NYC mayor wants hospitals to lock up baby formulato encourage breast-feeding

[tercio67]

You people should have never let the English kick you out of New Amsterdam.

BTW, my earliest American ancestor was a crazy Dutchman who settled in what is now upstate New York in the early 1680s.

We didn't, after taking it back (the province of Zeeland seized it) we found it to be of little or no use and gave it to the English for ****s and giggles (and some territorial gains in South America).

[RSone]

Our local mayor (known as Robocop if Wikipedia is to be believed) used to be a police officer. He was suspended on full pay for years during a corruption investigation, then resigned because he "lied, deliberately withheld evidence from senior officers, and turned a blind eye to detectives who took and dealt hard drugs, and supplied them to vulnerable suspects in custody.". He maintains he's innocent and that he just did it so he could get out of the police force and run for mayor.

Since becoming mayor his one and only achievement was removing all the homeless people from the most deprived town in England...by having the police forcibly shift them a yard over the boundary and declaring it "not our problem"

Total **** in my opinion, but hey ho.

Our mayors are not elected. Sometimes I think this is a good thing, LOL.

You people should have never let the English kick you out of New Amsterdam.

BTW, my earliest American ancestor was a crazy Dutchman who settled in what is now upstate New York in the early 1680s.

Nieuw Amsterdam was originally founded as a Dutch West India Company settlement (albeit with a mandate from the Estates General) We did end up fighting the English over it after English frigates sailed in and took the settlement without a declaration of war, resulting in the second Anglo Dutch war. We eventually 'traded' it for Suriname because of the natural resources there. Bit strange really, considering we won that war rather decisively.

[California Joe]

He really is a power hungry little bastard.

When my daughter was born my wife tried to breast feed her. It didn't work. Those La Leche League Nazi bitches kept coming in and telling her it was her fault and to let my daughter scream and sooner or later she'd figure it out....This went on for a couple of days, my wife was getting depressed and frustrated and my daughter kept screaming...Finally, I went down to the nurses station and said, "Give me some f*cking formula, NOW. I don't want to see another one of those breast feeding advocate Nazis in my wife's room again." She's 19 now and she seems just fine.

[Spartan10k]

Well that's un-american, OK. That irks you guys, OK.
But is the campaign so dumb if it is of general public interest (i.e less new born mortality, less new born illness, less breast cancers so less burden for the society in term of morbidity/mortality and healthcare costs) ?
Isn't (in this case) a better thing to be pragmatic here ?

The campaign is not the issue. It's the government forcing you to comply that is. What's so hard to understand about that? Do you French always meekly do what your government tells you to do because they tell you it's good for you?

^and way to tell them off CJ, lol

[Mordoror]

Do you French always meekly do what your government tells you to do because they tell you it's good for you?

lol touché

On my side i was just reacting to the interest of the campaign. The rest is US internal politic. Your country, your choices...
However i do believe (warning warning that will sounds evil communism) that sometimes the gov has to implement campaigns
* because it is the only one with the manpower and structure to do so
* you cannot rely individualy on the population when it comes to some issues

Best example is vaccination : to have an efficient vaccination you need to cover more than 90% of any given population. If you do not, it is like pissing in a stream river.
The only one able to achieve that number is a centralized structure i.e a gov
Meddling is maybe not pleasant, it is sometimes a necessity : sheer example : polio or smallpox vaccination campaigns. Would you still complain about the fact that gov forced people to comply here and that now we have not anymore 30% of letality due to smallpow and thousand of crippled youth due to polio ? The automated reaction "all gov decisions = bad" sound a bit too far fetched in some cases.
As i said sometimes pragmatism doesn't hurt

[EdisonTrent]

I grew up on dairy/formula and I'm not THAT stupid? Right?

[Sootan]

I grew up on dairy/formula and I'm not THAT stupid? Right?

Nobody's saying that. There are a lot of other factors involved in the development of human body/brain. Scientifically, breastfeeding IS better than formula.

[szr]

Our mayors are not elected. Sometimes I think this is a good thing, LOL

Then, like 'royalty', they ought to be powerless.


Regarding to topic:

The voluntary initiative was launched in May by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and it includes three other primary components:

• Enforcing existing state hospital regulations that say that breastfeeding infants should not receive supplemental formula feedings unless medically indicated, a regulation that is widely ignored
• Discontinuing the distribution of promotional or free infant formula
• Prohibiting the display and distribution of infant formula promotional materials, including bags and other items branded by formula companies, in any hospital location

Rest can be read here: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Parenting/33993

Not that I expect anyone, here, to read it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a lifelong democrat who ran as a "republican" because there was already a democratic candidate (minor inconvenience) in the mayoral race. Nothing more.

My thought exactly.
They'll hang me for this suggestion but it appears to me as if more powers should be delegated away from city and state leaders and given to the federal government. It's unhealthy if everyone tries to do their own thing and pursue their own agenda. Federalism is a nice accomplishment but too much of it can be one giant brake on cross-social progress.

Why would we hang you? You can do whatever you like with your country. Oh, you were talking about the US? I'll get the rope.

[Corrupt]

Then, like 'royalty', they ought to be powerless.

There are plenty of positions which set policy in the public sector which aren't elected.

[tercio67]

Then, like 'royalty', they ought to be powerless.
..........

I think how we conduct our affairs is our business, just as yours isn't ours.

[szr]

I think how we conduct our affairs is our business, just as yours isn't ours.

Why are you posting in this thread, then?

[tercio67]

Why are you posting in this thread, then?

I commented on something that was said, not in relation to the OP topic. Just like you did.

[Atlantic Friend]

There are plenty of positions which set policy in the public sector which aren't elected.

Ministers/Secretaries do come to mind. They do tend to see themselves as royalty, mind you, at least as long as it does not involve getting a guillotine haircut.

[Corrupt]

Ministers/Secretaries do come to mind. They do tend to see themselves as royalty, mind you, at least as long as it does not involve getting a guillotine haircut.

True. On the upside, they're often "resigned" (new passive verb) by the elected ones when **** goes wrong. What was that saying about Thatcher? "Greater love hath no man than he would lay down his friends for his life"?

[szr]

There are plenty of positions which set policy in the public sector which aren't elected.

If you're talking about positions within the US government, the term is delegation of authority. Elected bodies like the House of Representatives often delegate enumerated powers they can't be bothered with to new bodies and offices they create for the purposes of carrying out those powers; preferring to be involved through oversight and funding, rather than direct involvement. There are no kings and queens, here; nor hobbits or wizards.