Holiday 
.
The song ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside” ‘ is seen as In the current era, and is being banned by some radio stations. The radio stations have stopped playing that classic song because it has lyrics that suggest rather than proposing an innocent situation of 
while being snow bound. SMH.
As long as we are eliminating everything that could offend the , I have a few more suggestions.
I think we should ban “ ” by Bing Crosby because this might offend people. We also need to eliminate “ Is in the Winter Night” by Enya” and “The World of Winter” by Bing Crosby for the same reason.
There are many, many songs that reference that should be forbidden because many religions in . They have their own . In fact the very name should not be permitted just because of the part. This word might offend the people, the . The . The and the followers of .
Now I see that there are some “ ” movies that people want to ban. The first of which comes to mind is the classic Rankin/Bass holiday offering “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” They want to ban this because an throws the out of the sleigh even though mentioned that . Then there is that with , the deer who are towards Rudolph, the dentist and the toys from The Island of Toys.
While we are at it let’s look at a few more classics. We have “A Story”. It’s just not in America unless there’s a hungry child in a marathon. And how about washing your mouth out with ? Oh fudge, that is ! But was the norm back then. I am old enough to have this way myself. Good times.
Then we have the movie “How the Stole ”. I think it is very insensitive to call him a . Clearly he has . Notice isn’t there even one person in all of Whoville. Then be aware of the fact that they didn’t actually accept the until he gives everyone presents! Looks like to me. And what about making that poor wear a heavy antler and pulling that giant sleigh. Someone call .
The movie “ ” features, , and a father his son. “Frosty the Snow ” has the magician Professor Hinkle attempting to Frosty by him in a greenhouse where Frosty is .
“Home ” is about a who is accidently home during the holidays by when the rest of his family goes to Europe. I think being by your parents is a bit of a problem.
I see that some people are trying to prohibit all related symbols in the schools and have suggested a ban on a list of themed items in the hopes of being inclusive and culturally sensitive to all of the students.
A list of the suggested items would include the singing of . Even the on the is on the hit list because that’s a related symbol. I think some people are spending more time working on these lists than they are taking time trying to understand diversity.
We now can’t see scenes on governmental land due to “the separation of church and state” activists. Wal-Mart has switched its banners to “Happy Holidays” from “ “. It is Wal-Mart’s and other retailer’s participation in the moneymaking side of that is the real attack on this beloved holiday. One more time, the have co-opted a cultural tradition that most have enjoyed.
Enough is enough! I think I am old enough to decide on my own which movies I watch and which music I listen to. I love watching the old movies and listening to the old songs. I love sharing them with my grandchildren. I will always wish you a no matter who you are or what you believe. is the Holiday I celebrate. If you want to respond or because that’s what you celebrate, I promise not to be offended in fact I may respond in kind with your religious preference. I welcome your heritage as well as my own. Instead of us getting offended by each other, why don’t we just try to get along? This is supposed to be the season of peace on earth and good will towards men no matter what you believe, not the season of hate and discontent.
In closing, I will wish you a , Happy , Happy or a season, whatever works for you, from my home to yours.
Lovin Spoonful: Creamy burrito casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
6 large flour tortillas
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2 -3 cups shredded taco cheese or 2 -3 cups cheddar cheese
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
4 ounces sour cream
jarred hot sauce, if desired to spice it up
Directions:
Brown ground meat/turkey and onion; drain.
Add taco seasoning and stir in refried beans.
Mix soup and sour cream in a separate bowl.
Spread 1/2 sour cream mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Tear up 3 tortillas and spread over sour cream mixture.
Put 1/2 the meat bean mixture over that.
Add a layer of cheese.
You could put some hot sauce on this now.
Repeat the layers.
Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 30 minutes
Treat Every Woman like You Would Treat Your Mother and We Will All be Fine.
Since the beginning of the #MeToo movement, policies have been devised to keep men out of possible trouble. Men are learning the importance of respecting every woman and valuing them as human beings. I have written about the importance of fathers training their sons to show women and girls respect.
Every employer in New York State is now required to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy. Employers must provide each employee with a copy of its policy in writing. Employers are supposed to provide employees with the policy in the language spoken by their employees.
I was once accused of sexual misconduct at work. I was walking behind a temporary employee because I had to fix something on the other side of them. Due to the cooler temperatures in the plant, I was wearing a “hoodie,” which was unzipped. All of a sudden she jumped up and started yelling that I had touched her bottom (not the word she used). I’m guessing my sweatshirt must have brushed against her.
I denied it but by the time she hit the front office, her story had drastically changed. Now I had “groped” and squeezed her butt (again not her word). I was called to the front office to answer these allegations and when the new scenario was presented to me, I actually saw red. Obviously my sweatshirt has a life of its own if it can grope and squeeze someone’s butt.
An allegation of this sort was like taking a bullet to my chest. I was so livid about these lies, I told my supervisor that if he entertained any notion that these allegations might be true, I would punch out, get my stuff and they would never see me again. I had worked for this business for over 25 years and had a spotless record. I never even had an attendance problem.
I believe it is very possible for sexual harassment to happen in the workplace. We have all heard gossip about this before and we can all imagine that it could happen. Let me say at this point that I have been very happily married since 1969. I respect the sanctity of marriage and have never been unfaithful despite a few opportunities. I take the vows I took that one August day very seriously. An allegation like this had the power to destroy my marriage and negate everything I worked for my entire life. Fortunately, my record spoke for itself and my supervisor told me they didn’t believe anything that my accuser had said.
Fast forward to today. If she were to make these accusations now, I would have been fired or suspended, immediately, without pay pending an investigation. After an investigation I am certain that they would have to believe her story, a case of “guilty until proven innocent” and I would have been terminated. It would have been a classic case of she said/ he said.
With all that has come out about Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, et al, many of us men are trying to maintain a higher standard of behavior in the work place and elsewhere than we have in the past when we are interacting with members of the opposite sex. I think we all would prefer not to have anything happen that could dramatically change our lives, damage our careers and alter the way other people see us.
Now days, people have created rules to follow to try to avoid any possible allegations being leveled against them. For example, there seems to be an unspoken rule on Wall Street that is now instructing men to avoid women. This seems like over reacting to me. It was pointed out in a recent Bloomberg article that this new standard may actually isolate women working in finance and make it more difficult for them to advance in their careers.
A rule or policy should not become a problematic impediment to business meetings or an obstruction to any career path that a woman may wish to follow. To make any job an unattainable part of a “Boys Club” is wrong. These self-imposed rules should not work to prevent women from climbing up the corporate ladder as this is unfair to everyone.
Women should not be avoided. They should just be treated as respected human beings who could bring valuable experience and knowledge to whatever corporation or workplace they are at. Men can and should just learn to keep their hands to themselves, their eyes focused on the other person’s face, and keep any unwelcome compliments to themselves.
Ask yourself this one question, how would you like it if your mother was prevented from getting a promotion because of her gender or was sexually harassed at work? If it is unfair to your mother, then it isn’t fair to another woman either. Remember to treat other women the same way you would want other men to treat your mother or sister, so that a woman doesn’t feel the need to rush home every day and thank god that she wasn’t sexually harassed or mentally undressed at work.
Color blindness
I am colorblind. My color blindness makes it difficult for me to read anything color coded such as graphs or pie charts. When I ran a textile plant in Buffalo, I was rewiring a machine that had color coded wiring. There were just two of us, Lee and myself in the plant due to a scheduled shut down. I asked Lee for help and asked him what color a wire was. His response was “come on”. I asked him again and he said “you’re messing with me”. When I explained I was color blind and couldn’t tell, he looked at me and started laughing hysterically. It turned out he was color blind also. Thus began a long day of tracing the wiring by hand.
I am often asked what color an apple or a strawberry is. Most of us would say red and so would I, but how you perceive red may not be how I perceive red. The color I see as red is the color I have always been taught is red. However, I cannot see ripe apples or cherries on a tree unless I get close and even then, I primarily see them by their shape. I also sometimes have difficulty seeing yellow type on a white background.
They say there is no cure for color blindness, no surgery or no drug you can take to correct this. However, I hear that people with red-green color blindness may be able to use a special set of lenses to help them perceive colors more accurately called X-Chron. Visual aids have also been developed to help people cope with color blindness. There are iPhone and iPad apps, for example, that help people with color blindness discriminate among colors.
When my wife was repainting out bedroom, she asked me what color I wanted it. I said any color but yellow. It was several years after she painted it before she revealed that our bedroom was now yellow.
Eye care professionals use a variety of tests to diagnose this problem. These tests can quickly diagnose specific types of color perception problems. The Ishihara Color Test is the most common test for red-green color blindness. The test consists of a series of circles. The circles are filled with dots and some of them form a number clearly visible to those with normal color vision, but invisible or difficult to see for those with color blindness. When I joined the navy, they gave me this test and the only numbers I could see were the ones on the sample plate.
Traffic lights sometimes pose a challenge for me, especially the older style signals. I sometimes have to read some of them by the position of the light. Thankfully, most lights are vertical, with green on the bottom and red on the top, but place a single flashing light at an intersection and I have a problem. I can watch what the person in front of me does and hope they are law abiding. I could just stop for the flashing light or I can ask my passenger, if I have one. My wife is very familiar with the plea, “quick, what color?” when we are driving. She knows I can’t tell the color of the single flashing light and she has to let me know what it is. The interesting thing though, is I can tell the color at night.
Reading maps or buying clothes that have colors that match can also cause me problems. My wife used to frequently lay my clothing out so they would match. We have now taken to buying clothing so all my shirts go with all my pants. I have found that most things go with jeans or black or grey pants so that is now how I dress.
I also never saw the beauty in rainbows because all I see is an arc of yellow and blue. Pretty, yes, but not as awe inspiring as it must be to someone who sees all the colors. Another thing I fail to see is the beauty of fall leaves. I am told they are beautiful and in many colors by people with normal color vision and I just have to believe them. These are all relatively minor inconveniences though and I have learned to adapt to them.
I recently received two pair of X-Chron, glasses $700 worth. One pair for indoors and one pair for outdoors. I was suspicious of their ability to help me with my colorblindness but they had a money back offer so I thought I would give them a try. If you don’t have this problem you don’t understand what this is for me.
We went out for dinner and on the way home I was looking out the window. I suddenly started yelling apples and my wife thought I was having a stroke. I was seeing apples on a tree, a first for me. I have never seen ripe apples on a tree. I am sold on these glasses and don’t think I will be returning them.
I am a Lockport resident but if you ever have to give him directions, just don’t tell me to turn at the green or the red house.
From full house to empty nest to full house again.
Empty nest syndrome, I never knew when it would hit. That extreme feeling of loneliness when my kids began leaving home to start a life on their own. Everybody had graduated from college, the weddings were over and suddenly we went from “Full House” to “Just the two of us”. Sure my wife and I had each other but gone were the slamming doors, the laughter and the family dinners. I know it was our job to raise our children to be self-sufficient members of society but dammit, why did we have to do such a good job of it?
I would sniffle a bit and wipe away a tear knowing what a good job we had done. The house we called home always seemed so small when we were raising a family. I think we could park airplanes in our living room now, it is so empty.
When I walk by their empty bedrooms, I see beds that are no longer being used. There are no piles of clothes on the floor, there are no shoes under the beds, and there are no toys that haven’t been picked up. Gone is the raucous laughter that used to fill our house to the roof top, gone is the pile of boots by the back door that indicated everyone was home, gone is the back yard full of toys and bikes carelessly strewn about.
I knew the bedrooms would be empty, the house would be quieter, their places at the table unoccupied, but other little daily patterns of life, can simply take you by surprise. We didn’t have to rush them out the door anymore so they wouldn’t be late for school. We didn’t have to help them with their homework. Years of my family eating, sleeping and playing under one roof had been brutally altered and I had no idea how to handle it.
Years after my children left, the grandchildren started arriving. They used to stop over after school until their parents got home from work. They would occasionally come over to Nana’s and Papa’s house for a super sleepover. The living room would look like an emergency shelter with four or more kids sleeping on the floor, in sleeping bags. You had to carry a flash light if you needed to go thru the living room at night so you didn’t step on anyone.
But times have changed and Donna and I have gotten used to being alone. About once a month, our twin seven year old grandsons will have a sleep over though. Other than that our children and grandchildren will stop over for an hour or so just to visit and that’s about it.
This Christmas however we have received the best present ever. My oldest daughter recently sold her home and had to move out of the place she has lived in for twenty years. She has bought a new home but hasn’t closed on it yet. Because of this she is temporarily between homes. Soooo she is domiciled at our house.
It gets better than that though. Her daughter that is in a pre-professional ballet company in Denver, Colorado will be coming home for a visit. She is a born dancer and it is semisweet to see her pursuing her dream. It is nice she has found what she wants to do in life but I just wish it wouldn’t take her so far away from us. She will also be living at our house. My daughter also has a second daughter that is attending college out of town. She will be living and sleeping with us also.
It is a good thing that about a year ago we added a first floor bedroom suite complete with a walk in closet and a bathroom. We are now officially out of bedrooms. I can’t imagine five adults living together with only one bathroom. We would have to post a bathroom schedule on the door. I can only imagine our old, old water heater straining to keep up with the demand and the sink full of shampoos, conditioners and lotions.
That doesn’t mean we can’t put up more of my family though. We do have 4 recliners in our living room, a walk up attic where the super sleepovers were held in the summer and plenty of floor space.
I know it will be only a few short weeks before this arrangement ends. The granddaughters will be going back to school and my daughter will be moving into her new home. Once again it will be just the two of us, the way we started our lives together. But, for now, it is great to have a house full of laughter once again. I am just going to sit back and enjoy it.
Free Speech
The first amendment of the United States constitution says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Our great country was built upon the ideals of liberty, justice and freedom for people of different outlooks and the ability to communicate their disagreements out in the open. This is the spirit of the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. However, Americans don’t have the luxury of always saying what they please. Your right to free speech is limited by where you are, what you say, and how you say it.
Individuals who post messages anonymously often think they are making valid points. However their posts might contain false statements and might even be classified as bullying or defamation. Online libel is a big risk for those who blog, as it does for any writer in any medium.
Despite many people’s incessant persistence that the freedom of speech permits them to harass others online, the courts and congress have carved out specific types of speech that are excluded from protection. Additionally, states, like California, have criminal laws against harassment, whether in person or done through the internet. The general exclusions include defamation of character or Invasion of privacy, obscenity, copyright or trademark Infringement or inciting a riot.
Also, the government can put “reasonable restrictions” on free speech, like those that limit the time, place, and type of the speech. For example, forbidding demonstrators from chanting loudly before 6:00 A.M. in a residential neighborhood is one example of a reasonable restriction.
It makes absolutely no sense for a webmaster to put up with speech that aggressively goes against these values. Furthermore, this type of speech circumvents the spirit of free speech diminishing it’s purpose. A society that permits uncontrolled hate speech is a society that will probably tolerate prejudice at every level.
People seem to consider freedom of speech as an unchallengeable right. This thinking is far from reality. In constitutional democracies, free speech is understandably limited in a number of ways either by law or policy, even here in the United States. The classic example of excluded speech is falsely yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theatre.
The notion that people should have to put up with hate speech against them in the guise of freedom of expression is very offensive to me. I consider it bullying. This isn’t just a philosophical discussion. The right of free speech is an important right, however it must not be permitted to be more important than the rights of other people.
The right to bear arms does not grant someone permission to shoot another human being. This right carries with it the duty of the gun owner to use it with great care. Likewise the right of ‘freedom of speech’ should be practiced very carefully so that we do not spread hatred and hostility.
The freedom of speech is one of the most habitually mentioned constitutional rights online. Too often though it is cited to justify a person’s right to say things that others may find offensive. However, while most people understand that there are limits to free speech, just as many people are shocked to find out that freedom of speech doesn’t actually pertain to many of the websites that they are using.
I do not believe that we should eliminate the right of ’freedom of speech’. I applaud the fact that a person should have the freedom to express their ideas and opinions as these produce progress innovation and innovation. But by the same token it is wrong to spread hate, to malign and slander fellow human beings all in the name of freedom of speech.
Basically people now just insult each other for holding different opinions from them. This is why I think freedom of speech should be used judiciously. As a writer and blogger, I fully support the constitution and the bill of rights. However when someone goes on a privately owned blog or website, I believe the owner has every right and in fact the duty to delete offensive posts and even ban the person who wrote them.
Immunotherapy
As an eight year, three time, cancer survivor, I always read with interest about the latest advances in cancer treatment. Over the years I have been poked, prodded and probed. I have been subjected to MRIs, CAT scans, X-rays, PET scans and frequent Blood work. When I had my prostatectomy, my surgeon said if I had waited 2-4 weeks longer, he wouldn’t have been able to save me. I have endured a few rounds of chemo and a few surgeries. I also had several months of radiation therapy at CCS in Lockport with Dr. Yi, which I credit as the treatment that saved my life.
I had so many doctors, procedures and was administered so many drugs that I had to carry a small note pad with me so I could remember them all. I also had a port installed in my chest that made it necessary for me to carry a card so I could pass thru airport security.
Because of this, I am intrigued with the latest course of cancer treatment called immunotherapy. A recently discovered method that uses the patient’s own body to cause the death of cancer cells that scientists have said might be more successful than the present treatment procedures.
Most current anti-cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiation work by killing cancer cells through a process called “apoptosis” which activates proteins called “caspases”. This leads to cell death. However in apoptosis, the therapies used often fail to kill all the cancer cells which can lead to the disease recurring or relapse.
This is what happened with me. The prostate cancer I had been treated for reappeared in a different location on two separate occasions, years apart. This is caused by the cancer cells breaking off from my original tumor and swimming around till they found a nice place to live and multiply. The first time this happened was in the fatty tissue below my liver. The last time I was diagnosed as having stage 4 cancer. I had 3 tumors. One in the lymph nodes in my lower abdomen and 2 along my windpipe. I now am looking at my 4th fight because my Prostrate Specific Antigen went up. This usually indicates a return of the cancer.
Chemotherapy, due to the fact they infuse toxic poisons into your body can cause nasty side effects. The chemo I had put me in the hospital and caused all my hair to fall out. Scientists from the University of Glasgow sought to create a way to develop a therapy that kills the cancer cells while reducing the unwanted toxicity.
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment designed to allow a cancer patient’s very own immune system to discover and eradicate cancer cells where ever they are in the body. New immunotherapeutic methods have been successful when used for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, lung, melanoma, bladder and kidney cancers. Clinical trials are under way for over 25 additional types of cancer. Patients who do respond to treatment have a much higher probability of a continued response because the immune system’s memory leads to an extended protection.
Scientists say they discovered a method to separate cancer killing immune cells from a donor’s blood and then multiply them by millions. The “neutrophil” cells are a part of your body’s primary line of defense against foreign invaders. This is also known as the “innate immune system”. These cells are thought to be the reason that some people will naturally reject powerful cancers in circumstances that are described as a “miracle recovery”. And the clinical trials for this new therapy may possibly be happening as early as this year thanks to LIfT in conjunction with researchers from King’s College in London, England.
“It is something that I don’t believe has been done before, and producing these specific cells with cancer-killing ability is a notion we had not thought of before. We are excited by these early results.” Said Alex Blyth, chief executive of LIfT Biosciences, whose mother Margaret was killed by pancreatic cancer in 2014. The team will focus on pancreatic cancer as this is one of the most lethal solid cancers. Mr. Blyth says neutrophils can be given to anyone without fear of serious rejection.
There is evidence the neutrophils can often become “blind” to cancer, but when they do target the cancer, they eradicate up to 95% of the test cancer cells within 24 hours.
LIfT’s team has collected thousands of cells discarded as unwanted waste products by blood banks and is mass-screening them for their cancer-killing potential.
Unlike apoptosis, which is a silent form of cell death, when cancer cells die through Caspase Independent Cell Death, called CICD, they alert the immune system through the release of inflammatory proteins. The immune system can then attack the remaining tumor cells that evaded the initial therapy induced death.
The trials, if they go ahead early this year, will involve a small number of patients with pancreatic cancer. The new method of killing cancer cells has led to the complete eradication of tumors in experimental models.
For those of us who have had cancer or are fighting cancer, these are exciting times. I hope the Food and Drug Administration approves this therapy as soon as possible. No one should have to go through what I went through.
Norb is a freelance journalist from Lockport.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” (MLK)
The civil rights leader Martin Luther King was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929. In 1934, his father who was a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, journeyed to Germany and became passionate vis-à-vis Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformation leader. Because of this, Mr. King changed his name and the name of his 5-year-old son.
Dr. King was such a very gifted student and he skipped grades 9 and 12. He enrolled at Morehouse College in 1944. This was the alma mater of both his maternal grandfather and his father. King was the son, grandson and great-grandson of Baptist ministers but he did not want to stick to the family vocation. Morehouse president, Benjamin E. Mays, a noted theologian, convinced him to do otherwise. Dr. King was ordained before he graduated college. He attended graduate school at Boston University, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1955.
Dr. King once said, ““Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, ‘Wait.’ But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will, and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters…then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.”
This quote puts into words his resolve that segregation and violence had to be eliminated at once. He stressed that lives and the well-being of oppressed people were continuously at risk until those in power took the responsibility to change this issue.
Historians, political pundits and cultural critics, have seen how MLK was disliked and even feared by people in power. These include police officers, politicians, etc. while he was alive. Now they only embrace his work in a superficial way after his death.
Dr. King barely escaped an attempted assassination 10 years before his death. On September 20, 1958, he was in Harlem where he was signing copies of his new book, “Stride Toward Freedom.” This was in Blumstein’s department store. He was approached by a woman named Izola Ware Curry. She asked if he was Martin Luther King Jr. When he said yes, she said, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and she rammed a seven-inch letter opener into his chest. The tip of the blade came to rest right alongside his aorta. Dr. King underwent hours of very delicate emergency surgery. Surgeons later told him that if he sneezed, it might have perforated his aorta and killed him. Laying in his hospital bed where he recovered for weeks, he delivered a statement confirming his nonviolent values and said he felt no ill will toward his mentally ill attacker.
Dr. King was in Memphis during April 1968 to support a strike by the city’s black garbage workers. In a speech, on the evening before his assassination, he told an audience at the Mason Temple Church: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
Dr. King was murdered by James Earl Ray using a single bullet fired from a Remington rifle. Dr. King was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Ray had a history of criminal misconduct including armed robbery. He was prejudiced against black people and intended to flee to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), following the killing of King.
Ray, a career criminal, pled guilty to King’s assassination but later recanted. King’s son Dexter met publicly with Ray in 1997 and argued for the case to be reopened. Because members of King’s family did not think James Earl Ray acted on his own. King’s widow, Coretta, believed the Mafia and local, state and federal government agencies were deeply involved in King’s murder. She praised the result of a 1999 civil trial in which a Memphis jury decided the assassination was the result of a conspiracy and that Ray was set up to take the blame.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy has created a change in American culture. While he is currently viewed as an iconic civil rights activist and he has been regarded in this way since before his shooting, some may argue that his quotes and activism have been misrepresented in a way that softens his perspective on racism. His quotes are often shared or presented to solely imply that prejudice is wrong, but his quotes that address holding people with privilege responsible for changes are often ignored. He didn’t only think racism and race-based discrimination were inappropriate but he also wished for people in power to abolish oppression.
In 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor Dr. King. The holiday, is celebrated on the third Monday in January, close to the civil rights leader’s birthday on January 15th.
Safety during the Holidays or Santa doesn’t deliver to the ER.
The holiday season is fun for all, but Holiday decor, and celebrations can cause problems. Estimates of reported home fires are taken from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
The survey show that in 2011-2015, decorations, excluding Christmas trees, were the cause of an average of 840 fires that were reported home fires each year. These fires resulted in an average of two deaths, 36 fire injuries and caused $11.4 million in direct property damage per year.
Candles were listed as the heat source in 36% of the fires. The decorations too close to a heat source in two of every five (42%) of the fires.
Even if it’s fake, trees are a fire risk. Fire departments report an average of 210 Christmas tree fires every year. When tree fires do happen, they’re more apt to be serious. Keep your tree at least 36 inches away from all heat sources like fireplaces, radiators, and heat vents. If you get a real tree, don’t forget to keep it well watered. Drier trees ignite more easily. “Your stand should have a water reservoir that can hold one quart of water per inch of the stem’s diameter,” says Rachel Rothman, the Good Housekeeping Institute’s technical and engineering director. Also select a well-made stand so the tree can’t tip over.
Don’t overdo the lights. You may want to cover every inch of your house with lights like you are on The Great Christmas Light Fight but you may have to scale back depending on your outlets. Check the lights’ packaging for the power requirement and never plug in more than what a power strip or outlet says it can handle. Also you never should connect more than three lights strings of lights together.
If you’re using old lights, look at the wiring to ensure there aren’t any signs of fraying or cracking. You should unplug all indoor lights when you leave the house, even the ones on your tree in the bay window.
December is the prime time of year for candle related house fires, says the NFPA. They do set a holiday mood, but lit flames and decorations don’t mix. In a five-year study, the NFPA found that 52% of fires related to decoration-were started by candles. Candles are pretty, but they’re still open flames. Keep lit candles a minimum of 12 inches away from other objects and never leave candles lit in a room that’s unoccupied.
Don’t burn trees or wreaths in your wood stove or fireplace, these burn much faster than logs, creating sparks, which can fly into the room or onto the roof. They can cause a build-up of highly flammable creosote in the chimney. Don’t burn the wrapping paper it might contain metallic materials that can be hazardous to breathe in.
Make sure your fire is out and the embers have cooled before you leave the house or go to bed. Put the ashes in a metal container and put this at least 20 feet away from the house. My daughter had a house fire from putting ashes in her plastic garbage can. Have a certified professional come out once a year minimum to inspect the chimney.
If you drop a Christmas ornament and it shatters, carefully pick up the large pieces and wrap them up in a paper towel or newspaper before throwing them away. You can use a fresh piece of white bread to pick up the little pieces. Sweep the floor and vacuum it thoroughly all over.
A cat could see a piece of shiny tinsel as a toy, but strand can become tangled in his intestines, causing serious damage. As someone that has had to remove a piece of tinsel from a pet’s anus, it isn’t fun for either one of you.
Mistletoe, Holly and poinsettias are poisonous to dogs and cats when eaten. Candy canes (the real ones, not the dog-toy variety), with their curvy shape and wrapper can present a choking hazard, and the sugar-free ones made with xylitol are toxic to dogs.
Don’t forget to take care of the outside of your house. Keep your walkways and driveway clear of snow and ice and be careful when you’re shoveling your property. Approximately 16,500 Americans go to the hospital each year because of injuries that occur while shoveling or removing ice and snow, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Wear boots with enough traction and take small, slow steps on ice or snow.
Keep all the kids in mind when picking out gifts. People tend to focus on what’s age-appropriate for one child, but younger children always want to play with the toys that the older kids get. This could be a problem if an older child’s toy comes with a lot of small parts. In 2013, there were an estimated 256,700 injuries caused by toys that were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms, according to the CPSC.
If you’re going out of town for a few days, you have to do more than just lock your house up. Tell trusted neighbors that you’re going away and ask them keep an eye on your house. Have the post office stop your mail or have someone pick it up daily. Get yourself a timer that turns your lights on and off at random times during the night if you can.
Norb is an OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer and has taught safety for several years.
Holiday Snowflakes.
The song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is seen as sexist In the current #MeToo era, and is being banned by some radio stations. The radio stations have stopped playing that classic holiday song because it has lyrics that suggest date rape threats rather than proposing an innocent situation of flirtation while being snow bound. SMH.
As long as we are eliminating everything that could offend people, I have a few more suggestions.
I think we should ban “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby because this might offend non Caucasian people. We also need to eliminate “White Is in the Winter Night” by Enya” and “The White World of Winter” by Bing Crosby for the same reason.
There are many, many songs that reference Jesus that should be forbidden because many religions don’t believe in him as God. They have their own Gods. In fact the very name Christmas should not be permitted just because of the Christ part. This word might offend the Jewish people, the Muslims. The Buddhists. The Hindus and the followers of Confucianism.
Now I see that there some “Holiday” movies that people want to ban. The first of which comes to mind is the classic Rankin/Bass holiday offering “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” They want to ban this because an elf throws the toy bird out of the sleigh even though the bird mentioned that it can’t fly. Then there is that bully with the whip, the deer who are abusive towards Rudolph, the dentist shaming and the unloved toys from The Island of Misfit Toys.
While we are at it let’s look at a few more Christmas classics. We have “A Christmas Story”. It’s just not Christmas in America unless there’s a bullied gun hungry child in a pro-NRA marathon. And how about washing your naughty kid’s mouth out with soap? Oh fudge, that is child abuse! But corporal punishment was the norm back then. I am old enough to have suffered this punishment myself. Good times.
Then we have the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. I think it is very insensitive to call him a Grinch. Clearly he has Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Notice isn’t there even one person of color in all of Whoville. Then be aware of the fact that they didn’t actually accept the green guy until he gives everyone presents! Looks like racism to me. And what about making that poor dog wear a heavy antler and pulling that giant sleigh. Someone call PETA.
The movie “Elf” features, unwed parents, bullies and a father disowning his son. “Frosty the Snow Man” has the evil magician Professor Hinkle attempting to kill Frosty by locking him in a greenhouse where Frosty is melted.
“Home Alone” is about a young boy who is accidentally left home during the Christmas holidays by his parents when the rest of his family goes to Europe. I think being forgotten by your parents is a bit of a problem.
I see that some people are trying to prohibit all Christmas related symbols in the schools and have suggested a ban on a list of Christmas themed items in the hopes of being inclusive and culturally sensitive to all of the students.
A list of the suggested items would include the singing of Christmas carols. Even the Elf on the Shelf is on the hit list because that’s a Christmas related symbol. I think some people are spending more time working on these lists than they are taking time trying to understand diversity.
We now can’t see Nativity scenes on governmental land due to “the separation of church and state” activists. Wal-Mart has switched its banners to “Happy Holidays” from “Merry Christmas”. It is Wal-Mart’s and other retailer’s participation in the moneymaking side of Christmas that is the real attack on this beloved holiday. One more time, the liberals have co-opted a cultural tradition that most Americans have enjoyed.
Enough is enough! I think I am old enough to decide on my own which movies I watch and which music I listen to. I love watching the old Christmas movies and listening to the old Christmas songs. I love sharing them with my grandchildren. I will always wish you a Merry Christmas no matter who you are or what you believe. Christmas is the Holiday I celebrate. If you want to respond Happy Hanukkah or Happy Ramadan because that’s what you celebrate, I promise not to be offended in fact I may respond in kind with your religious preference. I welcome your heritage as well as my own. Instead of us getting offended by each other, why don’t we just try to get along? This is supposed to be the season of peace on earth and good will towards men no matter what you believe, not the season of hate and discontent.
In closing, I will wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Ramadan or a Joyous Yuletide season, whatever works for you, from my home to yours.
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