Hail, Mississippi! Long live the legislature! ** All hail the mighty ones in their power. Take a knee, friends, in honor of their infinite wisdom. You might as well. They have your best interests at heart. You can trust them.
Mayor Bloomberg of New York City, in his infinite folly, tried to pass a ban on super-plus-sized sodas, right? Never mind that the state overruled it. He got too big for his britches there. It’s ironic when you think about it, considering he was trying to prevent New Yorkers from getting to big for theirs.
Anywho, Bloomberg wanted other states to sit up and take notice of the statement he was making. Mission accomplished, big boy! Mississippi sees you one giant-sized soft drink and will raise you an end to Home Rule.
Recently there was a nearly unanimous vote in both State House and Senate which would make it illegal for any municipality to require that restaurants post nutritional information on their menus. It’s all about consistency, even if that consistency is rather jiggly about the middle.
Rep. Greg Holloway, a democrat, was quoted as saying:
“We don’t want local municipalities experimenting with labeling of foods and any organic agenda. We want that authority to rest with the legislature.”
I could not agree more. Such experimentation is dangerous and could easily spiral out of control, leading to the improved health of entire towns. Where’s the equality in that? And don’t get me started on the organic agenda. You can have my BHA when you pry it out of my cold, dead, but surprisingly well-preserved fingers!
The legislature obviously loves their constituents and doesn’t want towns and counties to have to worry their pretty little heads about what they are eating. That responsibility lies with the big state government. They’ve got it all under control. Shhhh! Go back to sleep, little Mississippian. It will all be okay.
What are you waiting for, Governor Bryant? Sign that bad boy into law! Virtute et armis ***
**Though considering that the lifespan of the average Mississippian tends to be shorter, it might not be that long .
*** state motto. Latin for “flabby arms”
The Cutter
March 12, 2013 at 10:22 am
Seems like a case of doing the wrong thing for the right reason.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 10:30 am
I imagine them looking up in about six months saying “Wait… what did we just do again? Uh…”
The Waiting
March 12, 2013 at 10:38 am
Paraphrasing George Carlin: “We elected these people. This is what we deserve.”
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 10:41 am
And keep re-electing them. The devil we know is better than the devil we don’t. Except substitute “idiot” for devil.
Debbie
March 12, 2013 at 10:44 am
Passing idiotic laws gives idiots something to do, to prove they’re “working for us.” Seems like a better stance would be stepping out of the way and letting consumers determine whether they really want (or need) a ginormous sweet drink. After all, one can only legislate so much before people dig in and say, No more!
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 11:13 am
Agreed.No legislation can make us want to take better care of ourselves.
2browndawgs
March 12, 2013 at 11:10 am
We could just skip all of this rule making and move right onto eating Soylent Green.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 11:12 am
We will. All in good time!
Go Jules Go
March 12, 2013 at 11:31 am
“…he was trying to prevent New Yorkers from getting to big for theirs.” Ha! Great line.
Peppermeister and I were watching TV last night and this came on as a ‘breaking news’ report (a whole ‘NOTHER issue…). Not sure if that’s just because we live in the NY metro area. Yes, yes, best if we all just go back to sleep… Obviously the government has our best interests at heart, our clogged, money-making hearts…
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 11:53 am
That’s right. Sleep on… they know what’s best. They’re paid to.
Kimberly Pugliano (@GisSilent)
March 12, 2013 at 12:58 pm
Blasphemy!! I almost chose the wrong menu item just the other night, assume it had few calories than what I actually wanted. In the end I got what I wanted (not really – I wanted a burger, I got a Cobb salad), and it cost less on my belly (not that you’d notice, seriously). What an interesting blog post.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 1:05 pm
What?! You used your own judgment and not what the legislature chose for you? Whoa.
talesfromthemotherland
March 12, 2013 at 1:01 pm
You and Lisa at as cyclingrandma are on the same wave length today: BRAVO!
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Do you have a link for her? I’d love to read it!
talesfromthemotherland
March 12, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Yours is a wee bit more humorous, but Lisa’s pretty pissed off about this. Here’s the link: http://cyclingrandma.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/nyc-soda-sizing-sizzles/ THEN, head over and read my post about the men vs women, when it comes to suffering.
nevercontrary
March 12, 2013 at 3:14 pm
wait what is the organic agenda? Goodness gracious.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 5:56 pm
That part made me giggle. I picture all those hormone-free cows roaming the streets.
nevercontrary
March 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm
hahahaha
Nathan Young
March 12, 2013 at 7:23 pm
Yep; next door in Alabama we experience the same problems with our legislature. Who thinks they are smarter than the average citizens.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 7:24 pm
I can’t poke fun. My state re-elected Stacey Campfield. It makes me sad, really.
sj
March 12, 2013 at 7:34 pm
I need that state motto as a tattoo.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 7:37 pm
I’m getting it tattooed on the part of my arm that waves in the wind.
sj
March 12, 2013 at 7:56 pm
We’ll be twinsies!
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 8:01 pm
Yay! Are you doing right or left fat-flap? I’ll do the other. We don’t want to look JUST alike. We’d look like dorks.
sj
March 12, 2013 at 8:02 pm
Left, I think.
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Oh, good. Because you know I already did my right.
sj
March 12, 2013 at 8:04 pm
[whew]
becomingcliche
March 12, 2013 at 8:08 pm
I know! Narrow miss. People might have laughed.
sj
March 12, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Embarrassing!
Valentine Logar
March 13, 2013 at 6:59 am
Well, you know why shouldn’t we continue to grow fatter and fatter without interference?
becomingcliche
March 13, 2013 at 3:18 pm
And who knows what’s best for a city or county than the state legislature? D’OH! Don’t we love politicians?
Snoring Dog Studio
March 13, 2013 at 8:48 am
I have mixed feelings about Bloomberg’s ban. But, frankly, the vat of soda is one of just many oversized offerings made available to people who want quantity. There’s no way to legislate against it all. Unfortunately, obesity, leading to all sorts of other health problems, just increases the cost of healthcare in this country. I wish shaming people wasn’t so frowned upon.
becomingcliche
March 13, 2013 at 12:12 pm
I’m on the fence about the soda ban, myself. I just can’t believe the people of Mississippi are sitting by and watching while their legislature makes sweeping decisions for them. Taking away the control a city or county has over what happens within them is alarming to me.
whatimeant2say
March 13, 2013 at 4:21 pm
I don’t really know what to say, since I’m pretty sure Texas has the rest of the country beat in the area of Bad Decisions Made By the Government.
cecilia
March 19, 2013 at 9:50 am
It is all very confusing, I am actually in favour of anything that honestly tells people what they are eating.. though to ban big drinks seems silly, I once went into a bar and asked for a triple brandy (I was having a bad day).. anyway they said no it was against the law to serve a triple brandy. Oh, I said, how about two doubles then. I can do that, he said. So he poured a double into each glass, i poured one double brandy into the other double brandy , raised my glass,toasted the barman and threw down my quadruple shot without any hesitation (the whole bar was watching at this point one has to keep up appearances) smiled, plonked down my empty glass, paid the man and walked back out the door. My day was much improved. But see what happens when they won’t let you super size your drink? c
lostnchina
March 24, 2013 at 2:10 pm
Several weeks ago, I made the terrible mistake of trying to have a meal at an IHOP. I felt like getting me a greasy, messy plate ‘o sumthin;. IHOP labels ALL of their menu items, most of which exceed my daily caloric, sodium/cholesterol/etc. intake (sometimes they exceed my intake for two days). Pretty much the only things I can have there are a glass of water and a side of air. Too many of us are oblivious to the ingredients and calories in our foods. I applaud restaurants, like IHOP, who list their ingredients, and people who advocate for restaurants to do so. It won’t put restaurants out of business, but rather force them to re-think their menu offerings.
becomingcliche
March 24, 2013 at 3:08 pm
I know. I appreciate being able to make more informed choices, too. I don’t understand why MS would decide no city can make that decision for themselves. UGH!