Get Down With A Free Double Down
Tomorrow, to celebrate the release of the KFC Double Down, ACT on Campus will be giving away FREE Double Downs in each of the main centres.
ACT on Campus representatives will visit a KFC store in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin at a random time, different in each city, wearing their bright yellow ACT on Campus t-shirts.
When they arrive, they will update the ACT on Campus Facebook and Twitter pages to let people know which store they are at and how long they'll be there for.
The first 5 people in each city to get to the store and find our ACT on Campus representative will get a free KFC Double Down, on us.
"The Double Down is a symbol of the freedom of choice all New Zealanders should enjoy," says ACT on Campus President, Peter McCaffrey.
"Everyone should be free to buy food they enjoy. Equally, everyone should take responsibility for their own health and excercise."
"If health and safety were our only goal as a society, the world would look very different. We would all buy cars made of padded foam rubber and drive very slowly. Instead we measure risk and make trade-offs between our health and our other goals." said Mr McCaffrey.
KFC's Double Down is one trade-off we're looking forward to making on Tuesday!
Updates as to the location of ACT on Campus representatives will be posted on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day tomorrow:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/actoncampus
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/actoncampus
Get A Free Double Down On Tuesday
It's here. The moment we've all been waiting for. KFC's most controversial burger, the Double Down, will be released in New Zealand on Tuesday!
The KFC Double Down has 1939 kilojoules, 32g of fat and 540 calories. It has been slammed by all the usual suspects: healthists, busy-bodies and nanny-staters. Fight the Obesity Epidemic spokeswoman Robyn Toomath, said the burger was a recipe for obesity.
"If this is promoted the people who are going to be targeted by this food are the people who are particularly prone to obesity. We need to start thinking in terms of protecting the vulnerable and putting restraints in."
Frankly, we don't give a damn. Everyone should be free to buy food they enjoy. Equally, everyone should take responsibility for their own health and excersise. We in ACT on Campus welcome the Double Down's arrival as a symbol of the freedom of choice all New Zealanders should enjoy.
So, to celebrate the burger's release in New Zealand, ACT on Campus will be offering FREE Double Downs at selected KFC restaurants.
Here's how it will work:
On Tuesday, ACT on Campus members will visit a KFC store in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin at a random time, different in each city, wearing their bright yellow ACT on Campus t-shirts. When they arrive, they will update the ACT on Campus Facebook and Twitter pages and let you know where they are and how long they'll be there for. The first 5 people in each city to get to the store and find our ACT on Campus member will get a free KFC Double Down, on us.
If health and safety were our only goal as a society, the world would look very different. We would all buy cars made of padded foam rubber and drive very slowly. Instead we measure risk and make trade-offs between our health and our other goals. KFC's Double Down is one trade-off we're looking forward to making on Tuesday!
Follow our Facebook and Twitter pages to make sure you don't miss out:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/actoncampus
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/actoncampus
Milk And Cheese
These laws don’t go far enough. Dairies often sell milk and cheese and these are known to cause obesity and heart disease. The government must do something! This is what I propose:
1. Dairies be banned from selling milk and cheese, so that they can only be purchased in supermarkets. Except in tourist areas where foreigners have come to accept eating dairy products freely, where local councils we be allowed to permit dairies to sell milk, cheese, or both milk and cheese.
2. There should be special rules to allow dairies and Party Central to sell milk and cheese over the Rugby World Cup, because we don’t want the rest of the world to realise that we’re governed by miserable nanny-staters. But the cheese at Party Central must be sold in cubes with a toothpick through each in order to reduce the rate of cheese consumption.
3. Sale of cheese at Party Central be restricted to people 18 and over. Sale of cheese in supermarkets be restricted to people 22 and above. Sale of cheese in dairies (where permitted) be restricted to people 19 and over, unless the person is a tourist in which case they only need to be 17 or over. Sale of milk to be restricted to people over the age of 20 in all cases.
4. The government to tell milk manufacturers what percentage of fat they’re allowed to include in their milk.
5. Under no circumstances will supermarkets, dairies, or Party Central be allowed to sell alcohol and cheese together in case drunk people eat too much cheese.
6. Cheese flavoured potato chips will be banned. So will cheese and onion and other cheese derived flavours.
7. There will be a special tax on dairy products sufficient to cover the cost of heart disease and diabetes treatment, and to cover the cost of the milk and cheese licensing system.
8. Cheese will only be sold between the hours of 10am and 4pm, except on Fridays where it can be sold between 10am and 5:30pm. And Sunday when it can only be sold between 1am and 4pm so that people will not be tempted to blow off church attendance in favour of cheese buying. Milk will only be sold on Tuesdays between 2:30pm and 3:30pm, because why do retailers need to be open any longer than that?
9. People will only be allowed to buy milk and cheese from one retailer each week. They’ll have their hand stamped after each purchase and council inspectors will conduct random checks outside supermarkets. Retailers will be fined up to $500,000 for selling dairy products to someone who already has a hand stamp, or outside the permitted hours.
These simple rules will certainly solve NZ’s diabetes and heart disease problem. Only child pornographers could possibly be opposed to them. Think of the children!
[Via a comment by 'davidp' on Kiwiblog]
Minister's Drug Revelation Leads To Call For Resignation
Minister's Drug Revelation Leads To Call For Resignation
ACT on Campus is calling for the resignation of Justice Minister Simon Power, following his comments on Drug Reform policy on Thursday.
Responding to a set of drug law reform proposals laid out by the Law Commission, Mr. Power told The Dominion Post on Thursday that there was not a single solitary chance that as long as he was the Minister of Justice that drug laws would be relaxed in New Zealand.
“Where's the justice in Minister Power proclaiming what will be the law without regard for the Commission's research and the views of the New Zealand public? The Minister should resign and make way for someone who is willing to consider the evidence and listen to the public.” said Peter McCaffrey, ACT on Campus Vice President.
ACT on Campus is encouraged by the Law Commission's proposals which would allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes, and ensure that those using marijuana recreationally would not be criminalised and imprisoned, but instead be sent to rehab.
“Victimless crimes should not be crimes at all and highly restrictive drug laws are more harmful than the drugs themselves as they drive the drug trade underground, often leading users and addicts resorting to crime to fund their habits.” said Peter McCaffrey.
ENDS
Media Contact: Peter McCaffrey, 021 1417 026, vicepresident@actoncampus.org.nz
Liquor Law Reform
On Monday reps from ACT on Campus, Young Labour, Young Greens and the Young Nats got together to discuss liquor law reform. David Farrar blogs on it here. We are putting together a submission on these issues, so all comments and thoughts are appreciated.
This is a lengthy post on the options we discussed. It is somewhat biased towards my own opinion, but I have tried to include all major viewpoints put forward and an indication of where the various youth wings agreed and where our views diverged. If you have the stamina to trawl through it, then good for you. If not, check out the summary I have conveniently placed at the top so you don’t have to die before you get there.
Go and read the full post!
John Stossel And Penn Jillete Discuss Health Care
The US Free Market
The main argument against a free market health system is usualy the simple claim of:
"Look how bad the US is."
Unfortunately, in the same way everyone claims that the banking system in the US was unregulated, this argument assumes that the US health system is a free market and doesn't bother to prove it.
Here is a video (from 1993 - things are even worse now) that neatly shows just how free the US health system really is:
Labour Announce Health Vouchers
Well, surprise, surprise!
Labour announce Health Vouchers
No, don't be silly, not that Labour!
UK Labour now join the Tories and Lib Dems in their adoption of vouchers (those two parties already support Education Vouchers).
Will Helen be taking ideas from UK Labour this election?