Found on FARK: the top 10 Bushisms, complete with audio clips.

Apart from the humor value of statements like “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family” and the grim reality of his saying to a single mother of three, “You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that,” this brings me to a separate thought.

[A brief aside, first. Generally I avoid talking about anything resembling politics here. Occasionally I link to and/or comment on something because it strikes me as particularly interesting or funny, or because it makes me think of something semi-related that I want to comment on. I still tend to avoid political discussion in general.]

On the one hand, I’m saddened by the fact that television seems to have brought us to an era where our presidents are judged more on their hair or their teeth, and on their ability to smile for the camera, than on the content of what they say. This isn’t a comment on any one president, but on the whole damn trend–although I do remember first becoming aware of this when Reagan ran for office and there were all the comments about middle-aged women voting for him because of his movie-star past. In some ways, it’s a shame that Bush gets judged on the fact that he’s a lousy public speaker and has a severe tendency toward malapropisms.

On the other hand, if one were to “hire” for the presidency, and write up a job description, public speaking would be in the job description as a major requirement. This is a man who has to explain the actions of the government to the public. He has to sway our allies and negotiate with our enemies. For better or for worse, he’s the face of the nation when others look at us. This means that he can’t afford to be a poor speaker who says things without thinking them through very carefully first. He can’t afford to blurt out rude, obnoxious, uneducated things.

No, I don’t think public speaking is the top requirement for someone who needs to be president; obviously there are more important ones. But it’s certainly something that can’t be overlooked.

And either way, the audio clips linked to on that page will induce a giggle fit in almost anyone!

Technorati Tags: fark, humor, politics

Before I get down to my actual subject, I do have to say that having gone to MIT for a couple of years, and worked there for longer, absolutely nothing about this article surprises me.

Now. At MIT, in fact, is where I developed tendonitis. All too often I run into someone who admits to having hand, wrist, finger, or arm pain. They always, ALWAYS act like it’s no big deal and refuse to go see a doctor about it. So let me make this absolutely perfectly clear.

If you don’t go to a doctor right away, YOU COULD BECOME PERMANENTLY DISABLED. Have I got your attention? Good, because I’m not exaggerating. I’ve had tendonitis for 13 years. It isn’t going to go away. Why? Because I kept going. Typing, after all, paid the bills. I typeset physics papers for professors in LaTeX for most of my job; even on workman’s comp, which I did qualify for once I went to the doctor, I’d only make 60% of my pay, which wouldn’t be enough in the Boston area. Then, because I had very little self-confidence at the time, I allowed my employer, who was obligated under MIT’s rules to adapt my workplace to my disability, to dawdle for months in getting the special keyboard that made it possible for me to type at least without making my hands worse.

Now my tendonitis will never, as far as I know, go away. There’s nothing I can take for it other than huge doses of ibuprofen, which really isn’t something you want to do in the long run. The only way I can keep the pain to a minimum is to be constantly careful with what I do with my hands; any “abuse” of them can make them worse for days or weeks at a time. And abuse is pretty widely defined: I can’t lift anything heavy. I can’t open most jars. When I first developed tendonitis it was so bad I could barely turn a key in a lock, and it was agonizing to do so.

I don’t tell you this because I want sympathy; I’ve gotten quite accustomed to my tendonitis over the last 13 years and I know that, for all that at the time I felt I had no choice, ultimately this is my responsibility for not finding some way to rest my hands.

I’m telling you this because I’m sick and tired of people telling me about their hand problems and then deciding that it isn’t that big a deal, that they don’t need to see a doctor even though they can’t move all their fingers independently any more, that they can live with it, that the pain isn’t that bad.

I don’t care how mild the pain is. If you have any at all, you need to see a doctor with experience in repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and find out what you can do to make sure your hands get better instead of worse. There’s a whole lot you can do if you catch it fast enough, and virtually NOTHING if you don’t.

Got that?

Good.

Now if you have any hand or arm pain, go see a doctor. Make the call today.

Technorati Tags: carpal tunnel, hand pain, wrist pain, repetitive strain injury, RSI, tendonitis

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