As IF Times

link Denmark Introduces ‘Fat Tax’ on Foods High in Saturated Fat – ABC News.

The mind races at the likely repercussions from this new law.  Today it’s a tax on fat, but the zealots will want to push it more and really get to the root of the problem.  Cows.  There will soon be a tax on cows, or even a push to outlaw them.  Taxes will also spike for any who dare to operate in the dairy industry since they will be seen as enablers to cows.  That might actually not be much of a hardship anyway since the world is moving towards the farming of cannabis as a more healthy and benign farm crop.  In addition, it’s well known that cows give off gasses that contribute mightily to Global Warming, so banning cows can actually have a two ‘fer benefit.

Once this train of logic gets going however, it’s a sure thing that the next areas to be targeted are clothing manufacturers and those industries that make fabric.   There will be a tax on plus sized garments so that fat people won’t be able to afford to buy clothes.   Of course you can’t make fat garments illegal, that would be preposterous.  But you can make it difficult for fat people to be seen in public.  Not that this doesn’t have benefits.  We’d no longer have to look at Michael Moore on TV for example.

Immediately, we can think of new companies that spring up to capitalize on the anti fat people dictates, especially if there’s new financial incentive.  To help people eat less, companies will start to market two tined forks.  This will make eating of large volumes of food difficult and the added strokes required to eat the same volume of food will actually be an aerobic exercise as well.  Sheer genius.  By the same token, they will make smaller plates and smaller cups, since larger plates and cups would of course carry punishing taxes.  There will be pictures of grossly obese people printed on packages of ice cream and soda pop as public service warnings. 

The trend will be towards making food products that are less and less appealing to the palate, making eating less of an enjoyable pursuit.  As society progresses, the proliferation of food pellets will be the norm as people ingest the optimal amount of nutrients according to a national standard.  Rogue elements of society would still eat real food, but they will be pariahs as they huddle outside of office buildings eating sandwiches and enduring the condescending glares of law abiding citizens as they pass by.

Of course, the transition away from butter will not be complete without changes in popular phrases and idioms as well.  No longer will politicians use the phrase, “butter not guns” and in business, you’d have to “margarine somebody up”.  Now you can only say, “smooth as unsaturated vegetable product”. 

It’s only a matter of time before they get to cheese and Oreos.

link Janeane Garofalo: Racist Republicans Support Herman Cain | RealClearPolitics.

The perpetuation of drivel from entertainment personalities continues.  At this time of year, while most people are critically assessing the new crop of TV shows for the fall season, the best reality show going on is the battle for the public’s mind concerning the upcoming 2012 presidential elections.

For the average person, it’s a big snooze-fest, as exciting as watching infomercials on late night TV.  For those with an interest in human nature and a stake in the future of the country, it’s enormously entertaining.  Just as TV has descended from  programming offering compelling dramas and witty comedy to now showcasing contrived cartoons and base humor, political discourse has also pushed to new levels of coarseness.  Despite characterizations to the contrary by most media outlets, it is the ongoing opinions of the left that are the most amusing and wildly entertaining if not for the seriousness of the topics.

For most people, determining who is sane and who isn’t sane is relatively easy.  You observe what they say and compare it to reality.  If there’s a significant and consistent divergence, then questioning sanity is valid.  Good examples of the latter would be Keith Olbermann, Michael Moore and as evidenced by the linked article, Janeane Garofalo.  An interesting give-away of insanity is the apportment of the hipster horn-rimmed glasses in which they are often photographed.  Rather than create an image of intelligence however, it instead conveys a look of crazed fanaticism with the only missing element being foam at the mouth.  Some may notice that from time to time, in an effort to look intelligent, Rachel Maddow and Matt Damon also wear these types of frames. 

The opinions of acting and entertainment personalities are frequently employed in the media to push a particular point of view, typically the so-called liberal or progressive perspective.  We assume this is done, not to just display the obvious nuttiness of the messenger, but to curry influence with the target audience of the TV network or newspaper.  After all, these people are paid entertainers who ACT for a living; in essence, they are  like hand puppets , tools used to convey a message.  For that vast number of people who don’t have their own formed opinions, this tactic will work.  For most people over the age of 12 with a modest exposure to real life, it won’t or shouldn’t. 

In the recent bleat by Garofalo, obviously important enough to be publicized by media outlets, she joins another actor, Morgan Freeman of assigning racism as the root of the troubles that befall Americans today.  Freeman recently opined that the troubles of Obama center on his race and not the record of ineptitude that has marked his time in office.  For Garofalo’ s part, she thinks that a Republican presidential contender, Herman Cain, is merely a ruse and a cover for the racist base of the Tea Party movement.   Cain is about as wholesome and apple pie as you can get, but this is moot.  In other words, it doesn’t matter how valid a person is, if they are playing for the other team, they are dismissed as being irrelevant.  No racism there. 

It’s impossible to satisfy their ideological biases.   They are unwilling to accept that in a free society, people can have opinions that differ from theirs.  Global warming is a fact, if you don’t believe it, you are a denier of truth.  When someone has a cup of coffee from Starbucks, they are contributing to the massive “military, industrial complex enslaving indigenous people and depleting resources”.  Or, they may just be having a cup of coffee.  If current political policies are not working well, it may not be because of racism.  It may be just that they’re stupid.

It’s great to watch the ongoing melodrama of political sparring,  it makes for great TV.   I only wish the dialogue from the left gets better…or they get credible actors.