The Omnibrain is a psychology graduate student at an online university. He hopes that the three weeks and $29.95 that he is spending on his Ph.D. will get him a job at a Tier 1 research university. Do online universities have postdocs? Ok...just kidding, he is really a Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology studying high level vision. You know... stuff like scene & object perception.
While not an official contributer to 'Of Two Minds,' Shelley's sidekick is an African Grey parrot named Pepper. His heros are Irene Pepperberg, Alex, and Rachel Carson. He spends his time learning Mandarin and writing the Great American novel.
I'm not sure what this whole thing is about since at no point did Obama make fun of the Special Olympics as an organization - he straight up made fun of retarded people (or whatever the P.C. term is nowadays).
Here's a little snippet from People:
President Barack Obama's lighthearted Thursday night appearance on NBC's Tonight Show didn't leave everyone clutching their sides with laughter.Obama's comments to Jay Leno about his low bowling score - in particular, an off-the-cuff remark that it was "like Special Olympics or something"
....
In a statement issued Friday, White House spokesman Bill Burton said, "The President made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics. He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world."
Seriously... give me a break. Mentally challenged people (is that the right term?!) bowl much better than Obama if they are in the Special Olympics. People's sensitivity to this kind of thing appalls me. I appreciate a president who can sit down and be a real (well as real as one can get as a person on national television who is the leader of the free world). I also bet that some of the things that Obama and his wife say in the bedroom is much more offensive than this ;)
Stop holding presidents to some unrealistic standard. They are people as well.
Politics
Comments
Perhaps its because we just went through eight years of having a special needs president.
Posted by: Rob Jase | March 20, 2009 4:46 PM
People need to learn how to deal with issues like this.
YES, I agree that Obama is only human and that everyone makes mistakes. So on the one hand everyone needs to chill out and not think that Obama is some sort of bad, insensitive person because of this remark.
However, I still think the comment was offensive and that he needed to apologize for it. If you just let it go after the freaking PRESIDENT makes a comment like that, then you're basically condoning those sorts of jokes, which is incredibly disrespectful.
It's just that the mistake people make is to label the joke-teller/comment-maker as some terrible person who is morally bad when in fact most of the time the comment really comes by accident. Then the mistake that other people make is to say, "hey guys, it was an accident. Just forget about it and brush it off" when in fact it should be addressed so that people can have some awareness about what is being said and be less likely to say something like that again.
Also, I agree with you that people in the Special Olympics would bowl a TON better than Obama, on any day.
Posted by: Katherine Moore | March 20, 2009 9:10 PM
Katherine -- I would argue that not all people in the Special Olympics would bowl a TON better than Obama. Assuming that anyone who is in the Special Olympics means that they are good bowlers is - correct me if I'm wrong - a logical fallacy. Okay, so if you said, Bowlers in the Special Olympics would bowl a TON better than Obama, on any day, I'll give it to you; they are -- after all -- bowlers. However, assuming that any Special-Olympian can beat Obama at bowling doesn't make sense.
Posted by: mercurianferret | March 21, 2009 12:53 PM
... and why not check out what Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver said (from: http://www.specialolympics.org/obama_response.aspx):
Not exactly calling for Obama's head, because:
Posted by: mercurianferret | March 21, 2009 1:02 PM
Wow, tough call here. Why dont you convince the voters and dump him at the next election
Posted by: baz | January 26, 2010 7:14 AM
slip of the tongue perhaps, give him the benefit of the doubt, he has huge financial problems
Posted by: baz | January 30, 2010 6:58 AM
dude everyone lighten up get over it its a joke its not like he is gunna take all the "mentaly challenged people" and put them on an island he put a little laughter in the world
Posted by: spankey hayes | March 31, 2010 11:18 AM
To the young man who wrote these words
dude everyone lighten up get over it its a joke its not like he is gunna take all the "mentaly challenged people" and put them on an island he put a little laughter in the world
I feel U may be n your twenties, or younger, so you have not discovered how to be sensitive to your fellow man. Do U use the "N" word? Whenever or wherever U please, just because u want a little laugh at someone else's, expense? How small and pathetic U must feel if U have to use a cognitive challenged person to boost your ego. They are innocent, and thru no fault of their own, have disadvantages.. They have feelings just like the rest of the world. How can anyone want to degrade them through a joke, to boost their own ego? It is not cool. Sometimes the bravest people are the ones who are not afraid to stand up for those less fortunate than themselves.
Posted by: Ruth | May 27, 2010 1:05 PM