| List Names Healthiest Fast Food Eateries | |
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| Last Edited: Friday, 06 Mar 2009, 11:29 AM EST | |
| Created: Friday, 06 Mar 2009, 11:29 AM EST | |
 By FRANK CARNEVALEMyFox National MYFOX NATIONAL -- Fast food is quick and inexpensive, but it can also be unhealthy and fattening. Is there a way to eat well and still get a cheap meal? In its March issue, Health magazine surveyed fast food restaurants in America. They ranked the Top 10 and one surprise is that McDonald's makes the list. The key to eating well at these restaurants is to look for the healthy options, like salad, soups and organic foods. Also patrons should go with reasonably sized items. But people need to be careful and stay away from unhealthy options like fries and super-size items. The magazine's criteria was to look at uses of fats, preparation, sodium counts, organic produce and the availability of nutritional information. The testing was conducted by a panel of dietitians, nutritionists and doctors. The America's Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants are: 1. Panera Bread Health magazine has more tips and dangers zones from the restaurants on the list. USA Today columnist Tedd Mitchell, M.D., echos Health magazine, saying that people should "stick to the lower-calorie, lower-fat menu items." Also he suggests splitting items at restaurants in order to save calories and cash. | |
February was another terrible month for the nation’s retailers, but the numbers they reported on Thursday were slightly less awful than in previous months.
Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, exceeded analysts’ expectations, once again underscoring that consumers are opening their wallets only to buy necessities. At stores open at least a year, a barometer of retail heath known as same-store sales, Wal-Mart had a 5.1 percent sales increase, compared with a 2.7 percent increase for the period a year ago.
The company said its strong sales were driven by its grocery and health-and-wellness categories, and noted that more customers are streaming through its doors.
“We believe falling gas prices significantly boosted household disposable income in February and therefore allowed for both more trips and more spending towards discretionary categories,” Wal-Mart said in announcing its results.
On the heels of that news, Wal-Mart said Thursday that it would increase its annual dividend to $1.09 a share, a 15 percent increase from the 95 cents a share paid during fiscal year 2009. “The strength of our operations and the resulting strong financial position allow us to increase our dividend payout to shareholders again this year,” Mike Duke, Wal-Mart’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Thanks to Wal-Mart, the retail industry had a 0.7 percent sales gain in February compared with the period a year ago, according to Retail Metrics, a research firm. Without Wal-Mart, overall retail sales would have fallen 4.1 percent. As Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, noted in a report Thursday morning, “it’s still ugly,” but Wal-Mart “dressed up” the month nicely. Thomson Reuters had slightly different numbers, showing that overall industry sales increased 0.3 percent, and declined 4.7 percent not including Wal-Mart.
Whatever the overall sales increase, it was less than a percent — but nonetheless welcome news for an industry that has not posted a positive sales figure since September. Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry group, said in a statement Thursday that “the last four months show an increasingly less negative performance for the industry.” The council said same-store sales for some 35 chains it looks at were down 0.1 percent in February compared with a year ago.
Retailers and industry analysts said that in February stores got a lift from pent-up consumer demand, better weather and some new spring merchandise. A couple of chains posted sales increases that were more than twice what analysts expected.
Still, most stores suffered sales declines. Analysts pointed out that their expectations for February sales had been low, and cautioned against reading too much into the bump in sales.
“Sales trends are not as bad as they were in January but they’re kind of at a level where they were in October, November, December,” said Jeff Black, a director at BarclaysCapital Equity Research, “so we haven’t improved off of that base.” The worst sales declines came from Abercrombie & Fitch, the teenage-apparel retailer, which posted a whopping 30 percent drop.
Indeed, clothing retailers continue to hurt the most, especially at the high end. Same-store sales sank 26 percent at Saks, 24.2 percent at Neiman Marcus and 15.4 percent atNordstrom, compared with a year ago.
Other department and big box stores also had declines, including Dillard’s (down 13 percent), Stein Mart (down 12.2 percent), J. C. Penney (down 8.8 percent), and Macy’sand Bon-Ton Stores (both down 8.5 percent).
Sales fell at the mall too, dropping 13.4 percent at Zumiez, 12 percent at Gap, 7 percent at both American Eagle Outfitters and Limited Brands, and 6.6 percent at Wet Seal.
Over all, discount stores were the only retail categories that had sales increases in February, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Same-store sales at BJ’s Wholesale Club increased 8.2 percent, not including fuel. The company said customer traffic increased about 7 percent and the average transaction amount ticked up about 1 percent. Sales of food increased 10 percent.
Sales at Costco were up 5 percent, not including fuel. Ross Stores, the discount clothing chain, had a 1 percent sales increase compared with the period a year ago. Michael Balmuth, the company’s president and chief executive, said in a news release that Ross’ “name-brand bargains” drove its better than expected sales.
Not every discount chain had sales growth, though the declines in this category were far less than in others. Sales at TJX, which owns TJMaxx stores, were flat. At Kohl’s, sales fell 1.6 percent. Children’s Place, which sells affordable children’s clothing, had a 3 percent decline. At Target, sales continued to lag behind other discount chains, falling 4.1 percent. Gregg Steinhafel, the company’s president and chief executive, said in a statement that Target’s results “continue to reflect the significant economic challenges facing our guests.”
As in previous months, a few mall retailers that cater to teenagers posted impressive double-digit increases. In fact, Aéropostale said it enjoyed record sales in February, reporting an 11 percent increase. Same-store sales at Buckle increased 21 percent. Sales at the niche retailer Hot Topic jumped 10.8 percent, much more than analysts expected.
The International Council of Shopping Centers expects March same-store sales to be flat or decline 1 percent on a year-over-year basis.
I would guess that most boys and some girls born in the thirties went to the movies on Saturday morning and watched the cowboy movies, and in their moments of daydreaming wanted to be just like that guy on the screen. I was no different; of course I wanted to be a cowboy. I dreamt of filling my saddle bags with grub and riding my horse on the lone prairie kicking up dust, riding with no destination. I never thought at that time of having a cowgirl with me, a dog would do just fine. I remember I used to like Gene Autry the best in the cowboy movies. I don't quite know why, because when I see an old movie of his now, he seems to be singing an awfully lot and I'm quite sure I would have grown bored with that real quick. But whatever, he was my favorite at the time. My father in law also wanted to be a cowboy. He also wanted to be in the merchant marine, but a boy grows up and family responsibility suddenly puts those dreams into perspective. So it is that way with most of us, we grow up and those old unfulfilled dreams become the stuff of stories we tell our grandchildren or whomever else we might get to listen to us. |
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Comparable to racism and sexism, “ageism” refers to stereotyping and prejudice directed at individuals and groups because of their age. The term is believed to have been coined in 1969 by gerontologist Dr. Robert N. Butler, the founder of the International Longevity Center in New York City, which as recently as two years ago published a comprehensive report on the problem.
Now the center, along with Aging Services of California, has put together a stylebook to guide media professionals through the minefield of politically correct and politically incorrect ways of identifying and portraying the elderly.
Lesson one. “Elderly” is a word the two organizations would prefer we eliminate. Oops. We have used it here often.
But now we know better. In the glossary of the new stylebook, “Media Takes: On Aging,’’ the authors state their case against “elderly” as follows.
Use this word carefully and sparingly. The term is appropriate only in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals, such as concern for the elderly, a home for the elderly, etc. In other words, describing a person as elderly is bad form, although the generalized category “elderly” might not be offensive. (Suggested substitutions include “older adult” or simply “man’’ or “woman” with the age inserted, if relevant.)
Also to be avoided are “senior citizen” (we don’t refer to people under age 50 as “junior citizens,” the guide notes) and “golden years” (euphemisms are probably not the best way to go, we learn). “Feisty,” “spry,” “feeble,” “eccentric,” “senile” and “grandmotherly” are also unwelcome terms, patronizing and demeaning, as is calling someone “80 years young.”
The guide is ambivalent on use of the word “home” as a replacement for “skilled nursing facility.” On the one hand, it can be both anachronistic and condescending to harken back to “old folks’ homes,” which is one of the reasons Aging Services of California changed its name from the California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. But elsewhere the guide notes (see paragraph four above) that “these facilities are indeed people’s homes,” often permanently. Thus, the people who live there should be called “residents” rather than “patients.”
The guide’s other “obviously ageist words and phrases to avoid” seem far less ambiguous. Among them are “biddy,” “codger,” “coot,” “crone,” “fogy,” “fossil,” “geezer,” “hag,” “old fart,” “old goat,” “prune,” “senile old fool” and “vegetable.” None of these — whew! — have appeared in The New Old Age. (Until now.)
While watching President Obama last night, I was grateful for at least one thing; I could understand what he was saying. Thinking back to former president Bush's speeches I can only assume President Obama will be in line for some big bucks in his retirement years.
Bush is ready for new job: speechmaking
Newser) – George Bush is officially ready for his new job: speech-maker. Now signed up with the Washington Speakers Bureau, Bush plans to make at least 10 speeches around the world in the next year. The first—"A Conversation With George Bush"—will be March 17 in Calgary to business leaders, reports Politico. But his ambitions on the lecture circuit go far beyond a simple “conversation,” as his promotional materials show.
Bush served "for eight of the most consequential years in American history,” his brochure reads. “Faced with challenges from a terrorist attack to a global financial crisis, he made difficult decisions that will shape the nation's course and world affairs for decades to come.” He promises to "share candid insights," and fees are "based on location." But can he outdo Bill Clinton? Bush's predecessor has made $40 million so far, notes the London Times.
Good shot Bunning. Shows the old sensitivity gene must have gone awol. Well I know those justice openings are important and if you can pick one up for the old conservative side, you can't start campaigning too early can you? As your old baseball pitching days taught you, you gotta be able to fire one at the batters head. Ginsberg looks big enough to stick up for herself, right? Well that's enough from me, but it seems politics prevails as usual no matter what.
(AP) – Sen. Jim Bunning apologized to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for saying he believes she is likely to die in less than a year from pancreatic cancer. The Kentucky Republican said over the weekend that Ginsburg has the type of cancer that is usually fatal within 9 months. In a statement released today, he said that it wasn't his intent to offend Ginsburg with the remarks and apologizes if he did.
Ginsburg returned to the bench today, and Bunning says it is great to see her back at work. The two-term senator's remarks came in the context of discussing the need to push for a conservative judge next time there's an opening, which he expected to happen "very shortly," given Ginsburg's prognosis, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. Doctors removed a small tumor this month from the 75-year-old Ginsburg.
Having recently “celebrated” the passing of another birthday, I’ve given much thought lately to aging.
I’ve decided it’s not impending mortality that makes getting older so hard to take. It’s not the decline in vitality and possibility. The worst part of aging is all the damn maintenance.
Talk about a paradox. We have less life ahead of us with every passing day, but more and more of our dwindling time is spent on caring for our faces and our bodies and our overall health. By the time we take our final breaths, we’re ready to die, just so we can stop fussing with our hair.
It’s so much easier for the young. I watch my sons get ready for school in the morning and marvel at how little effort is required. They roll out of bed, throw on some clothes from the array on the floor, shovel in some breakfast, and they’re ready to go. They barely give the mirror a glance. They’re teens, they’re male, they assume they look fine.
If pressed, I can still do the quick shower and dress and out-the-door in fifteen minutes. (What we call around here “sliding down the Batpole.”) But most mornings require that more attention be paid to the mirror.
We aging men have skin spots to study, wrinkles to sigh over, gray whiskers to shave. The hair on our heads may get thinner, but stray hair pops up in strange places -- our eyebrows, our ears, our shoulders. Fallen hair apparently migrates while we sleep until it finds new and more interesting places to attach. These migratory hairs must be addressed. Throw in a beard, like I wear, and you can easily snip, snip away the entire morning.
(An aside to those men who sport bushy, spidery eyebrows: Dudes, buy some scissors. Really. It’s not funny anymore.)
When I was young, I gave no thought to working out. I got enough exercise shooting hoops and chasing women. I couldn’t gain weight if I tried. Now, I work out every day, and I’ve never been plumper. You’d think the fat would smooth out the wrinkles, but no . . .
Age weakens our eyes, loosens our teeth, flattens our arches, broadens our backsides. Remedial action is required at every turn, and it‘s all so time-consuming.
If personal upkeep is a hassle for men, it’s a hundred times worse for women. Society puts more pressure on women to look their youthful best, but every wrinkle and sag is a reminder of futility. No wonder they spend so much on cosmetics and hair dye and magnifying mirrors and Botox. No wonder it takes them longer to get ready in the morning. No wonder they resent their hairy, slovenly husbands.
As the years pile on, the physical maintenance becomes too much for us to handle alone. We seek professional help -- doctors and dentists and cosmetologists and manicurists and plastic surgeons and personal trainers. We spend our golden years wandering from one waiting room to another, trying to maintain our health and our teeth and what little looks we’ve got left.
Having an aging body is like owning an old car. Lots of dents and dings and strange noises. A little leakage now and then. Too much time in the shop, and we can’t rely on the old clunker the way we once did. But as long as it keeps running, we’ll keep on driving.
We’ve still got many miles to go.
The Redhead to the rescue. Is it too late to save the company? To save the American economy? We sure could have used a 'Redhead' or a red Mustang. or automobiles of that ilk. When American auto companies were innovators and seemed to be excited with their product.
