Morning Edition - 8/24/05

Not Fairing Well, Thanks To Welfare
Between November 2001 and March 2003 the mother of Michael Jackson’s last accuser collected close to $19,000 in welfare aid. Now she faces four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid and one count of aid by misrepresentation. She is scheduled to turn herself in on September 7 and prosecutors are recommending a $50,000 bail. If found guilty, she may serve up to 11 years in prison. The woman declined to answer questions regarding aid during Jackson’s trial exercising her Fifth Amendment right not to self incriminate. In an effort to keep the identity of the accuser private, the mother’s identity was not made available to the press.

In the Name of Jesus?
When you’re a conservative Christian broadcaster who has attacked everyone from gays to teletubbies – all in the name of Jesus, of course – it stands to reason that suggesting murder as a solution wouldn’t really fit the Christian way. Monday night, Pat Robertson did just that. During his 700 Club broadcast, Robertson suggested we send undercover operatives to murder Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Robertson said, "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop." Venezuela is the largest oil producing country outside of the Middle East. "Mr. Robertson has been one of the president's staunchest allies," said Bernardo Álvarez, the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States. "His statement demands the strongest condemnation by the White House." Robertson and other religious leaders frequently cross the line between political stands and God’s word. Ultimately, their credibility as men of God suffers.

Looks Like I’ve Got Company
Just 21 months after returning to NYC I’ve managed to go from 118 lbs. to 165 lbs. and increase my waist size by over 8 inches to a whopping 33 inches. Admittedly I’ve drastically changed my eating habits and have all but stopped working out completely. Now, a new gym membership in hand and a determination to NOT become a waif again, but to transform into a healthier and leaner man, I will begin my quest to transform again – well, starting Saturday that is. I’m not alone in my plight against the bulge. A public health advocacy group has now released a study that shows the obesity rate for adult Americans is nearly 25 percent. That means ¼ of all Americans are fat. The study also found that Mississippi was the nation’s fattest state while Colorado was the thinnest. Hawaii was never ranked, but the southeastern US was found to amass the heaviest states of the bunch. Back in 1985 there was not a single state with an obesity rate over 20 percent, today more than 40 states have over 20 percent of the population ranked as obese. The study was paid in part by the Dr. Robert Atkins Foundation. Atkins, as you may know, was the creator of the low-carb Atkins diet.

On Blast
A genie appears and grants you the ability to change only ONE thing about yourself. What you change may be physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, etc. Your change cannot involve changing someone else or how you handled an interaction with someone – it MUST involve something about yourself and only YOU. What would that change be?

Keep passin’ the open windows…