Elections + Weight

[Lord]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/st...ff/story/0001/20041027/1149075745.htm&sc=1110

Half-Ton Man Recovers From Obesity Surgery

By DORIS HAUGEN
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A man who weighed about half a ton when he was admitted to a hospital was recovering Wednesday from obesity surgery.

Patrick Deuel, 42, underwent the procedure to reduce the size of his stomach four months after being admitted to the hospital at 1,072 pounds.

He had been bedridden since last fall and was malnourished because so many of his calories came from foods high in fat and carbohydrates.

Deuel had difficulty breathing and suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes linked to obesity that his doctor said were killing him.

Gastric bypass surgery was thought to be his best chance for permanent weight loss, but doctors said Deuel needed to lose some weight first, to gain enough strength so he could walk on his own and prove he was healthy enough to survive the surgery.

Before going into surgery on Tuesday, Deuel had lost 421 pounds. He said his diabetes and high-blood pressure were under control and credited the results to a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet and exercise.

Caregivers and others are starting to take notice of the changes, he said.

``Every time I move they don't look at me like, 'My God, he is going to fall down or something,''' Deuel told Sioux Falls television station KELO in an interview before the surgery.

Last month, Deuel took his first steps with the help of nurses and two walkers for support. More recently, he has been walking up stairs and even swimming at the hospital's pool.

Gastric bypass is the most common obesity surgery in the United States. The operation involves creating a pouch in the upper stomach and attaching it to a section of intestine, reducing the amount of food patients can eat.

Deuel, a former restaurant manager from Valentine, Neb., is just under 6 feet tall and has always fought his weight. He weighed about 90 pounds in kindergarten and more than 250 pounds in middle school.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/st...1627090298.htm&sc=1110&photoid=20041026MEX06D

Fla. County Says Absentee Ballots Missing


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Up to 58,000 absentee ballots may never have reached the Broward County voters who requested them more than two weeks ago, election officials said, and state police are investigating.

Hundreds of people have called the county elections office to complain that they never got their ballots. The phone system was so overwhelmed some frustrated voters could not get through.

The county election office said the problem involved ballots mailed on Oct. 7-8, though the number of those actually missing was uncertain. Some absentee ballots mailed on those dates have already been returned to be counted.

``We are trying to determine what occurred and whether there was any kind of criminal violation,'' said Paige Patterson-Hughes, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The county blamed the U.S. Postal Service. ``That is something beyond our control,'' Deputy Supervisor of Elections Gisela Salas said. ``We really have no idea what's going on.''

Postal officials said the post office was not to blame.

``We have employees that we assign to handle the absentee ballots that come in,'' said Enola C. Rice, a Postal Service spokeswoman in South Florida. ``So all the absentee ballots that are received by the Postal Service are processed and delivered immediately.''

Absentee voters who did not receive a ballot can request another, which officials said would be sent by overnight mail.

In 2000, Broward gave Democrat Al Gore his biggest margin among Florida counties. He received 67 percent of the vote there, while losing the state to George W. Bush by just 537 votes.

thoughts on either one?

 

[Brian]

Florida, Bush Brothers.. yea..

 

[Anthony]

Is there an implied link between obsesity reduction surgery and absentee voters?

 

[Lord]

no, but i found those two articiles interesting, and didnt wonna post two different threads =p