Nov. 2, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn

The fat police are coming to get ya

A few years ago, the reviled smokers of North America thought they saw a celestial sign that they were only the vanguard of a massive attack on personal behaviour. Even before the New York City decision to ban trans fats, we had the NDP's, Pat Martin, demanding it for all of Canada. The government nannies think that we are hopelessly unhealthy and addicted to junk food. Therefore they must put us on a diet. I rarely eat fast foods, but if I ate it every day it would not be not the government's business. They should be doing all in their power to wean the young tubbies off their ruinous diet of junk food. The epidemic of obesity is horrendous. Subsidize healthy food, encourage amateur sports, and mount an advertising campaign, but call off the food police.

The New York Health Authority has declared that henceforth all doctors and labs have to report the results of blood sugar tests to them. Surveys have shown that a number of diabetics are consuming too much of the sugary foods. Presumably, these errant diabetics will be contacted to amend their ways. Police might have to storm their premises to confiscate their frosted flakes and stash of deep-fried Mars bars. There goes the doctor-patient confidentiality understanding. If you let your mind wander the possibilities are endless. Why not track sexual infections and teens and unwed mothers seeking advice? You may often feel that nobody cares about you, but the government is interested in your most intimate secrets. It is always couched in terms of your own best interests. You simply need a strong nudge from your government to get into "self" improvments.

© Bud Talkinghorn--I recently read that the London borough of Richmond has started charging SUV owners double the amount for curbside parking in front of their own houses. The Labour council thought that the plutocrat class should suffer for their gaseous excesses. Coming to a neighbourhood near you, should the NDP ever win power.


Frost Hits the Rhubarb: Overweight students and sports teams

Might I suggest, also, Bud, that in encouraging activity for those who need it most, schools forget the sports teams. The members of the school teams are usually in the best shape; it is the kid who doesn't move off his/her butt who needs activity, sport, games, all kinds of movement, not to be marked as the kid not chosen because he/she is not good at games, nor does that student need the rejection that comes with being seen as a failure -- because, as a member of a sports team, he/she would have a negative effect on the team's ability to win. Team sports emphasizing competition from school to school or in a league are the last thing chunky children need. Their failure to be chosen as a part of a team simply makes them feel ... like going for a triple ice-cream ... or some other gucky comfort food. FHTR



The Charter gets a face lift

Recently a judge in Manitoba ruled that the natives should not have an exemption from the no-smoking rule for public places. While the province's bars were hurting because of the ban, the natives were hauling them in to their smoky bars and casinos. As an ostracized smoker, I have made it a point not to waste money on bar drinks anymore. I'll sit home and imbibe, while smoking to my heart's content. However, if we must have no-smoking laws, let them be applied equally. This judge said "enough" of this two-tier law. If the non-natives can't smoke publicly, then the natives can't either. The native lobby was outraged. One went so far as to say that The Charter was constructed to give the "disadvantaged" a special legal break. Basically he was saying--as with Orwell--that all are equal, but some are more equal than others. We have already seen this theory played out in native criminal sentencing cases.

The $9.1 billion to keep the natives going yearly doesn't seem to count. In fact, Phil Fontaine doesn't think it is adequate. "Where is that extra $5 billlion wampum to permanently fix the native malaise?", he wants to know. Phil Fontaine really likes the Charter. His take on it is truly interesting. For him, it promises endless largesse from a guilt-ridden populous. Didn't the Great White Father, Trudeau, envision this when he authored The Charter? Sorry. but all I can muster is the good judge's admonishment, "enough".

© Bud Talkinghorn--I had to restrain myself from italicizing that joke line "permanently fix the native problem".