Well, let’s start with the definition. 
Commercial: [kuh-mur-shuhl] noun.   A paid radio and/or television advertisement or promotional announcement.
Commentary: [kom-uhn-ter-ee] noun. A series of comments, explanations, or annotations.

Now, on to the commentary.  Haven’t you ever seen a commercial and your jaw just dropped open?  You were thinking: “You have to be kidding me?!”  This week, I’m going to cover the somewhat embarrassing topic of various personal care items and the ridiculous lengths advertisers will go to in order to transfer money from your wallet to their bank account. 

Here are three that have caught my attention:

Feminine care product advertisements in general- why are the women always so happy?  Even the new commercial- the one that makes fun of the old “dancing on the beach, smiling softly, wind blowing through the hair” advertisements- shows happy women!   Trust me, no woman is going to choose what feminine care products to purchase based on a commercial, no matter how happy the women look.   

I saw an ED pump advertisement claiming that it was covered by Medicare.  Honestly, I don’t care enough to research this, but did find the site online, again with the claim that it was covered by Medicare.  You have got to be kidding me!?!

I was watching a show the other day and saw a Vagisil commercial come on.  The actress actually said:  “I found out the hard way that not all feminine washes get rid of odor.”
First of all, should someone actually be suffering from this problem, are commercials going to be their source of information?  Uh, shouldn’t you see a doctor or something? 
Secondly, what the hell is the hard way?......I cannot even begin to guess. 
Come to think of it, what is the easy way?

The medical field and our understanding of nutrition has undeniably changed over the years.  I will be the first to admit that.  However, I also think that we should make our own decisions about nutrition- not just look at the government guidelines and assume that they know best.  We have an interesting situation: there are people who don’t trust the government to properly collect taxes, spend our money wisely, or protect our basic freedoms.  However, they are completely willing to believe that the government is not only wise about what our daily nutrition should be, but that the government is not affected in the slightest by special interests.  

I’m taking no particular stand on the issue of nutrition.  I’m a big believer in the “make your own decisions and live with the consequences” school of thought.  I thought it would informative and slightly humorous to look at the advice given to us over the years, by both the government and the medical community, about what we should be consuming.  Enjoy!

Bad as it is to say, our best advice for eating came from this poster.  From the period of 1894 to 1940. 

In 1941 and 1942, this poster was widely used to inform the American people on good nutrition.  Note in particular the “vitamin rich fats, peanut butter and similar spreads” section of the poster.   In all honesty, it's not bad advice for the time, as the obesity rates were much lower. 

From 1943 to 1955, we now had the "Basic 7."  We still have butter with every single meal, including breakfast.  Not to mention, we better remember to eat dessert. 

By 1956, we’ve gotten rid of the fats (there was no distinction between healthy and unhealthy fats at this point), but there is still no upper limit on number of portions nor a guide to portion sizes.  Everything is “so many servings or more.” 

1979, we have the same basic groups we have today.  Fats are back and sweets are added, but only with a caution sign. 

In 1984, we were introduced to the Food Wheel. 

In 2000, we have our famous Food Pyramid.  For those who don’t remember, arguments abounded about the term that should be used for “Fats, Oils, & Sweets.”  They finally settled on “use sparingly.” 

Then came the "vertical" pyramid with a creepy "kind-of stick figure" running up the side.  I realize they were emphasizing getting exercise in, but it looks more like they were recommended we walk all over our food before we eat it. 

And,now, ta-da, we have been introduced to the "Plate."  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after 70 years of medical research, they've finally figured out we eat off of a plate.  When you go to the government website to look at the plate, notice the words morphing between English and Spanish.  Because, unlike in National Treasure, there is NOT a treasure map on the backside of the Declaration of Independence.  It's really copied over in Spanish. 

Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the U.S. has stopped a plot instigated by certain factions of the Iranian government.  The goal of the plot was to bomb both the Israeli and Saudi Arabian embassies and to kill the ambassador from Saudi Arabia.  Mainstream news is covering the details, so I’ll skip those, but I wanted to highlight exactly what the spokesman (named Ali Akbar Javanfekr) for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: 
    “I think the U.S. government is busy fabricating a new scenario and history has shown both the U.S. government and the CIA have a lot of experience in fabricating these scenarios and this is just the latest one,” he said. “I think their goal is to reach the American public. They want to take the public’s mind off the serious domestic problems they’re facing these days and scare them with fabricated problems outside the country.”

Maybe I simply don’t have the right mindset, but this seems a little farfetched.  Even assuming (and this is a big assumption) that the White House or Congress wanted to distract the American people with a fake attempted terrorist plot, exactly how would they carry this out? 
To foil a plot, one must first prove that the plot existed with evidence, such as phone records, purchases of suspicious material (things to make explosives, for example), vehicle rentals or purchases, etc, etc, etc. 

Therefore, it would follow that the government either is:
1) Hiring people to do the suspicious actions mentioned above thus providing the evidence required
-or-
2) The people investigating the plot are fabricating evidence, meaning that multiple people in the FBI and DEA are developing a fake script, reports, evidence, etc., and then sticking to it. 

Please take the poll below and/or leave a comment to share your opinion.    

Sources:
CNN. (2011, Oct. 11) Live blog: FBI, DEA thwart terror plot in U.S., involving Iran, officials say. CNN.com. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2011 from: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/11/official-fbi-dea-disrupt-terror-plot-in-u-s-involving-iran/?hpt=hp_t1
Fox News. (2011, Oct. 11) U.S. Ties Iran to Assassination Plot Against Saudi Diplomat on U.S. Soil. FoxNews.com. Retrieved Oct. 11, 2011 from: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/11/iranians-charged-over-terror-plot-in-us/