While we’re discussing weight…

…the BMI is crap.

And here’s more.

Is child obesity tantamount to child abuse?

Jerri Gray’s 14-year-old son, Alexander Draper, weighs 555 pounds. Gray has been charged by the state of South Carolina with unlawful neglect of  a helpless person — among other charges.

Some say South Carolina authorities acted inappropriately, that the facts of this case don’t lend themselves to charging the mother with a felony. Others say no, that it is the parents’ responsibility to make sure a child eats properly.

Should Gray be found guilty of the charges, what would that mean for parents whose children, say, have an eating disorder? Are they liable? Or is this a different situation?

You knew it would come to this…

…every one needs a set of ethics.

Even robots.

(Though Isaac Asimov’s rules are pretty good. In descending order of importance, they are:

 A robot may not injure a human being or allow one to come to harm; a robot must obey orders given by human beings; and a robot must protect its own existence.

We shall pray for the so-called “birthers”

A birther is someone who doesn’t accept that Pres. Obama is an American citizen, so here you are.

We’ll start a 24-hour prayer vigil for the non-believers. I’ll take the first hour.

Surely, if you disagree with the President (and we all disagree with the President on something, no matter the President) say so. Say so loudly. But I don’t understand why any one would waste calories on this. Argue about the stimulus, and where all the money has gone. Argue about the fraught-with-ignorance don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy in the military. Argue about what kind of jeans the President wears to a ball game. But this?

Sisterhood of the Traveling BDUs

Military brats, unite!

Moranda Hern, and Kaylei Deakin are two young California teens reaching out to other young women related to military personnel deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both talk about how hard it has been to grow up without the physical presence of their fathers.

Then, too, it’s hard when people disagree with the war, and feel they have to tell military families that.

Military families are under a unique kind of pressure, and these women are talking about mentoring, boosting self-esteem, and offering sisterly support. What’s not to like?

More on the Sisterhood of the Traveling BDUs (battle-dress uniforms) here. They’re planning a conference for military teen girls next year in California; they could use some help. Right now, they’re looking at California military girls ages 13 to 18, but this could easily go nationwide.

And thanks, Jezebel, for the original link.

The rite of de-baptism

People who were baptized and then find themself without faith in God can go through a ritual to have the original act reversed.

The rite involves a blow-dryer.

And thanks, Relevant, for the link.

Honest to God, my mom had the hairdo on the left

And she once tried to rat and tease my hair and make it do the same thing — stiffen it to the point that I could crack walnuts with my bangs — but it just wouldn’t take.

Do you think we’ll all look back at the way we wear our hair now, and make vicious, violent fun of us? Because if your answer is yes, that gives me something to look forward to.

And thanks, Jesus of the Week.

Outstanding, incomparable, genius…and fat?

Dr. Regina Benjamin, Pres. Obama’s choice for Surgeon General, comes into her new job in a big way. Just watch this Fox commentary (and read this discussion and this) and see the topic on which people are focusing.

How long will we continue to call fat people “lazy,” do you think?

And, just to further the discussion, here’s one recent, respected Surgeon General who never once had to step onto the scales to defend his credentials:

O.K. So is THIS progress?

That people worry over how Pres. Obama looks in a particular pair of  jeans? This kind of mindless attention is usually focused strictly on the female half of a power couple.

I’m not sure I’m excited that we may start including men in our clothing critiques. In fact, I know I’m not excited.

The President, who made a point of calling himself frumpy, responded:

“Those jeans are comfortable. And for those of you who want your president to look great in his tight jeans, I’m sorry. I’m not the guy.”

 

Are you aging gracefully?

Or is that like “vomiting charmingly?”

Take a quiz! Find out if you’re one of those cranky old farts!

(I’m gracefully aging, though I lied on the question about rock climbing. I went twice, and enjoyed neither time and most likely won’t scamper up a rock face unless I’m chased and forced to.)