GooseTales

An Abdication of Personal Responsibility

Well, I can't say that I'm too surprised by this.  Students across the country will want for sodas during their lunch breaks (though diet soda will be available) under a new agreement among soda companies, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and former President Bill Clinton.  It makes sense in some ways--it looks good for PR purposes and it probably cuts off potential lawsuits.  I think the suits are frivolous and I doubt the soda industry would ever lose one.  While I understand why they made this decision, I have to say the capitulation is a little disappointing.  It continues the abdication of personal responsibility that American society has experienced since probably the free-love era of the 1960s.  Ever since the boomers rebelled against society's rules, they've thrown off the requirement that people live with the consequences of their decisions.  This mentality is present in a lot of areas today, you see it in criminal defenses all the time.  This is just another one where everyone says... "It's not my fault."

Earlier related thoughts.

Foggy Bottom Goes Dry

The Washington Post has a story about the demise of Foggy Bottom Ale.  The Olde Heurich Brewing Co. is shutting down after years of brewing Foggy Bottom under contract  with a New York brewer.  The company used recipes from the original Heurich, which was owned by the current owner's grandfather and stopped brewing years ago. 

I'm not a huge beer fan, but I've had Foggy Bottom and it's not bad.  The Post article seems to lament the passing of the only "local" brew and Mr. Heurich seems to blame DC for a lack of loyalty to the local brewery company.  I do prefer Fordham Lager out of Annapolis.  I haven't tried their other brews, but I look forward to it.

Public Health and Obesity as a Choice

So, yesterday morning, I went to the buy-the-pound deli/salad bar place in my building to grab breakfast.  I ordered an egg-white omelet with ham, onions, green peppers, and wheat toast without butter.  While I waited a few minutes for my breakfast to be made, I watched as people went and collected their breakfasts from the various options on the breakfast bars.

Is it any wonder so many Americans are obese or overweight?  Without fail, people selected the donuts and giant muffins that were located right next to all sorts of fresh fruit.  They selected scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese in them.  They went for the cheese omelets, fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, bacon, and sausage.  Turkey sausage was available, but didn't look very popular.  Beyond that, as if the fried potatoes weren't bad enough, people were putting cheese sauce on top of them.  Heaping plates of 1,000+ calorie breakfasts were flying out the door.  In the three or four minutes I was there, I saw only one person (a thin woman) go for the fresh fruit or cottage cheese.  I saw at least 10 times that many (mostly not thin) hit up the bar for various high-fat, high-calorie breakfast foods.

I'll admit my breakfast isn't the greatest one in the world for you.  On top of what I picked up from the restaurant (?), I also had some 1% Cottage Cheese and FF low-calorie yogurt.  It probably was about 600 calories, but was well-rounded and high in protein.

I wonder how any lawyer could see what I saw and then somehow think that they are justified in suing McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and other companies for making Americans fat.  If people want to know why Americans are fat, they need only look in the mirror.

On a personal note, I am formerly obese and I know how hard it can be to lose weight, I tried for years before dropping over 125 lbs.  It was the best decision I ever made and I couldn't have done it without the support of those close to me.  I never blamed a single company for my being fat, it was always my fault and I knew it.  I was also the only one who could change that.