I understand completely about wearing sunglasses. As a visually impared person (who was just diagnosed as being "legally blind") I NEED my shades. Overcast days are the worse. There is a glare that gives me a massive headache. As soon as I put the shades on, the headache instintly goes away. I tell everyone that I'm not trying to "be cool" and that it is a necessity for me to wear them.




Cat

Myself, I see this as yet another non-issue.  *yawn*

As far as I know, the man was not going around with a sign around his neck sayin "I am blind".  And if any of you have done public speaking, you would know that it is normal to make "eye contact" with the audience, or the individual you are talking to.  That is human nature, and it can be very disconcerting to talk with somebody when you are unable to see their eyes.

This is one of the reasons that law enforcement often wears those reflective sunglasses.  That way you do not know exactly where they are looking.

In all the press conferences I have seen over the years, I can't ever remember seeing somebody asking a question while wearing sunglasses.  I just finished watching 2 of them on TV, and none of the reporters were wearing them, even though they were outside.  So questioning somebody about them is not really a big deal if you ask me.  And if the individual wearing them was not blind, it would probably have been simply something to chuckle about, and he probably would have removed them.

If the reporter was unable to stand and he did not stand up to ask a question, I am sure that President Bush or any other public figure would question that also if they did not realize their handicap.  There are some unwritten rules about how people dress and act in those press conferences.  Normally the people do not wear hats.  And if they do, they wear them back on their head, so their eyes are visible.  They do not wear sunglasses.  They stand up when they ask a question.  They address the person they are questioning in a respectful way (President Bush, Senator Clinton, Governor Riley, Mister Perot).  I simply see nothing wrong with questioning when those unwritten rules of courtesy are questioned.

And as the article itself stated: Wallsten said Bush

ha. i saw mushroom had posted on this thread and before i came here i was figuring he'd defend bush again. even though he pretends to be objective, he defends bush at every opportunity.

i notice there's no mention here of the broader context of bush's pattern of insensitive remarks -- to david letterman, for instance, and his inadvertent use of a racial slur talking about the pakistanis. on their own each of these incidents could be shrugged off as a fluke but taken in total they paint a picture of a president who's embarrassingly ignorant at best, of degraded morals at worst.

ha. i saw mushroom had posted on this thread and before i came here i was figuring he'd defend bush again. even though he pretends to be objective, he defends bush at every opportunity.


Tia, I am defending the action, not the person.

And guess what?  If the person in question here was Hillary Clinton, I would be defending her actions as well.  I simply do not see this as a big deal.  And if the person in question himself was not offended, I simply do not see a reson for anybody else to be offended.

And I suggest you look back.  On many other occasions, I have done the same thing towards Democrats.  But for some reason, nobody ever remembers that.

i notice there's no mention here of the broader context of bush's pattern of insensitive remarks -- to david letterman, for instance, and his inadvertent use of a racial slur talking about the pakistanis. on their own each of these incidents could be shrugged off as a fluke but taken in total they paint a picture of a president who's embarrassingly ignorant at best, of degraded morals at worst.



::)

Get REAL, dude.  How the crap was Bush supposed to know the guy is blind?  It was an honest mistake.  Even as the stark-raving liberal I am, I can see that.

Why are we discussing this NON-issue?  :D

Bush has had a better week than hes had in a long time, aside from this one "incident" which has been made into something for no real reason.  Are people just looking for something to keep the negative momentum going?  Geez.

[quote author=

again, not mentioning the broader context. on its own it's no big deal, yes, but the man has a pattern of doing this kind of thing.


So what?  Hes a bit of a dunce, no sh*t.  But this was obviously a mistake, so WHO CARES?  This isn't anything that should be an issue. :D

well, doesn't it matter when the leader of the free world is a socially inept dumbass? didn't we used to have standards for our leaders, and demand that they not be retarded? i seem to remember reading something to that effect in a history book once.

Hes inept because he made an honest mistake?

This does not figure into the larger picture at all.  If this had been an incident where he was obviously trying to be a dick, or said something obviously racist it would figure into the larger picture of other such incidents, but its not.  The guy had on sunglasses, and Bush made a light joke about it.  So what?  People we don't like apparently aren't allowed to make mistakes. ::)

And you complained about immigration not being a serious issue yet you wanna make a big deal about this? :D 

.

In all the press conferences I have seen over the years, I can't ever remember seeing somebody asking a question while wearing sunglasses.  I just finished watching 2 of them on TV, and none of the reporters were wearing them, even though they were outside.  So questioning somebody about them is not really a big deal if you ask me.  And if the individual wearing them was not blind, it would probably have been simply something to chuckle about, and he probably would have removed them.


Sure, when you see something different, poke fun at it. That is soooo redneck!
As Cat was pointing out, there are reasons why people wear dark glasses other than aesthetics.  I would not address the President while wearing sunglasses, nor would anybody who did not need them, that is why Bush (if he had a brain) would have thought perhaps Mr. Wallsten has a medical condition. I know Bush did not know Wallsten's name from reading the L.A. Times, because Bush boasts he does not read newspapers. Thus, I assume his stooges filled him in on who Wallsten is. You'd think they would have the sense to say, "Now, Mr. President, Peter Wallsten wears sunglasses because there's a problem with his eyes...."
Rather than interject wry humor the President didn't get, I suppose Wallsten could have tried to explain.
"Mr. President, I have Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, which causes macular degeneration..."
"Ya stepped in what? Yuk yuk yuk! NEXT!"
8)

Wallsten does have a "syndrome" that causes macular degeneration, but I don't remember whether it's Bardet-Biedl, Usher, Charles Bonnet, or what.

[quote author=

the point is, people who are considerate KNOW that people wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day might have a health reason for doing it.


Yea, and some simply think it is a "cool" thing to do.  I have even known people who wear them inside.  And of course some of us remember the Corey Hart sonf about wearing them at night.

Of course, some people simply have to have something to whine about.  If the only thing you can whine about is a non-issue like this, I am happy for you.  Myself, I am more concerned about things that are much more important.

Of course, maybe in order to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, we should ban everybody who does not have a vision problem from wearing sunglasses.  That way everybody will now that they have a vision disorder.

8)

Mushroom put it perfectly.

well, since i cited some other instances of bush behaving in a callous and insensitive manner the real way to respond would be to cite counterexamples, of bush acting in a sensitive and intelligent manner, to demonstrate that the incident we're citing is an isolated case. but i notice that i'm not getting that, and am instead getting silly generalizations and goofy comments about outlawing sunglasses.

so as it is, the examples i cite are still valid and the argument i made about bush's conduct fitting into a larger pattern still stand. all the characterizations you two have made of me personally are irrelevant.

i notice i still haven't gotten an answer to my question over whether mushroom really thinks the war is going well.

i notice i still haven't gotten an answer to my question over whether mushroom really thinks the war is going well.


I am not answering, and refuse to answer because it is grossly off-topic.

**looks up and reads the topic**

Nope, this is not a war topic, so it has no baring on this discussion.  And like I said, partaisan bickering.  Why not admit that you hate the President so much, that anything he does is bad.

i strongly dislike the president, yes.

i liked his position on steel tariffs, i liked his speech after the challenger explosion, as popular as it is to bash the twins he appears to basically be a good father. i initially supported the war in afghanistan although i don't think it's gone well over time. beyond that i don't see much to like with bush, i guess that's true. i think he's not qualified for the job. it'd be like putting a high school dropout in a position as a surgeon -- all his patients sicken and die, and then folks go, oh, well, you just hate him so much you don't like ANYTHING he does. the answer is technically, yes, that's true, he's never done anything competent as a surgeon because HE'S NOT QUALIFIED TO BE A SURGEON. same thing applies to bush. he shouldn't be there. he's just not qualified to run the country. i'm sure there's other things he'd be great at.

^ I think you mean the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion. Ronald Reagan did make a nice speech after the Challenger explosion, and that's  the nicest thing I can say about the Gipper. Isn't that nice?
:P

mea culpa. i mistyped.

it really was a nice speech.

mea culpa. i mistyped.

it really was a nice speech.

Maybe I'm overly vituperative, but I see no need to placate Bush supporters when they start barking about "partisan bickering" and how liberals never have anything nice to say about the President.
I believe this Administration is too criminal and too dangerous to merit discussion of a few coins of virtue at the bottom of its well of raw sewage!
I'm not say you must or even should agree with me. That's just my own take on it.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/glasses13.gif

Maybe I'm overly vituperative, but I see no need to placate Bush supporters when they start barking about "partisan bickering" and how liberals never have anything nice to say about the President.
I believe this Administration is too criminal and too dangerous to merit discussion of a few coins of virtue at the bottom of its well of raw sewage!
I'm not say you must or even should agree with me. That's just my own take on it.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/glasses13.gif

you're probably right. hence my surgeon analogy. it's sorta like saying, yes, but he DOES look fetching in a face mask! very surgeonly. too bad all his patients are dead.

you're probably right. hence my surgeon analogy. it's sorta like saying, yes, but he DOES look fetching in a face mask! very surgeonly. too bad all his patients are dead.

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/laughing6.gif

as popular as it is to bash the twins he appears to basically be a good father.



You mean the guy who didn't cancel his Christmas vacation with his father even when his daughter was in the hospital having an emergency appendectomy?  I bet there is more to that story.

I am one of the few here in little georgies age range and I would like to say that if I see a person with sunglasses on I assume there is a reason they must wear them.  It is something that comes with experience.  Of course I was actually working to support myself and using the benefit of my education to become more aware and sympathetic to those around me, as opposed to stuffing the largesse of a family fortune up my nose and drinking until I puked.

I don't see what's the big deal.  The reporter certainly did not take offense.

Most people who I see wearing shades indoors (usually those automatic-darkening jobbies) seem to think it makes them look cool, and are not vision-impaired.  Usually it just makes them look like the next Arthur Bremer

You mean the guy who didn't cancel his Christmas vacation with his father even when his daughter was in the hospital having an emergency appendectomy?  I bet there is more to that story.

oh yeah, i forgot about that.

okay. nice speech then huh? that's pretty much all i got left of my spirited defense of dubya.

course he probably didn't actually write it.

I don't see what's the big deal.  The reporter certainly did not take offense.

Most people who I see wearing shades indoors (usually those automatic-darkening jobbies) seem to think it makes them look cool, and are not vision-impaired.  Usually it just makes them look like the next Arthur Bremer
8)

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0112-03.htm

U.S. President George W. Bush this week called his Pakistani allies "Pakis," a word I dislike even using in print. This is an entirely different level of "mangleton" than his previous gaffes, like referring to the "Grecians" or the "Kosovians."


Ppphhh, this man has obviously never seen a cricket game. I can assure you, the phrase "And the Pakis are coming out to bat now." dosen't raise any eyebrows.

cricket! that's the one with the paddles and the seventeen volumes of eighth-dimensional rules, yeah?

cricket! that's the one with the paddles and the seventeen volumes of eighth-dimensional rules, yeah?


That would be Brokkian Ultra Cricket.

The regular version takes much longer and involves far more death as a result of heat exposure.

Ppphhh, this man has obviously never seen a cricket game. I can assure you, the phrase "And the Pakis are coming out to bat now." dosen't raise any eyebrows.
go packers!

Ppphhh, this man has obviously never seen a cricket game. I can assure you, the phrase "And the Pakis are coming out to bat now." dosen't raise any eyebrows.


I was going to write that there is a difference between what goes on in the arena of sports and what goes on
in international diplomacy, then I thought about it.....

I was going to write that there is a difference between what goes on in the arena of sports and what goes on
in international diplomacy, then I thought about it.....


Cricket can hardly be regarded as sport.. and if you've ever seen a debate in the house of commons you'd think otherwise.

Cricket can hardly be regarded as sport..



Well it doesn't have the cache of womens outdoor Olympic volley ball, but we digress.

well, soccer -- er, football -- gets into this whole weird area for the europeans. it's pretty much why we haven't had a third world war (well, except for all the ones we yanks keep starting), because they projhect all that nationalism into soccerfandom and hooliganism and whatnot. man, i went to germany and i was like, y'all just WEIRD about this game man. i mean look! they're not even using their hands! it's stupid!

You mean the guy who didn't cancel his Christmas vacation with his father even when his daughter was in the hospital having an emergency appendectomy?  I bet there is more to that story.

Hmmm....somebody scheduled an "emergency appendectomy" at my "emergency appendectomy" clinic!
--Dr. Hush-Hush,
Georgetown
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/evil6.gif

I am one of the few here in little georgies age range and I would like to say that if I see a person with sunglasses on I assume there is a reason they must wear them.  It is something that comes with experience.  Of course I was actually working to support myself and using the benefit of my education to become more aware and sympathetic to those around me, as opposed to stuffing the largesse of a family fortune up my nose and drinking until I puked.

Would stuffing the largesse of a family fortune up my nose make me less sympathetic? I'd like the opportunity to find out!
;)

8)


Heh heh...  (applauds)

I understand completely about wearing sunglasses. As a visually impared person (who was just diagnosed as being "legally blind") I NEED my shades. Overcast days are the worse. There is a glare that gives me a massive headache. As soon as I put the shades on, the headache instintly goes away. I tell everyone that I'm not trying to "be cool" and that it is a necessity for me to wear them.




Cat
Do you have to use sound on your computer??I've heard that's a pain in the a$$ if you're rading e-mail because of all the spams for Viagra,dating and worse!

Do you have to use sound on your computer??I've heard that's a pain in the a$$ if you're rading e-mail because of all the spams for Viagra,dating and worse!



Nope. I can still read. It is my peripheral vision that is just about non-existant. I trip over and bump into things a lot because I can't see them. In fact, most people are not aware that I have any visual problems unless I tell them. They always thought that I was just a klutz.  :D ;D ;D




Cat

What an idiot! I would expect something that stupid from Bush.