Georgia Weighing On My Mind

So Georgia's Senate, a famously "Red" state passed a law mandating that elementary schools weigh their students twice a year, or, as I like to call it, the "Ensuring the Prosperity of Therapists Bill." I also like the "Georgia Wants to Make Sure its Girls Have No Excuse for Not Being Screwed Up Bill-AKA The Body Image Destruction Bill."

So anyway, Georgia wants to join Arkansas (another Red state) and "several" other states in this massive invasion of the privacy our our children. And what do they want to do with this info? According to the sponsor and chief Socialist, Joseph Carter (R-Tifton), the goal is to make the overall data public so it can be distributed "much like test scores, with schools reporting their data so parents could check out how they measure up to other area schools." Wait, I need to reread that, does it say, "R" Tifton? Why yes, yes it does. So a Republican in one of the nation's strongest Republican states, wants the government to weigh your child.

Can we finally just all agree that there is no discernible difference between Democrats and Republicans? Please, just so I can stop getting all worked up when I hear about how the Republican's stand for small government and fight against government intrusion into our lives. They don't. Both parties loooooooove to intrude on your life, they just argue about the reasons. When you cast your vote on election day, here's what you're really doing. You're heading to the booth to support the party that massively intrudes on your life in a way either you approve of, or are least bothered by. Nobody really wants to be left alone. Americans want the government to use its power to promote in all what the collective individuals of each party want.

So Republican State Senator Carter is upset about childhood obesity. What does he do? Does he give to a charity to promote healthier lifestyles? Nope. Does he start his own movement to change the pattern? Nope. Letters to the editor? Nope. What does a representative of the small government party in a solidly small government state do? He passes a bill. He strips elementary school children of their basic right to privacy. And why? Because he's concerned about childhood obesity. He feels its his duty to be concerned with the weight of your children, not the parents. So in a state that never scores well in education rankings is now going to spend time and recourses weighing students to judge their BMI (a flawed measurement, but who cares about that?), to tell parents how their schools are doing in regards to something the school cannot control (what kids eat and how they exercise), and that parents have no way to change anyway (due to the public school monopoly).

In the end, this Bill is not only a political joke, its also creepy.