Happy Holidays from BMC!

My friend sent this around and I thought it was very clever and cute. I'm not sure who to attribute it to, so cheers to whoever crafted it!

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?

His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",
"vertically challenged" they were calling themselves.

And labor conditions at the North Pole
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.

So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
Were replaced with four pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.

And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.

Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called "unenlightened."

And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows:
Rudolph was suing over unauthorized use of his nose
And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,
Demanding millions in over-due compensation.

So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.

And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.

Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.
No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.

And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.

For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.

Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.

His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

The Soda Ad That Didn't Make It

Will Recession Undermine Gain for Kids?

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health (LPFCH) released the very first Index measuring the health and well-being of California children today. This Index – similar to the Dow Jones or Consumer Price Index – offers valuable information about children’s overall health and well-being over the past decade and gives us a benchmark to measure future change.

In general the Index shows a decade of improvement in children’s health throughout the entire state with one glaring exception – family economics. In light of the present recession, Index authors caution that all those gains may be erased.

It’s an impressive study that shows substantial facts about how our children fare. In addition, I recommend you check out kidsdata.org. This newly expanded Web site is your go-to source when it comes to children’s health. It covers all counties in California and many cities and school districts. You’ll find information on 250 indicators ranging from health care to unemployment.

Less Sugar in Kids' Cereal

Good news . . . General Mills is lowering the sugar content in several of the cereals they market to kids. Though they’re not cutting the sugar in all of the cereals popular with kids, it’s a good start. Maybe at some future date they’ll see fit to reduce the sugar in all their cereals to a more acceptable level. More good news is that General Mills has also stated that they will not use artificial sweeteners in place of the sugar. Our children don’t need to ingest any more harmful chemicals.

Some “experts” don’t think this is a “big deal,” but if the breakfast food industry continues to take these small steps, over time their actions will result in major changes in the contents of breakfast cereals and how they are marketed to children. Kids might even come to prefer cereals that are less sweet. And in time, this slow and steady progress will bring a healthier product to the breakfast table.

Additionally, the Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity says that kids who eat cereals high in sugar consume twice as much as those who eat low-sugar products. Portion size is another positive step in helping to curb the obesity epidemic we’re experiencing in this country. All in all, General Mills is taking a step in the right direction. We just need to see more of these steps in the future.

Sharron

Sugar Shock

The holiday season is in full swing and many of us are tempted by the sweet treats lying around the office, at home or in the shops. While the smell of baked goodies, chocolates, candy and holiday drinks is deliciously enticing, it’s a somber reminder that almost 8 percent of Americans have diabetes. That’s nearly 24 million people, ages 20 or older, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Shockingly, double that number, 57 million people, have prediabetes where blood sugar levels are high. While it’s nearly impossible to stay away from sugary treats during the holiday season, making small changes can balance things out. Find a parking space a little further out, grab an apple on your way out the door, sip on water to keep hydrated. Need more tips on ways to prevent and manage diabetes? click here.

~ Muriel

One Stop Researching

One of my greatest hurdles with the Internet is that there is too much information floating around and no organization to it. I constantly get lost whenever I'm searching for a topic or doing research and spend more time bookmarking websites than gathering facts.

The Lucile Packard Foundation has made access to important information much easier as it expanded its website kidsdata.org statewide. The comprehensive website shares data on the health and well being of children in California, offering data for all counties, cities and school districts -- nearly 1,600 regions.

Some great facts about kidsdata.org:

Kidsdata.org offers more than 300 continuously updated measures of child well being. Data from more than 35 reliable public sources, such as the U.S. Census, the California Department of Education and the California Department of Public Health, are available at your fingertips.

User-friendly, customizable displays on kidsdata.org - maps, and tables, and bar, pie and trend graphs -- make it easy to document how kids are faring in news and feature stories.

New features on kidsdata.org allow you to share data by creating PDFs, downloading data into Excel, and adding charts and graphs to Word documents or PowerPoint slides.

-Tasha

What’s a Bigger Threat - a Terrorist or a Bug?

While al-Qa'ida and the Taliban are grabbing all the headlines, there is a bigger threat to all of us, and it’s costing us billions of dollars, polluting our environment with more pesticides and even costing lives. It’s invasive pests, insects and diseases imported here from other parts of the world - West Nile fever, Asian tiger mosquito, gypsy moth, Japanese dodder, light brown apple moth and the list goes on and on.

In California alone it is expected that 10 new pests will be introduced each year from 2010 to 2020. And each one will have the potential to devastate crops and spread diseases. This means that the cost to produce all the food you buy at the supermarket will go up. Your neighbors who have gardens will be spraying more pesticides to protect their plants. You might also have to start spraying pesticides to protect your yard and keep it looking nice. (Or you could just let the bugs eat it all.)

Unfortunately, most of the pests come in because we bring them in. People who try to sneak some fruits or plants in or bypass border and customs inspections when they travel can bring the pests in. Even traveling within the U.S. can move natural pests from an area where it belongs to somewhere it doesn’t and wreak havoc in the process.

And what happens when these pests arrive and are discovered in someone's backyard? Government officials move into action and set up eradication efforts. However, some well-meaning yet short-sighted people have stopped eradication efforts for some of the pests. This has resulted in devastated crops, higher prices and increased use of pesticides. Imagine if there was a sign in the produce section of the store that said, “Sorry, we had to raise the price on all items because of damage caused by the light brown apple moth.” The price increase is there - they just don't post the sign.

What can people do? For more information, visit the Invasive Species Web site.

Ken

It’s hard to make good choices in a toxic environment

We here at Brown Miller Communications are firm believers in the idea that unhealthy lifestyles and rising obesity rates aren't just a matter of individuals needing to make better choices. When it comes to discussing the best way to combat the obesity crisis, the loudest voices you hear are often the ones insisting it’s all about personal responsibility – that people are fat because they eat too much and exercise too little. We’ve worked very hard to shift that perception and highlight the role the environment plays in the whole equation.

I was really happy to see “Fighting Obesity May Take a Village” in The Wall Street Journal. Matthew Dalton discusses the new strategy many countries are pursuing to address alarming rates of childhood obesity.

“The idea is that governments must actively work to change environments and reduce the menu of harmful options available in everyday life.”

A European program known as Epode — a French acronym for Together Let's Prevent Childhood Obesity — began in two French towns in 1992 and successfully lowered childhood obesity rates (from 11.2 percent in 1992 to 8.8 percent in 2004). Obesity rates in two neighboring towns that didn’t institute the program rose from 12.6 percent to 17.8 percent during the same time period. The program has spread to other communities in France as well as Spain, Belgium, Greece and Australia. It’s time programs like this are embraced here.

Over the summer, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its first list of recommended community obesity-prevention strategies, but did caution that because the concept is so new there’s not much evidence to prove that it actually works. According to The Wall Street Journal article, experts say “a community-based approach to fighting obesity is probably the most promising policy available.”

It’s time to take the ball and run with it. There sure can’t be any harm in trying.

~ Nicole

Soda/Obesity Verdict: Guilty As Charged!

California's Senate Health Committee dug deep last week to discern the role soda and other sweetened beverages play in the obesity crisis. The findings: Guilty as Charged!

Listening to six hours of testimony from the nation's leading health researchers and scientists as well as defense from soda industry reps, the irrefutable conclusion points to the significant and leading role soda plays in beefing up America.

With the depth of understanding and plethora of research presented, it's up to elected officials to take the next step and develop legislate to slow consumption of these "sugar delivery systems."

Mike

Repent - The End is Coming in 2012... NOT!!!

So if you haven’t heard it yet, you probably will soon. The Mayan calendar ends on Dec, 21, 2012. So of course that means the end of the world as we know it will take place that day.

Well sorry folks, it ain’t gonna’ happen that way. The very short explanation is that on Dec 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar will simply restart. If the Mayan civilization was still around they’d have a big party, flip the calendar over and start the next cycle. Sort of like us starting the next millennium in the year 2000. Their calendar is based on many difference cycles. One is the B'ak'tun which is approximately 394.3 years. On December 21, 2012 it will simply mark the end of the 13th b'ak'tun and the beginning of the 14th b'ak'tun

The Mayan calendar has some werid ways for measuring time. For instance is has a nine day week, 584 day year (based on movement of Venus) and some other time measurements that we would think of as very odd, but that made perfect sense to the Mayans.

Sandra Noble, executive director of the Mesoamerican research organization FAMSI, notes that "for the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle". However, she considers the portrayal of December 21, 2012 as a doomsday or cosmic-shift event to be, "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in."

So I’m sure that just like the turning from 1999 to 2000 there will be people stocking up on MREs, selling everything they own and even worse. But I think I’ll handle this like the Mayans would have, and just throw a big party and have fun.

Ken

Contra Costa County Family Doctors Take Stand Against American Academy of Family Physicians

There's been a lot of outrage over the news that the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is now partnering with Coca-Cola to "create educational materials to teach consumers how to make the right choices and incorporate the products they love into a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle." A group of physicians in our own backyard called out the organization for their blatant betrayal of children's health.

"I am appalled and ashamed of the partnership between Coca-Cola and the American Academy of Family Physicians," said Contra Costa Health Services Director Dr. Walker. "How can an organization that claims to promote public health join forces with a company that promotes products that sicken our children?"

Dr. Walker, who has been a member of the AAFP for 25 years, formally resigned from the organization today and tore up his membership card. His fellow doctors also spoke out against the soda industry and how it conflicts with local efforts to prevent obesity.

"An organization like the AAFP should be taking a leadership role in helping consumers and especially young people make really good choices about what to eat. We need as much help as possible to get our communities to see past the false claims of companies like Coca-Cola," said Dr. Walker.

Bravo doctors! It's so refreshing to see individuals put their foot down and value the health of our communities rather than just making as much money as possible.

~ Nicole

Are you one of the 7 who will need long-term care?

San Diego County residents are about to become some of the state of California’s best educated citizens on the issue of long-term care. One of our clients, the California Partnership for Long-Term Care (Partnership) launched a pilot campaign this week to help San Diegans understand the issues surrounding long-term care and to prepare appropriately.

Why be concerned? Seven out of 10 people over the age of 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives and statistics show that less than 7 percent of Californians have taken the necessary steps to prepare for this reality.

How much do you know about long-term care? Take our quiz and find out at http://www.rureadynorthcounty.org. Are you ready?

~Muriel

Coke's newest marketing ploy

Coke is about to debut a cute new 7.5 ounce can to encourage people toward moderation.

Here's the question...do you think most teens who guzzle 20-ounce or even 32-ounce sodas are going to switch?

And then there is the analogy to tobacco. The tobacco companies didn't fool anyone when they dealt with criticism by heavily marketing "light" cigarettes. Light cigarettes? Why not stop smoking?

The soda companies are trying a similar sneaky tactic. It is better to swap sugary soft drinks for refreshing drinking water.

Does News Jump the Shark?

It was difficult to avoid the coverage of the 6-year old Colorado boy who was found yesterday, after he mistakenly went missing and authorities were led to believe he floated away in a Mylar balloon. It was a terrible thought and pleasant relief to know he was found safe and alive.

What's striking me as a bit inappropriate is the constant news coverage that has continued the last 24 hours since he has been found. Stories from his disappearance being a hoax to the child getting sick on live TV.

News is important and should be informative, keeping the public aware of what is happening. But when does news cross the point and become pointless and unnecessary? It seems a bit overkill to have a story published on when a child vomits on national TV.

-Tasha

Mac Owners Can't Seem to Live Without Windows

A NPD Group report the other day revealed that 85 percent of Mac owners also have a working Windows PC in their home.

That’s very interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a PC owner who needed to also own a Mac.

If the Mac is so great, then why do 85 percent of its owners need to also have a Windows PC in their home?

I’d like to see that question answered in one of those Mac bashing Windows commercials.

We’d see the Mac guy saying all sorts of nasty things about Windows, then sneak around a curtain to work on his Windows PC.

Ken

What Soda Does For Marketing

I was disgusted to learn in a recent report just how hard the soda industry is working to push its products, especially to children. Berkeley Media Studies Group and Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments unveiled a host of provocative discoveries including:

Soda is Heavily Marketed to Children and Adolescents

• In 2006, carbonated beverages accounted for the greatest marketing expenditure directed at children (ages 2-11) and adolescents (ages 12-17) by major food and beverage companies ($492 million spent on soda marketing, compared to $294 million for restaurant foods, the next highest category).


• Of the $492 million, $117 million was spent marketing carbonated beverages using traditional promotional activities such as product placement ads appearing before or within a video game; ads preceding a home video of theatre movie; sponsorships of sports teams and athletes; celebrity endorsements; or philanthropy.
  

Digital Advertising is Soda’s New Frontier

• Since the 2006 launch of MyCokeRewards.com, nearly six million rewards have been redeemed by the more than nine million members. Members of MyCokeRewards.com average over nine minutes per visit on the site.
  
• Globally, Coca-Cola has 19 million consumers registered in its databases, of which over 40% are under the age of 25.
  
• Pepsi Cola partnered with MTV to reach audiences aged 12 to 34 who are comfortable in MTV’s digital world, including the virtual reality paired with its hit TV-show “The Hills.” There, users created their own characters, or avatars, who can pump their virtual coins to buy a drink to quench their virtual thirst. Pepsi was the top-selling virtual product in 2007, selling more than 110,000 cans that were virtually recycled and used more than 650,000 times.

Visit www.eatbettermovemore.org to download the full report.

~ Nicole

Saturday is FREE museum day!

Some of my best childhood memories are of going to museums (thanks Mom and Dad!). I absolutely loved going to the California Academy of Sciences to see the albino alligator, two-headed snake and the San Francisco Earthquake machine. While I am really pleased with the new Cal Academy (especially the butterflies in the rain forest exhibit), I really miss that earthquake machine.

I think museums are great ways to spend time with your children and a wonderful way to expand their mind in a fun way. That's why I'm really excited about the Smithsonian Magazine's free museum day on Saturday, Sept. 26. For one day only, over 1,200 museums and cultural institutions across the country will celebrate culture by offering FREE admission.

You can visit http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venue.html to find participating museums in your area.

Here's a list of places you can visit for free in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento:

Bedford Gallery - Walnut Creek
Blackhawk Museum - Danville
California Automobile Museum (formerly the Towe Auto Museum) - Sacramento
California State Military Museum and Resource Center - Sacramento
California State Railroad Museum - Sacramento
Cartoon Art Museum of California - San Francisco
Chabot Space & Science Center - Oakland
Contemporary Jewish Museum - San Francisco
Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education - San Mateo
Crocker Art Museum - Sacramento
Exploratorium - San Francisco
Explorit Science Center - Davis
Hiller Aviation Museum - San Carlos
Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles - Berkeley
Lindsay Wildlife Museum - Walnut Creek
Maidu Interpretive Center - Roseville
Museum of Craft and Folk Art - San Francisco
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) - San Francisco
Point Arena Lighthouse - Station #496 - Point Arena
Sacramento Zoo - Sacramento
San Mateo County History Museum - Redwood City
SF Camerawork - San Francisco
Sonoma County Museum - Santa Rosa
Sonoma League for Historic Preservation - Sonoma
Sun Gallery, Hayward Area Forum of the Arts - Hayward
The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts - Sacramento
Zeum: San Francisco's Children's Museum - San Francisco

~ Nicole

Soda drinkers 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese

While health officials have long suspected the link between obesity and soda consumption, new research provides the first scientific evidence of the potent role soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages play in fueling California's expanding girth.

In their landmark study, Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California, researchers from the UCLA Center for Healthy Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy discovered a strong correlation between soda consumption and weight.

Key findings:

- Adults who drink a soda or more per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight than those who do not drink sodas, regardless of income or ethnicity

- Over 10.7 million Californians over the age of one drink one or more sodas per day

- 41 percent of children (ages 2-11), 62 percent of adolescents (ages 12-17) and 24 percent of adults drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages every day

"The science is clear and conclusive: soda is fueling California's $41 billion a year obesity epidemic," says CCPHA Executive Director Dr. Harold Goldstein, an author of the research brief. "We drink soda like water. But unlike water, soda serves up a whopping 17 teaspoons of sugar in every 20-ounce serving."

Can you imagine trying to eat 17 teaspoons of sugar?!

Just What Does That Gold Medal on That Bottle of Wine Mean?

Jerry Hirsh reported in Friday’s LA Times about some research that Robert Hodgson has conducted about the medals that are awarded at wine competitions.

Hodgson, a retired professor from Cal State Humboldt looked at the results for more than 4,000 wines entered in 13 U.S. competitions in 2003 and found little consistency in what wines won gold medals. You can read the entire article at http://bit.ly/ltm6y

Hodgson appears to have done his homework and waded through a ton of data to report on what every winery owner/winemaker has secretly known for years - enter enough contests and you’ll get gold medals.

Nobody every says, “I entered my wine in 10 contests and won a single gold medal,” they just say, “Look at the gold medal my wine won.”

Once again it underlines that consumers should not let other people tell them what is and isn’t a good wine for them.

From personal experience, there is a well know wine merchant that I buy my French wine from. I have never bought a red wine from him I didn’t love. However, on the other side of the coin, I have also never bought a bottle of white wine from him I liked. So does that mean he sells bad white wine? No – just that he and I have different tastes when it comes to white wine. The same can be said of the wine competitions. Just because a wine wins a medal doesn’t mean you’ll like it.

Explore, taste, enjoy and don’t let what others say keep you from finding some great wines on your own.

Ken

Why I’ll Never Buy Another Sears Kenmore Appliance

So… a few years back we decided that our Sears Kenmore washer and dryer of 20 years should be replaced. Both had been real work horses. I grew up with good old Sears Kenmore appliances and so did my wife. So we bought a new Kenmore washer, dryer plus a fridge.

The fridge broke after five years. I called Sears for service and it was going to be 5 days before they could get someone out to look at it with a charge of $175 for the visit. I looked in the phone book, called a local guy who was there in 30 minutes. He replaced the broken part and the fridge was running again. Cost $80. He told me that the part that failed was cheap and not meant to last very long. He replaced it with a much better heavy duty part.

Then a year or so later the drum on the washer went out. The repair guy told us it was our fault because we must had been using too much soap. Yeah right… My wife uses low sudsing soap, as recommended by Kenmore. Although the part was covered under the warranty the repair cost wasn’t – chalk up another $400. Now three years later the drum is broken AGAIN. I’m not even going to try to repair it. We are going to get another washer and it won’t be from Sears and it won’t be a Kenmore.

We aren’t going to buy a Kenmore just from our experiences, but I’ve talked to friends and co-workers and I’ve heard very similar Kenmore horror stories. I guess this is just an example of another good old American name that isn’t worth a darn anymore.

Ken

LA Raises the Bar on Health

The LA Board of Supes showed some real courage this week when they voted to require 100 percent of all food and beverages in vending machines under their control meet nutrition standards. Not 50 percent, not 70 percent, but 100 percent! That's the type of committment we need in the face of this obesity crisis. Way to go Supes!

Mike

What happened to Lombard Street this morning?

San Francisco's Lombard Street was transformed into a giant Candyland boardgame this morning to celebrate the iconic game's 60th birthday. The street was closed to traffic while kids from the University of California, San Francisco Children's Hospital and the nonprofit Friends of the Children participated in the game as colored game pieces, interacted with life-sized game characters and ate cake with Princess Frostine. I wonder just how tasty Chocolate Swamp and Peppermint Forest were . . .

Pictures by Ted Weinstein/SFist. Click here for more.

~ Nicole

Is obesity crushing health care?

This is one of the best articles that I've read on the relationship between the obesity epidemic and health care reform. Very perceptive quotes and premise. What do you think?

San Francisco Chronicle: Obesity a crushing weight on U.S. health care

- Paula

Legislators - it's time to put children's health first!

The child nutrition reauthorization bill, which comes up for renewal every five years, is about to go into debate. Now is our chance to strongly encourage our elected officials to put children's health first. School lunch and breakfast programs need to be adequately funded so children can enjoy healthy fruits and vegetables instead of cheap mystery meat nuggets.

Marion Nestle expressed my opinions exactly in her column, "Let the school-meals resolution begin."

- Paula

Image: Max School Bus

Quote of the Day

"Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is funnier."

- Blore's Razor

What does he mean when he says it doesn't help consumers?

On July 1, California became the latest state to impose calorie labeling. Now a federal bill with wide support in Congress would make chains with 20 or more outlets post calories on menus nationwide. The spin from the restaurant industry continues to be amusing... and annoying.

Wendy's spokesman Denny Lynch recently said: "It doesn't help the consumers; it simply puts a number up on the board."

Yum! Brands, owner of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers, and A&W, is taking the opposite approach. They are encouraging every restaurant to tell all.

If you were at KFC wouldn't you want to know that the Kentucky Grilled Chicken breast contained 180 calories compared to the extra-crispy breast that packs on a hefty 490 calories? Denny Lynch doesn't get it.

Salsa anyone?

Alice Waters would be so proud of us. We planted tomatoes in our BMC parking lot and are now enjoying a delicious harvest.

Tomato salad, pasta sauce, BLTs... the possibilities are endless.

-- Paula

How do you spend your day?

My friend just sent me this neat looking chart from The New York Times showing what exactly we’re all doing with our day. The information is based on the American Time Use Survey which asks thousands of American residents to recall every minute of a day.

I enjoyed clicking through the different demographic groups to see how time dedicated to sleep, work and leisure changes by such factors as gender, age and race. It was also cool to see what percentage of Americans is doing a certain type of activity down to the exact minute. For example, Hispanics and whites are equally likely to be dining at noon, but whites are 1.5 times as likely to be eating at 6:30 p.m., the peak dinner time. Who knew?

Want to view the chart and compare your lifestyle to the rest of America?

Watch Out! Here Comes the First Twittersuit

So someone is being sued over their Twitter post. Well it had to happen sooner or later.

Forget about freedom of speech or libel/slander laws, what she said is really unimportant because we live in a country where anyone (with enough money) can sue anyone else for anything they like.

What people use to say to a few friends is now being tweeted to a few friends. But those tweets can end up being retweeted to millions, sent around as e-mails and on Web sites across the planet. Frustrated people, blowing off some steam in a few tweets might find themselves at the end of a lawsuit. Chances are if there is no truth to what they tweeted, they are easily ignored. But if there is any truth in their negative tweets, then watch out! That knock at your door could be a lawyer.

It will be interesting to see if this Twittersuit is just the first of many to come. Of course, any company that files a Twittersuit will get some negative publicity, but that will be measured against the possible long-term damage that could/would occur to a possible endless stream of negative tweets.

While our freedom of speech may be protected, it may not yet extend to our freedom to tweet.

Ken

Developing a Social Media Policy

I just listened in on a very informative Webinar put together by Cision about engaging social media. They had a lot of good tips about how to get involved with social networks and I found their advice on establishing a corporate social media policy particularly helpful.

I’ve had a lot of questions from clients about establishing a social media policy, so here are some helpful guidelines:

1. Identify your social media representative(s) and outline goals, messages and rules of engagement

2. Build guidelines for non-reps on engaging on behalf of your brand

3. Outline what can and can’t be done during working hours

4. Make sure this policy is regularly reviewed and updated

Thanks to Heidi and Jay for putting on a great Webinar this morning!

Good food gone (really) bad

So I stumbled across this Web site called Fancy Fast Food that showcases “extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants.”

BEFORE:

After: Tacobellini (Fancy Burrito Supreme) by FancyFastFood

The site’s tag line is “Yeah it’s still bad for you – but see how good it can look!” If you didn’t see the “before” pictures to know the dish is made from “recycled” fast food, then you might agree that some of the food looks pretty good. But, if you’re going to take all that time to craft good looking food why not just start with good ingredients – lean meats and fresh, locally grown produce – instead of fast food meals?

~ Nicole

BEFORE:

After: McSteak & Potatoes (Fancy Big Mac) by FancyFastFood

Leading Health Advocate Applauds Respondents in Recent Poll for Putting Prevention First

A new poll released today shows voters across the political spectrum support health care delivery system reforms that place greater emphasis on prevention. Sixty-five percent of Democrats and 62 percent of Republicans agree that the current system places far less emphasis on prevention than it should.

Prevention Institute, a leading proponent of health care reforms that focus on keeping Americans healthy, sees this as a testament that Americans are invested in prevention:

“Reforming health care requires prevention at the same time as it requires coverage for all as a way to save lives and money. Quality prevention must focus on making our communities healthier. The individuals and families represented in the poll desperately want to see a change in the way our country approaches health care. With billions of taxpayer dollars at stake, we’ve seen that community prevention saves money both in the short term and long term. More importantly, prevention saves lives.”

– Larry Cohen, Executive Director, Prevention Institute

~ Nicole

Tell Congress what you think about soda

Americans Against Food Taxes, a coalition that includes the beverage association and other industry goups, ran the following ad in a recent issue of the Washington Post:

According to their Web site, the group claims to be “a coalition of concerned citizens – responsible individuals, financially strapped families, small and large businesses in communities across the country – opposed to the Government’s proposed tax hike on food and beverages, including soda, juice drinks, and flavored milks.” One of their big goals is to prevent the enactment of a tax that “will have a negative impact on American families struggling in this economy.”

Nice try guys, but I just don’t buy that particular argument. Why are financially strapped families buying an unhealthy, non-essential beverage – tax or no tax – in the first place? Drinking water instead of purchasing the sugary stuff at the grocery store would actually save an average of $500 each year.

The House health reform bill may not include a soft drink tax, but there is still a chance that a tax will be included in the Senate Finance bill. Whichever side you may be on, now’s your chance to let your elected officials know how you feel about a soft drink tax.

~ Nicole

More fast food creations gone amuck

I just got back from France where I found wonderful, fast, healthy food available everywhere.

So it's a little embarassing to be back and see what American restaurants pass off as edible.

In Portland, Oregon, one spot is promoting the Voodoo Doughnut Burger, a cheeseburger sandwiched between a sliced, toasted, buttered sugar glazed doughnut. Ouch!

I didn't think any place would one-up the Heart Attack Grill. Guess I was wrong.

-- Paula

Just What Does Organic Mean??

I brought in a basket of lemons from my backyard this week and told everyone they were organic. I haven’t used any fertilizers or pesticides in my backyard for many years. All I do is water the tree. So I figured it was a safe call.

But it got me to thinking about just what does ‘organic’ mean and what can be used to grow ‘organic’ fruits and vegetables or go into products labeled as ‘organic.’

So I did some research and it turns out, there is quite a bit of 'stuff' I’d never consider organic that can go into organic products.

For instance, it turns out that the 2006 agricultural appropriations bill was passed with a rider allowing 38 synthetic ingredients that could be used in organic foods. Among the ingredients are calcium hydroxide, ammonium bicarbonate, magnesium chloride and potassium acid tartrate, just to name a few. I don't know about you, but none of those sound very 'organic' to me.

On top of that it also turns out that to be “Certified Organic” only 95 percent of the ingredients in a given product need to actually be organic. It seems very odd that all those chemicals can be used and then on top of that only 95 percent of the ingredients need to be organic.

This is sort of like the fact that under the law the USDA says that chickens frozen to 26 degrees Fahrenheit can be thawed out and labeled and sold as "fresh." Figure that one out. (For any of you that flunked science freezing occurs at 32 degrees Fahrenheit).

I guess if you want real organic foods with your fresh chicken, you’ll need to grow them yourself. At least I’ve got all the organic lemons I need. Now I just need to figure out a place to put the chickens in the backyard.

Ken

What's new in the ever-changing world of fast food?

Burger King is promoting a seven-inch burger in Singapore with suggestive ads that urge you to "Fill your desire with something long, juicy and flame-grilled..."

And you thought BK was a family restaurant.

-- Paula

Resources for finding and evaluating blogs

There are so many blogs out there that sometimes it can be challenging to find out what you should be reading. Below are some specific sites we use to find blogs on particular topics and evaluate their impact. What do you use?

http://alexa.com/siteinfo
Enter one or more Web sites to get Web site traffic statistics, contact information, keywords, clickstream, demographics and related sites

http://alexa.com/siteowners
Site owner tools including edit your site data, site widgets, custom toolbars and Alexa data

http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=by#directory-page
Discover and search for blog feeds using Google Reader. Learn how many subscribers a blog has and average number of posts per week. (Log onto your Google account > Google Reader > Browse for Stuff)

http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/
Technorati Blog directory using categories or keywords

http://technorati.com/pop/blogs/
Top 100 Blogs

~Nicole

Calorie Counts Going Nationwide

With the passage of SB 1420 last fall, California opened the door for national menu labeling. Restaurants, health advocates and lawmakers have finally come through, recently announcing they’ve reached an agreement that will put calorie counts on fast food menus in every single U.S. state. Give yourself a pat on the back California and thank the California Center for Public Health Advocacy for leading the local charge.

Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) penned draft language that will require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts of all regular menu items and provide stats on fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sodium, sugars, dietary fiber and protein in writing. The provision will be part of the health reform bill currently being hammered out on Capitol Hill.

Image from: Community Health Priorities

~ Nicole

American Academy of Pediatrics Writes a Prescription That Can't be Filled

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) broke new ground in this month’s issue of Pediatrics when it issued its first policy recommendation calling for changes in how cities and communities are designed to address the exploding epidemic of unfit and overweight children. Unfortunately, a collection of health and community professionals point out that existing myths and misperceptions could block communities from filling that prescription.

“While much of the obesity discussion has centered on food, the Academy found that children cannot access safe places where they can be active,” explains Dr. Richard Jackson, a consultant on the AAP policy statement and chair of the UCLA Department of Environment Health Sciences.

“The Academy’s landmark recommendation addresses this reality head-on and encourages physicians and parents to advocate for better access to playgrounds, parks and green spaces.”

With nearly a third of California children overweight and physically inactive, Jackson says it is vital that we aggressively address every factor that contributes to this crisis.

“Opening up public facilities like school grounds so that children have safe places to play after school and on weekends is one smart way to meet the Academy’s recommendations,” says Manal Aboelata of the Oakland-based Prevention Institute.

“Sadly, in too many communities children lack access to parks and playgrounds, and this will only get worse amidst the budget crisis, unless school districts, cities and counties commit to pooling resources for the sake of our kids’ health and well-being. There are some good examples throughout the state, so we know that these partnerships can result in a win-win for communities and families.”

Joint use agreements lay the foundation for partnerships between public agencies, non-profits and community groups to increase physical-activity opportunities in community spaces like school gymnasiums, ball fields and playgrounds.

For leading health organizations meeting at the Childhood Obesity Conference in Los Angeles today, joint use is being heralded as a logical and immediate step to help kids get the physical activity they need. And while the concept is simple – share resources to keep costs down and communities healthy – the practice is limited, especially in low-income communities where the need is highest.

To assist city and school officials in better understanding joint use opportunities, a new Web site has been launched. Jointuse.org explores the possibilities, debunks the myths, and offers concrete examples of how communities have successfully opened up public facilities to respond to the needs outlined by the AAP.

For more information visit: www.preventioninstitute.org.

Kick the Can and Go Soda Free this Summer!

Mounds of evidence show that sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes, especially among children. This summer, Bay Area children and adults are encouraged to rethink their drink choices and choose healthier beverages, such as water, low-fat milk, and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices, over sugary sodas and other sweetened beverages.

The Soda Free Summer campaign, launched by the Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC), comprised of over 300 health and nutrition professionals, helps residents enjoy a summer without the un-needed calories of sweetened beverages.

The campaign includes Be Sugar Savvy educational workshops, presentations and exhibits on soda and other sweetened beverages for teachers, youth groups, and community and health organizations. These individuals will then take the message to the public via posters, brochures and Soda Free Summer pledge cards. There will also be a raffle for a bike and $500 of healthy grocery certificates.

But the real winners will be those who change their drinking habits. According to the survey results from last year's campaign, over 5,000 Bay Area residents sent in pledges to go soda free for the summer.

For more information about Soda Free Summer, visit www.sodafreesummer.org and follow the campaign on Facebook.

~ Nicole

Categorizing Blog Types

Recently we set aside time here at BMC to discuss the changing media landscape and what we need to do to stay one step ahead. We talked a lot about reaching out to the blogosphere and found that comparing the many different user-generated sites on the Web was like comparing apples to oranges.

We see an online news site, like the Huffington Post, as being a lot different than a straightforward commentary on a single topic, like our own blog. Dividing these sites into categorical types helped inform our discussion when it comes to blogger relations. I thought it might be helpful to share these "blog types” with all of you.

Online News Styles:

1. Newspaper/magazine – an Internet-only newspaper or magazine, like the Huffington Post

2. Commentary – traditional blog with the author commenting on a particular topic, like the Brown Miller Communications blog

3. Community newspapers – a blog that provides news and/or commentary on a specific neighborhood, city or region, like http://www.claycord.com/

4. Consolidation of news feeds – aggregates blog and/or news postings on a particular topic onto one site, like http://winebusinessmonthly.com/blogs/

5. Traditional media online – blogs written by reporters/columnists in addition to their broadcast/print work, like the Contra Costa Times’ aPARENTly Speaking

And the Award Goes to...

Last night, Nicole and I had the pleasure of representing Brown Miller Communications at the 2009 Northern California Silver & Bronze Anvil Awards Gala at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. The awards were presented by the Public Relations Society of America's San Francisco Chapter. BMC was up for two awards for our client, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, on our campaign winning support to implement the nation's first statewide menu labeling law.

We were two-for-two as we took home an Anvil for Best Social Media Program for our YouTube piece Brochures...Fast Food's Answer to Obesity and the top award for Best Public Service/Public Affairs Programs on the overall menu labeling campaign.

Although each campaign is run distinctively in its own right, awards like this reflect on essential characteristics of BMC's work. This campaign highlighted the importance of menu labeling and effectively brought the need to life generating strategic results such as having Governor Schwarzenegger signing it into law.

Salud!
-Tasha

Twitter Me A Tweet

Once there was a method of communication that few people had or used. But slowly the numbers grew until it hit the tipping point. Then, seemingly overnight, everyone had one and was using it to communicate with friends and total strangers alike. But after awhile, the novelty wore off and before anyone realized it, nobody, except for a small core group used the method anymore. Sound familiar? No, I’m not talking about Twitter, I’m talking about the CB radio craze of the mid to late 1970s. But I have to ask the question, will Twitter be the CB radio of the new century?

There are reports that more people are dropping off Twitter then signing up for it. There are also rumors that ads could be on the way for tweets. If people are already dropping off the service without the ads, imagine what will happen if people have to wade through ads that are attached to all the tweets they receive.

It will be interesting to see where Twitter is a couple of years from now. Will it have become an essential part of everyday living, or sitting on the shelf next to CB radios? Only time will tell.

Ken

Why Disney is leaving McDonald's behind

I read in the Daily Dog today that Disney is changing its strategy when it comes to pushing its brand via kids’ foods. Rather than plastering Snow White and Aladdin on chips and cookies, Disney is stamping eggshells with Tigger and adding Buzz Lightyear to produce stickers. Disney began its health-food promotions in 2006 and now offers more than 250 items in its Disney Garden line. Sales rose 70 percent in 2008 over the previous year and Disney is being patted on the back for being more socially responsible.

Some people aren’t exactly pleased with Disney’s new marketing strategy. Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood told the Washington Post, "If we think about children's well-being, the best thing we could do is to stop marketing any food to them and let parents make choices about what their children eat without being undermined by advertising."

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anyway we can get companies to totally eliminate advertising to children. I agree with Linn that it’d be great if parents could make dining choices for their children without Winnie the Pooh or Tony the Tiger pulling the puppet strings, but if I have to choose between companies throwing money behind French fries, soda and sugary cereal or fruits, vegetables and dairy products, I’m all for those stamped eggs.

Photos from:
forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?p=3377122

EXTRA – EXTRA Wonder Drug Discovered!

Here's a quiz for you. What is good for your heart, delays dementia, prevents arthritis, helps prevent the common cold and the flu, lowers the risk of diabetes and throat cancer, and helps you loose weight and sleep.

Announcing the wonder drug - WINE!

The May 31 issue of Wine Spectator features an article on the scientifically backed health benefits of drinking wine. The article even states, “Some studies have indicated that not only can pregnant women safely drink a glass or two of wine per week, but that their children may perform better three years after birth when compared to children of women who did drink at all.”

So we have chocolate and wine on the “Good for You” list.
Now all I need is for a study to tell us that eating a nice Ribeye steak a day in healthy.

Then life for be nearly perfect.

Ken

Obama Administration Reaches out to Ethnic Media

One of the key tenets of public relations is to reach the right audience with your message. The best way to reach your audience is to frame your message and communicate it appropriately. For example, when we reach out to ethnic media we make sure we have spokespersons available who speak that particular language.

I'm happy to see the Obama administration has got this figured out. Last week Dan Restrepo, the White House's senior adviser on Latin America, addressed the Hispanic-media in Spanish during a press briefing on America's changing Cuba policy. According to the Huffington Post, it's believed Restrepo is the first person to speak Spanish during a White House briefing.

While I don't think it's necessary to have a Spanish interpreter for all official functions, I think it's a smart move on the administration's part, or any organization for that matter, to take a simple and highly effective step to communicate with its audience more effectively.

~ Nicole

It's Time to Take a Step Toward Solving the Obesity Crisis

We’re facing an out-of-control-obesity epidemic and all anyone can do is point fingers and blame the individual for eating too much or not exercising enough. While people do need to take some level of responsibility it’s impossible to change your behavior if you’re surrounded by fast food restaurants, limited amounts of healthy food and live in unsafe neighborhoods that make walking and biking a high-risk activity. The obesity epidemic is such a huge problem that policymakers, public health advocates and individuals alike are often paralyzed about where to start. According to, “Ounces of Prevention – The Public Policy Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages,” in the current issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, a tax on sugared beverages is as good a place as any.

The authors, Dr. Brownell and Dr. Frieden, state that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, sports drinks and energy drinks is associated with increased body weight and poor nutrition and leads to an increased risk of obesity and diabetes. (My favorite part of the article? “Studies that do not support a relationship between consumption of sugared beverages and health outcomes tend to be conducted by authors supported by the beverage industry.”) They suggest levying a tax of these types of drinks will help stem the gluttonous consumption. Dr. Brownell’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity estimated that “for every 10 percent increase in price, consumption decreases by 7.8 percent.” This and similar studies suggest that if people have to pay more for their sugary drinks, they’ll switch to more healthful beverages, reducing their caloric intake and weight gain.

Some people will argue that it’s not fair to single out sugared beverages as the root cause of the obesity epidemic. I agree that it’s not the only reason people are busting out of their belts, but it sure has contributed to the problem and it’s an easy place to turning things around. New York and Maine have proposed a “soda tax” and California should too.

What do you think?

~ Nicole

Photo credit: The Art of Manliness

Let's All Change Our Names to Betty Brown

I just read an article about a North Texas legislator who suggested Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Betty Brown said.

Brown adds: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Apparently, Ms. Betty Brown thinks it's too difficult to say Asian names, especially those of Chinese, Korean and Japanese background and her hands are tied to create a system that's not going to screw up her voting identification program. We all run into situations where names are difficult to pronounce but the thought of blatantly disrespecting other cultures, to ask that they disown the name they were given at birth takes us backwards as Americans. As an Asian American, it saddens me that ignorance like this continue to exist. Ms. Brown desperately needs media training in multicultural communications.

Link to the article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6365320.html


~Muriel

Obama - Not A Tweeter? Tell Me It’s Not True!!

In the NY Times article “When Stars Twitter, a Ghost May Be Lurking” by Noam Cohen, he reveals that, “Candidate Barack Obama, as well as President Obama, has a social-networking team to keep his Twitter feed tweeting.”

The fact that he’s not really tweeting doesn’t shock me, it’s that he has an entire team behind each tweet. Hey folks – it’s only 140 characters!!

I can just see the morning meetings where the team gets together for an hour-long discussion to decide what that morning's presidential tweet will be.

The article also reveals that many other famous Tweeple are not doing their own tweets. I wasn’t surprised that the likes of Britney Spears, 50 Cents (aka Curtis Jackson III) and others don’t really tweet. I’d be surprised if any of them can spell in the first place.

So what is to be done about this? I know – everyone should set up (or hire) ghost tweet receivers/responders. It could spawn an entire new industry. People - who are not who they say they are, tweeting to people - who aren’t really who they say they are.

Believe me – if someone can figure out how they can do that and make money at it – it will be here before you know it.

Ken

Increasing Taxes on Wine Not A Healthy Solution

First off, keep in mind that wine is already heavily taxed, yet California lawmakers Assemblyman Jim Beall Jr., D-San Jose, and Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, both want to increase those taxes even more. Increasing the already high “sin” taxes on wine is just not a very healthy idea. And here's why.

On Beall ‘s Web site he states, "The alcohol industry creates devastating problems -- traffic accidents, alcoholism -- and walks away with money stuffed in its pockets while the public -- including non-drinkers -- are left to pay billions for the mess." BUT WAIT ONE MINUTE ASSEMBLYMAN, study after study has shown that wine in moderation is healthy. Literally hundreds of studies have shown that drinking wine lowers heart disease, strokes and some forms of cancer. Studies have even shown that the children of women who drank small amounts of wine while pregnant grew up to have higher IQs. Alcoholics are not about to spend $10 or more to satisfy their addiction when they can get more bang for their buck with hard liquor, so why pick on wine?

DeSaulnier, says he wants to collect the money for an Alcohol Abuse Treatment Program Fund. But the state already has a program and there are many other free programs available. The problem isn’t the need for more programs, the problem is getting people to admit they have a problem and seek help.

If either of those lawmakers were truly concerned with Californian’s and their health they would lower the current taxes on wine, or better yet start a program that encourages more people who currently are not wine drinkers to enjoy a glass or two with dinner each night. Just imagine the savings in health care costs the people of California could reap if 90 percent of the people, instead of the current 10 percent, were enjoying the health benefits imparted by drinking a glass of wine every day. Now that's an idea someone should explore further.

Ken