High steaks in the freedom debate Big Brother's beef with free expression In the last Daily Dose, I wrote to you about a Colorado man's struggle to hold on to his government job after exercising his 1st Amendment right to niche-market his side venture (a lawn-care business) to a language-sensitive clientele - by truthfully advertising that his company provides "Lawn services done with pride by an English-speaking American." To recap, his superiors at the Denver Department of Public Works have reprimanded the 16-year veteran employee for his business' sign - emblazoned over an American flag motif on his lawn-equipment trailer - and have threatened termination on the grounds that his slogan, which mentions NOTHING about Latinos, is discriminatory or offensive to Hispanics! Regrettably, it's easy to imagine this happening in today's political climate - especially in the realm of government jobs, like the entrepreneur's day job with Public Works. But what's still hard to fathom (for most) is that this same kind of bullying is happening against businesses in the private sector as well... The most notable case in point is what the new American Sensitivity Gestapo is doing right now to the world-famous and historic Geno's Steaks restaurant in Philadelphia - the undisputed home city of the uniquely American "cheese steak sub." According to the Associated Press and other sources, the restaurant is taking some heat from the city's Commission on Human Relations for posting the following sign: "This is America: WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH." Pointy-heads from the commission claim this violates Philly's Fair Practices Ordinance by discouraging non-English-speaking customers because of their national origins. But how is that possible? If they can't speak English, then they can't possibly READ THE SIGN to be discouraged from their patronage, can they? The sign may amount to nothing more than the owner's request for multi-lingual persons to order in English because it's the only language his employees speak. Or it could simply be a personal political statement posted by a business owner in his own establishment - still perfectly legal in America (in theory, anyway) under the 1st Amendment of the Constitution... The sign hasn't resulted in a single customer being turned away, according to the owner of Geno's. It isn't a stipulation for service - it's just a simple request, like "please have credit card ready" or "no bills larger than $20, please." But apparently, it's still illegal and will likely result in fines if the owner doesn't remove it, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Proper Expression - er, I mean the Fair Practices Commission. I'll fill you in on this story as it develops. But in some better steak-related news... Meat manhandles the munchies If there are any readers of mine left who don't know that meat fat and meat protein are what's best for weight loss, strength, and a balanced, healthy diet, there's this study from the Netherlands... According to recent Dutch research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, yet another study has proven the worth of the Atkins-type dietary approach in curbing hunger and helping dieters lose weight. The single-blind study compared high-protein and high-carb breakfasts of equal caloric makeup in equal groups of subject men. For three hours after chowing down, the researchers studied the men's level of satiety, and they repeatedly tested the men's blood to determine their bodily stimulation of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin. Predictably, the carnivores experienced decreased secretion of ghrelin compared to the bagel bunch. This translated into less desire to eat and more favorable blood glucose and insulin levels... Heck, I could have told the Journal (and the Dutch scientists) this myself - I've only been saying it since the Beatles were still together! Notice you didn't read about the research on the front page of USA Today or hear about it on the evening news. The Atkins Diet and similar nutritional plans - work though they might - are out of vogue, thanks to the concentrated efforts of the mainstream media... That's one reason why we're all still getting so much fatter. Always getting to the meat of the issue, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
