New York wants to ban Supersize Drinks…is this going too far?

Mayor Bloomberg wants to ban all sugary drinks that are over 16 oz. This is done as a way to help combat obesity, but is this fair? Don’t people have a right to choose even if some find thoses choices objectionable? Tell me what you think.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47628473/ns/health-the_new_york_times/

Lesson to Mayor Bloomberg: Snow Can Kill a Political Career

I grew up in Chicago and we got plenty of snow but they had the equipment that could handle it, but one winter the system failed. It was 1979 and we had a blizzard that stopped the city. Nothing was moving. Finally the L train that took southsiders (mostly black) to downtown started moving, but Mayor Bilandic at the time decided to alter the designated L stops. He cut out a number of the stops that served the black community in what he said was an effort to keep the trains running on time. It was a disaster and he lost his bid for reelection to Jayne Byrne. The snow did him in, but really his insensitivity to the working class black community was his downfall. As I have watched Mayor Bloomberg handle his snow emergency I can not help but think back on Mayor Bilandic. Bloomberg simply does not get it. First he tells angry frustated people it makes no sense to act like angry frustrated people. Then he says every street should at least see a plow by 7AM today which did not happen. My heart broke for the woman that lost her mother because an ambulance could not get down her street. I am not blaming all of this on the Mayor, but I am saying even if you can not provide an immediate fix to a problem you can acknow ledge there is a problem. I was reading a New York paper and a letter to the editor showed what some of the people think of their leader: “His Highness Mayor Bloomberg is more concerned about clearing the snow from Times Square in time for New Year’s Eve than about the snowbound sections of Queens and other areas.” This might not be true but if this is the perception people have Bloomberg has a bigger problem than the snow.

Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/12/30/2010-12-30_voice_of_the_people.html#ixzz19csB4LO0

NY Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Paterson seek to stop food stamp recipients from buying sugary drinks…is this fair?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson want to ban food stamp recipients from using their stamps to buy sugary drinks. They contend this is an effort to combat obesity. They are seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If this is approved this would be the first item banned from a federal program based solely on nutritional value “In 2004 the USDA rejected Minnesota’s plan to ban junk food, including soda and candy, from food stamp purchases, saying it would violate the Food Stamp Act’s definition of what is food and could create “confusion and embarrassment” at the register.”  Is this fair? Is there something paternalistic about this? Does it single out the poor? Tell me what you think.

When Did Hatred Become Patriotism?

Should a mosque be built near Ground Zero? This question has been debated everywhere. Some say it is a local issue, but it has taken on national interest. Some of the relatives of the 9/11 victims do not want it built near the site, but the Mayor Bloomberg said that it is in accordance to the local laws and they have a right to build. The other night he said “We would feed the false impressions that some Americans have about Muslims. We would hand a valuable propaganda tool to terrorist recruiters, who spread the fallacy that America is at war with Islam.”  So how did we get to this point? The rhetoric we are hearing is laced with hate that is wrapped into some kind of sick patriotism. We have made Muslim the M-word. When did Muslim become a dirty word? What happened to us? The thing that frightens me is if they are successful in stopping the mosque what is next? I saw a minister on one of the cable networks proudly proclaiming that his church would be having a burn the Koran rally. Here was a man of the cloth proudly proclaiming religious hatred.  This is a diverse country and now we seem to be shifting wildly to the right. What happened to us?