‘First aid kit’
courtesy of ‘Marcin Wichary’
Summer months in DC, with their high level of physical activity and tourism, often remind me of the importance of official training in basic first aid and safety. Recently, for example, at a Saturday afternoon BBQ party, a friend of mine suddenly felt nauseous and woozy. He sat down and promptly fainted. Even though it’s been 3+ years since my Red Cross First Aid and CPR certification, my training came quickly back to me. We called 911, gently moved him to the ground (during which time he came to), put a pillow under his head, raised his legs up on a chair and kept him calm and talkative until the paramedics arrived as the CPR Classes in Nashville explain. Ultimately, it was just a fainting spell caused by dehydration and the heat, and my friend was fine, but it was a startling experience to say the least.
And here’s where our local chapter of the American Red Cross comes in. They offer a range of health and safety courses, for a nominal fee and time commitment, that will teach you the knowledge and skills necessary to give care in an emergency, help sustain life and minimize consequences of injury or sudden illness until medical help arrives. These skills can range from critical “must haves” in emergency situations to just plain useful skills for around the house minor mishaps. All in all, the classes offer simple and necessary lifeskills that should we ever need to use could be lifesaving.
A born and bred New Yorker, Rebecca made the big trip “down south” to DC in 2006 and hasn’t looked back. She spends her days strategizing/planning/ideating how interactive products can help her clients and change the world. In her free time, she explores DC’s ever expanding bar, restaurant and small business scene, plays a crap ton of soccer, attends concerts that contribute to her sleep deprivation and embarks on local adventures. Read why Rebecca loves DC or follow her on twitter.
As a follow-up to my earlier posting, I’d also like to mention a terrific Red Cross class I took called “censorship in modern America and the insidious undermining of our democracy.”
Seeing as how my earlier post was deleted, apparently because of the excessive medical terminology, I now consider myself the Henry Louis Gates, Jr of this world wide web log.
Two Russians walk into a bar, one turns to the other and says, “hey, you want a drink?” The other Russian looks at him and says, “yeah, how about a tall glass of censorship?” The other Russian then asks the bartender who responds, “sorry, we’re out of that. We do have a nice bottle of weakened First Amendment rights though.”
I’m not that buys at work today, so I’ll help out the site censors with their jobs as well:
Two Russians walk into a bar, one turns to the other and says, [redacted]. The other Russian looks at him and says, [redacted – state secrets]. The other Russian then asks the bartender who responds, [redacted – classified].
Also, they weren’t really Russians. Their real identity is classified, and if mentioned will be censored.
I’d like to extrapolate a little on what the author terms “critical ‘must haves’ in emergency situations.” In my mind, on that list are the following:
1) Fluency in Urdu
2) Ability to name each Green Day album in order of release date
3) In depth recitation of lines from Denzel Washington movies
4) A handy copy of “How to Win Friends and Influence People”
5) The comical insertion of Southwest’s “wanna get away?” at the right moment
6) Some sort of heavy machinery, inoperable without some sort of goverment password
7) The Noc List
8) Vigilance as to what people say so as to be able to filter what is written in police report in further suppression of entrenched American rights to speech and expression (See the evolution in belief of Oliver Wendell Holmes as a basis for justifiable censorship).
I think the Supreme Court summed up how I feel about censorship best when, speaking through David Souter, it held that:
“A comparative analysis, 42 Colum J Transnat’l L 391, 421 (2004); 2 Schlueter 22.0. In Englad and Wales, punitive, or exemplary, damages are only available for oppressive, arbitrary, or unconstitutional actions by government servants.”
As true today as when it was written.
One of the tings that I personally like to do in a discussion like this is say, “Hey, that’s situation A” and then a little later say, “Hey, there’s situation B.” Then, when someone asks, I’ll say, “what’s the quickest way from Situation A to Situation B?” They’ll probably say, “a straight line.” Then I’ll say, “not always.”
I like to quote myself. I find it adds spice to the conversation.
I’m taking a break, but it’s not because the censor’s have silenced me. I just need to go to lunch. The censors hate it when you eat.
Wow you guys have a lot of time on your hands. If the average American has the same work ethic and Scotch drinking capability as you two our economy is worse off than I thought.
I’m almost to the point now where, financially, I don’t have to work anymore. I’ve gotten to that point through a very simple investing strategy: I short every stock that Sean McGlynn recommends to me.
I think Joe has been censored. Typical.
Pardon me, folks, but I’d advise a full read of our comment policy, especially the part at the end:
“We reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, illegal or otherwise offensive to us. We promise not to be capricious, you promise not to be a big fat jerk.”