Governor Sarah Palin and Down Syndrome

I felt this was a great article that I wanted to post over here.

Taken from Patricia Bauer Disability news. While I know many readers of my blog read Patricia regularly I know some that don't would appreciate this resource. Big hat tip to Patricia for this great article.

Questions, we get questions
September 5th, 2008

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, people come up with some new ones. Questions, that is — about Sarah Palin’s baby son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, who has Down syndrome (at left with sister Piper at the Republican National Convention). Here are answers to some common questions.

1) Down syndrome — that’s really bad, right? Doesn’t that mean he’s sickly and won’t live very long?

First of all, let’s think about this baby as just that — a baby. People with Down syndrome vary widely, and each has a unique personality, temperament, and combination of strengths and challenges. We haven’t been told anything about Trig’s health status yet, except that he has Down syndrome.

In general, people with Down syndrome have some degree of mild to moderate intellectual disability and have a higher risk for a variety of health problems, particularly heart trouble. At the same time their life expectancies have increased dramatically, from an average of about 9 years in the 1920s, to something reaching into the 60s today. (See my post here on Bert Holbrook Jr. of Waseca County, Minnesota, who just celebrated his 80th birthday.)
As recently as the 1960s, people didn’t know that people with Down syndrome were capable of learning, and sent them to institutions where they were most often neglected or abused. Most of the very negative images about them, and the worst health outcomes, date from that time.
With the improvements in education and health care of the last few decades, it’s not unreasonable to expect that children with Down syndrome born today can enjoy full, rich lives, form satisfying relationships, and gain skills that will allow them to work and make positive contributions to their families and communities.

2) If Palin opposes abortion rights, as she says, why did she have an amnio? Wasn’t that a waste of money?

Many women who oppose abortion nonetheless have prenatal testing so they can get information that may be useful in planning for their baby’s delivery and care. Gov. Palin has said she was glad to receive Trig’s diagnosis before he was born so she could learn about Down syndrome and come to terms with her son’s disability before she met him.

3) Ninety percent of women who get a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome get an abortion. Doesn’t that prove people with Down syndrome have terrible lives?

Actually, no. People with Down syndrome are valued, valuable and contributing members of happy families. Their families report deep attachment to their children, and are saddened by those abortion statistics. Family members attribute the numbers to widespread public ignorance about people with Down syndrome; doctors who lack current information and aren’t well-trained to deliver prenatal diagnoses; lingering fears and stigma left over from the days when these people were institutionalized under horrible conditions; and unrealistic desires for the “perfect child.” See also this post.
Interestingly, a recent research study found that parents of children with Down syndrome are less likely to divorce than parents of children without disabilities; another found that siblings are more inclined to be positively affected by a sibling with Down syndrome than negatively affected.
At the same time, families with children with disabilities report higher costs for medical care and other supports than comparable families, as well as a reduction of earnings for parents.

4) Wasn’t Palin at a high risk of having a child with Down syndrome when she got pregnant with her fifth child?

The risk of having a child with Down syndrome increases with age, and a woman who has a baby at the age of 44 has a risk of approximately one in 35 of having a child with Down syndrome. For women under 30, that risk is approximately one in 1,000. Most babies with Down syndrome are born to younger women, however, because they have more babies.

5) If Sarah Palin has a baby with a disability, how could she possibly consider running for vice president? Wouldn’t she be neglecting her family?

All children, whether disabled or not, need loving adults to take care of them and make sure their needs are met, but there’s no requirement in the marriage contract that specifies it must be mom. Gov. Palin and her husband Todd have said he will take the lead in childcare until further notice. (Presumably, there aren’t many jobs for commercial fishermen, oil field operators and snowmobile racers in Washington, so that shouldn’t be a problem.) The couple also says they have a broad base of support from extended family members and friends.
And besides, would people be asking that if she were a man? For another answer to this question, see Rosario Marin in the question below.

6) Are there other high profile people with family members with Down syndrome?

Let’s see –
Former French president Charles de Gaulle (daughter); former vice president Hubert Humphrey (granddaughter); former senator and governor Lowell Weicker (son); entertainers Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (daughter); St. Louis Cardinal slugger Albert Pujols (daughter); Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (son); Congressman Pete Sessions (son); D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (daughter); journalist George Will (son); playwright Arthur Miller (son); Emmy-winning Sesame Street writer Emily Perl Kingsley (son); celebrity chef Nigella Lawson (niece); Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx (sister); actor John C. McGinley (son); and Rosario Marin, the former treasurer of the United States and current secretary of California’s State and Consumer Services Agency.
And let’s not forget the high-profile people who themselves have Down syndrome: Chris Burke and Andrea Friedman, the actors with Down syndrome who starred in television’s “Life Goes On” series; Karen Gaffney, who swam across Lake Tahoe; Brad Hennefer, who earned two varsity letters (golf and basketball) in high school; actor Luke Zimmerman; actor Blair Williamson …
Interesting fact: Down syndrome was first described in the 19th century by British physician John Langdon Down. Nine years after his death, his grandson was born — with Down syndrome.

7) Since John McCain picked a running mate who has a child with a disability, should we assume the McCain campaign is going to make a lot of expensive promises to the disability community?

That doesn’t seem likely. Advocates for people with disabilities and their families tend to be looking for universal health care and adequate funding for Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security -– not the traditional domains of the Republican party. While the Obama campaign website has an extensive section devoted to issues of concern to people with disabilities, the McCain campaign does not.
Still, both McCain and Obama are among the co-sponsors of an updated version of the Americans with Disabilities Act, currently awaiting action in the Senate, and both have pledged to increase federal funding for special education.
And consider this: George H.W. Bush reached out to people with disabilities in his 1988 acceptance speech, and pollsters later credited the support of the disability community with half of his margin of victory over Michael Dukakis. Two years later, Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark civil rights law that prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities.

8) When you see a person with Down syndrome in the community, can you assume that their mother opposes legal abortion?

Not at all. The community of people with Down syndrome is as diverse as the rest of the American population, with representation from red states and blue ones, big cities and small towns, people with religious affiliations and those without, all races, all colors, all demographics.
Mothers of people with Down syndrome are probably as divided on Roe v. Wade as the rest of the American public, with some opposing abortion under any circumstance, others believing it should be freely available, and still others who fall into the “safe, legal and rare” camp.
There are many who favor a woman’s right to choose abortion, but opted not to do so when they themselves received a Down syndrome diagnosis. I’ve met women who decided not to get tested because they feared amnio-induced miscarriage, because they thought Down syndrome would never happen to them, or because they knew they’d cherish any child they got. Some got reassuring results on early prenatal blood tests only to find out later that their children actually did have Down syndrome. Some mothers had their children before prenatal testing was widely available or offered to their age group.
And many of these women are hopping mad that their children with disabilities are being portrayed against their will as poster children for the anti-abortion movement.

9) Why in the world did the Palins name their kid after a high school math course?

Todd and Sarah Palin say that “Trig” comes from a Norse word meaning strength. They do confirm, however, that their older son Track was named after a high school sport. Lucky for him his parents weren’t devotees of synchronized swimming.

10) Like Trig Palin, more than 350,000 people in the United States are estimated to have Down syndrome. What should you do if you meet one of them?

Welcome them. Presume competence. Treat them with respect

Hope you all got some info here.

Peace Dude!

McCain Palin and Obama Biden on Education.

I am seeing and hearing all kinds of different versions of policy at this time. I thought I would post on here some of what I have found from both sides. Please comment away about whether you agree or disagree with anything posted.

An Alaskan Parents View on Palin and Special Education:

Parentalcation

The Department of Early Development Student and School Achievement is responsible for special education for Alaska schools, gifted education, and the Special Education State Personnel Development Grant which provides money to train and recruit special education teachers. These are all state funded mandates per the budget document.In 2007, the State contributed $5,429,000 in General Funds Receipts to the department.In the 2009 Governors budget, this was increased to $6,253,800This was an increase of $824,000 which is a 15% increase in state funding.How much do you want to bet this was increased before the Governor even found out about her son Trig?


Click on his site and check out the links he has posted and read his entire blog post.

Another good article at Ed Week from the state legislators conference on a meeting with both campaigns education staff.

Senator Obama's remarks to the American Federation of Teachers on education at:

RealClear Politics Good coverage of NCLB but does not mention IDEA.

Just a few things to read. But now here are the links to both candidates education sections of their web sites:

Barack Obama on Education:

Barack Obama on Disabilites:

John McCain on Education:

John McCain does not have a Disability section under issues at this time. But they do have:

Americans with Disabilities for McCain

Well that is a start with more to come.

Peace Dude!

Senator Obama needs to fire some staff!

Well the Change and Hope we can believe in has had the wheels fall right off the bus thanks to a fresh new face on the political scene. Governor Sarah Palin was announced as the VP pick of John McCain and the Obama camp forgot what their campaign was about. Was this not the campaign about issues? Was this not the campaign about electing outsiders? Was this not the campaign about electing a new generation? If those of us that have supported Senator Obama wanted the same ole politics his campaign would have been dead on arrival in Springfield on that cold day 18 months ago.

Well Senator Obama I am ashamed not of you today but of your campaign staff and many of the volunteers. All the things we all stood up to and defended you over these last 18 months and said they don't have anything to do with the issues, your team pulled out and dusted off against Governor Palin. Now that YOUR staff has questioned her experience, her values, her relationships, her kids.....I have been amazed and the CRAP I have read on line and gotten directly from the campaign and campaign aides into my Indiana for Obama email loop.

Now that you have used the Swiftboat tactics you supposedly can't stand.......I think all the issues I have defended you on that have nothing to do with the issues, you now need to stand up and answer also.

1. You need to stand up and explain why you stayed with Reverend Wright for 20 years? Where you a believer or was it to give you credit in the community? Tell us.

2. What is your relationship with Father Flager? Tell us exactly?

3. What exactly is your relationship with William Ayres? You did not know his past or what he stands for some how?

4. What were your exact accomplishments as a community organizer?

5. Why did you vote Present instead of ya or nay all those times in the legislature? Was it politics, partisanship, or you just could not decide?

6. What exactly have you done to have enough experience to be POTUS if Governor Palin does not have enough experience to be VP?

Sorry Senator I have been a big supporter from day one but I saw all of what I don't like about politics from your campaign over the last few days. I have not traded sides as of yet but I will say that NOW you must answer the questions you have avoided up to now. You and your staff have brought each and every one of these issues back to life. So go take a look in the mirror and walk out your front door and answer the questions.

Peace Dude!

VP Choice Governor Sarah Palin

Dear Blogger world:

Please do me a favor before you write about Governor Palin's son Trig. Do your damn homework like you would on any other issue you would post about. A couple facts:

1. It's Down syndrome not Down's syndrome or Downs.
2. He is not Down syndrome or Downs he is a child with or happens to have Down syndrome. He is a person first!
3. He is not suffering from, afflicted with or inflicted with Down syndrome he just has Down syndrome which is a genetic disorder. Does this define him.....nope and is just one thing that will make up his personality.
4. Parents of children with Down syndrome are not different then any other parents. We are just normal folks with the same variety of beliefs as everyone else.
5. If you need info please check out these two links:

National Down Syndrome Society

National Down Syndrome Congress

In Indiana please see:

Down Syndrome Indiana


I have been amazed at some of what I have read and heard on television......do your home work.


Or just drop me a note or give me a call and I can advise you if you like. Or better yet I can send Nash over.

Peace Dude!

Wow, is this a game changer?

Well as I said in a post much earlier this year.....well I have to think long and hard now.

Obama and Biden

VS

McCain and Palin


Much thinking to do on my my end as Governor Palin is a personal favorite of mine. Hmmmm

Off to think for the weekend.

Peace Dude.

Did the Tropic Thunder issue raise awareness?

Article from Politico: Interesting stuff



Obama may have edge with disabled
By:Ben Adler August 17, 2008 05:41 PM EST

The Democratic National Committee is hoping to drive a rift between John McCain and voters with disabilities. It’s a group whose size is difficult to quantify, but one that both candidates have deemed important enough to devote time to courting.While McCain and Barack Obama both support the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and a current bill in Congress that would strengthen its implementation, a key selling point for advocates for the disabled, they disagree on the Community Choice Act. That bill, proposed by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and co-sponsored by Obama, would expand government funds presently available for institutional care to also cover home-based services.McCain opposes the bill, and on July 25 the DNC quickly pulled together a conference call with reporters to attack McCain on the issue. “He has refused to listen to us on a critical issue to our community: the right to live at home in the community,” said Marca Bristo, former Chair of the National Council on Disability. “The Community Choice Act would allow that. Obama will give us choice and help us liberate the people in nursing homes.”


The conference call may have been partly a defensive maneuver because it happened the day before McCain addressed the American Association of People with Disabilities conference via satellite, on the July 26 anniversary of the passage of the ADA. Obama dispatched Harkin, a longtime leader on disability issues, as a surrogate. McCain told the conference that he supports the idea of returning people to their own homes, but is concerned about the potential cost, a stance his campaign has since reiterated. The jockeying by the candidates and parties surrounding the AADP conference was just part of the candidates’ ongoing efforts to reach people with disabilities. Both Obama and McCain have staffers working on outreach to the community. Obama has released a plan for improving the lives of people with disabilities and issued a lengthy statement commemorating the anniversary of the passage of the ADA. McCain enthusiastically praised the ADA in his speech. Both candidates have online groups for supporters with disabilities, and both have pledged to create a position in their administration focusing on disability issues. But while it’s clear that both candidates see the community as one worth courting, it’s unclear just how many people with disabilities are actually voting on the basis of that identity or what affect the outreach will have. The American Association of People with Disabilities claims that there are 37.5 million disabled people who are eligible to vote, using a very broad definition that includes learning disabilities. But historically, people with disabilities have not necessarily identified or voted primarily with that identity. Since disability occurs across all demographic groups in the United States, the disabled generally mirror the population as a whole in their political preferences. In 2004, a post-election Zogby poll commissioned by the New York State Independent Living Council, a disability rights advocacy group, found people with disabilities voted virtually identically to the population as a whole. Eighteen percent of disabled respondents said that their vote was “based on a candidate’s support or opposition to an issue that impacts people with disabilities.” The poll also found that nine percent of people without disabilities said the same. The poll, though, did not ask how this concern compared to more mainstream ones, such as the economy or the war in Iraq, or break down what respondents took the phrase “an issue that impacts disabilities” to mean. To many it may be funding for research of their own condition or for embryonic stem cell research. Many disability rights activists oppose assisted suicide for the severely disabled, and spoke out against it in the case of Terri Schiavo. Pollsters normally do not use disability as a demographic sub-group, so there is no publicly available data on the disability community’s leanings in this election, and both campaigns declined to discuss their internal polling. None of the independent pollsters or consultants contacted for this piece had ever polled disabled people or were aware of others having done so.

“I have never heard of anybody doing this,” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic pollster. “It would require asking very sensitive questions in a survey which would lead respondents to hang up.”Mark Mckinnon, who was until recently a senior strategist with the McCain campaign, said that he had never polled people with disabilities and that he didn’t think their voting priorities would differ from anyone else’s. “I think people with disabilities vote just like anyone else does,” said McKinnon. “I think they vote on big issues like war in Iraq and the economy like others.”Jim Dickson, vice president of government affairs at the AADP, says that as with any constituency, whichever candidate speaks most forthrightly to the community’s issues has historically gained their vote. “It goes to the candidate who talks most about disability,” said Dickson.In 1988, both candidates said they would sign the ADA, but after George H. W. Bush made a priority of it by pledging to do so in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, the disability vote shifted from Dukakis to Bush, according to Harris tracking polls conducted with the National Council on Disability — which also claimed that the disabled community made up a full 10 percent of the electorate.McCain, who is partially disabled by injuries he received in Vietnam, may also benefit from a sense of solidarity within the disabled community, a subject McCain did not raise in his AADP speech. “I think the more people know that he has a disability, the more it is likely to help with this community,” said Dickson. However, issues are likely to trump identity, according to advocates such as Dickson, who point out that Bob Dole, who was disabled and who sponsored the ADA, lost the disability vote to Clinton.“It was surprising that given Dole’s ADA sponsorship and disability [that he did not carry disabled voters],” said Dickson. “I think that was because Clinton was the first president to establish an office in the White House to work on disability. He had a very strong record. It was the first time we had seen anything like that.”The DNC has been quicker to appeal to the new identity politics in the disability community than was its Republican counterpart. The DNC has a disability caucus and has a rule encouraging state delegations to bring a proportional number of people with disabilities to their national convention as delegates. Although the RNC has neither of those things, a spokesperson, Amber Wilkerson, said that they are working closely with the McCain campaign on outreach to the disability community.“Many people with disabilities have domestic policy needs,” said Brad Williams of NYSILC. “The only party that is really addressing that is the Democratic Party and everyone in our community knows that.” Williams ticked off a long list of issues on which he says Democrats are more responsive to the disability community than Republicans, including housing, transportation, employment, education and, most importantly, he said, health care.Congress spent $1 billion under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, making voting booths more accessible to people with disabilities. Advocates say that will pay off in higher turnout this fall.On Thursday, Disaboom, an online community for people with disabilities, announced that it would be putting on programs to raise awareness of disability issues at the Democratic National Convention. They hope to schedule programming at the RNC as well.Although Disaboom's leaders identified mostly issues that tend to favor Democrats as the most important for the community — high unemployment, healthcare reform and the Community Choice Act — they said those issues have potential bipartisan appeal."Mainstreaming people with disabilities into the workforce means taking them off of welfare and into taxpaying," said Kim Dority, vice president of content for Disaboom. "Republicans could embrace that. It's not simply an opportunity for one party."

Are they really that busy?

Today I received one of those newsletters paid for with tax dollars from one of my elected officials. It touts all this elected official has done for me over the last year. All the different things that have been done to lower my taxes and to bring new jobs to Indiana. The flyer did not mention our new unemployment rate or the recent discussion of the retirement plan of our General Assembly. Now some of the items listed were in all honesty good points. Some I think we a pretty big stretch. I has a few questions for this person that I have alot of respect for, so I shot off an email to this elected official. My jaw did drop though with the response I got back from them.

Thank you for contacting me by e-mail. Due to the extremely large volume of e-mail my office receives daily, we have begun sending an automatic response. However, I want to assure you, your concerns matter to me. I read all e-mail I receive from our district and I will certainly keep your comments in mind as Legislation is introduced on matters that concern our district and state.Again, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with me.Sincerely,

Wow, was my first response. Does this elected official really get that much email from the people that elected this person? I have read many many times how little response it takes on an issue to get the attention of an elected official. Has this changed? Have Hoosiers and Americans gotten so motivated and active this season that we have overwhelmed our elected officials with questions from the folks they work for?

Well I really don't have any idea how many emails this elected official actually receives but I do know one thing I get quite a few on a daily basis. Maybe I should set my office assistant on my email to send something out like this. Think my customers would mind?

Heck I have a better idea on how to save my tax dollars and lower my taxes. Stop right now sending out news letters from elected officials offices at tax payer expense. I get alot of junk mail everyday and this would cut down on that junk. It would save dollars, ink and paper which would be good for the environment.

Now there is a way to reduce my taxes.

Peace Dude!

What Happened to Change we can Believe In?

Just got off the phone with our county Obama organizer and I think she was wishing she had called someone else tonight other then me. This has been a long bad week with the "Tropic Thunder" issue, business issues and now the "Clinton run Democrat Convention".

I have been more then miffed about the so called negotiation between the Obama and Clinton Camps about their role at the Convention and making the Clinton Supporters happy. Sorry to say to my friends in the Clinton box but SHE LOST! But now the guy I decided to support has cowed down to the "Clinton, Dean, Democrat Politics as Usual gang" and I am not happy.

I defended Senator Obama with my Republican friends when he states that we needed to use Diplomacy and talk directly to our enemy's as well as our friends. I reminded them that President Reagan has similar beliefs. While they argued with me about that issue deep down they knew I was right. Well I am not so sure now.

After weeks of negotiations which is what much of the Obama platform is about with the Clinton camp this is the result from Jack Cafferty at CNN:

The Democratic National Convention is shaping into quite some party for Hillary Clinton.
Her name will be placed into nomination. She'll give a prime-time address, introduced by her daughter Chelsea. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will get his own plum speaking slot on a separate night. She will also have her own production team to create the introductory video that precedes her speech – the same people who produced Bill Clinton's biography video "The Man from Hope" in 1992.
And, there's now language in the party's platform that refers to the "18 million cracks in the highest glass ceiling," and suggests that media sexism contributed to Hillary's defeat. All this makes it easy to forget that Hillary Clinton is the loser.
Barack Obama and Clinton say they agreed to put both of their names into nomination after weeks of negotiating. It's meant to help unite the party and head off potential embarrassing problems at the convention from Hillary supporters.


Now I have to ask myself a question if this is the result of the Obama teams negotiation power then how the hell can I expect him and his team to negotiate good results for our nation with our enemy's? If he can't negotiate a power position against Bill and Hillary how can he negotiate with Vladimir Putin? Iran, Iraq, China, Mexico or Cuba?

I am so very disappointed that the same person that motivated me with the Thunder of " We are not red states and blue states but the United States". Where is the change I believed in?

I am not saying I have given up on Senator Obama just yet. But I am pretty damn mad. As I told our county organizer tonight after our lengthy discussion that I have gone into a holding pattern until after the convention. I want to see how the Clintons and their folks act. Then I will make up my mind as to whether I roll up my sleeves to campaign like hell for Senator Obama.......or for Senator McCain.......Or Senator Barr......

I can't believe I am sitting here watching the Clinton Machine still run the show!

Oh my friends in the blog world like Circle City Pundit and Hoosier Pundit are gonna raz me....

We must restore the power to the people!

Peace Dude!

Boycott "Tropic Thunder", just stay home 3

Dear Freinds and Readers,

If you have read my past posts in regards to the upcoming release of DreamWorks latest movie "Tropic Thunder" you will know my opinions of the movie. If you have not please scroll down the blog and you can read a few posts on the subject. As I write this there are many decisions being made by disability organizations about a boycott. I support their decisions but I have made my own decision. Here are a few points I would like to make:

1. DreamWorks has the absolute free speech right in the USA to make this movie and I defend them from that point first and foremost.

2. I have read many opposing thoughts on this issue from blogs supporting the movie and the fact that it is satire. That the movie is based on the fact that this is Hollywood making fun of themselves. Ok, I will buy into that for a minute. But what is the point of Mathew McConaughy's scene below?

In a conversation with his agent, played by Mathew McConaughey, Stiller’s Speedman talks about his plans to adopt a child. “At least you get to choose yours,” says the agent, looking sadly at a photograph of himself with a slack-faced teenaged boy who appears to have an intellectual disability. “I’m stuck with mine.” (The teenaged boy turns up with his father on an airplane later in the movie, staring vacantly out the window.)

3. In Hollywood as we see each and every day all publicity is good publicity. I think DreamWorks and the gang are all excited as hell about this brewing issue as they can see the cash rolling in.

4. I believe in this country all things are ruled by MONEY and POLITICS.

With those item covered here is "The BigDawg Challenge".

The only thing that matters in Hollywood is the money. As Tom Cruise made famous in "Jerry McGuire"......."SHOW ME THE MONEY"!

While I trust that each of you are really good people even if we don't agree on everything I am going to ask you to make a commitment. I am going to ask everyone of the millions of people in this country that have a disability or are the family and Friends of someone with a disability or a reader of this blog to just stay home from the movie theatres this week. Let's send a message to Hollywood, The Movie Theatres, Coke, Pepsi, the popcorn and the candy folks that enough is enough. They only understand the money folks plain and simple.

Now if it costs the average family $50.00 to go to the movie what should we do with that money?

Here are a couple ideas:

1. Have a great dinner at home around the table with the whole gang.
2. Have a party and invite your Friends.
3. Take the family out to eat.

OR

Donate the money you would have spent on the movie, popcorn, coke and candy at the movie to the political campaign of your choice and I do mean of your choice. To all my Democrat, Republican, Independent and Libertarian friends.....write a check! Support the person you believe in and the expense of DreamWorks and the movie industry. Not sure who to send the check to.....I will help.

Senator Barack Obama or Senator John McCain or Senator Bob Barr

or

Governor Mitch Daniels or Jill Long Thompson

or a few of my other favorites

Governor Sarah Palin or Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers who both just happen to have children with Down syndrome.

or

Greg Zoeller for Attorney General

or

YOU DECIDE but make sure you tell me about who you choose. And I hope you have taken the time to know why you support your choice. Or if you don't want to donate to a campaign then how about:

National Down Syndrome Society Government Affairs or The Arc of Indiana

Or

Dads Appreciating Down Syndrome

Ok, you get the drift!


I hope you will post links to this on your blogs or forward it in an email to each and every person you know. Just imagine the look on the faces of the theatre managers and the DreamWorks folks when the MONEY does not show up....

And even better the look on the face of the campaign finance chairs at the campaigns above wondering where all this money is coming from. Or the development folks at the above mentioned groups trying to figure out how to take credit for the cash influx...lol

Together we can make life better for individuals with intellectual disabilities TODAY!

Peace Dude and Thank You for your Support.

This blog post has been approved and paid for by The BigDawg himself.

Come on Hoosier Pundit, Give me a break!

Update: Scott at The Hoosier Pundit accepted my challange. Scott you are a good man and I think we agree more on this issue then we disagree. I was not defending Obama on his stand I was trying to say that I felt the logo meant all Obama supporters felt that way and that is what I disagreed with. Peace man and keep up the good work!


Well this is the kinda political stuff that drives me crazy.



Take a look at this post over at the Hoosier Pundit:



Scott come on......give me a break. While I respect your belief on abortion do you really believe that only left wing liberals terminate pregnancies? Do you really believe some of the companies on Wall Street that continue to develop earlier prenatal testing are all left wing Lib's? Do you really believe that no good hearted religious Republican has ever terminated a pregnancy?



You see as the Father of a son with Down syndrome I spend much time emmersed in this issue. The one thing I have learned over the years on this subject is I am not God and it is not my job to judge people. So I and the many groups I am involved with spend a great deal of time trying to get accurate information to the medical world and expectant parents. And guess what the termination rate for a positive prenatal test for Down syndrome is 90%!



Scott do you really believe that those 90% are all left wing liberal Obama folks? If you do then I can share the data with you to prove that is not the case by any means. I can share stories of good hearted right wing, pro life folks that have chosen termination based on these results and the info shared with them from their doctor. And we continue to push the envelope on earlier and earlier prenatal testing.



Scott this issue is not a right vs left issue....Roe v Wade may be but termination is not. It runs across the board and we need to fix it.



Now if we want to talk about real political issues on this subject let me ask this.



Why is it the R's want to overturn Roe v Wade but will not live up to thier own promise of fully funding their share of IDEA? They continually promoise to live up to their 70% of the additional cost yet have never done more then 17%?



How about NCLB which has no funding but very much puts kids with disabilities at a disadvatage....now if you don't think this is fact based on good soundbites come spend the day with me and you might be surprised what you find out.



Why is it we can't get good legislation that would allow people with disabilites to be able to retain the services they need while pursuing full time employment? Instead we paint them into a corner of poverty so they don't lose the services they need.



And I could go on and on.....



But let me ask you this Scott, will you join me in supporting a boycott of the new movie "Tropic Thunder" which spends almost 30 minutes making fun of individuals with intellectual disabilities? Will you not only support kids with disabilities right to be born and not terminiated but will you support thier rights across the board through out their lives?



Come on you can do it!



Peace Dude!

Tropic Thunder - Mr. Speilberg you should be ashamed!

With all the talk of the new DreamWorks Movie "Tropic Thunder" and the now confirmed over 30 minutes of the film dealing with a Ben Stiller character where he plays an individual with mental retardation it made me ask myself a question.

Where is Steven Spielbergs and the Anti Defamation Leagues outrage at his own company?

This from the same individuals company that was behind the amazing movie "Schindler's List".

Here is a quote from an interview with Mr. Spielberg about the filming of the movie in Poland:

Were you shocked at the amount of anti-Semitism you found still in Poland today? There were several reported around the set.

No, I had expected it. It was actually less than I thought would happen and I was prepared for more incidents than we encountered. But they were incidents nonetheless. And every one was shocking. Nothing happened to me directly, but things happened to my cast, my crew, and I would hear about it the next morning.

Well Mr. Spielberg I find the whole issue of comedy at the expense of Individuals with intellectual disabilities shocking! And I am more shocked that it is coming from your company. I would expect that with your concern for anti-semitism that you would be outraged that your company is behind this slur on individuals in our community.

In another interview about where you find inspiration for your movies the author says:

Despite his ability to create fantasy worlds and invent creatures the likes of which the world has never seen before, the secret inspiration behind Spielberg’s films is actually his everyday life. From his own childhood experiences to his current fatherhood role.

Well Mr. Spielberg as the father of a son with Down syndrome how do you think I would react to this movie?

Mr. Speilberg I ask you to step in right now and take back creative control of your company and take "Tropic Thunder" back to the editing room. Do what is right. Do with this film what you would do if you found out your company was releasing a film full of anti-semitism.

Peace Dude.

Tropic Thunder...Let's just stay home 2!

Latest update on the Tropic Thunder issue from one of the best websites around for disability info. Please click Patricia's link:

Patricia Bauer Website


Depending on how this all works out I am preparing to ask everyone I know to not only not see Tropic Thunder but to stay home from all movie theatres the week of the opening.

Peace Dude!

Is Rush Limbaugh a Celebretard?

If you have read my blog for awhile you will know that I lean to the left but also support many Republicans for office. You will also have read that I enjoy and listen regularly to The EIB Network and Host Rush Limbaugh!

As you read in my post yesterday the entertainment world is out of control with so called comedy at the expense of folks with intellectual disabilities and mental retardation. It seems to have become the comedy slur of choice. Today I learned of a new slur that I had not heard of before. Rush Limbaugh introduced me to the new word Celebretard!

Here is the definition from The Urban Dictionary:

celebretard
A demeaning and insulting term for a celebrity that is not liked. Often found on websites referring to hated celebs. Refers to a "retarded celebrity" although not retarded in the classical sense; retarded in the sense they are ridiculous, pompous, divas, demanding, fashion disasters, in rehab, generally disliked by the media or fans, or have a reputation of being snotty and difficult.

Well El Rushbo decided to use the term today in referring to Paris Hilton's ad in response to John McCain's ad comparing Senator Barack Obama to her and other celeb's. I have listened to Rush for years on a pretty regular basis. I have always had respect for Rush's insight and entertainment humor. I even was on his radio show years back supporting him when he was the spokesperson for Florida Orange Juice while I was in the packaging machinery world. Yes, orange juice sales and production actually increased while he was their spokesman. With that said I also fully understand that Rush is an entertainer first and foremost but today I think he blew it.

Before I wrote this post I actually called the show today and talked to his screener and explained the issue I had with Rush using this new wave word and why. I was told my concern would not fit the format of the show today even though today was the day the word was used. But I was more then welcome to call back on Open line Friday! Well geez thanks!

Rush,

I expect more from you then that. You are the one that has advocated for years that words mean things. For you to use a word invented in the celebrity world to slam Hollywood types by using this word comparing them to individuals with intellectual disabilities as negative crossed the line and really let me down.

Rush, you are much smarter then that and I expect more from you then becoming lazy in your use of the English language. You need to say it was not really very wise on your part to fall into the trap of using a word with this negative connotation. When I tune in to "The Excellence in Broadcasting Network" I expect to be educated and entertained in an intellectual fashion not to get a political version of "Entertainment Tonight".

In regards to calling in on Friday for "Open Line Friday" I think I will with the Nash man in mind. But in all honesty I doubt I will get back on the show.

In the meantime Rush, make it right and keep this fan listening and prove to me you are not a Celebratard but a Celebrellectual.

Peace Dude!

Tropic Thunder...Let's just stay home!

From the New York Times.

By MICHAEL CIEPLY; Compiled by Julie Bloom

Published: August 5, 2008

DreamWorks executives have agreed to talk by telephone and in person on Wednesday with representatives of more than a half dozen disabilities organizations to discuss the groups’ concerns about the portrayal of a developmentally handicapped character in the coming movie “Tropic Thunder.” “We want to be really plain about what our issues are with the movie,” said Anne Sommers, the policy counsel for the American Association of People with Disabilities, who helped organize the meeting. Debate has centered on the film’s approach to a character named Simple Jack, right, who is played by Ben Stiller’s character, an actor, in the movie. Movie and marketing materials refer to the character as a “retard.” Ms. Sommers said the groups, which include the National Down Syndrome Congress and the Special Olympics, had not yet formulated specific requests for DreamWorks. DreamWorks executives have said the film, a movie industry spoof, aims its humor at the industry, not at disabled people. The company, a unit of Paramount Pictures, plans to release “Tropic Thunder” on Aug. 13.


I am not thrilled about this in any shape or form. Just as I was not thrilled when the "R" word was used in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". With that being said this movie is going to be rated R but come on. Dreamworks can keep smoking what ever they are smoking to make them think that are making fun of themselves and not people with disabilities. Ben Stiller should know better.

But with all that said here is my big question:

WHERE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WERE SCREAMING FOR DON IMUS'S HEAD?

Where is Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson and the other civil rights folks on this? Is it ok to use the "R" word just not the "N" word? Where is Whoopie? Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh talked about the Imus thing for days, have they even mentioned this? NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC?

No, and they won't because those with a disability and family members like me are just not important.

Well it's time to change that starting right now!

Ladies and Gentleman there are 65 million individuals with a disability in this country not counting mom, dad, brother, sister, aunts, uncles and cousins. You do the math what does that add up to?

If this movie is released as scheduled then so be it. But let's ask everyone connected to a disability to stay home from ALL movies for that week. Not just that movie but all of them. Think the movie industry and others might get our point then?

It's time the largest minority population in this country got listened too.

Peace Dude!

Head Coach Bear Bryant Assembles the Team!

Press Release dated August 2, 2008:

From: Coach Bear Bryant

Subject: Assemble the team at "Bama Bridge" John Mark is coming home.

That was all the needed to be sent to the many "Bama Fans" in heaven today. With that short note a plan went into effect. With a nod from the big guy everyone knew Coach Bear Bryant was in charge of today's welcome program. After a short team meeting everyone started the process. Heavens gate would today be named "Bama Bridge" as the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide's number one fan was arriving today.

It did not take long for all the players to find their jersey's and polish those black shoes into a shine. The band members grabbed their hats and their instruments and headed for a short rehearsal. But they were missing a few sections, but no worries today some band members from other places showed up to help. Who would have thought that those sections would be filled by Irish, Tigers, Sooners, Aggies, Longhorns and Trojans but they joined the band with the pride of being from Bama today.

The professors and alums all put on their robes and their hats and all assembled at Heavens gate which is just for today called "Bama Bridge". Soon the time had arrived. There seemed to be thousands of players lined up behind "The Bear" wearing those crimson jersey's today. Could it be that every past college football great was from Alabama today?

As the time began to arrive everyone was assembled in their places. As the musicians tuned their instruments Coach Bryant adjusted his coat, tie and hat.

In the distance they could see Coach Bryant's legacy Coach Stallings walking John Mark across the end zone one more time.

It was then that John Mark could hear the Crimson Tide fight song growing louder in the distance. As he walked close to that sound he saw hundreds if not thousands of "bama fans" on the other side of a bridge behind some beautiful gates. As he started onto the bride he saw a beautiful sign with the simple phrase "Roll Tide" and "Welcome Home John Mark".

John Mark was greeted by Coach Bryant with a firm hand shake and a hug. "The Coach" looked him in the eye and thanked him for his years of service to the University of Alabama and "The Bryant Museum". He said "son you have been a role model and made us all proud".

With that, John Mark asked "Coach is this Heaven?" Coach Bryant, tilted his hat just a bit and said " Naw son this is Alabama, ole Rockne just thinks it's Heaven, Welcome home".

With that Coach Bryant walked John Mark through the crowd toward a beautiful stadium. The Coach looked at John, a fine specimen of a "Bama Quarterback" and said, "Come on son, we got a game to play".

Copyright Jeff Huffman 2008

Peace Dude!

John Mark Stallings 1962 - 2008

We got this news yesterday but I have just now been able to get to this post. I part of me is sad today and a part of me if full of joy. I will share why I am joyful in the next post but I am sad today as we have lost a hero. I hero in the Down syndrome movement. A gentleman that accomplished so much with the simple goal of being the number 1 Alabama fan. Many of you may have never heard of John Mark Stallings but will know his very famous father Head Coach Gene Stallings. I had the wonderful opportunity to have met both Coach and John since I entered this fraternity called Down syndrome. Coach Stallings' book "Another Season: A Father's Story was one of the first books I read after Nash was born as it was so relate able to me with Down syndrome and football.

John Mark Stallings passed away yesterday and his Obituary is on the link below. Goodbye John Mark, well done.

From the Montgomery Alabama Advertiser

I now ask DADS from around the world to show our respect for John Mark and to lift up The Coach and his entire family in this hour of reflection. I only know of one way...all together now...

"ROLL TIDE"!

Peace Dude and rest in peace my friend!

Well at Least Robin Williams has a plan!

Well the origin of this goes back to 2003. It has been proven not to be actually from Robin William which is too bad. Well I got this in an email just the other day and thought not matter who actually wrote the piece it was worth a mention and some discussion.

I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.

1.) The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic and the rest of those 'good ole boys,' We will never "interfere" again.

2.) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one sneaking through holes in the fence.

3.) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are. France would welcome them.

4.) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit. No one from a terrorist nation would be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5.) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6.) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7.) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go some place else They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8.) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9.) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island some place. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens

10.) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer.

The Language we speak is ENGLISH....learn it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan.

"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'You want a piece of me?'"

Peace Dude!

Indiana economic data prepared by the WMD folks on Iraq?

I was amazed at all the headlines in the Indy Star today that may make for some interesting contrasts to Governor Mitch Daniels flashy ads about how great things are here in Indiana under his leadership.

Rollout of Indiana Medicaid Privatization Halted by Feds

Keep in mind we are paying IBM and ACS a huge contract on this. Of note similar to the way some contracts have been handled in DC. FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob and Ex Aging Director Steve Smith are both former ACS employees.

Our big bailout bill does not sound so good.

Starting to look more and more like corporate welfare then anything else.

Eli Lilly to shut Lafayette site

Wow, Mitch Daniels old company and major donor now may idle an Indiana plant? In our great expansion of life sciences in Indiana this plant has gone from 1,500 employee's to 780. Now worries ASC has opened a call center paying $7.50 per hour. So we have a net increase in jobs on this right Mitch? But they are going to take a few month's to decide....hmm wonder what they want from Mitch to stay?

Just a couple of headlines from today to ponder. Are we really doing as well as those flashy commercials tell us? They are good and really well done. But are we all really better off in Indiana then we were 4 years ago? 8 years ago? I think it's time to take a serious look at the Daniels and Long Thompson campaigns and our state and make some decisions.

As for me......well I think that picture at the top is worth more then 1000 words.

Peace Dude!

NDSC Conference Presentation

Here is a very dark video clip of my part of the presentation in Boston.

I hope you enjoy.

DADS Presentation .....BigDawg

Peace Dude

Dr. Tony Bennett interview

Dr. Tony Bennett is running against Dr. Wood from Lafayette for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. I personally due to the issues important to me think this is one of the most important races we can vote on this year. Not sure how far Abdul Shabazz's radio show is heard around the state but Abdul recently interviewed Dr. Bennett on his radio show. I am still trying to decide who I think is the best candidate. In that fact I thought I would link the interview here so that folks that are concerned about education around the state that read my blog can listen to it. You may be interested in the caller "Jeff from Noblesville about Special Education".

Abdul interviews Dr. Bennett

I hope you enjoy and find some information to ask more questions.

Peace Dude!

Corporate Greed on the way up, Government bailout on the way down!

Corporate America today wants to be left alone to grow their profits with out government interference. I don't have a problem with that. Profits are what makes the world work. What I do have a problem with is these pompass ass's wanting the taxpayers to bail out their companies after they spent too much time trying to make the snot nosed MBA Wall Street analysts happy instead of running their companies on strong business ethics and principles. It now looks like GW is going to sign the biggest corporate bailout ever for his pals while protesting that we are bailing out irresponsible homeowners. And my point on this is: I am not happy about bailing anyone. Especially the elite in Corporate America and Wall Street. Let's look at the Bailout part of this and connect the dot's to Bear Stearns, JP Morgan Chase, Wall Street, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It's mind blowing.

Senate passes landmark housing bill

Now let's look at just the section on Freddie and Fannie:


Bolster Fannie and Freddie

Concerns over whether Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) will have enough money to weather future losses in the housing market sent shares plummeting in recent weeks. Since the beginning of June, Fannie's stock price has dropped 57% and Freddie's plummeted 66%. For the past year, they're both down roughly 85% as of the end of trade on Friday.
Fannie and Freddie guarantee the purchase and trade of mortgages and own or back $5.2 trillion in mortgages.
To help stabilize markets, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asked Congress to temporarily empower Treasury to offer the companies a backstop if needed. Consequently the housing bill now includes provisions that let Treasury over the next 18 months offer Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit and the authority to buy stock in the companies.
Both critics and supporters of the Paulson plan have expressed concern that loaning or investing money in the companies could leave taxpayers with a fat bill to pay.
The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday estimated the potential cost of a rescue could be $25 billion. CBO said there is probably a better than 50% chance that Treasury would not need to step in. It also said there is a 5% chance that Freddie's and Fannie's losses could cost the government $100 billion.


Estimate of $25 billion up to maybe $100 billion????????


Now let's connect the dot's as to why it's going to be every bit of $100 billion or more. First you have to go back to March to the original mess when the other wall street boys started spreading rumors about Bear Stearn's being out of cash. Next thing you know ole Bear is in big trouble and the CEO actually had to leave his bridge tournament to get back to NY to negotiate his bailout. How did that work. Well JP Morgan Chase put on their white hat and stepped in over the weekend to save Bear Stearns....well with their new partner the Federal Reserve and the Federal Government. JP took on $35 billion in debt from Bear but only took on $1 billion of exposure. The other $34 billion was taken by our government. And to help raise the cash guess who was authorized to purchase some of the known bad portfolio's from Bear from JP......you guessed it Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae....who now needs bailed out...who are we going to shift it to next?


All on the backs of the Taxpayer. Corporate greed on the way up and government bailout on the way down for the everyone except the taxpayer.

Now this is a great one for discussion don't you all think.

Peace Dude!!

Indianapolis Public Schools are OUR problem!

Study: Black males falter in IPS
19% graduated in 2005-06, report finds; superintendent says changes helping

First of all as usual I have an issue with the Indy Star Headline. Black males falter...well the graduation rate is the same for white males in IPS so what the hell is the point of their headline?

Now let's get onto the real problems here. I have read and read of late the crime rates, welfare issues, corruption in not for profits and county government in Indianapolis and Marion County. But the issue that creates all of these problems is IPS. And it is not just a Center Township problem it is a central Indiana problem and we most all roll up our sleeves to fix it like it or not. If not then quit your whining and belly aching about your taxes going to welfare recipients and crime issues from the sidelines.

Here are a few what I think are simple issues we can get off the ground:

1. Get rid of ISTEP! ISTEP was originally designed with a 40% failure rate for students. How do I know this? My parents are both educators and my father was an administrator at the time that fought against this test. Now I am not opposed to ISTEP for students going to a 4 year university but now we have created a system of failure for everyone else. We need to create a system that allows students to earn and yes I said earn not be given a high school diploma. They then can have the opportunity to pursue a post secondary education in a trade or other vocation. When you are 14 years old in a system that tells you that you have to pass a test you know you can't pass to get a diploma to go to college what is the point in staying? What is the incentive to learn and see a future other then the street? When did we decide that all kids need to go to college? I think this one was thought up by the legislators, University folks and test makers like the ISTEP creators. Since when is everyone supposed to get a 4 year and advanced degree to sit in a lab and create new medical advances? Let's use that as an example. You got the degree and create that new product. Who is going to build the building you manufacture that product in? Who is going to run, maintain and repair the equipment it is manufactured on? Another chemist? I think not.

2. We need to activate a motivated group of DADS. If you have read my blog you know how importance fatherhood initiatives are to me. We need to start a DADS program to mentor these young men about life and what they can accomplish in school and on the street. Every male in Indiana can assist in making this happen.

3. Bring back a strong Vocational Program at the high school level and at Ivy Tech. If you have read my program on machinery in my blog you will know what I am getting at. Now I know there are young men out there that have no desire to go to college but want to build things. They want to build houses, work on cars and much more. When I see a young man driving a completely rebuilt 1984 Buick, Chevy or Caddy totally tricked out looking like a million bucks I have no doubt about the creativity, talent or hard work ethic that young man has is given a chance. For those of us in white collar jobs that look at that young man with contempt....can you work on your car? Can you rebuild a 350 V8?

4. We need to look at and build a regional approach to public education in Indiana. We can accomplish this and make our schools the best and creates the brightest and talented. Where do we get the money. Easy.....we have created a Bastien of wealth with our 4 year universities with this idea that everyone should go to college. They have their own fundraising machines and tuition had gone up drastically compared to the rest of the economy. Move funding away from our state Universities for 4 years and drive it into rebuilding our public school system.


I know many will shoot holes in all of this but they shoot those holes with out ever offering a solution.

Peace Dude!

State Rep Richardson cleared.

I have posted a couple of times that this issue needed to get wrapped up. Looks like it finally has been taken care of.

Probe turns up no violations

Peace

Speaking of a Motley Crew!

Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman.

Recently Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman become the new Dean of the Hamilton County Leadership Academy. Now I have worked with Christine on a few things in the past and have a great deal of respect for her. With that said I have an issue to pick with the way things get done in Hamilton County. With this new position should Commissioner Altman be the person pushing funding for the Leadership Academy in county meetings?

This is from the minutes of the last Commissioners meeting:


2009 Commissioner’s Budget
Swift stated he was waiting for some figures for the 2009 Commissioner’s budget, including vehicle requests.
Altman asked that the specifications and gas mileage is on the proposed new vehicles be submitted to the
Commissioners. Altman stated last year we submitted $20,000 for the Hamilton County Leadership Academy. The
Council cut it to $5,000. Altman would like that amount to be taken back to the previous amount of $10,000. Holt
concurred. Altman stated the tuition for the Leadership Academy should be $2,500. Altman asked that the grant writing
position be including under contractual, not personnel.



Now should not Commissioner Altman declare that she is the new Dean of this organization? This is just one example of a good ole boy deal at the tax payer bank in Hamilton County with more to come.

We should expect better then this.

Peace Dude!

My son has Down syndrome and I VOTE!

What a weekend we had in Boston! And we won't even get into the Barking Crab! And it continued through this week and into this weekend so I have not had a chance to add much until today.

Last Friday - Sunday I spent most of my time inside sessions at the Annual National Down Syndrome Congress National Convention. Nothing like spending the weekend with 3,000 good friends talking about issues, ideas and opportunities.

We also had our DADS booth there and presented on our organization in the Sunday morning sessions. I had the opportunity to chat with fellow DADS from around the country including our own Pacers Head Coach Jim O'Brien and MA State Representative Tom Sannicondro. So we now have an NBA head coach and an elected official wearing DADS hats. How cool is that.

I spent most of my time in sessions on Post Secondary Education and Employment educational settings. Many of you may know that Nash has Down syndrome and that he is only 7 so why would I spend my time in those sessions? Because Indiana is close to the bottom on both of these issues. As a matter of fact in one session on Post Secondary Education they put up a map of the nation. In each state where stars for all the post secondary opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities and there was my beloved Indiana staring at me with a big....ZERO!

I also had the chance to listen to a presentation by the HR Director from Walgreen's distribution and heard all the really amazing things going on in their new state of the art facility in South Carolina. Interesting that it is 20% more productive then any of their other locations and 30% of their workforce has a significant disability. I have some really cool info on this on a DVD to post as soon as I can figure out how to post it here.

I decided to post this picture of Nash and I taken last night while we had a house full of good friends who also happen to have a child with Down syndrome. I thought it was a really good pic of Nash and I and I had my Arc of Indiana t-shirt on.

Why is that important? The Arc of Indiana is the largest legislative and Advocacy group in Indiana for individuals with intellectual Disabilities. And this September they are having a convention in Indiana for self advocates with disabilities from around the country. One of the guests at that conference will be my fellow DADS member Representative Tom Sannicandro who was instrumental in getting funding in MA for post secondary programs. I am putting together a dinner with Tom and a few others.

Now, I want to offer an invite to both Governor Mitch Daniels and Candidate Jill Long Thompson to join us for that dinner to discuss this issue with us.

So you ask why should an elected official take the time to chat with us?

There are 52 million people with a disability in the United States. If you add mother, father, brother, sister, aunt and uncle to that number it gets pretty damn big and guess what...

WE VOTE!!!

Peace Dude!

Indiana Economy and Packaging Machinery

Thought the timing was interesting last night as I breezed thru my copy of Packaging World last night.

See my blog post on Indiana Economy

Here is the Editorial from the July Issue:

Plugging the skills gap

Published in Packaging World Magazine, July 2008 , p. 6

Written by Pat Reynolds, Editor


Our May 20 Packaging Automation Forum focused on trends and developments that hold great promise for the packaging profession.
But one worrisome note echoed repeatedly in the day’s proceedings: that little thing called skills erosion. First it was touched on by keynote speaker David Atherton, director of TIMQ & supply chain engineering at Unilever. He called the skills gap “the biggest problem facing us as we go forward. I see it as mission critical.”
A few sessions later, Procter & Gamble’s Rob Aleksa sounded the same refrain. Aleksa, who is corporate machine control section head at P&G, wants to see the educational institutions in this country pay much more attention to mechatronics, which he describes as a science-based focus on machine dynamics from a multidisciplinary standpoint that includes mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and modeling analysis. “We need to influence our educational institutions,” said Aleksa.
Members of the audience chimed in, too. Educator James Higley of Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, IN, reminded everyone that his school, in cooperation with the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, is sponsoring a program beginning this Fall in Mechatronics Engineering Technology.
“The whole educational system is very slow to respond to things like this,” Higley continued. “The educational community doesn’t know that there is an enormous need in packaging for this kind of help. And the students don’t know that there are excellent jobs waiting out there. It’s partly a public relations problem. But we’re working on it.”One of the questions raised by Unilever’s Atherton addressed the issue of practical steps that packaged goods companies might take today in order to become a part of the solution. Audience member Mike Pichler, manufacturing solutions program manager at Coors Brewing, suggested that packaging professionals might want to look into what are called Industrial Advisory Boards at nearby engineering schools. These boards are designed to help schools turn out the students that industry needs.
“I’m part of two boards, Metro State and Colorado State,” Pichler tells me in a recent email. “A few years back at Metro State we met monthly and redesigned parts of the curriculum to meet the changes in industry. This has proven successful, and enrollment is climbing.”
The Packaging Automation Forum isn’t the only recent venue where skills erosion was top of mind. Consider what Sean Monahan, a vice president at consultancy A.T. Kearney, had to say at a June 3 Financial Times/Italian Trade Commission conference in Chicago called Manufacturing For The Future: “Too many equipment maintenance professionals are nearing retirement and no one under age 30 is coming up to replace them. Repair protocols exist only in people’s heads. This should all be documented now so that it can be used to train for tomorrow.”At the same event, Italian Trade Commissioner Pasquale Bova identified investment in a skilled labor force as a key strategy that U.S. manufacturers should consider in coping with today’s rising energy costs, an impending global recession, new competitors from low-cost markets, and an increasingly demanding consumer.Knowing that people are talking about the skills gap is a good sign. Even more encouraging is the kind of initiative we see unfolding at Purdue U. Calumet. The combined strengths of a powerful association like PMMI and a premier university should produce meaningful results.
Speaking of universities, don’t miss the first installment of Academic Food Stuff, a monthly column written by members of the country’s leading packaging schools. Michigan State gets things started on page 29.

Still have an open invite to the Daniels and Thompson Campaigns on talking about this one.

Peace Dude!

Heading to Boston!

Steering away from Indiana politics for a few days and focusing back on National Issues. I am off to Boston for the National Down Syndrome Congress http://www.ndsccenter.org/ Annual Convention in Boston. It should be a great long weekend catching up with Friends from around the world that we only see once a year.

The DADS Program will be front and center with our booth open the entire weekend. My good buddy Joe who came up with the idea of getting this thing off the ground will be getting a national award Saturday night. And then Sunday morning we will be doing our thing and talking to other DADS from around the world in our annual Sunday morning presentation.

It will be fun to spend a few straight days concentrating on my number one passion of assisting the effort to improve post secondary educational, housing and employment opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities.

Peace Dude!