Sarah Palin's Message

I've been sitting on the sidelines of this Family Guy/Rush Limbaugh controversy, and it cracks me up how fast liberals are turning into conservatives. These are the people who for years have treated grown adults like they're children unable to fend for themselves. These are the champions of political correctness, the "handicapable" people. Sarah Palin states her opinion on the Family Guy episode, and all of a sudden, the special needs community doesn't need to be pampered. They don't need Sarah Palin's help. It was a harmless joke. Where's your sense of humor, Sarah Palin?

Wow.

The latest is this letter to the editor by the woman with Down Syndrome who played the "daughter of the former Governor of Alaska" on Family Guy:

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day.... I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

Got any pictures of Sarah carrying Trig "under" her arm, Andrea? I don't believe I've seen those.

I resent your opinion of Sarah's treatment of Trig. I didn't know it was wrong to carry your child. I suppose I'll have to fly into a rage now because my mom carried me. I must have had a horrible mother.

At least Andrea cleared up what the joke was supposed to be. It was supposed to be sarcasm. So the character in the episode was kidding when she said she was Sarah Palin's daughter. Okay. That makes more sense now. Definitely didn't sound like sarcasm, but I'll take her word for it.

But I beg to differ that it was funny. It was stupid. It was lame. It was Family Guy. And I'm pretty sure one of the rules of comedy is that if you have to explain a joke in order for people to get it, it's not a good joke.

Some are saying that Andrea didn't actually write this letter, blah, blah, blah. Unless you've got proof, I suggest you stop speculating. This woman went on Family Guy, thought the joke was funny, and played her role. She's not a pawn in this. She's a grown woman and she has her own opinions and makes her own choices.

And slamming Sarah Palin for "carrying Trig around looking for sympathy and votes," was a downright low choice. You should be ashamed of yourself, Andrea.

For anyone confused about just why Palin loves her son so openly and talks about him so much, allow me to explain some of what Sarah Palin has been trying to do through Trig. Sarah Palin's message:

While we've come a long way from just sending people with Down Syndrome to mental institutions, many are still uncomfortable with, or are offended by, the "imperfect." Most women who find out that they're pregnant with a DS child have an abortion because they're scared. They are afraid of the unknown. Seeing a woman out there who has had a child with Down Syndrome despite early doubts and loving that child so visibly may go a long way toward spreading a message that you don't have to be afraid. It may be scary at first, but in the end, it is a blessing beyond measure. So give it a chance. Let the child live. You won't be sorry.

What is Sarah Palin doing for the special needs community? She's on a mission to change attitudes. She wants to change the way people think about special needs. It's often seen as a burden. Sarah Palin wants the world to know that it's a blessing. Hopefully, this will encourage more mothers to allow children with special needs to be born.

Sarah Palin is saying, "Don't be afraid of the unknown. Don't be afraid that you don't have what it takes. I wasn't sure that I had what it takes either. But today, I thank God for all of it, every hill and valley along the way. And I thank Him for my beautiful son. I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world." Like this line from the letter Sarah sent to her family and friends when Trig was born:

Some think Trig should not be allowed to be born because they fear a Downs child won't be considered "perfect" in your world....Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy.

She's saying that all children are equally loved by their Heavenly Father. Trig is perfect. He is beautiful. Don't accept the world's definition of "perfection." Children with special needs are to be loved and cherished, not shied away from or mocked.

If you don't believe in Sarah Palin's motivation for talking about Trig, that's your problem. But thousands of Americans do believe it, and scores of families of those who have special needs love Trig and his mom and his mom's message.


By the way, if you want to read something that will really burn your butt, see Maher's latest statements on Trig. I hope that this man has a long, long life. Because short of a major turning point, when his life is over, it's not gonna be pretty. That's not a threat; that's a sad fact.

Bristol Responds

"Here is her conscientious reply, which is a much more restrained and gracious statement than I want to make..."

Translation: "Get down on your knees and thank Heaven that Bristol is going to speak for me on this, because Mama Grizzly would rip you a new one."
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Sarah Palin: Fox Hollywood - What A Disappointment

People are asking me to comment on yesterday’s Fox show that felt like another kick in the gut.

Bristol was one who asked what I thought of the show that mocked her baby brother, Trig (and/or others with special needs), in an episode yesterday. Instead of answering, I asked her what she thought. Here is her conscientious reply, which is a much more restrained and gracious statement than I want to make about an issue that begs the question, “when is enough, enough?”:

“When you’re the son or daughter of a public figure, you have to develop thick skin. My siblings and I all have that, but insults directed at our youngest brother hurt too much for us to remain silent. People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront, and yet they are some of the kindest and most loving people you’ll ever meet. Their lives are difficult enough as it is, so why would anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them?

As a culture, shouldn’t we be more compassionate to innocent people – especially those who are less fortunate? Shouldn’t we be willing to say that some things just are not funny? Are there any limits to what some people will do or say in regards to my little brother or others in the special needs community?

If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks.

- Bristol Palin”

- Sarah Palin

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A couple of observations. First off, it doesn't matter if you're a public figure or not, an attack involving your child does indeed feel like a "kick in the gut." The show was obviously attacking Sarah Palin in all of this. I wasn't sure if Sarah would respond or not, but clearly she has.

She didn't say anything about Stephen Colbert, I believe, because of the Rush Limbaugh controversy. But this apparently went too far. Palin has said over and over again that she doesn't care if you attack her, but if you touch her kids, even if to merely use them as a tool against her, she will respond.

I keep remembering the look on her face in Media Malpractice the moment after John showed her the SNL clip about the "two unwilling teenagers." She looked like someone had punched her square in the stomach. It took her a few seconds to recoup, and when she first responded her voice was small, like she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

As for Bristol, I concur: "If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks."

After the 2008 election, a company started making dolls named after the Obama's two daughters. Michelle Obama demanded that they stop. There was nothing malicious about the dolls, at least to my mind. But they're her children, therefore she sets the rules. People backed off, and rightly so. Respect what the mom wants.

When it comes to Sarah Palin, those rules don't apply.

As for whether or not the cartoon really was mocking Trig, it appears that Sarah herself is unsure, quote: "Show that mocked her baby brother, Trig (and/or others with special needs)." But when it comes to these things, emotion is more prevalent than reason. It feels like a kick in the gut, whether it was meant to mock Trig or not.

Palin Doesn't Need Parenting Advice from Kathleen Parker

Great article here about Sarah's "exploitation" of Trig:
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This year Ms. Parker's "Valentine" to Sarah Palin, an article titled "Sarah Palin should beware of exploiting her youngest child" should send a thrill up at least one of Matthew's legs.

Ms. Parker concluded her catty article this way:

Perhaps the erstwhile governor still thinks in first-person plural, viewing Trig as part of herself. But he is also a separate individual deserving of privacy, if unable to say the words she needs to hear: 'No more, Mama, please.'

Another political mother, Hillary Clinton, made good on her commitment to protect her child's privacy. Agree with her politics or not, most Americans would concede her wisdom in shielding Chelsea from media exposure until her daughter could fend for herself.

In the spirit of which, speaking in second-person imperative -- mother to mother -- be careful, Sarah.

Mrs. Palin needs to continue to be herself...and wary of the advice of strangers pretending to be helpful and concerned about Mrs. Palin's youngest child, Trig.

Ms. Parker as a well-meaning Palin adviser?

Not while Ms. Parker is the favorite "conservative" of "Meet the Press."

Wikipedia: "Parker made news during the 2008 U.S. presidential election when she called on the Republican vice presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin, to step down from the party ticket, saying that a series of media interviews showed that Palin was 'clearly out of her league.'"

When it comes to using Mrs. Palin's youngest child, Ms. Parker is expert.

In "Palin Problem: She's out of her league" (September 26, 2008), Ms. Parker wrote:

If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true.

What to do?

McCain can’t repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP’s unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability. Barack Obama faces the same problem with Biden.

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

Ms. Parker obviously overcame her alleged reluctance and shamelessly played the Trig card (as well as the country and party cards), while professing to have a parental attitude toward Mrs. Palin.

Ms. Parker:

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Ms. Parker protested too much in 2008 and was no more persuasive this month in volunteering parental advice to Mrs. Palin supposedly for Trig's sake.

Ms. Parker:

Palin's defense of people with special needs is commendable. Her obvious love for -- and pride in -- her Down syndrome child, Trig, is touching. But each time she sallies forth as Mama Bear to America's special-needs citizenry, invoking Trig's name amid demands for her children's privacy, a bit of uneasiness slithers between text and subtext.

At what point do Palin's noble intentions become Trig's exploitation?

Ms. Parker proceeded to answer that herself: when Mrs. Palin did not criticize Rush Limbaugh as she had Rahm Emanuel.

Is Ms. Parker envious of Mrs. Palin?

Ms. Parker:

The genius of Palin's good-heartedness is she can't easily be criticized. Her public images as Mother and Politician are so entwined that to question one is to impugn the other. Equally unprofitable is any effort to impose perspective on her condemnations lest one appear to be defending the indefensible.

I'll take that as an acknowledgement that Ms. Parker is concerned with profit and appearance.

Professing concern that Trig might be upset by Mrs. Palin's public candor someday, Ms. Parker charged that "Palin herself has hardly been discreet regarding her youngest child," because "[s]he has spoken and written about her misgivings upon learning that she carried a Down syndrome baby. She told a pro-life crowd that she considered abortion and wasn't sure she could care for a child with special needs."

Ms. Parker:

Doubt always stalks conviction, but does it demand expression? Might Trig someday read his mother's abortion thoughts and find them hurtful?

Much more likely, Trig will think of Ms. Parker as a pathetic person so jealous of his mother as to try to use him to hurt his mother.

Ms. Parker's revealing word choice supports that conclusion:

Palin wasn't wrong about the inappropriateness of the remark, for which the president apologized to the Special Olympics before the segment aired. But were her objections primarily those of a wounded mother -- or those of a heat-seeking politician? Will we be hearing from Palin every time someone uses the R-word or makes a lame joke?

Ms. Parker could not bring herself to write that Mrs. Palin was right, but expressed the thought that Trig's mom is "a heat-seeking politician" exploiting the fact that he has Downs syndrome.

It's not easy being Mrs. Palin: the abortion crowd condemns you for not aborting Trig when you learned he had Downs syndrome and Ms. Parker depicts you as a political opportunist using Trig as "a political tool."

Ms. Parker:

Celebrities who embrace causes are valuable players in raising awareness and advancing policy. That said, the degree to which one uses another's circumstances to achieve those ends requires a studious self-awareness that seems lacking in the equation of Trig and his mother.

It is Ms. Parker who is lacking.

- Michael J. Gaynor

Kathleen Parker's "Concern" for Trig

For the most part, I am a calm human being. Even boring. Ridiculously realistic and I tend to err on the practical side. Sarah Palin is an exception to that rule.

For some reason, the woman compels me. With a boatload of negative articles and media pundits on both sides microanalyzing her every move in a way that no one other politician has ever been microanalyzed, I still manage to find my way to the keyboard nearly every day in support of this person.

Most of the attacks have become redundant. I roll my eyes now at the charges that she's stupid, she can see Russia from her house, she's polarizing, etc... But there are still a few things that bug me.

Those of us who hang around the blogosphere long enough eventually stumble into the pits of vipers of those who post picture after picture of Sarah carrying Trig and whine and stomp and cry to high heaven that he doesn't have his socks on. Oh, no! The child's life is in grave danger!

They go on and on about how he's not getting proper therapy, blah, blah, blah. As if they know. To the normal person, Trig looks like a healthy, happy, almost two-year-old who is adored by his family. But that's not the way these perverts see it. To them, he's being exploited. Sarah's love for the child cannot possibly be genuine, she's merely using him. They complain about the way she holds him, as if they never held a child that way. I pity their children. They probably dress them up in pillows before putting them in the car, like in those Windstar commercials.

The reason I'm posting this is because of this latest article by Kathleen Parker. Kathleen tries, really tries to not sound too much like a basement-dwelling Trig Truther, but she fails in a couple of points. Aside from the misspelling that first catches your eye [the misspelling has since been corrected], there are bits of veiled "concern" for Trig and the possibility that a mother's pride could someday blend into exploitation. Most ridiculous is the charge that Trig might read Going Rogue someday and feel hurt that Sarah had some concerns about him in the beginning. That's a pretty big "might." It's also a huge crock of BS.

The first thought that comes to my mind: It's nobody's flippin' business. I don't care that Michelle Obama used her kids as an example for her child obesity program. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors; who are we to judge whether or not her daughters cared? In the same vein, I don't care if Sarah Palin uses her experiences as an example for others to learn from. As to whether or not Trig will be harmed, etc... we don't know. Nobody knows. It's all speculation, and quite frankly, it's none of our beeswax.

Maybe it's hard for me to grasp this "concern" because to me, seeing the Palins out there with their kids is the most natural thing in the world. They're a family, and they like it. Why should politics get in the way of parenthood?

Maybe it's because the Palins do it differently than most other politicians or public figures. But for them, this is the way it's always been, and I doubt they have any intention of changing things now.

Sarah was involved in small-town politics and taking her little ones to work with her long before any cameras were there to capture it. When Todd was home, he could take the kids full-time, but when he was up on the North Slope the Palin kids got used to a regimen that involved tagging along with Mom. Day care and babysitters were also utilized, but who wants their kids to be raised 100% by someone else? Why not bring the kids along? Why not share some of these experiences with your children? They were there on the local level, the state level, and now, the national level.

I, for one, find it refreshing. It opens a whole new set of doors for women who never thought about getting involved in politics because they thought it would mean becoming like a Hillary Clinton. They love their families, they love their children, and the popular feminist notion that men are pigs and babies are a burden has been a turn-off to them. I know it's been a turn-off for me. I could never relate to that kind of mentality, and no public female figures were out there breaking that mold; until now.

To see not just a woman, but a mother, on the national stage loving her husband and loving her children, has been refreshing beyond belief. And I simply cannot wrap my mind around the thinking of those who see it differently.

The Kennedy kids played under JFK's Oval Office desk and were a refreshing sight for the country. We feel the same way about the Palin kids.

And by the way, when they want to stay out of the public eye, they do. Track, for example, is known to be a private guy who doesn't like the spotlight. That's why you pretty much never see him in it. If the girls tag along, I can only draw the conclusion then that they don't have a problem with it, and even want to be there.

C'mon; if your mom was flying to New York City or doing interviews with Oprah, wouldn't you want to tag along?

It's an exciting time in their lives. Of course there are always the negative things that publicity can bring, but you can either get bogged down in the negativity, or are you can enjoy life to the fullest in spite of it and grow closer together because of it.

Bottom line: we don't know what goes on behind closed doors, and it's awfully presumptuous to think otherwise, or to assume that Trig will be hurt at some point in the distant future. If anybody's out to throw stones at Trig, it's the Leftists who insist on taking a beautiful boy and a beautiful story and twisting it into their own ugly image. Just click here to get a glimpse. If anything is going to hurt Trig, it's stuff like that.

The Palin kids strike me as an independent lot. They can take care of themselves just fine without any "concern" from anybody, thank you very much.

As for Sarah, I can just imagine that her reaction to this would be just like any mother who has ever had some nosey person come up to them and offer them free parenting advice: "Thank you for your 'concern'. Now, please excuse me as I raise my children however I see fit."

The Left: Home of Misogyny and Hatred for the Perceived Imperfect

Given Palin's Facebook post last night, I thought this was appropriate. Originally broadcast on July 4th, 2009:



And New User over at C4P drew my attention to two articles that talk about Trig being targeted over on Hillbuzz. The first:
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During the 2008 primaries, Dr. Utopia’s supporters threw rocks through one of our windows that had Hillary for President posters in them. The rocks, of course, had “Obama ‘08″ stickers on them. When we wore our Hillary buttons out, which was every day from February 2007 through June 7, 2008, Dr. Utopia’s “Hope and Change Gang” spat at us, called us RAAACISTS for not supporting him, pushed us, and tried to rip the buttons off our coats.

In the General Election, when we became DeMcCrats for McCain, the Left ratcheted up the hatred for us. Now, Dr. Utopia’s supporters started throwing punches. In Boystown, we almost got punched in the face in line waiting to get into Sidetracks a few times because Dr. Utopia’s followers didn’t like that we had on McCain tee shirts.

Just before the election last year, we actually got punched in the face and attacked when we were crossing the street, minding our own business, and overheard a group of Dr. Utopia supporters making fun of Sarah Palin, calling her baby Trig “a retarded troll”, and using every vile, misogynistic pejorative they love to toss casually out at women against Palin (a woman, in truth, they knew nothing about…except that the Utopia campaign wanted her destroyed).

They engaged us and said, “Yah, don’t you just hate her…don’t you just think that bitch should be raped and her baby should be dumped in the river” and more vile things than we can recount.

We stood up for Palin, asked them how talk like this fits into the whole Hope and Change agenda, and received a punch to the face for it.

We’ve continued to take lumps from the Left ever since. Our friends repeatedly tell us to stop speaking out against Dr. Utopia because we live in Chicago and so many of his thugs are here....

Many people who used to employ us for various projects will no longer return our calls, because they are Obots and don’t want to do business with people who aren’t drinking the Kool-Aid. This has caused great changes to our lifestyle and forced us to live and work on much reduced budgets, with far fewer friends in Chicago than we had in 2007 before any of the primaries and the general election.

So. Be. It.

Do you see what they do here? They have an automatic attack word prepped for whomever they want to go after. If it’s women, they’ll call them c**** or bitches or whores. If it’s gay men who aren’t falling in line, the words faggot and sissy are lobbed readily, followed by hopes they’ll get AIDS and die. If it’s someone white who is not blindly following White House directives, well that person is a RAAACIST.

It is the same damn thing every time with the Left.

And you know what? We’ve gotten hate mail from Republicans in the past. Do you know what’s interesting? Republicans, and people in the religious Right, have never, NOT ONCE, told us they wished we’d get AIDS. NOT ONCE. They’ve disagreed with us. They’ve told us we are bad people for not agreeing with them. They’ve intelligently taken apart whatever we’ve said, point by point, line by line, to correct us as they saw fit. But they’ve never wished death on us. They’ve never even name-called us.

They may have quoted Scripture and said how much they “disagreed with our lifestyles”, but they didn’t even tell us we were going to Hell, Fred Phelps-styled. At worst, the really religious people — the ones the LGBTQ community paints as such terrible hate mongers out to get all of us in Boystown — just say things like “We hope you repent before you are Judged by the Creator” and things like that.

It is night and day when compared to what the Left dishes out.

And it is startling to see that.

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The second article:
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We were told today that the Left is making the rounds on various sites like HuffPo, Daily Kos, etc. (all the usual suspects), talking about how great it would be for people to go to Sarah Palin’s book signings and throw eggs, tomatoes, rocks, etc. at her and her family.

Our first impulse at this is to say, “Sarah, declare yourself a 2012 candidate already and get Secret Service protection NOW. Dr. Utopia got it earlier than anyone in history, so you should get it early too.”

Then, we hear news that the sickos on the Left are hoping people hit Trig Palin with whatever they are throwing.

**** Deep breathes needed here ****

There are not words in English to relate how angry that makes us. We’d have to use Klingon to convey what we’d want to do to those sickos for even thinking about hurting Trig Palin. You want to see a bunch of laid-back, snarky, low-key gay guys in Chicago morph into the best badass impression of take-no-prisoners Marines, you mess with Trig Palin…or anyone with special needs. It just BOILS OUR BLOOD.

Here in Boystown, we’ve taken some punches for standing up for the Palins. We never look for a fight, but if we’re in a bar or walking down the street and here people saying vile things about the Palins, we will stand up and correct them. We will not let that garbage be said without challenging it. 99% of the time, the people spouting it are just repeating whatever Chris Matthews or Keith Olbermann just said on MSNBC, so they whither and back down right quick. But, on two occasions we’ve run into the most hateful Leftists who think it’s funny to make sick David Letterman-grade jokes about an infant with Downs Syndrome.

There’s something our grandmothers used to say that runs through our heads in moments like that: NOT ON OUR WATCH. You will not say such evil things in our presence. You will not spout such hate unanswered. You will not be so cruel to a child without challenge. NOT ON OUR WATCH.

Hell. To. The. No.

Like it or not folks, this is our watch. This is your watch. Our grandmothers had their time, and kicked some Nazi and Communist butt in their day. We, it seems, are tasked with doing the same to Islamofascists and Liberals. We are in the position where everything good about this country is under attack from the Left, and we need to do our part to stop that.

We need to be a vanguard of deceny and American principles. We need to push back against the Daily Kos and HuffPo crowd. We need to hit the David Lettermans, the Chris Matthews, the Keith Olbermanns, and their ilk where it hurts (their advertisers) whenever these sick puppies spit their venom at the Palin children, in particular.

If the Palins or their friends ever read this, you have a bunch of extended big brothers for little Trig here in Chicago. We’ll be field organizers for you in Iowa, too, when the campaign comes to that. We will gladly spend months in the cold gearing up for that Caucus for the Palin family.

Because every attack the Left launches connects us more emotionally to the Palins…we, too, have been under constant attack from the Left since 2007.

The DNC has no idea the damage the Left has done to the Democrat Party. Daily Kos and HuffPo are now the face of things, and what an ugly hateful face it is. We honestly can’t relate to these people anymore — not people who think it’s funny or fair game to hope a little baby gets hit by some of the things they are trying to throw at his mother.

BOILS OUR BLOOD.

“Not on our watch” needs to be the collective motto of everyone out there who doesn’t like what the Left is doing to this country under Dr. Utopia. Our grandparents’ generation fought fascists and tyrants. Our parents’ generation stood up to inequality and prejudice. And now we need to stand up to the worst threat we think this country has ever faced.

It’s going to be a hard fight. These loons will not surrender power willingly or without a battle. They are going to use every Alinsky trick in the book. As of next month, we have just two years until the Iowa Caucus.

Dr. Utopia will not get a second term under our watch.

Mama Grizzly Eats Fish

Rahm "Soon-to-be-Dead" Fish practically tries to be dinner.

Are You Capable of Decency, Rahm Emanuel?

The newly-released mind-boggling, record-smashing $3,400,000,000,000 federal budget invites plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of incurring more and more debt that will drown the next generation of Americans. Never has it been possible to spend your way out of debt. So... let the debate begin.

Included in the debate process will be opportunities for our president to deliberate internally the wisdom of this debt explosion, along with other economic, military and social issues facing our country. Our president will discuss these important issues with Democrat leaders and those within his inner circle.

I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm’s recent sick and offensive tactic.

The Obama Administration’s Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, “F---ing retarded,” according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

A patriot in North Andover, Massachusetts, notified me of Rahm’s “retarded” slam. I join this gentleman, who is the father of a beautiful child born with Down Syndrome, in asking why the Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and other groups condemning Rahm’s degrading scolding have been completely ignored by the White House. No comment from his boss, the president?

As my friend in North Andover says, “This isn’t about politics; it’s about decency. I am not speaking as a political figure but as a parent and as an everyday American wanting my child to grow up in a country free from mindless prejudice and discrimination, free from gratuitous insults of people who are ostensibly smart enough to know better... Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

Mr. President, you can do better, and our country deserves better.

- Sarah Palin

Happy Video Sunday

Interview during the campaign about hockey:


Random shaking of hands:


And just for fun:



And here's some cool pics to start out your day:

SP Video (Audio) Sunday

Today I've got audio clips. The first is Palin's Press Conference after Trig was born answering reporter's questions about the birth. Really cool stuff. The second is an interview I found of Sarah's sister Heather talking about autism with an autism organization during the 2008 campaign:





A really good article in the New York Times (believe it or not) here. Excerpts:
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The governor, thin to begin with, began an elaborate game of fashion-assisted camouflage. When Vogue photographed her, five months pregnant, for a profile in January, she hid in a big green parka. At work, she wore long, loose blazers and artfully draped accessories.

"All of a sudden she had this penchant for really beautiful scarves," recalled Angelina Burney, who works across the hallway from the governor in Anchorage.....

On March 5, as she was leaving her office for a reception, she shared the news with three reporters.

"We're expanding," the governor said brightly, said the deputy press secretary, Sharon Leighow.
"You're expanding state government?" one of the reporters asked.

"No, my family's expanding," she said. "I'm pregnant."

The trio fell silent, dropping their eyes from the governor's face to her belly.

"You're kidding," one finally mustered.

She assured them she would not take much time off: she had returned to work the day after giving birth to Piper, the child in tow. "To any critics who say a woman can't think and work and carry a baby at the same time," she said, "I'd just like to escort that Neanderthal back to the cave......"

Palin marched through the day. At a news conference, a reporter asked the six Republican governors present to raise their hands if they would refuse to serve as McCain's vice-presidential nominee. Palin was one of two who kept their hands down.

In her lunchtime speech, Palin held forth on the trillions of cubic feet of gas in the Alaskan Arctic, competitive bidding over pipeline construction and natural gas combustion. As she left the podium, Governor Rick Perry of Texas joked, "You're not going to give birth, are you?"

Palin just laughed.....

In fact, Palin was not in labor, and her doctor thought she had time. So the governor flew to Seattle, continued to Anchorage and then drove to a small hospital near her hometown, Wasilla — a journey of at least 10 hours.

"She wanted to get back to Alaska to have that baby," said a friend, Curtis Menard. "Man, that is one tough lady...."

Parents who were in the next delivery room said the scene looked like any other, with no security detail in sight. The three Palin daughters came and went, and as Todd Palin passed through the corridors, he stopped to accept congratulations....

Her hesitation gone, Palin glowed with maternal pride. "Sarah was absolutely ecstatic," said a friend, Marilyn Lane. After months of reflection and prayer, friends say, the Palins, who are Christians, had come to believe God had chosen to send them Trig....

Palin's three-day maternity leave has now become legend among mothers. But aides say she eased back into work, first stopping by her office in Anchorage for a meeting, bringing not only the baby but also her husband to look after him.

Many high-powered parents separate work and children; Palin takes a wholly different approach. "She's the mom and the governor, and they're not separate," Cole said. Around the governor's offices, it was not uncommon to get on the elevator and discover Piper, smothering her puppy with kisses.

"She'll be with Piper or Trig, then she's got a press conference or negotiations about the natural gas pipeline or a bill to sign, and it's all business," Burney, who works across the hall, said. "She just says, 'Mommy's got to do this press conference.' "

Palin installed a travel crib in her Anchorage office and a baby swing in her Juneau one. For much of the summer, she carried Trig in a sling as she signed bills and sat through hearings, even nursing him unseen during conference calls.

Todd Palin took a leave from his job as an oil field production operator, and campaign aides said he was doing the same now.

At her baby shower, Palin joked about her months of secrecy, Lane said. "About the seventh month I thought I'd better let people know," Palin said.

"So it was really great," she continued. "I was only pregnant a month."
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Here's a link to the Heather Bruce interview. They play a song before the interview begins:

Click Here To view AutismOne The Candy Store Special Guest Heather Bruce who is the older sister of Sarah Palin!

SP Video Sunday (Monday:)

I should just call it SP Video Monday Morning. I'm working on something else for maybe tomorrow or the next day. We'll see. For now, kicker press conference of Palin's and then a few adorable snippet vids.

Presser is a playlist of vids. Each one should play automatically if you just give it a second.

I Have Arrived

Ah ha! Caught in the act!

During a thread on the immaturity of the Alaskan bloggers the other night over at C4P, I made the following comments:

The only thing that really ticks me off about the Underworld is their constant obsession with Trig not wearing socks.

The people who would most likely advocate aborting a down syndrome child are frantic over his lack of socks.

Note to the insane: Nobody's going to die from bare feet! How on earth did my barefoot farmer ancestors manage to survive? Aahhhhhh!

My main beef is that it's none of their freaking business. Who made them the judge and jury over motherhood? This from the same people who tolerate scumbaggery of all other kinds.

Well, guess what? That caused the folks at Palingates (the same people obsessing over Palin taking a jet on her "bus" tour. The gall! She's deceiving the American people!) to put up a post to rebut me. Check it out:

Trig, Sarah Palin's prop -

Trig Palin was used as a prop by his "mother" during the vice presidential campaign, after the campaign and more recently during the "Going Rogue" book tour.

Commenters on liberal blogs have been concerned about the lack of proper attire for Trig when we observed that everybody else was nice and toasty in bad weather but Trig had no socks, no shoes and no hat.

Of course the Palinbots (C4P, who else?) immediately defended Sarah Palin's parenting skills:

"The only thing that really ticks me off about the Underworld is their constant obsession with Trig not wearing socks.

"The people who would most likely advocate aborting a down syndrome child are frantic over his lack of socks.

"Note to the insane: Nobody's going to die from bare feet! How on earth did my barefoot farmer ancestors manage to survive? Aahhhhhh!

"My main beef is that it's none of their freaking business. Who made them the judge and jury over motherhood? This from the same people who tolerate scumbaggery of all other kinds."
No, we don't advocate aborting children with Down Syndrome:

What it is, is that "they" cannot grasp that pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. I think I missed the band of pro-choice people "advocating" for abortions. I am pro-choice, but did not have the extra tests done in my pregnancies that look for DS, even though I was the same age as Sarah during our (OK, my) last pregnancy. Why? Because if the baby were to have DS, I would not have aborted him, so why take the extra risk? I'm pro-choice. That means I believe it's NOT MY DECISION what other women do.

We don't like to see Trig dragged out of the bus at 11:45 pm to be paraded to the crowds when the temperature is 41 degrees. We worry about early intervention and appropriate therapies that would give Trig the best chance of an independent life later on. We wonder why Trig is often photographed without his glasses and hearing aids. We don't think it's a good idea for a vulnerable child to be passed from person to person and exposed to germs during the flu season. We worry about the number of air miles Trig is accumulating at such a tender age when he's more succeptible to the adverse effects of high altitudes. We are puzzled about his inability to eat solids.

It might be none of our freaking business, but we didn't make Trig into an object of worship and we wouldn't choose to have him so exposed for the sake of selling some books. Sarah Palin's words, from "Going Rogue":

"Please don’t let anything happen to this baby.

"It occurred to me, once and for all. I’m so in love with this child, please God, protect him! After all my doubts and fears, I had fallen in love with this precious child. The worst thing in the world would be that I would lose him. God knew what He was doing."
Does God still know what he's doing? Is the care of Trig to be left to God alone or is his "mother" going to do her bit?

We know Sarah Palin pays close attention to the blogs. If we're in any way instrumental in ensuring that Trig receives the care he deserves so she can deflect criticism, our job is done.

But I'm not holding my breath...

No socks! Call Child Protective Services!

Cracks me up. If Trig were constantly photographed with his glasses, these are the people who would be starting the rumors that she only puts them on Trig for the cameras - when the cameras are off, she viciously rips the glasses off of her infant and laughs maniacally while forcing him to look at things without lenses!

They lose their case in the first sentence: "Mother." (Quotation marks) Trig Truthers, extraordinaire.

It's funny on one hand; on the other it's seriously insulting. Who do these people think they are? I stand by my original statement - It's none of their freaking business.

No, I did not include a link. They don't need any more traffic.

I don't have any kids, but I've done my fair share of baby-sitting and I can tell you this - kids are pretty resilient. Walking around with bare feet is not going to be their death knell (try keeping their socks on!) and they have survived much worse than having their cute little chubby cheeks pinched by relatives. I was a kid once myself, and I endangered my own life unwittingly countless times. Give me a break.

Now, for the record, I was not actually talking about Palingates, but the anti-Palin crowd in general. It makes me sick the way these people pretend to be so concerned for Trig. I didn't take the time to research the positions of the authors of every single blog, I was just popping off out of my frustration. The anti-Palin blogs tend to be liberal, which are pro-choice (pro-abortion, despite their protestations to that label), and the vast majority of children diagnosed with down syndrome are killed before they have a chance to see the world. So, yes, I lumped them all in together.

Now I point out the obvious - These people are really this pathetic? They read the comments on another blog and felt the need to put up a post rebutting someone's comment?

Wow. Nothing better to do, I guess.

On the other hand, it's kinda cool to get the attention.

I actually have noticed that the anti-Palin blogs take screencaps off C4P and Palin's Facebook wall and post them on their sites. I'll admit, sometimes I pop off just to see if they'll post it. That was actually in the back of my mind when I wrote the Trig comments.

I laughed my butt off when I saw that they took the bait:)

Picture of the Day: August 18, 2009

Willow and Trig