Fox News Faux Pas, And A Tomato Scare

By Bristol Herald Courier Editorial Board

Published: June 14, 2008

THUMBS UP TO:

Living longer and (hopefully) stronger

We learned this week that U.S. life expectancy is at an all-time high – 80.7 years for women and 75.4 years for men. The average for both sexes is 78.1 years. Statisticians credited falling mortality rates for nine of the 15 leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, accidents and diabetes. A substantial drop in flu and pneumonia deaths also helped.

This silver cloud has a bit of a black lining. Life expectancy isn’t nearly so good in parts of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. In fact, Tennessee ranks 48th in the nation in terms of life expectancy in the same Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

Meanwhile, a recent Harvard study indicated regional life span discrepencies in Southwest Virginia. In some counties, life expectancy is actually decreasing at the same time that it is increasing across the nation. Researchers attribute the gulf to lifestyle factors, including obesity and smoking, and lack of access to health care.

While we applaud the new life expectancy numbers, we urge state and federal lawmakers to dig deeper and take action to address the relatively poor health outcomes in Southwest Virginia and in Tennessee. 

Boucher’s stance on earmarks

There are compelling arguments to be made that earmarks aren’t the best way to distribute federal money. For example, many critics contend that worthy projects should go through the regular budget process rather than being tacked on to the budget by the congressman whose district will benefit. We agree.

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., partakes in the earmarking practice right along with his colleagues. However, Boucher notes that he doesn’t ask for earmarks for for-profit concerns, but instead uses the process to direct funds to projects that serve the greater good – like higher education, recreational trails and the like. This is an important distinction. If earmarks aren’t going away, other lawmakers should follow Boucher’s lead and avoid using the process to benefit private corporations.

THUMBS DOWN TO:

A bad week for Fox News

Cable news outfit Fox, which likes to call itself “fair and balanced,” couldn’t hide its disdain for Michelle Obama in recent days. First, anchor E.D. Hill referred to the potential first lady’s playful hand bump with husband, Barack, as a “terrorist fist jab.” Hill has since apologized.

Then, another segment featuring Michelle Obama was teased with text that described her as “Obama’s baby mama,” street slang for an unmarried mother. Fox has apologized for this error, too. But it seems a pretty low blow for a network that makes a big deal about “family values.” Presumably, the Obama family – a married couple with children – exhibits just those values.

Tainted tomatoes

Just in time for summer, grocers and restaurants were pulling tomatoes from the shelves this week. The precautionary move came after 228 people in 23 states contracted salmonellosis, a potentially serious bacterial infection of the digestive tract. Federal investigators have cleared tomatoes in a number of states, but still haven’t tracked down the source. Some suspicion has focused on tomatoes grown in Mexico and Florida. Tennessee tomatoes have been cleared, and Virginia tomatoes have yet to be harvested.

The health scare has shined a bright light on a rather lax food inspection system. Critics contend that the Food and Drug Administration and others haven’t done enough to ensure food safety. Evidence also emerged that some food importers are circumventing procedures meant to certify food from foreign sources as safe.

The tomato scare should heighten interest in locally grown food. Buying from local growers helps the economy and the environment, since substantial amounts of fossil fuel are required to transport produce from foreign farms. It just makes sense.