No, an obese person can NOT perform the essential tasks of childcare. People ask me how I'm thin after having 4 kids-I'm thin BECAUSE I have 4 kids! Those suckers are fast!

I made myself carsick while I was driving this weekend. When the map said it was the shorter but curvier route, they meant it!

There was an episode of 'Boston Legal', where Denny Crane (William Shatner) fired an Admin Assistant because of her size. His grounds for firing her? "Obesity is catching." But how ironic that he himself was rather, uh, large! I wish I could find the clip! The Admin ended up suing him, but I think he won. Alan Shore (James Spader, also rather plump) would have had something to do with that.

But ya know, if you can't keep up with little kids, you shouldn't be a child care worker. What did she die from, anyway?

Well, there's obese and there's obese... if she can't WALK that's a bit beyond obese. I mean, you look around and most obese people are still walking around, and even running to catch the bus or whatever, albeit huffing...

To take care of a kid you need to be able to walk, run a little (at least 50 feet or so, to go grab the kid), pick things up off the ground, put things up out of reach... if you can't do those things, you shouldn't be in that line of work, obese or not.

The one bright spot in home building these days is catering to the very large. I read a couple weeks ago that a company is selling out, can't build 'em fast enough, toilets to accomodate people up to 1,000 pounds.

PS- Good morning!

"toilets to accomodate people up to 1,000 pounds."
They've been selling bath tubs for years. Sorry couldn't help myself.

This is total bullshit. Your weight is and has always been a function of life style, with a few medical exceptions. Genetics plays a role to an extent. Some people (a lucky few) can eat what ever they want and are fine. Most of us are not them. Some like Amy can do great on a near zero carb. diet, some not so much. Find a life style that works for you and do it. Some of us (me as an example) need copious amounts of strenuous physical activity to function properly. I still lose weight without carbs but I feel like shit my mood sucks and I'm cagey, without my fight training. Which requires some carbs (not refined sugar) to do.

Don't sit and bitch about how it's not fair since so and so can eat everything the want all the time. Tough shit. I'd love to be able to drink silly every night and be functional for work, or smoke a pack a day and still run up stairs without huffing. I can't so I don't, I know one person who can and does. I drink in relative moderation and quite smoking 2 years ago (yes I miss it occasionally).

I've heard that the Department of Justice advertised for employment, with the addendum that they didn't discriminate based on mental acuity.

That would explain a lot. Where I work, the Feds have put a notice on every computer screen which warns you about your usage of a Federal system. Thing is, it's not only legally incorrect, but grammatically wrong, too.

Remember that this class of person will be determining your health care options.

"The case involves Lisa Harrison, who worked with young children of mothers undergoing treatment for addiction in an RHD-run facility in suburban New Orleans."

Uhhh, my money is on this woman, Harrison being a food addict. Maybe she should have undergone treatment for herself and not been working with children while she is still active in her disease.

This is not a disability, she should have taken responsibility for herself.

The irony though, an addict watching another addict's kids while the other addict goes to rehab...

"I cannot be a professional race car driver..."

Not sure about that. There's a level of violence in racing that can mitigate motion sickness. Out in the ocean, I have no problem with some motion, but when the boat is jumping it's no problem.

The difference is level of concentration. When you are concerned about personal injury, some bothers fall away.

Hey, don't forget drag racing. It's a straight line, and for just a few seconds!

I will read the book, but honestly I don't know how anyone does low carb diet. When I try it I feel tired and weak and hungry for pie.

She is as disabled as I am to play in the NBA.
They currently don't have any 5'7" players or under and dammit that there's discrimination.
I will be sitting patiently at my desk for my mulimillion dollar contract.

While I await patiently be assured I will not be holding my breath.

This is why they added, "must be able to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl," to my job description. As an office worker I will never have to stoop crouch or crawl, just kowtow to bosses.

I'm more than a little bit curious about her cause of death and whether it was obesity-related.

Character flaws, personal failings, laziness, gluttony...these are not disabilities, they are flaws, weaknesses, and otherwise related to personal fuckups.

I don't have a lot of patience with such people.

If you're not a parapalegic, missing a limb, or something damn close, I'm probably going to be inclined to laugh at a claim of being "disabled".

So much for your oft repeated claims that Gary Taubes "doesn't have a diet," if he's coming out with a book on what to eat.

I'll pass on that one, thanks.

As for the obese slob, quite frankly, I think there's a certain measure of arrogance and entitlement in allowing yourself to grow that large, unless you so indigent and can't get food stamps that the only thing you can eat is starches...although I still wouldn't buy it.

Some may call it personal freedom...I call it a shared burden in taxes and insurance premiums, to say nothing of the time they spend filling up the E.R....literally.

People have the right to eat what they want? I say they don't. Not as long as there is some measure of shared risk brought about the hazards of eating garbage.

So the part on her application that asked "Do you have any physical impairment or disability that would prevent you from fulfilling the tasks required by this position" meant absolutely nothing to her?

She didn't want a job. She wanted a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Well did she get fired because she gained a boatload of weight, or did she get fired because one day someone decided she was too fat? If it's the latter than I think she has a right to be upset and a legitimate case for a lawsuit. It's true that not every job should be open to every person, but that means that unqualified people shouldn't be hired in the first place--it's not okay to hire someone and then tell them they are unqualified six months later. If the daycare does have specific reasons for firing Harrison then I hope they are clearly indicated in the job description "must be able to run after kids, must be able to lift objects up to 50 pounds" etc because if you just look at someone and decide they're too fat for a job then that IS discrimination.

You're allowed to "not hire" someone for any reason you want.

I've "not hired" people for various reasons. Neck/facial tattoos, attitude, personal hygiene, etc... If you're not going to be able to do the job or if you're going to reflect badly on my company, you don't get the job.

I'll be looking forward to the what to eat book since the good calories bad calories book is unreadable. Too much droning on and on. I don't care about the history of heart disease or what have you. I just want to know how to get the spare tire off my belly without starving.

The Goddess Writes: I don't think you're allowed to not hire somebody because they're too fat (or too something) to do the job. Legal beagles? Where does the line lie?

Since when does anyone have to give a reason for not hiring someone? I personally decide whether or not to hire someone, and it's not their business why I decided not to.