The World Around You

Dean Esmay uses a post about Christian poll data to explain why he has rejected evangelical, Bible-literalist Christianity. I actually think the poll data leads to a much more interesting argument. That is, most evangelical Christians don’t believe what many assume they do. So does that mean the Church is out of step, or the followers?

James notes a report that a plan will be put forward by the EU to establish a single market between the US and the European Union.

Steven headlines his post on this story “Not Good”. I prefer my headline, but the point is the same. Accidents will happen, but we still have to take responsibility when incidents like this happen.

A U.S. patrol opened fire Monday on a group of people in Baghdad’s gun market, killing three, after the soldiers apparently mistook the gunfire of customers testing weapons for an attack, a witness and an Iraqi police officer said.

Four people also were wounded, hospital and police officials said. The dead included an 11-year-old boy.

In Iraq, it is legal for a family to own one gun for self-defense. That weapon is usually an AK-47 assault rifle. The gun market, however, is illegal and has been raided repeatedly by U.S. soldiers, who have tried to close it down.

I guess they found one way to close it down, or at least cause it to change locations.

Not surprisingly, according to AP, Governor Riley’s approval rating is at 25%. Not a surprising number because of the events of the first 11 months of his term. As I have said from day one, the only way to truly change things in this state is to forget about re-election. Governor Riley’s team did not come in expecting two terms.

However, it will be difficult to provide leadership when people don’t approve of the direction you are taking. Governor Riley must continue to make the case to the people of Alabama that he is trying to bring substantive change that will put this state on a solid footing into the future. He has obviously not made that case.

The Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll also showed Governor Riley losing to former Governor Siegelman and former Chief Justice Roy Moore in hypothetical races. In addition, six out of 10 Alabamians believe we’re on the wrong track. What would be the right track?

I want to offer my appreciation to the Birmingham News for its series on Alabama’s obesity epidemic. They focus today on our super-sized culture.

Whether it be drinks, muffins, hamburgers or pasta, parents and children have lost sight of proper portions.

“Clearly we have some issues with portion distortion in the U.S.,” said Marianne Murdock, a registered dietitian and director of the Children’s Center for Weight Management at Children’s Hospital and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Larger portions are one factor among many. The reliance on fast-food restaurants, the abundance of processed, fatty foods, inactivity and lack of knowledge about nutrition all add up to a nation of fat kids.

“Everybody blames McDonald’s and everybody blames Coca-Cola, but it’s not just that,” said Dr. Carden Johnston, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a Birmingham pediatrician. “It’s all factors combined.”

This is a problem we have to begin discussing in this state. We have serious costs associated with this problem and we have to start to identify ways to improve Alabamians’ health.

Today’s paper also contains a story about a healthy school lunch program in Opelika.