The World Around You

My Representative once again demonstrates his lack of respect and/or knowledge of separation of powers and checks and balances. Terry, you don’t get to be all powerful, the Constitution says so.

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According to Ellen Williams in a letter to the editor, Alabama’s historical sites attract more tourism than the beaches. She uses this “fact” to defend the placement of the monstrosity on I-65. I would love to see what facts she has to back up that statement, because I would imagine the figures are not even close, in dollars or the number of people.

Oh and Ms. Williams, the folks from EADS were in Mobile and only in Mobile, so no, they didn’t see the flag, but you do realize they’re French.

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I don’t believe Roy didn’t know what he was talking about! Of course, I really do, but what fun is life without sarcasm?

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Dr. Harvey Jackson has another brilliant idea: “vertical evacuation coverage”.

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A very sad story that once again shows us no one is immune from depression and just because you’re priest doesn’t mean you’re incapable of committing a “mortal sin”.

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My weekly column ran in today’s Wednesday (Prattville) Progress:

You may have seen or heard about an Academy Award-nominated film called “Super Size Me”. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald’s menu items for 30 days with rapid negative effects on his health. The film re-surfaced in a particular segment of the media this week because of the pending release of a film billed as a counter-”Super Size Me”. Most of the talk show hosts interested in this film never saw Spurlock’s film, but they don’t let that stop them from denigrating it.

The anti-”Super Size Me” involves a woman named Soso Whaley who ate McDonald’s food for sixty days straight and lost weight. In her appearances Soso is being billed as a simple “animal trainer”, but that is not the whole truth. Soso was given a fellowship by the Competitive Enterprise Institute to give her the ability to complete her film. This is important because CEI is a think tank that, among other things, favors repeal of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (created in response to the Enron and Worldcom debacles and that allowed for the prosecution of Richard Scrushy) and opposes almost any effort to regulate industry to reduce global warming (including the McCain-Lieberman amendment that came before the Senate last week). So, we can McDonald’s had every expectation of favorable treatment, given CEI’s pro-corporate agenda. In fact, she was touting her weight loss before she even started! Morgan Spurlock made no contentions about what would happen during the course of his 30-day experiment.

Can you eat healthy at McDonald’s? Of course you can. Is it easy to do? No. Is it obvious from the menu what the healthy options are? No. For example, Soso had to take special precautions to stay below her daily calorie limits by using half of the salad dressing provided by McDonald’s, for example. Because, if she had used all of it, she would have gone over the limit. And, even with her extensive research, she was unable to find the nutrition facts for a number of the things she ate. What chance do the rest of us have?

To her credit, Soso posted her receipts on the CEI website. However, they reveal that she was not eating the way most people do. Here are some typical meals: dinner on April 2nd: a fish sandwich and a shake; dinner on the 4th consisted of a small fry and a McFlurry; dinner on the 5th was 3 cookies and a milk. I mean, is she serious? If that’s not dieting I don’t know what is and it certainly isn’t typical of the way most people eat.

People who have bothered to actually see “Super Size Me” know that it is about a lot more than Morgan’s experiment. He investigates school lunch programs, exercise habits, where fast food originates and how it is processed and the unavailability of nutrition information for fast food. Spurlock left no doubt that personal responsibility plays a role in the obesity epidemic in this country, but there is also no doubt there is a corporate element too.

Corporate responsibility to me means full disclosure. Why can’t we have the nutrition information for our food right next to the price? A capitalist democracy only functions when there is full disclosure. We have a long way to go in receiving full disclosure regarding what we eat and drink. When we get there, then I will listen to those who say we should leave the corporations alone.

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Google Search: love stuff hoover
Google Search: how to move biscuits around the world

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From the moment I heard that Justice Breyer was the key vote in the split decisions by the Supreme Court in the Ten Commandments cases, I knew I would find his reasoning intriguing. Now, there is a good bit of mental gymnastics in his opinion and it is far from setting a standard for others to go by, but I think the reasoning is sound.

He does not, as many have been saying today, lay out a standard for age. If the display is sufficiently old, it must be allowed to stay. Instead, he argues that the intent of the government in establishing a display is paramount. And the Court is certainly not saying that displays outside are okay, while those inside are not. Justice Breyer says,

Here the tablets have been used as part of a display that communicates not simply a religious message, but a secular message as well. The circumstances surrounding the display’s placement on the capitol grounds and its physical setting suggest that the State itself intended the latter, nonreligious aspects of the tablets’ message to predominate.
And the monument’s 40-year history on the Texas state grounds indicates that that has been its effect.

…

The physical setting of the monument, moreover, suggests little or nothing of the sacred. See Appendix A, infra. The monument sits in a large park containing 17 monuments and 21 historical markers, all designed to illustrate the “ideals” of those who settled in Texas and of those who have lived there since that time. Tex. H. Con. Res. 38, 77th Leg. (2001); see Appendix B, infra. The setting does not readily lend itself to meditation or any other religious activity. But it does provide a context of history and moral ideals. It (together with the display’s inscription about its origin) communicates to visitors that the State sought to reflect moral principles, illustrating a relation between ethics and law that the State’s citizens, historically speaking, have endorsed. That is to say, the context suggests that the State intended the display’s moral message—an illustrative message reflecting the historical “ideals” of Texans—to predominate.

In other words, he says, if it is obvious to a judge that you are placing the monument there to convey a message that is not primarily a religious one then you are okay, if your primary purpose is religious get it out of here. Fairly clear, but not a simple clear-cut standard, and certainly not a distinction the MSM can get into a soundbite.

**UPDATES:
1. Submitted to OTB’s Beltway Traffic Jam

2. Tom at Heretical Ideas is relatively satisfied with the decisions as well.

3. Eugene Volokh has some thoughtful analysis on whether its the displays that are more divisive or the SCOTUS decisions that strike them down.

4. Mac notes we’re still waiting on comment from Ol’ Roy himself.

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The Birmingham News has an extensive report this morning on the sex offender registry. They attempted to determine whether a sample of offenders live where the state sex offender registry says they live. Their work found that 38% were not. This didn’t surprise the executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law, nor did it surprise the Attorney General. It shouldn’t surprise any of us, but I’m sure people will be outraged anyway. As the article points out, your asking convicted sex offenders to follow what amounts to an honor system, but that’s the law. What are you going to change it to?

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State Superintendent Joseph Morton deserves a lot of credit for sticking to the recommendations of an advisory panel regarding junk food in schools. The phasing out of high fat and sugar foods during this school year is a positive step.

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This is actually quite valuable information for those of us that buy stuff and then don’t eat it.

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Media Matters for America has a comprehensive debunking of Ed “I recycle the lies” Klein’s tome, though it is quite long due to his extensive inaccuracies.

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As if we need further proof that politics is a family affair, you need only look at two candidates considering entering the lieutenant governor’s race. George Wallace Jr. has made his high level of interest known and the AP is reporting today that Jim Folsom Jr. is considering running as a Democrat. Both names carry a lot of history within the state and outside of it. It would generate interest within the state and around the country.

**Also referenced this article in a similar piece for Polstate.com

**UPDATE: Submitted to OTB’s Beltway Traffic Jam

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It is impossible to emphasize the need for this project enough. It is simply a must to kickstart the interest in economic development for these areas of the state. Development can come up without this project, but it will come much slower. An interstate route through Marengo, Hale, Lowndes, Perry, Dalls and Sumter counties will help those areas tremendously.

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This is outstanding news for Alabama and congratulations to Mobile and all of the people who made this EADS facility a reality for our state.

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It’s good news that the FBI is now focused on animal rights extremists as their number one domestic terror priority. We all remember that terrible day when the vegans hijacked the planes and flew them into the World Trade Center.

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I first heard about Ms. Whaley from my wife, as her experiment was discussed on the “Rick and Bubba” radio show (which I no longer listen to) this morning. I am not surprised that the Competitive Enterprise Institute was behind the “experiment” and it is interesting that they were touting her weight loss before the experiment began!

Of course you can lose weight eating McDonald’s! That’s not a response to what “Super Size Me” was about. Anyone who watched the movie knows that. My real question that merits further investigation is how in the world did this woman get into any McDonald’s in the country with a camera? There’s a story in them thar hills.

My point about fast food has never changed. I don’t advocate a tax on fast food, I don’t advocate any kind of restriction on the purchase of fast food. I believe people have the right to make their own choices about what they eat, but there should be FULL DISCLOSURE. Soso proved my point by the fact that there are several items for which even she was unable to find nutrition information. The true price of a meal is more than just the dollars it costs, its the calories as well. Free markets only work with free flow of information, Econ 101 folks.

**UPDATE: I wrote about Soso when the experiment was originally announced.

**UPDATE: If you are looking to contact Soso, her e-mail address is soso@comcast.net and you can see her Amazon.com wishlist here

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Sean “College Dropout” Hannity’s sleaze knows no bounds. If even Bill O’Reilly won’t book a guest, you know you’re scraping bottom. Of course, if you have something bad to say about Hillary Clinton, Sean will give you time to say it without any regard for whether you have evidence to back you up.

**UPDATE: Submitted to OTB’s Beltway Traffic Jam

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The name Nathan Mathis doesn’t mean much to me, but the idea of an independent candidate for governor running on a gambling platform is interesting. I agree with the reporter when he says it may force the candidates to debate gambling, which they would rather avoid.

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Who needs body armor, when you can have a book of letters from children?

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Big league pitcher Dewon Brazelton, will see his first game action since May 11 in a Montgomery Biscuits uniform tomorrow night. So, if you want to see a pitcher with major league stuff, come on down to Riverwalk and check him out.

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TWAY celebrated the start of its third year in this location yesterday.

In that time, we have had over 380,000 visits and almost 2,000,000 hits. Thank you all for continuing to visit as we bring TWAY back from the brink.

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Meeeeeemmmmories of the way we were.

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Take a moment to congratulate James Joyner on his engagement.

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James Joyner directed me to a report that the UK will be introducing a complete ban on smoking in public places on Monday. I’ll be interested to see how this plays out. I actually prefer what we have done in Prattville and what Montgomery has done, by just eliminating the myth of a non-smoking section. Either you allow smoking or you don’t, but don’t pretend that there is some way for the rest of your non-smoking patrons to avoid inhaling the smoke.

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I have a little news for Mr. John W. Altman of Tuscaloosa, immigrants built this country and immigrants will determine the future of this country. America cannot succeed without immigrants and there is nothing anyone can do to stop immigrants from coming to America. To fight that truth is a waste of everyone’s time and talents.

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Some of our public officials really don’t get it. The quotes in this piece are laugh-out-loud funny. State Senators saying that all expenses paid trips to the Bahamas paid for by special interests don’t influence their votes. As I have stated in the past, the scary thing is I think they actually believe it. They actually believe that one someone spends thousands of dollars on them they expect nothing in return. It’s not just about your vote Senators, it’s about who has your ear. this is just another opportunity for us to highlight the need for ethics laws to change in Alabama. And as is readily apparent in this article, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue, both sides have their hands in the cookie jar.

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