2/9 News: Childhood Obesity

U.S. First Lady Leads Childhood Obesity Fight

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has launched a campaign to call attention to a serious epidemic - childhood obesity (hat tip: reader Nanakwame). One out of three U.S. children is overweight or obese. Since she moved into the White House, the "First Mom" has tried to set a good example - from getting kids to help her plant vegetables to hula-hooping with the best of them. Today, Mrs. Obama formalized her mission to put an end to childhood obesity within a generation with a national campaign called "Let's Move." "It wasn't that long ago that I was a working mom struggling to balance meetings and deadlines with soccer and ballet," Mrs. Obama sai. "There were some nights that everyone was just tired and hungry and we just went to the drive-thru because it was quick and cheap."

Now she wants to help parents nationwide. Her strategy: (1) helping consumers make nutritious choices by working with food companies to place nutrition information like calorie counts on the front of packaging; (2) healthier school meals, with fewer fats and more produce; (3) finding ways at school and home to help kids exercise at least 60 minutes a day; and (4) improving access to healthy and affordable food in underserved areas through tax credits and incentives.

Three Easy Steps To Cut Childhood Obesity

Researchers at Ohio State University have found three steps that, if done together, can dramatically reduce the risk of childhood obesity: sitting down to dinner on a regular basis, limiting TV time and getting plenty of sleep. Children in the routine of eating dinner with their families more than five times a week, got at least 10 1/2 hours of sleep a night and watched less than two hours of TV on weekdays slashed their risk of obesity by 40 percent. The study looked at more than 8,000 diverse preschoolers and is scheduled to be published in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics.

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Bookeristas on Health Care Reform

Walter Myers III: "When 'Soaring Profits' Really Aren't"

The conservative blogger in California opines: "But let’s think for a moment before we proclaim that insurance companies are profiting at the expense of the insured. Insurance companies offer a service that people choose to buy, even though they may feel it is a necessity. One can always pay out of pocket, yet when given the choice of paying out of pocket versus paying for insurance, most choose the latter because it is far less expensive. This leads to my second point, which is the fact that much of the anger is directed towards the insurance companies instead of the actual providers that are the source of the high costs that insurers must pay on behalf of the insured. So the anger, in my mind, seems wholly lopsided. Now I’m no shill for the insurance companies, and have my own issues with them, but I can’t lay all of the blame for the problems of healthcare at their feet."

He continues his commentary: "I continue to ask the question why won’t someone like Oprah or some 'A-list' celebrity, with massive wealth that dwarfs that of any insurance company executive, start a non-profit insurance company? It is very easy to collect big bucks as long as you’re not in an industry where everyone thinks you’re making too much money even when you’re not. I don’t think anyone who has gone into the insurance industry have motivations any different than someone who goes into the entertainment industry. But someone in the entertainment industry can be as greedy as they want to be (and I’m not saying that about Oprah), yet lob all manner of bombs at the insurance and oil industries from the relative safety of an industry that is not considered a 'must have,' though many can’t seem to get enough of it. An enviable position for sure. Unlike Oprah, who has to make a payroll, others in the entertainment industry who have every negative thing to say about capitalism made their money through the capitalist system. They show up on a set, work for a few months out of the year, and are responsible for nothing other than a great performance. Yet  they walk away with millions, and spend the remainder of the year preparing for the next red carpet. Now that’s what I call soaring profits."

Torrey Spears: "Theatre Of The Absurd"

The conservative Republican blogger in Florida opines: "So coming soon to a television near you, Obama and the GOP tackle healthcare.  Is this what Barack Obama had in mind when he talked about transparency??? Because I don't know how this thinly veiled attempt at bipartisanship by this Administration on the heels of the Boston Tea Party can be seen as anything but transparent.  This is pathetic - that the Administration wasted an entire year of back door deals and closed door meetings with Democrats only, drafting disastrous legislation wrought with special interest gimmies, kickbacks and bribes.   And now - *now* - it's time to discuss healthcare on television with the President in a bipartisan fashion where, as the President puts it, we can put an end to 'partisan politics'."

More: "Sir, you've spent the last year engaged in nothing but partisan politics. Polling across the board suggests that you are the most polarizing President we've ever had. The country is more split in red and blue camps than we've ever been, and that's impressive for a guy promising hope and change. This pitifully lame attempt at a dog-and-pony show for the American people is fooling no one save the Kool-aid ObamaNation who'll follow you to the end of the Earth anyway. It's time to start over."

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The Four Principles Of The Black Victim Consciousness And Its Appeal To Statism

The Grey Falcon, a black conservative blog, argues that there is an ideological collaboration between liberal authoritarians and the anti-Republican black political establishment in America: "The primary mechanism of control used to maintain this is what we call the Dominion Consciousness. The Dominion Consciousness is the notion that being black gives you authority over other black people’s behavior. Those with this mentality believe that they have the right to impose themselves on other blacks to protect the 'race'. Common example of this is when a black person makes a really big deal about the way another black person looks or acts, justifying by 'I can’t let you make us look like that', or 'that’s not what black people do'. A glaring example of this is the countless 'house slave references' you see on the black affairs web site 'The Root'. They use this to denigrate black conservatives and other black that they disagree with. Kind of makes them a hate site, doesn’t it? In effect, these people assume dominion over your 'blackness'. Blackness becomes the ultimate yardstick for self affirmation, not personal beliefs or  philosophy. In this world, the ex-con who did ten-years for hurting other black people still gets to be more right than the young student with all A's, if that kid does not acknowledge that they are both victims of the white man. You can see how this will lead to the higher rates of crime and lower academic performance  in these communities."

The commentary continues: "The second principle is the idea that there is an 'invisible hand' that is preventing black people from succeeding. This invisible hand keeps them from achieving academically and economically. The promoters of this doctrine insist that this is the creation of the lingering impact of slavery and Jim Crow. The invisible hand’ is supposed to take effect regardless of ones choices or individuality. No matter how good or smart you are, this invisible hand will hold you back because you are black. To people who believe in this, their B in a class or promotion to a vice president position means more than the same achievement for a white person because the blacks were contending with this enemy. This phantom obstacle is the partner of the third villain, the Mind Control Machine. The Mind Control Machine is what the 'The Man' uses to make black black people do things that hurt themselves and each other, to protect their privilege. The race merchants hold this to be the reason why such a higher percentage of black men are in prison. The Mind Control Machine is blamed for  the basic pathologies and counter productive behavior that causes the social and financial problems in the 'black community'. It was all by design, to keep the black race behind the white race."

More commentary from The Grey Falcon blog: "The Mind Reader Machine is the last part of the equation. The device allows the user to know that whatever a white person says or does is motivated by racial hatred. If a white person say something good about a black person, he really didn’t mean it. If a black person hangs out with white people, then they must be making fun of her behind her back when she is gone. If a white person doesn’t like an individual black person, then it is because they don’t like any black people. The Mind Control Machine was demonstrated in the advent of the 'code word' hysteria, were words like socialist and community organizer were defined as another way of saying something bad about black people. And as we have seen throughout this last year, if people, who happen to be white, object to the punitive, authoritarian agenda of a Statist black president, then they are protesting him only because he is black. Even stupid white soicalist zealots have access to the Mind Control Machine. Jeanine Garofalo on MSNBC said of the Tea Parties 'this is about hating a black man in The White House.' And of us black people who agree with the these white people she adjusts 'They must have Stockholm Syndrome'. Never mind that Obama is a punitive authoritarian Statist. We obviously would have been just fine with Howard Dean or Dick Durbin running 2 trillion dollar annual deficits and subordinating the private sector to the public sector."

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Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition: The Black Models

Sports Illustrated this year went with the tried and true, especially with the black models. Both black models in this year's edition are American, both have appeared in the swimsuit edition before. Eh, alright. Neither one of them is up there with former Sports Illustrated swimsuit models Carla Campbell (Jamaican) or Oluchi Onweagba (Nigeria). Heck, when I put up Ms. Onweagba a few years ago for one of the SI editions, folks from around the world (including relatives of mine!) were emailing me asking who she was. Jessica White used to be quite pretty before the whitewash campaign (those colored contacts, that hair color, nor that particular weave are working for her). Surely, there are better-looking black American models on the comeup?

There also wasn't a single black African model or college student who could've been featured this year, to make the black representation more international (as was done for other groups)? I know there are, because I've featured them on this blog. Sports Illustrated could've brought in the stunning Tanya Manganyi (Zambia), who appeared in the Sports Illustrated South Africa swimsuit edition last year. Or Joëlle Kayembe, the Congolese-born model who was Sports Illustrated South Africa's swimsuit cover girl in 2008. Anyway, here goes....

Jessica White, USA



Jessica White traveled from her hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., to New York City at 14 to begin modeling. The 25-year-old model later moved to Paris and did shows for Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Chloe and others. She has appeared in publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue U.S. and Vogue Italia and in campaigns for Cover Girl, Maybelline, Chloe and The Gap. Ms. White is the first African-American model to appear in seven Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues.

Damaris Lewis, USA



Damaris Lewis, 19, is a native New Yorker. Discovered as a teenager while performing with her dance troupe, she started modeling while attending a performing arts high school. She has worked with V, French Vogue, Victoria's Secret, Benetton, Saks, MAC Cosmetics and YSL. This marks Ms. Lewis's second appearance in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

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Beauty And The Beast

Charles Payne, a FOX Business financial analyst and conservative in New York City, opines about the economic status of various countries: "You know it says a lot when a country that has lived with communism and socialist economics votes against arguably the most attractive politician on the planet in favor of a platform that includes tax cuts to pull it out of recession. Or course, the outcome of the election in the Ukraine could go on for days, but I think that it speaks volumes, and I bet we will see sweeping election shifts in Europe as these nations come to grips with the fact that there is a limit to how much governments can do through borrowing and taxing its citizens and businesses into submission. The vote counting continues, and there will be legal maneuvers, but the message is clear...there is nothing sexier than lower taxes."

He continues his commentary: "There was an election held on the same exact day halfway around the world from the Ukraine. Yes, this shift away from leftwing politics isn't an isolated occurrence. Just last month the rightwing conservative candidate won election to the presidency of Chile, ending the leftwing rule in place since 1990. Here is a nation that has tremendous riches from copper (prices up +140% in 2009) and yet felt the need to get a businessman to enhance prosperity. Billionaire Sebastian Pinera made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile. Credit cards, could you imagine anyone from that industry, let alone a pioneer in that business, running for any office in America? Mr. Pinera promises to be tough on crime and create a million jobs (as opposed to saving jobs...I hope). Interestingly, Chile isn't the economic basket case of its socialist cousins in Europe, where double-digit deficit to GDP figures loom like giant anvils over the continent. According to EDC, Chile's deficit to GDP was 4.2% or $7.22 billion at the end of 2009. GDP probably declined 1.9% in 2009, and should rebound to 2.3% growth this year. The country put forth a stimulus program of $4.5 billion or 2.8% of GDP. Their plan required private banks to lend money. According to the CIA, Ukraine's GDP declined 14.1% but could rebound 3.5% in 2010. Inflation is running rampant, however, at 16.5%. These countries possess great resources and their citizens should be better off, which is why they voted the bums out."

More commentary from Mr. Payne: "In the meantime, the so-called PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain) continue to weigh on financial markets around the world. You know I read over the weekend where some firm, I think Barclays, has prohibited its analysts from using the PIIGS acronym. I guess not using the term is the same as putting lipstick on the problem. Oh boy, political correctness in the eye of the storm. The fact is that there would be a few pigs that would take exception to being associated with the slop. Yesterday, CDS rates rallied to record highs for Portugal, Spain, and Greece."

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