Priorities shift

We're going to mostly avoid politics today. After all, we've still got a month and a half before the election, and we're pretty sure that we'll be fatigued by the end of the run. All we've got to say today, like some others have said, is Mr. McCain? You seriously might want to back off if even Karl Rove thinks you're being too nasty.

But that's not why we're here today. Instead, we're going to look at something that's plaguing children. No, we're not talking about the over-exposure to characters like Elmo or the lack of quality (and dangerous) games and toys. We're talking about something far more sinister.

We're talking about bullying.

Specifically, we're talking about bullying as a health issue. And, according to the National Poll on Children's Health, bullying is actually a bigger worry than being overweight. Which is rather unfair, given that being overweight as a child will often lead to further bullying. Now, we understand that bullying can lead to severe emotional problems, confrontation, and a lack of motivation. We're just going to posit for a moment that being overweight can also lead to these situations.

So, yes, we do think that these parents are fully in the right to be concerned, but we're not sure on the ranking. Given all the problems that can come with obesity, we'd actually hope that the parents would be more concerned about that. After all, in most cases, the most damage a bully can do is to cause a child to feel bad. All being overweight can do is lead to heart problems, diabetes, under-developed muscle mass, and excessive bullying.

Ah, there's the catch. It should also be noted that, quite often, obesity follows familial connections. So there's a good bet that an overweight child will have an overweight parent, and it's hard to break out of that mold. It's like the children of smokers in some ways. Except no parent ever tried to make their son or daughter feel better after having been called a name with a quick comforting Camel.

Something like that calls for cupcakes all around. Preferably with chocolate frosting.