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The Obamas: Conspicuous Sacrifice vs. Conspicuous Consumption

Grandpa — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:10:38 -0800

The Obamas: Conspicuous Sacrifice vs. Conspicuous Consumption

A recurring theme of the Obama White House is "sacrifice." The president has repeatedly stressed the need for us to tighten our belts. He has informed us, "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ..." During the campaign, his wife told us that we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another in order to get things done. Shortly after the election, the president said that "[e]verybody's going to have to give. Everybody's going to have to have some skin in the game."

This emphasis on "sacrifice" is presented as a simple matter of justice. We are told that we live in a nation that comprises a small fraction of the earth's population, yet we consume a disproportionate share of the world's resources.

The Obamas do not expect us to sacrifice alone. They believe that they have established a long pattern of self-sacrifice. According to Michelle Obama, one of the Obamas' first major decisions after graduating from college was, "Do I go to Wall Street and make money, or do I work for the people?" As we all know Barack, decided to "work for the people." During the campaign, Michelle informed six women in the playroom of the Zanesville Ohio Day Nursery, "We left corporate America." She advised these working-class women to do the same: "Don't go into corporate America. You know, become teachers. Work for the community. Be social workers." According to Michelle, these are "the careers we need." She discouraged them from going into "corporate law or hedge-fund management." She warned these women, however, that their salaries would respond negatively if they made that choice.

After attaining the White House, the Obamas have continued to sacrifice, with a notable example being their trip to Denmark in order to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago. Michelle explained, "As much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or Oprah or the president to come for these few days, so many of you in this room have been working for years to bring this bid home." The Obamas appear to be bearing up, however. They are tough. As Michelle told her Zanesville audience, "So I tell people, 'Don't cry for me.'" In spite of their apparently sincere belief that they are sacrificing "for the people," Michelle's behavior occasionally seems to belie this idea. This is most obvious in her thirst for fashion.

Michelle attended a luncheon for the homeless wearing a pair of $540 Lanvin sneakers. On a trip to Russia, she was seen sporting what was thought to be a $5,950 VBH alligator manila clutch. The White House protested that she was actually carrying the $875 VBH patent leather clutch. This is perhaps another example of self-sacrifice. She has ordered a pair of thigh-high leather boots from Robert Clergerie, a famous French designer. Had Governor Sarah Palin made any of these purchases, she would have been criticized on the front pages of the major newspapers. Their treatment of Michelle Obama is considerably kinder. She is seen as a fashion icon.

For a couple with a preference for $100-a-pound Wagyu beef, it is inconsistent to claim that "we can't eat as much as we want." Apparently the president's admonition that we can't "keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times" does not apply to him. If his senior adviser David Axelrod is to be believed, the president prefers a warm environment. Axelrod is reported by the New York Times as describing the temperature in the Oval Office as rather temperate: "He's from Hawaii," Axelrod said. "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there." The president's years in Chicago apparently were not sufficient to acclimatize him to the cold.

The Obamas have every right to dress as they please. The have every right to spend their money as they choose. However, they cannot spend lavishly while contending that they are sacrificing for "the people." The majority of "the people" know about sacrifice. A Zogby poll reported that 70 percent of households are forgoing movies and restaurants. Are the Obamas? Perhaps the pièce de résistance was a statement by Michelle after a party for the "first dog," Bo: "We had a really sweet celebration -- [Bo] got a doghouse cake made out of veal stuff and he had his brother Cappy come over and we had party hats." Poor Bo. I am certain that he would have preferred Wagyu steak.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/01/the_obamas_conspicuous_sacrifi.ht...

Mirror.co.uk's 20 Hottest secrets from New Moon set

athena4rob — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:09:53 -0800

Just like everyone else, we’re obsessed with all things Twilight. So imagine our delight when we get to jet over to Vancouver, Canada, to watch the sequel being shot for ourselves! Here are all the behind-the-scenes secrets from the New Moon set (plus a few topless shots of the guys – well, we couldn’t resist)

1 During filming, Kristen was very serious about watching her scenes being played back. Immediately after finishing a scene, she would make her way over to the monitors, and often covered the screen with her robe so that she could watch it alone. Wonder what she thought about her kissing scenes with Robert Pattinson? If we were her, we’d definitely be wanting another take. And another. And another…
2 While we watched, cast and crew filmed scenes for Bella’s high school cafeteria at the David Thompson Secondary School in Vancouver. Weirdly, the school was being used at the time, so as soon as the bell went the corridors filled with hundreds of stampeding students heading for the gym to peer through the glass, desperate to get a glimpse of the famous cast.
3 Bella is pretty reckless in this movie, dirt-biking and jumping off cliffs. But Kristen didn’t do her own stunts. ‘They wouldn’t let me!’ she complains. ‘I wish I could. I got to jump off a little platform about 3ft high for the cliff scene. For the dirt biking, I got pulled on a motorbike that had this big, dorky training wheel on it,’ she laughs.
4 Luckily, the birthday party scene where Bella cuts herself and vampire Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) can’t resist the smell of her blood, wasn’t too gory on set. ‘Vampires don’t need a massive amount of blood to get feisty,’ says Nikki Reed who plays Rosalie. But Jackson got so worked up during the attack he knocked Elizabeth Reaser (Esme) down and scared Kristen Stewart. Rathbone’s co-stars had to physically restrain him during the scene. ‘I was just going for it,’ he explains.
5 We caught Taylor Lautner in a very uncomfortable harness attached to wires on a huge crane. The ex martial arts champion did a lot of his own stunts, and would run, leap and fly 10ft in the air on wires – then stop with a painful-looking jolt. That’s when CGI makes him a werewolf. ‘My character Jacob is the only wolf that can transform in mid-air, he just snaps and all his clothes fly off!’ Taylor says. We’ll look forward to that.
6 We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw how much sweet little Taylor had bulked up to play Jacob in New Moon. His hot new body was the result of some serious training, not to mention a hardcore diet regime. ‘The hardest thing for me was the eating,’ he tells us. ‘I was on 4,000 calories a day and had to shove as much food in my body as possible, and hit the gym five days a week. Even now my trainer is always bringing me snacks between shots.’ We spied Taylor using resistance bands to do strength-training exercises in his downtime to keep those muscles pumped.
7 In New Moon, Edward steps out into the sunlight in order to expose his sparkling skin and thus the Volturi vampire clan to the world. And in this film, Rob’s sparkly skin special effect will be much better than the last one. Director Chris Weitz says, ‘It was very subtle in the first film. This time we made a 3D model of Rob, so we were able to map every move he made and build an effect that really feels like the light is coming from inside him, and there will be lens flare, as if you were looking at a diamond with the sun shining on it.’ Watch out for that 3D model of Rob for sale on eBay soon!

8 In this scene from the film, Taylor really had to suffer. ‘I was shirtless, only wearing shorts. It was 35°F (2°C) outside and I was being drenched in water that was so ice-cold, I was absolutely freezing. Thank God the scene was only four minutes long.’ But Tay, we’re eternally grateful.
9 For the scene where Bella and Jacob go on a date to the movies with the hapless Mike tagging along, The Old Paramount Theatre in Vancouver was used for the exterior shots. To our horror we discovered these days the inside of the theatre is a lap-dancing club. They must have had to shoot the interior shots somewhere else…
10 The school basketball courts were home to wardrobe and make-up trailers, and as they walked to and fro, Rob and Taylor had minders shading them with enormous golfing umbrellas to shield them from prying camera lenses. Says a minder, ‘Paparazzi are always trying to get on set dressed in camouflage, hiding in bushes, leaping out and disrupting shooting. It’s easier just to keep it quiet where Rob and Taylor are.’ We tell them the big brollies are a bit of a giveaway.
11 In Stephenie Meyer’s book, the regal Volturi live in the ancient Italian city of Volterra, a real town in Tuscany, Italy. For the movie, the production crew used Montepulciano, an ancient walled city also in Tuscany. But being medieval, the piazza and city hall gave the director the amazing shot he needed for when Bella races across the fountain to save Edward.
12 The night shoots in Vancouver’s Capilano Park Forest went on until around 4am, and the hardest scenes were Bella’s screaming nightmares about Edward. The crew recreated her entire bedroom in the middle of the woods, Kristen had to sob and scream for hours, and while everyone else wrapped up warm, Taylor Lautner spent most of the shoot with his shirt off. Shame.
13 The story of Twilight is set in Forks, Washington, the rainiest, most cloud-covered place on earth. As vampires can’t go out in the direct sunlight without their skin sparkling and drawing attention to themselves, this is a handy place to live. Unfortunately, Vancouver was so sunny when we were there, Rob couldn’t shoot his exterior scenes. ‘I’d be glinting,’ Rob laughs.

14 We spied Rob having his famously bouffant hair given a quick trim on set. Apparently, this happened every week to 10 days while shooting the movie. Plus, he had his barnet re-styled on-set twice a day by New Moon hairstylist Thom McIntyre, to make sure it remained permanently in its signature tousled state. Diva? Rob? No.
15 In the books, Jacob’s home is a red house, and the production crew found the perfect wild location in the middle of Vancouver’s National Forest. Only problem was, the house was green. ‘It was important to the fan base to keep the red of Jacob’s house. They know it that way, and they wanted it that way. So we ended up painting the whole house red to match the book.’ Hope the owners liked it.
16 Kristen turned 19 while shooting New Moon and celebrated by working all day! Luckily the crew secretly planned a big birthday cake for her. She didn’t know a thing.
17 As Twilight was shot in Portland, Oregon, and New Moon in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bella’s house had to be taken down, moved to Canada, and rebuilt, piece by piece, both the interior and the exterior. But it’s not quite the same as it was in the first movie. There’s a whole new bay window on the side of the house, so Jacob can climb up to her bedroom at night.
18 To kill time, the cast played catch between scenes as Taylor always has a football with him. ‘As soon as I’m done filming I’ll play catch with anybody who will play catch with me,’ he says. ‘Kristen and I play catch all the time and she has a really good arm. She’s extremely accurate.’
19 Kristen nearly got hurt by one of the werewolves. Alex Meraz, who plays Jacob’s tribe member Paul (far left), got carried away and became aggressive towards her in the scene in which Jacob introduces his pack brothers to Bella. Alex says, ‘The wolf pack stays up all night looking for who’s killing people, so I thought it’d be a great idea to stay up for 10 days straight.’ When it came to the scene, he was screaming his lines and grabbed Kristen by the throat. ‘The producers freaked out – no one touches Kristen!’
20 Ashley Greene who plays Alice, the vampire who can see the future, got to drive a real Porsche while shooting in Italy. ‘It was fun,’ says Ashley. ‘I worked with a stuntman before driving it and learned how to do a bunch of things. Then I drove the Porsche in a scene and stopped about 2in from a wall!’

Reporter's Obama Encounter at Arlington

stephley — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:48:45 -0800

ARLINGTON, Va. - He didn't introduce himself. He didn't have to.

President Obama simply stuck out his hand and asked for my name as he stepped toward me amid a bone-chilling drizzle in the Gardens of Stone.

This was Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. I wasn't there as a reporter, but to visit some friends and family buried there when Obama made an unscheduled stop - a rare presidential walk among what Lincoln called America's "honored dead" - after laying a Veterans Day wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

What I got was an unexpected look into the eyes of a man who intertwined his roles as commander in chief and consoler in chief on a solemn day filled with remembrance and respect for sacrifices made - and sacrifices yet to be made.

I'm sure the cynics will assume this wasjust anotherObama photoop.

If they'd been standing in my boots looking him in the eye, they would have surely choked on their bile.

His presence in Section 60 convinced me that he now carries the heavy burden of command.

I had stopped at Arlington to see the resting place of Ken Taylor, Ed Lenard and Dave Sharrett. Ken and Ed survived their service, in World War II and Korea, and died as old men. Dave did not leave Iraq alive. He was 27.

Obama arrived just before noon at the serene Section 60, where many of the dead from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried together - and where many more heroes will undoubtedly be laid to rest before this President leaves office.

It's a section typically bustling with those visiting loved ones. Every time I go there, more and more graves have been dug into the earth.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama emerged from their armored limousine hatless in the frigid downpour and took a slow stroll into the soggy rows of white marble headstones.

They stopped first at the grave of Medal of Honor recipient Ross McGinnis, an Army private who threw himself on a grenade in Iraq three years ago to save four buddies.

A sad-faced woman reached for Obama's hand and pointed him to a nearby plot.

The face of another woman - who had grimly sat in a folding chair for hours next to a headstone she'd arranged flowers around - suddenly broadened into a smile as she stood to embrace Obama and thank him for paying his respects.

She was so overcome with emotion that a soldier from the Army's Old Guard had to console her afterward.

The President patted backs of adozen other Gold Star relativesand troops visiting buddiesnow in the ground.

He gave hugs. He shook wet, chilly hands. He wanted to know something about each fallen warrior.

He began to slowly trudge back toward the motorcade - and to another White House huddle with his war council, which is advising him whether to send up to 40,000 additional troops into harm's way in Afghanistan.

And then Obama noticed a tall, bearded figure. He probably didn't see the mud-caked combat boots I trudged around Afghanistan in a few years ago.

"What's your name?" a somber President asked as he extended his hand.

"James Meek, sir," I replied, struggling to pull off my wool glove and pull my hood back from my head. "I'm here visiting a friend, Pfc. David H. Sharrett II, who was killed in Iraq last year."

He asked how I knew Dave. I explained that his father, also named David, was my high school English teacher in nearby McLean, Va. My classmates and I knew Dave as a little boy playing at our feet.

"He became a star football player and was one of the toughest soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division," I told Obama.

I didn't tell the commander in chief that Dave was killed by friendly fire. Or that the Army bungled notifying Dave's parents of a probe that concluded his lieutenant tragically mistook him for a terrorist in the dark and shot him. Or that his family had to fight for accountability - which two battlefield commanders promised but stateside generals derailed.

That wouldn't have been appropriate, Dave's deeply grateful father later agreed.

"Well, we appreciate his service very much," Obama told me.

I then told him I'm a reporter for the Daily News - but was just there to visit friends.

"Well, James," he said, looking me in the eye, "just because you're a journalist doesn't mean you can't honor your friends here."

The First Lady smiled and squeezed my hand. I thanked her for coming to Section 60.

Her face opened up into a smile filled with warmth and comfort, a welcome antidote for the weather and sadness around her. She said there was no finer place to be on Veterans Day.

Ironically, I was ready to leave the cemetery an hour earlier, but it went into lockdown because of Obama's visit.

"Sorry for any inconvenience," a terribly polite Secret Service agent whispered in my ear.

As the Obamas ended their pilgrimage through Arlington's hallowed ground, inconvenience was hardly what I felt standing there as the rain pelted my coat, staring at blades of grass around a headstone etched with a name and a date I will never forget.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/12/2009-11-12_my_solemn...

Delaware 1st grader has 45-day suspension lifted

starangel82 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:56:10 -0700

BEAR, Del. – A Delaware first-grader who was facing 45 days in an alternative school as punishment for taking his favorite camping utensil to school can return to class after the school board made a hasty change granting him a reprieve.

The seven-member Christina School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders who take weapons to school or commit violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days.

Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers after he took the utensil - a combination folding knife, fork and spoon - to school to eat lunch last month. Now, he could return Wednesday.

"I want to get him back as soon as possible. I want to put this behind him as soon as possible," said Debbie Christie, Zachary's mother. "But I also want him to know that he has a voice, and when things are not right, he can stand up and speak out against them."

A spokeswoman for the school district said more changes to the school system's code of conduct were possible in the coming months.

The punishment given to Zachary was one of several in recent years that have prompted national debate on whether schools have gone too far with zero-tolerance policies.

It was not the first such case in the Christina School District, Delaware's largest with more than 17,000 students, which includes parts of the city of Wilmington and its suburbs. Last year, a fifth-grade girl was ordered expelled after she brought a birthday cake to school and a serrated knife to cut it with.

The expulsion was overturned, and it led to a state law that gave districts more flexibility on punishments. But that law applied only to conduct that triggers expulsions, not suspensions.

School board member John Mackenzie told The Associated Press before the meeting that he was surprised school officials did not use common sense and disregard the policy in Zachary's case. The need for common sense to prevail over the letter of the law was a recurring theme among the boy's supporters and school safety experts.

"When that common sense is missing, it sends a message of inconsistency to students, which actually creates a less safe environment," said Kenneth S. Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a consulting firm. "People have to understand that assessing on a case-by-case basis doesn't automatically equate to being soft or unsafe."

Not everyone believed the school district was out of line.

Jill Kneisley, who runs the special education programs at Jennie Smith Elementary in Newark, said schools need to be vigilant about protecting students. If Zachary or another student had been hurt by the knife, she said, the district would have taken the blame.

"If we can't punish him, then what about kids that did bring (a weapon) for bad things?" Kneisley said. "There's more to the school's side than just us being mean and not taking this child's interests into account."

Several people spoke on Zachary's behalf, including some who said other students had been unjustly punished.

Dodi Hebert said her 13-year-old son, Kyle, was tormented throughout last year by a group of bullies who ultimately planted a knife on him. Kyle was ordered into the alternative school, but Hebert refused to send him there and home-schools him instead.

"You can't kick kids out of school for the kinds of things that are happening," Connie Merlet told the board. "This is a horrible thing to happen to our district, to be on the national news because you guys weren't paying attention."

Source: Yahoo! News/AP

Sending Diwali gifts to India

sanjayroy12 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:06:34 -0700

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Diwali is a five-day festival, beginning on the 15th day of the Hindu calendar month of Kartika (Ashwin). The word Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word Deepavali (Deepa means light and Avali, means a row). Thus, Diwali is also commonly known as the Festival of Lights. The celebrations of Diwali in all five days holds its own importance and many legends are associated with each day. The first day of this festival is known as 'Dhan Trayodashi' or 'Dhanteras', followed by 'Narak Chaturdashi', or 'Chhoti Diwali'. The third day of Diwali is called 'Badi Diwali'. The fourth day of Diwali is Padwa and Govardhan Pooja and the last day or the fifth day is Bhai Dooj.
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Liberal Lies About National Health Care: Second in a Series (Collect All 10!)

Eleuthera — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:34:02 -0700

by Ann Coulter
08/26/2009

With the Democrats getting slaughtered -- or should I say, "receiving mandatory end-of-life counseling" -- in the debate over national health care, the Obama administration has decided to change the subject by indicting CIA interrogators for talking tough to three of the world's leading Muslim terrorists.

Had I been asked, I would have advised them against reinforcing the idea that Democrats are hysterical bed-wetters who can't be trusted with national defense while also reminding people of the one thing everyone still admires about President George W. Bush.

But I guess the Democrats really want to change the subject. Thus, here is Part 2 in our series of liberal lies about national health care.

(6) There will be no rationing under national health care.

Anyone who says that is a liar. And all Democrats are saying it. (Hey, look -- I have two-thirds of a syllogism!)

Apparently, promising to cut costs by having a panel of Washington bureaucrats (for short, "The Death Panel") deny medical treatment wasn't a popular idea with most Americans. So liberals started claiming that they are going to cover an additional 47 million uninsured Americans and cut costs ... without ever denying a single medical treatment!

Also on the agenda is a delicious all-you-can-eat chocolate cake that will actually help you lose weight! But first, let's go over the specs for my perpetual motion machine -- and it uses no energy, so it's totally green!

For you newcomers to planet Earth, everything that does not exist in infinite supply is rationed. In a free society, people are allowed to make their own rationing choices.

Some people get new computers every year; some every five years. Some White House employees get new computers and then vandalize them on the way out the door when their candidate loses. (These are the same people who will be making decisions about your health care.)

Similarly, one person might say, "I want to live it up and spend freely now! No one lives forever." (That person is a Democrat.) And another might say, "I don't go to restaurants, I don't go to the theater, and I don't buy expensive designer clothes because I've decided to pour all my money into my health."

Under national health care, you'll have no choice about how to ration your own health care. If your neighbor isn't entitled to a hip replacement, then neither are you. At least that's how the plan was explained to me by our next surgeon general, Dr. Conrad Murray.

(7) National health care will reduce costs.

This claim comes from the same government that gave us the $500 hammer, the $1,200 toilet seat and postage stamps that increase in price every three weeks.

The last time liberals decided an industry was so important that the government needed to step in and contain costs was when they set their sights on the oil industry. Liberals in both the U.S. and Canada -- presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter and Canadian P.M. Pierre Trudeau -- imposed price controls on oil.

As night leads to day, price controls led to reduced oil production, which led to oil shortages, skyrocketing prices for gasoline, rationing schemes and long angry lines at gas stations.

You may recall this era as "the Carter years."

Then, the white knight Ronald Reagan became president and immediately deregulated oil prices. The magic of the free market -- aka the "profit motive" -- produced surges in oil exploration and development, causing prices to plummet. Prices collapsed and remained low for the next 20 years, helping to fuel the greatest economic expansion in our nation's history.

You may recall this era as "the Reagan years."

Freedom not only allows you to make your own rationing choices, but also produces vastly more products and services at cheap prices, so less rationing is necessary.

( National health care won't cover abortions.

There are three certainties in life: (a) death, (b) taxes, and (C) no health care bill supported by Nita Lowey and Rosa DeLauro and signed by Barack Obama could possibly fail to cover abortions.

I don't think that requires elaboration, but here it is:

Despite being a thousand pages long, the health care bills passing through Congress are strikingly nonspecific. (Also, in a thousand pages, Democrats weren't able to squeeze in one paragraph on tort reform. Perhaps they were trying to save paper.)

These are Trojan Horse bills. Of course, they don't include the words "abortion," "death panels" or "three-year waits for hip-replacement surgery."

That proves nothing -- the bills set up unaccountable, unelected federal commissions to fill in the horrible details. Notably, the Democrats rejected an amendment to the bill that would specifically deny coverage for abortions.

After the bill is passed, the Federal Health Commission will find that abortion is covered, pro-lifers will sue, and a court will say it's within the regulatory authority of the health commission to require coverage for abortions.

Then we'll watch a parade of senators and congressmen indignantly announcing, "Well, I'm pro-life, and if I had had any idea this bill would cover abortions, I never would have voted for it!"

No wonder Democrats want to remind us that they can't be trusted with foreign policy. They want us to forget that they can't be trusted with domestic policy.

Cindy Crawford Redbook interview-sept 09

kty — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:00:20 -0700

It's hard to age gracefully as a supermodel. But at 43, Cindy Crawford has her coping strategies firmly in place – a mixture of acceptance and defiance. "I have cellulite. I admit it," the legendary cover model says with a laugh in the September issue of Redbook, on sale Tuesday. But if you think she's going to hide herself away as a result, forget it. "Sometimes I just say, 'Screw it, I am going to wear a bikini,' " she says.

Still, the pressures of aging are real – and compounded for those known primarily for their physical beauty. The key to dealing with it, says Crawford, is not to build up too many defenses. "I think I look good for my age," she says. "I am not 25; I am 43. That feels like a big pressure, especially when the National Enquirer is dying to get a picture." "I am so aware that I don't want to change the way I live because of that kind of attention ... You just brace yourself for a bad picture."

Kids and Career

Not that Crawford doesn't have other things to focus on. She juggles family life with husband Rande Gerber and children Presley, 10, and Kaia, 7, with an entrepreneurial streak – she's preparing to roll out her new Cindy Crawford Style home collection at JCPenney next month. Almost 25 years into her career, she still stands out in a crowd, though of course that brings its own stresses. "People get excited that they're meeting the Cindy Crawford from the Playboy spread 13 years ago, and I am a mother of two now," she says. "I have to check in with myself. It's good to have an awareness of the outside pressure; I can't let it get to my core. I love my life."
Let's start with your story then. Did you grow up in a fancy house?My house always looked as great as my mom could make it, but it was never like, "Let's get a new living room." She could never furnish a whole room at one time. So you'd sit on the couch until it was ready for the curb. When did you first develop an interest in interior design?I remember when my older sister moved out and I had a room all to myself. I had this random rug that my great uncle had made from carpet scraps that I thought was very cool. I took one of my first paychecks from working at a store after school and bought wallpaper - peach with little flowers on it. Then I got a peach bedspread and pillows and peach curtains and mini blinds. Everything was bought with everything else in mind.So you had a knack for it?I thought so, but then when I moved into my first apartment in Chicago, I went to a store where you could pick the shape and the fabric of the sofa. I was so excited; it even had a pullout bed for guests. But when they delivered the couch, it didn't fit around the corner in the entry, so I had to get an upholsterer to cut off one of the arms. It didn't look totally weird, but it was good reminder that you have to measure everything. Still, I ended up moving that sofa to New York with me to two more apartments and had it recovered. It was a good couch.What makes a house a home?The most important thing is comfort. I want my home to look good, feel good, and smell good. I want it to be inclusive, to reflect the people who live there. How do you achieve that?Each year I frame one of the kids' drawings or paintings. It's amazing that when you put it in a frame - it doesn't have to be expensive one - it becomes art. In the kids' playroom, I have all of those pieces, one for each year, together on one wall. When you put them all together, they tell a story.What stories are being told in your house?Our family room, where we live, is about togetherness and ease. Nothing in my house is too formal. There are no coasters on tables; the kids can eat Popsicles on the couch if they want to. I let them ride these little cycles we got for them when they were 3 that have rubber wheels and no pedals. They still ride them around the house. We do homework at the kitchen table. It's very cozy.How do you entertain?We have friends over for dinner, but it's very casual. I am usually in jeans and bare feet, and that sets the tone for everybody. My husband is the ambiance guy. He's always in charge of music and the lighting - candles and incense. He always has every light on a dimmer, even without company - sometimes to the point where I can't see anything! We have a fire pit outside and have hors d'oeuvres there. Because we have kids and most of our friends do, we plan around them. We start a little early and we put the kids at one end of the table, because after eating they will evaporate and do their own thing. Then the grown-ups sit there and enjoy the company for another hour or two. Do you cook?I am not a fine chef, but I can certainly get dinner on the table for 14 people. With that many, I try to keep it simple: salmon, mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach, and salad. For sure, I do the desserts. I make a coconut cake, which is actually easy, and a carrot cake, which my husband loves so much we had it for our wedding cake. If I want to get on his good side, I make that cake. The hard part is that I use white chocolate in the frosting and you have to melt it and introduce the other two ingredients, sour cream and cream cheese. The timing is crucial; otherwise the white chocolate can start coagulating and you get chunky frosting - which, by the way, still tastes good. Last night, Presley and I had a pie contest. He made strawberry rhubarb - I gave him my recipe, but I didn't touch his pie - and I tried a new one: peach blueberry. And I said, "We won't tell who made what, and we'll have a vote." And his pie won. I was outbaked by my 10-year-old!When it's just you and the kids, what's a typical evening like at your house?I like doing homework with the kids. Not because I like homework but because they don't like it. So I feel that's my responsibility. We eat dinner together nearly every night, and we do sit down at the dining room table. I am pretty convinced that kids would rather eat at home most of the time. You think it's special to take them out to dinner, but after 20 minutes they are like, "Are you done yet? Can we go?" They might like the food, but they don't like the experience.What do you do after dinner and homework?My kids are so great. They don't need a big production. One night, we sat on the couch and my son had taken off his socks, and we ended up throwing the socks at each other like Hot Potato for 20 minutes. We also like Cranium games. They're fun and about getting to know other people. We also play games that you can play anywhere, like I Never. Everyone starts out with five points and then I would say something I've never done, but I think everyone else has done. So I would say, "I never went to preschool," because I know my kids went to preschool and all their friends probably did, so all those kids would lose one point. And then they'd say to me, "Well, I've never been married." And I would lose a point. There's another one called Two Truths and a Lie. You say three things, two of them are true and one is a lie, and the other people have to decide which is which. I played these games when I was growing up, and they're great because they don't require boards or pieces - they're about using your imagination and being observant. Is there a place in your house that makes you especially happy?I finally have the closet of my dreams. It is just awesome. It has French doors and windows, so I can see the kids in the yard, and there is so much great natural light. I have a makeup area, a phone, a TV. A lot of times the kids will be in there, but sometimes I'm like, "Out!" It's very therapeutic for me to organize and get rid of things; it stresses me out to have too much. Everyone is jealous of my storage room, where I have everything organized in Tupperware boxes.What else gets you stressed?My goal is to be present. In whatever I do. If I am with the kids, I don't want to be typing on my BlackBerry under the table, and if I am talking to someone, I am not feeling bad because I am not going to Chuck E. Cheese's with my kids. I schedule my life in a way that I can do that. If I am overscheduled, I never really feel good wherever I am because I am thinking, I should be here doing this. There's another pressure, especially in L.A... I think I look good for my age. I am not 25; I am 43. That feels like a big pressure, especially when the National Enquirer is dying to get a picture. I am so aware that I don't want to change the way I live because of that kind of attention. So you say, "Screw it. I am wearing this bikini, and I am not putting on a cover-up." You just brace yourself for a bad picture.It's hard to believe there's ever been a bad photo of Cindy Crawford.I always say even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford! What people see on magazine covers is one moment that was perfect - the wind, the light, the hair, the makeup. That's a two-hour process. People get excited that they're meeting the Cindy Crawford from the Playboy spread 13 years ago, and I am a mother of two now. I have to check in with myself. It's good to have an awareness of that outside pressure; I can't let it get to my core. I love my life.How do you relax?Working out is a great stress reliever. And so is having girlfriends you can talk to. I like to hike with friends; you're exercising and also getting that girl time. Mostly we talk about kids and husbands. My friends are redefining themselves as their kids get older, and now that the kids need them less, they're thinking about how they stay interested in things. I always like to read in a sitting room upstairs off our bedroom. When I'm on the main floor of the house, it's, "Okay, I am ready for anything." If I am upstairs, then it's, "Don't bother me unless you need something. [Laughs] Or if you're bleeding."Do you and Rande have date nights?We do have date nights. It sounds a little cheesy, but that's what it is - time for the two of us. We recently went to see The Hangover. My husband just lost his father so he really needed that kind of movie. It was an escape. The kids go to bed at 9, and we also have that hour and a half at night before I go to bed, although in the summer the kids want to stay up later. I remember being a kid in summer and having the whole summer ahead of you. I want them to be able to stay in their pajamas all day if they want. That's what summer is for. But we're still figuring out bedtime, because I want that time alone with my husband. How has being a mom contributed to your life?I always thought it was such a cliché that you have this little baby and you fall in love and people say, "Wait, it gets better." And you think, How can it get better than this? But it does. I like hanging out with my kids. When we went to Disneyland, they wanted to go on the same rides as I did. You get to re-experience all the fun things through their eyes. You realize how jaded we can become as adults. Just watching them when they get excited and their whole body is shaking and they can't even contain it - as adults, how often do we get that excited? What have your kids taught you?Kids come out with a lot of things that are just who they are. For instance, I was a valedictorian, always sitting in the front row of class with my hand raised. And my daughter has some of that in her, but my son doesn't. He does fine, but he says, "Extra credit? I don't have to do that." I think, Why wouldn't you want to? But I can't make him or trick him into wanting to do it. You can't say, "There is only one way to succeed." I hope I'm learning to support them in being who they are. And kids will call you on your BS. I said to my daughter once, "Quit being such a whine-steen," and she says, "Quit being such a yell-steen" and I'm like, Oh, touché! And she was only 4! What do you think are some of parents' biggest challenges today?I had kids before I had dogs, and when I got a dog, the trainer said, "You just need to establish yourself as the leader." [Laughs] God, I wish I had known this before I had kids. Now, even though I want the kids to be part of the family and have a voice, we have the last say. We build them up so much that sometimes they think they have the last say. My mother will say, "I feel so sorry for you." Like she'll hear me say, "Now, Presley, that is not an appropriate way to speak to your sister." And I can tell my mother just wants me to say, "No. Don't." Sometimes I lose it and do raise my voice, but I try to do my best, as most parents do. These days we are so worried about being PC perfect mothers. We are so overly involved. It's trying to find that balance between helping your child be successful and also wanting them to be independent.Do they know what they want to be when they grow up?I hope they are kind and respectful and can function in this world and still be individuals, not necessarily leaders but not followers. I hope they can incorporate what they're passionate about into whatever their job is. Presley has an adult friend who is a Navy SEAL, and right now he wants to be that. My daughter says she wants to be a singer and a dancer, but - and the way she said this was so cute - she might model first because you don't have to have any special skills. And then she wants to end up being a teacher. That's an interesting career path; we'll see how that works out for her.What inspires you?I went to an ashram a while ago, and someone asked the question there, "What's your passion in life?" Then we had a two-hour silent hike to actually think about it. And connecting all the dots, I decided I love communicating, because I do that in all different aspects of my work, in being a mother and a wife. So I think that is my passion: communicating with other people. My ideas, my sense of style, it's all about that.

Reality Makes Gay Marriage Debate Obsolete

tiabia — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:09:08 -0700

By Petula Dvorak
Friday, September 4, 2009

The argument over whether same-sex couples should marry in the District is about a decade past its expiration date. The reality of people's lives long ago outstripped the usefulness of the gay marriage debate.

You can go to just about any public space in this city today and see same-sex couples: Two women picking over the tomatoes at the Anacostia farmers market; two men taking notes at a PTA meeting on Capitol Hill; two women arguing in a Georgetown restaurant over who does the dishes and who pays the bills -- the things all married couples do.

And these are things that most same-sex couples feel comfortable and safe doing practically everywhere in Washington. That's been the case here for at least a decade. The city boasts one of the most visible, vibrant gay and lesbian communities in the country.

The fact that some people love differently is a massive mental hurdle that most folks have cleared here in the nation's capital.

That's supposed to be the hard part, right?

Yet, instead of celebrating its progress, the city is tussling and tangling with the most mundane, fill-in-the-blank, check-the-box, sign-on-the-dotted line aspect of marriage.

In the coming months, D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) is expected to file a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. This follows legislation passed unanimously in May that recognizes marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states: Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, where Ben and Jerry temporarily changed their delish Chubby Hubby ice cream to Hubby Hubby to celebrate the legislation.

But Maryland Bishop Harry Jackson, who is mounting a campaign against the legislation, is trying to import a fear-mongering intolerance to a city that doesn't need it and shouldn't embrace it.

The Catholic Church haltingly, though not surprisingly, joined the debate-that-shouldn't-be-a-debate this week when Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl backed Jackson.

Our city council has two openly gay members, and an estimated 5 percent of the city's couples identified themselves as gay or lesbian in a 2000 Human Rights Campaign survey, the second-highest in the nation.

Most District residents are way past pretending that people such as Lisa and Stefanie Alfonso-Frank, the parents of two adorable little boys, don't exist. The family, which lives on Capitol Hill, is an integral part of the fabric of its community.

The women volunteer at the school workdays; they come to the neighborhood barbecues; they are members of the pool; and they hang around with other parents at the park trying to tire out their children before bedtime.

Their home is on the steady circuit of play dates, where kids chug and roar with their impressive collection of trains and trucks beneath the wedding pictures of them wearing their white gowns.

Lisa and Stefanie were married in a Jewish ceremony in Virginia nine years ago, but it's not legally binding. They still can't file joint tax returns, and they've had to legally adopt the child the other had borne.

"We'd love to get married in D.C.," Lisa said. "It's about equal rights, and we'd like to have the same rights as everyone else."

Legally recognized or not, their marriage is the envy of many of their fellow mommy friends.

Right after Lisa had their first boy, Stefanie gave birth to their second.

What woman wouldn't kill for her husband to endure kankles, nausea and stretch marks just as she was battling the baby blues?

Their effect on the children of their heterosexual friends and neighbors? Many report that their own children -- including one of my own -- were jealous that Lisa and Stefanie's kids "got to make two Mommy's Day cards."

There are three important aspects to marriage: the legal contract, the life together and the spiritual bond that some couples want.

Actually, if you want to count the wedding ceremony, there are four. And given the number of gay-friendly wedding planners, here-come-the-brides cake toppers, his-and-his wedding ring sets, newspapers that print wedding announcements and the same-sex wedding card line that Hallmark just rolled out, that part is covered.

Life lived as a married, same-sex couple in the District is about as shocking as navy blazers and khaki pants. As a reporter who has visited all parts of the city over the past decade, I can tell you that the couples are ubiquitous. They can be the outspoken activist couple at the elementary school or the two nice men, "roommates" as some neighbors call them, who always come with their really good macaroni salad to the neighborhood block party.

And as far as the religious aspect goes, there are many institutions in the District that welcome and celebrate same-sex couples, whether it's for their unions or simply as members of their congregations. Legalizing same-sex marriage in no way requires any church to marry two people.

"This bill will heavily acknowledge religious freedoms" Catania said. "No religion will be forced to perform these ceremonies."

Um, that's separation of church and state, right?

Marriage, ultimately, is a civil issue. Right now, the only part of marriage that isn't available to same-sex couples is the mundane but important legal part: the contract.

And that's what feels ridiculous. Gay couples are in the city's schools, on governing boards, in churches and, quite fortunately for many of us, in our lives.

SOURCE

Restaurant Calorie Counts an Appetite Killer

stephley — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:49:08 -0700

You can still order a Bloomin' Onion at Outback Steakhouse, a slice of 30th anniversary chocolate cake cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, and a Pizookie at BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse.

But you'll have a harder time enjoying them in blissful ignorance. Since July 1, chains with at least 20 restaurants statewide have been required to provide diners with the gory nutritional details -- including calories.

The law -- similar to others in New York, Washington state and elsewhere -- already is beginning to change how restaurants sell food. And customers, startled to see how many calories they have ordered, are changing their habits as well.

"Most people know eating out is bad," said Jennifer Massingham of Fresno. "But they assume it's just a couple extra calories, not hundreds or thousands."

During a recent visit to BJ's at Fashion Fair shopping center, Massingham and her husband had planned to order an appetizer, entrées and a Pizookie (a large deep-dish cookie topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream).

But the Pizookie alone can contain as much as 1,166 calories, the couple learned by reading the back section of their menus. So they changed their plans, ordering only entrées instead.

Sally Noxon had a similar experience at Outback at Shaw and Marks avenues in northwest Fresno last week.

"It was so depressing," said Noxon, who was celebrating her friend's birthday. "I couldn't believe the calories in the food."

During past visits, her typical meal started by splitting a Bloomin' Onion, the battered, fried onion served with dipping sauce. Then she'd have a steak and salad and share a dessert.

After reading the nutritional information in a brochure at the table, she chose a soup and a salad -- and didn't even finish the soup.

The information "does change what you end up wanting to eat," said Massingham, who was surprised by the Bloomin' Onion's 1,560 calories.

But her friend, Jordan Zack, had a different take. "You don't want to know the calories on any day, especially not on your birthday," he said.

"I just want to enjoy my food."

There's evidence that providing nutritional details does change the way diners eat. A February survey of 755 New York residents found that 82% of customers switched their orders after seeing the information, says Technomic, a Chicago food-industry consultancy that's studying the effects of the New York City law. Of these diners, 71% choose dishes with fewer calories.

Seeing the nutritional information also caused 60% of those surveyed to change where they eat. Of these folks, 38% don't eat out as often as before. And 32% say they've stopped visiting certain restaurants altogether.

For the first phase of the law in California, restaurants provide brochures detailing calories, saturated fat, carbohydrates and sodium. They can print just the calorie counts directly on menus or indoor menu boards, said Lara Dunbar, senior vice president of government affairs for the California Restaurant Association.

The Cheesecake Factory, for example, shows calorie counts next to cheesecakes in the dessert display case. Hooters prints calorie counts directly on its menus. McDonald's has a nutritional poster and brochures -- and even prints some information on Happy Meal bags.

The second phase of the law starts January 1, 2011. California restaurants must print calories on menus or indoor menu boards, Dunbar said.

Health-conscious chains see the laws as an opportunity to court customers. Take Romano's Macaroni Grill, which launched an "Italian Mediterranean" menu in California restaurants on July 1. This lighter menu features seven new dishes, as well as 13 revamped ones.

The most dramatic change was the scallops and spinach salad, which dropped from 1,270calories to 390 calories -- all without altering the entrée's portion size, says Larry Nedwed, a senior brand manager for Macaroni Grill.

The chain simplified the dressing to a blend of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice, Nedwed said. It also added whole jumbo sea scallops for better flavor.

As a result, the salad's saturated fat fell from 27 grams to 4 grams.

"Our guests prefer the new recipe," Nedwed said. "They're ordering it five times more than they did before."

Come Labor Day, Macaroni Grill's restaurants will feature the new menu nationwide. The chain slowly is shifting its entire menu to the lighter Italian Mediterranean theme.

There isn't any research to show whether Macaroni Grill's results are typical, said Mike Donohue, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association.

But adding healthful food to menus has been trendy for a long time. "And I think that will continue," he said.

That's one result supporters of the California law like. Even fast-food restaurants have been adding healthier fare, said Kumar Chandran of California Food Policy Advocates, a nonprofit that tries to help low-income families gain access to nutritious food.

More lower-calorie choices on menus is good, but diners still need to consider the nutritional information in context, said Judy Osterloh, the director of food and clinical nutrition services for Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center.

She advises following the American Heart Association's daily recommended amounts of calories, sodium and saturated fat.

For example, saturated fat should be less than 7% of total daily calories. To make the comparison, multiply the grams of fat by 9, Osterloh says.

As for sodium, the American Heart Association recommends eating less than 2,300 milligrams per day. Blacks, middle-aged and older adults, and those with high blood pressure need less than 1,500 milligrams per day.

"You can't tell how much sodium is in a food just by the way it tastes," Osterloh says.

Outback's baby-back ribs with Aussie fries have 21,052 milligrams of sodium -- about nine days of the recommended daily amount.

And for those counting calories, the American Heart Association recommends eating 1,600-3,000 per day, depending on a person's gender, age, physical activity and health.

A chart called "Know How Many Calories You Should Eat" is available at www.americanheart.org online.

Limiting a restaurant meal to about one-third of the day's calories is reasonable, Osterloh says. "One way to keep the calories down is to share your meal."

http://www.fresnobee.com/832/story/1604898.html

America’s Unhealthiest Restaurants (Eat this, Not That)

tdsollog — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:02:52 -0700

America’s Unhealthiest Restaurants
by David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding a Yahoo! Health Expert for Nutrition
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/26542/americas-unhealthiest-rest...

Your favorite fast food restaurant is often like your favorite city: Visit some neighborhoods and you live the high life. Visit others and you’re just plain asking for trouble. And that’s where Eat This, Not That! comes in: We’ve analyzed and graded 66 different chain restaurants-fast food and sit-down-to determine which ones have healthy options, and which could turn out to be diet disasters.

What we found will surprise you. Specifically, some of the fast food joints you’ve come to think of as terrible for you actually ranked alright-McDonald’s scored a B+, for example, so the Micky D’s drive-thru just might be your fast-lane to weight loss. Something even more shocking, though: more than half of the sit-down restaurants we graded ended up with our lowest scores!

To separate the commendable from the deplorable, we calculated the total number of calories per entrée. This gave us a snapshot of how each restaurant compared in average serving size-a key indicator of unhealthy portion distortion. Then we rewarded establishments with fruit and vegetable side-dish choices, as well as offering whole-wheat bread. Finally, we penalized places for excessive amounts of trans fats and menus that tempt you with fat-laden desserts. Hey, if the neighborhood is crowded with shady characters, sooner or later, one of them will jump you.

Here’s our restaurant report card for some of the unhealthiest restaurants in America. It’ll help you stay on the safer side of town.

D+
Baskin-Robbins
We thought we'd see some improvements after we identified Baskin's Heath Shake as the Worst Drink on the Planet. All they did was lower it from 2,300 to 1,900 calories, leaving an almost equally egregious drinkable disaster to set back unsuspecting sippers. It’s typical of the menu there; B-R’s soft serve is among the most caloric in the country, the smoothies contain more sugar than fruit, and most of what Baskin sticks into a cup winds up with more fat than what'll end up on your plate at a steakhouse buffet. Check out our complete list of the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America to see the other liquid offenders. If you learn how to make smart choices when you sip, you can lose a few pounds a month-without giving up your favorite foods, or ever dieting again.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: With frozen yogurt, sherbet, and no-sugar-added ice cream, Baskin's lighter menu is the one bright spot. Just be sure to ask for your ice cream in a sugar or cake cone-the waffle cone will swaddle your treat in an extra 160 calories.

D+
Carl’s Jr.
Most fast-food restaurants today are making at least some attempt to offset their bulging burgers and deep-fried sides with healthier options such as lean sandwiches or yogurt parfaits. But Carl's Jr. is swimming against the nutritional tide, trying to attract those with hearty appetites and less concern about fat, salt and calories. The lightest item on the breakfast menu, for instance, is the Hash Brown Nuggets-but even they have 21 grams of fat, and 5.5 of them are trans fats. (As a rule, you should try to get 2 grams or fewer of the stuff in an entire day!) The burgers are worse, and there's not a side on the menu that hasn't been given a long, bubbling bath in their trans-fatty frying oil.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Find another place to grab lunch. Failing that, you should settle on either the Charbroiled Chicken Salad with Low-Fat Balsamic Dressing or the Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich-the only sandwich on the menu with fewer than 400 calories.

D+
Denny’s
Too bad the adult menu at Denny's doesn't adhere to the same standard as the kids' menu. The famous Slam breakfasts all top 800 calories, and the burgers are even worse. The Double Cheeseburger is one of the worst in the country, with 116 grams of fat, 7 of which are trans fats! (This explains why it made our list of the worst burgers in America (and what you should eat instead). Make sure you try to avoid it (and all others on the list) whenever possible.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The Fit Fare menu gathers together all the best options on the menu. Outside of that, stick to the sirloin, grilled chicken, or soups. For breakfast, order a Veggie Cheese Omelet or create your own meal from a la carte options such as fruit, oatmeal, toast, and eggs.

D+
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen’s taste for excess rivals that of other fast-food failures such as Carl's Jr. and Hardees. But unlike Carl's, DQ offers an avalanche of ice cream creations to follow up its sodium-spiked, trans-fatty foods. Here's a look at one hypothetical meal: a Bacon Cheddar GrillBurger with Onion Rings and a Small Snickers Blizzard is a staggering 1,740-calorie meal with 2,640 mg sodium and 83 grams of fat-2 grams of which are trans fats.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Play solid defense. Skip elaborate burgers, fried sides, and specialty ice cream concoctions entirely. Order a Grilled Chicken Sandwich or an Original Burger, and if you must have a treat, stick to a small soft-serve or a small sundae.

D+
Ruby Tuesday
The chain earned its fame from a hearty selection of hamburgers. The problem: They average 75 grams of fat a piece-more than enough to exceed the USDA's recommended limit for the day. Even the veggie and turkey burgers have more than 850 calories! The chain rounds out its menu with a selection of appetizers that hover around 1,000 calories (supposedly to be split 4-ways), a smattering of high-impact entrées like potpie and ribs, and a sloppy selection of salads that is just as bad.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Solace lies in the three Ss: steak, seafood, and sides. Sirloins, salmon, and shrimp all make for relatively innocuous eating, especially when paired with one of Ruby Tuesday's half dozen healthy sides such as mashed cauliflower and baby green beans. Other than that, impersonate Mick Jagger and think about occasionally saying goodbye to Ruby Tuesday!

D
Chili’s
From burgers to baby back ribs, Chili's serves up some of the saltiest and fattiest fare on fast-food row. In fact, with 3,810 mg of sodium and 122 grams of fat, Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger earns the distinction as being one of the worst burgers in America. The Guiltless Grill menu is Chili's attempt to offer healthier options, but with only eight items and an average sodium count of 1,320 mg, there’s meager hope for nutritional salvation.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: There's not too much to choose from after you omit the ribs, burgers, fajitas, chicken, and salads. You're better off with a Classic Sirloin and steamed vegetables or broccoli. Another decent option is the Chicken Fajita Pita with Black Beans and Pico de Gallo. A lot of the appetizers, while delicious, are worrisome too-one from Chili’s made it on our list of Worst Appetizers in America.

D
Uno Chicago Grill
Uno has some serious strikes against it: The chain invented the deep-dish pizza, they encouraged gluttony with their Bigger and Better menu, and in 1997 they faced false-advertising charges for erroneously claiming that some of their pizzas were low in fat. They've cleaned up some of the more conspicuous health hazards and have increased nutritional transparency at all of their stores, but from appetizers to desserts, this menu is still riddled with belt-busting fat.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: First off, cast aside the bloated breadstick that Uno tries to sneak onto most plates. Next, choose flatbread over deep-dish pizzas-it could save you more than 1,000 calories. Beyond that, stick to soups or entree items served with Mango Salsa.

D
Chevy’s
Don't let the made-fresh-daily shtick distract you; Chevy's massive portions push many of the meals beyond the 1,000-calorie threshold. The taco trader’s menu has three strikes against it: 1.) the consistently high amount of fat in its entrees (the average salad has 67 grams); 2.) the outrageous salt levels that make it difficult to find a meal with fewer than 2,000 mg of sodium (you should get around that amount in an entire day of eating); and 3.) the chain earns its poor score by failing to offer complete nutritional disclosure. It provides no information for its appetizers or quesadillas, for instance, and although it maintains it uses trans-fat free oils, there's no trans-fat data for the full entrees.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The best items on the menu are the Homemade Tortilla Soup, with just 393 calories and a full 26 grams of protein, and the Santa Fe Chopped Salad, which has only 470 calories when you order it without cheese. If you can't resist an entrée, order it without all the fixin's-tamalito, rice, sour cream, and cheese. That should knock more than 300 calories off your meal.

D-
On the Border
On the Border is a subsidiary of Brinker International, the same parent company that owns Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill. It should come as no surprise then that this chain is just as threatening to your health as its corporate cohorts. The overloaded menu offers appetizers with 120 grams of fat, salads with a full day's worth of sodium, and taco entrées with an horrific 960 calories-and that’s the calculation without rice and beans. Border crossing is a decidedly dangerous enterprise.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The Border Smart Menu highlights four items with fewer than 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. Those aren't great numbers considering they average 1,800 mg of sodium apiece, but that's all you've got to work with.

D-
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
For years now we've been on Romano's case to clean up the menu at the beloved Macaroni Grill. So far we've had no luck. This Italian grease spot serves some of the worst appetizers in the country, offers not one dinner entrée with fewer than 800 calories, and hosts no fewer than 60 menu items with more than 2,000 mg of sodium-almost an entire day’s worth of the salt! A select few menu items earn the restaurant's Sensible Fare logo-a fork with a halo over it-but unfortunately these items can still carry up to 640 calories and 25 grams of fat.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Macaroni Grill will let you build your own dish. Ask for the marinara over a bed of the restaurant's whole-wheat penne, and then top it with grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. Just beware their salads-one of them made our list of America’s Worst Salads!

D-
Baja Fresh
It's a surprise Baja Fresh's menu has yet to collapse under the weight of its own fatty fare. About a third of the items on the menu have more than 1,000 calories, and most of them are spiked with enough sodium to melt a polar icecap. Order the Shrimp Burrito Dos Manos Enchilado-Style, for instance, and you're looking at 5,130 mg sodium-that's more than 2 days' worth in one sitting!

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Unless you're comfortable stuffing 110 grams of fat into your arteries, avoid the nachos at all costs. In fact, avoid almost everything on this menu. The only safe options are the tacos, or a salad topped with salsa verde and served without the belly-busting tortilla bowl.

F
Applebee’s, IHOP, Outback, T.G.I. Friday’s
These titans of the restaurant industry are among the last national chains that don’t offer nutritional information on their dishes. Even after years of badgering their representatives, we still hear the same old excuses: it’s too pricey, it’s too time-consuming, it’s impossible to do accurately because their food is so fresh, or we have too much variety. Our response is simple: If nearly every other chain restaurant in the country can do it, then why can’t they?

Your Survival Strategy: Write letters, make phone calls, beg, scream, and plead for these restaurants to provide nutritional information on all of their products. Here’s the contact information for each of the restaurants that refuse to fess up!

Applebees: 888-59APPLE, or send an e-mail
IHOP: 818-240-6055 (press 1 for Guest Visit issues)
Outback: Send an e-mail
T.G.I. Friday's: 800-FRIDAYS