Sunday, January 11, 2015

The End of Outrage

As you’ll recall, Sammy resigned last month “to spend more time with his family.” 

“First lady Michelle Obama on Thursday tapped FoodCorps co-founder Debra “Deb” Eschmeyer Executive Director of her “Let’s Move!” initiative and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy. Eschmeyer replaces Chicago native and Obama family personal chef Sam Kass, who resigned last month.” - Chicago Tribune

And despite gossip like this:

Kitchen magician Sam Kass got fed up with Michelle’s snippy comments and told the Obamas to take his apron and shove it, insiders told The National ENQUIRER. “He just couldn’t take it – the relentless nitpicking, over petty little details that drove him insane.

- let me be clear; Sammy did NOT leave because Lady M was “a bitch” “the queen of mean.”

kass flotusBack in the good old days, when all you had to do was eat your peas.

Sorry, butt no, just no; Sammy knew that part of the equation coming in; I mean he had been the O’s private chef in Chicago, long before they were “the Wons” -  back when they were still just the “Presents.”

20obama-450 “Oh yeah, I’m so ‘present,’ and what more could you want?”

Sammy knew very well what his Faustian deal entailed and he was good with it. So no, it wasn’t Sammy’s call, it was Lady M’s. She found his attitudes toward her food pogrom a little too passive and went looking for someone she felt could generate some new buzz for her signature “Let’s Move” initiative (LM®) to fight childhood obesity. It had been months since she and her hallmark program have been featured on the cover of a national magazine. She was looking for someone with more gravitas, more chops, to hype her LM® initiative. That’s where our new Executive Director, Debra Eschmeyer, comes in; she was a perfect fit.

Debra Eschmeyer, a self-described “food justice” activist who believes that all aspects of food production and consumption should be “shared fairly.”Washington Beacon

I know Lady M will like the “activist” part but I wonder if she knows about that “shared fairly” part? MO’s not really all that into sharing her food,

giant lobsterI’ll have this baby steamed up for you in no time. Extra butter?

Butt back to Deb: as a food activist Deb is very interested in “food justice” which she explains thusly:

“Food justice seeks to ensure that the benefits and risks of where, what, and how food is grown, produced, transported, distributed, accessed, and eaten are shared fairly.”

“It represents a transformation of the current food system, including but not limited to eliminating disparities and inequities,” Eschmeyer added.

She’s just as concerned about food deserts as Lady M, and believes that justice demands they be eliminated:

Food Justice, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), argues that the food system needs to be “transformed” because of too many fast food restaurants and “food deserts.”

And not only is she concerned about childhood obesity, like Lady M, butt she’s concerned about an epidemic of “globesity.” That’s right, fat heard round the world, and wouldn’t you know it: it’s America’s fault.

In today’s food system, farm workers face difficult and hazardous conditions, low-income neighborhoods lack supermarkets but abound in fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, food products emphasize convenience rather than wholesomeness, and the international reach of American fast-food franchises has been a major contributor to an epidemic of ‘globesity,’” a description of the book states.

Untitled-1Because worrying about your own weight, and that of your own children is no longer enough.

“To combat these inequities and excesses, a movement for food justice has emerged in recent years seeking to transform the food system from seed to table.”

“Transform the food system from seed to table.” Think about that: I don’t know what it means either. Butt when I read it brought to mind Francis Fukuyama’s 1989 article “The End of History?” You know, his famous essay in which he argued that humanity's sociocultural evolution had reached its end point with Western liberal democracy.  Deb’s definition of “food justice” played in the same key for me: it’s as if humanity has officially reached the end point where we have run out of legitimate things to be outraged over and now we were just making stuff up.

sharpton outraged

I don’t expect to see an end of outrage anytime soon. As Mr. Fukuyama discovered 25 years after writing about the end of history, nothing ever ends. It just pushes the replay button and everything starts all over again.

Every battle ever fought has been fought before, every war ever waged has been waged before. We just never, ever learn.

crusades knight templar

MOTUS TRAVEL UPDATE:The local gendarmes still had I-94 closed on Saturday morning, so I delayed my scheduled departure yet again. As of midnight Saturday, still closed. Hoping for better news in the morning, if not, I’ll have to find an alternate southerly route. At this rate I’ll miss all the stars at Sundance!

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Cross-Posted on RedState and Patriot Action Network