Too Fat to Be Surgeon General?

DR I agree with you.

Hi Jenn,
First off, I want to thank you for thaking the time to comment. Most people would just leave & never come back.
I admire the fact that you are willing to take the time & effort to stand up for your beliefs.
In regard to my personal politics, I don't identify with any political party. I am primarily a libertarian who is prefers to give my support based on issues rather than party designation.
Personally, I find Fox to be disingenuous in it's claim of fair & balanced reporting. But, then again, so are the other networks.
Perhaps I was unfair in directing my disdain solely at Fox. The other networks are equally guilty when it comes to slanting news stories in order to pander to a particular political demographic.
In regards to this particular story, it seems obvious to me that Fox's intention was to try to embarrass the Surgeon General, Barack Obama and democrats in general with their coverage of the story.
But, that's just my opinion.
And you don't have to agree with it.
And you don't have to return to Health Habits...free country and all that.
But, I hope you do. I love talking politics and seeing as healthcare is a HUGE political issue, I would love to discuss/debate/argue with you about it.
You might just spice things up a little bit around here.

If by political you mean forced Gov't health care, then yes. Or the threat of banning "offending substances" like, oh, fat or salt. The concept of all health care will be forced on me by the gov't that can then force me to eat their retarded and killing SA diet, then yes, it's political. But I didn't come here to talk about how you hate Cavuto or Glenn Beck. I happen to love Glenn; I don't read leftist political blogs and I have no interest in reading leftist political blogs in the guise of a paleo blog. Perhaps you have good things to say about nutrition and exercise, but this is the last article of yours I will read. I will check in to see the comments and to respond, but I am completely unwilling to support a site that treats me, a Fox viewer, with such blatant disprect. It's your blog, please do as you wish, I'm simply letting you know that there are those that you may have had an impact on that you have completely lost instead.

Wow, thought this might be a great site for HEALTH related issues. Didn't come here for POLITICS. If you don't like Fox, don't watch, but don't act like an ass to those of us that do. SO, here, I'll show you how it's done...

My dad regularly get his news from BBC because they're impartial [at least to a greater degree than the other networks] to American politics, or at the very least they have a world view of the outcomes.
In response to the free press thing, Jon Stewart did a great interview with Brian Williams a few nights ago on the state of the press. The topic was brought on by the passing of Walter Cronkite and how much journalism has changed and the sad state it's in today. The Daily Show may seem like a joke to some, but the points it makes through parody are pretty intelligent. I guess that's what FOX tries to do but fails.
Here's the video if you're interested [it's got some good laughs too]:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-july-20-2009/brian-williams
Canadian link - http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/#clip195309

Oprah 2.0...classic

Good question John
At first I thought it was the Aunty-Gym.....I pictured all these old biddies screaming at their clients to give them 5 more reps
Shudder

I agree with you that the surgeon general is fat.
However, I disagree that she is a poor role model. None of us are perfect. If it isn't obesity, it's something else.
A naturally lean surgeon general does nothing to encourage America's obese to lose weight.
In contrast, Dr. Benjamin could serve as a fantastic role model re America's obesity epidemic.
Imagine if she decides to drop the excess fat and actually succeeds. Not through gastric bypass surgery but through lifestyle change.
Imagine if she decides to make this a true national campaign.
But, then again, maybe with all of the stress of the new job she gains another 20 lbs.

Matt, I agree with you about the decline of the free press
All of the news organizations are owned by major corporations. It seems like over the years, the news departments have lost their autonomy and are being pressured to slant their news coverage in a way that supports the parent corp. Fox included.
I prefer to get my news from the BBC & the CBC. Still slanted, but a little less Big Brother-esque.
I also get a lot more info from my fellow bloggers. They may not be professional journalists, but at least they haven't been bought out...yet

We have been making excuses for poor choices for too long. The choice of Dr. Benjamin is another example. It is clear that President Obama has not identified obesity as the single most important health issue facing America. You should rejoice for once that someone chose to bring up the fact that the good Dr. is not a good role model. Take a look...the guy is right...she is carrying around 50-70 pounds of excess fat. It shows clearly on the outside when she walks...imagine how much visceral fat is on the inside! She is surely on blood pressure meds and is likely pre-diabetic or diabetic...I suspect she is on statins as well. Is this is the picture of health you would have chosen for the Surgeon General of a Country destroying itself at the drive thru window? The President seems to be practicing assisted suicide.

I haven't followed this issue or watched the clips above so this might be totally out of context, please note I am not a 100% supporter of FOX either, but I do find that they typically tell a different side of the story then the other news outlets and I think this is completely needed and healthy for a free society so that they can come to a rational and logical decisions about what is going on in our country. A lot of the other media outlets seem to be completely working off talking points from the White House; it is just like the single payer system for healthcare (or any other monopoly), if you are only getting your information from one source your doing a great disservice to your intellect and your country.
One example is Glen Beck was the first person that brought up the printing of money and still seems to be the only one championing that cause: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw1hkEor6sM and that really opened my eyes. We cannot simply borrow 50 cents on every dollar we spend AND continue to print money as fast as our presses can print them, that’s a recipe for collapse, but none of the other media outlets are saying a word about this because they have been backing Obama so tightly. This is how dictators can take over a nation folks, once a person owns the media they can control how everything is heard and seen and do whatever they want to do (be it based on good or bad intentions it is still not right to bully people that are supposedly free).
-Matt

Ouch. Those commercials were painful to watch.
One question though, if his gym is the anti-gym, does that somehow mean any exercise done there is negated?

There are definitely better ways of getting a valid point across, which may even make them sound credible for once, something that Fox News doesn't seem to understand [need I remind you of Glenn Beck playing with Barbies in a bit about Acorn?]. But I digress.
I won't mention my politics but I have never been a fan of Fox and their way of presenting "news", but as distasteful as the delivery was, the message of that segment makes sense.
I personally think it makes sense that if we want a healthier nation, we must set that precedent in the public eye. If obesity is such a big issue at the moment, why on earth would you even consider nominating an overweight attorney general? Now, if we're in for a curveball and Dr. Benjamin is going to lose weight while on the main stage of the health industry, I applaud that and I will fully retract my stance. But the biggest fitness role models for the country can't be Oprah and Oprah 2.0. It instantly makes anything they say on the subject less credible. Anytime I see Oprah harping on about some health issue or another on her show or get told by a fan what the new Oprah health buzz is, I feel like firmly planting my shoe in either the TV or that person's face. Practice what you preach, sister, and so will others. But sitting pretty in a TV studio or Washington, D.C, and telling us little people what to do about our health isn't going to cut it.
Also, a little ironic considering the last post. What can we do to get the nation interested about their health? Not this.
/Goes and finds biggest umbrella available for ensuing shitstorm.