Sunday, January 11, 2009 while channel surfing I found an interesting article on Channel 13 ABC Action News in Toledo, Ohio. A panel breached the subject of obesity, and announced a government program to address this problem. The panel featured Lucas County’s new “Weight Czar,” Andrew Zepeda, who happens to be grossly overweight. During the program, Zepeda joked about leaving to get lunch.  I have to wonder why Lucas County would need an overweight “Weight Czar”, and what this “Weight Czar” plans to do to help people lose weight. I am all for losing weight, but I am not going to let a “Weight Czar” eat all of my food.

   Another thing that bothers me is how the government and the media are overusing, and misusing the term, “Czar”, while so many citizens are screaming, “socialism” in the streets. This is the United States of America, and we do not have a “Czar” we have an elected President, and his name is Barack Obama. The title of Czar is meaningless in a Democratic Republic, and should never be used, even jokingly, in regards to state and federal officials.

    Every day the news media presents us with a new type of Czar…a Car Czar, an energy Czar, An economic Czar, a media Czar, a Health Czar, an Intelligence Czar, and now local government has taken a cue from the big-boys and appointed their own Czars, who are equally ineffective.

    This may seem like splitting hares over semantics, but introducing certain terms and redefining them to the public is an effective propaganda method used to push hidden agenda. As citizens, we must reject such terms, and demand that they are not used as substitutes for other words. We must demand that our government positions are properly defined, just as we should demand that our best interests are represented by our officials.

    Obesity is a serious problem, and it can lead to diabetes, heart problems, stroke, and cancer. If a “Weight CZAR” is required to aid in the fight against obesity, then it is inappropriate to fill the position with a fat clown…or more accurately, a “Fat Czar”. I think that we can demand that much, as we are flipping the bill for these social experiments.