoker? I don’t think so. He has for the most part quit, though admits to an occasional lapse and will have one. I have no problem taxing junk food either but I think most Americans would revolt!
While I agree that preventative medicine should be stressed more, I do think that Obama has touched on this subject and that it is included in some of the five bills floating around Congress.
I love Margaret and Helen – Margaret is my favorite blogger and reminds me of the late Molly Ivins. However, they are not good examples of fat people on scooters. Their photo heading tells all.
Since I am 20 pounds overweight and ride a scooter in the grocery store I see the other side of the picture.
Hi Darlene, thanks so much for stopping in! About the preventative medicine I think there is so much that needs to be done and though a few token measures may be in the final bill it’s just a band-aid on the problem. Example ~why don’t we have diabetic clinics, we have the worst record for monitoring those with diabetes and it shows in the results. Not only monitoring but having healthy fresh food available to diabetics should not be an option yet it is. Those who can afford it buy it, those who are poor diabetics don’t and generally die an early death.
About the scooter — hey you’re 84 years old, I think you’re entitled to ride the scooter in the grocery store! Kudo’s to you for only being 20 lbs overweight, hell a lot of people decades younger are 50 lbs and more overweight and already riding scooters. I think it’s pretty sad when we see 40 yr old people on these things because they’re morbidly obese and already disabled and unable to work.