Blaze Video Essay: Can the Government Force Fat People to Join Weight Watchers?
That’s not just an outlandish headline designed to make you click through to this article. It’s a question George Will once asked on ABC. And it’s a question that nine Supreme Court Justices will be asking themselves next Spring.
Can the federal government force you to eat fruits and vegetables every day? Can the federal government force you to buy a GM car? Can the federal government force you to buy health insurance?
Early next year the Supreme Court will decide whether Obamacare’s mandate, that every American buy health insurance, is allowed under the Constitution. In this 16-minute, mini-Glenn-Beck, monologue (Sixteen minutes? Who does this guy think he is? That’s another legitimate question.) I break down the issues and questions Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan will be debating. Issues like:
- Whether or not the mandate is a tax like Social Security.
- The evolution of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution
- Wickard v. Filburn, the 1942 case that allowed the government to regulate the amount of wheat a farmer grew and fed to his cows.
- Whether this just like the requirement to buy car insurance?
- Can the government regulate, not your activity, but your inactivity?
The debate will be nothing short of whether the government can make the act of…existing…illegal if you don’t have health insurance. And the proper question might soon be…what can’t the government force you to do?
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Comments (168)
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:44am.
Report Post »Ok Ya’ll this is not that hard, you just have to make smaller doors, and punish those who sell or bring food to fat folks. And take those damn food scooters out the grocery stores!!!! Hell just take away the scooters all to gether it helps them get to the food, walking is good for you….. Besides if you so fat you can’t walk, you could last a couple of months on the floor I mean bears do it and come out the cave kinda skinny in the spring after their long winter nap……
mwhaley
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 9:28amFunny the majority of fat folks I am seeing are paying for food with their welfare cards. I am inline behind some woman in a scooter, she has 4 or 5 kids running around fighting each other, and pays for 2 baskets of food with the government handout card, then gets into a BMW which is parked in a handy cap parking place.
Report Post »PatriotType
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 3:34pmIsn’t that always the way it is, the people who abuse their bodies the most get the best parking spaces?
Report Post »boncarbo7
Posted on December 8, 2011 at 1:06pmI agree, but then maybe the government should take a look at Michelle Obama’s backside, and get her on a diet and an exercise program, before they start with the general public. Obese people know they are over weight, but unfortunately they either don’t have the will power or the tools to loose weight. Someone once said inside every fat person there’s a skinny person trying to get out.
Report Post »P-51D
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:39amYes they can, it is called a FEMA CAMP!!!!
Report Post »Obama_Sham
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:34amMy question is… Who is going to decide what is obese and what is not? Put another way, as long as you are skinnier than Michelle, you should be alright… But, this probably wouldn’t apply to her…
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:32amits not the governments business if people want to eat their a$$es off.. At least they are helping the economy by buying food and dying early of heart attacks…
Report Post »American_Alliance_for_the_Support_of_Sarcasm
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:31am“Republic, I like the sound of the word. It means a person can live free, talk free, come or go, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they may choose. Some words give you a feeling. Republic is one of those words that makes me tight in the throat. Same tightness a man gets when his baby takes his first step, his first baby shaves, and makes his first sound like a man. Some words can give you a feeling that makes your heart warm. Republic is one of those words.”
Report Post »John Wayne – The Alamo (1960)
lonelyrepublican
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 5:46pmWhat a wise Pilgrim he was! Own about 40 of his movies.
Report Post »American_Alliance_for_the_Support_of_Sarcasm
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:25amTyranny
Report Post »bhohater
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 9:58amEverything that is happening now is right out of Orwell’s “1984,“ things like ”war is peace.” We are all destined to become slaves of the State.
Report Post »Moozmom
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:24amOf course, if you allow your government at your table, in your living room, bedroom and the control of your media, and financial control of your health, the government has every right to be right there in all those rooms and at your table telling you how to live in the least expensive manner possible. The only reason you are alive at that point is the government has deemed you to be of “use”.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:33amThing is, most folks are not allowing them. We vehemently object to any government involvement in our personal affairs. There is no collective “we” that is allowing anything, this is one group pitted against the millions of individuals who do not want their meddling.
Report Post »Lone Ranger
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:23amIf the government can force people to buy health insurance, they can force people to do anything. And the more the government gets involved in health care, the more they will be sticking their nose in people’s private lives. That’s how it worked with the income tax.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:19amGod also had the Israelites wipe out all of their enemies…I cant go the Ghandi road myself. Sorry Glenn. There will come a time that a civil war will start if something drastic does not happen. Even george Wshington fought a war Glenn. Think about it before you have us loving our enemies into our living rooms as they kill us…Some of us were made to be warriors.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:13amHell no, I won’t go!!
Report Post »MrObvious
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 8:33amBHO has got to go.
Report Post »WireWizard
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:49amWake up, Blaze
Report Post »chazman
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:56amWashington D.C. doesn’t see that the American people are about to turn on them with a vengeance …
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:59amWirewiz…..
Report Post »To what?
On The Bayou
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:27amWirewizard, the Blaze has gotten away from the hard hitting news of days gone by. Here are some stats on National Obesity trends in the USA. One third / 33.8 % of adults and 17 % under the age of 20. Looks like dieting and exercising will become the new trend for a large portion of this nation. Like it or not. No more all-u-can Mexican Buffet for you people. Off your a$$ and on your feet.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:38am@Bayou
The question isn’t what the weight stats are. The question is whether the government, under the Constitution, can force you to exercise and diet. The answer is a clear “no”. Don’t you even pretend to assume the authority to order free men around at your discretion.
Report Post »On The Bayou
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 8:12am@ Ghostofjefferson thanks for your input, have you notice the change in the trends here lately my friend. Your talking about the old USA. Get in line and shut up is what`s coming. This addministration have trampled on the Constitution since day one. Ghostofjefferson we are not free men anymore. Have you notice that the military has been turned on it`s head as of late. All signs of an of a falling nation. We`re being set up for the kill, and your along for the ride like it or not.
Report Post »howzzat
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 3:58pmGHOSTOFJEFFERSON, I agree that the government has no right to put a fat person on a diet. Except when the government tells hospitals they have to treat anybody coming in, insurance or not. And they give out taxpayer medicare and medicaid. Does taking those taxpayer benefits require a fattie to follow directions from the government to help prevent huge future healthcare expenditures that are funded by taxpayers? To me, this is a big, big, question about what the government can mandate, e.g. healthcare, and then what complicent future regulations it can enact to enforce and/or protect taxpayers.
Report Post »NewLife56
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:39amI am 56 years of age, I truly miss the America as we had while I was growing up, one where for the majority of things we didn’t have a bastard Uncle Sam that we were constantly looking over our sholder everytime we take a breath in public. Now they tell us what to say and not say (Christmas, Jesus), Tell us what to eat and not eat, Tell us what to buy, soon, what to wear, what weight we can be, when we should die, what to drive, and they control our speech, spend our money, oh excuse me, Pocket our money for themselves and their buddies too. I miss America.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:53amAgree…… give Iran a nuke and a first class ticket to Washington
Report Post »000degrees
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:53amIt truly has changed….
Report Post »bhohater
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 10:27amI miss it too. I grew up during the 50‘s and it’s like I live in a different country today.
Report Post »Ken
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 11:41amDon’t blame me! I voted for McCain!!!
Report Post »momrules
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:47pmAmazing. I was telling my son what it was like when I was growing up and how things have changed since the 50s and 60s.
It’s hard to believe the freedom we had then, the freedom our parents had then. Adults actually got to make adult decisions without breaking a law.
I think we grew up in the last truly free time in America. I miss it too.
Report Post »ZAP
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:28amGrandma-there is nothing we can do but strengthen our faith and abide in Him.
Report Post »H20-the-green-house-gas-that-cools-and-is-absent-lab-test
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:25amNo they can’t tell us what to do, and we don’t have the money to pay for their imaginary entitlement to some dream retirement check as a public sector union employee who thinks they can tell us how to live, when they can’t even explain how they intend to pay for their benefits when one third of the population does not work, and that leaves the rest of us trying to stay sane in their luny civic experiments that have no economic basis in reality and the media listens to college kids who have never written a personal check in their lives, and should not be having a voice in the media at all, because they amount to having the experience of toddlers compared to the adults that built the fine place they live in and paid for it all?
Report Post »grannyrecipe
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:15amIf the Supreme Court sides with Obama Care the simple notion of liberty will no longer exist. It really would undo the entire premise of the Constitution and render the Bill Of Rights to cute poetry. In one small act we would all effectively be a part of a commune because the premise of Obama Care is that this has to be done for the “good of the whole society” thus they will be able to mandate that we buy anything “for the good of society”. We wont have to give them any ideas, there will be a deluge of mandates. And there will be a civil war.
Report Post »paulusmaximus
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:46amI must agree that it will be a mandate,if Obama care is allowed to demand you participate it is only reasonable to expect you will be required to meet any standard deemed necessary for the good of the whole. “Socialism”
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:54amGranny…..
Report Post »Yes! Mandate’s and taxes will flow from Washington!
You’ll be able to do most of the things you now do, but you’ll pay to engage in anything the government can (and will) tie-in to being dangerous enough to ‘possibly’ cause a health issue.
Those activities are endless. The foods they could tax as being unhealthy are endless.
Kagan-Sotomayor-B/Ginsberg? You know they’re in the bag. I mean…Sotomayor is a wise Latino, after all.
50BMG
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:21amThe hard work for justifying the mandate has already been done by the progressives and courts over the last 100 years. The forthcoming Supreme Court decision to allow Obamacare to stand is a better than 50/50 bet.
At some point in the not too distant future, Americans will have to either take back our freedoms by force, or resign ourselves to slavery, with the government as the slave master.
Report Post »foxrcingman
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 2:18pmAgreed
Report Post »mike1127
Posted on December 8, 2011 at 5:21pmIt seems to me that the U.S.government is doing its best to starta rebellion. They just keep kicking us.
Ron Paul 2012.
Report Post »FLDeb
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:11amOMG, I find this so funny. Back when the war on smokers started I predicted this. But why should anyone complain, the government just wants whats good for us right? Whether your beliefs coincide with any of the governments mandates or not, they will eventually come around to one you do not agree with. Why has that been such a hard concept for this population to grasp?
And obviously I do not find it funny, it p##### me off so much back when it started that people did not see the dangers. What is that saying about I did not care when they came for………..
Report Post »Obama_Sham
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:29amFLDEB
I completely agree… Even though I do not smoke and I don’t want to be around people who are smoking, it is my responsibility to remove myself from those areas and not change those areas for my well-being…
Report Post »grumpyt
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:10amAMERICA, It truly is time to stand up and say “ENOUGH”! Rick Perry’s idea of term limits on Federal Judges is a starting place.
Report Post »Clearly UnConstitutional, the health insurance mandate must be stricken down. I am truly fearful of what is coming next if the Supremes let this bill stand.
decendentof56
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 7:12amGrumpy…..
Report Post »You’ll pay lots more to ride that Harley. If you insist on riding without a helmet, that’ll be another $300 for your insurance. I mean, they ‘do’ have stats to prove riders who do not wear helmets have a higher rate of injuries than those who do wear a lid.
At any rate, they will say that riding is way more dangerous than driving, so you’ll pay a surcharge, even if you wear a lid.
Then we could pay progressively more the bigger our bike is. The possibilities are absolutely endless!
Hope I didn’t ruin your ride.
bhohater
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 10:34amI have a foreboding feeling that the Supreme’s will uphold Obummercare. That will be the last nail in our coffin.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 5:22amPlease do not give them any more ideas; there is stories on the news of the British gov getting ready to do just this.
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:15amThey’ve already done things like this!
Certainly… they could (I say, “will”) force you to pay additional for not only your healthacare, but the unhealthy food items that led to your obesity. If you can’t conceive of your doctor having to forward all of his patients records to the gov, then I suggest you think again.
You can go to mandated exercise classes to avoid those higher premiums, but, for sure, you can take my word for it that you’ll see taxes imposed on any food item that could be considered to be unhealthy.
Oh, and to the idea that ‘they’ (gov and/or health insurers) don’t ingage in controlling your activities? Only work by motorcycling-rights groups prevented riders covered under large group plans from being dropped.
If this gov-run healthcare plan isn’t repealed, you will see your freedom to do certain activities and eat certain foods diminished, AND, you will be paying ‘healthcare-reimbursement’ fees (taxes) to engage in those activities. You can figure which demographic groups will gain from this wealth redistribution scheme.
Americans need to wake the h*ll up. This whole gov-run healthcare deal is about both controlling you and re-distributing taxes imposed by its implementation. Obama,Holder, Waters, etc., have an axe to grind with America….White America, mostly! Vote them back in!
Report Post »saigonpaul
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 5:02amto regulate the EATING and FAT clause, they need to look no further than the basement of the WHITE HOUSE as I think at least ONE person there has a stash of TWINKIES!!!!!
Report Post »SoiledDove
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 3:53amSo, where’s the video?
Report Post »grayling646
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 3:27amIf this head line had been
SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON INDIVIDUAL MANDATE NEXT SPRING
I wonder how many views it would get.
Report Post »thekuligs
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 9:40amI still think most of the Blazers would have clicked on it.
Report Post »Lord_Frostwind
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 3:10amOh good lord. If lawmakers honestly have enough time to consider these things then Rick Perry is right, we need to make this a part time job.
Report Post »Well if they are going to start with the fat people who need to lose weight, I think Barney Frank and Michael Moore would be a good place to start.
grayling646
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 3:30amOf course, politicians will be exempt.
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:22amFrosty…..
Report Post »They have plenty of time to think up new tax schemes. Have you heard of national healthcare?
Only…..there’s no time to read the actual bill.
spookydude
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 2:35amNothing to See Here…Move Along…Nothing to see at All…..Bah…HaaHaaHaa……
Report Post »Talmid of Yeshua
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 2:31amThe answer is a big “NO”! But then again, with dictators in the presidency, legislative branch, and the judicial branch, I have come to expect the worst.
Report Post »swalt
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 2:29amThis administration truly believes they are the elites and the rest of us are just peons, serfs, nobody’s. With everything they have already done and are getting a pass on, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a new law that forces people to buy carrots and broccoli everytime we go to the store. They already believe they can force us to buy healthcare, why not dictate what food we are allowed to eat?
Report Post »Hephzibah
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 9:26amAbsolutely right. With “health care” in their pocket as their reason, they surely can and will force us to not weigh over what they say we should. Just withhold care of people who don’t fit their norm. Obamacare is one of the master keys to total control over the lemmings.
Report Post »