{"id":33084,"date":"2009-07-29T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T02:05:31","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T02:05:31","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T02:05:31","slug":"the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/","title":{"rendered":"The Left\u2019s New Villain: Fat People"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RUSH: Okay, here\u2019s that fat stuff, the fat tax. I have two stories on this. The first is from the State-Controlled CNNMoney.com. ‘Taxing the Fat in Your Food,\u2019 is the headline. The subhead: ‘New study argues that a tax on fattening foods could help pay for health reform and curb obesity — and lower health costs.\u2019 Well, no, it won\u2019t happen. We\u2019ve cut smoking in half, if not more, and the health care costs have not decreased. And by the way, ‘preventive lifestyles\u2019? None of this has been shown to reduce costs at all. The government is responsible for how much everything costs in this. <\/p>\n

(Reading in New Castrati voice) ‘Health care costs keep growing fatter in part because Americans are, too. More than 25% of the increase in medical costs between 1987 and 2001 is attributable to obesity and obesity-related conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, according to a new report from the non-partisan Urban Institute.\u2019 I read this about smoking 20 years ago! ‘Come 2015, it is estimated that 40% of American adults will be obese, which is more than double the rate 40 years ago. And today, close to 20% of children are obese, up from 4% four decades ago. … Taking their cue from steep taxes on tobacco, which have helped reduce smoking rates, the health policy experts who wrote the report argue that a tax on fattening foods could not only raise a lot of revenue to pay for health reform but could also help curb obesity and thereby slow the growth in health care costs over time.\u2019 <\/line><\/a><\/line>Taking their cue from taxes on tobacco? Taxes on tobacco may be raising money for health care, but it hasn\u2019t lowered costs at all! Is anybody telling you that our health care costs have gone down anywhere, anything, for any time? ‘Depending on how it\u2019s set up, the authors estimate that a 10% federal tax of fattening foods could raise up to $530 billion over 10 years.\u2019 No matter who buys them! You know what may happen? It may just be a matter of time. As part of the health care plan, in addition to taxing fatty foods which they\u2019re already doing in places like New York and couple other places, you go get your fat percentage taken at your Bam-assigned doctor. Whatever percentage body fat you have, you are taxed on that amount, whatever is above what they say it should be. <\/line><\/p>\n

So if they say your body fat should be no more than 10%, and your body fat\u2019s higher, you pay tax on it. The doctor would be required to report the body fat content above the allowed federal limit to the IRS. Then you go back to the doctor, and if you\u2019ve lost body fat content, then your tax rate would be lowered. Don\u2019t put anything past this bunch. Now, this magazine that is published by Massachusetts General Hospital. It\u2019s a long piece, I\u2019m not going to even attempt to read the whole thing to you here, but it\u2019s called ProtoMag.com, and it comes from Mass General, and the subject of the article is this: ‘SHOULD OBESE PEOPLE, LIKE SMOKERS, BE: Barred from indulging in public spaces,\u2019 should they be ‘taxed on their habit,\u2019 should they be ‘targeted by public health campaigns,\u2019 should they be ‘shunned socially?\u2019 <\/p>\n

Banning the ugly! In this case the ‘ugly\u2019 happen to be fat people. ‘Once considered the quintessence of cool, lighting up has become a social faux pas, discouraged by withering glances and ‘thank you for not smoking\u2019 signs. Ashtrays, once a fixture … have all but disappeared. Manufacturers have been subjected to increased, and ever more successful, investigations and lawsuits … [P]er capita consumption of cigarettes dropped from 4,345 in 1963 to 1,691 in 2006. And the percentage of US adults who smoke has fallen by more than half since 1965, to a level of around 20%.\u2019 Yet nobody is saving any money. Nobody. It\u2019s not saving anybody any money. Well, the people are not smoking don\u2019t have to pay the money, but in terms of health care costs it has not helped as we\u2019ve documented. <\/p>\n

So this magazine then asks: ‘Could a similarly concerted effort by government and health organizations make progress against another kind of epidemic?\u2019 Obesity. So this magazine posits the idea that if you look a certain way or weigh a certain weight you\u2019re not going to be allowed in a restaurant. There may be signs: Obese Patients Not Allowed Entry.\u2019 Public parks, public swimming pools: ‘If you\u2019re fat, if you\u2019re a slob, you can\u2019t come in.\u2019 Then we\u2019d have the fat police like we have the smoking police. We still have a free society, and people are free to live the lifestyle they want, whatever the impact on themselves — and ‘fat\u2019 is not illegal. Being obese is not against the law…yet. Exactly right. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: We\u2019ve got some interesting sound bites here on this fat stuff. Let\u2019s go to CNN last night, Campbell Brown\u2019s show. She spoke to the National Action Against Obesity president MeMe Roth about obesity in America. The skinny versus fat battle is heating up here. Liberals fanning out to blame fat people for everything, they\u2019re the new villain — I told you this. Here\u2019s Campbell Brown to MeMe Roth: ‘Get to the heart of the problem in terms of what you think we ought to do.\u2019<\/p>\n

ROTH: If you wanted to make a nation fat, we have set our culture up to do exactly that. It\u2019s like we\u2019re living in a brothel and no one\u2019s allowed to have sex. Everywhere you go, there\u2019s one temptation after another. I\u2019m surprised there\u2019s anyone left in this country who isn\u2019t overweight. We need to make good food, real food, produce available, cheap, accessible to everyone. The economics of it are shifting. Big Pharma has made a bundle on obesity. The weight loss industry has made a bundle. Beverage and food have made a bundle. Now we\u2019re seeing it. We\u2019re picking up the tab, and we\u2019re pushing back.<\/p>\n

RUSH: These people, they never change. It\u2019s none of your damn business, MeMe Roth. It\u2019s not costing you anything. She wants cheap, affordable fruits and produce, like cheap affordable health care. You want cheap, accessible to everyone. (interruption) I know, but apparently these fat people are being denied healthy foods. The whole thing\u2019s bull, Snerdley. This is who these people are. Now, there was another person on this show, Plus magazine, this is large woman, editor-at-large Mia Amber Davis. Brown says, ‘So Mia, is there to you a sense of blame the victim of scapegoating people who are overweight when you see a study like this?\u2019<\/p>\n

DAVIS: Sizism is the last acceptable prejudice. If you see someone who\u2019s overweight, automatically they\u2019re the reason for America\u2019s problems in the health care industry? That\u2019s absolutely not true. I know plenty of people who are normal size, who are straight sizes as opposed to plus size who have health issues. I don\u2019t know anyone in my circle of friends, in my family, in the millions of women that I reach out to being a plus size advocate that have health issues related to being overweight.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, this didn\u2019t sit well with MeMe.<\/p>\n

ROTH: If you\u2019re obese, you are unhealthy. Reuters recently reported that only 8% of us don\u2019t smoke, drink moderately, eat the fruits and vegetables we\u2019re supposed to eat, and exercise regularly. So really, fat or thin, only 8% of us are even trying in this country.<\/p>\n

DAVIS: But overweight does not mean unhealthy. I\u2019ve been off the charts since I was 12 years old, and I\u2019m perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n

ROTH: There\u2019s a higher incidence of infertility, pregnancy complications —<\/p>\n

DAVIS: I don\u2019t have those issues.<\/p>\n

ROTH: — low sperm count, and even a higher incidence of birth defects when it comes to obesity. So don\u2019t argue with me. Argue with Darwin.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, you can say arrogant or whatever, but this is who these people are. Her statistics are wrong. Only 8% of us don\u2019t smoke? Eighty percent of us don\u2019t smoke. Drink moderately, eat the fruits and vegetables we\u2019re supposed to eat? Get that? We\u2019re supposed to eat? So Mia Amber Davis, she starts getting back at her a little here.<\/p>\n

DAVIS: I think that that\u2019s insulting, actually. I work out four times a week.<\/p>\n

ROTH: Which you\u2019re supposed to be working out every day.<\/p>\n

DAVIS: I\u2019m not here to argue with you. I\u2019m here to say that stop blaming overweight people or obese people for America\u2019s problems. It\u2019s not our fault. If you are gay, you can play straight. If you are a certain religion, you can play another religion. You can\u2019t hide the fact that you\u2019re overweight, and nor do we want to. I\u2019m proud of the way I look. I\u2019m proud of my body. I\u2019m proud of all my friends and the hard work that we do to maintain our curves. So stop blaming us for America\u2019s health care issues, because I am not a part of that plan.<\/p>\n

ROTH: The — the studies don\u2019t back you up, and nine-times-out-of-ten obesity is the result of lifestyle choices.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Did you catch what this Roth b-i-itch said at the beginning of the bite? You\u2019re supposed to be working out every day? You\u2019re supposed to be working out. You\u2019re supposed to eat fruits and vegetables, you\u2019re supposed to be. And MeMe Roth, who nobody has ever heard of, is now the sole authority on what you ought to be doing. I tried to warn people. This is the SUV all over again. It\u2019s just who these people are. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Richland, Washington, Corey great to have you, EIB Network, hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hey, Rush, I just want to make a quick comment on the smoking and the obesity thing.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah.<\/p>\n

CALLER: It\u2019s kind of funny they put the taxes on the cigarettes and all that and drive people away from smoking, well, what happens when most people quit smoking? They start packing on the pounds so I kind of figured that that\u2019s one of the leading causes to this gaining of weight over the last several years.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You know there may be some legitimacy to this. It is a fact that people who stop smoking still need the oral stimulation, activity and so forth using their hands, using their mouths. And so they do tend to eat more.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yeah, so I was kind of thinking that it just shifts from one cost to the smoking to now they\u2019re saying it\u2019s the obesity.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Right and it\u2019s none of their damn business! The one thing they\u2019re wrong about is all the so-called costs that we\u2019re going to save to reduce this activity these busybody little nannies don\u2019t like. I detest these people. I detest them. They are standing in the way of our country\u2019s rebound and economic growth. They are parasites. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: And, no, ladies and gentlemen, I\u2019m not defending obesity. I\u2019m defending freedom and liberty. Freedom and liberty, cornerstones of the United States. It\u2019s not your business to tell people you don\u2019t know how to live. They\u2019re not your responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: Okay, here\u2019s that fat stuff, the fat tax. I have two stories on this. The first is from the State-Controlled CNNMoney.com. ‘Taxing the Fat in Your Food,\u2019 is the headline. The subhead: ‘New study argues that a tax on fattening foods could help pay for health reform and curb obesity — and lower health […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Left's New Villain: Fat People - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Left's New Villain: Fat People - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: Okay, here\u2019s that fat stuff, the fat tax. I have two stories on this. The first is from the State-Controlled CNNMoney.com. ‘Taxing the Fat in Your Food,\u2019 is the headline. The subhead: ‘New study argues that a tax on fattening foods could help pay for health reform and curb obesity — and lower health […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125114.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125114.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125114.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/\",\"name\":\"The Left's New Villain: Fat People - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-19T02:05:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-19T02:05:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Left\\u2019s New Villain: Fat People\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Left's New Villain: Fat People - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"The Left's New Villain: Fat People - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: Okay, here\u2019s that fat stuff, the fat tax. I have two stories on this. The first is from the State-Controlled CNNMoney.com. ‘Taxing the Fat in Your Food,\u2019 is the headline. The subhead: ‘New study argues that a tax on fattening foods could help pay for health reform and curb obesity — and lower health […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125114.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125114.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125114.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/","name":"The Left's New Villain: Fat People - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2011-05-19T02:05:31+00:00","dateModified":"2011-05-19T02:05:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2009\/07\/29\/the_left_s_new_villain_fat_people\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Left\u2019s New Villain: Fat People"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}