Reading The Pictures: Poster Mom
Nancy Iannone, a Democrat and mother of Gabrielle, 3, who has Down syndrome, said that she was so thrilled to see Trig on stage that she had to remind herself: "I am a liberal. I am a liberal. I am a liberal." Ms. Palin, she said, "has a child with a disability, but that doesn't mean her party is disability friendly." -- from NYT article on Palin and special needs. 7/7/08.
In presupposing what kind of advocate a Vice President Palin would be for the mentally disabled, Newsweek helps visually fortify the GOP's blatant exploitation of family and motherhood.
In making the leap, Newsweek undermines the process of the moment, which is to actually get beneath the ideological spin to flesh out an understanding of Sarah Palin and her record. Under the guise of a "Special Education" feature, all Newsweek accomplishes with this home page promo is to dish up an almost irresistible, heart-warming but 2-D empathy generator transforming Sarah Palin into poster Mom for Down Syndrome.
And from "Sandy on Signal" at 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera (by way of one of my readers):
Palin told families of special needs kids she would be our advocate in the White House. Since Palin became Governor of Alaska 18 months ago, she cut special education funding by 62%!!!! Wow. Who needs this kind of friend?
Another thing, Alaska has no residential care like an Orange Grove Center for the severely autistic. Can you believe this? This means the disabled have to go live in the lower 48 which means they are cut off from their true families. All that oil money in Alaska, and nothing for the "least among us."
Remember, Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a Governor.
For more of the visual, visit BAGnewsNotes.com.
(image: Susan Walsh/AP)
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Will Newsweek do another cover story on Track?
That would be the son who faced jail time after vandalizing the brakes on a schoolbus. Enlisting allowed him to skip jail.
What mother prefers her son into harm's way to spare herself the embarrassment of her son's prison sentence?
Sarah Palin does not strap Trig into a carseat. That violates Alaska law.
You can Google it up.
WHAT?! What kind of mom doesn't use a carseat to protect her baby??
"You can Google it up."
OK. I did. And let me give you a little advice Lemon.....try it yourself! It's not really nice to..... LIE!
The seatbelt law in Alaska is MANDATED for children Trig's age. However, mother's should know that everyone should use these whether they are required or not. When my first child was young, carseats were not required but I used one anyway. They are the best thing for the child if one should have an accident. I thought everyone knew THAT! I guess not......
The law is not often inforced as of yet however. It is probably a new law and it will take time for people to become accustomed to it....just like helmet laws with bikes.
Obama/Biden '08
Someone got to Newsweek.
Their article on her just after McCain announced was much more even-handed, therefore it is a VERY interesting article.
A snippet:
"But the myth is contradicted by some inconvenient facts. Only 1 percent of the state's land is in private hands, and the economy is dependent on oil and other natural resources controlled by the federal government or Big Oil. As a result, nearly 50 years after statehood, Alaska remains deeply dependent on the federal government for support. Social ills are rampant. The state's levels of drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence and child abuse are above average or among the highest in the country."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157696
Email P Diddy.
I'm far more concerned at what she would do TO the COUNTRY, rather than being side tracked (which is of course the idea).
She's pimping her kid. No surprise. She is a savvy opportunist more reminiscent of a BLACK WIDOW SPIDER than a pitbull; a much maligned and wonderful breed of dog.
Dear Michael,
By "blatant exploitation", do you mean "not killing them in the womb"?
It is a Democratic Congress that will fund special education for children like Trig.
And it won't be because of Palin.
We need to give them a large enough majority to do the good work.
You are so right. Every school district in the nation is struggling to provide the services these kids need, and now that will compete with fuel costs for the buses.
If we had just a small fraction of what contractors waste every day in Iraq, we could work miracles here at home.
Obama/Biden '08
and don't forget your local Democrats!
Downs' syndrome is a handicap that responds to intervention. I know a family with a very severely affected child, now 20, who is doing well, because they put her needs first in their family at every stage in their life, even moving to a particular city that had great intervention programs for Downs children.
An advocate for that child and his disability would do one and only one thing right now:
Give up the race with McCain, give up the governorship, and bond with that child and give him the extra intervention that is so critical to his development and his later functioning in life.
In fact, that is her "out" and McCain's "out" at this time.
Yeah, go do the mommy's job. Never mind the fact that she has a husband who will/is staying at home, who seems perfectly capable of being the caregiver.
would you say the same if she was a man?
You know looking at that child I sometimes don't even think its hers. The Rethuglicans have this way of drumming up crap like this to bamboozle the confused people in this country. I need to see a blood test. I don't know anyone who would bring their children into the media spotlight that fast. There has to be something up with that kid down syndrome or not. Sorry I had to say it!
I know that it's very easy to ASSUME that someone's personal circumstance translates directly into policy, but don't assume. Find out. That's why media access and tough questions will have to be asked. It's one thing to say "People with disabilities will have an advocate in the White House" while the camera pans to your daughter holding your disabled son, but quite another thing to have policy of HOW you are going to be an advocate.
I'm not knocking that Palin loves her child or will be committed to Americans with disabilities, but what's her POLICY on this? Go to her website and see what voting she's done or what her legislative stance is. Long before Palin broke onto the scene or long before anyone in the nation knew she had a child with disabilities, Obama put out his policy stance. He's not playing to heartstrings, he was the original in the race talking about disabilities along with Clinton. A few sources below will show that this isn't something that Obama came up with for an introductory speech. Matter of fact, Obama's already gone to bat for Palin's son, and many others, already. He's the co-sponsor of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Palin might want to curb that "he hasn't done anything" talk a little.
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityPlanFactSheet.pdf
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/22/disability_and_democracy/
I have many friends who work with people with Downs syndrome and they are all democrats--all of them. Because social security and social programs help disable people live lives of autonomy and dignity. There is a set of group homes near my own house and the pro-life people have the nerve to have the residents go around campaigning for the republicans. I told one that if he needed social security maybe George Bush wasn't for him. He said "I need social security but if I like George Bush I will get a free t-shirt.' I find it offensive that people would take advantage of him so.
I too have a special needs child, and see him every day. Though Jim can't talk in words, he talks volumes with he eyes! I know though he gets good care, he needs my love and attention desparately. I can't imagine what it must be like for parents of special needs children in Alaska to have to ship their children shipped out of state - Alaska, one of the richest states, can't afford to make lives better for these children who are born without the same chances in life as everyone else?
Which is why the revamped education system (done under Palin) makes changes to address this issue of having to send kids out of state.
This is also the women who did not announce her pregnancy with her Very special child till she was in her 7 month. No one knew, not even her children.
Also, she was in Texas, early morning hours, when her water bag began to leak while she was 8 months pregnant.
Most women would go to the hospital immediately, but Ms Palin wanted to give her speech.
So she did. Then flew to Alaska but never informed the 2 airlines that she was pregnant or having contractions.
Instead of going to a regional medical center that can handle premature births, the Palins drove several hours to the small town hospital where her own Dr. delivered her son.
As a nurse and a 4 time mom, to me she showed a callous lack of regard for her "Special" son. She is very very lucky that she did not have an infection, premature birth on 2 planes.
Just so she could deliver a speech. I consider her lucky but her judgment Very, Very poor.
Also, she went back to work 3 days after the baby's birth.
I am the mother of an adult daughter with Down Syndrome. Gov. Palin's actions (which seem to be questioned on this forum) regarding the birth of her baby with Down Syndrome and how she has managed looking after him, are completely understandable to any parent of a child with Down Syndrome.
By the way, infants are not "Down Syndrome babies". They are babies with Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is not all they are. They are people like anybody else, just a bit different.
And no, they are not "afflicted" nor do they "suffer from" Down Syndrome. Most families consider their children are "chromosomally enhanced". It would be courteous of people posting about Down Syndrome to take into consideration the fact that the families of people with Down Syndrome and people with Down Syndrome themselves do have feelings, you know. A bit of political correctness goes a long way.
Thank you.
Is Palin exploiting her downs syndrome child for political purposes? Yes.
Is Palin exploiting her teen age pregnant daughter for political purposes? Yes
Is Palin exploiting her feeble accomplishments for political purposes? Yes.
Is Palin a "classical" not a "classy" republican? Yes.
Is Palin a pathetic candidate for the republican VP position? Yes.
Should McCain dump her now? Yes.
Would that give McCain a better change of winning the presdency? Yes.
Should McCain be elected president/ NO!
Yeah, Palin, you should hide your beautiful family so that no-one can see that you have a wonderful family and that you love and support them.
You should take them on a talk show with the Obama family the next time they do it so that you don't expoit them.
You should go back and be a state senator for 6 years, and a US senator for 1 year (the 1.5 years he was running for president) then you would have what is apparently the appropriate experience for being President (not VP).
Clueless.
We gotta stop talking about whose watching the kids... thats a sensitive subject, and First Dude is gonna be Mr. Mom.
The ONLY signifcance is that Palin is reported to have been preggers with her first when she got married at age 24, she failed to heed warnings about pregnancies late in her child bearing years and now has unintended consequences to deal with in a special needs child. Now her 17 year old daughter is pregnant, and whatever were her plans have to be changed for lack of information and protection that should have come from her mother.
That is long term failure and disorganization that does not bode well for VP with a POTUS at age 72.
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