Free to Say Stupid Stuff, Not Free of Consequences

I've long been an advocate of free speech. Being in communications and having a passion for it in all forms, it seems like the cornerstone of a free, thriving society is the ability to say what's on your mind. It's a great thing. And I support even idiots speaking their minds. But what I also support is people saying stupid stuff and then having to deal with the consequences. You have the freedom to say anything. That freedom does not extend to being free of those consequences.

So watching sponsors and people vote with their dollars (the most powerful of all votes) and saying that calling women on birth control prostitutes and sluts, or even criticizing the character --not the content--of someone whose an outspoken advocate for an issue, is not acceptable.

I was watching as the list grew longer, but I have to say that I was proud when the American Heart Association was added. Not that the AHA was paying for ads on Rush Limbaugh. To be clear as a former employee, I can tell you that the American Heart Association does not, as a rule, buy ad time. There's a tiny budget used years ago for a larger campaign, but unless something changed dramatically, they were never buying ads. They are also very conscious about remaining party neutral, so again, having ads on a politically charged show is not like them.

However, when Rush Limbaugh offered free ads on his show, they declined. And in that declination gained my support even more so. It had to be hard to decline free advertising to a show with millions of listeners. But to even have an implication of misogyny for an organization that has a whole campaign around women's heart health (Go Red For Women).

Hat's off to the AHA yet again for making the right move. And hat's off to Saturday Night Live for actually making me the thing that made me aware of that. LOL.

My Hero: Chef's Adventure

Chef's hand and the little
dog's snout.

You know when you get a text or voicemail that is only part of a story, and you're like "What?". That's what I got today when I got a message from Chef that read "On way to vet with a dog that was hit by a car." I read that little gem and thought "What the what?".

He sent me the picture posted and then called me back later. That's when I got the whole story. Chef was walking to the mailbox on the corner when he witnessed a car hit a small dog and then the car drove off. The dog stumbled around in traffic and finally a few cars stopped. Chef got in there and scooped up the little guy while a lady who had stopped tried to find a service to come get the dog.

They weren't able to find any and the lady (who didn't hit the dog, but just stopped) was getting hysterical, so Chef offered up our vet down the street. He took the dog there, but since neither would claim responsibility financially and the dog wasn't in iminent danger of dying, the vet just offered up a list of places that would take the dog. Apparently it had a chip, but the owners hadn't registered it so that wasn't helpful.

The place that could take the dog was going to close in 30 minutes and was a ways away. The lady had already told Chef about her busy day and was complaining, so he offered to walk back to our place so the lady had no excuses.

So for the sake of a dog's health, my husband did what others didn't. He stopped and helped and then walked about 2 miles back so that the dog could get help. I love that about Chef. It's one of many reasons that I married him. He often does what others won't and he's very caring--be it people or animals. He's planning on making a flyer so that any owner knows that the dog is now at a place about 10 miles away.

I'm a lucky girl. That was a lucky dog.

I Have a Fever. . .

. . .and I wish more cowbell could cure it. I woke up this morning feeling okay, but tired. More tired than normal. I chalked it up to getting to bed later than normal. (Kinda glad new TV is on!). But by the time I got to work and got started on my day (which had only about a 30 minute break from meetings, interviews and webinars before lunch and not much more time after lunch), I realized I was a little under the weather. Fever yet still cold and a craving for soup for lunch. Add to that other coworkers (who sit in close proximity) who've been sick and I think I'm doomed.

But I will fight it tonight with soup and rest, and not doing too much of anything. The only benefit of being not quite sick yet.

Despite any pending illness, I have managed to do some things right.

• Pages of fiction read: 93. I'm under for my second week, but my excuse this week is that I finished one book and the book I'm starting next is on my Kindle, which was dead and my charging cable recently broken. So I'm on hold until my new charger comes today! 
• Fiction read:  Finished Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman. Am starting the much anticipated The Hunger Games tomorrow. 
• Fiction listened to via audiobook: None. Ugh. I need to load up my ipod or have my memory erased about the awesomeness that is Pandora. 
• Five pages written: I'm gonna say yes. I wrote three pages for a story and am revising another so I don't know the exact word count.
• Calorie tracking: Check. But I was just over my daily average for weight loss for the second week in a row.
• Exercise: 355 minutes of exercise in the last week.
• Friends and family: Done. Everyone's having babies. Makes the reaching out easier!
• Weight Loss: Lost 0.8 lbs. (Total since LA move: 26 lbs)
• Last week's NEW goal: Have 600 word story for contest completed, edited, and submitted.- It's Completed and Edited. Will submit this weekend. 
• New Goal: I've decided to focus on FINALLY finishing the novel. So I'm now committed to combining feedback from my old Writers' Group (I miss you guys!!) and revising one small section at a time. Goal is to have at least one sectioned revised per week.  

If I were a parent. .

I'm fairly certain the corn syrup debate would get old pretty quickly. And I'm also certain that I'd have a hard time taking advice from other mothers. Especially if they were wearing mom jeans. However, I've seen this clip a ton of times and I can't decide which mom I'd actually end up being in real life.

In Case you Need a Hit of March Madness Before The Tourney Resumes. . .

I'll admit that I spent my fair share of time this weekend on the couch watching some March Madness. The closeness of the first weekend of games and the sheer number of games make them both ubiqitous and addictive. The only problem is just as you get used to having basketball to watch, it's Monday. And you're cut off again for several days. So if you're like me and need a hit of tourney, try this out. Did I mention that the Golf Whisperer is one of my favorite announcers of all time?

By the way, if you want to get a glimpse of Charlie Sheen's crazy bracket, check it out on the Dan Patrick Show web site here.

My Gift To You

Merry Christmas, Everyone! My gift to you is my favorite skit from last week's Saturday Night Live with Paul Rudd. It's my favorite skit because it also features Paul McCartney and Adam Sandberg. And because I find myself singing this song all week.

Here are the top 5 reasons I like "Stumblin'":

5) Paul McCartney's Tiny Harmonica

4) I can imagine the pitch meeting to get Paul McCartney went something like this "Well, you get to wear a puffy shirt AND a satin cowboy shirt."

3) The music is Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 which makes me smile.

2) I love three different types of Bears.

1) Paul Rudd's hips during the tiny harmonica solo are mesmerizing.

Merry Christmas!