Olbermann on Palin: Socialist, fraud

Governor doesn’t have a problem with Alaska’s socialistic collectivism


Finally tonight, the Campaign Comment, and the real danger when you run a presidential candidate who thinks he's Joe six-pack the Plumber, and a Vice Presidential candidate who thinks she's Huey Long.

It's not that the rhetoric in a desperate flailing last week on the stump can get hyperbolic and dangerous. It's that each person on that campaign hears some of that giddying hyperbolic and dangerous rhetoric and tries to top it.

MyPyramid Tips for Eating More Fruits Every Day

From HealthCastle and Lauren Girdler:

You probably think of fruit mainly as a healthy snack or dessert - but fruits can also be included in entrees. It is recommended that you eat two cups of fruit every day, with the majority coming from whole fruit rather than juice.

Fruit as Snacks

Buy fruits that are dried, frozen, and canned (in 100% fruit juice or water rather than syrup) as well as fresh, so that you always have a supply on hand for a healthy snack.

• Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the kitchen table or counter for easy access any time of the day.
• Dried fruit makes a great, portable snack. Because they are more concentrated, 1/4 cup of dried fruit is equivalent to 1/2 cup of fresh or canned fruit. Try dried apricots, apples, pineapple, bananas, cherries, figs, dates, cranberries, blueberries, prunes, and raisins.
• Top yogurt or cereal with fruits like bananas, peaches, or berries.
• Make a fruit smoothie by blending fat-free or low-fat milk with fresh or frozen fruit.
  

Add Fruit to Meals

Fruits make great snacks, but they can be a healthy addition at meal-time too.

• At breakfast, add blueberries to pancakes.
• At lunch, always pack a portable fruit like a tangerine, banana, or grapes.
• At dinner, include fruit like mandarin oranges or apples with salads. Or try meat dishes that incorporate fruit, such as chicken with apricots and mango chutney.
• For dessert, have baked apples or a fruit salad.
  

Make Fruit Appeal to Children

If you make fruit an important part of your diet, your children will get excited about fruit as well.

• Let children pick which fruits they pack in their lunch.
• Instead of candy, give your children dried fruits like raisins or mangos.
• Pack a 100% juice box in school lunches instead of soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Make fun fruit kabobs using chunks of apple, banana, pineapple, and berries.
  

Bottom Line:

Fruits are versatile foods that can be eaten with meals or as a healthy snack. Make sure that most, if not all, of the fruit you eat comes from real fruit sources as opposed to fruit juice.

Olbermann: Joe the Failed campaign gimmick

McCain's latest strategy doesn't resonate well with the voters




Finally as promised tonight's Campaign Comment and John McCain's announcement today of the start of his "Joe the Plumber Tour." Senator, whaddya mean start?

Every day since the last debate, eight long days ago, when you mentioned this guy more often than Jackie Mason mentions his tour dates, every day has been your "Joe the Plumber" tour.

Olbermann: McCain's clumsy hypocrisy

Baseball and clothes become latest GOP campaign mistakes



Finally, as promised, tonight's Campaign Comment and the issue of $150,000 being spent by the Republican National Committee so it could play vice presidential Color-Forms with Sarah Palin and her family is almost literally window-dressing.

But even this saga of the Would-Be Empress's New Clothes does emphasize a point about the campaign, worthy of deep consideration. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars in clothes, Sen. McCain? To make what might as well be an actress playing your running mate look more like a vice president, Sen. McCain?

Olbermann: Divisive politics is anti-American

I have frequently insisted I would never turn the platform of the Special Comment into a regular feature. But as these last two weeks of this extraordinary, and extraordinarily disturbing, presidential campaign project out in front of us, I fear I may have to temporarily amend that presumption.

I hope it will be otherwise, but I suspect this will be the first of nightly pieces, most shorter than this until further notice. And thus a Special Comment tonight about the last five days of the divisive, ugly, paranoid bleatings of this Presidential race, culminating in the sliming of Colin Powell for his endorsement of Sen. Obama.

MyPyramid Tips to Help You Eat Calcium-Rich Foods

From HealthCastle and Lauren Girdler:

Calcium is an important part of a healthy diet, especially for women. Adults should consume three cups a day of dairy, or a dairy alternative. (Children should consume two cups.) Most people get their calcium from dairy products, but there are still plenty of other food sources of calcium that can help keep your teeth and bones strong.

Choosing the Right Kinds of Dairy

Whenever you have a calcium-rich dairy product, make sure it is either low-fat or fat-free.

If you drink whole milk, gradually switch from a higher-fat (2%), to low-fat (1%), and finally to fat-free (skim). Other ways to include milk in your diet include:

• Drink milk as a beverage at meals.
• Prepare coffee and tea with milk instead of cream.
• Add milk instead of water to oatmeal and hot cereals.
• Use milk when making condensed cream soups (such as cream of tomato or cream of chicken).
• For dessert, make chocolate or butterscotch pudding with milk.

Yogurt is another great source of calcium that also contains beneficial probiotics. Some ways to include more yogurt in your diet:

• Have yogurt as a snack.
• Make a dip for fruits or vegetables from yogurt.
• Make fruit-yogurt smoothies in the blender.
• Top a baked potato with yogurt.

Low-lactose/Dairy Alternatives

Milk, cheese, and yogurt all have lactose-free alternatives. In fact, some regular cheeses are naturally low in sugar and lactose-free! Always check the sugar content on the Nutrition Facts label - the lower the sugar level, the less lactose the product contains. In addition, there are many other lactose-free, calcium-fortified foods:

• Eat soy products, including cheese, yogurt, milk, tofu, and tempeh.
• Drink calcium-fortified beverages such as rice milk and orange juice.
• Choose a variety of fish that are high in calcium, including sardines, salmon, perch, and trout.
• Leafy, green vegetables are not only low in fat, they are also a good source of calcium. Select from collard greens, kale, and bok choy.

Bottom Line

There are many great ways to get your daily required amount of calcium, from dairy and non-dairy sources. Even if you have no problem consuming dairy foods, many of the dairy alternatives are healthy and delicious additions to your diet. Always choose a low-fat or fat-free calcium source.

Obama preparded dirty election tricks

Olbermann: McCain, suspend your campaign

Is the Economy Stressing You Out?

These tough economic times are stressing people out. According to the American Psychological Association, the economy is a top source of stress for eight out of 10 of us. What's happening to people nowadays, as huge companies go bankrupt, and jobs, homes and nest eggs are crumbling? Psychologists say that we’re:

• Preoccupied by worries and unable to focus on work
• Irritable with family members or even pets
• Pessimistic
• Unable to sleep
• Self-medicating with food, sweets, or alcohol

If that sounds like you, try this survival guide from MSN Health:

• Keep your friends close. According to George Howe, a professor of psychology at George Washington University, it used to be that people got security from their families and communities - but that safety net isn’t as strong today. Some people feel embarrassed and don’t want to share their problems with other people, but Howe says it’s important to build up that protective network.
  
  
• Talk to your boss. Mitchell Marks, a management consultant and psychologist, says if you’re worried about your job, you should talk to your supervisor to make sure you remain a valued employee. Find out exactly what your priorities should be on a weekly basis.
  
  
• Focus on your relationship. Facing hard times together brings people closer. So, don’t hide your worries or problems from your spouse. Men in particular tend to shut their spouse out when things go wrong financially or on the job. However, you need to look at your financial situations long-term, and come up with goals together.
  
  
• If you’re really freaking out, turn off the TV news. Many programs talk about the worst possible scenario, and that can cause your blood pressure to spike – even if you just have it on in the background. According to the Duke University School of Medicine, watching more than 30 minutes of television news per day can give people clinical levels of psychological stress. Instead, turn off the TV and focus on what YOU can control, in YOUR economic situation, right now.
  

Olbermann: It's Palin doing the pallin

My Own Grandfather

By Mark Twain:

After long years as a bachelor I was tired of being alone and married a widow with a grown daughter. My father fell in love with the daughter and took her as his wife. This made me my own son-in-law and my stepdaughter became my mother. After a year my wife gave birth to a son. Now, my son was my father's brother-in-law and at the same time my uncle, since he was my stepmother's brother. But my father's wife also gave birth to a son. So this was my brother and also my grandson, since he was the son of my daughter. This meant I'd married my grandmother, since she was the mother of my mother. As my wife's husband, I was also her grandson. And since the husband of a grandmother is always a grandfather, I am my own grandfather.

Do-It-Yourself Health Cures

Here are do-it-yourself tricks that can help you relieve certain health problems...found in Woman’s World Magazine.

• The first health problem: Restless legs. More than 12 million Americans are kept awake by the creepy, crawly feeling in their legs known as “Restless Leg Syndrome” – or RLS. So what’s the fix on this? Try drinking TONIC WATER. Researchers found that quinine - the compound that gives tonic water its bitter taste – cuts the number of muscle cramps in HALF for 80 percent of RLS sufferers. So if RLS is keeping you awake at night, try drinking a 6-ounce glass nightly. Know this: Quinine can interact with some medications, so talk to your doctor before drinking tonic water regularly.
  
  
• The next health problem: Smoking. I don’t have to tell you about how bad smoking is for your health. If you’re ready to quit, grab your cell phone and start TEXT MESSAGING. A study found that sending daily text messages more than doubled the chances that wanna-be quitters would succeed at tossing their cigarettes. Why would text messaging help you quit smoking? According to lead researcher Dr. Anthony Rodgers, it’s a great distraction that lets you do something else with your fingers. If your cell phone isn’t nearby when you get a cigarette craving, find other ways to occupy your hands – like knitting. Just like with a food craving, if you can distract yourself and keep your hands busy for 10 to 15 minutes, it’ll pass.
  
  
• The final do-it-yourself health cure is for nighttime heartburn. Try sleeping on your LEFT SIDE. How can this stop the pain? Lying on the left side relaxes a muscle in the lower esophagus, allowing less acid to come in contact with delicate tissues and cause burning. Plus, it creates more room in the stomach for acids to pool, making it less likely they’ll come back up and bother you.