Let’s begin with the nauseating statistic that our nation spends wastes $150 BILLION every year for treating obesity related health issues, and in most cases are preventable. This month, Michelle Obama has set forth in hopes of establishing her legacy for the “Let’s Move” campaign battling childhood obesity in our severely overweight country.

Are we beyond appropriate portion sizes, physical education, and couch potato syndrome? It seems the “normalcy” of over-eating has become too acceptable and available. Should restaurants begin cutting off obese children and adults from cleaning their plates, like a drunk at a bar?

Making headlines this week, a morbidly obese woman in Houston, TX fell in her home, making her way to the bathroom, and she broke her leg. The 38-year-old woman weighs in at approximately 400 pounds, and had to call for emergency help. Unfortunately due to her size, Houston firefighters were unable to remove her from her apartment through the hallway.

As a result, the rescue crew had to cut out a window and part of a wall from her second-floor apartment in order to provide medical treatment for the patient. It has been reported, her housing agency has recommended she move to a lower level of the building because of her “health concerns.” However, the woman explained her use for a wheelchair was only temporary.

Further details regarding the status of the woman’s health have not yet been made available. However, it has been reported her injuries required doctors to amputate her leg.

It has been confirmed, Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin’s nineteen-year old daughter, is set to make her Hollywood debut on ABC. Palin was pregnant with her son, out of wedlock, during her mother’s Republican Vice-President campaign back in 2008. The family has maintained their position in the tabloid spotlight ever since. After the birth of her son, Tripp, her baby daddy and ex-boyfriend, Levi Johnston, posed in the buff for Playgirl.

Forget the rest of the family run down, ABC announced this morning that Bristol Palin is set to grace her presence as herself in the ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” The episode is scheduled to air something this summer. Recently in the show, the main character, Amy’s, reaction to an unexpected pregnancy has been spotlighted on the show. Palin will be playing a supportive and consoling friend to Amy, according to the network.

Bristol says, “I am thrilled to be on this show and to be a part of a program that educates teens and young adults about the consequences of teen pregnancy.” Palin was eighteen years old when she gave birth to her son back in December 2008. At the time, Palin was actually engaged to Johnston, but since have split and now battle over child support. She has a lot of baggage for a nineteen year old, which apparently makes her an excellent addition to the cast of a family television show.

“Secret Life’s” executive producer stated, “We’re thrilled to have Bristol join us, and I think she will bring additional attention to the issues facing teen parents that we’ve been exploring for a couple seasons now.” Understandable, but understated as it is thought Palin has brought too much attention to teen parenting issues and her baby daddy is a porn star. Evidently, this is the desired new path for the show’s exploration.

This is not about Natasha Richardson or her recent death from a skiing accident. It is how I feel in general.

Every single day someone famous or well known dies. There are hundreds of traditional news stories and thousands of internet articles.  I hear people say “oh that is so sad” or “I feel terrible” or “I am really upset”.  To me these are incredibly “fake” comments in response to public media situations. If anyone actually felt bad single every time someone died they would be miserable 24 hours a day forever. Not just today or tomorrow, but every day for the rest of their lives.  That is just silly.

I feel bad if people I know intimately die. I feel bad if someone in my family dies. I know these people. I have a relationship with them. I have actual feelings for them. I don’t know Natasha Richardson. Some say she was a good actress. That is wonderful, but it does not make me feel more for her now then I did a month ago.

For example I am sure a great doctor somewhere on the planet just died as I was typing this post. I don’t feel sad for them, and realistically neither does anyone else with the exception of those immediately related or attached to them. Those people who make the “oh that is so sad” or “I feel terrible” comments are not going to be upset over this death. They just are not. And going back to what I said earlier, if they did have a profound emotional response to every single death in the world, they would be in the loony bin for deep depression.

What is more realistic is the emotional shock reaction people have to these very public death situations. Sure the deaths of Princess Di and John Kennedy were sensational and (more…)

I just wanted to comment on how BAD most of the singers are this year. Maybe it is nerves, but I think more likely it is that the talent has dropped considerably this year. Sure there will eventually be one or two that are pretty good, but overall they really seem unmotivated, uninspired, and mediocre this season - at least so far.

Also, who in the world is picking the songs for these people?? They all have coaches helping them and they have to know in advance that they are going to sound horrible with the songs they are choosing.  The judges said over and over again that the wrong songs had been picked by the contestants. One female singer butchered a Police song so bad that it was painful to watch.

I have no problem admitting that we have watched American Idol since the begining. But this season might be the last one for us unless it gets MUCH better in the coming weeks. Right now it is hard to root for anyone when they all seem subpar.