Sarah Palin's sour grapes

We have discussed Sarah Palin's State of the State address in 2009, where she made remarks about healthy choices:

We have alarming levels of heart disease, diabetes, childhood obesity – and all of these maladies are on the rise. Now, I won’t stand here and lecture – for very long – but health care reform on an individual basis is often just this simple: we could save a lot of money, and a lot of grief, by making smarter choices.

It starts by ending destructive habits, and beginning healthy habits in eating and exercise. In my case, it’s hard to slack when you have the ever-present example of an Iron Dogger nearby. But many of us could use a little more time in our great outdoors – and when you live in the Great Land, there’s no excuse.

Protecting good health is largely a matter of personal responsibility, but government policy can help. Our new Alaska Health Care Commission will recommend changes that affect the well-being of Alaskans far into the future.

While reviewing some older posts, I came across an interview Sarah Palin gave to Runner's World magazine just before she quit on Alaska. A little gem issued from her lips:

If the campaign had turned out differently, you would have been in Washington D.C. much of the time. Was there a part of you that was a little reluctant to leave behind the landscape of Alaska for four or eight years?

Alaska would be hard to give up because it is such a part of who I am. So much of my life revolves around the great outdoors that that would be kind of tough. But on the other hand, I think of being in D.C. and in a position to promote physical fitness and the benefits of making good decisions healthwise and being an example to others, and I know that could do some good for our country.

Sarah would promote physical fitness and the benefits of making good decisions healthwise and thought she could do some good for the country!

That's precisely Michelle Obama's approach to the same topic:

Parents and caregivers play a key role in not only making healthy choices for children and teaching children to make healthy choices for themselves. But in today’s busy world, this isn’t always easy. So Let’s Move! offers parents and caregivers the tools, support and information they need to make healthier choices while instilling healthy eating habits in children that will last a lifetime.

On the page for children, there's a passage about being active:

The average child spends more time watching TV, and less time running and playing. It’s important to find creative ways to exercise and play every day, which can be fun and beneficial to your health.

Sarah Palin later decided that doing some good for the country by promoting those "good decisions healthwise" was a bad, bad idea. Sarah abandoned her sneakers in favour of other foot attire.


"Take her anti-obesity thing that she is on. She is on this kick, right. What she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat. And I know I'm going to be again criticized for bringing this up, but instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician's wife priorities, just leave us alone, get off our back, and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions and then our country gets back on the right track."



"Where are the s'mores ingredients? This is in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert."

"No wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breast feed your babies. I'm looking and say, 'Yeah, you better because the price of milk is so high right now'."

2 PA school speech; I'll intro kids 2 beauty of laissez-faire via serving them cookies amidst school cookie ban debate;Nanny state run amok!
9 Nov via Twitter for BlackBerry

On the one hand "Protecting good health is largely a matter of personal responsibility, but government policy can help," is OK, but on the other hand... "Nanny state run amok!" when the First Lady heads a campaign promoting good health.

The Let's Move! campaign is not government policy, it's simply a case of the president's wife doing some good for the country, exactly the same thing Sarah Palin hoped to do if she had managed to go to Washington, D.C.

How does Sarah Palin survive on a diet of sour grapes?


I had some fun with the Runner's World interview a couple of days before the quitting announcement, in a post titled "Sarah Palin sweats."


Eagle cam:


Streaming live video by Ustream

Sarah Palin's "common sense" approach to children's health

First Lady Michelle Obama and then Governor Sarah Palin once shared a common sense approach to exercise and healthy eating.

Let's Move!, a campaign sponsored by Michelle Obama, state on their website:

Parents and caregivers play a key role in not only making healthy choices for children and teaching children to make healthy choices for themselves. But in today’s busy world, this isn’t always easy. So Let’s Move! offers parents and caregivers the tools, support and information they need to make healthier choices while instilling healthy eating habits in children that will last a lifetime.

Sarah Palin, in her last State of the State Address, 2009:

We have alarming levels of heart disease, diabetes, childhood obesity – and all of these maladies are on the rise. Now, I won’t stand here and lecture – for very long – but health care reform on an individual basis is often just this simple: we could save a lot of money, and a lot of grief, by making smarter choices.

It starts by ending destructive habits, and beginning healthy habits in eating and exercise. In my case, it’s hard to slack when you have the ever-present example of an Iron Dogger nearby. But many of us could use a little more time in our great outdoors – and when you live in the Great Land, there’s no excuse.

Protecting good health is largely a matter of personal responsibility, but government policy can help. Our new Alaska Health Care Commission will recommend changes that affect the well-being of Alaskans far into the future.

Sarah Palin, for no other reason than to slam any initiative embraced by the Obamas, decided to abandon common sense:



Sarah Palin appears to worry a lot more about her children's mistakes making into the pages of the National Enquirer than about their health.

She definitely doesn't worry about the health of other children either:



Jamie Oliver has a lot of common sense regarding healthy eating and he also has a no-nonsense way of speaking his mind:

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver called Sarah Palin a Froot Loop for criticising the Obama administration's healthy eating initiatives, and said getting healthy foods to kids is a civil rights issue.

Improving what children eat at school alone can have a far-reaching, positive effect on their habits and health as adults, Oliver said at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

He said he doesn't have much faith that government will lead the way, but said the administration of President Barack Obama is on the right track.

Mrs Palin, in contrast, "clearly on this issue is a Froot Loop", he said in a reference to the highly sweetened breakfast cereal.


The health of the nation's children may not be a priority for Sarah Palin, but as she's so keen to talk about wasting money and is an expert on what weakens the economy, perhaps putting a price tag on obesity might help her regain her common sense:

Obesity Related Disease Costs Overwhelm HealthCare System

• Type II Diabetes ($63.14 Billion)
• Osteoporosis ($17.2 Billion)
• Hypertension ($3.23 Billion)
• Heart Disease ($6.99 Billion)
• Post-menopausal breast cancer ($2.32 Billion)
• Colon Cancer ($2.78 Billion)
• Endometrial Cancer ($790 Million)

Cost of Lost Productivity

• Workdays lost: $39.3 Million
• Physician office visits: $62.7 Million
• Restricted Activity days: $29.9 Million
• Bed-Related days: $89.5 Million

Sarah Palin appears to be for something before she's against it, depending on how many political points she can score. Compromising children's health for her own ends is simply despicable.

Previous post about children's health on Palingates.

Sarah Palin aims to sabotage children's future health - UPDATE

By Regina

Sarah Palin's tweets about taking cookies to students in Pennsylvania irritated me very much and I was moved to write this post.


In an article on the CNN ticker, Sarah Palin is quoted:

Palin also denounced government intervention, bringing up a local example that she said caught her attention.

"I heard that there's a debate going on in Pennsylvania over whether public schools were going to ban sweets," Palin said.

So, Palin said, she decided to "shake things up," by bringing cookies to the school when she met with Plumstead students early in the day.

"I wanted these kids to bring home the idea to their parents for discussion. Who should be deciding what I eat? Should it be government or should it be parents? It should be the parents," Palin said to a cheering audience.

Palin has also been vocal on Twitter about her opposition to the proposed ban on sugary foods.

In one of her tweets she referenced this article from the Pittsburgh Review.

Sarah Palin's attitude is very irresponsible. Obesity is a fast growing problem in the US and elsewhere (American fast food franchises may be found all over the world)

From Wikipedia

More statistics may be found HERE.

Pennsylvania appears to have a particular problem:

Obesity starts in childhood and causes several related diseases later in life:


In terms of costs, a language that Sarah Palin would understand better than the advantages of healthy eating, these are the facts:

As the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased in the United States, so have related health care costs. The statistics presented below represent the economic cost of obesity in the United States in 2006, updated to 2008 dollars.

Q: What is the cost of obesity?

A: On average, people who are considered obese pay $1,429 (42 percent) more in health care costs than normal-weight individuals.

Q: What is the cost of obesity by insurance status?

A: For each obese beneficiary:

Medicare pays $1,723 more than it pays for normal-weight beneficiaries.

Medicaid pays $1,021 more than it pays for normal-weight beneficiaries.

Private insurers pay $1,140 more than they pay for normal-weight beneficiaries.

Q: What is the cost of obesity by the type of service provided?

A: For each obese patient:

Medicare pays $95 more for an inpatient service, $693 more for a non-inpatient service, and $608 more for prescription drugs in comparison with normal-weight patients.

Medicaid pays $213 more for an inpatient service,$175 more for a non-inpatient service, and $230 more for prescription drugs in comparison with normal-weight patients.

Private insurers pay $443 more for an inpatient service, $398 more for a non-inpatient service, and $284 more for prescription drugs in comparison with normal-weight patients.

A treat is a treat, but it would be irresponsible for schools to advocate a free-for-all when the children's future health is at stake. The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has produced a factsheet for parents regarding their wellness policy:

As illustrated above, policy is developed with the participation of parents who wish to be involved, it's not a case of "nanny state run amok."

Sarah Palin, take your cookies and laissez-faire back to Alaska. Please stop meddling in affairs that don't concern you, sabotaging good initiatives and setting children a bad example.

UPDATE

Sondra Tompkins remembered another example of Sarah Palin "being for it before she was against it," and hoped we could find something about it.

Kathleen found an article on ADN, dated December 5, 2008. This is a snippet:

Gov. Sarah Palin is calling for more state spending on children's health insurance, preschool and other programs, even as Alaska oil prices and state revenues plunge.

Cash flow into the state is shrinking as oil prices drop below $40 a barrel, the lowest level in nearly four years. Most state general fund money comes from taxes and royalties the state makes from oil. But Palin said the state can afford more than $5 million in new spending on areas like Head Start, obesity prevention, a test program of half-day preschool, and expanded Denali KidCare insurance.

The article also shows that Sarah Palin had different views regarding healthcare. Fascinating stuff!

***

Palinized and Pallottine found the text of Sarah Palin's 2009 State of the State Address, which includes the following passage:

We have alarming levels of heart disease, diabetes, childhood obesity – and all of these maladies are on the rise. Now, I won’t stand here and lecture – for very long – but health care reform on an individual basis is often just this simple: we could save a lot of money, and a lot of grief, by making smarter choices.

It starts by ending destructive habits, and beginning healthy habits in eating and exercise. In my case, it’s hard to slack when you have the ever-present example of an Iron Dogger nearby. But many of us could use a little more time in our great outdoors – and when you live in the Great Land, there’s no excuse.

Protecting good health is largely a matter of personal responsibility, but government policy can help. Our new Alaska Health Care Commission will recommend changes that affect the well-being of Alaskans far into the future.