Joesocwork

I'm shocked but I guess given the earlier threats to her I shouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't even come to know if she wanted to be a martyr but I do hope other brave souls step up to continue.

Originally posted by: belfastuniguyPeople just need to relax and get over things, I mean seriously people just relax, life is too important to go around getting all annoyed by PC, it is important for some things of course but can go over the top, esp in the 'west'.quote> It's comforting to know people don't go over the top in the 'east'.

I tend to wish people Merry Christmas and I am disturbed if people get upset about the phrase. But by the same token I don't mind telling the Community that I get equally upset when people make the phrase "Merry Christmas" a political statement and try to bully others into saying it and stereotype them if they say something different. Religion aside, that really destroys the whole purpose of the thing. I'm really discovering that Political Correctness cuts both ways.

I showed your videos to my wife, EB. We both knew of him fr a 60 Minutes interview a decade ago. He is very inspirational. And one of the things that inspires us is that he actually came from much further down in the Autism Spectrum, not just simple Asperbergers or higher level Autism. Thanks for sharing!

I can't in good conscience use the day to observe Jesus's birthday when I have no authority from God to do so, but being nice to people is almost always approved. As a christian I scringe when I see people who call themselves act unChristlike toward others who don't share our beliefs. We're not in the position to demand anything from anybody else!

After my son's obsession with geese and reading about how foie de gras is made, I'm kind of rethinking the turkey thing.

Amen! Now that I'm thinking about the subject more, how unChristlike is it that the word 'Christ'mas is being used as fighting words. Get a life! (and now back to mine!)

I don't observe Christmas in the religious sense due to religious reasons. But I candidly find myself saying Merry Christmas defensively to combat political correctness almost unthinkingly. But now that I do think about it, saying "Merry Christmas" for the sake of dogmatism is being just as politically correct from the right. So you know what, if a person is being nice I try to be nice back, whatever is being said, and not make it matter in my heart. Merry Christmas orHappy Holidays PD, or 25th of December (my favorite), or anything else to anybody's desire. May no one be offended, but whatever anyway, b/c being offended is pretty much what we as humans being do well as a species.

My wife, The Magistrate, a fan of the English Royalty, hadn't heard of him, but she admires his research into his ancestry.

I think it's a nice transition from The Trixies. In fact I now sometimes think of Christmas as the second Trixies of the year!

The Magistrate is an American absolutely fascinated by English royalty. She tends to watch the gossip shows about them while I tune into the NFL.

I think the political stereotypes are labels that attached based on how their personalities play across, whether or not they're based on reality. I.e. in the United States, Hillary comes across as cold, calculating and vengeful, President Bush as a frat boy, President Clinton as a "bubba", Al Gore as a wooden like a tree, J.F. Kerry as a snob, President George W.H. Bush as wimp, President Reagan as a cowboy...

Posession of a weapon now appears to be the standby; the new "failure to pay income taxes".

I almost posted this as an update to my autism awareness thread until I realized the subject of deciding when to run and pull an ad was a potentially discussable topic itself. My thoughts to come after I read some of yours. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/19/AR2007121902230.html Child Study Center Cancels Autism Ads Many People Found Campaign Offensive By Robin Shulman Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 20, 2007; Page A15 NEW YORK -- The words, in blocky typeface, read like a ransom note. "We have your son. We will make sure he will no longer be able to care for himself or interact socially as long as he lives. This is only the beginning." The note is signed "Autism," and it is an advertisement, placed along with five other ransom notes -- dealing with bulimia, depression, Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder -- on billboards and kiosks in this city by the New York University Child Study Center, intending to urge parents to seek treatment for children with the disorders and spark a broader conversation. But Wednesday, the center withdrew its ads, after receiving thousands of calls and e-mails, many from people who said they found the notes offensive and hurtful, more likely to spread stigma and fear than to help. "The problem is the debate was getting more and more focused on the ads, and not on the children who have disabilities," said Harold S. Koplewicz, the founder and director of the center, whose goals are to improve the treatment of child psychiatric disorders through scientific practice, research and education, and to eliminate the stigma surrounding them. Opposition to the ads came from some of the very advocates who share the goals of the center, including adults who have psychiatric and neurological disorders. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network organized a campaign in the blogosphere, signed up more than 20 disability rights groups to their cause and collected more than 1,000 signatures on an Internet petition. "These ads reflect some very old and damaging stereotypes about people with disabilities by suggesting that we are not entirely present and not fully within our own bodies," said Ari Ne'eman, president of the network, who has Asperger's. The intention was never to spread stereotypes, Koplewicz said. Instead, he hoped to use a provocative metaphor -- that an untreated disability can hold a child hostage -- and make an impact. "There is a public health crisis in this country," he said. "There are 12 million children with psychiatric disorders. An overwhelming number go untreated. They're uninsured. It's under-researched." The pro bono campaign by the agency BBDO launched in New York on Dec. 1, with ads on about 200 kiosks, Koplewicz said. The campaign was originally intended to spread to four other cities, including Washington, in coming months, he said. Instead, Koplewicz plans to hold a virtual town hall discussion in January with some of those who opposed his campaign most vociferously and create a new campaign to be produced by BBDO early in the new year. John Osborn, president and chief executive of BBDO New York, said the ransom notes were intended "to create awareness, to break through the clutter, and heighten the urgency of intervention and improve the lives of kid

Originally posted by: Duke87 ...also, I fail to see how this is an attempt at converting the already converted. These ads were in public places, right? Doesn't that mean that all kinds of people see them?quote> Because the ad was phrased as if people who read it already knew the condition existed w/in the family. The implication of the feeling of being held hostage is an old feeling that many of us fight all the time anyway. The ad might be different, and here's how I think it could've been more effective, if it suggested that these were hidden symptoms that people were now being alerted to looking for the first time. That's exactly the marketing ploy that works for the pharmaceuticals use for their wares. The annoyance is that it appears they create problems for their products to solve. RLS= Restless Less Syndrome?? Puh-leeze. But it works. Like these ads, the ad of this subject could suggest the tell-tale signs to look for first before claiming doom that they can save us from.

I think they were "missionaries" who were out to convert the already converted and ended up being too clever for their own good. While there is a need for public awareness for bulimia, depression, Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc. most individuals and families I know who face this, and who are not in denial, already are their own experts on what they face. They should have been more upfront and say "Our center wants to help, pls support our center."

PD: shallowness is as shallowness does, buddy.

I remember a few years back when either an asteroid or meteroid (I can't remember) his Jupiter. I provided great learning opportunities for the space community. I think it is awesome, btw, that the two rovers are still operating years after they completed their initial missions and were expected to expire a long time ago.

Originally posted by: Joe 90 If that quake happened in (say) Turkey it would be world news for all the wrong reasons. Just because it happened in a relatively sparsely populated (by world standards) place doesn't make it any less significant.quote> I think that's a good point. There have been some serious natural disasters this year that didn't make it to the forum. My guess (and hope) was that perhaps that ST members were directly affected.

This is a nerve-wracking instance of deciding on using terrible means to avoid even more terrible ends.

Palpatine001: I bet that was quite a shock. I'm glad to know that there were no casualties and that you, tomdapom, (and others of the SimTropolis Community) were safe.

Originally posted by: Barbarossa Why is this even news? No one in their right mind should even care about celebrities and their foibles. Barbarossaquote> I think that all of the time about the celebrity gossip stuff too. I am tired of the commotion of the hiltonspearsfiftyotheryoungcelebsicouldntnametosavemylifegonebad-goround also. This story perked my ears this morning b/c I saw the celeb in question was in a show that could interest my daughter. As a parent I feel a responsibility to take an interest in my children's interests and assess what role the media could be playing on my children's lives.

I didn't realize that she had a well respected tv show that young girls looked up to. It makes me all of the conscious of my responsibilities as a parent. Originally posted by: GMT But a 16y/o teen, living under normal circumstances, that actually wants a child, I think has a hole where others have brains...quote> That 'hole' is emptiness, or more specifically, unfulfilled needs. Sadly, I see it all of the time in RL. Babies, do appear to give unconditional love through a bonding process called object relations. If a mother has a good maternal instincts she'll respond to a babie's smile and noises, the child will learn to attach, and the process of learning how to develop relationships and interact w/ others begins. It's a beautiful but demanding experience. It's all about the baby. Other than than the smile and cooing, babies seldom give back what appears to be love in any other way. They take enormous amounts of responsibilities that many people, but especially within the teen years, aren't emotionally and psychologically ready to take on. If a youth has had personal needs of love or interactions with others unfulfilled they are going to expect too much of the baby and limit both their own growth and the baby's growth even further. NOW, will be the time to see what grandma Spears has to offer as a "good parent" at this point.

I don't observe Christmas or other holidays in a religious sense for that reason. There's no authority in the Bible that states that is what Deity wanted. I think of the holiday season Halloween/Ramadan(sp?)/Thanksgiving/Hannukah(sp?)/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Christmas/New Years/Superbowl as a pretty time of the year.

I see you mentioned "smokeless ashtrays". Have you had a good conversation about your concerns with your parents?