And now for something completely different

Good evening all,

This one will be short and sweet as I just have some venting to get out of the way. In general I would call the topic reactionary or political in nature.

This new child nutrition bill that the first "Lady" wets herself over seriously cheeses me off.(Seriously, on a side note, this woman looks like a cross between a human being and a bulldog and I get physically angry whenever I see her in any news/media outlet) I understand that childhood obesity is a serious problem in our country, and it would seem Texas is doing quite a bang up job padding the statistics. However, it is NOT the job of the federal government to step in at the LOCAL level and dictate what the schools may and may not serve. Matt and I put our money into Cooper's school lunch account and then he selects what he wants to eat in exchange for that money. It is our job as his parents to effectively teach him healthy eating habits and how it is important not to eat only sugar, but also take in protein, fruits, and vegetables to fuel his body. Cooper is 6 years old and understands how food gives us energy and if he only eats sugar he will not have the energy he wants to stay awake, learn well, play with friends, and "grow big and strong".

I do not need, and I strongly resent, the government treating all citizens like they are too stupid or otherwise ill-equipped to properly teach their children what to and not to eat. Yes, there are those parents who either cannot or will not take the time and effort necessary to do so, but why in the hell should everyone be punished for their ineptitude? It makes me livid that because there are bad/lazy/disinterested/etc individuals out there who could care less what their children eat and how overweight they get because of it all children will have the food available to them controlled by Uncle Sam. I am so sick to freaking death of the nanny state getting more and more involved in my business.

Thankfully I have other options, at least for now. But where does this end? As it stands, whenever this next egregious overreach of the current administration goes into effect I can begin making my children's lunches at home and sending them in. In fact, I could send in nothing but a box full of Red Bull and Twinkies if I were so inclined because it is still my right as a parent decide what my children eat. It's my right, Matt's right, not Washington D.C.'s right. One has to wonder though when they will start having a problem with that too and institute some sort of asinine "Zero Tolerance" policy for sweets in school period. And please, spare me the whole "Our government really does just want what's best for everyone and would never go that far in telling you what to feed your kids". Bull! No doubt there are already those who want to do exactly that and without a doubt they would do at the first available opportunity.

No worries though, I certainly will not be sending in 5,000 calorie lunches with Cooper to make some sort of horribly misguided, and completely ineffective, social statement. Currently in our house the kids do not drink pop more than one cup in a week's time or down hand fulls of candy all afternoon and evening while sitting around playing video games until they pass out from exhaustion combined with a sugar crash. Of course they would love to eat ice cream for dinner and have Reese's for a midnight snack and wash it down with Dr. Pepper, but they do not have that option because we as their parents accept the responsibility of keeping tabs on the junk they consume. And Matt and I are extremely ready, willing, and able to take on that task. We knew it was part of the job description when we decided to have children. It just makes me furiously angry that even though we make sure our children know how to eat right and keep moving to balance out a small amount of junk food the government has decided that because there are those who suck at that task we will no longer have the option of letting Cooper make his own decisions with our money at his school.

It might seem harsh and uncaring and too individualistic but the concerns I have over the epidemic of childhood obesity begins and ends with my four children.

Just to make sure I don't leave an important part of the bill out I want to be clear that I think expanding the free and reduced lunch program is wonderful. Every child should be able to eat at least at school. This bill will also help provide before and after school meals to those children who normally do not have food to eat at their homes. However, by tacking on the government's newfound ability to restrict the types of foods offered in lunch lines and sold in vending machines, the bill becomes yet another ridiculous example of how the government continues to wrap their meddlesome fingers around the throats of it's citizenry under the guise of "just doing what's best for the people of America".

There, I feel better.