Will Big Food join Big Tobacco as scapegoat?

The following are a few random, post-holiday musings ...

If you had more than your share of rich holiday treats, you may have chosen to ignore the report by the U.S. Surgeon Gen-eral that obesity has become a greater health hazard than to-bacco. I wonder: Will the "Big Tobacco Scenario" be repeated?

Sure it will. It will work like this: Cries will ring out across the land against fast food rest-aurants and anyone producing high calorie food and beverages. Governments at all levels will see even deeper pockets to tap into with taxes than those of the tobacco companies.

Multitudes of companies sell food that might stand accused of the "fattening-up of Amer-ica." Taxes and lawsuits drove the price of cigarettes up to around $3 a pack. So, when na-tional, state and local government units finish protecting the public from "Big Fast Food," Whopper won't be a Burger King hamburger, it will describe Burger King's tax bill.

And this is bound to happen: Some 400-pound couch potato will sue a fast food restaurant, claiming that his condition isn't his fault. Like smokers who didn't know smoking was a health hazard, this guy will claim that he didn't know that a couple of triple-decker cheeseburgers and a large order of french fries could possibly be fattening.

The high-dollar judgment he will win will set off a chain reaction of class action lawsuits. Governments will get in on the act, suing to "recover" the costs of caring for obesity-related illnesses.

If the tobacco scenario is re-peated, governments will win the suits, but nothing will be spent on caring for sick heavyweights; rather, debates will rage in legislative halls over how to spend the sudden windfall. When all is said and done, a Quarter Pounder with cheese, a large order of fries and a milkshake will cost $25.

Talk continues in Spring-field regarding the proposed walkway between the Bass Pro Shops and the Wonders of Wild-life Museum. The Rusty Saber previously went on record as seeing nothing wrong with connecting the two tourist attractions, making it easier for tour-ists to go from one to the other.

Some are fearful that it will give a boost to Bass Pro's business. Good heavens. Bass Pro is already the top tourist attraction in Missouri, and likely will be the main tourist attraction; a convenient visit to the museum will be icing on their cake.

The latest scheme for a walkway one that will discourage visitors from using it calls for it to be one way only from Bass Pro to the museum. Clever idea. It would force tourists visiting both locations to end up as far from their cars as they can get. Welcome, tourists!

I wonder, would hall monitors be posted to keep people from going the wrong way on a one-way walkway?

If the objective is to discourage people from using the walkway, install no lights, heat or air conditioning. That should to the trick.

I don't pretend to understand the MTV culture that creates a market for today's music. No, I'm not "with" what passes for contemporary pop music. I suppose the boy bands, the teenage girl singers and the like are at least better than the rap music recorded by thugs who praise killing police and assaulting women.

But one thing I do know about today's pop music scene is that SOMEONE should say to Britney Spears: "Pull up your jeans, little girl, before they fall off and embarrass you and your parents!" Someone should say that. By golly, I just did. I feel better already.

I'm surprised that it took me so long to figure out the difference between partisan and nonpartisan politics. A very long time ago, I was a high school American history and government teacher. Somewhere along the line, I should have learned the difference. But, I didn't, un-til now.

Like a flash, it came to me: Nonpartisan politics are the policies of each political party. Partisan politics are played by the party that refuses to go along with the other's nonpartisan policies.

Now that you know this little tidbit of information, you know exactly what it means when the leaders of either party accuse the opposition of being "partisan" while they, true patriots that they are, desperately yearn for nonpartisan politics. Trans-lation: "They won't support our policies." This has been a Rusty Saber public service.

(Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury Un-iversity.)