Thursday, October 30, 2008

DST: Springing Forward, Falling Back is Bad/Good For Our Health

by Sandy Sand

Being a devout hater of Daylight Savings Time, I always knew DST is bad for one’s health and psyche, and a study by Swedish researchers proves it.

Daylight Savings Time turns our body clocks inside out and backwards.

According to the Associated Press, the findings, which are reported in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, Swedish scientists discovered the following after reviewing health records for the last 20 years: In the week after "spring forward," there was a five percent increase in heart attacks, with a six percent bump Monday and Wednesday and a 10 percent increase Tuesday.

In the week after "fall back," the number of heart attacks was about the same as in the previous and subsequent weeks, except for a five percent decrease Monday.


In my opinion, contrary to popular belief that DST is an energy saver verges on worldwide urban legend; Daylight Savings is NOT an energy saver.

If anything, it’s an energy waster.

Because the sun sets an hour later, it means we keep our energy-guzzling air-conditioners running an hour longer. Keeping the A/C on longer is certainly more energy-consuming that flipping on a few light switches.

Not only that, but the last two week of DST are depressing as hell. It’s dark for so long in the morning it puts a drag on the entire day while draining our own personal energy.

When I look at the clock and it says 7 a.m. and the sun is barely peeking over the horizon, it feels like something is terribly wrong.

Blame the charcoal industry for extending DST hours; it was their lobbying efforts that done this to us, because they wanted a little more daylight so they could sell more charcoal.

Who uses charcoal bar-b-ques anymore anyway? As for me, I find it a pain in the butt to make all those trips out back to cook what I can whip up just as well and far more easily in my kitchen.

Even with gas bar-b-ques, I rarely smell the tempting aroma of sizzling steaks wafting into my back yard, so I’m not sure how many people are still throwing shrimp or anything else on the barbie.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_10851210

Monday, October 27, 2008

Single Digits Narrow Obama/McCain Race

by Sandy Sand

Election day is almost here.

The race between presidential candidates Barack “Change” Obama and John “More of the Same” McCain is eight days from now and counting…


These are the only single digits I want to see separate these two candidates.
The election cannot come soon enough.

Or as Obama said, “ENOUGH!”

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sarah Palin is Going Off the McCain Reservation and Staking Out Her Own Territory

by Sandy Sand

The first hints of Sarah Palin separating herself from John McCain came last week from Rachael Maddow and Keith Olbermann; now it’s all over the Web.

As I write, it’s the first topic on Howard Kurtz’ Reliable Sources on CNN.

But the most prophetic analysis of Palin’s inner self came from the woman who beat her out in the Miss Alaska pageant 24 years ago, Maryline Blackburn.

If you haven’t hear all the buzz about Sarah Palin’s “divaship.” This is a must read: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/25/palin.tension/index.html

One Palin aide said she’s trying to take control of her message, while a McCain adviser is quoted as saying, "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone."

It almost goes without saying that divas are ego-centric people, who listen to no one or nothing but their own egotistical, single-vision inner voices.

But the most prophetic person in all of this is Maryline Blackburn, who nailed Palin for what she is way back when.

Blackburn beat out Palin as Miss Alaska, and at the conclusion of the pageant in 1984, she nailed Palin as “calculating,” “determined,” and is always sizing up people and situations behind her smile.

It appears that nothing has changed in the intervening 24 years, except that Palin’s calculating and determination may have gotten even stronger.

You‘d be wrong if you think Blackburn‘s past association with Palin is influencing her to vote for the beauty pageant runner-up. In spite of the pageant’s Miss Congeniality winner’s note of congratulations to Blackburn, she said she’s firmly in Barack Obama’s camp.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Hallowe'en Masks Pick the President

by Sandy Sand

And the winner is…..

….. Barack Obama!

I wouldn’t take it to the bank, but pre-presidential election sales of Hallowe’en masks have been accurate predictors of who will be our next president.

Tracking of sales by Amazon.com showed that Barack Obama masks are outselling John McCain masks by a margin of eight percent; 54 percent to 46 percent, which more or less reflects the national polls.

Buycostumes.com has been tracking sales of presidential candidate Hallowe’en masks since 1980, and there’s no masking the fact that in every instance the winner of the election also was the winner in mask purchasing race.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_10772061?source=rv

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Free Range Grannies Own Sandy Sand is Running For President. Must be True, I Got the Email

by Sandy Sand

Sandy for President!

I got the funniest, if not the most important email of my life yesterday, informing me that I’m a presidential candidate.

Wow! How good does that get? And I haven’t done a thing or raised one deflated penny.

Once informed of my party-of-one candidacy, I immediately went into platform-forming mode.

Sandy's First Fiat: All health insurance companies will be outlawed and Rep. Dennis Kucinich will be name to the cabinet post of Single-Payer Planner.

That’s just for starters.

California dreamin’? You bet! But it would sure make a lot of people happy.

http://www.aarpvote08.org/?d=U2FuZHkgU2FuZA==

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

John McCain is the New Monster Frightening Our Kids to Death

by Sandy Sand

John McCain is the new bogeyman, ghost, vampire and worst kind of monster rolled into one, who's scaring our kids.

Now we know that McCain truly hates children.


It wasn’t bad enough that he voted against the S-Chip, which provides health care for children, but now if they don’t die from a preventable disease, his robocalls accusing Barack Obama of being a terrorist will scare them to death.

Yesterday MSNBC reported that children across America are picking up phones and hearing the despicable robo messages.

Parents are reporting that after their children hear the message they are terrified that if Obama is elected we will be overrun by terrorists and they are doomed.

Thanks, Johnny. Just what we need is for you to be making our kids even more neurotic and hyperactive than they already are.

Who knew that the simple act of answering a telephone could be harmful to our kids’ health?

Friday, October 17, 2008

FOX to Delay World Series Game 6 Due to Hurricane Barack

by Sandy Sand

Proving that money speaks louder than ideology, the Fox Network has asked for and received permission from Major League Baseball to delay game six of the World Series by 15 minutes.
That is…if there is a game six.

The Obama campaign has made a major television buy on all the networks on October 29th to air a half-hour special.

Sports events are never pre-empted except in the case of a national disaster, such as 9/11, or in the event of a natural disaster as the earthquake in San Francisco that delayed the third game of the 1989 World Series between the Giants and Oakland for 10 days.

Fox and Fox News may be the National GOP Network, but when it comes to money, the umpires at Fox ruled that ideology struck out and money won.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Any Sane Granny Will Say This is Quote by John McCain is Insane

by Sandy Sand

Behind by six: McCain said he “Has ’em where he wants ’em.”

What’d he say? Talk about needing some mental health care.

Calling Dr. Phil!

It might take one assh**e to cure another.

Quote of the young century by John McCain:

We’re down by six points. We've got 'em where we want 'em!

How many other things can we apply to McCain's losing illogic of “we've got 'em where we want 'em?

* The Dodgers are down by three to one…
* The stock market is down a thousand points…
* My son just got arrested for the third time…well maybe that’s where you wanted him.
*The price of gas is $5 per gallon…
* Al-Qaida is stronger than ever in Afghanistan…
* Osama bin-Laden is hiding in a cave…
* Bush got us into trillion of dollars worth of debt…
* Prescription drug prices are at an all time high…
* More people than ever lost their jobs last month…
* The ice caps are melting at an alarming rate…
* Our borders are wide open, so any damn terrorist can walk in…
* We no longer manufacture anything in this country…
* Detroit can’t make a decent car to save their company lives…
* We accept toxic toys, drugs and food from China…
* Just think anything that’s bad is good and the situation is just where you want it.

Maybe we should call in Dr. Bombay. Nah. The Reverend Thomas Muthee will just go after him.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Progressive Grannies Should be so Proud

SEE/HEAR UNCAMOUFLAGED BOOING LINKED BELOW

Except it doesn't work and I have no idea why, and being technically computer illiterate, I can't make it work. So to see the video, which is well worth viewing, go to steveyoungonpolitcs.com.
SJS

By Steve Young

Philadelphia Flyers owner and major Republican donor, Ed Snider piped in the loudest music he could, but it couldn't camouflage the Philly boos snowing down on Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin.

In what will be known forever in Philly history as the Palin Curse, it set the scene for one of the Flyers' worst opening night, opening period performances ever as they found themselves down to the New York Rangers, 4-0 before the first period was over.

In what should have been a sweet, memorable moment for Philadelphian Kathy O'Connell, voted the Flyers top hockey mom, Snider forced O'Connell to become part of a national embarrassment when Palin was bought onto the ice next to accompanied by a barrage of boos from the Philly faithful.

Congrats McCain campaign. Mess up a wet dream? You even ruined a home team's opening game.

Friday, October 10, 2008

For All You Hockey Grannies Out There

The Stupidest Political Move in History - Palin To Drop Puck At Philadelphia Flyers Opener

by Steve Young

Given enough room, Kate Smith has to be turning over in her grave.

In what has to be the most brainless moves in political and sports history - other than Texas Ranger managing partner, George Bush trading Sammy Sosa to the White Sox for Harold Baines - National Hockey League Philadelphia Flyers owner, Ed Snider is bringing in Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin to drop the ceremonial first puck at the Flyers home opener Saturday night.

Besides the fact that it is an overt politically-partisan move by Snider, who is a major Republican donor, that will completely distract from the united fan front of such an evening, the presumed “mixed” reaction from the fans, where boos always echo far louder than cheers, will send the embarrassing YouTube clip swirling breakneck viral through the net until November 5.

Philadelphia doesn’t take kindly to any icon, friendly or not, messing with their sports teams. There are still many unrepentant snowball-throwing terrorists residing in Philly. Has Snider forgotten Santa Claus being pelted with snowballs at the Eagles game?

But even more important than the public humiliation Snider would have provided to Palin and himself, the greatest offense is the defiling of the memory of the Flyer’s time-honored symbol of God, country, and the Broadstreet Bullies…Kate Smith.

A great songstress of earlier days, her stirring rendition of “God Bless America,” she sang her way into Philadelphia sports lore when the team played her version of “God Bless America” before a game in 1969.

The Flyers began to play the song before a number of home games…many more of them they won than lost. When Smith made a surprise visit and actually walked onto the Spectrum ice on October 11, 1973 to sing the Flyer’s appropriated anthem for their opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, she carved a place in every Flyers fan’s heart forever.

Smith again performed the song before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on May 19, 1974, at which the Flyers clinched their first of two back-to-back Stanley Cups, winning that playoff series against the Boston Bruins 4 games to 2, with Bernie Parent shutting the Bruins out 1-0 in that game.

Smith united the fans even more than the game itself, and now Snider has decided to spit on her grave while carving a political divide right through the center of the Wachovia Center.

Kate Smith and Philadelphia deserve more.

Steve Young blogs at the aptly named steveyoungonpolitics.com

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Sarah Palin to Return Tainted Contributions, Sort Of…

by Sandy Sand

Republican V.P. candidate Sarah Palin, who professes to be unscrupulously clean and above it all when it comes to political corruption, has decided to return $2,030 contributed to her 2006 gubernatorial campaign by allegedly corrupt Alaskan politicians.


Give the money back? Not exactly. She giving it to an as yet unnamed charity.
How convenient. Odds on that Palin, who says she holds herself to the “highest ethical standards,” will deduct the 2K from her income taxes as a charitable contribution.

But which charity will she give it to? Witch Hunting Reverends, Inc.?

It would be better to send it back from whence it came; those guys need all the gold they can get for their legal defense funds.

Source:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palindonors26-2008sep26,0,3740374.story

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Perkiness Factor: Why Joe Biden Lost the Debate

by Sandy Sand

This piece by Steve Young is such dead-on satire that after reading it twice, I still don't whether to laugh or cry.


The Perkiness Factor: Why Joe Biden Lost the Debate

If you’re gonna run a town, it’s better to be perky than smart.” Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor*

I know the liberal mainstream media will try to spin the vice presidential debate as a win for Joe Biden, but that’s because they continue to be out of touch with what the folks really care about.

Perkiness.


It wasn’t simply that Biden wasn’t perky enough, but the guy just doesn’t understand the plain folks. Not once did Biden punctuate a point with a snappy wink. That’s for darn sure. The folks like a politician who knows how to wink to show they’re right there with you. My only problem with Sarah was that he did not point and click at the same time.

Yet Sarah was far more than perky. She was shrewd. Shrewd enough to know darn well than to answer the questions that were asked. Biden felt he had to answer the actual questions, filling those answers with all kinds of endless specifics.

If he gave one more detail to explain how he and Obama plan to change the horrific direction Bush and company has taken this country that McCain wants to continue, I swear I would have crawled through the TV machine and strangled him.


Sarah correctly pointed out that Biden kept looking back instead of forward. Where I come from, if you don’t want to bump into people in front of you, you look forward not backward.

If Biden thinks you can learn anything from history, I can tell you from experience, he’s just bound not to repeat it.

Biden said that “looking back” was a prologue. A prologue? Come on. We’re not talking books here. We’re talking running a country, which is less about books and more about, energy, which, as Sarah obviously knows, is the answer to every question.

Sure, as the MSM will say, Biden spoke with expertise and a full grasp of the details of whatever he was proposing. That’s because he obviously has no where near the ability of Sarah to memorize. And if Biden ever really went to school he would know that passing a test has far more to do with memorization than any kind of comprehension. Leave no child behind? Try leave no Senator behind.

It was blah-blah-blah “the Ayatollahs are in charge of Iran, not Amadinejad,” and blah-blah-blah “Energy plans are more than just ‘drill, baby, drill.’ They’re wind, solar, bio-diesel, and nuclear power” or blah-blah-blah “our commander on the ground in Afghanistan has said that an Iraq surge would not work there like Sarah said.”

Enough with the facts. You fill your head with facts, how in the world are you going to have room for the talking points that can fit on a bumper sticker? And while I’m at it, what is so wrong with Sarah using talking points. Perhaps you want her to make her points without talking?

They’ll say Sarah is just a high school cheerleader parading as a legitimate candidate for leader of this country. Perhaps those elite, blue state, northerners don’t know that your can’t spell the word “cheerleader” without the word “leader.”

And you can’t spell Vice President with three e’s and you don’t have to be a math genius to know there are just that amount of e’s in cheerleader.

But above it all, Biden’s problems were embodied by his refusal to respond to Sarah’s polite, but unrehearsed, request to “Say, it ain’t so, Joe.” He kept saying it was “so.” Over and over. And that’s not what the folks want to hear, doggonit.


They want hear “perk.”

Ask anyone in Mayberry.

*Though it might have been Chrissy from “Three’s Company.” What Andy Taylor might have said was, ”After last night, Aunt Bee must be rolling over in her grave.”

Steve Young is the author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" and the aptly named steveyoungonpolitics.com



Thursday, October 2, 2008

Food For Thought: What to Cook Up For Tonight's Veep Debate Party

by Sandy Sand

What to whip up to satisfy our need for nourishing our bodies, while nibbling on something to quench our thirst for knowledge at our debate watching party?

Come to think of it, why aren’t all the newspaper food sections filled with debate recipes like they are for Thanksgiving or the Super Bowl?

I know. Combine them.

First, we’re thankful that kickoff for the debate is almost here; and secondly, by 10:30 p.m. on the East Coast and 7:30 out here in the wild west…it will “thankfully” be over.

Over that is except for all the post-debate armchair quarterbacking.
Our foodie tradition has been have sloppy Joe’s on election night, hotdogs for the Super Bowl, burgers and chips for the Oscars and nothing but munchies for New Year’s.

Yes, it’s no longer debatable, tonight will be well-served by a one-time tradition for the Biden/Palin debate by combining Thanksgiving with the Super Bowl.

For appetizers we can start with mushroom caps crammed with stuffing and yams on a skewer. The main course will be turkey dogs and chips. To make the meal well-balanced, olives, pickles and quacamole for veggies.

To be ultra patriotic, after all we’ll be watching the vice presidential debate, I’ll throw in Sara Lee’s Stars and Stripes Fourth of July cake.
It might not be the most nutritious meal I even whipped up, but it will be tasty and colorful.

As colorful as the post-debate analysis.