by Larry Ohio on February 8, 2010 · Comments
You guessed it. That’s a quote from Rush Limbo last week. Nice.
There’s been a lot of talk in the news this week about the term “retard” and its derogatory use. Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff, used it pejoratively a few months ago and now Sarah Palin is all bent out of shape about it. Then Rush Limbo managed to use it pejoratively himself last week while trying to criticize what Emmanuel said. It’s a politically incorrect mess.
I learned a few years ago that the use of the descriptor “mentally retarded” has fallen out of favor and the currently proper term to use is “intellectually disabled”. That’s fine by me. I made a mental note of it so I would not inadvertently hurt anyone’s feelings.
When Rahm and Rush made their gaffs, they were not innocuously referring to mental retardation. They were using the word “retard” as a weapon. It was meant to inflict harm. I understand how they could have used it. When I was a kid I used to use it that way also. One time when I was spouting off someone took me aside and rationally explained to me what I was saying and why it hurt others. I changed my ways after that conversation. I hope now Rahm and Rush will do the same. However, something tells me they won’t. As they say, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks.
If any of you readers grew up using that word as a put-down and are still using it, I hope that you take this opportunity to think hard about what it means and how it can hurt, and make the conscious decision today to stop using it.
by Larry Ohio on February 7, 2010 · Comments
It’s finally here. The last day of the Christmas season. The holiest of holy days. The pinnacle of the American religious experience. It’s the one day of the year we all worship around our televisions and watch a pre-game show that is twice as long as the actual game itself. It’s the one day of the year we watch TV advertisements with intensity and revel in them as an art form. It’s the one day of the year we sit on our asses and eat junk food all day long. Oh wait, that’s every day in America.
/cynicism off
I’m rooting for the Saints of course, but who isn’t? Geaux Saints! By the books, we are supposed to lose, but all the fans in Miami will be rooting for the Saints to crush the Dolts. I can feel good things happening tonight.
by Larry Ohio on February 3, 2010 · Comments
It seems that now there is plenty of H1N1 vaccine to go around, so I decided I should get vaccinated. Greg got his vaccination a month ago from his doctor, and I thought it would be smart if I got one too.
I don’t have a doctor. Other than a rare cold, I haven’t been sick since I was 12 years old. I have ulcerative colitis, but this is not an infectious disease so I don’t count it. I had a tough time with it in the early 1990s, but have been healthy ever since.
I saw the TV commercial that Walgreen’s is providing H1N1 shots for $18, so I drove up the street last Saturday to get mine. I don’t think they get a whole lot of H1N1 traffic in there, because those idiots had no idea what to do. The Pharmacist knew what she was doing, but no one else did. It took 40 minutes to get a simple shot and it took repeated pages to the manager to get it done.
There was nobody in line in front of me. In fact, the place was dead. I had to fill out a simple form, then had to take it to the Photo Dept. for them to enter it into the computer. Why? Beats the shit out of me. Of course, no one works in the photo dept. Manager gets paged. I wait. Manager gets paged again. I wait some more. Somebody finally shows up in the photo dept. and doesn’t have the first clue what to do. Manager gets paged. We wait. Manager comes and can’t figure it out either. Some other employee gets paged. We all wait. This is all just to enter my name and address in the computer so the government can track me in case there’s a problem.
In the end I finally got the shot. What should have taken 10 minutes max took 40 minutes. Then I get home and see on TV that Greene County (the county adjacent to mine) Health Department is giving away H1N1 shots to the public. Dayum! I should have driven over there. It would have been quicker and I would have saved $18.
by Larry Ohio on February 1, 2010 · Comments
I got nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award TWICE yesterday! Woo-hoo! I first got nominated a week ago by Stephen at Post Apocalyptic Bohemian, then again today by Stan at UnderSTANding Stan, and Steve at Long Haired Boy. Thank you both very, very much. I’m deeply appreciative.
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
See above.
2. Copy the award logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
Please go visit Stan at UnderSTANding Stan and Steve at Long Haired Boy
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
a. My big brother managed to break my knee cap about a week before I started kindergarten when I was 5 years old.
b. My favorite museum is the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
c. My earliest memory is of a thunderstorm when I was about four years old. I heard once that this has significance. What that is exactly, I don’t know.
d. My Nissan Maxima was built in Hiroshima, Japan, has 124,000 miles and still acts like it is brand new.
e. My father served in World War II in the South Pacific, fighting the Japanese.
f. My father really likes my Maxima.
g. I react badly to alcohol. Any more than two drinks I usually get a splitting headache unless I drink lots of water between drinks. How some guys can drink one after the next, night after night remains a mystery to me.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers and post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
I nominated 7 last time, so this time I’m going to skip it.
6. Someone before me forget to post rule 6
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
No need.
Have a great week everybody!
