Sarah Palin Revisited

Old news, I know, but I haven't posted since this happened. Sarah Palin was very offended by Family Guy's Extra-Large Medium episode because a character who is a "Down Syndrome girl" says her mom was the former governor of Alaska. I'm assuming they chose to call her a "Down Syndrome girl" because the media referred to Palin's son as a "Down Syndrome baby" (which always irked the hell out of me).
Remember when Palin defended Limbaugh for his satirical use of the word "retards" to poke fun at liberals? That was funny- satire at it's best!!!
Here's an excerpt of a Huffington Post article with direct quotes from her Fox News interview:

Palin also used her platform to continue a call for the president to rid himself of his closest advisers. On Attorney General Eric Holder, she labeled his handling of captured terrorists -- "allowing them our U.S. constitutional protections when they do not deserve them" -- a firing offense. On Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel, she said his comments calling liberal groups "f-ing retards" was "indecent and insensitive" and cause for his dismissal.

But the former governor went to great and sometimes awkward lengths to insist that when conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh used the same exact term to describe the same exact group, it was simply in the role of political humorist.

"They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh," she said, when read a quote of Limbaugh calling liberal groups "retards." "Rush Limbaugh was using satire ... . I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with 'f-ing retards,' and we did know that Rahm Emanuel, as has been reported, did say that. There is a big difference there."

But when Family Guy hires an actress who has Down Syndrome to play a character with Down Syndrome it is very offensive and insensitive. I understand her disliking the personal reference poking fun at her, but the satirical depiction of a girl with Down Syndrome shouldn't be objectionable based on her criteria that defended Limbaugh.

I am very sensitive when it comes to people with special needs being made fun of, and honestly, when I saw the preview for that Family Guy episode I thought that it would be offensive to me. However I didn't find it offensive. I am a fan of Family Guy, and I certainly don't find all of their jokes funny. So I am not defending them as a die hard fan.

They've had "autism" and "retard" jokes that didn't offend me either, though both of these conditions are much more personal to me than Down Syndrome. Besides all of this, we must remember that Family Guy is known for its offensive style of humor. They aren't going apologize for something that some find offensive. The makers would probably just tell you not to watch the show.

By the way, the autism joke was when Peter and Lois were role playing and Lois dressed up as Grimace. She said something about stealing hamburgers and Peter told her it was the Hamburgler that stole hamburgers. "Grimace is Ronald McDonald's autistic friend." It's kind of funny because Grimace is socially awkward and seems a little different than the other McDonald's characters. My only issue would be in putting the disability first: autistic friend rather than friend with autism. Still, I realized that I was watching Family Guy so I didn't let it bother me.

Sarah Palin and the "R" word

Sarah Palin's Poor Defense of Limbaugh


The only thing I really defended Sarah Palin for was when people talked about her "Down Syndrome baby" . She has a child who happens to have Down Syndrome. He is a child, not a label. I was happy to see that she was fighting against the misproper use of the word retard. Then she had to go and defend Rush Limbaugh for his use of the word. This, just a week or so after she demanded Rohm Emanuel be fired for misusing the word. Shared ideological viewpoints shouldn't be an excuse to overlook all bad behaviors and morals. Hopefully she'll realize this and call out Rush for what he did. Of course, this might upset Rush's self-proclaimed "ditto-heads" and make them not vote for Palin in any future posts she may run for...

A day in the life...

Not all of our days go smoothly, but some are a bit more of a hassle than others. My latest example would be about a month ago on a Monday. Lotus stayed up until 5 am, and she had a few messy accidents during this time. So my day began with cleaning poop off of the wall, bed linens, and child. Three times. It's like she waited for me to nod off. Or once I went to the bathroom, which gave her the perfect opportunity. I don't blame her so much, because I know she has GI issues, but still...
Then I got up at 7 am to get her and Celest ready for school. Once they were both on the bus I decided to take a nap while I had the chance.
At a little after 10 am I get a call from Celest's school. She's fallen off the trampoline and cracked her two front teeth.
Fast forward roughly half an hour: Lotus' school calls because they think she may have impetigo. She had rubbed her right cheek and her lips raw, which is a stim that usually comes in the winter time once she realizes her skin is dry.
So I have to go pick her up and schedule a doctor appointment. The appointment isn't until after Celest is home, so yippee, I get to take both girls by myself. That can be a job sometimes.
Turns out it isn't impetigo, just an open sore by her lip where she's rubbed the skin raw.
The week wasn't over yet by any means. Tuesday I had to take Celest to the dentist for her cracked teeth. A dentist visit entails a creepy device called a papoose board, which basically straps her wrists and legs to a board with thin velcro strips and a large velcro-covered body wrap that only her head and lower calves/feet peek out of. She does not like this at all. The dentist was able to put a numbing type of medicine and a coat of the rough edges. We go back in six weeks for a check up. (which Celest negotiates with me each day, "Six weeks?" "Yes." "Go to dentist." "Yes, in six weeks." Her response to that? "Five days.")
Wednesday goes by okay, but I find out that my cousin has died. We knew it was coming, but it still sucks.
My mom won't be able to help me with the girls this week either, so I have no one to provide respite.
Thursday is the first full school day that I don't have to work or pick anyone up early, so I actually get a little bit of work done.
Friday I go to work as planned. Then due to snow I have to leave early so I'll be home for the girls' buses due to a 90 minute early dismissal.
I guess that's more than a day in the life, but honestly that whole week felt like one really long, really bad day.