CNN
[With some literary addendums and zingers from yours truly😀]
[With some literary addendums and zingers from yours truly😀]
In response to the shocking news [i.e. why would anybody with a brain do THAT?] that President Donald Trump is taking hydroxychloroquine in an attempt to ward off the coronavirus, CNN's Anderson Cooper [who himself is not sure which of his two names is his first name and which his second] asked House Speaker ["כמאמר חז"ל "עשרה קבין שיחה ירדו לעולם תשעה לקחה הספיקר ננסי] Nancy Pelosi what she made of that decision [surely expecting her to say that she respects his right to choose what medications he takes and it is not her place to comment].
Here's what she said [shockingly!]:
"As far as the President is concerned, he's our President and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists [i.e. he is anti-science, living in the dark ages], especially in his age group [i.e. he is an old man. Not intended as a compliment] and in his, shall we say ["we" are not saying. You are!], weight group -- morbidly obese, they say [who is they?]. So, I think it's not a good idea [i.e. it is a horrible idea and he is a bumbling idiot]."
Which raises an interesting question ["יש לחקור"]: Is Trump actually morbidly obese? (Twitter was taken by that question Tuesday morning, with both #PresidentPlump and #TrumpMorbidlyObese" trending. His famous building in Mid Manhattan was renamed "Plump Tower")
Let's start here: The CDC doesn't actually use the term "morbidly obese" at all. So there is NO חלות whatsoever of the term "morbid" in the context of obesity.
Generally speaking, it defines obesity as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher. (BMI is calculated by taking "a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters," according to the CDC website. A place people go when they are bored to tears and it will prevent them from smoking more weed). Within "obese," the CDC has three distinctions [ג' חילוקים]: 1) Those with a BMI between 30 and 35 2) those with a BMI between 35 and 40 and 3) those with a BMI over 40, which the CDC categorizes as having "extreme" or "severe" obesity. Don't go into an elevator with those guys.
While the CDC doesn't describe that third category as "morbid obesity," it is referred to that way by other sites including Web MD (aka the scourge of every hypochondriac's life). How large would you need to be to qualify as having "severe" or "morbid" obesity? According to this BMI calculator, a 6 foot tall man weighing 300 pounds would have a BMI of 41 -- and would be considered in a state of "morbid" obesity.
Which is not Donald Trump, at least according to the White House physician. In his February 2019 annual physical, Trump, who is 6'3", tipped the scales at 243 pounds [meaning - he weighs over 115 pounds more than Elchonon Ehrman!!!] . That gave him a BMI of 30.4 -- just over the edge of obesity but far from the technical definition of "severe" or "extreme" (or "morbid") obesity. For Trump to be considered "morbidly obese, he would need to weigh 320 pounds -- or more.
While Trump may not be as, well, large, as Pelosi suggested on Monday night, there is no question that he is overweight -- due in no small part to his love of fast food and disdain for exercise.
But no, Speaker Pelosi, the President is not now "morbidly obese." He's about 77 pounds away, actually.
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Let us analyze what is going on here. Nechama Pelosi, an 80 year old Italian grandmother [who was JUST GIVEN a Jewish first name!!], second in line to be President after the Vice President, is hurt by Trump's open disdain of her, so she must counteract that by, among other things, publicly ripping up his state of the union address on national TV and calling him "morbidly obese" - which he isn't. But it was a pot shot. Like we would say as kids "FATSO". [Public disclosure - I have been called names but never "fat". I am trying MIGHTILY to be ממלא כרסו בש"ס ופוסקים but that doesn't show...]
Trump from his end is in many ways less emotionally mature than a seven year old. [Even though we appreciate his unabashed support of Israel and the Jewish people. And when I wear ties it is often from the Trump collection.]
The press has nothing better to do with their time than to analyze bi-iyun if Pelosi's description of Trump was accurate. It wasn't. [The point of course was not to say that he is really "morbidly obese" according to its strict definition but to call him out as a Fatso.]
People have nothing better to do with their time than read such nonsense.
Conclusion:
The President, the Speaker, the media and the Nation who follows the media are all sad and pathetic.
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Takeaways:
1] How I yearn for leaders who we can respect.
2] אנו משכימים והם משכימים. They are involved in total and complete nonsense most of the time. דברים בטלים li-mihadrin min ha-mihadrin. WE HAVE BEEN GIFTED WITH TORAH!!!! Instead of analyzing stupidities of an old [rich by the way. VERY rich. To the tune of 120 million which she doesn't enjoy so much because she has such a public and highly pressured position and is called by the most powerful man in the world, a "crazy woman"] grandmother whose feelings are hurt so she responds by calling her enemy "morbidly obese" - we can analyze DVAR HASHEM as communicated to his Prophets and understood by the holiest rabbis.
ברוך א-להנו שבראנו לכבודו והבדילנו מן התועים ונתן לנו תורת אמת!!!!
3] LEARNNNNNN!!!!!!
