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northierthanthou

Tag Archives: Health

A Cancer of Freedom

05 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by danielwalldammit in Politics

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Cigarettes, Conservative, GOP, Health, Morton Downy Jr., Politics, Republicans, Rush Limbaugh, Smoking

MortI always thought Morton Downey Jr.’s cigarette would make a fitting symbol of the modern Republican Party. I remember seeing him blow the smoke into the faces of liberals he would bring on his show to shout at. I remember him using that cigarette as a symbol of defiance, a misguided token of individual freedom standing strong against a world of oppressive liberalism. The dangers of secondary smoke had finally sunk into the public’s mind, and people (not just liberals) were beginning to protect themselves from it. With Americans putting up ‘no smoking’ signs in institutions all across the nation, Mort smoked like a chimney just to spite them. He shared his smoke with others whenever he could, at least when the cameras were rolling, and this obnoxious act of self-destruction, discourtesy, and outright assault helped to define him as a ‘conservative’ voice in the ever more carnival circles of right wing politics. He became a shining star of right wing politics, for a time, riding a wave of support with a cigarette in his hand.

And then of course it killed him.

LimbaughAs I recall, it was Rush Limbaugh who replaced him when Downey got himself fired from a radio gig in Sacramento California. Rush also replaced Downey in his role as the most prominent right wing loud mouth. Rush got to keep that role way longer than Downey did, and he accomplished way more with it too.  Rush substantially transformed ‘conservative’ politics in the age of Clinton (or more to the point, Newt). Through Rush Limbaugh, bigots and bullies everywhere learned to call themselves ‘conservatives,’ and through Rush conservatives learned to lean less on the authority of age-old traditions and enjoy the role of petulant children defying the authority of liberals whenever and whenever possible. Where old-school conservatives would invoke timeless truths as though speaking with an ancient voice, Ditto-heads mocked and sneered like the slackers from the back of the classroom.

Limbaugh also took on the role of the public smoker in chief. I don’t recall seeing him blow smoke in anybody’s face, but then again, I don’t recall seeing Rush ever spend much time in the company of those who didn’t share his childish pseudo-conservative politics. What I do remember is countless images of him with a cigar in his hand or in his mouth and a smug look on his face. He too wanted us to know that we couldn’t stop him from smoking. He too wanted everyone to know that we couldn’t stop him from killing himself. He was enjoying his personal freedom and there wasn’t a damned thing we could do about it.

And of course he was right.

Mort FreedomAt least he got a Medal out of it.

It isn’t merely that these two clowns have smoked themselves into cancer. Were that the case, I really would consider it their own business. No, what makes this all a matter of public concern is their use of tobacco in fashioning their own self-image. Both used smoking to symbolize right wing politics, to cast their own personal dances with death in the guise of rebellion and to cast efforts to combat the tobacco industry as just so much arrogance by the left. Just as Mort before him, Rush minimized the threats of secondary smoke. He too denied the health risks that smokers impose on others as well as themselves. Limbaugh too celebrated a known health risk on a regular basis, and he too turned it into a disingenuous symbol of rebellion against authority.

To hear these professional morons speak, American smokers had become freedom fighters and accomplished healthcare professionals become just another form of meddlesome liberal out to take your freedoms.

Sadly, this is hardly an unusual feature of right wing politics, not just the self-destruction part; the taking the rest of us with them part as well. From pollution controls and safety standards throughout industry to the flagrant refusal to address climate change, right wing pseudo-conservative politics embraces countless risks to human health and happiness. They flaunt the half-based idiocy of Sunday-Morning Scientists in answer to the work of dedicated scientific professionals on countless issues of public policy. They consistently do so in the name of personal freedoms and stories about confrontation with left wing authoritarianism.

These fuckers will one day kill us all.

Mort’s cigarette and Rush’s cigar really are perfect symbols of what American ‘conservatism’ has become.

A death cult!

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Taking Stock of the Trai Wreck that is My Current State!

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by danielwalldammit in General

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Bad Habbits, Blogging, Doctors, Donuts, Falling Behind, Health, Travel

Gotta love the title.

Gotta love the title.

This is going to be one of those this-is-what’s-happening-in-my-life posts. I generally don’t do those. I figure a blog is a sufficiently self-indulgent exercise in itself when I am at least trying to talk about other things, but life has gotten far eough ahead of the me and my blog that a commet or two about my present state would seem to be in order.

…My keyboard has a sticky ‘n’ …dammit!

Anyway, It’s been a Hell of a summer. I won’t say its been a particularly good one, but it certainly did have its moments. The first feature quality of this summer would seem to be travel. First I flew down to Denver, then I flew to Vegas, then to Orange Couty, then back to Vegas, then up to Barrow, down to Santa Fe as part of a summer camp I ran for high school kids, then back to Barrow, down to Anchorage, and back to Barrow once again. …and I’m headed back to Anchorage in a few days.

That’s a bit much.

Extra travel (always by plane) is part of life i barrow, but this is a bit much. I worry that my cats will soon disown me. Seriously, all I have to do now is touch my socks and they are all over me. That aloe makes me feel bad.

This summer has also been a bit too medical for my tastes. I entered Jue with two teeth on the left side of my mouth making a good argument against ordering a steak dinner. They have had me chewing on the right side for awhile now, and I’m getting pretty good at it. Mid you, both of these teeth have had work doe on them, ostensibly complete work. So, an endodontist tore into one perfectly good cap i search of problems with a root canal and my regular dentist tore into a nice filling to investigate the other tooth. Turns out the first was a lateral channel near the bottom of the root, ad the secod also had an extra root. The doc took what nerves she could outta the tooth, but lucky me, I get to visit another endodontist soon. …and I get to pay some hefty bills on accounta my dental plan is already maxed out for the year.

Ouch!

I the interim, I have a steak i my fridge, and I wouldn’t bet on it still being there tomorrow night.

The funny thig about doctors is that if you avoid them for a long time (say about a decade) they tend to find things when you come back. Everythig on me is more or less fixible, or live-with-able, but damn! I am relieved to learn that the general sense of fatigue that has bee creeping up o me for years may have a specific (and perfectly treatable) cause. That’s a good thing. I’m also happy that this doc found the source of recurrent pai i my side. Let me just say that a certain kidney stone has a date with destiny. …soon, you bastard! I do wonder why previous doctors missed it, but K-Sarah, or something like that! Also, I am hoping the outtie which became my belly button a few years back will one day soon be a innie again. Three small procedures in one day; I wonder if that adds up to at least a medium-ish procedure?

Also, I guess I eed to eat more bananas. At least I’m told my heart will stop skipping around so much if I do. And of course it’s time to start thinking about my cholesterol, …well past time actually.

Sheeshes!

…and once again money! My bank account was healthy a few weeks ago. It’s taking a hell of a hit now, and I can’t help but wonder what I would have done without work-related insurance.

Then I realize the answer is obvious. I would have done exactly what I did do when I didn’t have insurance, which is nothing. Without insurance I still wouldn’t know what that pain was in my side, why I am so damned tired all the time, or why the slightest exercise makes me want crawl directly into the grave. And since a couple of those things are ticking time bombs, I guess my story would be a tragedy unfolding it’s way toward the climax chapter.

So, I guess things are shaking out okay, but I definitely have to rethink my perspective on doctors. Time was when I simply couldn’t afford any of this care, but I was awful slow to take advantage of it when my circumstances changed. Ah well, I shall kick myself over this three or four more times before moving on.

We are already seeing snow here in Barrow, though it isn’t sticking yet. I am oe week ito a ew semester, which usually means a more stable schedule, and more time with the cats. I ca only hope my students don’t pick up any bad spelling habits from yours truly. …and maybe I can fid some compressed air i Anchorage.

The blog looks like a bit of a train wreck at the moment. My topics are a bit more scattered than usual, and my efforts to catch up on summer comments ended with many good people unanswered. As of now, I eve have a badly misspelled title i one of my posts.

Just terrible!

I have plas for several posts. Most of those plans have been in place since Jue, but I suppose that’s better to be behid than to have nothing to say. Hopefully I will soon begin knockig out new material soon.

Could someone please eat these donuts for me? The doc says they will kill me, so naturally I bought a whole firing squad.

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