Toni Lewis, catching a quick dinner at McDonalds before her daughter's piano lesson on the eve of the vote, acknowledged that yes, it might be an intrusion for the city to tell people what they can and can't put into their stomachs. But, she added, it was a welcome one.
"This is New York," she said. "People eat out a lot. We don't have a choice. We need someone to make it a healthier proposition."
She should have said, "I'm too lazy to cook for my daughter so I take her to McDonalds, but it's so bad for her, someone should pass a law..."It's the danger a bad diet poses to children that has experts the most worried. It's also what worries Kathy Ramirez, a 26-year-old New York mother who takes her toddler to McDonalds every week. She approves of the ban and a related measure passed Tuesday, requiring restaurants that already disclose calorie counts -- mostly chain restaurants -- to post them right on the menu.
"It's hurting us, all this fat, but the kids really like it," said Ramirez, pointing to 3-year-old Amber, who'd just finished her dinner. "It would be better to know what we're getting."
They've banned trans fats in NY, they are close to banning cigarettes in NY, how soon until someone proposes a ban on alcohol? It is, after all, a poison."It's basically a slow form of poison," said David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. "I applaud New York City and frankly, I think there should be a nationwide ban."
Not everyone agrees with Katz -- he's gotten angry e-mails calling him and colleagues the "food police" and saying, "If I want to eat trans fats, that's my inalienable right." To which he [cynically -- ed.] responds: "Would you want the burden of asking your restaurant whether there's lead in the food? Whether there's arsenic in the bread? For all I know, maybe arsenic makes bread more crusty. But it's poison."
I want to share with you verbatim a handwritten note I composed to FAX to Coach Mack Brown at Texas early this week. I spoke to him on the phone about it and he was very gracious and understanding:
To: Coach Brown, the Texas coaching staff, Longhorn football players, and Colt McCoy and family
From: Coach Fran, Texas A&M coaching staff, Aggie football players, and Kellen Heard
We regret and apologize for the late hit on Colt by Kellen Heard. We do not teach this type of play or condone it. After meeting with Kellen, I know he feels badly that this happened, and he expressed that he did not want to display malicious intent.
We will handle this situation as a coaching staff with consequences for the action. Kellen is in complete agreement and said that he wants Colt to know that he certainly regrets it and he apologizes for the incident.
Our game is one of the great days in college football and we want it to always be a class day for both universities.
Good luck in your bowl game.
Sincerely,
Coach Fran, staff, Kellen Heard and teammates
Whenever disciplinary action is necessary with players, I consult with staff and also have a session with the Leadership Council to get their feedback on what they think is appropriate. The staff reviewed our game video extensively, as well as the national telecast. Accountability for behavior is taken very seriously in our program in competition, in academics, and in social life. But I also feel strongly that it is important to handle these matters privately, as you would expect it to be handled if it were your son involved. Kellen and his teammates know this will not be dealt with lightly, and that's enough for the public to know, too.
As I said before, I would feel that benching Heard during the Holiday Bowl would be an adequate disciplinary action, but I support the decision for things to be handled by the team.
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