A Look Into the "Obesity Craze"

I find myself agreeing with Nick’s blog post, Obesity Craze. I hope that all restaurants are required to post their menu item’s calories, but I would go a step further. I recently visited a friend in New York City. She was born and raised in Austin and, like most women, has struggled in the past with dieting. She’s currently a personal trainer who is very heath conscious about what she eats. In 2005, the New York City Board of Health passed a law requiring some restaurants to post calorie counts. It was met, as most ideas of change, with some resistance. Some restaurants didn’t want to post and found loopholes around it. Also, some consumers were unappreciative and didn’t want to see or know how many calories they were consuming. Well, whether you want to see it or not, we as a society have a responsibility to ourselves, our children, and even each other to take control and responsibility of a huge problem in this nation. With all of the negative consequences of not taking care of yourself, most importantly disease and death, there’s no excuse to fight this law. I support it wholly and am excited about the possibility of a positive change. I believe New York has added more nutritional facts to their menus as well, going beyond just listing calories so that consumers can keep track of sodium, carbs and fats consumed throughout the day.

At the end of his blog, Nick posed the question: why is the government addressing this issue now? The way I see it, Americans have been trying various kinds of diets for decades. Television shows like The Biggest Loser and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution shine a light on what many of us strive for. Many people I’ve spoken to would like to be healthier, in general, to sustain longevity in life. As for the government involvement, requests from constituents who have been inspired by these shows, or something like it, could be a factor. Personally, when times get dark or tough for me, I like to focus on the things I can control. With our economy and the government in an unstable, reconstructive state, the time for change is now and it will be a positive addition to our state and our country.

I will end by quoting Nick’s ending statement “I think more cities and counties in Texas should jump on the healthy bandwagon and encourage their citizens to make a change in their lives.” Here here!

Run-Off Election: Montford vs Sage

The Travis County website states that Criminal District Courts "preside over felony cases and all misdemeanors involving official misconduct. Once a felony case is indicted by a grand jury, the case is assigned to one of the seven District Courts." The 299th Criminal District Court is one of these seven courts. The current judge of the 299th, the Honorable Charlie Baird, will not seek re-election at the end of his current term. Hours after this was announced, Assistant District Attorney Karen Sage decided to make it public that she wanted to be his successor. The following day Mindy Montford tentatively announced her candidacy.

Today, April 13, 2010, the polls close for the run-off election between Democratic candidates Karen Sage and Mindy Montford. Looking more closely into these candidates, both are experienced inside and outside of the courtroom. Graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1988 and the University of Minnesota Law School in 1991, Karen Sage is currently an Assistant District Attorney for Travis County. According to her website, Sage has "prosecuted hundreds of important and high-profile felony cases, with crimes ranging form sexual assault to manslaughter...murder cases...narcotics, human trafficking, insurance fraud, and securities fraud." She has also served as Counsel to the Mayor of Los Angeles, and, worked as a prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in New York before coming to Austin in the District Attorney's office in 2006. On the other side of the ballot, Mindy Montford graduated from the University of Texas where she interned for Governor Ann Richards and attended the University of Texas for law school. According to her website, Montford "has handled thousands of cases including robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, sexual assault, child abuse, family violence and murder" and "has tried over 100 jury trials." Montford started as a misdemeanor prosecutor in Harris County, worked as the General Counsel to a Democratic Sate Senator and then returned to prosecution as a Travis County Assistant District Attorney.

In my opinion, both candidates are extremely qualified and we would benefit from either holding the seat. It is difficult to pick one because one accomplishment does not outshine another. Both have achieved great things for the legal system and the State of Texas. Sage has been appointed to the Mental Health Court Docket and is the sole prosecutor handling those cases and is committed to decriminalizing mental illness. Montford also can be applauded for her work on the Travis County Child Protection Team where she has no doubt been exposed to some horrific things.

The Burnt Orange Report actually helps make my point about both candidates. They issued a dual-endorsement of both Karen Sage and Mindy Montford during the March primary. On April 5, 2010 Phillip Martin wrote an article entitled "Why I Support Karen Sage for the 299th District Court." I should mention that it had a disclaimer stating that this article was not an endorsement from the Burnt Orange Report. It was a very positive and flattering article about Karen Sage and her commitment to a life of public service. Then, on April 8, 2010, the Burnt Orange Report officially picked a side endorsing Mindy Montford as the best candidate to serve Travis County. In the end, even though I love the experience in various counties across the country, I must agree and place my vote with Mindy Montford.

A Rant Gone Sour

On March 31, 2010, UrbanGrounds covered the announcement of Kay Baily Hutchinson's press conference where it was expected she would announce her decision to stay in her Senate seat until 2012. Along with various other news media outlets, UrbanGrounds published a commentary titled Kay Baily Hutchinson (RINO-TX) to Admit to Her Big Fat Lie. The author, Robbie Cooper, started the blog UrbanGrounds in 2004. Mr. Cooper is a native Texan and self-proclaimed opinionated, conservative, Veteran, professional writer and biker living in "uber-Liberal Austin, Texas." He was a Combat Medic in the U.S. Army with a strong respect for the men and women serving our country today. Since then, Mr. Cooper obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Professional Writing, and has been working as "a technical writer in the software and Defense industry for the last 12 years."

The commentary starts off by grabbing the readers attention with a humorous fact that 2010 is "The year where stuff that everybody already knew is considered news." It also pushed me to read the rest of the blog in more of a dark and sarcastic tone. The title alone embraces the negative connotation. Mr. Cooper goes on to use quotes from the Austin American-Statesman's Liberal Government and Politics blogger, Jason Embry, to begin the source of his outrage. Coming from a conservative blogger, I would have expected more support for republicans in general. Instead, if you are against Kay Baily Hutchenson representing Texas in the Senate, along with any other republican considered to be a "RINO," you would probably enjoy this rant of a commentary.

Mr. Cooper strongly believes that Kay Baily Hutchenson has lied to constituents from the beginning about her plans to leave the Senate. He doesn't believe that Texans are satisfied with how she has handled her seat; or, think that she is a valuable asset to have in Washington D.C. Mr. Cooper's support to these claims was Kay Baily Hutchenson's lack of success and support from Texans in the Gubernational primary.

With a background in professional and technical writing I expected more from this commentary. Instead, I was left with the feeling that I read a rant with very little supportive material. On the other hand, if you are against Kay Baily Hutchenson, it will probably make you throw a fist in the air and yell "Yeah! You tell 'em Robbie Cooper!"