President Trump: Making America Great Again...

[Northwestcoug]

For hundreds, if not thousands of years, polynesian people subsisted on fish and whatever plants they could scrounge up and grow on their islands, resulting in a calorie deficit. To overcome that, their bodies adapted a unique and highly efficient metabolism. Then they were "discovered" and introduced to pigs, chickens, sugar, etc. They still have the genetic for a low-calorie survival, but now they have calorie dense food. If you look at your chart, the US obesity rate is only exceeded by these countries fighting that unique genetic heritage.

tl;dr - that list does not support your argument.

The US is an extreme outlier in developed countries. Nobody is claiming that we won't always have some fat people, but to just shrug this off as a result of modern excess is a copout.

You sure the bolded part supports your argument? People who for thousands of years subsisted on scarce food, who as a result were selected for those who could efficiently metabolize less calories, who are then introduced to calorie dense food and then struggle with obesity?

Sounds like pretty much what I'm arguing. Tell me how that fact doesn't support part of my argument.

I am not 'shrugging off' the complex problem of obesity to modern excess. As I said in my first post, the problem of obesity as an epidemic has its roots in the overabundance of food. That is not the only reason why it's an epidemic in modern society. Genetic variation plays a part too. It's not just high fructose corn syrup.

[YOhio]

The first time I returned to my mission area in Japan (15 years or so after my mission) I went to church and several people said to me, "Holy cow, you are fat now."

Maybe we need to make public shaming great again. Instead we do this "fat positivity" BS.

One of the most memorable moments from my mission in Taiwan was when I was out knocking doors and one of the residents said that the sister missionaries had came by the day before. He said they were the two fattest people he'd ever seen. So fat that he called his whole family to the door so they could see. I was ZL at the time and knew that had probably thrown the sisters into a bit of a tailspin. They were definitely larger, one much more than the other. When we got back that night I gave them a call and sure enough they hadn't left the apartment all day. Asians sure do have a way of getting to the point. Helpful to have additional, unsolicited confirmation that you were getting acne or gaining some weight.

[Jeff Lebowski]

You sure the bolded part supports your argument? People who for thousands of years subsisted on scarce food, who as a result were selected for those who could efficiently metabolize less calories, who are then introduced to calorie dense food and then struggle with obesity?

Sounds like pretty much what I'm arguing. Tell me how that fact doesn't support part of my argument.

I am not 'shrugging off' the complex problem of obesity to modern excess. As I said in my first post, the problem of obesity as an epidemic has its roots in the overabundance of food. That is not the only reason why it's an epidemic in modern society. Genetic variation plays a part too. It's not just high fructose corn syrup.

You argued (implied) that the US is not an outlier because other countries have an obesity problem too and pointed me to a list of mostly polynesian countries. Those countries have a specific genetics issue. The US does not. We just have a shitty diet and culture.

I hope that is clear.

[Northwestcoug]

You argued (implied) that the US is not an outlier because other countries have an obesity problem too and pointed me to a list of mostly polynesian countries. Those countries have a specific genetics issue. The US does not. We just have a shitty diet and culture.

I hope that is clear.

No, not even close. This is exactly what I said:

The US is glaringly worse than many developed countries, but obesity is all over. Here's the ignominious list:

Now go back and scroll down that list for a bit. It's not just polynesian countries. Basically every developed country is on there. You just have to look at the whole list.

Edit: also your 'the US does not have a genetics issue' is just flat wrong. Today's US society is very genetically diverse. There is a well-documented component of genetics contributing to obesity, which in a genetically diverse society makes every sense in the world that we'd see a component of that. And just in case it's not clear, genetics is not the most important contributor to the obesity epidemic in the US. But it is an important one that has to be addressed in certain populations.

[Jeff Lebowski]

No, not even close. This is exactly what I said:



Now go back and scroll down that list for a bit. It's not just polynesian countries. Basically every developed country is on there. You just have to look at the whole list.

Every developed country is on there because it includes all countries in the world.

And literally every wealthy, developed country is below the US.

US: 41.6

Canada: 28.16 (Gay North Dakota! They are our neighbors)
UK: 26.9 (even with fish and chips)
Germany: 23
Spain: 19
Netherlands: 15
France: 10.18
Japan: 7.6

[Northwestcoug]

Every developed country is on there because it includes all countries in the world.

And literally every wealthy, developed country is below the US.

US: 41.6

Canada: 28.16 (Gay North Dakota! They are our neighbors)
UK: 26.9 (even with fish and chips)
Germany: 23
Spain: 19
Netherlands: 15
France: 10.18
Japan: 7.6

Right. The US is an outlier. There's no argument there.

[frank ryan]

Russia's alliance of convenience with Beijing is very much part of their kicking our ass. MAGA's distrust of China but embrace of Russia is wildly concerning.

[USUC]

This USAID situation is fascinating. It's something 99% of people in this country haven't even heard of but it's now getting attention. And it appears to be the number 1 target of DOGE and the number 1 worry of Democrats. I don't know much about it to be honest. Can anyone steel man the case for and against the program?

[Clark Addison]

This USAID situation is fascinating. It's something 99% of people in this country haven't even heard of but it's now getting attention. And it appears to be the number 1 target of DOGE and the number 1 worry of Democrats. I don't know much about it to be honest. Can anyone steel man the case for and against the program?

It's partly funny but mostly sad how easily people are led around. The main place I am seeing this over the last couple of weeks is on CB, so I am seeing much more of it on the right side of the aisle, though I am sure it happens to some extent on both. Before a week or so ago, I am pretty sure I had NEVER seen anyone on CB lament at the amount of fentanyl that was crossing the Canadian/US border. Then, suddenly, for many people it was one of the biggest crises facing the country. It was truly a "We have always been at war with Eastasia" kind of moment, and if you called people out on it, they would be indignant at the claim that this was not a "fact" they had known for a long period of time.

That's the main reason I don't read or talk about politics much. I'm a pretty happy guy and politics is too depressing.

[LVAllen]

This USAID situation is fascinating. It's something 99% of people in this country haven't even heard of but it's now getting attention. And it appears to be the number 1 target of DOGE and the number 1 worry of Democrats. I don't know much about it to be honest. Can anyone steel man the case for and against the program?

The US has hard power (military) and soft power (economic or cultural influence). Soft power allows us to convince countries to do (or not do) what we want.

USAID distributes 60% of the US's foreign aid. As a percentage of GDP, our overall aid is a pittance compared to other developed countries. But it's about 40% of all international humanitarian aid. That money goes to things like access to clean water, HIV/Aids treatments, energy security, and anti-corruption work. For example, in 2023, it provides $400M in aid to Bangladesh. The specific programs that is funded aren't available on USAID's site right now, because USAID.GOV'S ENTIRE WEBSITE IS GONE. However, other sources show that we provided things like tubercolosis treatment, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, and the Bangladesh America Maitree Project, a USAID-funded five-year initiative launched last February to strengthen civil society and promote sustainable development, and farming methods that are better for the environment. Also things like anti-human-trafficking.

But I'm sure China will be more than happy to step in and increase its own soft power.

[BigFatMeanie]

For hundreds, if not thousands of years, polynesian people subsisted on fish and whatever plants they could scrounge up and grow on their islands, resulting in a calorie deficit. To overcome that, their bodies adapted a unique and highly efficient metabolism. Then they were "discovered" and introduced to pigs, chickens, sugar, etc. They still have the genetic for a low-calorie survival, but now they have calorie dense food. If you look at your chart, the US obesity rate is only exceeded by these countries fighting that unique genetic heritage.

tl;dr - that list does not support your argument.

The US is an extreme outlier in developed countries. Nobody is claiming that we won't always have some fat people, but to just shrug this off as a result of modern excess is a copout.

Same problem for many Native American populations. There have been a number of studies done on Pima indians over the years as they have the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world per capita. In the early 1900s obesity and diabetes were essentially non-existant in the Pima population.

[Moliere]

This press conference with Bibi is pretty crazy. Trump wants to relocate Gazans and turn the Gaza Strip into a beautiful country. I mean, it’s a great idea if you just pretend it’s not a sovereign land and we can just take it over.

[Northwestcoug]

This press conference with Bibi is pretty crazy. Trump wants to relocate Gazans and turn the Gaza Strip into a beautiful country. I mean, it’s a great idea if you just pretend it’s not a sovereign land and we can just take it over.

What, you're not jazzed about the billions of dollars and decades of manpower for the US to commit for Trump towers in Gaza?!?

[frank ryan]

This USAID situation is fascinating. It's something 99% of people in this country haven't even heard of but it's now getting attention. And it appears to be the number 1 target of DOGE and the number 1 worry of Democrats. I don't know much about it to be honest. Can anyone steel man the case for and against the program?

Other answers will be more nuanced, and I am by no means an ambassador for "democrats," or certainly not the mythical left. I don't think I'm registered as a democrat currently.

It isn't primarily the main concern of democrats by any means. Trump gives people new reasons for worry by the hour.

It takes awareness around foreign policy and understanding that isolationism would be dreadful for the US and the world. Foreign aid doesn't just serve as feel good projects but it has tremendous diplomatic value. Foreign aid in general can support fragile democracies and help nations from falling into disarray. Look at pre-11 and Afghanistan to grasp how a nation failing is not in our best interest. USAID generally involves cool humanitarian stuff. Makes me wonder if Trump is going to disband the Peace Corps next.

It is also cheaper than purely militarist diplomacy.

Our security is dependent on alliances and relationships, just as much as military might. Foreign aid also goes to noble endeavours like helping people find clean water, providing basic education, sex education in countries where their HIV rates are horrid. Just unplugging all these projects that we've committed is bad form. Nations not only will realize that they can't trust us, but rather than it would ill-advised to trust us.

Foreign aid has always been scrutinized unfairly by actual leftists like Noam Chomsky and isolationists/paleoconservatives like Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan. Their rationale for doing so is short-sided and cynical.

You will see this administration rush toward isolationism. That's disastrous. I believe America is pretty cool and has been on the right side of history, internationally, more often than not. Our adversaries are rooting for isolationism. Russia and China are already swooping in where any gap in influence is felt. China has been aggressive everywhere, including Oceania and the South Pacific. They've signed a shady defence pact with the Solomon Islands. Russia is doing all the things we've accused ourselves of doing during the Cold War, toppling fragile democracies and making nice with very bad people.

At time during Trump's first term, he tried to or seriously contemplated short circuiting treaties and alliances. At one time he wanted to withdraw all soldiers from the Korean Peninsula. He didn't seem to understand what cost it would bring to us. We lose out on crucial early warning signal intelligence about an out of control adversary trying to nuke us among other things.

There is debate to be had about all the military presence we have around the globe. But it is neither just conquest or charity. We benefit greatly from countries being in NATO. It's not some sort of free ride protection racket.

Additionally, Trump's dumb ass words aren't just silly and benign, they destabilizing and a bit embarrassing.

USAID benefits us. It also does cool things. It is additionally much cheaper than the world we are headed for in which the US lacks standing and credibility as a partner, as soft power.

[frank ryan]

This press conference with Bibi is pretty crazy. Trump wants to relocate Gazans and turn the Gaza Strip into a beautiful country. I mean, it’s a great idea if you just pretend it’s not a sovereign land and we can just take it over.

I'm sure all those Muslims who voted for Trump because the Biden admin didn't rebuke Israel feel really happy now.