Archive for February, 2008

I came across an interesting post on Wired today, referring to a Dutch study that just made me shake my head. The study found that obese people actually save society money versus healthy, thin people. While they are alive the fat people cost more, but since they die younger they end up being cheaper overall versus the healthy people who live longer and require care as they age.

I guess that this means that we should all live fat, die young, and save society from the cost of supporting us in our old age. Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea… and if I start smoking heavily, I can die *really* young and save society even more money!

I can picture an ad campaign from a fiscally responsible government already. The camera pans slowly to show the expansive dimensions of a family of huge people scarfing down super-double-extra-biggy-sized burgers and fries, slobbering and snorting as the shove vast quantities of food into their gullets. The Dad keels over dead, and the family keeps on eating without skipping a beat. Text gradually fades in saying “The Johnsons are doing their best for Canada’s future… are you?”

I don’t know much about the U.S. elections. I’ve sort of been absorbing the democratic nominations… I think I would be more or less happy with either Hillary or Barack becoming President. The republicans? Hmmm: the only ones I’ve heard about seem to be Right wing evangelist fruitcakes who think the earth was formed in 7,000 years and that homosexuals will damn all of us to hell.

In any case, it isn’t often that I see something relating to a political process that makes me feel good. This video made me feel good- it is based on a speech given by Barack Obama that was turned into a video by a number of musicians. I like the message- enough with the policies of fear and hatred, lets start thinking in terms of hope and what we *can* do, not what we can’t.

Yes, I realize it is all just words, and politicians are masters of the Big Lie. But hope is something sorely lacking in American politics, and seeing a politician talking about hope is inspiring.