Can You Believe Half The Gov't Finally Voted Stop Changing Clocks

Of all the things in my lifetime....

I never thought I might actually see this day. Granted, it has a long way to go, but yesterday, according to News Center Maine, the U.S. Senate actually advanced legislation that would stop the clocks right where they are forever. That's right, there would be no more changing the clocks back and forth in spring and fall.

It still has to get through the House of Representatives, where it could die right there. There's plenty of viable reasons for getting rid of DST besides the twice-a-year change. The medical community believes it messes with people's natural sleep patterns, leads to poor workplace performance, and can even contribute to heart disease. But....

Why would we not stay in Standard Time instead of DST?

So here's where the government misses the boat a bit. The real reason we have DST is to put less of a strain on the power grid in the summer months. It's got very little to do with Ben Franklin, or farming, or all the other versions of the story you've heard. It didn't officially pass until the 60's under President Johnson.

But if we keep our clocks set to DST, I get that a lot of parents won't want their kids out waiting for the bus in December when the sun doesn't fully come out until almost 8:00am. On the other hand, it also won't be fully dark at that hour either. This will likely be where the debate comes in the House.

So it comes down to, either the sun sets an hour earlier in the summer, or kids wait for the bus in the dark. These are the choices at hand. Standard time seems best for all involved, but as usual, it's not like we get any direct input. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out for us Mainers.... But yeah... I say we ditch the switch.